Song Ran hugged her camera and walked towards the sandbag pile in the center of the street. A car was parked next to the barrier; the safety seat strapped to the child had been removed from that car.

As she got closer, she saw clearly. It was Li Zan.

He was wearing a thick protective suit and had probably been in it for some time. His forehead and face were covered in sweat.

Perhaps to avoid stressing the child, he had pulled his face mask down, letting it hang on his chin.

At that moment, he was squatting on the ground, dismantling the safety seat and the bomb strapped to the child. His expression seemed very calm and casual. When he cut a wire, he even made a "tsk" sound with his tongue and winked at the child with a smile.

The child, who had been pouting with teardrops on his face just a second ago, was instantly coaxed into smiling through his tears.

Song Ran didn't disturb him. When she saw her own shadow approach the sandbags, she quickly moved away.

She was a layperson, but she could tell that this situation was actually very tricky.

The back of the child's seat was covered in bombs, and his front was entangled with a dense mess of colorful plastic wires, tangled up with the seat's straps and safety buckle, like a chaotic jumble.

Li Zan had already sorted through a part of this mess and cut some of the wires.

On the back of the seat, a red countdown timer showed the time they had left: ten minutes.

Li Zan knew the situation was critical and didn't even have time to look at the timer behind him. He asked the couple, "How much time is left?"

"Nine minutes and thirty seconds. Sir," the husband said.

Li Zan pressed his lips together slightly and didn't speak, his expression revealing no emotion. Seeing the child staring at him without blinking, he smiled gently at the boy again and said, "It’s OK."

After he spoke, he looked down at the wires in his hands, his gaze grave as he assessed them carefully. There wasn't enough time; disarming the bomb was impossible. The wires he was cutting were all concentrated on the left side of the child's body. As long as he could create a large enough opening, he could pull the child out. Gradually, fewer and fewer wires remained around the child's left leg and waist, indicating that the danger level was also getting higher and higher.

Before making each cut, he confirmed repeatedly for a long time.

His gradually slowing movements made the child's parents, who were lying outside the sandbag wall, increasingly nervous. Both of them held their breath in concentration.

Just then, Li Zan suddenly said to the couple, "Please leave."

The child's mother immediately choked up, "Is the situation very serious, sir?"

Li Zan didn't answer, only saying, "Rest assured, I will not leave him. Please leave."

The young wife wanted to say more, but her husband pulled her back and shook his head, signaling her not to disturb him and waste time.

The woman wiped her tears, pleading, "Sir, my child, please, you must save him."

Li Zan, still sorting through the wires without looking up, said, "Ma'am, as long as I'm alive, he'll be alive."

The couple retreated to the outer circle, comforting the child as they backed away, telling him to be strong.

Seeing this, the child also knew the situation was dangerous. His mouth quivered, and tears rolled down from his big eyes. He started to cry again.

A tear dropped onto the safety belt. Li Zan looked up at him and smiled. "Little guy, do me a favor, okay?"

The child was curious. He stopped crying and asked in a soft, sweet voice, "What can I do for you, sir?"

"Trust me," Li Zan said. "Can you do that?"

"Okay, sir. I trust you." The child stopped crying, wiped his tears with his small hands, and mumbled, "I can do that."

Li Zan lowered his head and continued to analyze the wires in his hands.

His concentration was extremely focused from beginning to end. He neither saw nor noticed that Song Ran had been beside him the whole time. They were separated only by a blast wall made of stacked sandbags.

The time on the timer ticked away second by second. Li Zan finally freed the child's left leg and waist, leaving only his chest.

He shook the disconnected wire at the child, and the little boy immediately broke into a grin.

Suddenly, a bullet pierced a sandbag on the top layer of the barrier, sending yellow sand flying.

Li Zan instantly hugged the child and moved him horizontally away from the direction of the bullet, taking cover in a blind spot behind the sandbag wall.

Song Ran also dropped to the ground in an instant, hiding behind the barrier and raising her camera.

The child's mother by the roadside burst into tears and was dragged into a nearby house by a soldier.

All the Peacekeepers on the street immediately found the nearest cover and hid, firing several shots in the direction of the bullet to counter the enemy. On the tall buildings, snipers urgently searched for the origin point of the shot.

After a few shots, it became quiet.

Song Ran slowly peeked her head out. At the end of the straight street was a T-junction. Directly facing the junction was a six-story building full of windows, and it was impossible to tell which window the bullet came from.

Everyone waited for the next shot to expose the position. The street was deathly silent.

Suddenly, Benjamin shouted towards the front, "Get away from the car!"

The next second, a bullet hit a car that was rigged with a bomb but had not yet been disarmed. The car instantly exploded, its burning frame leaping half a meter into the air before crashing back down to the ground.

The British Peacekeeper hiding behind the car reacted quickly. At the moment of the explosion, he threw himself several meters away, rolled across the middle of the street, and took cover on Song Ran's side.

Song Ran buried her head and clutched it. Shrapnel and dust rained down on her helmet.

The enemy's bullets kept coming. Another car rigged with a bomb was detonated with a deafening blast. The operations team didn't back down; heavy machine gunners unleashed a barrage on the building, shattering all the glass windows upstairs and sending gravel flying from the walls. The soldiers quickly began to return fire for cover, moving step by step towards the building.

Song Ran's face was covered in sand and dust. She squinted, protecting her camera, and glanced at her watch. Only three minutes left.

Just then, from behind the sandbag wall, she suddenly heard Li Zan say something to the child. A few seconds later, the child began to sing softly. It was a Dongguo folk song that Song Ran had heard many children sing before. The fresh melody carried a hint of sadness.

The sounds of gunfire and explosions filled the air, but the child's singing was clear and melodious.

Time ticked by. Li Zan shouted in English, "Is anyone there? Check the time for me!"

Song Ran, lying on the ground clutching her helmet, looked at her watch and shouted back in Chinese, "Two minutes and eight seconds!"

There was no response from inside.

Only the child's innocent singing could be heard, softly floating amidst the flying shells.

Song Ran lay on the ground, trying to crawl outwards to film the battle while keeping an eye on her watch.

She was already drenched in sweat. She shouted again, "One minute and three seconds!"

Still no response from inside.

Song Ran was getting scared. She stared at her camera screen, trying to distract herself. But suddenly, a force from behind—the British Peacekeeper who had rolled over earlier—pulled her up and shielded her as he ran towards the side of the road.

Song Ran glanced back hurriedly and saw Li Zan inside the barrier, head down, his gaze intensely focused, racing against time to deal with the wires on the child's chest. His side profile was exceptionally calm and quiet; only the large beads of sweat on his nose and upper lip betrayed his tension and urgency.

Song Ran's eyes grew moist. She opened her mouth, wanting to call out "Ah Zan", but she didn't. Li Zan's side profile vanished from her sight. She was dragged to the side of the road by the soldier and hidden behind a car that had already been cleared of explosives.

The soldier also realized the danger. He stared at his watch, wanting to shout but not daring to. Seeing only a dozen or so seconds left, he finally roared, "Li!"

Still no response.

"Give up! It’s OK! It’s not your fault!"

Song Ran looked at her watch: 13, 12... 11, 10...

"9 seconds!" she shouted!

Li Zan still hadn't come out, and the child's song had long since finished.

It was quiet inside the barrier, while a hail of bullets rained down outside.

Song Ran's heart felt as if it were being tightly squeezed by a hand, making it almost impossible to breathe. She unconsciously bit her finger hard, watching the second hand tick by: 5...

4...

3...

She was about to go crazy.

2...

1—

"Ah Zan!"

Before the sound of her cry faded, Li Zan, holding the child with one arm and pushing off the sandbag wall with the other, leaped sideways, tumbling out from over the barrier and landing at the base of the outer wall. In that split second, with a loud bang, the bomb exploded. The surrounding sandbag walls were all blown apart, and the yellow sand billowed up in a sky-high wave, like a torpedo hitting the water.

Song Ran covered her ears tightly, pressed her lips together, and squeezed her eyes shut, her face contorting. She brushed the yellow sand from her face and eyes and looked intently—the sandbag wall had completely burst. Li Zan was buried under the yellow sand, not moving at all. He remained in a curled position, shielding the child in his arms.

"Officer Li!" Song Ran rushed over and quickly brushed the sand and dirt off his head.

He slowly recovered, propping himself up with one hand while still holding the child with the other, his palm protecting the back of the child's head. The little boy had his arms wrapped tightly around Li Zan's neck, completely unharmed.

"Are you okay?" Song Ran hurriedly used her sleeve to wipe the yellow sand from his eyebrows, eyes, mouth, and nose. He frowned and turned his head away, wiping his face himself before he could barely open his eyes.

"Take him back," Li Zan said.

Song Ran reached for him, but the little boy clung tightly to Li Zan's neck, refusing to let go or let anyone else hold him.

So Song Ran asked, "Can you stand up?"

He held his breath and nodded, but his expression was a little pained.

The British soldier helped him up. Song Ran walked alongside, supporting the little boy's bottom, as they made their way to the roadside.

Only when the child's parents came over did the boy finally let go of Li Zan and leap into his mother's arms. The parents hugged and kissed the child, crying and thanking Li Zan profusely. He just waved his hand and smiled.

After the family left, Li Zan sat down on the porch of a house to rest. When Song Ran crept over, she saw that his face was full of exhaustion as he leaned his head back against the wall, resting with his eyes closed.

Hearing her movements, he opened his eyes and asked, "Has it stopped?"

Song Ran peeked into the distance. "Not yet. But it should be soon. The snipers took out three strongholds just now."

A faint smile touched his lips, and he closed his eyes again. He was truly exhausted. There was still some yellow sand on his face and in his hair, not to mention his neck and clothes.

Song Ran was a little worried. "Are you injured?"

"No." Li Zan forced his eyes open, lowered his head to rub them, and smiled. "I haven't slept since yesterday, so I'm a bit tired."

Song Ran fell silent.

It wasn't just lack of sleep; it was continuous, high-intensity work that drained both mental and physical energy under high temperatures.

She took a bottle of water from her bag and gave it to him. "Here."

"Thanks." He took it, twisted it open, and tilted his head back, downing the entire bottle in a few gulps.