White Olive Tree

Chapter 37

"Leave this matter to Xiao Wang and the others." Lin Miao'an said, "I'll take a look at your reaction and physical fitness to see if I can bring you with me in the next actual battle. Even if you are in the rear, you have to be pregnant."
Li Zan didn't think much, changed equipment with other soldiers, and assembled.
The coach fired a gun to signal the start of the battle.  The moment Li Zan stepped into the training area, a strange sense of tension suddenly arose in his heart.  It had been almost eight months since he had held a gun again, even though the bullets in the gun he held in his hand were just blanks.  He didn't even know if his private training could still make him qualified for the role at this moment.  But this uneasy feeling was quickly replaced by another familiarity and longing buried deep in his bones.
He belongs to this place after all.
Li Zan quickly devoted himself to today's battle plan.  He lurked in the woods, analyzed the terrain, searched for traces, and cooperated well with his teammates. He soon found clues about the "drug dealer" hidden in the dense forest.
He climbed over mountains and ridges, waded through tidal flats, and advanced step by step, approaching the "drug dealers" lair little by little. He successfully discovered several hidden sentinels during the advance, took aim with his gun, and "killed" the following sentinels neatly.
In the temporary combat headquarters outside the training site, Chen Feng faced several monitors, paying special attention to the one that captured Li Zan's image.
He is still the best soldier he ever was.
Halfway through the march, some soldiers inevitably relaxed.  Li Zan actually carefully discovered the buried mines, and after bypassing them, he left signs near the mines to remind his companions.  At that time, three or four students had already "failed and sacrificed their lives" because they accidentally stepped on "landmines".
He was highly concentrated, and after two hours of advancing in the mountain forest, he and several other companions finally arrived at the drug dealer's lair - an abandoned mountain warehouse.
Several soldiers worked together to form two teams, one lurking close to the main entrance of the warehouse, and the other outflanking the back door. 
Li Zan sneaked to the front door, gestured to his teammates, and prepared to throw smoke and bombs in through the window. But at this time, his teammates at the back door accidentally kicked the iron sheet, alerting the "drug dealers" in the room.
Several "drug dealers" immediately drew their guns and went to catch the hostages at the same time.
Li Zan and his teammates looked at each other, kicked open the front door, and aimed and shot while covering and cooperating.  Bang bang hit, and the two "drug dealers" fell to the ground on the spot.  The drug dealers fired back, and Li Zan quickly dodged behind the wall to hide. He gestured to his teammates, who fired to cover. Li Zan went around the warehouse and used the cover of the container shelves to approach the hostages in the left corner.
Just as his teammates were about to go up to support them, they received an order from the instructor in their earphones: "There are hostages on the right, please spread out and rescue them."
Li Zan rushed to the "hostage" and paused suddenly.
The hostages were tied to a rack with bombs strapped to them.
Across the shelves, his companions were fighting fiercely with drug dealers.
Li Zan was confused for a moment and his throat was a little tight. He wanted to move the hostages outside, but when he squatted down and took a look, he saw that there was a mercury balancer on the bomb.  If you move rashly, it will trigger an explosion.
The "hostage" cried and said: "I can't leave, I dare not leave."
Li Zan didn't say anything, just stared at the bomb in silence, pulled out the saber from the side pocket of his trousers, and uncovered the shell of the bomb.  Red, yellow, blue and green lines were exposed.
He inadvertently licked his dry lips, trying his best to stabilize his mood. He arranged the wiring in a familiar way, looking for the first step to cut off the wire of the mercury balancer.
But...here it comes again.
A roaring and buzzing sound gradually came to my ears, like a sad death knell;
He gritted his teeth and tried to get rid of those voices.  He stared at the wire in his hand, beads of sweat on his forehead.  He didn't know what kind of power he used to control it, control it tightly, resist the wave of sound, and cut off a line.
The mercury balancer was cut off.
In front of the monitor, Chen Feng clenched his fists, stood up from the chair and hugged his head.
The bomb countdown is still flowing.
The roar in Li Zan's ears had reached a level that was shocking. He didn't hear a word of what the hostages were saying or what the teammates around him were shouting.
He closed his eyes forcefully and opened them again, trying his best to concentrate.  But his hands began to tremble, and the fast-flowing countdown made him more nervous, fearful, and even painful than ever before.
His head was covered with sweat and his eyes were blood red as he analyzed, identified, and looked for those clearly familiar lines.  But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't be sure anymore.  Severe tinnitus and excessive mental resistance even made his eyes blurry.
He is still resisting and struggling, time is no longer waiting for him, it has returned to 00:00:00.

With a hiss, the "bomb" sprayed out blue smoke and "exploded".
For a moment, Li Zan's mind went blank, and the ringing in his ears disappeared. It was like the silence after an explosion, with nothing at all.
Exhausted, he sat down on the ground exhausted, leaning against the wall with his head slightly raised, his eyes empty and out of focus.
On the hillside not far from the warehouse, Lin Miaoan put down the telescope, picked up the communication device, and said to Chen Feng in front of the monitor: "Did you see it?"
"I saw it." Chen Feng said.
Lin Miao'an said: "Still can't touch it."
……
On the way home, Li Zan sat in the last row of the bus, leaning on the back of his chair and looking out the window at the scenery.  It's spring, the leaves on both sides of the street are green, and strings of sycamore leaves are slapping against the car windows like palms.
He was so lost in thought all the way that he almost missed getting off when he arrived at the station.
Walking into the family courtyard, climbing up the stairs, and just turning the key to open the door, I smelled the aroma of fish soup.
Li Zan gently closed the door and took a look inside. The window on the balcony was open, the spring breeze was blowing, the newly washed sheets were hung on the clothes rack and swayed in the breeze, and the sheets were covered with pink sunset.
On the dining table, there is a plate of fresh cherries and oranges, as well as cold kelp shreds.
In the kitchen, Song Ran was wearing an apron and cooking fish soup with her back to him.  Her hair was longer and tied back gently.
Li Zan walked forward and hugged her waist from behind.  She was adding chopped green onion and small green peppers cut into rings to the oyster mushroom, tofu, yellow bone and fish soup, and she was startled.
He lowered his head and rested his chin on her shoulder, asking warmly, "What are you cooking?"
"Your favorite. Does it smell good?"
"It smells good." He tilted his head and nodded.  His chin rubbed against her neck, and she shrank her shoulders from the itch.
Inside the pot, the fish soup is clear and yellow, dotted with green green onions and chili peppers, which makes it look delicious.
"Isn't it boring to be alone at home?"
"It's okay. I've been sorting out information recently."
"That book "The Floating World"?"
"That's right. Let's slowly develop the feeling first, and then think about which way to write it." Song Ran said, and then added, "There's also the matter of the military channel. It's been two weeks since I submitted the manuscript, but I still haven't received a reply. I feel like No way. That’s fine, I don’t want to go to the Imperial City yet.”
He listened carefully, but his eyes were a little vacant; after a while,
Slowly said: "There are many people who submitted, so the selection must be slow. On the contrary, I have a hunch that it will be you."
She smiled softly: "Really?"
   "real."
She pressed her cheek against the side of his face.
"What about you?" Song Ran stirred the fish soup and asked, "What are you doing in class today?"
"Student assessment."
"Have you had a good day?"
"Very good." He said with a smile, tilted his head and kissed her cheek unconsciously.
Just then, the phone rang.
Li Zan stood up straight and let go of Song Ran. It was a number from the United States.  Li Zan walked to the living room and pressed answer. Before he could speak, a coquettish sentence came from the other end:
"HEY MAN! Do you miss me" is Benjamin.
A smile appeared on Li Zan's face, but his tone was calm: "Are you okay?"
"Recovering very well." Benjamin injured his eye in the explosion. Like Li Zan, he has been troubled by recovery.  Now we are finally out of the haze.
Benjamin sighed: "Do you know how important a sniper's eyes are? God bless. It's finally all healed. What about you?"
"It's okay." Li Zan said.
The two chatted about their current situation. After talking for a while, Benjamin asked: "Li, do you still want to go to Dongguo?"
Li Zan did not answer, but asked: "What about you?"
"I have been thinking about it every day for more than half a year during my recovery," Benjamin said. "I want to aim my gun at those terrorists and end their lives with my own hands. God knows, I think about it every day and even in my dreams."
Li Zan said: "My current... situation is complicated." He explained everything with "complicated".
Benjamin didn't ask further and said, "I hope we can keep in touch more. I also want to return to the battlefield."
   "good."
Just as he was about to hang up, Benjamin suddenly asked: "By the way, where is the girl you risked your life to save that day? Where is she now?"
Li Zan glanced at Song Ran who was frying vegetables in the kitchen, smiled warmly, and said, "She is my girl now."