Volume 1 Chapter 6 Turbulent Journey (Part 1)

  The whole morning passed in calmness. Mr. Mark had been leaning back with his eyes closed. Mrs. Mark was an active woman, holding Lin Ruo-lan's hand and talking about her own past experiences when she was young. It wasn't until now that Lin Ruo-lan knew why Mrs. Mark insisted on choosing her as the translator - it was because her German with a Frankfurt accent evoked Mrs. Mark's homesickness. The two women chatted enthusiastically about Mr. Mark's hometown, and even the serious Mr. Mark couldn't help but burst into happy laughter when listening to Lin Ruo-lan's memories of her childhood travels.

  The convoy sped along the highway, Jin Huan was not disturbed by the conversation between the two women, he was vigilant about all possible hidden dangers. Snipers liked to shoot at vehicles on the highway because there were fewer bends on the highway, and with high speed, as long as they hit the tires of the first car, the entire convoy would crash into a ball. If they directly hit the fuel tank, the success rate would be even higher. He used the single-soldier tactical radio to give orders to the convoy: "Each vehicle is 200 meters apart, pay attention to both wings, and maintain a speed of 80 miles per hour."

  At 2:30, after passing a toll station, they turned onto another highway. Suddenly, a faint killing aura gradually approached. Jin Huan and Chen Jianfeng exchanged a glance, and as soon as they confirmed that the other had the same feeling, they immediately tensed up their bodies. "Turn back, go to the national road!" As soon as Jin Huan's command was given, the three cars quickly turned around 180 degrees in place, the tires screeching against the ground, and the rear guard car became the lead car, reversing down the highway and quickly getting onto the national road. Mark and his wife immediately sat up straight with tension, Lin Ruo Lan smiling and gently patting Mark's hand, "Don't be afraid."

  Chen Jianfeng smiled, his calm and serene demeanor was like the gentle flow of moonlight on water. His tone was also very relaxed and peaceful, even a bit casual: "We just found a closer route, don't panic." He told a benevolent lie.

  After Lin Ruo-lan's translation, and since there was no danger, Mrs. Mark looked out the window with a suspicious expression for a moment before leaning back in her chair and falling silent.

  Two white men hiding in a civilian house by the highway kicked the brick wall with rage, one of them said viciously: "These Chinese soldiers are too cunning, have we been discovered? Black bear, what do we do now?"

  The sniper, nicknamed "Black Bear", looked around and said, "The owner of this house has already been killed by us, it's impossible for anyone to leak the news. They must be overly suspicious. FUCK, the meat that was about to reach our mouths ran away. They must have gone up to the national highway. Captain, let's take a shortcut from here and block them, hoping no one else has beaten us to it."

  The convoy drove onto the national highway, and for about two hours, everything was calm. This is a relatively quiet mountain road, with a turbulent river on one side, but since it's still in the dry season, the water flow isn't big. On the other side, the cliffs left by blasting rocks when building the road are steep, and all positions suitable as sniper points on both sides of the road are out of range and don't pose a threat. The main danger is still from this narrow road, because with the opening of the nearby highway, there's less traffic on this road, only some large trucks occasionally passing by to avoid tolls. This relatively quiet road can easily become a place for mercenaries to take action.

  A white Citroen was speeding towards them from the opposite lane, and Long Fei immediately became alert, "Leopard Leopard, be aware of the Citroen."

  Just as the Citroen was about to pass by the lead car, the rear window suddenly and silently rolled down, and the barrel of a sniper rifle quietly extended out of the window. With a "bang" sound, Cheng Xiaopeng's pistol barrel emitted a wisp of white smoke, and the enemy sniper was hit in the left chest. Seeing that the action had failed, the Citroen driver frantically turned the steering wheel, attempting to crash into the boss's car and crush it against the cliff. Jin Huan suddenly slammed on the brakes, causing the Citroen to crash into thin air, losing control and crashing head-on into a boulder. Chen Jianfeng raised his gun and fired at the same time as he braked, and with another "bang" sound, the Citroen driver was hit in the center of his forehead.

  At this time, the rear guard car had also stopped. Lin Jie and Ma Ping slowly approached the Citroen with their guns drawn. On the back seat of the car lay a white sniper, his left chest covered in blood, but still breathing. Ma Ping shot him in the head again, and Lin Jie snatched away his sniper rifle: "Damn, this is ruthless, actually using an M82A1." As he spoke, he handed the gun to Chen Jianfeng.

  The Barrett M82A1 is a recoil-operated, semi-automatic anti-materiel rifle developed by the American company Barrett Firearms Manufacturing. The M82A1 has an effective range of over 1500 meters and can effectively destroy radar stations, trucks, parked aircraft, etc., earning it the nickname "anti-material rifle".

  "Stay alert! Be aware of the remaining enemies! Withdraw in one minute!" Jin Huan's calm voice appeared in the earpiece, and after confirming that Citroen was no longer a threat, the team immediately boarded the vehicle. As the gunfire sounded, several passing cars stopped far away on both sides, not daring to come over. After confirming that no personnel were mistakenly injured by bullets, the convoy continued on its way. Lei Meng used the maritime satellite phone to contact the local armed police detachment and asked them to follow up.

  Mrs. Mark didn't scream this time, she and her husband were pale, but they seemed to have started trusting the people protecting them. After the car started moving, she even began comforting Lin Ruolan, "It's nothing, we're safe." Jin Huan glanced at Lin Ruolan's expression through the rearview mirror, whose calm face showed no emotion. He let out a slight sigh of relief and focused on driving the car. Chen Jianfeng's gaze moved away from the rearview mirror, lowering his head to fiddle with the sniper rifle they had just seized.

  The captain and the black bear standing on the distant mountain top witnessed the whole process, secretly amazed at the agility and decisiveness of the Chinese special forces, while also celebrating that the 10 million reward was not taken away by others.

  "They won't take the night road," said the captain, pointing to a small county town on the map. "They'll definitely be lodging here tonight, our chance has come."

  The black bear hesitated for a moment, "They have many people, it's better to call the owls together, someone will share the money, and it's better than losing our lives in this country."

  The national highway seemed to have returned to calm, and an hour after departure, there was no obstruction. The sky was about to darken. Jin Huan looked at the GPS, "Attention all vehicles, enter the county town in one and a half hours, rest at the military supply station, and don't go any further today."

  "Roger!" came the responses from the lead and rear cars.

  "Be on the lookout for crowds and high-rise buildings after entering the county town, and shoot to kill if you find the target!" Jin Huan gave the order before entering the county town.

  This is a small county town near the border, with about 500-600 households. The military supply station is located at the southernmost end of the only main street in the county town. When the convoy drove onto this main street, it was already 19:20, and the road conditions were extremely poor, so the convoy could only move forward at a speed of 20 miles per hour. The people in the county town had finished dinner and started strolling on the streets, and the three Red Flag sedans immediately attracted everyone's attention, as no one here had ever seen such luxurious cars before. The children were even more excited, chasing after the Red Flag cars and shouting with joy, which caused Mrs. Mark to open the car window and wave at the children, causing the team members to break out in a cold sweat. At this time, if there was a sniper hiding in one of the buildings on the opposite side, the consequences would be unthinkable.

  Fortunately, at this time the motorcade had already entered the military supply station gate. Because of the blockade by the sentry post, the children were stopped outside the gate and looked disappointedly at the people who came down from the luxury cars.

  The courtyard of the military supply station was not large, and the parking lot that could accommodate ten military vehicles was empty at this moment. In the center of the courtyard was a small circular pond with a fake mountain in the middle. Directly opposite the pond was a seven-story building running east-west. A stout junior lieutenant was running out of the building towards the parking lot. Long Fei and Cheng Xiaopeng quickly got out of the car, blocking the officer's way, two black gun barrels pointing straight at him, coldly saying: "Halt!" The officer looked at them in surprise, stopping in his tracks.

  The other team members immediately got out of the car and ran to the boss's car, with their backs tightly against the door, vigilantly observing the surroundings, with one hand inserted into their waist holding the gun handle. Chen Jianfeng told Lin Ruolan: "Without orders, do not let Mark and his wife get off the bus."

  Jin Hao got off the car and walked towards the officer, "ID!"

  The lieutenant glanced at his superior's military rank, took out the officer's certificate and handed it to him: "Commander, we received a notice that there may be a senior commander coming for inspection today. The room has been cleaned up. May I ask who you are..."

  "My identity is none of your concern. Prepare five south-facing rooms on the second floor for us, and my people will take over security here until we leave tomorrow morning." His tone was stern and cold, and his black urban hunter training uniform accentuated his aloof demeanor.

  The lieutenant swallowed a mouthful of saliva, "Yes, I'll go prepare right away." He ran towards the building with his big belly sticking out, shouting to his deputies to get ready to welcome the honored guest.

  "Bulb (Xu Mingliang) sets up the jammer, leaving two channels for us while shielding all wireless communications within a radius of three kilometers. Jackal (Ma Ping) sets up infrared sensors. Mountain Eagle (Lin Jie), Cold Arrow (Geng Guohui) find high ground to establish a sniper position. Thunder God and Monkey close the military supply station gate, replace the guards, familiarize themselves with the terrain. Execute!" As soon as Jin Huan gave the order, the assault team members immediately dispersed to carry out their commands.

  The gate of the military supply station closed, and the crowd blocked outside the gate let out a "hiss" sound, dispersing in disappointment. Chen Jianfeng and Long Fei led Mark and his wife down from the car and quickly entered the building. Lin Ruolan wanted to follow them together, but was stopped by Jin Huang.

  "After dinner, go back to the room immediately and turn off the lights to sleep. No matter what sounds are outside, you are not allowed to leave the door, let alone turn on the lights, understand?" Jin Huan tried to speak slowly and calmly.

  Lin Ruo Lan had been on the bus for a whole day and her head was feeling a bit dizzy, but after hearing this sentence, her dazed eyes suddenly widened to their largest size, "Will there really be a situation?"

  Jin Hao nodded, his warm breath gently blowing on her hair: "I had this feeling."

  His expression was very serious, Lin Ruo Lan tilted her head and thought for a moment before asking: "But what about Mr. and Mrs. Mark? Do I need to go accompany them?"

  "No need, someone will protect them. Stay in the room and don't distract me." Jin Huan gently grasped Lin Ruolan's hand, his rough and warm palm, calloused from long-term intense training, lightly stroking hers. The lightest touch brought the strongest feeling, she only felt that his fingers were like magic, lightly brushing against her skin, leaving a burning sensation. "Remember?" he asked softly.

  "You'd better be careful too." Lin Ruolan looked up at him, feeling his sudden grip on her hand, and her confused mind was immediately overwhelmed by a wave of emotions, drawn in by the turbulent and stormy true feelings in his dark eyes.

  Ma Ping, who was setting up the infrared sensor, poked Lei Meng, who was helping him, and asked in a low voice, "Lei, didn't our sister-in-law call us?"

  Lei Meng shouted: "Stop asking this and that, get to work! Be careful or Jin Dabao will twist your head off!"

  There were no other lodgers in the military supply station, and the assault team occupied the entire corridor on the second floor of the military supply station. Chen Jianfeng asked the lieutenant to gather his men together, requiring them not to go out tonight, and the lieutenant responded repeatedly, having stayed in this small county town's military supply station for a lifetime, rarely seeing a regular army officer, he had no choice but to obey orders.

  After having the first hot meal of the day in the military supply station, Lin Ruolan and Mark couple returned to their respective rooms according to Jin Hua's request and went to bed soon after lights out. However, for the assault team, the long night had just begun.

  Ma Ping set up the defense and came back, reporting to Jin Huan: "I have arranged 24 infrared sensors in a circular pattern with this building as the center, with a radius of 300 meters. The alarm signal is received on channel B of my personal radio, and everyone has been notified. Within a radius of 100 meters in front of the building, I have set up 6 D86 anti-personnel mines, remote-controlled detonation, No. 1 detonator was given to the ambush sentry, and No. 2 was given to you."

  Jin Huan took over the detonator and opened the main control key. Six green lights lit up one after another, and the landmine was already in a state of alert. He put away the detonator, nodded and said: "Hurry up and rest, go on duty in the second half of the night, be vigilant when sleeping." He walked around the corridor again, Xu Mingliang and Cheng Xiaopeng were guarding at the stairway entrance, seemingly leisurely smoking cigarettes, they were the first shift sentry tonight. Jin Huan returned to the room next to Mark's couple, Chen Jianfeng had just come back from checking the night watch outside, was sitting on the edge of the bed disassembling that M82A1 rifle. Seeing Jin Huan enter the room, he said in a low voice: "Everything is arranged outside, Long Fei is the first shift sentry, tonight we're waiting for them to fall into our trap."

  Jin Hao nodded, opening the large map spread on the bed to search for the route. Chen Jianfeng handed him a cigarette and continued: "I reported the itinerary to headquarters, just received news from the base camp that Yang Xinxin went missing with an 88-style sniper rifle. The base camp has dispatched a search team."

  "What?" Jin Huan was startled, lit a cigarette and thought for a moment, "With a gun? What does she want to do?"

  Chen Jianfeng was fiddling with the M82A1, "You might not know that after the incident, Luo Jie asked the members of the women's team and An Jing hesitantly said that on the evening when you went to talk to Lin Ruolan, Yang Xinxin had forcibly requested to talk to Lin Ruolan in the female dormitory."

  Jin Hao sprang up from the bedside, his half-burned cigarette twisted into a rope of smoke. "Why didn't she ever tell me?" His eyebrows furrowed, suddenly realizing that his protection for Lin Ruolan was neither thorough nor adequate. He quickly calmed down, pointing to the map and saying: "If they're chasing us, she won't appear on this side of the border. You see, there's a small path here that smugglers often take. She's carried out several anti-drug missions and is very familiar with this place. She'll definitely take this road to leave the country. Notify the search team to set up an ambush and capture her!"

  "Military personnel are not allowed to carry guns out of the country without permission, no matter what the reason is, and will be considered treasonous. Chen Jianfeng slowly exhaled a ring of smoke, 'I have already informed headquarters, and must intercept her within the border, hoping she has not gone too far down the wrong path.'"

  "You just said she brought an 88 sniper?" Jin Huan lit another cigarette, took a drag and thought for a moment before saying: "Carrying a sniper rifle can only have one purpose. Notify all team members that once they leave the border and find Yang Xinxin's trail, do not report it, but immediately take her out!"

  Chen Jianfeng hesitated for a moment before smiling and saying, "Alright then, heaven's mistakes can be forgiven, but one's own mistakes cannot be lived with!" His tone was gentle, but his words were laced with a cold, ruthless decisiveness.

  "Let's not talk about her," Jinhwang said, looking at the map for a while and calculating the route. "At today's speed, we'll arrive at the border checkpoint around 3 pm tomorrow. The road after that will be all up to us. Let's get some rest quickly, tonight is going to be exciting."

  Chen Jianfeng smiled, put away his weapons, and lay down on the bed in his clothes.

  Jin Huang drew out his pistol, opened the safety catch and tucked it into his waistband. He also placed the assault rifle by his leg, then lay down on the bed, while Chen Jianfeng was already making soft snoring sounds in the adjacent bed.

  At one o'clock in the morning, Lieutenant and Black Bear had been lying under a lush big tree opposite the military supply station for five hours. Their four companions had arrived, "This military supply station is not complex in terrain, the deployment of guards is clear at a glance, what are we waiting for? We can attack!" A tall white man with oil paint on his face and wearing camouflage uniform said urgently.

  "What's the hurry, Owl? There are Chinese special forces inside. If we're not careful, they'll take us out. Take another look." Black Bear whispered, pointing at the tightly closed door: "Can't see any ambushes behind the door."

  The owl sneered, "This group of Chinese soldiers is stupid. The high ground has no observation post and no firepower deployment. What's scary about that? Let's just kill them directly, 10 million US dollars will be ours!"

  "They must have a sniper, if we can't find him, we'll all become targets. Maybe he's aiming at us right now." Hei Xiong shrank his neck.

  "Their sniper is sleeping, this is China, they think we don't dare to launch a strong attack, stop wasting words, let's move quickly." The owl was impatient.

  The captain observed for another half hour, and there was still no movement inside. He slowly put his mind at ease, it seemed the owl was right, the Chinese soldiers were sleeping soundly.

  He waved his hand, "Up!"

  The owl took off with another black man with painted face from the front. Three steps, two steps jumped onto the wall, and quickly jumped down to the ground without making any noise.

  "Five o'clock, infrared sensor detected biological reaction!" Ma Ping's voice came from the earpiece.

  As soon as the voice report came, Jin Huang immediately opened his eyes, as if he had never fallen asleep: "All quiet! Turn off the silencer. Snipers enter the position, hidden sentries remain vigilant, Lei Gong and Lang Wolf enter the attack line, other team members wait for orders, bring people in, act!"

  Ma Ping and Lei Meng leaped out of the windows on both sides of the second floor, landing softly on the cement ground outside like cats. They immediately leaned against the wall, guns at the ready, waiting. Long Fei and the second sniper Lin Jie quickly entered the rooftop sniping position. Geng Guohui, who had been crouching behind a flowerbed in front of the building, slowly raised his assault rifle without making a sound. Xu Mingliang and Cheng Xiaopeng squatted motionless on both sides of the door. In Jin Huan's earpiece, he heard "in position" one after another, all team members were in place. He and Chen Jianfeng quietly observed from behind the window on the second floor.

  The intruder crouched at the foot of the wall, hiding behind a gun. After confirming that he had not been discovered, the owl whispered softly: "Fool, no patrol was set up. It seems they are all asleep." He called out to his companion, "Jack, send a signal for them to come in, our chance to get rich has arrived."

  The black man whistled and immediately the captain and others outside jumped over the wall.

  "Owls, you're entering from the left flank. Larry Dole," the captain whispered to a black man, "your team is entering from the right flank, whoever gets their hands on it first will get an extra $5 million each. Black Bear, stay put and set up a sniper point. Let's move! Good luck!" The Owl smiled with a "heh heh" in acceptance.

  Four figures clad in US jungle combat uniforms darted out from their hiding place.

  "Three o'clock position, two of them, 20 meters away." Ma Ping's voice came again.

  "9 o'clock position, two, 15 meters apart." Lei Meng also found the target.

  The owl pointed to the outer wall of the building for Jack, "Climb up from here and enter through the window. I've been observing that these windows have had lights on."

  The black man nodded and his powerful fingers immediately grasped the brick seams on the outer wall, climbing upwards. At the same time, Larry's group was also approaching the entrance of the building.

  "Action!" With Jin Huan's order, Ma Ping jumped up and with a beautiful short shot, the tall black man fell heavily to the ground. The owl was startled and instinctively rolled over to hide behind the flower bed, but before he could react, a large hand stretched out from behind him. Geng Guohui covered his mouth with his left hand and with a flick of his wrist, sent the military dagger into the afterlife.

  At the same time, Larry and his companion crept to the door of the building, one on the left and one on the right. As soon as they stepped inside, Cheng Xiaopeng made a gesture, Xu Mingliang turned on a high-powered flashlight and shone it directly at their eyes, and the bright light immediately blinded them, making them unable to see anything. In the instant when the light was turned off, Cheng Xiaopeng and Xu Mingliang pounced forward, two sharp daggers stabbed into the hearts of the two mercenaries.

  Hei Xiong and Shang Wei saw the fight in front of the building through night vision goggles, startled, "Damn it, there's an ambush, retreat quickly!" Hei Xiong said in a low voice.

  "At five o'clock, the Monkey and Lightbulb searched for remaining enemies, while Cold Arrow and Thunderbolt suppressed with firepower. Everyone else stood by in their original positions."

  Cheng Xiaopeng was like a nimble monkey, suddenly launching a silent attack, rolling continuously and rushing to the fake rock behind the black bear. Xu Mingliang took advantage of the cover of three Red Flag cars in the parking lot to quickly circle around to the five o'clock position.

  The black bear found Xu Mingliang rushing towards his hiding place at high speed, and the muzzle of the M24 sniper rifle immediately pointed to his path. Geng Guohui and Lei Meng took a step forward, and in the dense firing of the assault rifle, the hail of bullets made the black bear instinctively lower its head and hide, and when it raised its head again, it suddenly found that its opponent had disappeared without a trace.

  "Split up and escape, meet at the designated point." The lieutenant finished speaking and bent down to prepare for escape. Cheng Xiaopeng had already arrived behind him, his left hand suddenly supporting his chin from behind, pulling him into his arms with a swing of his right hand, the sharp blade of the dagger cutting open his throat, he immediately fell to the ground like a puddle of mud. Hei Xiong's fingers hadn't even had time to pull the trigger when Xu Mingliang jumped up from behind him, grabbing his head with both hands and twisting it violently, the sound of cracking bones as he broke his neck.

  "Clear! Safe!" The report came from Cheng Xiaopeng's voice in the headphones. The entire battle lasted less than half an hour and ended silently.

  "Shift change!" Jin Hao shouted. He let out a light sigh in his heart, thinking: "This night is finally over."

  The second half of the night was calm and suspenseless, but Jin Hao and Chen Jianfeng both knew that the real war was waiting for them outside the national border.

  A good night's sleep, and when she woke up, it was already daylight. The clear morning light poured into the room, and the air carried the dampness of dew and a faint mist. Lin Ruolan suddenly sat up, raised her hand to look at her watch, and found that it was almost seven o'clock. She had slept too soundly last night, why wasn't there any noise outside? Was someone really coming to launch a sneak attack? Was she the only one left?

  The door was gently pushed open, and Jin Huan lightly stepped inside. He saw her sitting on the bed in a daze, and his lips curled up slightly. "You sleep so soundly, even if someone carried you away in the middle of the night, you wouldn't know." His calm and gentle voice whispered into her ear, filled with an inexplicable tenderness that calmed her down. Lin Ruolan looked up at him, her clear eyes making Jin Huan's heart skip a beat. He quickly composed himself, smiling as he reached out to affectionately mess up her hair. "Get up and wash up, let's go downstairs for breakfast."

  After coming down from the building, Lin Ruolan finally understood what had happened last night. The fat lieutenant was leading a few people to clean up the bloodstains at the entrance of the building, his face full of grievances, muttering in his heart, these several plague gods didn't know where they came from, just one night's work and there were six corpses in front of his door, still foreigners. This pool of blood also didn't know if it had AIDS virus.

  The county town's armed police received a notification to come and deal with the body. The convoy set off again at 8 o'clock, Mrs. Mark discussed engine design issues with her husband, and the two even quarreled like two children over an issue, this professional topic Lin Ruo Lan couldn't get involved in, so she was alone facing the scenery outside the car window to sort out her messy thoughts.

  It is undeniable that from the initial infatuation to the subsequent rejection, and now to the gradual acceptance, she is being deeply attracted to Jin Huan. The 30-year-old Jin Huan has shed his boyish frivolity and greenness, exuding a mature man's unique wisdom between his eyebrows. What a dream man he is for many women! Every night, she would think of that profound face, and start paying attention to everything about him. His career, his persistence, his wise words at military conferences, his calm thinking during battles, and his unwavering demeanor in the face of adversity - this man's maturity, self-control, brilliance, and melancholy can only be understood by being deeply immersed in it.

  She finally believed that in this chaotic world, there was indeed such a man who could give women love and hope for their dreams.

  When you fall in love with him, you should understand his inner world, his pursuit. Life really has more important things than just survival. It often requires a kind of spirit, without being calm and peaceful, one cannot make their aspirations clear, without being quiet and still, one cannot achieve their goals far away.

  Her thoughts were interrupted by the slight vibration of the wheels, Lin Ruolan looked straight ahead, her line of sight coincidentally meeting Jin Huang's in the rearview mirror, she hastily avoided him. Chen Jianfeng, who was driving, had a flicker of light in his eyes, but quickly returned to calmness like still water.

  The convoy arrived at the border checkpoint at 2:30 pm after a smooth journey.

  The border inspection station is surrounded by dense forests, with a two-story building facing south and north. On the roof of the building, there is a flagpole, on which the five-star red flag is flying high. In front of the building, there is a basketball court, and an asphalt road that leads to the foreign trade route. This border inspection station is not the main border crossing, with only one shift of troops stationed here, making it relatively safe for the assault team.

  The convoy had just arrived at the border inspection station, and someone in the woods moved slightly. It was a SWAT sniper. "Which unit is this idiot from? I've already discovered them 1000 meters away," Chen Jianfeng said discontentedly in a low voice. Jin Hao burst out laughing, patted his shoulder, got off the car, and walked towards the approaching SWAT team leader.

  The border inspection station was normal, and Long Fei led Cheng Xiaopeng and Lin Jie to get off the bus and be on guard. The other team members began to refuel the cars, replenish food, ammunition, and water, and the team members were doing everything in an orderly and silent manner. At 3:00 PM sharp, all preparations were complete, and the convoy was about to cross the national border.

  The commandos voluntarily faced the national flag, stood in line and gave a solemn military salute, shouting in unison: "Farewell, my motherland!"

  Lin Ruo Lan felt her nose turning sour, a surge of warmth flowing incessantly in her chest. Facing the national flag, she gave her first solemn military salute since birth.