The White Olive Tree

Chapter 21

Song Ran approached the sandbag pile in the center of the street, cradling her camera. Next to the barricade was a parked car, and the child safety seat strapped to the child was evidently removed from the vehicle.

As she got closer, she recognized the person dealing with the situation—it was Li Zan.

He was wearing a thick protective suit, indicating he had been at this for a while, with sweat covering his forehead and face. Perhaps to alleviate any stress for the child, he had pulled down his face mask to hang below his chin.

At this moment, he was crouched on the ground, disassembling the safety seat and the bomb strapped to the child. He seemed calm and casual. When he cut a wire, he even made a clicking sound with his tongue and winked at the child. In the blink of an eye, the child, who had tears streaming down his face a moment ago, was now laughing thanks to his antics.

Without disturbing him, Song Ran noticed her shadow approaching the sandbags and quickly moved away. Despite being an amateur, she could tell that the current situation was quite tricky.

Behind the child's seat were explosives, and in front of Li Zan was a tangled mess of colorful wires, intertwined with the seat's straps and safety buckles. Li Zan had already sorted out part of the mess and cut some wires.

The countdown display behind the seat showed ten minutes.

Li Zan knew the situation was critical, and he didn't even have time to check the remaining time. He asked the couple, "How much time is left?"

"Nine minutes and thirty seconds, sir," the husband replied.

Li Zan pursed his lips, remaining silent. Without revealing any emotions on his face, he gently smiled at the child, who was staring at him intently and said, "It's OK."

After saying that, he looked back at the wires in his hands, his expression becoming more serious as he carefully assessed the situation.

Time was running out, and defusing the bomb was no longer an option. He focused on cutting the wires concentrated on the left side of the child's body. As he cut each wire, the danger increased, and the remaining lines connecting to the child's left leg and waist became fewer.

Before making a move, Li Zan repeatedly checked and confirmed everything. Gradually slowing down his movements, he made sure that the wires he cut were concentrated on the child's left side, leaving enough space to extract the child.

Before taking action, he double-checked for an extended period. The gradually slowing movements made the parents of the child, who were crouched outside the sandbag wall, increasingly nervous, holding their breath in suspense.

At this moment, Li Zan suddenly said to the couple, "Please leave."

The child's mother immediately choked up, "Is the situation very serious, sir?"

Li Zan didn't answer directly, only saying, "Rest assured, I won't leave him. Please leave."

The young wife wanted to say more, but her husband held her and shook his head, signaling not to waste time.

The woman wiped away tears and pleaded, "Sir, my child, please, you must save him."

Li Zan continued working on the wires without lifting his head, saying, "Madam, as long as I'm alive, he'll be alive."

The couple retreated to the outer circle, calming the child while encouraging him to be strong. Seeing the danger, the child's mouth puckered, and tears welled up in his large eyes, starting to fall again.

Tears dropped onto the seatbelt of the safety seat, and Li Zan looked up at the child, smiling gently. "Little one, can you help me with something?"

The child, curious, stopped crying and asked softly, "What can I do for you, sir?"