Chapter 1 This is also crossing over

  This night belongs to 1.3 billion Chinese people.

  When Zhang Yimou directed the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games opening ceremony in the Bird's Nest, the world's attention was once again focused on China, on Beijing, on the Bird's Nest, and on the perfect combination of ancient four great inventions and the Maritime Silk Road with modern technology.

  Oriental charm, dragon horse spirit, civilized origin, great country style, interpreted by Zhang Yimou with vivid and dreamlike, thorough and perfect.

  China is cheering, China is excited, China is boiling. 1.3 billion people, accounting for one-fifth of the world's population, the 1.3 billion descendants of the Chinese nation have gone completely crazy: This is our Olympics, the Olympics of 1.3 billion Chinese sons and daughters, no one in this world can stop us from rushing to the Olympics!

  Excitement, admiration, astonishment, surprise, jealousy, resentment, and trepidation. As the world witnesses China's glorious rise, its gaze has become complex and bewildered.

  Liu Yimin stood in a corner of Tiananmen Square that was not noticed by anyone, with excited crowds in front of him: some were dancing, some were beating gongs and drums, and some were waving their right hands and shouting slogans like "China, let's go!" and "Beijing, let's go!", all the faces were filled with happy and enthusiastic smiles intertwined together, as if everyone was happy, joyful and delighted.

  Looking at the joyful ocean in front of him, Liu Yimin felt an indescribable sense of happiness. He recalled the scene when he accepted the task.

  It was an afternoon when Liu Yimin, who was studying for his Ph.D. at the National Defense University, received a notice asking him to attend a meeting. Liu Yimin thought this was unusual, as it was rare for him to have the opportunity to attend meetings since he was sent from Peking University to study for his Ph.D. at the top military academy. As someone who loved public welfare activities, he felt stifled and had even considered dropping out if not for his dream of becoming a general. Today, surprisingly, there was a notice asking him to attend a meeting, which made him feel curious and puzzled.

  Upon entering the conference room, I found that almost all the leaders of the college were present, very formal. I was confused, what's going on, so serious? Hurriedly stood in line.

  At this time, the dean of the institute began to speak: "Comrades, the Olympics are about to open in Beijing. This is a long-awaited sports event for 1.3 billion Chinese people, and it is also a symbol of the comprehensive revival of the Chinese nation. It is also an examination of the results of our thirty years of reform and opening up. The eyes of the world are all focused on us. However, there will always be some hostile forces, such as ***, * , Falun Gong and other illegal elements, who are very unhappy. They always try to use the opportunity of the Olympics to carry out terrorist activities. Therefore, we must take emergency action to safeguard the Olympics and safeguard the glorious image of our great motherland. Originally, you were all undergraduate students, graduate students, and doctoral students. In general, it is not possible for you to be mobilized. However, considering that this is a rare opportunity for actual combat training, and also an opportunity for your own exercise, the institute's party committee reported to the Central Military Commission for approval, and took away some of the backbone from the students to participate in the security work of the Olympics. This task has great significance, do you have confidence?"

  There is!

  So Liu Yimin participated in the Olympic security work, and his task was to be on duty in plain clothes at Tiananmen Square. He had been on duty for a while, and finally endured until the opening ceremony of the Olympics. Thinking that the Olympic opening ceremony ticket and shooting competition ticket he had applied for with great difficulty were sleeping soundly in the drawer of his dormitory, Liu Yimin couldn't help but smile wryly.

  Liu Yimin took out his mobile phone to check the time, it was already 21:15 Beijing time. The big screen showed that Liu Qi, Chairman of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games, and Jacques Rogge, President of the International Olympic Committee, had both finished their speeches. Next would be the raising of the Olympic flag and the lighting of the sacred flame. It was estimated that nothing unexpected would happen tonight. Thinking about being able to raise a glass to celebrate after the team returned, Liu Yimin felt a sense of relief wash over him.

  A face, accurately speaking a somewhat childish face in her 20s entered Liu Yimin's line of sight.

  Liu Yimin couldn't quite put his finger on it, but he had a subconscious feeling that the innocence on this face was hiding a hint of determination that didn't quite fit in with tonight's atmosphere. He felt something was off and quickly made a hand gesture to his two teammates beside him, quietly approaching their target.

  The possible target sensed danger, looked towards Liu Yimin's direction, saw several people approaching him, sneered and suddenly shouted, throwing a can of tear gas.

  "Damn it!" Liu Yimin cursed in his heart, took a deep leap, stretched out his hand to grab the can. Thank goodness! He finally caught it.

  "Be careful!"

  "Hurry up and throw it!"

  "Yi Min Liu!"

  The cries of his teammates had just reached Liu Yimin's ears when he was unable to react. With a loud bang, the can exploded. The last thought left in Liu Yimin's mind was "It's over! I'm done for."

  *

  A burst of birdsong awakened Liu Yimin's consciousness.

  He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Not bad, the air was fresh, a kind of freshness that could only be found in the forest, but it seemed a bit cold.

  Very quiet, no human voice, no car sound, no urban noise, nor rural rooster crowing, dog barking, cowbell ringing, only occasional bird calls. So peaceful and serene. Touch the fingers, very flexible. Touch the feet, can move. Stretch the legs, very energetic. Everything is normal, done.

  He relaxed his mind, lying quietly, letting every pore of his body absorb the fresh and cool air. How comfortable it was! If it were a bit warmer, it would be even more comfortable than inhaling oxygen in an oxygen bar!

  No, what place is this? Where am I?

  Liu Yimin slowly opened his eyes, dazed. What is this place? As he looked around, it was vast and lush, a real big forest! How did I end up lying on the withered grass? God, what happened? A can of soda just blew me into the forest?!

  Liu Yimin's mind was racing, what's going on? He was clearly on duty at Tiananmen Square, how did he end up here? That can of soda was a high-explosive bomb, and after catching it with his own hands, it exploded. Shouldn't he have been blown to pieces? How is he lying in this desolate forest instead? The season doesn't match either! When he was on duty, it was early August, how come the leaves here are all fallen, the grass is withered and yellow, and the weather is a bit chilly too? God, really can't understand. Don't know where this place is, but judging by the looks of it, it doesn't seem like the outskirts of Beijing, there's no such good forest there. Must find someone to ask immediately.

  Liu Yimin stood up, looked at himself and found he was still wearing the casual clothes from his night watch; he kicked out with his leg, and the strength from long-term training was still there; he jumped up, and his body seemed much lighter; he stamped his foot, and with a whooshing sound, he took off.

  Quickly practice Wudangquan, dizziness, unexpectedly practiced for over 10 years of Wudang Neijiaquan today finally practiced to perfection, eyes and hands arrived, body followed the intention, internal energy burst out in circles, haha, even if Master saw it, estimated also want to smile.

  Again practicing military boxing, long boxing, Xingyiquan, Bajiquan, Baguazhang, the more I practice, the more surprised and delighted I am, the more energetic I become. The movements that I couldn't master in the past are now all smoothly connected, my fist power is everywhere, whistling with a fierce wind, as if to uproot the withered and rotten.

  After a set of boxing exercises, my face is not red, I'm not panting, on the contrary, my inner strength is surging, my whole body is full of power, it's an indescribable comfort. Now I've succeeded in becoming the king of success. If I don't become a general after graduation, I can still box, and who knows, maybe I'll become the world boxing champion soon, with lots of dollars, gold and diamonds, and beautiful women? Haha, there will be plenty of those too.

  If there was someone next to him at this time, they would see a very obscene scene: a very handsome young man, lying on his back, eyes wide open, slobber flowing long and long, muttering to himself...

  A burst of gunfire interrupted Liu Yimin's daydream. Where was the shooting? Liu Yimin immediately pounced on the ground, using his ears to listen carefully, and indeed it was cannon fire, with dense gunfire seemingly coming from all directions. It must be a military exercise.

  Liu Yimin thought, the whole army year after year to carry out exercises, all day long are red and blue confrontation, just like acting, do not know when it can be like the US military Iraq war, come a bit of real deal, let those * , *** , ** and put the national flag on Diaoyu Island small Japan also feel what is regret, what is fear. Never mind, now first consider walking out of this forest, to the exercise site to observe, and then return to the team.

  Touched the pocket, mobile phone and wallet are all there. Took out the phone, first call a comrade in a small group to report safety. Why is there no signal? Dizzy, what era is it now, even Mount Everest has mobile phone signals, where is this place, why is there no signal? Never mind, let's go watch the military exercise.

  There was no road in the forest, and by the time Liu Yimin had run through the thorns to get near the gunfire, his clothes were tattered and worn out, looking just like a beggar from an old movie.

  He didn't rush to the drill site directly, what if the drill turned out to be real and they weren't firing blanks but live ammunition, wouldn't that be too dangerous? Instead, he took a look at the terrain and ran to a nearby hill where the sound of gunfire was coming from, looked down, and immediately felt relieved, it really was just a movie shoot.

  On the opposite mountain top, a fierce battle is underway. The defenders are wearing clothes similar to those of the Red Army in movies, and on their position, a tattered red flag is planted; the attackers are dressed like Nationalist soldiers in films, with officers wielding pistols and shouting orders, while soldiers hold guns and crawl up with bent waists, followed by a disciplinary squad. Looking down at the lower part of the mountain where I am located, there is an artillery position of the Nationalist Army on the halfway mark, lined up with twelve old-fashioned howitzers, firing shells at the Red Army's position on the opposite mountain top.

  It's meaningless, I don't know which crew is filming, let's go and take a look, and ask what this place is along the way.

  Liu Yimin was about to go down the mountain when he suddenly heard gunfire behind him. He turned around and saw a dozen or so Red Army soldiers running towards the small hill where he was, with a group of Nationalist soldiers shouting and firing guns behind them.

  He was about to greet them when a stray bullet landed beside him. He picked it up and saw that the bullet head was an old-fashioned lead bullet head, which was still hot in his hand. How could they use real bullets for filming? Moreover, where could you find such antique bullets in 21st-century China except in museums? Looking down again, why weren't there any cameras following? He turned around and looked towards the opposite mountain ridge, the National Army was rapidly advancing up the mountain, the Red Army had jumped out of their trenches, both sides were using hand grenades and bayonets, with bloodshed and lives lost.

  Oh God, this isn't a movie shoot, it's real bullets and real fighting. It seems like someone has gone crazy, did that tin can really blow himself back to the domestic revolutionary war era of the 1930s? Oh God, what should I do?

  Liu Yimin was sweating profusely, not knowing why he was so unlucky. He had been on duty and ended up being blown through time and space. His parents were now unknown to him; they were ordinary civil servants who had spent their whole lives being cautious and prudent, using all their savings on their son, hoping for his safety and happiness.

  Liu Yimin started attending kindergarten at the age of two and was very intelligent as a child. He learned calligraphy, painting, piano, and vocal music. Every year during Labor Day and summer vacation, his parents took him on trips to broaden his horizons. On one such trip to Wudang Mountain, he met his master, a tall and thin Taoist priest of unknown age. Liu Yimin was seven years old at the time. From then on, every summer and winter vacation, his father sent Liu Yimin to Wudang Mountain to accompany his master.

  The master had no status in Wudang Mountain, and others said he was a wild Taoist who never participated in various Taoist gatherings organized by Wudang Mountain. Apart from practicing martial arts, the master only instructed Liu Yimin to take a bath, change clothes, burn incense at home, and recite the heart method on May 13th every year, which is Zhang Sanfeng's birthday.

  The master passed on his skills without reservation, and he became the orthodox successor of the Wudang Longmen sect.

  In ten years, Liu Yimin's martial arts and vision have made great progress. Whether moving or still, sitting or lying down, every gesture is that of a young master.

  The year they graduated from high school, their hometown produced a national Wushu Sanda champion. It was also Liu Yimin's youthful temperament that couldn't bear the itch, and on the evening of the champion's return home to visit his relatives, he asked the champion for guidance, as a result, the champion never returned to his hometown again.

  After receiving the news of being admitted to Peking University, Liu Yimin's parents were excited and shook hands with everyone they met. His father even hummed "Who is the champion" every day at home. Who would have thought that during military training in his freshman year, the instructor discovered that Liu Yimin had a talent for shooting and tried to let him fire a few more bullets, resulting in ten rings. The leading officer was a young regimental commander who loved to come up with strange ideas and thought that if he could bring Peking University's talented student into the army, it might be his greatest contribution in life. Therefore, the instructor deliberately befriended Liu Yimin and took him to the army for training during the summer vacation. As a result, Liu Yimin became fascinated with military affairs and started dreaming of becoming a general. After graduating from Peking University, he was admitted to the National Defense University for a master's degree. With a bright future ahead, no one expected that a small can of beer would end everything.

  Thinking of his parents receiving the bad news and being heartbroken, as well as the expectations of his elderly master and young instructor, Liu Yimin felt a wave of dizziness wash over him and fell to the ground with a thud.