TWOT Chapter 1

The day Song Ran met Li Zan was a very ordinary day. 

On the 3rd of June, the city of Aare, located in the northern central region of Dong Guo, looked the same as it did everyday. At 8 o'clock in the morning, Song Ran pushed open the hotel's window. Downstairs from the building was a street that stretched from north to south, directly leading to a primary school at the end. On both sides of the street, there were short and flat commercial buildings as well as residential buildings, which were scattered high and low, hidden behind trees. 

As far as the eye could see, the streets were dusty. No one cleaned up the paper scraps and fallen leaves. However, the sky was blue, and the sunlight was very bright. 

In the restaurant downstairs, a young mother who was wearing a headscarf and a black robe, was sitting at a table eating breakfast with her young son. The shop owner was standing behind the stall, slicing roast meat with one hand and tossing flatbread with the other. The fragrant smell of roast meat, cooked beans and flat bread wafted onto the street. In the repair shop across the street, several middle aged men had earlier pushed motorbikes to the shop's entrance and were crowding in front of it. They communicated with the repair worker in a flurry of conversation, speaking the language of Dong Guo that Song Ran couldn't understand. Not faraway came the sound of a whistle, and a bus stopped on the side of the road. A group of young students wearing school uniforms were rushing off of it, running towards school. The bus driver rolled down the window and spoke a few words with the police officer that was patrolling the roadside. 

Everything looked the same as it did every day, but it was also not quite the same. 

The local restaurants were still open for business and so was the dental clinic. However, the KFC store had long since closed, while the mobile phone store had closed for over a week. A new model of a Chinese mobile phone brand was plastered on the door. The poster was tattered and torn, fluttering in the morning breeze. A stray dog was curled up in a pile of torned newspapers in the corner. The display window of the clothing store next door was covered in a layer of dust. Inside you could vaguely see two mannequins. One wearing a long black robe with a turban covering its face, and the other wearing a white blouse with a flower skirt. 

The morning breeze swept past the fallen leaves and paper scraps, unable to stir up the skirt's motionless hemline in the display window.

Song Ran breathed out a sigh for no reason. There was a faint trace of melancholy in her heart, like that glass window, which was covered in dust. This was her last day staying in this country. Today her assignment had ended and she was about to return back. It was a four hour car journey from Aare city to the capital Gamma. The return flight home was at 11pm. 

She leaned against the window, browsing through the internet. It was currently the afternoon in her home country. Netizens were discussing topics related to celebrity scandals and frivolous beauties. 

It was 8.30am local time, almost about time to pack up.

She had just finished folding up the tripod, when the floorboards beneath her feet suddenly shook. It seemed to be an earthquake, but this wasn't an earthquake! She grabbed the camera, pressed the switch, and rushed to the window. There was a thunderous explosion in the sky. 

Although the world outside the window was business as usual, people on the street were looking up one after another, like a flock of bewildered geese. Very quickly there was another loud explosion, then one after another in succession. They were missiles. 

The war had started.

In an instant, the street was in pandemonium. People were shouting loudly and escaping in all directions. 

Song Ran rushed to the rooftop, carrying the camera, tripod and communication equipment on her back. She surveyed the barren land outside the city and couldn't see any army troops, but the roar of artillery fire continued. It was in Haru city, located dozens of kilometres north east of Aare city. She had a male colleague who was stationed there. 

The phone signal was cut off. During times of war, the first step was to destroy the telecommunication base station.

 

Song Ran set up the equipment. It was only when she turned on the satellite phone that the line connected. The person from her home country asked, “The government and anti government forces are fighting outside Haru city. What's the situation on your side?”

Song Ran rotated the shooting angle of her camera and stabilised her breathing, "I'm currently on the rooftop of a hotel in the north eastern outskirts of Aare city. A major town in the central part of Dong Guo. I can hear the clear sound of artillery fire coming from the direction of Haru city. The building beneath my feet is still shaking, and my photographs aren't steady either. The region of Aare, where I'm located, still had cars and pedestrians downstairs a minute ago, but now the streets are empty. Opposite, in the direction of where my finger is pointing, there is a primary school and you can see… “ She zoomed in on the image, “Teachers evacuating students from the school building to the sports field. The number of students studying here has dropped sharply from more than 300 a few months ago to 100 now. Many families have long since relocated to the south, namely near Gamma capital. 

By the time she finished the report, the sound of artillery fire from over there had disappeared without a trace. It was not known whether the battle had stopped, or if it had turned into a gun fight. 

Song Ran waited on the rooftop for ten minutes, and found that there were no new developments. 

The sky was as blue as washed sapphire. The sun was brighter. The world felt eerie, as if nothing had happened at all. 

Her superior had given the notice for Song Ran to return to China as usual. However, war had suddenly broken out and there was a possibility of transportation lines being completely blocked. The issue of returning back was not going to be an easy task. 

The car she rented had been returned last night. As for the driver who had made an appointment to take her to Gamma today, it was canceled because he wanted to take a family of six down south. In these special circumstances, she did not blame the other party

At around 9.30am, Song Ran managed to contact a friend who was an American journalist. She learned that they had a car and could take her with them. However they were in Surui, a city that was more than ten kilometres north west of Aare. They were setting off towards the south at half past ten in the morning. 

At this time in Aare, the streets were crowded with people carrying suitcases and luggages, fleeing in cars and motorbikes with their families. The road out of the city was blocked. The sounds of honking, cursing, shouting and children crying could be heard incessantly. Under the scorching sun, Song Ran ran through several streets. She was looking for a motorbike all over the city, but transportation vehicles were hard to come by at this time. 

On the way back, her eyes teared up several times. It was impossible not to be scared.

Back at the hotel, the driver who had canceled the appointment was actually waiting for her in the front lobby. He had brought over a motorbike.

At ten in the morning, Song Ran changed into a set of black clothes, and put on a hat and a face mask. She strapped her luggage and equipment onto the back seat of the motorbike and drove directly north west to the city of Surui. The motorbike was in men's style. It was heavy and hard to control. When she had just arrived here, she would often fall off, but now she could ride it with ease. 

During the journey, the expanse of the horizon was vast and wide. Occasionally, a few cars escaping to the south would pass by. 

She drove very fast. Around a quarter of an hour later, she made it to the outskirts of Surui city. The streets and houses were empty, with no signs of human activity. The wind blew garbage all over the place. It was like a ghost town in broad daylight. 

She had just gone past a street, when there came the sound of gunfire. Song Ran’s palms were soaked with sweat, and she quickly sped up to the other side of the city 

She rounded the corner of an empty alley, quickly rushing onto the wide and deserted main road. Just as she was about to increase her speed again, seven or eight camouflaged figures suddenly appeared from all directions: in the corner of the alley ahead, on the roof of a building and behind a car. They were heavily armed and holding steel guns, yelling at her, “Back up!”

“Stop!”

Song Ran hurriedly stepped on the brakes. Under the effect of inertia, the motorbike quickly skidded forward. The friction between the tires and the ground made an ear splitting sound. There was a metal box in the middle of the road, with a line of wire exposed; the end of it was attached to a small piece of metal. 

The motorbike came to a stop. Song Ran lowered her left foot and accidentally stepped straight onto the piece of metal. In that instant, the metal box lit up, and the red numbers started a count down. 

It was a bomb. 

The surroundings were dead silent. 

Song Ran’s heart shrunk.

She was stepping on the metal plate with one foot and the other was on the motorbike pedal. She leaned in place motionless. The sweat on her face rolled down her neck like beads. Every second was drawn infinitely longer by fear, but the group showed no signs of coming up to rescue her. 

After several seconds of dead silence, a voice shouted at her, “Stay put!” 

The words had just been spoken, when another person shouted, “A-zan!”

Song Ran wasn't able to distinguish the language 'Azan’ was in. She saw a man, dressed in a grey green camouflage uniform, tumble out of a second-floor window of a certain building and descend quickly on a drainage pipe. He wore a helmet and a face mask, and stood on the road side observing her from afar with a glance. Her black outfit looked suspicious. 

Song Ran’s voice trembled like a twisted silk thread. “Help! Please!”

The man stood still for a second, then walked towards her. Someone restrainedly shouted again, “A-zan!”

He looked back and made a gesture to his comrade. 

The timer on the metal box was counting down rapidly—00:09:10.

Holding a gun, the man approached her. The pair of eyes above his face mask was dark and bright, alert as an eagle. His footsteps were heavy and slow. When he was about ten meters away from her, he stared at her masked face for a moment, eyes narrowing and asked, “Chinese?”

Song Ran almost cried and shouted, “Yes! I'm a journalist!”

At this time, his companions emerged one after another, revealing themselves from behind the barriers.

He came closer to look at the bomb, then looked at the metal piece she was stepping on, and said, "You stepped on it so accurately.” 

“……”

His tone was three parts teasing and seven parts gentle. Song Ran didn't know how to answer him, but she relaxed a little.

He knelt down on one knee and removed the outer casing of the iron box, revealing the cumbersome wires inside. Song Ran couldn't help but gasp. He heard it and saw that she was still maintaining the posture of one foot on the ground. He asked softly, "Can you hold on?"

Song Ran could only nod. 

He didn't believe her, so he stood up and said, "Get off the motorbike first."

Song Ran whispered, "...I don't dare to."

"It's okay. I'll support it." He comforted while holding the motorcycle with his left hand. She felt his strength at that moment. He held her arm with his right hand, and Song Ran instinctively grabbed him quickly in a tight grip. The muscles on the man's arm were tight.

He warned, "Don't shift your center of gravity and step down with your right foot.”

Song Ran borrowed the strength of his arm and successfully got off the motorbike. In that moment of effort, both her feet were sore and numb, and she was sweating profusely under her clothes. One of his companions came over and pushed the motorbike away. The others pushed over the abandoned cars nearby to use as shelter.

He said, "Keep your center weight on your left foot and don't move.”

“ En." Song Ran glanced at the timer.

00:08:17

He squatted down again and began to sort out the wires. 

It was nearly the afternoon, and the sun was scorching hot. In the desert area, the apparent temperature felt close to 50 degrees Celsius. Dense beads of sweat flowed from Song Ran's brow and into her eyes, causing her to shiver slightly. This tremor frightened her to the point that her soul nearly left her body. 

"Hang in there." He smiled lightly, "If you move, I'll become a hero.”

Song Ran slowly said, "En.”

He knelt on one knee and lowered his head to check the line of wires. Occasionally he would cut off a few lines. Perhaps his easy-going temperament had a calming effect, Song Ran’s inner emotions calmed down a little. However, time passed extremely slowly and after waiting for a long time, she couldn't help but look at the remaining time.

She saw that the timer had reached 00:03:00 and panicked again.

He was still methodically defusing the bomb, when the timer turned to 00:02:00. He breathed out a soft sigh and helplessly said, "It's too late.”

Song Ran was stunned.

Despite him saying that, his hands did not stop.

His companion realized the severity of the situation and shouted again, "A- zan!”

Song Ran's eyes and cheeks were wet. Tears and sweat trickled into her mask, and she very quietly sniffled

At that moment, he raised his head. Above the face mask, his pair of clear dark eyes curved into a smile towards her. He comforted her, "Don't be afraid. I won't abandon you.”

The sunlight fell on his eyelashes, shimmering and flickering. His voice was as clear as spring water.

Song Ran stopped crying and nodded slowly.

He lowered his head and continued disassembling. 

But she could sense that the situation had gotten more serious. 

"You should leave." She said softly, "You’re a good person. I don't want to... drag you down with me to die together.”

Without lifting up his head, he asked, "How fast can you run?”

“Ah？”

"How far can you run in five seconds?" His tone was casual as if to downplay the situation. He frowned while disassembling the wires, not looking up.

Song Ran didn't react in time. 

He said, "There's still one and a half minutes left. I can only dismantle the gravity sensor within 30 seconds so that it will not explode immediately when you remove your foot. However, the timer will speed up ten times. As for the remaining minute, it will be shortened to about five seconds." He asked, "How far can you run?”

Five seconds? 

Song Ran’s mind went blank, "10

meters? 20 meters? I don't know."

“Tsk.” He appeared regretful and said, "It's not enough." “

"Maybe 30 meters!" she said, "I've never tried to run like my life depended on it before.”

He said, "Test it out today?”

"...Okay." She nodded.

00：01：10

"Ten seconds. Get ready," he said. His eyes were staring closely at the line of wires and his hands never stopped. 

Song Ran took a deep breath.

“7，6,” He whispered: "5, 4, 3…”

He eliminated the many obstacles and finally picked out the last wire.

Song Ran was tense all over. 

"1." He cut off the wire. The red numbers on the timer accelerated wildly. He stood up, grabbed her hand tightly and sprinted out.

The searing hot air and dust by her ears rose up into a violent gale. She couldn't hear or see anything as she was pulled by him to run for their lives.

She could not hear the sound of the wind, and the beating of her heart, nor sense the dust and hot sweat on her body at all. At that moment, it was as if time and space no longer existed, except for the summer sunshine, searing the eyes like a glass mirror. 

She didn't know how short or long five seconds were.

At the final moment, he pulled her into the protection of his arms and threw them both to the ground. The man's body covered her like a barrier. In the next moment, amidst the sound of a loud explosion, sand, dirt and debris, fell from the sky like rain.

The author has something to say: (The countries, regions, and characters involved in the text are purely fictitious.)