After leaving Galuo City, she drove west. The sky was blue over the sandy land, and in the distance, olive groves stretched to the horizon. She sped off toward the long border between Dongguo and Ai Country, leaving a trail of dust behind her.

...

At nine in the morning, Song Ran noted the time. Li Zan should be waiting for her at the base entrance right now, and then he would find out she had left. She wondered what his reaction would be. At this thought, a trace of regret and a touch of bitterness welled up in her heart.

She had already driven over a hundred kilometers and was still one or two hundred kilometers from the western border.

Song Ran was wearing a helmet and a bulletproof vest. To save fuel, she didn't turn on the air conditioning and was already drenched in sweat.

After another half hour, she arrived at a nameless town on the map. The moment she entered, a sense of unease washed over her.

At half-past nine in the morning, the streets were empty. The buildings were low, flat, and dilapidated, and the houses were a dusty gray, as if it had rained earth for days and nights.

Song Ran slowed down. The wheels rolled over all sorts of debris—concrete blocks, broken glass, wood chips, bullet casings—making a series of cracking sounds.

The eerie silence prompted her to take out her phone. No service.

Suddenly, with a loud "BOOM," Song Ran flinched, ducking her head.

A shell landed a few blocks away, and the paint on the outer walls of the roadside houses peeled and fell. Concrete blocks clanged as they hit the car's roof.

This was likely a battleground between two armies. Song Ran gritted her teeth and slammed on the accelerator, the car speeding through the streets. Gunfire and cannonades raged outside the block. Song Ran just focused on driving fast, rushing all the way out of town.

The clamor gradually subsided. Just as she was about to leave, a checkpoint suddenly appeared ahead. Song Ran was startled, but upon closer inspection, she saw it was the Government Army.

She slowed down and stopped at the checkpoint. A soldier with a gun slung over his shoulder came forward, bent down to look, and motioned for Song Ran to get out. The others began a thorough inspection of the vehicle.

The soldier, with a serious expression, led her to the side and asked in English with a thick accent:

"FROM?"

"China."

"DESTINATION?"

"Hapo."

"OCCUPATION?"

"Correspondent."

After checking her documents, the soldier wanted to inspect her camera. Song Ran turned it on for him.

The soldier muttered to himself as he looked, "You reporters always like to run to dangerous places. Don't you know what safety is?"

Song Ran asked, "But where is it safe now, sir?"

The soldier paused and looked up at her from the camera screen.

"We've received reliable intelligence that the Rebel Army and a terrorist organization plan to attack the roads leading to Hapo from all directions tonight. You need to speed up. But," he glanced at his watch, "it's still early. You can make it to Hapo before dark. Don't go out at night."

"Thank you, I'll remember that."

It seemed there would be a big battle tonight.

If the transport lines were cut, several cities in the west would be besieged.

Song Ran asked, "Will the transport lines be cut?"

"Of course not." The soldier's face was grim. "Our army can hold them."

"I think so too, sir."

The soldier returned her documents and said, "Good luck." As he was about to give back her camera, he suddenly burst out laughing and called his comrades over to look.

It was a photo Song Ran had taken on the streets of Galuo: an old man sitting amidst the rubble of an explosion, playing an instrument, while a young girl passing by twirled and danced.

"This is a great photo."

As he waved her through, the soldier actually smiled at her and asked, "Isn’t this country great?"

"Yes," Song Ran said.

...

Continuing west, Song Ran could clearly feel the situation worsening. Along the way, she hardly saw another living person. The villages and towns she passed were all ruins, covered in the scars of war.

Around noon, she passed through a deserted town, even more desolate than all the previous ones.

The journey was silent, with disaster lurking.

At a certain moment, the silence was abruptly shattered, and danger fell from the sky. This was a war zone; bullets didn't give a warning.

When a bullet pierced through the back seat, Song Ran didn't even realize something had flown through the car.

"Bang!" A hole was blasted in the utility pole outside the window, sending gray stone flying. Only then did Song Ran realize a bullet had flown between the two car windows.

She immediately ducked down and slammed on the accelerator. She knew this was bad; she had strayed into a direct combat zone.

The street was empty, and bullets flew fast, striking the ground and walls one after another.

'Since there's a fight, one side must be the good guys,' she thought. 'I'm a foreign civilian. The Government Army will definitely save me.'

While her mind was racing, her hands mechanically and precisely opened her camera lens cap, adjusted the settings, and started recording.

Gunshots rang out from all directions, and the car's hood took several hits. If she didn't declare her neutrality now, she was dead.

Song Ran shouted, "HELP!"

For a moment, the firing stopped. Both sides were assessing the situation.

A few seconds later, it erupted again. They attacked each other with full force, but this time they all avoided Song Ran's vehicle. Gunners popped out from building windows, alleys, and behind cover.

Both sides were coming to grab her! They wanted her alive!

In that instant, Song Ran saw clearly: there was no Government Army. It was the Rebel Army and a terrorist organization! They were both trying to take a hostage!

It was over.

She rolled out of the car and dashed toward an empty alley on the side of the road. Two rebels jumped down from a second-floor window. One raised his gun, aimed, and ordered her to surrender.

With a "bang," Song Ran screamed and covered her head, but the rebel collapsed in front of her, blood gushing from his temple. The other one immediately ducked and lunged toward her.

"Bang!" The second rebel was killed, his blood splattering all over Song Ran's face.

Song Ran was terrified, not knowing where those two shots had come from.

Then, from the opposite street, a group of men with high-bridged noses and deep-set eyes appeared. One of them rushed over, leaped onto Song Ran's car, ran across the roof, and jumped down toward her. His strong figure blotted out the blinding white light in the sky.

Song Ran clearly saw the emblem on his clothes: a terrorist organization!

She grabbed her camera, scrambled to her feet, and ran. The moment she turned, she saw a pair of bloodthirsty eyes in the man's twisted face.

She ran into the alley like a madwoman, her hair disheveled, her body covered in dust, blood, and sweat.

Behind her, the terrorist's voice was deep and vicious. It grew from a low tone to a roar as he arrogantly shouted a string of foreign words. Before he finished, a chorus of sinister responses came from the buildings, cover, street corners, and shops all around.

Song Ran was like a deer that had stumbled into a hunting ground, with wolves swarming in from all directions.

She ducked into a small alley and ran frantically. The people behind her laughed loudly, shouting in the local language and firing their guns into the air. Leaves, branches, and gravel rained down.

She ran for her life, continuously ducking into winding alleys. Suddenly, a hand reached out, pulled her over, and clamped her into an embrace. Song Ran screamed, flailing her fists at the man's jaw, struggling desperately to push him away. She stepped into a pothole, her ankle twisted, and she fell to the ground, scrambling backward with her hands and feet.

The man quickly closed in on her, his figure momentarily blocking out a patch of slanting sunlight.

A pair of black military boots entered Song Ran's line of sight. The gray-green pant legs were tucked tightly into the boots.

But she had no time to look closely. She scrambled and rolled over to run. The man took a large step forward, scooped her up into his arms, and clamped a hand firmly over her mouth.

Song Ran whimpered in terror, kicking and struggling desperately.

He lifted her helmet and barked in a low voice, "Don't move!"

Song Ran was startled and raised her eyes.

His black eyes gleamed. He ripped the mask off his face and said in an extremely low voice, "It's me."

Author's note:

1. Why go to dangerous places? The situation in a war changes in an instant; one second is different from the next. It might not be dangerous when you set out, but that's not guaranteed by the time you arrive.

2. Why is "one" reporter running around outside? It sounds absurd. But many war correspondents work alone due to staff shortages. There are real cases of a single reporter, a female reporter at that, entering a combat zone. In extreme situations, having one or two male colleagues in the car isn't very useful; the only difference is the body count. When facing an army, even a car full of colleagues can only sigh in despair.

There are many things we don't encounter or understand in our daily lives. If we assume something is impossible just because we don't understand it, it might be unfair to those who have truly gone through these experiences.

3. A reader asked if getting caught would cause trouble and require a special rescue mission. In reality, rescues are very, very rare. Direct ransom payments are also uncommon. Sometimes there are negotiations and exchanges, but more often than not... they are just left to their fate...