Chapter 14: The War of Schools (5)

  Four soldiers stood in front of the dormitory building, their duty was to prevent students from taking risks and entering the already bombed-out dormitory building, causing unnecessary casualties.

  So I was preparing to rush in to find Dazhang, Xiaolizi and Aqiang when they blocked me outside. Almost losing my sanity, I rushed forward, only to be forcibly taken by them to a military jeep they had brought.

  The five classmates who returned to the dorm with me actually rushed towards the four soldiers when I was taken away, almost getting into a conflict with them.

  Fortunately, at this time, an officer saw everything that happened and stopped the conflict in a timely manner. He then invited all six of us onto the military vehicle together.

  From the shoulder badge of the officer, it can be seen that he is an officer at the company commander level. The company commander looked at us six people with great curiosity and asked my first question: "Are you their leader?"

  Before I could even speak, a classmate hastily said: "He is from our student union. This time it was him who led us to hide in the library and we were lucky enough to escape... so we all listen to him... if you want to catch him, then take us away together."

  After hearing his words, I suddenly felt a sense of accomplishment, but then I thought of the sacrificed soldier again: "Don't say that, we are classmates, they don't know why you caught me, so they rushed in impulsively. Let them go, that thing is my own responsibility, and has nothing to do with my classmates..."

  Lian Chang was stunned for a moment, then seemed to have thought of something: "You're that Jin Cang?"

  I was also stunned: "Don't you recognize me? Then why did you catch me?"

  Lian Chang fell silent for a while, his face expressing pain at times, calmness at times, hesitation at times, and seeming to be more resolute at times...

  I took a look at my classmates around me, and everyone involuntarily shook their heads together, then looked at that company commander in unison.

  Two minutes later, Lian Chang finally made up his mind and took out a military phone to make a call. Then he calmly looked at me and said: "You wait here first, our leader wants to see you."

  I had a premonition that this matter would not end easily, so I nodded calmly and agreed to stay on the bus, waiting motionlessly.

  My classmates wouldn't let it go, and they asked in succession: "What does Jin Cang have to do with this? Is it because of that warrior's sacrifice? How can you blame Jin Cang for this? It was those **** who fired the gun, what does Jin Cang have to do with it? Are you guys too...?"

  Lian Chang's face changed, becoming very serious and with a hint of anger: "Shut up! What do you know? Do you know who the dead person is? That was our instructor, the instructor of our team..."

  My mind suddenly went blank with a "buzzing" sound: I thought the warrior who wanted to sacrifice must not be a simple person, but I couldn't think of it being the team instructor! This is good, my sin is even greater now, and I'm afraid these soldiers won't let me off easily...

  Before I could think more, Lian Chang continued: "Our team's instructor is the most beloved person among all officers and soldiers in our team. He was originally transferred away, but it was our collective application from all officers and soldiers in the team that was approved by our superiors to bring him back. Who would have thought that our request would end up harming the instructor? The instructor had just returned to our team for three days, just three days...and he sacrificed..."

  I and my classmates didn't know what to say, silently listening to Lian Zhang talk about everything regarding the team instructor. My mood was even more downcast, and I also knew how serious my mistake was. Previously, I still had a little bit of expectation, expecting that I would be dealt with leniency, but now it seems unlikely.

  I am filled with deep remorse and great unease. My mind is racing rapidly, trying to find a way to alleviate my guilt or make up for my mistakes.

  Suddenly, I thought of a way, so I interrupted the company commander who was still talking about the team leader's deeds: "I know my mistake is very serious, and I also know you won't let me off easily. But this matter really has nothing to do with my classmates, so I beg of you, please let them go. I am willing to accept any punishment, even if it means replacing those ten hostages who were taken away."

  Lian Chang seemed to be stunned again, and after a long time, he said: "This is not something I can decide on. Everything will have to wait until our captain arrives." He paused for a moment: "Your classmates can leave now. Our captain only wants to see you alone."

  I looked at Lian Zhang with gratitude and turned to my classmates, saying: "You guys go ahead, I'm fine, don't worry."

  A classmate hesitated for a moment: "No way, we're leaving, who's going to speak up for you?"

  "I furrowed my brow: 'What do you want me to say? I'll handle my own affairs myself, just leave now. If the dorm can't be stayed in, then go to the classroom or find somewhere else to stay for the night. Everyone was tired yesterday, let's get some rest early.'"

  Classmates looked at each other, one of them said: "Jin Cang, my name is Li Huaqiang. Although we are not in the same major and were not very familiar before, from now on, you are my friend. If you have anything, I will be the first to stand up for you."

  I nodded with gratitude and watched as they got off one by one, before turning back to Lian Chang and asking: "Can you tell me, were there any students inside the dormitory building when it was attacked?"

  "After some thought, Lian Chang said: 'Some students were taken as hostages and left inside the building. After negotiations following the battle, we have rescued all student hostages.'"

  "Was... was anyone hurt or killed?" I asked cautiously: "I mean..."

  Lian Chang lowered his head: "More than a dozen students died... it's all our fault, we didn't protect all the students..."

  My heart skipped a beat and I grew anxious: "Then who are the people that have died?"

  Lian Chang shook his head and said strangely: "Why are you in such a hurry? Is there someone... I mean, is there still something important to you that you haven't seen?"

  I nodded: "Yes, several of my roommates should have returned to the dormitory at the time of the attack, but until now, I haven't seen them..."

  Lian Chang thought for a moment: "Alright, I'll go ask the department in charge of casualty statistics. Maybe they already have a list of casualties."

  "My heart feels heavy: 'Then I'll trouble you.'"

  Lian Chang picked up his military phone, spoke to someone for a few words, then took out the laptop from the car, opened it and looked at it, saying to me: "The list is already available, but the statistics are not very comprehensive. What are your roommates' names? I'll help you check."

  I'm actually very afraid that I'll find out about Da Zhang and the others, but I have to take this opportunity to check on them, at least to know if they're safe or not.

  Lian Chang looked at me with a serious tone that had some warmth: "Don't worry too much, maybe they're all fine."

  I nodded: "There are three of them, Zhang Wei, Li Guohua and Zheng Sanqiang."

  Lian Chang looked at his notebook for a while, shook his head and said: "The names of these three people are not on the list, probably they're all fine, you can rest assured."

  I felt a little relieved and immediately asked: "Then take a look if there is a girl named Du Yifei?"

  Lian Chang glanced at his notebook, shook his head: "No, but there was a teacher named Jin Cang who died. I heard he was hit by a stray bullet in the neck's main artery and bled to death. Was he someone you knew?"

  My heart skipped a beat, remembering that not long ago when I was being deliberately difficult, it was mentioned that in school, there wasn't just one person named "Jin Cang", another person with the same name was this deceased teacher. With the same name Jin Cang, I'm much luckier than that teacher...

  I calmed down and said: "Not someone of mine. Just a teacher from our school." Paused for a moment: "Excuse me, can you help me find another person..."

  Without waiting for me to finish speaking, he handed over the notebook in his hand and said: "You take a look yourself, I'll go pick up our team leader."

  As I took over the notebook, Lian Chang had already jumped off the car and walked away. The list of casualties has basically come out, except for a few people outside the school who are not on the list, most of the casualties are teachers and students from our school.

  I carefully looked at each name, many familiar people were still in school yesterday, still living freely on their own life path, but now, only one name is left on this list. My heart has become somewhat numb, I don't know if it's numbness towards death or everything has become numb, slowly, I no longer feel sad and afraid, as if death is a very normal thing.

  You can say I'm numb, you can say I'm desensitized, anyway, I've lost all feeling.

  There was no one on the list that I knew well, and my friends were all lucky enough to escape unscathed. However, two of my classmates were not so fortunate and were killed in this incident.

  I took another look at some other files on my laptop, many of which were things I already knew about, but there were also a few things that I didn't know.

  It wasn't until now that I realized the large number of people involved in this attack. After being surrounded, they occupied multiple teaching buildings, student dormitories and other structures within the school, as well as several businesses outside the school and other buildings. Using these structures as a base, they engaged in fierce combat with over 1,000 government troops for more than ten hours. In the end, due to the large number of hostages taken, the government's military had no choice but to negotiate with them, agreeing to let them go in exchange for the safe release of tens of thousands of hostages.

  I can hardly imagine how the parents of those dead and injured schoolmates will react when they hear the news, nor do I dare to think about it. Words like heartbroken, grief-stricken, and distraught are not enough to describe their feelings; some people may even go mad, self-mutilate, or commit suicide... anyway, I don't dare to think any further.

  I closed the laptop, shut my eyes, took a deep breath, picked up the military phone still in my hand and called my parents to let them know I was safe.

  Many media outlets reported the terrorist attack through various means at the time of the incident, and many people already knew about it. My parents are just rural farmers, but they also learned everything from TV news last night. After learning that I was fine, they finally put their minds at ease, repeatedly reminding me to be more careful before hanging up the phone.

  There are many things I dare not tell my parents, because I'm afraid that the more they know, the more they will worry.

  I put down the phone and was about to try calling Da Zhang, when my mobile rang. My first reaction was that the signal had been restored, then I heard Du Yifei's voice: "Are you okay? Where are you?"

  I knew she was really concerned about me. I was moved and quickly said: "I'm in the military vehicle in front of our dormitory, I'm fine. How about you?"

  Du Yifei's voice was a mix of happiness and worry, with a complex feeling: "I'm fine, just a minor injury, it's been taken care of. But..." She suddenly burst into tears: "My roommates are all dead... our dormitory was blown up by a hand grenade, at that time... I happened to be standing near the door, when the hand grenade flew in through the window, my roommates... blocked it for me..."

  Her words were disjointed, but I still understood her. She was also extremely lucky; otherwise, it might not have been just a minor injury. I didn't know how to comfort her, so I simply said: "It's all over, don't think too much about it. We need to be strong and live on, for the sake of those who helped us... I can't come see you right now, fellow villager, but you must be strong and get through this. After recovering from your injuries, take a temporary leave from school or stay at home for a while. I feel that it won't be truly safe around here for a short time, so..."

  "You responded with a sound: 'I'm leaving tomorrow, taking advantage of the fact that there is no war now, my parents want me to hurry back home. Everything is fine at home, have you called your parents to report your safety? Don't let them worry about you.'"

  I forced a smile: "They've already called earlier, they know I'm fine and won't worry anymore."

  Du Yifei fell silent for a moment. I was about to hang up the phone when she suddenly shouted loudly, "Why can't you come see me? Are you being held captive by them as a hostage?"

  Her voice was full of tension, I knew she had misunderstood, so I hastily said: "No, no, don't get any ideas. I have something to do now and it's not convenient for me to go..."

  My words were not yet finished, the door of the military vehicle was pulled open with great force. I only had time to take a glance before everything went black and I lost all consciousness...