Episode 23

"What?"

"What's wrong, brother?"

"Okay, let's make a plan first. You all meet at the school gate at 4:00 PM two days later. I'll come back after 0:00."

"Deal with Benjamin?"

"It's not Benjamin who's going to deal with the Sassins."

"good!"

This was an agreement Song Ran's boyfriend made with his cronies two days prior. He hadn't told Song Ran, as his cronies were his key figures. Therefore, they spoke to Song Ran more tactfully, leaving Song Ran completely confused about what her boyfriend was up to.

What time is it now?

"It's 4:15."

"Big brother should be coming soon."

"Five minutes left."

"Wait for him a while."

At the time, none of the henchmen or Song Ran suspected him because he arrived later than the others. However, they never imagined that Song Ran's boyfriend would betray them all because of this. Therefore, the henchmen and Song Ran were directly sold out, which led to Benjamin's occasional stroke of luck.

"Benjamin! You just wait and see!"

What did I do?

"......"

--Now--

"So, your anger should have subsided by more than half, right?"

"It's gone, the anger has mostly subsided."

How jealous are you?

"I got so jealous that I had a stomach hemorrhage."

"......"

"The doctor means I can be discharged in a few days, which will allow me to continue my battle of wits with them, but..."

"But what?"

"Song Ran's boyfriend hasn't shown up at this time. Do you know where he went?"

"I don't know."

"......"

"However, it's unlikely that they can outsmart each other because they've all gone in. How he disappeared, why he disappeared, and where he is are all meaningless now. What's even stranger is that during this time, those petty thugs from Zhijiang Leiju picked him up from school at 4:00 and waited for their boss at the school gate at 4:20."

Where is the chat history?

"Yes, but there are no useful chat logs on Song Ran's side. I think she has been deceiving herself all along."

"And then what? Can you catch up with her boyfriend?"

"I don't know, but if you want to make a move, now's the time."

"......"

"Benjamin, I'm wondering if I should break up with him?"

"Sassin's homeroom teacher?"

"......"

"Why?"

"Okay, I'll explain it to you after you're discharged from the hospital."

"good."

"I'll pick you up tomorrow."

"No need. You have to go to work tomorrow. There's no need to get scolded by the principal over this. We all know about the principal's votes. If things escalate, it won't be as simple as just being expelled."

"......"

"So what? What exactly is the principal trying to achieve by doing all this?"

"He's probably having a fit of madness. And this morning, the principal talked about how one of our students did something very shameful with a boy from outside the school. The next second, he said that Song Ranyu was having a lot of fun with that boy from outside the school, saying that he had some kind of tattoo, and that it had been going on for several months."

"I remember Song Ran was expelled by the principal back then."

"right."

Now, Benjamin finally understood why Song Ran suddenly had time. After all, he had dropped out of school and there were some things he didn't know. However, Song Ran's expulsion by the principal happened two months after Benjamin's expulsion. She hadn't told her classmates or her juniors. But to him, Song Ran had made a considerable contribution to the school. Yes, in a derogatory sense. The principal had no choice but to suppress the series of things she had done.

"She recovered quite quickly, but a quick recovery also means she was able to get back in quickly."

"Your level of education has improved."

"Self-taught".

"You don't even compliment your partner once."

"......"

"I just took you to a fun place, Sasin, did you have to make such a fuss?"

"You're not doing this so that Daxin will become your boyfriend, are you?"

"Go away, what are you thinking? I pulled him over here to ask me what to do if I have a falling out with the homeroom teacher of Class 1?"

"?"

"What's wrong? Is there a problem?"

"Of course! Old Liu! You're so foolish! How could you let Sasin know that the homeroom teacher of Class One is your boyfriend?"

“I’m not that stubborn. If I told him that the homeroom teacher of Class 1 is my boyfriend, you can imagine what would happen! Besides, you two must have had a fight, so I asked Sasin for his opinion.”

"...And then? Did you get any answers from your questions?"

"All the reviews are positive; there isn't a single negative one."

"......"

"That's his judgment, but it doesn't affect me much because I knew their homeroom teacher earlier than Sasin, so I would tell Sasin what kind of person he was. It doesn't seem to affect Sasin what kind of person he was; it's a matter of principle."

"Only you would dare to do this to their class's homeroom teacher."

—Three days later—

"I've come to pick you up..."

"....."

There was no one in the hospital bed. Yes, Benjamin wasn't in the hospital bed. Sassin later found out about this because they came in one after the other, and the nurses came in one after the other to answer their questions. That was all. Even the nurses at the nurses' station wondered if they were hallucinating due to work stress.

"......"

Did I hear that right?

"What's wrong?"

"Just now, someone asked, 'Where did Benjamin go?' and then someone else asked, 'Where did Benjamin go?'"

"You must have misheard, you must have."

"That's true, the work pressure is too great."

—Three days later, on the morning—

"You've come to process your withdrawal from school?"

"I don't miss it anymore."

"......"

"Where's the principal? Isn't he here?"

"It's said he went to the Education Bureau. Apparently, something suddenly escalated, forcing the principal to make a statement." This actually "moved" Benjamin quite a bit, since he had been worrying about how to use someone else to do his dirty work. Now, he didn't have to worry about it anymore.

"Bye-Bye!"

"What! You're not going to study anymore?! Really?"

"yes."

Benjamin's sudden decision to stop attending school surprised most of his classmates. Of course, those few people also sent him several WeChat messages, but he deleted them all. He kept the few people he could talk to, but he also deleted the WeChat accounts of the brothers he fought with.

"This is troublesome."

"how?"

"Benjamin vanished into thin air as soon as he left school, and he didn't even answer the phone."

"......"

"Besides contacting us, who else has he been in contact with?"

"there is none left."

"By the way, that classmate named Sasin who was in the class below us? He dropped out of school too?"

"I don't know, I haven't seen him for the past few days."

"......"

Does anyone have Sasin's WeChat?

"No."

"I don't have any either."

"By the way, Song Ran has a junior classmate who happens to be in Sasin's class right now. You can ask her, maybe she knows Sasin's WeChat."

They didn't know that Song Ran had deleted those people's WeChat accounts before going in. Some people stopped talking after they found out that Song Ran had deleted them from their WeChat contacts.

——First Semester of Senior Year——

"The days are so long."

"you do not say"

"That brat is probably studying hard now, right?"

"I don't know, I've already resigned."

"That's true."

"That day I wanted to go into the school to see Lao Liu, but the principal kicked me out. It was really unexpected."

"Why?"

"Song Ran, having a student like Song Ran might make Old Liu's hair turn very white all of a sudden, right?"

"He's not teaching Song Ran's class anymore. I think he's a senior high school homeroom teacher now, the one whose surname is Tian."

"Oh My God......"

"The classes he led were basically plagued by heavy casualties."

This is a conversation between Sassin's homeroom teacher and Benjamin in the bar. Benjamin, Sassin's homeroom teacher, is the one who saved Sassin after he was discharged from the hospital, having learned from Song Ran that someone had malicious intentions towards Sassin. As for what happened next...

"Then what?"

"I hope they can hold on."

"There aren't many in this class who can keep up with him. When I taught your class journalism, there were more disobedient than obedient students. But you have to get used to it. It's true that it's a bit troublesome that they don't like studying journalism."

"They were all wars in the East that were afraid of dying."

"You talk as if you're not afraid of death."

"Isn't it enough to just prepare for safety? We don't know if they have other reasons? Like, trying to take shortcuts."

"However, the quality of your homework is quite good."

"No way! It's not that exaggerated."

"The teachers all admire you."

"I dare not accept such praise."

Benjamin's assignment that time was actually to go to the East and record the situation in his notes. Everyone scoffed when they heard this, but Benjamin wasn't afraid. Because he had survived on this battlefield as a child, his parents had taught him many survival skills, but what he had learned from experience was enough.

What's happening?

"I don't know!"

"Hurry on!"

"Help! Help me!"

Benjamin saw that someone's foot was trapped under their right side, and he and the others went to help. After seeing the nearby buildings, Benjamin used his childhood memories to gradually piece together where the refuge was.

"Thank you, sir!"

"No thanks!"

"Why do you know this exit?"

Benjamin did not answer their questions. He was not familiar with those soldiers and they were probably not from the same group his father had trained. Now that he thinks about it, Benjamin could have answered their questions as a reporter.

"I am a reporter, so...you know."

"Ok, thank you very match again."

Benjamin left with a smile. He was going to stay there for a week, so he started by collecting materials, nothing more. However, Benjamin was still injured and couldn't stay for too long.

"Benjamin!"

"?"

Someone was calling his name. When he turned around, he saw Benjamin's father's comrade-in-arms. He had been saved by his father years ago, and his purpose in returning was related to Benjamin's father's dying wish.

I am your uncle.

"Uncle?"

"Yes, your father gave me a something if you come back again."

"?"

"ot?"

"Why do you know my father gave me something? Who are you?"

"Your father!"

Benjamin immediately recognized the man's voice as an imposter. Although he didn't know how the man knew this, his actions made him realize what danger meant. Benjamin casually picked up a PPKS pistol.

"PPKS?"

"Yes, the PPKS pistol. It was secretly issued in large quantities to the Nazi Party during World War II. That gun has a special feature: even with one bullet in the gun, it can still load eight more bullets into the magazine, making a total of nine bullets. Although it's only one extra bullet, if used properly, it can turn the tide of battle. Remember, don't tell anyone about this."

"It's so heavy, and it also has these... nine bullets."

Benjamin secretly analyzed that it was just an infrared beam from Xichang shining on his throat. Benjamin pretended to look at the sky with his binoculars to see if there were any military aircraft, but in reality, he was inadvertently looking at the source of the infrared beam.

"MA41, not a sniper rifle. Looks like I'm being underestimated."

"MA41? That [illegible]?"

"yes."

"I could accept it if it were PTRS-41."

"There are no tanks here, and more importantly, those soldiers aren't Iron Man. Isn't it a bit of an exaggeration to use PTRS-41s to kill those foreign enemies? If they're wearing body armor, they're like amateur rifles—no, they're even more ferocious than rifles."

"However, it wouldn't be a bad thing to put such a good weapon as the PTRS-41 into our arsenal."

"good."

What followed was a large-scale attack. Because they were always winning battles, they naturally became targets, or rather, they joined forces to attack. So it wouldn't be surprising if Benjamin's father lost the battle. It seemed to make sense, but Benjamin felt there were many doubts, and the appearance of the MA41 was the best proof of that.

"Do you know uncle? You don't understand everything about my father, do you know why?"

"No, I can't because you will die in this area."

Are you sure?

Why not?

Benjamin realized that if he took another step forward, he would almost expose himself to a sniper's line of sight. A bullet appeared without warning in the brainstem of Benjamin's so-called uncle—an instant kill.

"If you don't want him to be shot without retaliating or convulsing, the only way is to hit him somewhere no matter what."

"Brainstem."

"Yes, the brainstem. As long as you train to be fast, accurate, and ruthless, you can hit the brainstem before the other person can react quickly."

"I see."

"......"

After Benjamin's so-called uncle was shot in the brainstem by a sniper, the other soldiers launched an attack. Because of the oil drums, Benjamin naturally dared not linger in battle. Therefore, the only thing Benjamin could do was to quickly find the location of his father's belongings. Whether it was a coincidence or just too much of a coincidence, Benjamin actually found a letter his father had left for him nearby by sheer luck.

What is it?

After Benjamin found the letter his father had left behind, he noticed a wound on his arm and smelled a strong, pungent odor. "It's gunpowder!" Benjamin knew what it was, but all he wanted to know was what else his father had left behind. He even neglected his homework because of that. After treating his wound, Benjamin returned home.

"Is anyone else here? If no, we're leaving!"

"They're back, and with their spoils."

"......"

"What's wrong?"

"nothing."

That night, Benjamin began writing his battlefield report, which was his worst start yet, because he was writing it while he was emotionally charged.

Hello everyone, I'm Benjamin. Today is Friday, April 5th, 2019. Today's report is about the situation in Dongguo. Behind me is the city center, once the most prosperous and harmonious area in the northeastern war zone of Dongguo. It's four o'clock now. Although there are no vendors operating, this once bustling and harmonious area has become so desolate. Why has it become like this? What caused this sudden change overnight? Let's interview the affected residents of the city center:

They are hurting me!

"And my guy!"

"Me too!"

"A plane, here!"

“They are......”

"Doctor!"

"Let me see."

During the interview, Benjamin examined the little boy's wound, which was on his abdomen and appeared to be a penetrating wound. The boy's internal organs were not fully healed, and if he hadn't known how to treat wounds, the boy would not have survived to reach the field hospital's emergency room before dying.

"Through to through, we are prepped, get to the hospital."

OK!

"Let's take a look at the other disaster situations."

"I don't know when, I don't know where, just a little grenade, blowing this place apart."

"Based on the current situation, due to the sudden attack on Dongguo by other countries, the casualties are currently over 1,000 dead and over 800 injured. These are the preliminary statistics. There are also missing persons. In addition, the war is still ongoing, so we will conduct further interviews. That's all for my report on the situation on the ground. Over."