Episode 2
"You brat, you talk so rudely. Tell me, how old are you this year?"
"Me? I'm already 23 years old this year."
"......"
"What's wrong?"
I am nine years older than you.
"What's wrong with being 9 years older than me? Because you look older."
"What? You have a problem with that?"
Yes~
"I hereby solemnly declare to you that if I break down, I will directly order your superior to make you a contracted war correspondent for the East, so that you will live here for the rest of your life and never be able to go back!"
Do you know why I'm here right now?
"Why?"
"Because you asked me to come here as a war correspondent, and you said you could protect me, so I came back."
"......"
"I have to say, I'm quite touched. You were originally going to be a war correspondent for a while, but you wanted to tell our superiors that you wanted to become a contracted war correspondent. Now that I think about it, I'm still quite touched that I can be protected by you at any time while living here."
"Pah!"
"Look, you can't even handle a joke."
When he discovered how weathered Benjamin looked three years later, everyone wanted to know what had happened to him. During those three years, he had been traveling around, and Song Ran rarely went out except for work, after all...
“I remember the last time she encountered a landmine on the only route she could take from Dongguo back to her own country. I thought that bus could only go there and not other routes, but when I asked the driver, he said that was not the case. So my goodwill towards her basically went down.”
"Oh My God......"
At that moment, she saw a fully armed soldier on duty. The next second, she witnessed the man put on his eye protection. He wasn't doing it to look cool, because...
Did I step on a landmine?
Song Ran nodded.
"Let me see."
Li Zan slowly moved his hand around the landmine, and soon the landmine appeared in front of him. Unfortunately, this landmine had a linkage function. He had been a mercenary for a long time and had undergone a devilish training before becoming a mercenary. This was the content of the sixteenth lesson - identifying landmines and grenades. He had seen landmines like this before.
"Grenades with linkage capabilities are a bit tricky."
"Are you an expert?"
"A battle-hardened mercenary, nothing more."
"You're so young, you don't look like someone who's been through countless battles."
"The Koreans have arrived."
"Step back."
"yes!"
After becoming more certain about the nature of the landmine, Li Zan had Benjamin run in the opposite direction. The moment Li Zan threw the landmine, his companions coordinated to shoot it down with an M92F, causing it to explode the instant it flew out of the ground.
"run!"
No matter how hard they ran, the shockwave from the exploding landmines still sent them flying. Therefore, from that time on, Li Zan began to carry special tools to cut the mine wires in case of emergency.
"Well done!"
Who is that?
"A journalist."
"A war correspondent?"
She said her name was Song Ran.
"I didn't expect that you knew who she was and even what she did without ever having met her!"
"And what about you?"
"Me? Who could I possibly know so much about Song Ran from just a few meetings?"
"Sassin".
"......"
"......"
However, to Li Zan's surprise, Sasin suddenly attracted the attention of two people: Benjamin and Song Ran—yes, the one who stepped on the landmine. In Li Zan's eyes, Song Ran was just Sasin's senior, nothing more. Because they hadn't seen Benjamin for three years, Sasin felt a strange sadness and boredom, as did Benjamin.
Are you missing him?
"I've thought about it."
"?"
"I suppose there's something else you want to ask."
"......"
"Goodbye, you can go with Song Ran."
Where are you going?
Benjamin pointed to his watch, a gift from Sassin when he last visited, but he had never explained the meaning behind the gift. Sassin had also said something quite meaningful to him:
"Just consider it a thought to keep you in mind when you miss me."
"What the hell...?"
"Because I bought the watch, seeing the watch is equivalent to seeing me in person."
"What kind of twisted logic is this...?"
"Then what do you think is the best way for me to explain it?"
"......"
"Actually, this is also your way of thanking her for accepting her commission. Because the moment I entered the East as a war correspondent, I learned from someone that she was gone. Later, I learned from others that she gave you something."
"She's gone? I really don't understand what you're saying anymore."
Benjamin already had a guess in his mind about who Sasin was talking about, but at that time he never expected that Sasin would dare to bring this up. Did he understand Lena's identity or know about his relationship with Lena? No, what relationship did he have with her? He was just the one who accepted the commission.
"Thank you for saving her."
"I still feel very sorry that I couldn't save her."
"......"
"I'm leaving. I'm getting a headache just thinking about all the study tasks I haven't done."
"I'll take you."
"No need. I remember the landmine distribution here is pretty much the same. At least I won't need your help like I did the first time I came in."
"Okay, goodbye."
"I will come back."
"......"
Sasin will continue his studies; this credit is a mandatory task at his school because he cannot graduate without it. Therefore, he chose the task with the highest score among all the credit-earning tasks.
Why did you choose such a dangerous place?
"For no reason other than that the scores here are the highest."
"Look! There's a mentally challenged person here!"
Where can I find it?
"Here it is!"
"......"
"Awesome."
"666!"
After learning that Sasin had gone to the Eastern Kingdom and achieved the highest academic grades, most of his classmates were even more confused about his reasons. However, after thinking about it, they hoped he wouldn't come back, because if he did, Sasin would become arrogant and lose popularity to them. Therefore...
"Back here again..."
When Sasin returned to school, he kept thinking about one thing—never coming back.
"You accepted a gift from someone else but then told me not to come back. I'm angry, and I can't appease you. Next time I come back, I'm taking your watch with me!"
This was the first time they had a disagreement, and how could the young boy possibly know what Benjamin was thinking?
"Who gave you this watch...?"
He gave it to me.
"Why did he give you a watch?"
"......"
"Does he have a crush on you?"
"......"
"Okay, I'm not kidding anymore."
"Is there something on that red rope?"
"?"
"The one Song Ran gave you."
Both Li Zan and Benjamin had sour faces that day. In fact, Benjamin's face was not very friendly to anyone except Sasin and Pei Xiaonan, especially his own soldiers. As for Li Zan, it was purely because he said something he shouldn't have in front of him.
"Why?"
"Why what?"
"Capter!"
"What's the matter?"
"Trouble!"
Where?
"Here!"
Let's go!
"Yes, sir!"
Benjamin then discovered that part of the site had been deliberately sabotaged, and some of the landmines buried in the ground also had serious problems. However, despite the patrols, no one reported any strange people appearing or anything else. Therefore, Benjamin began to suspect that the saboteurs were not external forces but rather came from within.
What's happening?
"Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on this, call
The squad leader.
"Yes, sir"
Benjamin's current military base is the largest of all the military bases in the Eastern Kingdom. It's so large that it took Benjamin 10 minutes just to walk from his side to Li Zan's side. Facing Li Zan, who was still wearing a sour expression, Benjamin simply asked:
Isn't she coming?
"She never came at the agreed time; either she didn't want to come or she had something else to do."
"......"
"What do you want?"
Has anyone been here?
"No."
"Some of the landmines are missing. Judging from the way the land was dug, the method was very sophisticated. And the fact that so many pits appeared in such a short time means that it wasn't just one person who dug them. But the lack of registration for outsiders and the absence of footprints left by those who trespassed means that..."
"A coordinated attack from within and without, or rather..."
"Although I don't want to admit this result, the current situation is very clear. If we directly investigate who did this, it is very likely to alert the perpetrator. We need to think of another way."
Do you have any good ideas?
"without."
"I have come up with a good idea, but it will require sacrificing one person."
"If it were Sashin, then forget it, because I don't want anyone to die in such a ridiculous and alarming event, let alone Sashin, a war correspondent."
"......"
"You just said that Song Ran won't be able to come anytime soon, right?"
"yes."
"Find a war correspondent; he'll be here today."
"No."
"......"
"How should we schedule today's shifts? Are you comfortable with having them work in shifts?"
"We change dorms every two hours, staying in the nearest one."
"Their problem is solved, but what about yours?"
"The same applies."
"You haven't slept for five days, are you okay?"
"no problem."
"Okay, you go and rest first, and come back to me in two hours to take over the shift. Then I'll take over your shift, and so on."
"Okay, it's settled then, but you go ahead."
"Why?"
“Look.”
Upon seeing someone approaching, Li Zan seemed to understand the person's identity, because the car was not a military vehicle but a private car, and it was Song Ran's beloved car.
"CP520,".
"......"
Goodbye, I won't stay with you anymore.
Benjamin dared to flirt with her because his relationship with Song Ran stemmed from the fact that she had stepped on a landmine the first time she came here. Before that, Benjamin had also discovered their unusual relationship. Later, he finally understood the whole situation from his subordinates.
Are you sure?
"Yes!"
"......"
"No matter the outcome, we all have weaknesses."
"It's you who has a weakness, not me, because I don't have one."
"Isn't Sasin a weak point?"
"No, if he were a weakness, I definitely wouldn't have let him come."
"I see."
"You understand now?"
"A borderline friendship?"
"What's that?"
"......"
"A-Zan!"
"......"
Song Ran's assist made Benjamin overjoyed, but the next second he witnessed the two of them embracing and felt secretly heartbroken. However, the person who was secretly thinking about Benjamin arrived, and his purpose was quite clear:
"fool!"
"......"
Good morning!
"I knew it was you, you silly little brat..."
"You really know me. Even though you call me a little kid, I'm not happy at all..."
“You never call me Ben, you just call me 'Stupid'. Among all the people I work with, you're the only one who dares to call me that, so when I hear that, I think it's you.”
"?"
"Or do you expect me to guess someone else?"
"......"
"But speaking of which, is there something you need to talk to me about?"
"Perfect timing. To make a long story short, I asked a colleague to examine the body you brought over. The moment it was opened, my colleague was so shocked that he also kept disinfecting himself."
"So scared that she kept disinfecting herself, it seems..."
"It's a plague."
"Plague? How is that possible?"
"What my friend who does the forensic work is saying is that the body you sent over had obvious wound infections, but these infections are different from the wounds my friend has seen before."
"Look..."
"What?"
"The meadow over there."
"What does this prove?"
"Take another look over there."
Because Pei Xiaonan had mentioned that the wound infection wasn't so simple, he directly pointed to the wound area and the part where the body hadn't been found:
"Then what are these?"
"I don't know who dug the things out of there."
"......"
"By the way, have you reported any news of several people suddenly disappearing?"
"Quite a few people."
"No, I mean, do you have anything that's a bit unusual over there?"
"That's not quite normal? I really haven't noticed anyone acting strangely."
"......"
"What's wrong?"
After seeing the traces of the unearthed objects and hearing their report, Benjamin realized that what they were trying to dig up was probably not a landmine buried in the ground; otherwise, such a large reaction would not have gone unnoticed by anyone.
"......"
"What's wrong?"
"It's nothing, maybe I'm overthinking it."
"?"
"I thought the landmines buried in the ground had been taken away for research, but now I think that's not the case."
"A diversionary tactic?"
"......"
"It seems that world peace is not so easy to achieve."
"yes."
"Oh, and don't forget to tell Li Zan about this. Also, you all must have a meeting, because this matter must not be leaked."
"good."
"Go and contact Sasin later."
"......"
"What's wrong? Can't you get in touch with him?"
“I sent him away and ordered him not to come back.”
At that moment, Pei Xiaonan noticed a watch that had appeared on Benjamin's left wrist and a star with the letter B engraved on his clothes. She then understood what was going on. Coupled with his reaction to what he had just said and his reaction after saying it, a guess instantly flooded her mind.
"Are you just saying that out of anger?"
"no."
"Really?"
"Um."
"Did he disobey your orders or talk back to you? Or did he offend you because he was too arrogant?"
"without."
"So why do you think we took his watch and then kicked him out and wouldn't let him come back?"
"He was too young; he shouldn't have died here."
"And what about you? Do you think you should die here, wrapped in a horse's hide?"
"......"
"Or are you actually in love with him?"
"He has the shadow of that orphanage director in him."
"......"
"Do you understand now? I did this to protect him."
"To prevent him from getting hurt?"
"I would feel ashamed for the rest of my life if he were to get hurt."
"You owe her a life."
"I owe her my life, but I may never be able to repay it, because a person only has one life. I really don't know who to repay this life to? Is it Sasin?"
"However, your next decision will prove whether you are qualified to be the captain."
May I decline your insightful suggestion?
"Whatever you want~"
It seemed like it was just a simple matter of reopening old wounds, but in the end, Pei Xiaonan was the one who won. Song Ran's sudden appearance caught Li Zan off guard.
Why are you here?
"The boss asked me to come here to film a documentary that lasts for more than an hour."
"It's approved already?"
"yes."
Although the reason seemed absurd to Li Zan, Song Ran recalled the reason why she was allowed to film a documentary here for more than an hour—Saxin and Shen Bei.
"Why?"
"His assessment didn't reveal any fatal flaws, but the content was too dry and boring. Although we're not from the same school or TV station, we were both acquired by the same large broadcasting group. Plus, according to seniority, you're his senior, so you can indirectly guide him."
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