If there is still a space station floating in the earth's low-Earth orbit at this time, looking down from there, you will still feel that this small blue planet has not changed much. The blue sea and white clouds roll into spirals, swinging slowly. Cross the continent. After peeling off that short-lived and unrealistic layer of brilliance, the earth seems to have returned to its simple and real ancient beauty. The iron gray and steel blue that are occasionally refracted by the background light of the universe are like a The white dots splashed on Zhang Chun’s black curtain cannot be judged as art or some kind of prank.
Chen Xiaoxiang looked down through the port window of the transport plane. The setting sun dyed the dusk line into an extra... dumb tone. Above it was absolute darkness, and below it was the land that quickly turned bleak. For a moment, she and the survivors with her were shocked.
Smoking was not allowed in the cabin, but Chen Xiaoxiang wanted to smoke very much. Somehow, Chen Xiaoxiang, who always ignored discipline, did not take out the wine bottle and cigarette case she carried with her, even though no one would restrain her. She stared blankly at the ground where fireworks occasionally shot up into the sky. From this height, they were sparks that could not be compared to a small fingernail, but at the ground level, they were huge explosions that could cover a whole valley.
At this point, it's all-out war.
There were occasional echoes in Chen Xiaoxiang's almost empty mind, echoes of explosions. She and the dozen or so people behind her were all the survivors of the Xinghu battle. It was sheer luck. When they parachuted, they were the ones who strayed the most and fell closer to their own border. After witnessing the torrent of steel from the empire crossing the border, Chen Xiaoxiang had a fierce exchange of fire with the scattered imperial scouts, but miraculously He walked away, and after a long journey like a savage through mountains and rivers, he returned to the secret assembly point of the mission. But there was nothing but a cold little plane. The twin-engine plane could just carry the remaining twelve people. Chen Xiaoxiang hid in the cargo hold, half frozen to death, and braved a series of artillery fire to return to the front-line airport. Finally, under the command of the headquarters, the last round of transport planes left for Longshan.
go home? It seemed like I was really going home.
When they come and when they go, they are completely different.
Chen Xiaoxiang didn't know what type of transport plane he was under, but the cargo hold was very large and could hold a main battle tank or fifty low-load individual mechas. But temporary supports were set up inside, like supermarket containers, with canopy beds filled with wounded soldiers layer by layer. These bunks were like the coffins of the deceased, layered on top of each other.
This is not because the Renaissance Army disrespects the fallen soldiers and refuses to give up even such a small amount of space, but at this time, the front line is extremely tight and the transportation capacity is extremely tight. Every plane is full for a full flight. At this time, a large transport plane can be squeezed out to transport the remains and the injured. We really can't ask for more.
People like Chen Xiaoxiang didn't have much choice of seats, and they even had very little room to choose. They were half sitting and half leaning next to the wounded soldiers. Although they were numb inside, the painful wails of the wounded were like clockwork. Only through sporadic moans and murmurs in sleep did Chen Xiaoxiang gain some peace. Chen Xiaoxiang suddenly realized that she could have a close contact with the coffin as long as she moved forward a little.
Suddenly she had an absurd thought. If there was an empty coffin, it would be much more comfortable to lie in it than in this weird posture. However, Chen Xiaoxiang quickly rejected this idea. Where is the tranquility only reserved for dead people, and are they competing for space with the dead?
But a more practical thought arose. What if she lay down in it and another comrade came back alive?
It must be worth it.
Fire sources of any kind are prohibited during flight. Chen Xiaoxiang didn't care too much. After all, she wasn't a heavy smoker. She saw a seriously injured person around her who had been begging for a cigarette. The nurse who was too busy naturally had no time to pay attention to him. So Chen Xiaoxiang sighed, walked over, and stuffed a cigarette into the wounded man, whose face was so young that he must have been only seventeen years old. She was not interested in talking to him. Light the fire and a weak flame rises. Chen Xiaoxiang's pale and thin cheeks were reflected, and sometimes she forgot that she was only twenty years old. The nearly one year of fighting felt like a lifetime, and the lost comrades felt like she had lost all the old world.
The longer the war goes on, the younger the soldiers become.
The continuous high-pitched sound erupted after the transport plane cut through the air represented the smooth output of the turbofan engine, and the fuselage was trembling slightly. Chen Xiaoxiang continued to look through the thin porthole, and suddenly recalled that the last time he took a flight, he saw the clouds rolling up at noon.
A very beautiful gold pattern.
Chen Xiaoxiang trained in the military academy for three years and also studied for three years. She thought of a poem, "Ink-colored embers, swirling and dancing." But that was all. She couldn't help but laugh at herself, and she thought of Shen Rusong who didn't know where he was or whether he was alive or dead. She didn't know how she became interested in this guy who seemed to have a melancholic temperament. She even talked to people about whether Shen Rusong had a melancholic temperament, but the answer was no.
She felt that it was probably her only synesthesia.
Chen Xiaoxiang flipped over the seat, which seemed to be removed from a passenger plane, and she actually pulled out an aviation magazine. Looking at the faded but still gorgeous cover, she couldn't help but think that many years ago, the passengers on the commercial airliner had seen the same clouds and passed through the same sky as Chen Xiaoxiang. But did such a peaceful and prosperous life really exist? Or does it only exist on certain yellowed pieces of paper?
Before the war started, before 1981, was there really such a scene as the magazine said? On the solid wood dining table covered with beige tablecloth, my father sat in front of the TV and jumped up and danced along with the picture. The child reached up to the dining table and tried hard to reach the fragrant steak on the other side of the chasm. He was too short and his hands were too short. My mother brought over waffles with frosting and a glass of cranberry juice.
To be honest, Chen Xiaoxiang doesn't even know what waffles and cranberry juice are. She barely understands a little foreign language. She can't read the English appendix at the back, but she can understand it by looking at the pictures of people in suits and leather shoes. A society far, far away.
The war in reality is not over, and they have all become corpses in coffins.
The transport plane was gradually descending, the landing gear was released, the tires were rubbing against the runway, and the in-flight announcement sounded, Longshan surface airport had arrived.
Chen Xiaoxiang woke up his two companions, Zhao Haiqiang and Xin Jie, who had finally fallen asleep. Miraculously, the two of them have never been separated from Chen Xiaoxiang. They have survived to this day and have been recruited by the headquarters.
Chen Xiaoxiang grabbed her backpack and walked out of the rear hatch. The fresh air suddenly made her uncomfortable. Her nose smelled too much smoke and sweat, and she began to resist beautiful things.
As soon as the rear cargo door was opened, the ground crew poured into the transport aircraft. The coffins were no different from ordinary ammunition supplies. As usual, they were transported in batches by construction machinery. In fact, there is no special difference between the wounded and injured, except that a more stable machine was used to carry them to the cart.
"Corporal Chen Xiaoxiang?" Chen Xiaoxiang stopped and watched until an officer from the administrative system shouted to greet him.
After exchanging military salutes, the officer frowned unnoticeably. It was not his fault. Chen Xiaoxiang and the others had not taken a bath for more than a month, and the smell was so strong that a bear would shake his head. The officers shook hands one by one and said, "I am Lieutenant Li Li, and I have been ordered to hand over."
The officer calmly waved away the stench, and without waiting for Chen Xiaoxiang and others to ask questions, he explained as he walked: "You are the last survivors of Operation Xinghu, and the headquarters needs to ask you about the situation."
The global fighter jets roared into the sky. Chen Xiaoxiang was so noisy that he didn't hear what the officer said clearly and shouted: "What did you say!"
"I said, you have to go back to headquarters!" the officer yelled back.
The officer took Chen Xiaoxiang and others to the transfer facility at the airport. Although there are not many electronic devices these days, basic personal information of soldiers is still archived electronically. The area around Longshan is not much different from before the war. As for the procedures, just walk around in front of the camera.
"Is there no one else?" Chen Xiaoxiang asked.
"No more," the officer sighed.
"The situation is very tense now. We are unable to send aerial reconnaissance to Xinghu. The Imperials have suffered heavy losses. We destroyed two of their mechas. They are keeping a tight guard."
The officer stretched out his hand towards Chen Xiaoxiang and said with respect: "Here's to you! You have replaced two Imperial mechas. Our advantages can be highlighted in winter. Let's enjoy the few days of vacation you deserve."
holiday?
Home?
Home was so far away that Chen Xiaoxiang could only remember the endless upward highway when he came to the surface, the ink-colored crowds, the procession of lights like dragons, the underground peaks, and the people and objects frozen into color pictures, fading to black and white.
Chen Xiaoxiang and others are not the highest priority
, everyone has arrived, and the headquarters must not be so anxious to summon them. During wartime, the traffic situation in Longshan was extremely busy, with manpower and materials flowing through all the time, but the inspections were even more stringent. Chen Xiaoxiang was also happy to stay at the surface base for one night. After all, he couldn't stink when he went to the headquarters.
Perhaps most of the people had gone to the front lines, and the public bathhouses were empty. The hot water flowed through Chen Xiaoxiang's body, and the warm water blocked her sight. In this way, even she would not notice that she was crying.
In the barracks, Chen Xiaoxiang drank up the small flask she carried with her little by little. The wine in it was vodka, which came from the imperial soldiers she had killed. Cool and hot.
She seemed to be drunk, and Chen Xiaoxiang didn't know how she got outside. She saw rows of new recruits waiting to board the plane, their faces blurred and their figures like ink.
The military police arrived as scheduled, but they didn't know who was who. Chen Xiaoxiang almost fought with the military police until officer Li Li arrived and rescued him.
When leaving the airport, Chen Xiaoxiang heard the recruits singing military songs. While Chen Xiaoxiang was staying away from the crowd, he turned around and saw a group of young people holding their arms around their shoulders, singing and howling.
In the barracks, before going to bed, Chen Xiaoxiang closed her eyes and sang softly, the tune was slow and melancholy.
"The harbor is quiet, deep in sleep, the mist fills the sea, the waves push the waves and lap beside the embankment, and the accordion sounds melodious in the distance."
