Under the moonlight

After returning to her room, Huang Meng locked it. Sitting at the table, she rested her chin on her hands, gazing at the darkening sky. She reflected on the night the bombings began. She hadn't known what was happening; she had only instinctively followed the crowd. But people were like frightened lambs scattering in all directions, running only towards what they perceived as safe. Huang Meng was constantly jostled by the crowd; she didn't know where she was, perhaps in an abandoned factory. Only after the first wave of bombing ended did people have a chance to catch their breath, but the ensuing shrill, desperate cries brought a terror no less intense than the bombing itself.

Huang Meng and the others huddled together inside the factory, sitting close to the wall. The unprecedented fear, combined with the intense running, made her feel nauseous.

She wanted to stand up and walk to the door for some fresh air, but when she stood up, she realized that she had been squeezed to the very back. The not-so-small factory was already full of people, some sitting, some lying down, all close together in twos and threes.

Huang Meng suddenly had a bad feeling; she felt like they were lambs being herded into a sheepfold.

This feeling instantly assaulted her cerebral cortex, making her scalp tingle. She began to move quickly towards the door, saying as she went, "We can't all hide in here, we can't all hide in here."

She was so anxious and nervous that she spoke in Chinese that the people around her couldn't understand what she was saying at all, and they just thought she was talking nonsense because she was frightened.

Seeing that they didn't react, Huang Meng quickly shouted in S language, "We can't hide in here! If a shell comes down, none of us will be able to escape!"

In this enclosed space, they were practically motionless targets, with a 100% hit rate.

Some people seemed to realize what was happening and stood up to follow her outside, but most people preferred to stay in what they considered a safe place. Shortly after Huang Meng and a small group of people left the factory, a loud explosion came from behind them. They were all thrown to the ground by the strong blast from the explosion. Fortunately, there were no casualties. Huang Meng and the others struggled to their feet and turned around to look. Behind them was a pile of ruins.

"Ah~ Help~"

A pitiful cry for help pulled Huang Meng back to reality. She hesitated for a moment, hardly believing her ears. She quietly walked to the door, pressed her ear against it, and held her breath. Then, another cry of "Help!" rang out.

Huang Meng then realized that she hadn't misheard; the sound was coming from the room opposite hers. Without hesitation, she opened her door and knocked on the opposite door.

"Open the door, open the door, what's going on?"

Huang Meng knocked and turned the doorknob, but the door was locked from the inside. Frustrated, she began pounding on the door, yelling, "Open the door! I'm calling someone!"

After a while, a girl's trembling voice came from inside, "Coming~"

The door was opened a crack, and a girl said, "Y-you, is there something you need?"

Huang Meng looked at the girl in front of her, who appeared to be only eighteen or nineteen years old, and her eyes were still red. Huang Meng cautiously glanced into the girl's room, and the girl quickly lowered her head, clearly somewhat frightened.

Huang Meng asked, "Did I just hear you shouting for help? What happened?"

The girl smiled and said, "It's okay now. There was a cockroach just now, and I... I got scared and..."

Seeing the way her eyes darted around as she spoke, and her guilty look, Huang Meng smiled and said, "Really? Well, that's perfect, I'm not afraid, I'll help you catch her."

After Huang Meng finished speaking, she pushed the door open and went in. The girl was obviously not expected that Huang Meng would not believe her, and before she could react, the door was pushed open.

She quickly grabbed Huang Meng's arm, her eyes filled with fear and helplessness, and shook her head at her. If Huang Meng found out, even the two of them wouldn't be a match for him; she hadn't forgotten the man's threat.

At this moment, Xu Ao walked over at some point. He was wearing a hoodie tracksuit with the sleeves rolled up to his forearms and his hands in his pockets. He saw the girl holding Huang Meng's arm and asked, "What's going on?"

When the girl saw Xu Ao coming over, her face turned red instantly, and she suddenly broke down in tears, covering her face.

Xu Ao looked at her and then at Huang Meng with a questioning look in his eyes. Huang Meng didn't speak, but shook her head to indicate that she didn't know either.

Just then, the man who had caused trouble in the hall came out of the room, scratching the back of his head and grinning to reveal a row of yellow teeth. He chuckled and said, "Hey~ what are you two doing here?" Seeing Xu Ao and Huang Meng's puzzled expressions, he continued, "Oh, this young lady is from our hometown. We're sitting together and chatting."

Huang Meng looked at the unbuttoned shirt on his chest and instantly understood what was going on.

She looked at the man and chuckled, saying, "Want to chat? Sure, let's chat. In this foreign land, we're practically from the same hometown. And coincidentally, I studied law in college, so how about we talk about that?"

The man's face darkened instantly upon hearing this. He said disdainfully, "What, threatening me? Hmph, in a war-torn place like this, what law can still be used?"

"Don't forget, you're standing right now at the C country embassy. Places flying the C country flag are under C country law, unless..."

"Unless what?" the man asked dismissively.

“Unless you leave this place, then,” Huang Meng tilted her chin behind her back.

“There, whatever you do there, whether it’s murder or arson, as long as the laws of S country don’t apply to you, we won’t pursue it.”

After Huang Meng finished speaking, the man's eyes turned sinister. Xu Ao, standing behind Huang Meng, said coldly, "If you want to stay here and have food to eat every day, you'd better behave yourself. Otherwise, I have plenty of ways to get you out. In extraordinary times, we also have extraordinary methods. If you threaten the personal safety of others, you are our enemy, understand?"

The man glared at Xu Ao and Huang Meng without saying a word and squeezed his way out.

The little girl stood by the door, her head bowed low, and remained silent.

Huang Meng thought she must be frightened, so she gently comforted her while holding her shoulder, "It's okay, we're all our own people here. We'll teach this kind of bad guy a lesson. Don't be afraid."

The girl nodded after hearing Huang Meng's words, and Xu Ao added, "Don't be afraid, my room is right across the street. You can tell me anything you need to do."

Huang Meng glanced back at Xu Ao, who was staring at her. Huang Meng smiled slightly at him, then asked the girl a few more questions to make sure she wasn't hurt before she felt relieved. After giving the girl some instructions, she had her close the door.

After closing the door, the girl raised her head, which had been hanging low, revealing an oval face with undried tear tracks. Her initially fearful eyes gradually turned fierce. If she hadn't been careless and believed the man's claim of having a way to get back quickly, she wouldn't have let him into her room. She then sighed heavily with regret. It was unfortunate that Xu Ao had seen her in her most disheveled state; she wondered what he would think. Fortunately, the beautiful woman opposite her arrived in time; otherwise, she might have faced something truly terrible tonight.

Huang Meng and Xu Ao stood in the corridor. Xu Ao smiled and said, "I didn't expect you to be so brave. Aren't you afraid of being dragged down as well?"

Huang Meng couldn't help but stick out her tongue as she recalled the burly man's appearance. "I didn't think too much about it. After all, someone shouting for help is no small matter."

"Huang Meng".

"Mmm," she responded almost instinctively to Xu Ao calling her name. She looked up at Xu Ao seriously, thinking he had something to say, but he just smiled and said, "Good night!"

Oh, goodnight!

Huang Meng returned a polite smile, and Xu Ao turned and walked towards his room. Huang Meng saw him stop at the door next to hers, raised an eyebrow, and thought, "Oh, so he's my neighbor."

Xu Ao turned his head and saw that she was still standing there. He nodded to signal the door behind him to open and go inside.

Huang Meng stood in the corridor, looking around. This place looked a lot like the dormitory she lived in during her university days.