"What did you say?" Luo Zhan stood on the steps of the hospital's back door, utterly astonished by what Li Zan had just said.

Li Zan closed the hospital's back door and looked at him. "I said, I want to join the Special Joint Force."

The Special Joint Force was a special operations unit established by the Peacekeeping Command Headquarters, authorized by the Dongguo government in response to the war situation. On the battlefield, it possessed the same frontline combat rights as Dongguo's own national troops.

Luo Zhan emphasized, "That's a real war."

Li Zan smiled slightly. "I wasn't planning on going there to play, either."

Luo Zhan's expression turned slightly stern. He glared at him and said, "This requires your instructor's approval! You're a bomb disposal expert specially trained by the Jiang City Military Region. If anything happens to you, the higher-ups will come to me for you, and who will I turn to?"

Li Zan's smile faded. "Isn't the point of training me for actual combat? What's the use of hiding in the rear all day?"

Luo Zhan's brows furrowed tightly. He took out a cigarette, thought for a moment, and said, "I don't have the final say on this. We'll discuss it within the unit, and you'll be notified of the result."

"Alright." Li Zan turned and left.

"Li Zan." Luo Zhan called out to him. "Chen Feng's intention was for you to come here to enrich your resume, earn some merits, and get a promotion when you go back."

"If one can remain indifferent in the face of a massacre, one can't even be considered a person, let alone a soldier."

...

When Song Ran returned to the explosion site, the cordon had been removed. The street had been tidied up, but the black stains left by large pools of blood were still visible.

After she finished filming a few clips and was about to leave, she saw a dirty little boy sitting by the roadside, hugging himself. With his lips pursed, he stubbornly stared at the explosion site, wiping away tears as he watched.

Song Ran took out an apple she hadn't been able to bring herself to eat and handed it to him. His dark, shining eyes looked at her, then at the apple. He took it without a word, his small hand clutching it tightly.

Song Ran wanted to pat him, but she didn't. She turned and walked away.

That night, Song Ran was organizing her photos in the hotel. One of them had a huge impact on her—a soldier lifting a dead child from a field of rubble and bodies. She didn't edit the photo at all and posted it directly to Twitter with the caption CARRY.

Just as she posted it, a message came in. It was a reporter from the British XX Agency, asking if they could republish it. Song Ran replied with her consent. Then another new message came in, and people kept requesting permission to republish, so she simply made the authorization public.

Just then, there was a knock on the door. It was Sasin.

Song Ran hadn't seen him all day and was very worried. "Are you okay today?"

"At least I'm still alive." Sasin shrugged, his smile helpless and bitter.

"I'm very sorry about the explosion."

"Don't be. This country has already endured enough disasters like this. It's just that I originally thought Galuo was at least safe, but it seems that's not the case anymore."

Song Ran didn't know how to comfort him.

"Song, I've come to say goodbye."

Song Ran was surprised. "Where are you going?"

"To a place closer to the war," the young man, who had just turned twenty, said. "I'm no longer willing to stay in the rear. I'm going to Hapo."

Hapo was on the border, a place where the government, anti-government, and extremist forces were all fighting.

The road ahead was perilous, and Song Ran felt an infinite sadness in her heart. "Sasin, please, you must stay safe."

"May you be safe too, Song. I will pray for you."

Song Ran didn't sleep well that night.

The cruelty of humanity, the insignificance of life—all of it made her feel powerless. Being in Dongguo, she felt like she'd been cast onto a deserted island, stranded in a barren wilderness, far from civilization. Yet she couldn't even pick up a pen to write down the emotions filling her heart.

She tossed and turned until late at night before finally falling asleep. The next morning, she was awakened by a call from Liu Yufei and learned that something major had happened.

Liu Yufei said the photo CARRY had spread all over the globe and told her to immediately prepare for a live connection with the home station for a news interview. Before hanging up, he said, "Song Ran, do a good job. The station is going to promote you."

Song Ran was baffled, not understanding what was going on. After washing up, she set up her equipment and connected to the live broadcast studio. The connection was long this time, nearly five minutes. Although Song Ran had her doubts, she calmly answered the host's questions.

After the connection ended, she took a moment to go online and only then discovered that the photo had gone viral—

The photo was on the front pages of newspapers in various European and American countries, all using the title she had given it, CARRY. The likes and shares on her original post had reached several million, and the comment section was flooded with messages in different languages.

The work group chat back home was also being flooded with messages like a tidal wave.

Xiao Qiu: "Do you know what the British XX Newspaper said about it? They said it's a photo that will change history."

Song Ran: "It's not that exaggerated... The XX Newspaper always writes news in that tone."

Xiao Dong: "But that photo is really so good, my eyes welled up when I saw it! I feel like crying!"

Xiao Chun: "The international media's interest in the Dongguo war had died down recently, but now it's heating up again, and you've made a huge contribution!"

Song Ran didn't realize what a big deal this was and was about to put down her phone to get to work.

Just then, Shen Bei messaged her privately, asking about the interview on the peacekeepers' mine-clearing.

That episode hadn't aired yet, but Shen Bei had seen the edited version in advance. Song Ran's footage was excellent—clearing mines, running up hillsides, carrying wheat, being lectured—it was both tense and relaxing. The leadership praised it, saying it showed the most authentic side of the peacekeepers' life and work.

Shen Bei asked, "Is your work over there going smoothly?"

"Quite smoothly."

"Is the follow-up filming hard?"

"It's alright. Just that the weather is very hot." Song Ran typed while trying to figure out her intentions.

"Are they easy to get along with?"

"They're all pretty nice."

Song Ran waited for a bit, but Shen Bei didn't continue.

She felt an inexplicable unease. Her filming of Li Zan was just work; surely Shen Bei wouldn't be that sensitive.

She felt a little guilty, but on second thought, she hadn't done anything wrong and had a clear conscience.

For the next three days, Song Ran didn't go to the military base even once.

It wasn't until the fourth day that the hotel receptionist relayed a message that Luo Zhan had something to discuss with her and asked her to make a trip over.

Several days had passed since the explosion. The injured soldiers had long since been discharged from the hospital and returned to their unit. The haze that had enveloped the city was also gradually dissipating.

It was dusk. The setting sun slanted down, pricking the skin like tiny needles.

'When will this blasted place ever cool down a bit,' Song Ran thought, when she suddenly heard a commotion up ahead. It turned out to be a few soldiers fooling around in the vegetable patch.

Li Zan was there too, in a military green T-shirt and camouflage pants, chasing a chicken with several comrades.

"Holy crap! It got away again!"

"Block it! Where are you blocking?"

These young men, who normally handled guns and defused mines with ease, were now helpless against a large hen. Everyone chased and tried to corner it, but the hen was very agile, one moment diving under cucumber vines, the next leaping onto the loofah trellis. It flew and ran, its wings flapping wildly, sending feathers flying everywhere.

Song Ran couldn't help but smile, turning on her camera to film this lighthearted moment.

As she was filming, the hen made a break for it, rushing towards the camera. Song Ran protected her lens and backed away. Just as the chicken was about to crash into her head, Li Zan saw his chance and grabbed its wings.

The hen struggled desperately, flapping a pile of feathers onto Song Ran's head.

Li Zan gripped both of the chicken's wings, and this time it completely gave up struggling, obediently lowering its head.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine." Song Ran glanced up at him briefly, then lowered her head to pick the chicken feathers out of her hair.

Li Zan raised his hand to help her; she caught the movement out of the corner of her eye and pretended not to notice, turning her head away.

Just then, Luo Zhan, standing at the office doorway, asked with a laugh, "Reporter Song, did you get any good footage?"

"Just chasing chickens." She took the opportunity to move away from Li Zan.

Li Zan handed the chicken to a comrade, his gaze following Song Ran for a moment.

Luo Zhan said, "The mine-clearing episode hasn't aired yet, has it?"

"Not yet. It's scheduled for Saturday."

"Alright. Help promote these young lads a bit more," he joked. "And find them some marriage partners while you're at it."

Song Ran played along, asking for a reward. "If I help, what benefits can the unit give me?"

Luo Zhan thought for a moment and said, "How about this. If you take a liking to anyone in this camp, no matter who it is, as long as he's not married, you just say the word, and the organization will arrange it for you!"

"Whoa!" A group of young soldiers hooted loudly.

Song Ran's face instantly turned bright red.

Li Zan sat on the edge of a vegetable bed, casting a quiet glance at Song Ran. Her face was as red as a little tomato.

Luo Zhan laughed. "Why are you blushing? Don't tell me you've really taken a fancy to someone? Go on, tell me, I'll back you up."

Song Ran frowned. "Political Commissar, don't you have anything serious to talk about? If not, I'm leaving!"

"Alright, alright, I'll stop teasing you. Come into the office."

Luo Zhan turned and went inside, but a group of soldiers who were familiar with Song Ran wouldn't let it go, sitting on the ground whistling and jeering. Song Ran turned back to glare at them, picked up a clod of dirt, and threw it at Soldier A.

"Crap!" Soldier A was quick-eyed and nimble-handed. He raised a hand to block it, and the clod of dirt shattered, the largest piece hitting Li Zan, who was beside him, on the head.

"..." Li Zan looked completely innocent and widened his eyes slightly at Song Ran.

Song Ran: "..."

Without a word, she turned her head and went into the office.

Li Zan lowered his head and slowly picked the dirt from his hair. As he dusted it off, the corners of his lips curved up.

Nearby, his comrades were having a blast, whispering among themselves.