Late June, China-X border.
The primeval forest stretches for dozens of kilometers. It is close to the tropics and the sun is scorching. The sun shines a white sky.
On the horizon, the shadow of a military helicopter approaches from afar.
As we got closer, the propellers created wave after wave of rumbling sounds.
The special forces on board were fully armed with combat uniforms, armor vests, gear, guns and ammunition, and helmets and masks.
Li Zan stood by the hatch, pulled his mask down to his chin, looked down, and shouted, "Descend further."
The helicopter dropped vertically for a distance, and the wind from the propeller stirred up the trunks and branches of the trees in the forest as if they were trapped in a vortex of air. A flock of birds were startled and flew away.
"Lift!"
The helicopter retraced its steps for a distance, and the rolling treetops below calmed down slightly, swaying slowly like waves.
Li Zan made an OK gesture to the pilot, pulled his mask back up, grabbed the rappelling rope beside him with one hand, and jumped off the helicopter.
His nimble figure quickly fell into the forest and disappeared without a trace.
Half a minute later, the rope shook, sending a signal.
His comrades jumped off the helicopter one after another and quickly descended into the forest. Until the last teammate landed and untied the rope. Several ropes were pulled up at the same time, and the helicopter rose a distance and flew towards the horizon.
And where I had just stopped, the trees were still and everything was normal.
Only the scorching sunlight remained, as if nothing had happened.
…
Throughout June and July, Li Zan did not come to the imperial city again, and Song Ran had no way to visit him.
They were separated by distance and she didn't even know where he was.
She was worried after not hearing from him for such a long time.
Although she knew that Li Zan was a very powerful special forces soldier, he was still on a mission after all, and bullets were blind, so she was afraid of the possibility of an accident. Unfortunately, the news was also chaotic during this period, with police officers being stabbed to death, criminal police being shot by homemade guns, and drug enforcement police dying in combat.
She was horrified when she saw police officers and soldiers sacrificed in the line of duty.
Even when I'm not scaring myself, I'll miss him a lot.
But maybe this is part of being with Li Zan, and she has to endure and get used to it.
The place where he was carrying out the mission was at the border, so the signal was poor. Once he entered the mission state, it was impossible to contact the outside world.
Song Ran would occasionally send him text messages talking to himself, but he had no way of seeing them in time.
In two months, he only called her twice, but the phone he used was not his, and the numbers displayed were strange and garbled.
The first phone call was at the end of June, not long after we separated, and we were very passionate and chatted for almost half an hour, until he had to meet up and hung up in a hurry.
The second call was in mid-August. We hadn't been in touch for nearly two months, so we were a little unfamiliar with each other.
When Song Ran first received the call, he was a little slow to react and didn't say much. When he stopped talking, she also fell silent. She had a lot to say, worry, fear, and longing, but she didn't know where to start; she was even more afraid that speaking out would only add to her worries.
The only sounds coming through the microphone were the shallow breathing of each other and the chirping of summer insects from his end.
Li Zan waited for a while, smiled faintly, and said, "Don't you remember me?"
"I remember." She nodded.
In the quiet night, he listened to the rustling sound of her nodding in the microphone and asked, "Who am I?"
"Boyfriend." She answered obediently, "A-Zan."
His heart softened, and he didn't say anything for a moment. He smiled lightly and said, "Hey."
Her face turned red, and she gradually recovered. She asked, "Are you okay?"
“Everything is fine.”
"What tasks are you doing?"
He didn't answer the specific content, saying, "It's similar to normal training. It's not difficult. Don't worry."
"Oh. Are you hurt?"
He said in a relaxed tone: "No."
She was relieved, but soon said sadly: "There are always police officers sacrificed in the news recently..."
"The police are the police, and I am me."
"You're more dangerous over there than the police," she whispered.
Li Zan paused and comforted him: "Ran Ran, nothing happened to me. Everything is fine. Not even a minor injury, really. Oh no, there is. Last month, when I got up, my head hit the upper bunk bed board and it was swollen."
Song Ran chuckled: "Are you stupid?"
He heard her laugh and laughed along.
She then asked, "Do you get enough rest every day? Is it hard?"
"It's not hard." He said in a leisurely tone, "It's good to rest, but..."
He paused.
She waited a few seconds and asked, "What is it?"
"I miss you... a lot," he said.
Song Ran's cheek was getting hot as he pressed against the phone, even though the air conditioner was on in the room.
"Do you miss me?" he asked.
"I am thinking about it." She replied in a humming voice.
He took a deep breath, calmed his emotions, and asked again, "How are you doing?"
"It's good. Oh, let me tell you, you may not know it over there, but Our Flag has already been aired online."
"So fast?"
"Yes. The response is very good. Many young people are watching it, and new media also like it. A lot of people talked about it some time ago. I was deeply touched when I worked with the program team this time. They are so serious and meticulous in their work, and they are very efficient. It doesn't feel like being in Liangcheng at all." She chattered on and on, recounting a bunch of work matters and anecdotes.
He listened quietly and attentively, and couldn't help laughing when something interesting came out.
"... Oh, by the way." As she spoke, the little strangeness and depression she had felt before had long since disappeared. "There was a program about a former sniper who is now a colonel. His wife is a writer who writes novels. It's amazing."
Li Zan said in a gentle voice: "What's so magical about this? When people interview Colonel Li in the future, my wife is a famous journalist who has won the Pulitzer Prize."
The words he said unintentionally, in a light tone, came through the phone line, and she took them to heart. Her heart was pounding, and she turned a circle in the thin air-conditioning quilt, saying, "They have been together for more than 20 years, and their relationship is still very good now."
He listened and smiled slowly.
"What are you laughing at?" she asked.
He said: "Think about where we are in 20 years."
Song Ran also thought about it and smiled, "I hope that by then, we will be as good as we are now."
"Yes." He said confidently, and then asked, "How are you feeling recently?"
"Everything is fine."
"What have you been doing all this time? Writing a book?"
"Yeah. I've been thinking about it and organizing the framework. The prototype is already out, and I'm just waiting to fill it with content. Oh, because "Our Flag" was broadcast, many program teams came to me. But I'm still too busy."
"Take your time and don't overwork yourself."
"I know."
As he was speaking, Ran Yuwei's cough was heard outside the house.
They both fell silent for a second.
Li Zan asked, "Why is your mother still coughing?"
Song Ran was also a little puzzled: "He was clearly fine before and didn't cough anymore."
"It keeps coming back. Let's find an expert to clarify."
"good."
After reluctantly finishing the call, Song Ran got up and went out: "Mom?"
"Hmm?" Ran Yuwei had just returned home, and her tired voice came from the bathroom. She was removing her makeup. She was too busy at work recently, and she worked overtime almost every day.
Song Ran leaned against the door and frowned: "Why are you coughing again? Aren't you all well now?"
"I got better last time." Ran Yu said nonchalantly, "But there was a summer rainstorm a few days ago, and I caught a cold. Order takeout and bring me some medicine."
"Let's go to the hospital tomorrow. Why do I feel like I get better as soon as I take the medicine, but I get sick again as soon as I stop?"
"It's not as complicated as you say. I've probably been too tired these past two years and my physical condition isn't very good. I catch a cold easily when the weather changes."
"You'd better go to the hospital tomorrow. I suspect you have bronchitis." Song Ran said.
"What a fuss. How could I not know that you have bronchitis?" Ran Yuwei rolled her eyes at her in the mirror, but perhaps because she had removed her makeup, her face looked a little haggard, and the roll of her eyes was not as sharp as usual.
Since moving to Imperial City to live with his mother, Song Ran found that Ran Yuwei's temper had softened a bit. Although she still had an aggressive personality in many small matters of life, for some reason, she felt more comfortable living here than living in Song Zhicheng's house.
Even if they disagreed, she would at least dare to argue with her, or even argue loudly.
The next morning, Song Ran got up early and planned to take Ran Yuwei to the hospital, but the room was empty, so she hurried to work.
Song Ran couldn't do anything with her, so he took out her empty medicine bottles from the drawer and bought her syrup and several common cold medicines.
A few days later, Song Ran went to the TV station to settle the accounts and received a lump sum of salary and bonus from the program team, tens of thousands of yuan, which was equivalent to her salary in Liangcheng for more than half a year.
Song Ran was so happy that she wanted to tell Li Zan the good news immediately. But as usual, she knew she couldn't contact him now. So she sent a message to Ran Yuwei, who replied with an "oh" and didn't seem to care.
Song Ran didn't care and went to meet the planner Luo Junfeng in the afternoon.
The two met in a coffee shop, and Song Ran told him the initial idea of "Eastern Country Floating World Chronicle".
She wanted to use a travel journal-like approach to tell the story along the timeline and city lines of her trip to the East, from the lives of ordinary people in the East before the war to the struggles and escapes after the war, from the characteristics and history of one city to the oblivion and silence of another city.
She mentioned several minor figures who left a deep impression on her, and each city had its own distinct characteristics in her eyes. Similarly, the doctors, journalists and soldiers who came from all over the world were also a unique landscape.
After listening to it, Luo Junfeng was very satisfied and said, "Just follow your idea. I'm looking forward to seeing the finished product."
He was going to go back and draft a contract, and he discussed the terms, remuneration, and publication volume with Song Ran. Luo Junfeng was very caring towards authors, and he was not stingy with the authors he admired, and the conditions he offered were also very favorable.
It was around four in the afternoon when I met Luo Junfeng and there was no traffic jam.
Song Ran took the bus home. In August, the imperial city's summer flowers had all fallen, and the trees were lush and green. It had rained heavily last week, and the sky was as blue as a gem.
The midsummer sun was bright and dazzling, illuminating the bus.
She sat alone in the last row of the bus, swinging her feet leisurely.
Soon they arrived at the gate of the community, she jumped off the bus and was about to walk to the side of the road when suddenly a motorcycle rushed over and knocked her to the ground.
Song Ran fell to the ground and her head hit the steps hard, and she almost fainted from the pain.
She sat up, covering her head, and everything in front of her eyes suddenly became blurry, as if she was looking through frosted glass covered with rain.
She blinked several times in shock, but it was no use.
She panicked and scrambled around on the ground. She grabbed her phone and immediately pressed the emergency contact button. The call went through. But then she remembered that it was Li Zan who had set it up. He couldn't answer.
The motorcycle had already gone far away.
She sat on the ground and fumbled around: "Help me..."
A kind-hearted person came to help and called Ran Yuwei.
Song Ran grabbed the phone and said in a panic: "Mom, I can't see."
…
The door of the ward was pushed open, and Ran Yuwei said, "Shanran, you're here."
"Aunt."
Song Ran sat on the hospital bed, clutching the quilt, feeling panic-stricken. The world before him was still blurry, without any clear signs.
Suddenly, the light and shadow in front of me flickered, and a gentle male voice came: "Ran Ran, I'm checking with you now, don't panic."
Song Ran listened to the voice for a while and said, "... Doctor He?"
He Shanran smiled: "Do you still remember me?"
She didn't say anything, she was dazed and her eyes were unfocused.
"Let me check you out. Don't hold back." He said slowly, bending down close to her face and turning on a beam of light in his hand.
Song Ran felt someone approaching in front of him, and the next second, light shone into his eyes.
She squinted her eyes and forced them open.
He Shanran finished the examination quickly and said, "It's a slight corneal flap displacement. First, apply some drops of medicine and observe for a day or two. If it doesn't recover, just do a small operation. It's not a big problem." He said, "Don't be afraid, Ranran."
Song Ran's heart slowly settled down and he nodded slowly.
Ran Yuwei said: "Shanran, thank you."
"It's okay, Auntie. I should do it." He explained, "It's not a big deal. Tell Ranran not to worry too much and have a good rest."
"OK."
After He Shanran left, only Song Ran and Ran Yuwei were left in the ward.
This is the intensive care unit that Ran Yuwei opened with her connections. It is spacious and clean.
Song Ran slowly lay down, curled up in the quilt, opened his eyes for a while, and then slowly closed them.
Ran Yuwei touched her head and said, "Don't worry, He Shanran is a very good doctor. If he says it's okay, then there must be no problem."
"I know." Song Ran was silent for a while, then said, "I'm already at the hospital, you should go get checked too."
…
Li Zan finished a short operation and returned to the camp at nine o'clock in the evening. Tomorrow afternoon, he will carry out a new mission lasting fifteen days. He lost contact again.
He went to the communications department to call Song Ran and waited for a long time, but no one answered; he called again, but still no one answered.
He guessed she was taking a shower or something.
He planned to take a shower and come back to try again. Just as he entered the dormitory, his comrade said, "The battalion commander is looking for you. He said someone is here to see you."
Li Zan guessed that it should be someone from his own army.
Walking across the playground into the conference room, it was indeed Instructor Chen Feng and Luo Zhan.
When Li Zan saw Luo Zhan, his heart sank slightly, knowing that it must be a big deal.
The night at the border was humid and hot, and there were only simple incandescent lights in the conference room. The two men had serious expressions, but when they saw Li Zan, they smiled at the same time and asked him to sit down.
"What's wrong?" Li Zan was a little wary. After sitting down, he took the initiative to say, "There is nothing wrong with my performance in the past few months."
"No problem, no problem." Chen Feng said with a smile, "I heard from the instructor here that you performed very well. I also asked the military doctor and looked at your performance records. They are all good."
Luo Zhanwei sighed and said, "It's been more than ten months. You are finally coming out of it."
Li Zan smiled faintly and said nothing, guessing the purpose of their visit.
"However, you have been in isolation for the past few months and may not be familiar with the external situation."
"how?"
"The extremist organizations in the East have become more rampant, and the large-scale massacres they cause are becoming more frequent."
Li Zan raised his eyes and his expression changed.
The dim incandescent light cast a shadow on his eyelashes, and his pupils were like unfathomable wells.
Luo Zhan said: "The East country government has secretly sent out rescue orders to many countries. They asked each country to send elite special forces to support and curb extremist organizations, and promised to return a large amount of international benefits after the regime is stabilized. However, these countries do not directly fight with extremist organizations. At most, they can only send a few elite special forces to join the non-governmental Cook anti-terrorist armed forces. After all, for the East country, which is now seriously short of troops, a top special forces soldier is equivalent to an entire team."
Li Zan said without stopping, "I'll join in."
"Listen to what he has to say first!" Chen Feng said anxiously, "This is not peacekeeping, repairing roads and protecting civilians, or just standing by and watching! This is direct combat, facing the terrorist organization head-on!"
Li Zan looked at him and said with certainty: "Then this is my purpose."
Chen Feng: "You..."
Luo Zhan looked at him quietly for a while and said, "A-Zan, please listen to me first."
Summer mosquitoes were flying around under the incandescent light bulbs, and Li Zan was looking directly at the political commissar of the military region across the table.
"Our country does not openly engage in war with any country, region, or organization. We do not provoke war or make enemies. Therefore, the special forces soldiers who go out will not receive any support from the country. From now on, your behavior will have nothing to do with this country. Your file will be sealed and kept in a top-secret file. You are going abroad to treat your injuries. Where you go and what you do afterwards are all your personal behavior. Six months. If you come back alive, it's good. I can send you directly to the Imperial City Falcon Commando without waiting another two years. But this is not considered an achievement. It's all up to you in the future."
"And if you die..." Luo Zhan said, "you will have betrayed the organization and fled your post to become a mercenary."
"If you have performed meritorious service and saved people, there will be no honor or record; if you are captured, no one will save you, and you may even be better off committing suicide; if you die, there will be no sacrifice treatment, and your body will not be covered with the national flag."
"The only thing you can gain is fighting against terrorist organizations and rescuing civilians, but this itself will not bring you any glory. Think about it carefully and give me an answer when you have made up your mind."
Luo Zhan stood up and walked out.
On a tropical summer night, insects in the forest chirped tirelessly. The air was as hot and humid as if soaked in hot syrup. As Luo Zhan walked to the door, he heard Li Zan's clear words:
"I'm in."