“This place is too dangerous,” Kevin said with a laugh.
He was over 1.8 meters tall, with blond hair that shone brightly in the sunlight, exuding a unique sunny and cheerful aura.
Ni Jingxi nodded and asked in English, "How is the situation now?"
Kevin shrugged helplessly and said, "Israel is already preparing to send more troops to Gaza. The Prime Minister just convened a security cabinet meeting and decided to take necessary military measures to protect Israel. I really hope God will bless us."
Ni Jingxi looked up into the distance. The Gaza Strip had been blockaded by Israel for nearly a decade. Now, the United States announced it would move its embassy to Jerusalem, which was further support for Israel's occupation of Jerusalem.
Several protests have erupted in the Gaza Strip, but these protests have been ruthlessly suppressed.
As the saying goes, if you fall behind, you will be attacked.
When Israeli military personnel appeared, the reporters immediately stepped forward, hoping to follow the military armored vehicles into the Israeli-held area.
The military quickly gave their approval, agreeing to allow the reporter to follow.
Ni Jingxi and the others immediately stepped forward, but to their surprise, the man in the lead, dressed in military uniform, looked her up and down and said with a sneer, "Women shouldn't be here."
There were quite a few reporters present, but Ni Jingxi was the only female reporter.
The discrimination against women in Middle Eastern countries is well-documented and doesn't need much explanation; even countries like Israel have such prejudices.
Ni Jingxi stared coldly at the other person and said, word by word, "Your mother is also a woman."
A burst of laughter immediately erupted from the surrounding international journalists. Most of these journalists were from Western countries and, in today's era of women's rights, dared not discriminate against any woman.
Moreover, any woman who dares to appear here deserves respect and praise.
She shouldn't be humiliated like this.
Therefore, when Ni Jingxi retaliated on the spot, some people around her even whistled and cheered for her.
The Israeli officer's face darkened, and he stared coldly at Ni Jingxi. However, Ni Jingxi was not afraid at all and stared straight at him.
In the end, she got into the military's armored vehicle with Old Bai. By the time they arrived at the base, the sounds of Palestinian demonstrations from the opposite side could be heard from afar.
Interspersed among the music were Palestinian songs, as they sang their national anthem.
After getting off the bus, all the reporters were instructed not to stand on the bunkers, as they were less than 100 meters from the barricade. On the open ground a hundred meters away, Palestinians living in Gaza would occasionally run forward, trying to tear open the barricade that had blocked their lives for more than a decade.
But no matter when, they were unable to take a single step.
Old Bai squatted down beside Ni Jingxi. He was a photojournalist, his lens constantly pointed at the people opposite them. Ni Jingxi, on the other hand, was recording everything that was happening before her eyes.
She even took out a voice recorder.
Suddenly, a series of thumping sounds came from ahead, followed by a shout of "Get down!" and all the reporters in the vicinity dropped to the ground.
Not far away, Palestinians who had been gathered were now scattering and running away as Israeli soldiers fired rubber bullets to disperse those trying to cross the fence.
Then the tear gas was thrown into the air, and the scattered tear gas not only made the children who were holding the national flags shout desperately, but some of them even drifted over with the wind.
Although Ni Jingxi was wearing sunglasses, tears still streamed down her face uncontrollably.
Old Bai clutched his camera tightly, yelling, "My eyes, my eyes!"
Ni Jingxi took out a bottle of mineral water from her backpack and handed it to him: "Clean yourself up."
Old Bai rinsed his eyes briefly, and when he turned to hand the water to Ni Jingxi, she shook her head: "I don't need it."
Water resources are quite scarce here. Ni Jingxi has been here for a year and has already developed the habit of not wasting water easily.
Old Bai felt a pang of sadness. This young woman was so strong, and he, a grown man, was yelling and screaming over such a small thing.
It's quite embarrassing.
Fortunately, although Israel is sending more troops, no further conflict has occurred between the two sides.
Around 4 p.m., Ni Jingxi and Lao Bai decided to return to Jerusalem, where there was no internet access, so they had to go back first if they wanted to publish a report.
The sky was still clear and the sun was shining brightly; the afternoon sun was still abundant. Before getting into the car, Ni Jingxi glanced back at the guardrail not far away.
That single protective barrier trapped millions of people for over a decade.
Although they, like us, enjoy the sunshine, they can only struggle within this city.
Even though she had seen and witnessed so much over the past year, she still felt an indescribable sorrow in her heart.
Perhaps it was because she had witnessed so much suffering firsthand that Ni Jingxi was able to accept what happened to her. She even occasionally thought of her father, wondering if, even if Old Sun had taken him home that day, they might have ended up disappearing together.
In such a place, human life is too insignificant.
On the way back, Ni Jingxi continued driving, but unexpectedly, the car suddenly broke down halfway. She and Lao Bai got out of the car and looked at it for a long time, but they were still helpless.
There were no cars on the road at that time.
Old Bai looked at Ni Jingxi cautiously and asked, "How about we call a tow truck?"
"Do you have a phone?" Ni Jingxi asked in return.
Old Bai was stunned by her question.
Ni Jingxi said, "I'll stop the car."
Old Bai, standing nearby, said anxiously, "There's hardly anyone around here. Isn't it too dangerous? I think the Reuters reporters arrived later than us. Should I call them and ask?"
Ni Jingxi didn't want to trouble them, but she had no choice.
So Lao Bai went to make a phone call, while she stood by the roadside. But when she looked back at the car, she suddenly felt that this scene seemed very familiar.
Ni Jingxi stood on the empty highway and suddenly laughed.
Huo Shenyan.
She hadn't dared to think of that name for so long, rejecting all news from China, afraid to see anything about him. But every now and then, a scene would remind her of him.
Old Bai held up his phone and said, "Hey, no one's answering the phone."
Just then, a roaring sound came from afar, growing louder and louder.
Old Bai exclaimed happily, "There's a car!"
But Ni Jingxi still said cautiously, "Be careful."
She then bent down and took out what was hidden in the back of the car. Old Bai watched as she cocked the gun and put it back under the seat.
The car must have seen them parked on the side of the road, because it stopped right away, and the driver leaned out with a grin and asked, "Need any help?"
Before Ni Jingxi could answer, the person in the passenger seat next to her got out of the car. As the person walked over, their eyes swept over Ni Jingxi. The look in their eyes was not a simple appraiser, but a greedy desire.
These two people clearly have Arab features.
After the other person got out of the car, the two of them circled the car in a seemingly professional manner. Finally, the one in the lead took out a dagger from the car and said with a grin, "We were just passing by."
Scumbags exist in every country and among every race.
Old Bai immediately shouted, "If all you want is money, we can give you money."
Ni Jingxi didn't speak, but calmly looked at the other person. Fortunately, they only had daggers. It's likely that these two people just saw their car parked by the roadside listening and, seeing that no one was around, decided to act on a whim.
If they just wanted money, that would be fine...
It's likely that the other party wants more than just money; their greedy gaze once again fell on Ni Jingxi.
Ni Jingxi's eyes revealed disgust.
“If you want money, I can give you all of it,” Ni Jingxi said calmly.
But the man with the dagger leaned forward and chuckled, "I've never seen a Chinese woman before."
He pretended to sniff Ni Jingxi's scent.
At this moment, Lao Bai fully understood the other party's purpose and could no longer hold back. He said in Chinese, "Jingxi, I'll hold them off. You steal their car and run away quickly."
Although Lao Bai was afraid of death, he couldn't just stand by and watch Ni Jingxi be humiliated.
Even if he's weak at times like this, he has to stand up like a man.
Ni Jingxi immediately shouted, "No!"
The two Arab men kept glancing at them. Although they couldn't understand Chinese, they could tell that the two men were definitely discussing how to escape.
Until Ni Jingxi said, "One at a time."
The man was surprised that she didn't scream like a normal woman, but instead cooperated so well, even smiling happily. He casually opened the car door and pulled her into the car.
But as soon as he moved, Ni Jingxi moved even faster. She quickly pulled out the gun from under the car seat, aimed it at the man's leg, and pulled the trigger without hesitation.
With a loud bang, the man who had been holding Old White's wallet and counting money looked up blankly.
Then he saw his companion bleeding from his thigh, lying on the ground howling in agony. His wallet fell to the ground with a thud, and he suddenly knelt down.
Ni Jingxi stared at him expressionlessly and said in a cold voice, "I said, one at a time."
Bang! Another gunshot rang out.
The man was actually dripping fluid from his genitals.
Ni Jingxi did fire a second shot, but she fired it into the sky, clearly scaring the other party so much that they wet themselves.
A military vehicle soon arrived, clearly alerted by the gunfire. When the opposing officer approached, Ni Jingxi raised an eyebrow; it was the same man who had said women shouldn't be on the front lines.
He looked at Ni Jingxi and the two people lying on the ground, and clearly understood what had happened.
"Sorry, we'll handle these two people." Although this wasn't their military's responsibility, Ni Jingxi and her team were journalists, and this happened within Israel.
Ni Jingxi nodded: "Thank you."
Fortunately, someone quickly helped fix their car. Ni Jingxi thanked them again and left with Lao Bai.
Even after the car drove away, Lao Bai was still shaken, repeatedly muttering from the passenger seat, "That was too dangerous, that was too dangerous."
"Is it dangerous?" The person involved, on the contrary, was remarkably calm.
Ni Jingxi looked at the exceptionally straight road through the windshield. The last time, Huo Shenyan stood behind the car with a gun to protect her.
This time, she protected herself.
Be careful what you say; look at me, I can protect myself now.
A faint smile appeared on her lips, but why did she suddenly miss him so much?
*
That night, Ni Jingxi couldn't sleep at all. Unexpectedly, a reporter from another newspaper called her and invited her to have drinks together.
So she readily agreed.