The day Song Ran met Li Zan was a very ordinary day.

On June 3rd, Ale City, located in the north-central part of Dongguo, looked the same as any other day. At eight in the morning, Song Ran pushed open the hotel window. Downstairs, a north-south street led straight to a small school at the end. The shops on both sides of the road were low and flat, and narrow, tightly packed residential buildings of varying heights were hidden behind trees.

Looking out, the street was dusty, with scraps of paper and fallen leaves left unswept. But the sky was blue, and the sunlight was brilliant.

In the restaurant downstairs, a young mother wearing a headscarf and a black robe sat at a table with her young son, eating breakfast; the shop owner stood behind the stall, slicing roasted meat with one hand and flipping flatbread with the other. The aroma of roasted meat, boiled beans, and flatbread drifted down the street. In the repair shop across the street, several middle-aged men had pushed their motorcycles over early, crowding the entrance and chattering animatedly with the mechanic, speaking the Dongguo language that Song Ran couldn't understand. A horn blared in the distance, a bus stopped by the roadside, and a group of primary school students in uniforms poured out, chirping and running towards the school. The bus driver rolled down his window and exchanged a few words with the patrolling police officer on the side of the road.

Everything looked the same as every day before, but it was also a little different.

The local restaurants were still open, but KFC had long since closed; the dental clinic was open, but the mobile phone shop had been shut for over a week. A poster for a new model from a certain Chinese mobile phone brand was pasted on the door, tattered and torn, its scraps trembling in the morning breeze. A stray dog was curled up in a pile of old newspapers in the corner. The glass window of the clothing store next door was also covered in a layer of dust. Through it, two mannequins could be vaguely seen, one in a black robe and headscarf covering its face, the other in a white shirt and a floral skirt.

The morning breeze swept past fallen leaves and scraps of paper, but couldn't stir the still hem of the skirt in the display window.

Song Ran sighed for no reason, a faint melancholy in her heart like that dust-covered glass. This was her last day in this country. Her overseas assignment was ending today, and she was about to return home. The drive from Ale City to the capital, Gamma, was four hours, and her flight home was at eleven at night.

She leaned against the window, scrolling through the internet on her phone. It was afternoon back home, and netizens were discussing topics like celebrity affairs and the most beautiful tofu seller.

At 8:30 AM local time, it was about time to pack.

She had just folded her tripod when the floor beneath her feet suddenly began to shake as if there was an earthquake. But this wasn't an earthquake! She grabbed her camera, flicked the switch, and rushed to the window. A thunderous explosion echoed from the horizon.

But the world outside the window was as usual. People on the street looked up one after another, like a flock of bewildered geese. Soon, there was another loud bang, followed by more in succession—it was artillery fire.

War had broken out.

The street erupted into chaos in an instant. People shouted loudly, scattering in all directions.

Song Ran slung her camera, tripod, and communication equipment over her back and rushed to the rooftop. Looking out at the wasteland beyond the city, she couldn't see any troops. But the roar of artillery was constant. It was coming from Haru City, several tens of kilometers northeast of Ale City. A male colleague of hers was stationed there.

The phone signal was gone. The first step in the war was to destroy the communication base stations.

Song Ran set up her equipment and turned on the satellite phone. As soon as the call connected, her contact back home said: "The Government Army and the Anti-government Armed Forces have started fighting outside Haru City. What's the situation on your end?"

Song Ran adjusted the camera angle and steadied her breath. "I'm currently on the rooftop of a hotel in the northeastern suburbs of Ale City, a major town in central Dongguo. I can hear clear artillery fire from the direction of Haru City. The building beneath my feet is still shaking, and the camera footage is unstable. Here in the Ale region, just a minute ago there were cars and pedestrians downstairs, but now the streets are empty. Across from me, where I'm pointing, is a primary school. You can see..." she zoomed in on the shot, "the teachers are evacuating the students from the school building to the playground. The number of students enrolled here has dropped sharply from over 300 a few months ago to just over 100 now. Many families had already moved south, near the capital, Gamma..."

After she finished her report, the sound of artillery on the other end died down. It was unclear if the fighting had stopped or had shifted to gunfire.

Song Ran waited on the rooftop for ten minutes but saw no new developments.

The sky was as blue as a water-washed sapphire, the sunlight even more brilliant. The world was eerily as if nothing had happened.

The notice from her superiors was for Song Ran to return home as scheduled. But with the sudden outbreak of war, transportation routes would likely be completely blockaded. Getting back would not be easy.

She had returned her rental car last night. And the driver who was supposed to take her to Gamma today had to take his family of six south, breaking the arrangement. In such a special situation, she couldn't blame him.

Around 9:30, Song Ran contacted an American reporter friend and learned they had a car and could take her with them. But they were in Surei City, over ten kilometers northwest of Ale, and were setting off south at 10:30 AM.

At this moment in Ale, the streets were packed with people fleeing in cars and on motorcycles, with boxes and bags tied on, bringing their families with them. The roads leading out of the city were completely gridlocked. The sounds of horns, curses, shouts, and crying children were endless. Song Ran ran through more than a dozen streets under the scorching sun, searching the entire city for a motorcycle, but at a time like this, any form of transportation was priceless.

On her way back, her eyes welled up with tears several times. It was impossible not to be afraid.

When she returned to the hotel, the driver who had broken the arrangement was waiting for her in the lobby. He had brought her a motorcycle.

At ten in the morning, Song Ran changed into a set of black clothes, put on a hat and a face mask, tied her equipment case and suitcase to the back seat, and rode the motorcycle alone, heading straight for Surei City to the northwest. It was a men's motorcycle, heavy and difficult to control. She used to fall often when she first arrived, but now she was adept at handling it.

The sky was vast and the land was wide along the way, with only a few fleeing vehicles heading south passing by occasionally.

She drove very fast, arriving at the outskirts of Surei City in about a quarter of an hour. The streets and houses were deserted, with trash blowing everywhere in the wind, like a ghost town in broad daylight.

Just after crossing a street, she heard faint gunshots in the distance. Song Ran's palms were soaked with sweat as she accelerated towards the other side of the city.

She weaved through the empty alleys and soon sped onto a wide, deserted main road. Just as she accelerated again, seven or eight figures in camouflage suddenly appeared from all directions—from alley corners, rooftops, behind cars—fully armed and holding steel rifles, they yelled at her:

“Back Up!”

“Stop!”

Song Ran slammed on the brakes. Due to inertia, the bike skidded forward rapidly, the tires screeching against the ground. In the middle of the road was a metal box. A wire protruded from the box, with a small metal plate attached to its end.

The motorcycle screeched to a halt. Song Ran put her left foot down, landing squarely on the metal plate. In an instant, the metal box lit up, and red numbers began to count down—

It was a bomb.

The surroundings were dead silent.

Song Ran's heart shriveled to a point.

With one foot on the metal plate and the other on the motorcycle's foot peg, she remained tilted and motionless, sweat rolling down her face and into her neck like beads.

Every second was stretched infinitely long by fear. But the group of people showed no sign of coming forward to help.

After a few seconds of dead silence, a voice shouted at her: “Stay Put!”

The words had barely faded when someone else shouted: "Ah Zan!"

Song Ran couldn't tell what language "Ah Zan" was. Then she saw a man in grayish-green camouflage leap out of a second-floor window of a building, using a drainpipe to quickly descend. He wore a helmet and a face mask. Standing by the roadside, he observed her from a distance for a moment—her all-black attire was very suspicious.

Song Ran's voice trembled like a twisted silk thread: “Help! Please!”

The man stood still for a second, then started walking towards her. Again, someone shouted to stop him: "Ah Zan!"

He turned and made a hand gesture to his companion.

The timer on the metal box was counting down rapidly—00:09:10

The man approached, holding his rifle. Above his face mask, his eyes were dark and bright, as alert as an eagle's. His steps were heavy and slow. When he was about ten meters away, he stared at her masked face for a moment, his eyes narrowing slightly as he asked, “Chinese?”

Song Ran almost burst into tears. She shouted, "Yes! I'm a reporter!"

At this, his companions revealed themselves from behind their cover.

He walked closer to look at the bomb, then at the metal plate under her foot, and said, "That was some precise footwork."

“...”

His tone was thirty percent teasing and seventy percent gentle. Song Ran didn't know how to answer him, but she did relax a little.

He knelt on one knee, removed the outer casing of the metal box, revealing the complicated wiring inside. Song Ran couldn't help but gasp. He heard it. Seeing that she was still holding her one-legged stance, he asked softly, "Can you hold on?"

Song Ran could only nod.

He didn't believe her. He stood up and said, "Get off the bike first."

Song Ran said in a low voice, “...I don't dare.”

“It's okay. I'll hold it.” He comforted her, steadying the motorcycle with his left hand. She immediately felt his strength. He grasped her arm with his right hand. Song Ran instinctively gripped him tightly; the muscles on the man's arm were firm.

He instructed, “Don't shift your center of gravity. Step down with your right foot.”

Using the strength of his arm, Song Ran successfully got off the motorcycle. In that short time, her feet had become sore and numb, and she was drenched in sweat under her clothes. One of his companions came over and wheeled the motorcycle away. Others pushed nearby abandoned cars into place to act as cover.

He said, "Keep your weight on your left foot. Don't move."

“Okay.” Song Ran glanced at the timer—

00:08:17

He squatted down again and began to sort through the wires.

It was almost noon, and the sun was scorching. In this desert region, the perceived temperature was close to 50 degrees Celsius. Beads of sweat flowed from Song Ran's eyebrows into her eyes, stinging them and making her flinch slightly. That small movement scared her out of her wits.

“Hold still,” he said with a faint smile. “If you move, I'll become a hero.”

Song Ran mumbled, “Okay.”

He knelt on one knee, his head lowered as he checked the wiring, occasionally snipping a few wires. Perhaps his easygoing demeanor had a calming effect, and Song Ran's mind settled a little. But time passed with excruciating slowness. After waiting for a long time, she couldn't resist looking at the remaining time.

Seeing the timer drop below 00:03:00, she started to panic again.

He continued to dismantle the bomb methodically. When the timer hit 00:02:00, he sighed softly and said helplessly, "There's not enough time."

Song Ran's heart leaped in shock.

Though he said that, his hands didn't stop moving.

His companion, realizing the gravity of the situation, shouted again: "Ah Zan!"

Tears welled up in Song Ran's eyes. Tears and sweat streamed into her face mask, soaking her cheeks. She sniffled very quietly.

This time he looked up. Above the mask, his clear, dark eyes curved into a smile at her as he comforted her, "Don't be afraid. I won't leave you behind."

Sunlight fell on his eyelashes, glinting and dancing. His voice was as clear as spring water.

Song Ran stopped crying and nodded numbly.

He lowered his head and continued his work.

But she could feel that the situation had become more severe.

“You should go,” she said softly. “You're a good person, I don't want to... drag you down with me to die.”

Without looking up, he asked, “How fast can you run?”

“Huh?”

“In five seconds, how far can you run?” His tone was remarkably casual as he frowned at the wiring, not looking up.

Song Ran didn't register what he said.

He said, "There's a minute and a half left. I only have 30 seconds to dismantle the gravity sensor so that it won't detonate immediately when you lift your foot. But the timer will speed up tenfold. The remaining minute will be shortened to about five seconds." He asked, "How far can you run?"

Five seconds?

Song Ran was stunned. "10 meters? 20 meters? I don't know..."

“Tsk.” He looked regretful and said, “That's not enough.”

“Maybe 30 meters!” she said. “I've never run for my life before.”

He said, “Want to try today?”

“...Okay.” She nodded.

00:01:10

“Ten seconds. Get ready,” he said, his eyes fixed on the wiring, his hands never stopping for a moment.

Song Ran took a deep breath.

7, 6,

He said in a low voice, “5, 4, 3...”

Overcoming one difficulty after another, he finally isolated the last wire.

Song Ran's entire body tensed.

“One.” He snipped the wire. The red counter accelerated wildly. He shot up, grabbed her hand, and sprinted.

The scorching air and dust whipped past her ears like a gale, but she couldn't see or hear anything, just being pulled along by him, running for her life.

The sound of the wind, the dust, the hot sweat, her heartbeat—she couldn't feel any of it. In that instant, it was as if time and space had ceased to exist, with only the summer sun burning her eyes like a glass mirror.

She didn't know how short five seconds could be, nor how long five seconds could last.

At the last moment, he pulled her into his arms to shield her and threw them both to the ground. The man's body covered her like a barrier. The next moment, amid a deafening explosion, sand, dirt, and debris rained down from the sky.

Author's note: (The countries, regions, and characters involved in this story are purely fictional.)