Chapter 2 Memories Before Crossing Over

  "Boom"………, I feel my body is as light as a feather, floating towards the distant unknown darkness. In my consciousness, my soul "ding" escaped, like the sound of a large ocean blowing in my ear, ahead is a long tunnel, can't see the end, in the dimness, there seems to be a seven-colored rainbow cloud surrounding me, my consciousness keeps drifting along the tunnel towards the distant unknown, the faces of my parents, the figures of loved ones, the images of comrades, and that girl's smile keep flashing in my mind, am I saying goodbye to you all? Where am I going? What is ahead? Am I dead?

  It's strange that in my consciousness, I didn't feel fear or confusion, but instead was filled with a sense of calmness and serenity. Deep down, it seemed as if I had found a sense of belonging.

  "Wake up, wake up", several urgent and excited cries echoed in my ears, the voices were filled with wild joy. I tried to open my eyes, under the dim light, many unfamiliar faces appeared before me, old and young, male and female, without exception, each person's face was etched with concern, their eyes shining with care and surprise. "Where is this place? Where am I?" I tried to ask in the loudest voice possible, but my own feeling was that my lips only moved slightly, and in an instant, I fell back into a coma.

  I, in a coma, felt my soul floating lightly, like being suspended in the air, feeling carefree and casual, yet my consciousness was exceptionally clear. The events of that day replayed in my mind like a movie.

  It was a Sunday, and I had agreed with my girlfriend to go on an outing in the suburbs. Before leaving, I took a glance at myself in the mirror. "Hmm", I thought I looked really good, cool and handsome, wearing a high-end casual outfit that fit perfectly, with Li Ning sports shoes on my feet, standing tall at 1.8 meters. The phrase "a jade tree standing by the wind" was practically made for me! Just to clarify, I'm not a narcissist!

  I didn't wear my uniform, but I always feel constrained when I'm with girls, like there's a voice in my ear reminding me, "Be careful, three major disciplines, eight points of attention." Oh man, I'm dating! If this continues, won't I go crazy?! Besides, today I have a small goal, to make some substantial progress with that girl. For the sake of this plan, I was genuinely excited for a moment. Also, when we first met, I wore my uniform, and from her gaze, I saw genuine admiration. My vanity was satisfied, but admiration is a kind of distance, a distance I don't want. I'm dating! So, this time, I didn't wear my uniform.

  As I boarded the bus, I held a bouquet of fresh flowers that I had bought just before getting on. Am I in love? Creating an atmosphere, after all, I'm still a romantic at heart. Soldiers are human too, aren't they? There's even a song about it: "Soldiers have love too, and will accompany you to the ends of the earth." Sitting on the bus, looking out the window, the beautiful cityscape unfolded before my eyes. The city where I live is located in the western border of our motherland, a place where many ethnic groups reside. Just beyond the borders are those small Central Asian countries that used to be part of the Soviet Union, always noisy and not very peaceful.

  There are also those terrorist organizations that have forgotten their ancestors, such as the "Lone Wolf" and other similar ones. In order to achieve personal ambitions and split the country, they constantly manufacture terrorist incidents. During my time in the army, more than 90% of our missions were dealing with this type of incident. I personally killed over a dozen terrorists, and the scars on my body are the memorials left by these losers, which are also my glorious medals.

  At this moment, it was the eve of National Day, in the beautiful October, a good season in a year. Outside the car window, high-rise buildings and wide, clean streets were lined with blooming flowers. In front of the companies and shops on the street, bright five-star red flags were hung. From afar, it was a sea of red. The pedestrians on the street walked hastily, but their faces showed joy. Seeing these, I felt a little proud in my heart. As a soldier, isn't the prosperity and peace of the city what I hope for and strive for?

  There were many people on the bus, but it was very quiet. Except for the humming of the engine, almost no other noise could be heard. Two young girls in school uniforms sat with a book, discussing something in hushed tones. A young office worker sat at his seat, rapidly typing away on his laptop keyboard, looking quite tense - another workaholic! An elderly couple sat quietly, holding hands, their ordinary faces bearing the serenity that comes with age. Seeing them made me think of my father and mother, and I suddenly felt a strong urge to go home. It's been a long time since I've seen them. With the National Day holiday coming up, I should go back and visit them, I thought to myself.

  The quiet atmosphere in the carriage deeply infected me, I comfortably leaned back in my seat, and with the slight swaying of the car, I closed my eyes. I felt like the bus had stopped, a few passengers got off, and several people came on board. I didn't pay attention to it, after all, this is normal for buses, getting on and off.

  Suddenly, a dangerous breath hit my brain, because I have been practicing the internal skill of Tiandi Men since childhood, and my sixth sense and spiritual consciousness are extremely sensitive. The internal skill of Tiandi Men emphasizes feeling nature, experiencing nature, integrating into nature, and learning from nature. My master once told me that if the internal skill of Tiandi Men reaches a high level, I can perceive everything within a hundred miles, including all living things, the movement of ants, and the growth of plants. Of course, I haven't reached this level yet. If I concentrate my energy, I can sense any unusual movements within several kilometers. Even in the small space of the train car, if I don't concentrate my energy, any abnormalities in the environment won't escape my spiritual consciousness.

  This dangerous feeling made me involuntarily shiver, the hairs on my body stood up, and I simultaneously smelled a faint scent of gunpowder in my nose. I suddenly opened my eyes to see a middle-aged man standing up from his seat, with an ugly face, muscles twitching abnormally, and a pair of dull eyes emitting a deep, sinister glow. His right hand reached into his chest and pulled out something, while he shouted in a hoarse voice: "The true god is eternal, long live the holy war!" He was speaking in the language of a minority ethnic group, which I could understand because I had been interacting with people from various ethnic groups in this city for many years.

  This is terrible, a terrorist, probably another "lone" "human bomb", I've encountered this situation before, but it was in remote areas, and now for the first time on a crowded bus. This guy must have detonated the explosives on his body. If the bomb had exploded on the bus, the consequences would be unthinkable. The lives of everyone on this bus would be brutally taken away by this depraved person. And it happened on the eve of National Day, with extremely adverse effects. The nature of the incident will definitely be exploited and distorted by Western media and individuals who are hostile to China's rise, to demonize China. This bastard really knows how to choose the timing and location.

  In an instant, I was completely subconscious, and my natural instincts kicked in. My internal energy surged from my lower abdomen along the meridians to my waist, causing my muscles to tense up. With a sudden burst of force, I sprang out of my seat, using the momentum to propel myself forward. The bouquet of flowers in my hand was affected by the surge of internal energy, and petals flew off like butterflies dancing before my eyes. Then, they gently fluttered down. Like a swift and fierce leopard, I pounced towards that guy. My fist reached his face before my body did, and I clearly heard the sound of his nasal bone shattering. I was certain he had fallen into a semi-conscious state. Next, my arms wrapped around him like iron clamps, holding him tightly in place. At the same time, I kicked off from the seat with my left foot, sending us both flying out of the car window and smashing through the glass. In mid-air, I adjusted my posture to pin him beneath me. I didn't want to show up to meet my girlfriend covered in injuries. My handsome image couldn't be ruined.

  He and I heavily fell onto the road, if it were in normal times, with a single somersault, I could land lightly, but now it's not possible, as I'm still carrying a lunatic. As soon as we landed, I immediately stood up, using both feet to push off, wanting to get far away from this deadly danger zone. "Huh?" I couldn't fly out, because this guy, in his half-unconscious state, tightly hugged my legs with both hands and wouldn't let go. Just as I was about to use my internal energy to shake off his arms, a ball of flames ignited before my eyes. What's strange is that I didn't hear any explosion sound. In an instant, my body flew high up into the air, as if it were going to melt into the blue sky. A ball of blood light, like an exceptionally beautiful and eerie flower, continuously bloomed before my eyes, getting bigger and bigger. The guy on the ground had already turned into pieces of minced meat. Is my soul flying?

  I took a last look at this beautiful city, farewell, my loved ones, my comrades, my youth, my love, my soul carrying my consciousness, as if responding to some unknown call, drifting away, drifting away...