Foreign Land

Chapter 1: 1. A Foreign Land

As the saying goes, you dream of what you think about during the day.

Perhaps missing home, Lu Li entered that familiar dreamscape once more...

In the departure hall, his father held two plane tickets and shouted excitedly:

"Son~ Dad's going to take you to a heavenly country! The air there is exceptionally sweet, you'll receive the best education, and live the best life..."

His father's mouth moved ceaselessly, narrating their imagined beautiful future.

Lu Li felt lost and terrified, unwilling to leave the hometown he had grown up in.

But a 12-year-old child had no awareness, nor the courage to defy his father's arrangements.

He boarded the plane in a daze, flying 30,000 feet, his hometown growing more distant, gradually shrinking into a blurry speck.

Lu Li suddenly realized—he could never go back!

Regret and panic filled his chest, so painful it felt like it would tear him apart...

Just then, the "buzzing, buzzing" vibration of his phone cut through the dream.

In the dimly lit rented room converted from a basement, Lu Li's eyes snapped open, and he slowly sat up.

The young man had sharp sword-like eyebrows and bright, star-like eyes, quite handsome, though his expression was momentarily dazed, as if he hadn't yet escaped the dream.

"Five years have flown by in a blink..."

This dream felt more like a memory, one Lu Li didn't want to recall.

In that era, countless people believed the moon was rounder abroad, desperately wanting to immigrate, only to discover the world wasn't as beautiful once they arrived.

The past was unbearable to revisit, so Lu Li shook his head, regaining clarity, and pulled out his phone to unlock it.

On the cracked outer screen was a notification from the school:

[Due to the current tense situation, Tijuana City High School will be suspended starting today...]

Seeing this message, Lu Li wasn't surprised.

"It was suspended as expected. In this country, no one dares to ignore the threat of the cartels."

The country he was in was called "Mexico," one of the most unsafe countries in the world, rife with drugs, crime, and violence, with cartels running rampant.

The current president, upon taking office, made cracking down on drug crimes his top priority, launching a high-profile anti-drug campaign.

The cartels, unwilling to be outdone, issued death threats to government departments, including the police and schools.

Facing armed drug trafficking groups with guns, school suspensions were unavoidable, but for Lu Li, it was a good thing.

"I've self-studied the Xia Country high school curriculum; their 'happy education' here isn't worth learning anyway. This frees up time for me to go to the hospital to care for my father."

Using the faint light from his phone, Lu Li quickly dressed and then took a strange object from under his pillow.

A receiving socket, metal joints, connecting tubes... it was a "prosthetic"! A crudely made prosthetic lower leg!

Lu Li rolled up his empty right pant leg; it disappeared just below the knee.

He skillfully strapped on the prosthetic, pushed himself up with his hands, and took a step out the door.

Apart from a slight stumble in his gait, he was almost indistinguishable from a normal person, clearly having adapted to the artificial limb.

~~~~~~~~~~

In stark contrast to the gloom of the basement, outside was bright sunshine.

Lu Li raised his hand to shield his eyes, adjusting to the light, and then an exotic panorama unfolded before him.

Low, cluttered shacks, tall palm trees, people walking by in cheap clothes, most with amber eyes and brown skin.

A few neighbors greeted him in Spanish: "Hola" (Hello).

Lu Li responded in Spanish as well, while dodging a few disheveled children playing soccer.

This backward appearance was a far cry from the "paradise" his father had described, not even as good as his hometown's county town.

Lu Li knew this wasn't the country his father yearned for.

His father's goal was actually the neighboring country to the north—the Star Alliance Country.

This was Blue Star's strongest nation, hailed as a beacon of democracy, attracting a constant stream of people wanting to immigrate.

Many "black market agents" exploited this desire, claiming: "The two countries are neighbors; immigrating to Mexico first, then to the Star Alliance Country will be incredibly simple."

They tricked many people into giving up their original nationality, losing their fortunes to come to this poor, chaotic place to fend for themselves.

Lu Li's father was one such unlucky soul. Years of constant anger and frustration led to illness, and he was diagnosed with stomach cancer.

The cancer had already spread, and all Lu Li could do was accompany him as much as possible during his final days.

He sighed and set off towards "Tijuana City General Hospital."

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Living in a country with the world's highest murder rate, Lu Li always stuck to the main roads when he went out, at least for a semblance of safety.

However, the road was unusually busy today, with military vehicles passing by one after another, carrying soldiers armed with live ammunition.

A "Bull" armored vehicle was among them. The steel behemoth, weighing over ten tons, rumbled past with considerable presence.

Lu Li quickly retreated to the side of the road, next to a snack shop, just in time to overhear the customers talking:

"The new mayor is a staunch anti-drug advocate. He arrested Benjamin's son right after taking office!"

"His only son! Benjamin is going to go crazy..."

Benjamin was the local drug lord. It looked like a major event was about to unfold.

Lu Li had no interest in this. He was just an ant struggling to survive, how could he have the leisure to care about such things?

At this moment, the aroma of chicken wraps was making his mouth water uncontrollably.

He hadn't eaten breakfast after coming out so early, but he was short on cash. Lu Li decided to save the money for this meal.

"It's fine if I skip one meal anyway."

Just as he was about to leave this tempting place, a weak voice called out from behind him:

"Brother, buy some flowers~"

He turned to see a girl, about fourteen or fifteen years old, carrying a flower basket, her face pleading.

Lu Li frowned. These cheap wildflowers were usually sold to tourists. He lived nearby and had seen the girl a few times when passing by.

Her approaching him... could only mean she was desperate.

Selling flowers also had targets. With the government's recent crackdown on drugs, tourists had dwindled. If she couldn't meet her quota, she'd go hungry, or worse, be beaten.

Lu Li sighed and took out a few bills. "3 pesos, will you sell?"

This was equivalent to one yuan in Xia Country, just enough to buy a chicken wrap. It was the limit of Lu Li's kindness.

The girl's eyes lit up, and she nodded repeatedly. "Yes, yes, thank you!"

She picked out the largest and most vibrant "Dahlia" and handed it over. Mexicans regarded this flower as a symbol of generosity and splendor.

Lu Li took it, thinking it would be nice to place it by his father's sickbed to lift his spirits.

He brought the fresh flower to his nose to sniff it. Before he could catch the scent, a commotion suddenly erupted in the distance!

The government soldiers who had just passed by were all fleeing back, throwing away their weapons and equipment as they ran.

Even the imposing "Bull" armored vehicle was in a panic. It didn't even have time to turn around and could only retreat in reverse, crashing into countless stalls.

Immediately after, Lu Li saw the culprit behind all this—an "M1A1" main battle tank, slowly appearing at the street corner!

It was the same model tank as the Star Alliance Country's army, but its hull was painted with a chilling emblem of a "Viper through Skull Sockets."

Lu Li's pupils contracted—that was the drug cartel's symbol! It was the cartel's tank!

At this moment, the tank adjusted its cannon, aiming at the "Bull" armored vehicle.

As fate would have it, the armored vehicle had already passed Lu Li and was less than 20 meters away!

Seeing the dark tank barrel aiming at him, Lu Li's hair stood on end! His heart pounded wildly!

When people experience a sudden life-or-death crisis, their brains work overtime, speeding up their thoughts, making time seem to slow down.

At this moment, Lu Li felt everything around him slow down. Even the screams of the crowd seemed to stretch out.

Without a word, he lunged forward, pulling the flower girl down with him to the ground.

The next second, a deafening roar erupted as the tank blew up the armored vehicle with a single shot!

The armored vehicle turned into a fireball rising into the sky. The shockwave, carrying debris, blasted out in all directions.

Even small stones had the power to pierce a human body. Countless bystanders were instantly turned into bloody messes, sent flying.

Although Lu Li had managed to lie down in time, the explosion was too close. He was still stunned, losing his hearing and sight.

He lay on the ground, his ears filled with an eerie silence, his vision blurred.

In a daze, he seemed to be back in his hometown, sitting in a classroom where only the sound of turning pages could be heard...

Unfortunately, the warm illusion was quickly shattered.

His hearing was the first to return, a ringing in his ears like a surging tide. Lu Li heard his own heavy breaths and the earth-shattering cries and screams of the crowd.

His vision recovered a moment later. The burning, smoking armored vehicle came into view, along with the ground covered in severed limbs and blood.

Lu Li coughed out flower petals mixed with gunpowder. He dragged the stunned girl and crawled into the snack shop for cover.

Just as they hid, he heard the vibration of the tank's treads crushing the ground.

Huddled behind the thick wall, he felt a false sense of security.

His head was still buzzing. Lu Li's thoughts drifted, and he suddenly thought of his classmates back home, whom he hadn't seen in a long time.

"Their college entrance exams must be soon..."

The tank rumbled past, followed by the sound of neat, uniform footsteps as the drug lord's guards advanced.

Sorry for keeping everyone waiting.

For those interested, you can also check out my old books, all of which are completed.