Extra - Ji Lu Wushuang - Robbery

Lu Qianqian felt a pang of envy towards Ji Wushuang.

She envied her ability to control and regulate her own bodily functions under any circumstances.

Lu Qianqian turned over in bed.

She looked out the window at the night sky, illuminated by scattered lights and the occasional tracer round streaking past.

She thought of home, in Jingzhou.

She thought of her mother's warm embrace.

She thought of the security her eldest brother provided by arranging everything for her.

Tears, unbidden, streamed down her face.

She buried her head in the pillow, not daring to make a sound.

She didn't want Ji Wushuang to see her weakness.

Just then.

A hand gently patted her shoulder.

It was Ji Wushuang.

She didn't know when she had woken up.

Ji Wushuang handed her a small object.

It was a pair of military-grade, noise-canceling earplugs.

"Put these in,"

Ji Wushuang said.

"Then, sleep."

"You need to conserve your strength."

Lu Qianqian took the earplugs and inserted them into her ears.

The world instantly fell silent, leaving only the sound of her own heartbeat.

She looked at Ji Wushuang's silhouette in the darkness.

The immense fear that had risen from the depths of her heart seemed to dissipate a little.

"Wushuang-jie,"

she whispered.

"Thank you."

"Sleep."

After saying this, Ji Wushuang lay back down.

Lu Qianqian also closed her eyes.

This time, she fell asleep quickly.

In her dreams, she saw the girl with the severed leg she had seen during the day.

She dreamed of the greedy look in the checkpoint officer's eyes.

She dreamed of Ji Wushuang's cold, stern profile as she lit the officer's cigarette.

And she dreamed of the soul-deep fear in that officer's eyes when he looked at Ji Wushuang.

The night passed without further incident.

Even with the earplugs, Lu Qianqian could still feel the faint tremors from distant explosions.

But she slept, and after that, slept deeply.

The body's extreme exhaustion overpowered the mind's fear.

The next day, her internal clock woke her.

Six in the morning.

Dawn was just breaking.

She opened her eyes to see Ji Wushuang already dressed and ready.

Ji Wushuang was by the window, assembling a firearm Lu Qianqian had never seen before.

Every component seemed alive in Ji Wushuang's hands.

These parts returned to their positions silently and with precision.

Seeing Lu Qianqian awake, Ji Wushuang did not look up.

"Awake?"

"Mhm."

The two did not discuss the events of the previous night.

After breakfast.

Ji Wushuang asked, "Any plans for today?"

"I'd like to go see the town market,"

Lu Qianqian said.

"Sister Annie said it's the most direct place to understand the lives of the locals."

"I want to do some research on the prices of basic local supplies."

Ji Wushuang looked at Lu Qianqian.

The girl before her no longer wore yesterday's panic and bewilderment on her face.

It was replaced by a calm, focused expression.

As if last night's gunfire had been nothing more than irrelevant background music.

"Alright,"

Ji Wushuang said.

"Sister Annie is going too. She needs to buy some medicine."

"More people, bigger target."

Ji Wushuang's brow furrowed slightly.

But then she seemed to think of something, and said,

"Jacob will drive us."

"Okay."

"We leave at nine."

Nine in the morning.

Jacob's car appeared right on time at the aid station gate.

Annie was already waiting there.

She looked tired.

"Last night, three gunshot wound patients were brought in,"

she explained to Lu Qianqian.

"Worked all night. Only saved one."

Her tone was calm, as if speaking of a routine matter.

The market was in the center of town.

This place had more life to it than anywhere Lu Qianqian had passed through yesterday.

Narrow streets were crammed on both sides with all sorts of small stalls.

Selling fruit, vegetables, hand-woven goods.

And also selling strange spices and meats that Lu Qianqian couldn't even recognize.

The air was a mix of sweat, spices, and dust.

Noisy, chaotic, yet brimming with a raw and vivid vitality.

Lu Qianqian took out her notebook and pen.

She began earnestly recording the price of every item.

How much for a carrot.

How much for a bag of cornmeal.

Annie translated and explained for her beside her.

Ji Wushuang followed behind them like a shadow.

Ji Wushuang was like a ghost, seeming to blend completely into the surrounding environment.

Lu Qianqian walked up to a fruit stall.

The vendor was a very young mother.

In her arms, she held an infant still in swaddling clothes.

Another boy, about four or five years old, hid behind her, looking shyly at Lu Qianqian.

Lu Qianqian smiled at him.

She took a piece of candy from her pocket, brought from Jingzhou.

It was a habit she'd formed while doing volunteer work at the Spring Breeze Community.

It was the kindness passed on when an old lady from the Spring Breeze Community gave Lu Qianqian her first piece of candy.

Lu Qianqian had preserved this kindness, and now, upon seeing children, passed it on again.

Today, Lu Qianqian once again offered such a piece of kindness-attached candy to the boy.

The boy looked at his mother.

The young mother gave Lu Qianqian a friendly smile and nodded.

Only then did the boy take the candy.

He clumsily unwrapped it, put the candy in his mouth, and a look of sweet satisfaction spread across his face.

Lu Qianqian's heart felt a touch of sweetness too.

She bought some locally grown fruit.

The price was so cheap it seemed unbelievable to her.

She asked the vendor a few more questions about income and cost of living.

Annie patiently translated for her.

The young mother was somewhat reserved, but answered her questions earnestly.

Just then, a sudden change occurred.

"Bang!"

A single, abrupt gunshot tore through the noisy market, sharp and piercing.

A man who had been selecting something at a fabric stall not far away had a blossom of blood burst from his forehead.

He didn't even have time to cry out before he toppled stiffly backward.

After a frozen second, the crowd erupted with a landslide of screams and wails.

The market instantly plunged into massive chaos.

People scattered in all directions like headless flies.

Immediately after, five or six masked bandits armed with rifles rushed in from a lane entrance.

They fired wildly into the air.

"Everyone down! Money! Hand over all your money!"

One stall owner instinctively tried to pull his cash box under his stall.

A bandit saw this, grinned savagely, and raised his muzzle.

"Bang!"

Another gunshot.

The stall owner was hit in the chest, looking down in disbelief at the bloody hole blooming there before slowly collapsing to his knees.

The bandits brazenly used their rifle butts to smash open cash boxes, grabbing valuables, kicking and punching the wailing civilians.

At the instant of the first gunshot.

Ji Wushuang's reaction was faster than anyone's scream.

Without the slightest hesitation, she grabbed Lu Qianqian and Annie, shoving them violently behind a stall counter made of thick stone blocks.

"Get down! Don't move! Don't make a sound!"