As soon as the order was given, morale was boosted, the whistle sounded, and a series of footprints and hoof prints rose up on the snow, and were quickly erased. In the miserable cold wind and snow, people raised their heads and stared ahead. The misty mountains, the backs of the comrades, and the steel guns on the shoulders became heavier and heavier, but this heavy feeling was solid.
No longer caring about the horses' physical strength while marching, they waved their whips and kicked their spurs, forcing the mules and horses to break out at their fastest speed. They have to race against time to reach Sulfur Spring before the blizzards come again and again. Even if the snow is knee-deep, even if it is difficult to move, even if the beam of light can only illuminate a corner of the place in front of them, they must squeeze out the strength in their bones to move forward!
The sky was dark, and the night wind was bone-chilling. The wind swept across and turned into a vortex. Countless small sharp blades cut through it. It was difficult to get up after the horse fell. So the companions jumped down desperately, hugging the trunk of the tree while pushing, supporting, and carrying them with them. The comrades continued to set off. Snow particles and dust penetrated into the collars, and frozen people were wandering on the edge of madness and collapse. Everyone was thinking, go forward, go forward?
Not one step too many, one step too few.
No moonlight could be seen, no faint light in the distance could be seen, but people began to feel that the ground under the horses' hooves was gradually solidifying, and the snowflakes that were knocking on the bones and sucking the marrow were disappearing. Where the flashlight hit, there was a long-lost green, it was green, blue-black, not gray!
Shen Rusong gently let go of the reins, and the horse, with its black hair turned white under its crotch, stopped on the muddy road. Suddenly he stopped, took off his helmet and scarf, and revealed his face, which was covered with weeds. With a beard-like face, he spread his hands and stared blankly at the trace of snowflakes slowly melting in his palms.
He turned back and looked at the seemingly endless team, then sighed for a moment, picked up the reins of the horse, and continued to move forward.
Shen Rusong didn't know whether they could reach the end. He actually didn't think about this problem. Likewise, he didn't think about the ending. Even if there were regrets or fears, they all disappeared in the boundless wind and snow.
Then, the snow stopped.
The pungent smell of sulfur gradually lingered around the nose, and the heat accumulated in the earth was slowly evaporating. In the confusion and a little hope, more than a dozen bright beams gathered together, pierced the dripping snow curtain, merged into a beam of light, and illuminated In a corner of the base, there is a purple flag, fluttering in the wind and snow but never willing to break. The scalding water of the sulfur spring melted the surrounding snow, and the hot air collided with the cold air, making it so moist and warm.
"Here we are."
"arrive."
There was not much cheering at first. At first glance, it just felt like meeting an old friend who had been away for a long time, with a smile on the corner of the mouth. When "Bang!" a gunshot was heard, the chain of the base's subway door was disconnected, and they struggled to push open the heavy door. When they really saw the sulfur spring with "gurgling" bubbles, at that moment, this group of seventeen Tears really came out of the eyes of the eight-year-old young people.
"Here we are!"
The exhausted team in the wind and snow suddenly cheered up. Even the roaring storm could not stop the cheers. The humane horses began to neigh. They felt the instinctive warmth. They screamed loudly, "Hua Hua Hua", which attracted the soldiers to scarf The chapped face stretched out.
Shen Rusong smelled the strong smell of sulfur in the air and smiled sincerely. He grabbed Chen Xiaoxiang who was walking by, looked into her eyes, and all the comforting words he wanted to say disappeared with the lights that gradually turned on. In her shining eyes.
The Sulfur Spring Base is indeed worthy of its name. There are several natural sulfur hot springs around, which are warm all year round. You can still feel the heat in the wind and snow. Although with the changes of the times, this base has long been deserted and abandoned for a long time, it still has high walls, deep trenches and complete facilities.
As soon as they entered the base, the company commander immediately assigned tasks. The communication troops immediately restored the communication tower, reported to the Yanqi headquarters, and asked for help from Ganjingzi Military Station. The remaining troops dug up reserves and replenished water and medicine, and the remaining troops organized Barracks, self-cleaning, especially careful care of injuries such as frostbite, trench foot, etc. No more needless non-combat attrition!
Shen Rusong has been in good condition. He ordered a few strong male soldiers, as well as Luo Hong, who volunteered, to open the reserve together.
The power system of the base was aging badly, and all the lights leading to the deep storage warehouse were extinguished. Shen Rusong exchanged glances with others, put on a gas mask, turned on the gun light, and moved forward cautiously.
The paint on the wall was mottled, and the waterproof layer behind it should have peeled off due to weathering. Shen Rusong touched it casually, but he felt the oil on his hand. He smelled it through the gas mask, and there was a lingering strange and sweet smell.
"Is this sulfur seeping through, monitor?" Xie Guorong, who followed, also wiped a handful of wall mud and sniffed it and asked.
Shen Rusong set up his gun and vaguely saw the safety blast door at the end of the tunnel through the sight. He did not answer, but asked: "How far is it from the entrance?"
"It was 3:12 in the morning when I came in, and now it's 20..."
Shen Rusong interrupted and said, "That's more than a kilometer, with only two forks in the middle."
"It's too long!" The speaker was Wang Linfeng, squad leader of the 2nd Platoon who came with him. He stopped and said to Shen Rusong: "There are unified standards for underground facilities in this type of base. The tunnel should not be so long. The tunnel entrance at 1148.7 is The security gate is only two hundred meters away.”
"Moreover." Wang Linfeng stamped his feet, his voice dull.
"The slope never levels out, we're always going down."
Shen Rusong nodded, going down such a long distance in the deep and lightless tunnel, the feeling of the gloomy cold air entering his body was much more uncomfortable than the upright coldness on the surface, and he felt a wet sensation all over his body.
However, the order they received was to search for all available reserves. The entire company had exhausted all the rations and could not even make up the next meal. Even though the Ganjingzi Military Station had received the news and started to send supplies, they were not afraid of the wind and snow. , maybe it will take a day, this is a mountainous area, and snowmobiles are not easy to use. Besides, it is a matter of whether a small military station has fuel vehicles or not.
If you don't want to kill horses and drink blood from their hair, you must open the reserve. In addition, a large number of patients are in urgent need of medicine. No matter what, we must go to the end and open this door.
The closer he got to the safety door, the sweet and greasy smell around him became more serious. Shen Rusong had to wonder whether there was a leak in the storage warehouse, causing the materials to rot and stink. But he is not worried about mutant beasts building a nest. If there is a nest, the scene will be far more miserable than it is now. You will find it as soon as you step into the gate of the base.
He reported the scene in front of him to the company headquarters on the walkie-talkie. The news responded by the company headquarters was not optimistic. Other squads rummaged through the entire Sulfur Springs base, except for a small amount of ordnance sealed in gun oil and any useful food. , medicines were not found, they were either moldy and rotten, or the shelves were simply empty.
After all, this is an old base where the garrison was evacuated many years ago. Even if there are some supplies left behind, they have long been taken away by the training teams that passed by in the past. It is reasonable that there will be nothing left.
"It's all up to us now." Wang Linfeng said.
Shen Rusong nodded, swung his gun behind his shoulder, and summoned the soldiers behind him. They wanted to work together to open the explosion-proof door that kept the entire company alive.
