Chapter 29: The Space Changes

With a loud bang, another gunshot rang out.

The woman’s eyes widened, a bullet hole between her brows. Her body convulsed violently.

Before she could pull the trigger, a nearby soldier who had collapsed to the ground but was still conscious managed to lift his gun and, catching her off guard, fired a critical shot—killing the woman instantly.

Before the eyes of everyone still awake and alert, the woman fell heavily to the ground, filled with hatred and unwillingness.

The soldier who had summoned all his remaining strength to aim and shoot now collapsed back onto the ground, completely drained, panting heavily.

Bai Yalan, who had long been unable to contain herself, rushed out from within the bracelet space.

No one noticed anything strange about her—having survived the ordeal, everyone’s attention was focused solely on the female suspect who had been shot dead.

Old Master Bai stepped forward and carefully checked—no heartbeat. She was confirmed dead.

The old man let out a hearty laugh and gave a thumbs-up to the soldier who fired the shot. “Good job!”

Bai Yalan paused in her steps. Looking at the dust-covered face of her grandfather lit up with a triumphant smile, her eyes grew misty, her heart filled with joy and pride.

The scene just now flashed vividly through her mind. Grandpa… was simply too cool!

Only now did she truly realize—this was the military training and instinct of a top-tier military doctor. Amazing!

Bai Yalan was full of admiration. She secretly vowed to become someone like him. Her grandfather was now her goal and role model on her path forward.

After a life-and-death struggle, the mission was finally over.

All the soldiers regrouped, the wounded were properly tended to, and the commander finished the final site inspection and arrangements.

The vehicle that had been blown up could no longer be used, so another one was arranged. After this baptism of blood and fire, everyone felt as if they had been reborn from the ashes.

As they prepared to return, no one had the heart to speak. The only sound was the constant wailing of the grieving family of three.

Looking at their daughter’s corpse, the Tian family cried uncontrollably.

In the midst of their sobs, they began cursing loudly:
“So this is your so-called humanitarianism? You keep claiming you’re humane, yet you directly killed her behind our backs! Are you even human?!”

They cursed while crying hysterically. Compared to the near-insane Tian couple, the young man appeared much calmer. However, his eyes were filled with hatred as he stared coldly at everyone present, locking his gaze on them.

The soldiers, having just come out of a life-and-death battle and witnessed many comrades fall, glared back in anger at these words.

One soldier could no longer hold back and snapped,
“This woman pointed a gun at our heads! And you want to talk humanitarianism? If we hadn’t already exercised humanitarianism, your family of four—conspiring with foreign enemy agents, using guns and bombs—would have been sent to hell together. The fact that you’re still breathing is proof of our restraint!”

“You still shouldn’t have shot her dead! What makes you different from those so-called terrorists then? I’m going to sue you!” the Tian family continued to scream.

Watching coldly from the side, Bai Yalan felt it was entirely pointless to waste words on people like them.

Still, the soldiers’ tempers were running hot. The soldier who spoke earlier was red-faced with anger.
“So according to you, when she’s pointing a gun at our heads, we should just wait to die? If we don’t shoot her, she’ll shoot us. That’s your logic?”

Another soldier walked over and threw out, “Why waste words on them?”

Then they ripped up a dirty cloth into three pieces and gagged the Tian family’s mouths before escorting them away.

Finally, things quieted down. At last, they could begin their journey back.

Upon returning to base, as per protocol, everyone had to report to the higher-ups about the mission. Bai Yalan, though only an intern military doctor, was no exception. She made a simple report, palms sweating, a bit nervous.

The contents of the report were largely similar across all soldiers. The only focus and point of contention was the woman who had been shot dead on the spot.

She had two gunshot wounds—one in the thigh and the other between her brows, the fatal shot.

As the one who had fired the shot to her thigh, Grandpa Bai briefly but clearly described what had happened and concluded firmly:

“…That was the situation at the time. In such an emergency, if we didn’t shoot her dead on the spot and merely injured her, she would still have had the strength to fight back. She still had a gun. Most of our people were injured and lying on the ground from the explosion. We couldn’t fight back in time. Waiting passively would have meant death. So I believe that the decision to shoot was unfortunate—but absolutely necessary.”

After hearing the report, the higher-ups expressed their understanding and approval.

“Not bad. Our people must ensure their own safety first before trying to avoid harming a suspect’s life. But since this suspect was so aggressive and posed a real threat, there was no need to hold back. Alright, we understand the situation now. Leave the follow-up to us. The Tian family will be appropriately dealt with. You’re all dismissed.”

With those words, Bai Yalan finally let out a breath of relief. Thankfully, the leadership was reasonable and didn’t scold them for the suspect’s death during the mission.

On the way back to the medical department, both grandfather and granddaughter were filled with emotion as they recalled the events of the mission.

Old Master Bai said to his granddaughter,
“Xiaolan, our country values benevolence. Even if someone’s suspected of a crime or part of an enemy force, as long as all facts aren’t clear, we won’t execute them outright—unless it’s an exceptional situation. Just like that Tian family daughter—no matter how compassionate we are, we must also be decisive when needed.”

Bai Yalan nodded. She had never felt more clearly just how dangerous and demanding life in uniform could be.

“Grandpa, I understand,” she replied, looking at him with eyes full of admiration. “But Grandpa, your real combat experience is amazing. That shot you fired earlier—your reflexes and aim—were incredible!”

The old man chuckled proudly.
“Of course! Your grandpa has been through countless battles. Little girl, stick with me and learn all you can!”

There was a lot to learn. Bai Yalan nodded seriously. If she wanted to become as capable as her grandfather, she would have to train harder. A military doctor needed not just medical skills but also strong physical and combat abilities—otherwise, in future missions that might be just as dangerous, she’d be totally unprepared.

The next day was Saturday—their usual training day. Possibly due to the recent mission, their training program had been adjusted.

That day, in addition to basic physical training, a shooting course was added.

All the intern military doctors trained alongside regular soldiers, practicing emergency responses like quickly drawing their guns, hitting the ground, and dodging attacks.

The goal was to develop their reflexes and ability to draw their weapon for self-defense—and to take down threats in special situations.

It sounded simple, but doing it was far from easy. After hundreds of rounds of aiming and shooting, they crawled all over the ground, repeating the same exercises of dropping, drawing, and firing.

By the end of the day, it wasn’t just physical exhaustion—they were also filthy, covered in dust and mud, making them incredibly uncomfortable.

After training, Bai Yalan looked like a dirt-covered mess, utterly disheveled.

Covered head-to-toe in mud and grime, she returned home and, without thinking, went straight into her bracelet space, intending to enjoy a thorough shower.

But the moment she entered the space, she was shocked to discover that the environment had changed significantly.

She remembered that every time she entered before, it was always beside Fangzhi Third Road in her old residential neighborhood.

But now, somehow, the street in the space was no longer the one from her hometown.

She had no idea when this change happened.

No matter how much she thought about it, Bai Yalan couldn’t recall exactly when the shift in the space occurred. Perhaps it was because too much had happened recently.