White Olive Tree

Chapter 44

Chapter 44
On December 1st, there was a heavy smog in Imperial City.  The PM2.5 index exceeded 500.
Song Ran took Ran Yuwei to the hospital for a review and then returned home. As soon as she entered the door, she turned on all four air purifiers.
"Why don't we just go back to the south and stay in the countryside for a while. In the winter in the Imperial City, there is haze every day. Even if you are not sick, you will get cancer."
"I can't walk far enough. Besides, it's wet and cold in the winter over there. I don't have lung disease, but I also have rheumatism."
Song Ran knew that she couldn't be persuaded, so he ignored her.  She poured pure water into the humidifier and plugged it in.
Two months ago, Ran Yuwei was discharged from the hospital after her condition stabilized. After that, she received step-by-step treatment. Her health improved a lot and she went back to work early.  But Song Ran kept a close eye on her and had to drag her out of the office on the day of the re-examination.
She sat on the sofa and drank some water, turning on the TV to watch international news as a habit.
Country A and Country B are arguing over mad cow disease and beef import quarantine issues;
There are potential safety hazards in the manufacturing of cars produced by countries C and D.
Countries E and F accuse each other of raising agricultural tariffs;
And the Eastern Kingdom,
"...After one year and four months of war, the government forces finally recaptured 60% of the historical and cultural town of Aare, and plan to complete the overall recovery of the city in the near future. With Aare as the dividing line  , if the defense battle is successful, the government forces will regain more than half of the Eastern Kingdom, that is, all the wealthy areas in the south. The rebels will be forced to go north to the desert to compete for territory with extremist organizations.
"Last week, the extremist group carried out public executions of fifty-eight government troops and civilians, and posted the footage on..."
A mosaic video was playing on the TV screen.
Ran Yuwei looked at Song Ran.
She watered the green plants at home, went to the balcony to collect clothes, and folded a bunch of them on the sofa.
Ran Yuwei asked: "You guys haven't contacted me anymore?"
Song Ran: "Yeah."
"I planned to go to Dongguo this time, but I didn't even tell him."
   "Um."
Ran Yu sighed slightly: "I don't think there is anything to compete with. If he is a clerk, you are a war reporter. He thinks that Dongguo is dangerous and you are not allowed to go. Are you going to quit? You stepped on the bomb again, and again  Is it not dangerous if there is an explosion? I am your mother, how many times have I told you not to go, and you listened? He is a soldier, and if you accept a mission, your mother-in-law and mother will discuss it with you, such a man is of no use.
A man can love a woman, but he cannot obey her in everything.  So do women.  We don’t depend on anyone else, we just listen to our own hearts.  If you are in sync with each other, you are the best couple; if you are not in sync with each other, break it off as soon as possible so as not to harm each other.  "
Song Ran folded her clothes and frowned: "I know. You don't need to tell me."

"We all know, what are you making a fuss about?"
Song Ran remained silent.
It was two or three months ago that she sent Li Zan to the airport.
At that time, her mood was too unstable, and all kinds of emergencies were happening around her. She was nervous and frightened, and her actions inevitably brought out the urge to vent.
She stayed up all night that day, thinking about how he would see the text message more than ten hours later, and she cried with pain again.  She waited until the plane landed, waiting for him to reply something.
I thought that based on his personality, even if he didn't coax, he would at least say a word or two.  She has such a soft heart, she must be...
But he really stopped contacting her.
Didn’t even reply to that text message.
What can she do? She said it first.
But after she calmed down, she figured out something - how could Li Zan hide this from the instructor.
She has watched Ran Yuwei handle affairs since she was a child, and she also understands many international operations.  When you calm down and think about it, you will know what is going on.
It is nothing more than an exchange of interests between countries - country A provides secret military assistance to country B, and after country B's regime stabilizes, it will return huge international benefits to country A, such as oil, natural gas, minerals, international voting, etc.
Even if the old regime falls, a new one will rise.  Country A clapped and clapped, and there was no trace of it on the outside. They shook hands and were still good friends.  It only hurts the soldiers who perform secret missions for the country.
Don’t count your merits and sacrifices.
Song Ran took a breath silently, her heart aching with pain.
   "Mother."
   "how?"
"I hate myself sometimes."
Ran Yu was slightly stunned: "Why?"
"Maybe you are right. If I were stronger, maybe I wouldn't get sick." Song Ran raised his head and smiled at her.
"..." Ran Yuwei was greatly shocked.  Although he has always been demanding towards his daughter, at this moment he regretted what he wanted to say.  Song Ran carried the folded clothes into the room. When he came out, he took a piece of paper and said, "I printed out the review schedule and the expert's phone number for you. The electronic version has been sent to your secretary."
Ran Yuwei said: "Your mother is still sick, so she ran to Dongguo."
"...I didn't see you saying you were sick when you were at work?"
"..."
"I decided to write the Floating World properly. Aare's position is too important. I must be there on the day of recovery. Didn't you say that, let me pursue what I really want."
Ran Yu sighed slightly: "Go, go. You're not here..."
"You need to be treated well even if I'm not here. I'll call the secretary to check on you."
   "okay."
……
Dongguo, Su Ruicheng, eastern suburbs.
Now that it’s December, the climate is cooler than in summer.  But it was nearly noon, and it was still 28.9 degrees, and the surface temperature was over 30.
This street on the south side of the eastern suburbs is empty and quiet.  Several soldiers were patrolling at the entrance to the terrorist organization's small stronghold at the end of the road.
It was a three-story imitation European-style building. Li Zan had been sneaking in for five minutes.
Benjamin and the machine gunners and screeners in his team were lurking in the windows of the houses on both sides of the road, aiming their guns and waiting.
After a few minutes of dead silence, a figure descended from the second floor of a European-style building and landed behind a patrolman. He quickly grabbed his head and twisted it. The guy instantly collapsed to the ground.
The accomplice turned around and raised his gun.
With a few soft sounds of "chirp" and "chirp", Benjamin's bullets penetrated the enemy's head from a hundred meters away.
Li Zan glanced at the fallen man, sprinted to the roadside without stopping, jumped onto the window sill of a house, stepped on the broken wall and flew up to the second and third floors.  He jumped up and down on the scattered roofs, and suddenly stopped halfway.
He stood on the roof of the third floor of a house, looking back at the surrounding streets.
Benjamin pulled the small microphone: "LEE! What are you doing?!"
The laughter of British screener George came from the earphones: "He is enjoying the scenery."
"Why don't you come up and take a look?" Li Zan's voice came casually.  He jumped off the broken wall, passed through several houses within tens of seconds, jumped out of the window, landed next to Benjamin, and patted the dirt on his body.
Benjamin looked up from the scope: "Okay?"
"Okay." Li Zan glanced at the timer, put the earplugs into his ears, lay on the ground, put his hands behind his head, closed his eyes and counted down, "5-4-3-2-1."
"Rumble" a series of three loud noises, and the small stronghold at the end of the road was instantly destroyed in the flames of the explosion.
Within ten seconds, the tall buildings were flattened and flames were flying.  The terrorists didn't even have a chance to escape.
In the earphones, black machine gunner Morgan shouted: "I LOVE YOU LEE!"
Benjamin said: "HE IS MINE!"
Laughter came from several directions in the headphones.
Commando Kevin smiled and said: "Ben, it turns out you are a lady. Let me see if there is pussy in your pants!"
"Get out!" Benjamin ordered into the microphone on his collar, "I'm keeping watch here. J, M, K, you three go to the back to rescue the prisoners and hostages."
   "yes."
The three people jumped from their respective hiding spots and rushed to the other end of the street.  There are more than 200 government prisoners and civilians being held there, and they were scheduled to be publicly executed tomorrow.
The headphones went quiet.  At the explosion point, flames crackled.
Benjamin turned to look at Li Zan. He seemed to be sleeping.
"Why did you stop upstairs just now?" Benjamin said, "This is very dangerous. You should know."
"This street looks familiar, as if I've been here before."
"What are you doing here?"
He slowly opened his eyes and said, "I saved a girl."
Benjamin still asked, but Kevin's report came from the earphone: "B, there is a bomb in the prison."
Benjamin: "Where is it?"
"On the wall."
"Evacuate the crowd and let it explode."
"OK."
There is no objection there.
In the past nearly three months, the mission of their team was mainly to eliminate the scattered strongholds of terrorist organizations and rescue hostages and prisoners. They had never encountered a bomb attack.  Instead, Li Zan made many bombs and blasting devices for combat use.
There was a French bomb disposal unit in their team at the beginning, but within two days of gathering, they made a coordination error during a combat mission in the capital Gama, ran in the wrong direction, were hit in the head by a bullet, and died on the spot.
His girlfriend came the next day, holding the body and crying.
Benjamin and the others went up to comfort him.  Only Li Zan did not, and turned around and left without saying a word.
Benjamin guessed something, but he didn’t ask, and he never mentioned song song again.
……
In mid-December, Song Ran got on a plane to Gamma.
The plane chased the sunset all the way to the west, and the afterglow shone through the portholes and filled the cabin.  The stewardess came over and closed the windows one by one to help the passengers fall asleep.
Song Ran was covered with a thin blanket and tilted her head, but she couldn't fall asleep.
After being away for more than a year, she wondered whether Dongguo would be different from what she remembered.  She was worried and uneasy about what was going to happen, but she was also looking forward to it.
As expected, I still have a special feeling for this land.
Whether it is to wash away the past, atone for sins, or just for a dream, the next journey will be unforgettable for her.
At this moment, she finally faced her inner desire.
As if driven by an invisible force, she couldn't help but want to come to the Eastern Kingdom.  Just like Li Zan, he must also have a strong desire.
His reasons were a secret, just as hers were a secret to him.
They are all looking for comfort from each other, looking for peace of mind, looking for joy, looking for medicine to heal the heartache.  To some extent, many have been found; to some extent, some have been covered up.
After all, you still have to rely on yourself for that last scar.
In this way, amid the melancholy, introspection, anxiety and deep thought along the way, the plane arrived at Gamma.
At six o'clock in the afternoon local time, the setting sun enveloped this ancient city with thousands of years of history.
The first time she saw him through the porthole window, Song Ran's heart skipped a beat.
The war destroyed most of the city. The once magnificent ancient buildings, temples, stone monuments and arches were already scarred and in ruins.
She held the camera and leaned against the window to take pictures. A stinging pain hit her heart, no less than seeing an old friend who had been away for many days but had been tortured.