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In a small, dark cave, several people sat by the fire in silence, like frost-bitten eggplants.
In the light of the fire, you could see their dirty faces with extremely heavy expressions. They were wearing tattered clothes whose original colors could no longer be seen, and each of them had some injuries on their bodies.
They had just buried a fallen comrade and were in dire straits.
"Okay, don't think about it! Rest early and save your energy, because there is a tough battle to fight tonight." Xiao Li was the first to hug his chest with his clothes, close his eyes, and lean against the cold wall behind him.
It’s not that he isn’t sad, he just learned to hide it.
At this time, Xiao Li was no longer the fair-skinned handsome boy that the young nurses liked. Due to long-term dehydration and other reasons, his face was so dark that his true appearance could not be seen. Because he was far away from the main force and had no logistical supplies, his nutrition was not enough. He was so thin that he was unrecognizable. He stood there tall and thin like a bamboo pole, giving people an unhealthy and morbid feeling.
Now, he was no longer surrounded by the original team of nine people. In their team of ten, there were only four people left including him, two of whom were injured.
Among the remaining three was the long-range sniper, Haozi, whose arms were hung by strips of clothing they had ripped from the dead, leaning against the wall with a weary face, lost in thought.
In addition, there is a pair of twins who survived in their team, Viper and Cobra. They are only sixteen years old, the youngest in the team. They are rookies with little experience and need a lot of teaching from their seniors. Although they are young, they have calm personalities and don't like to talk much. Among the group, they always practice talking less, watching more and doing more.
Because of his young age, he was often looked after like a younger brother by his teammates. During a head-on clash with the M army, Viper was shot in the abdomen and surrounded by the M army. It was Mad Wolf who desperately rescued him from the enemy's encirclement. However, Mad Wolf was trapped in the enemy's encirclement and could not break out, and died in that clash.
Xiao Li still remembered that Mad Wolf, while holding back the M army, gave him a thumbs-up with all his might and shouted, "Come on, Squirrel! Don't let me look down on you!"
Sometimes some things between people are really wonderful. The other person doesn’t have to say it too clearly, you can understand what he means with just one look.
"Come on! Xiao Li!"
Then, Xiao Li, with tears in his eyes, skillfully pulled the safety pin of the grenade in his hand.
For the first time, he pointed his gun at his closest comrade.
"Boom!"
Comrades, all the enemy troops have been killed.
He didn't even find the mad wolf's body.
He could only grab a handful of blood-stained soil from where the mad wolf was standing.
Xiao Li always thought that he had witnessed the cruelty of war and was used to the departure of his comrades, but when he killed his comrades with his own hands, he realized that the cruelty of war was far more than that.
With the blood of his comrades on his hands, he felt wronged and sad.
But not a single tear was shed.
…
A few hundred meters away from the small cave.
The five Chinese team members, supporting each other, slowly walked towards the direction where Xiao Li and others were hiding.
Because of their injuries, they walked very slowly, with one person exploring the way ahead and the other following behind to clean up the bloodstains and traces of footsteps.
The most eye-catching person in their group was the young man wearing glasses who remained silent. He was wearing a Chinese military uniform of an indecipherable color and a pair of glasses with one lens missing. He looked knowledgeable.
In fact, this is true. If Xiao Li were here at this moment, he would definitely recognize this disheveled but still elegant and gentlemanly man.
This man is Dong Shiyi, the platoon leader of the 9th Platoon, 7th Battalion, 303rd Regiment, who has a close relationship with Xiao Li.
"Platoon leader, there's a mark here too. It should be in the front." The soldier walking in front pointed to a small "eight" shape on a tree, scratched his messy hair, and spoke.
This is a special mark left by Chinese soldiers when they are abroad. A small and inconspicuous "eight" character is the way they can find each other abroad.
Dong Shiyi cleaned up the traces left behind, did not answer immediately, and glanced around.
It was getting dark now and the sun was about to set.
For the elderly, the weak, the sick and the disabled in their line of work, it is extremely unsafe to be outside at night. Long-term fatigue and running around can easily cause wound infection. They also have to pay attention to the surrounding environment at all times. They must quickly find a place to hide and bandage their wounds.
"The sun is about to set. Everyone, cheer up and hurry up." He was the platoon leader, and everyone was accustomed to obeying his orders. Dong Shiyi then said to the soldier scouting ahead, "Xiao Huang, please work hard for a while and go ahead to explore the road."
They were all veterans who had fought on the battlefield. They saw through Dong Shiyi's idea at a glance, supported each other, quickened their pace, and moved forward at full speed.
On the other side, Xiao Huang sped up and soon reached the end of the mark.
Behind a huge rock, they found the cave where Xiao Li and others were hiding.
Xiao Huang swallowed his saliva, explored the cave alone, and carefully entered the cave. When he entered the cave, he felt a cool breeze blowing on his face, which made him feel refreshed.
The light sound of footsteps made Xiao Li, who had been resting with his eyes closed, suddenly open his eyes. His eyes were cold and sharp like a knife as he stared at the cave entrance. He quietly raised the gun in his hand, bent his waist and slowly reached towards the cave entrance.
As they got closer, Xiao Li's face darkened and he opened the bumper, ready to shoot.
"Who?" Xiao Huang heard footsteps and hurriedly stepped back.
The three Haozi who were still resting were immediately awakened by the sound, picked up their equipment and prepared for battle.
"Chinese?" Xiao Li hadn't expected to be so lucky as to run into another group of Chinese soldiers here. He didn't immediately trust them, but instead said cautiously, "Get out!"
"Okay, okay, I'll retreat, I'll retreat." Xiao Huang raised his hands and slowly retreated towards the cave entrance. "Don't shoot, we're on the same side, we're on the same side."
Both parties were very happy to see familiar faces again and hugged each other tightly.
Dong Shiyi hit Xiao Li's chest hard, so hard that Xiao Li coughed several times, "Cough~ cough~ Platoon Leader, are you trying to kill me with this hammer?"
Dong Shiyi squinted his eyes and laughed, "Great! I didn't expect you to still be alive. It's good to be alive."
We can only meet each other if we are alive. No matter how we live, as long as we are alive, it’s fine.
Xiao Li smiled bitterly and said, "It was just luck. There were ten of us at the beginning, but in the end, only four of us were left... And you, why are you here?"
Dong Shiyi was silent for a while after hearing Xiao Li's words, and then he said, "We got separated from the main force on the way back to the rear, and accidentally entered this place. We followed the signs all the way here. If we hadn't found you this time, I'm afraid they wouldn't have survived tonight..."
Xiao Li looked at the four survivors left with Dong Shiyi: one had both legs blown off and his right arm crippled; one was blinded and deafened; one had his left leg completely gone below the knee... and had to rely on the help of his comrades to walk.
The only ones who were in a complete state were Xiao Huang and Dong Shiyi.
So miserable!
"Why are there only a few of you? The others..." Were they all sacrificed?
“They’ve all sacrificed themselves!”
"We just went through a fierce battle. It was so brutal that only five of us in our entire battalion made it out alive. The M Army had endless ammunition, and they rained down on us. Hiding in the tunnel, I felt like I was on a boat tossed on a rough sea."
"Look at my mouth." Dong Shiyi's mouth was covered in blood, and there were deep bite marks on his lips. He pointed at his mouth and continued, "The strong shock wave shook the entire tunnel. We couldn't control ourselves. Many people, like me, hit their tongues with their teeth and broke their lips!"
"That artillery fire lasted a full day. It was only a day later that the M Army sent in two ground vanguards. They wanted to catch us off guard and capture us in one fell swoop. But they forgot that the battlefield isn't just a sandbox simulation; the human factor is the key to determining the outcome of a war."
"After the battle, the entire hilltop was chopped off in half by artillery fire. We Chinese soldiers were all excellent. We defeated the enemy despite a huge gap in equipment. In the end, only the five of us, the old, weak, and sick, were left, including our entire battalion."
"But no matter how it went, in the end we still won with fewer people than the majority. Even though we were inferior to Old M in equipment, we still won the battle beautifully! We won the ultimate victory!"
Thinking of the comrades who died on the battlefield, the air seemed to become oppressive.
It's so heavy that it makes it hard to breathe.
Xiao Li silently patted Dong Shiyi's shoulder, silently comforting him.
Dong Shiyi, like an outsider, spoke lightly of the brutal and ruthless battle, but he knew that the war must have been extremely difficult and cruel.
Just because he listened to it, he felt like he was in hell.
Due to the urgency of the war, most soldiers on the battlefield did not have time to rest in the rear. Over time, their bodies would develop various diseases due to injuries, lack of vitamins, etc.
How can victory be easily won by a group of soldiers who are inferior to the enemy in equipment and fighting on the battlefield while suffering from illness?
Xiao Li was in it himself, so he could understand the hardships involved.
It’s really difficult, really difficult!
"Don't comfort me. I'm not sad for their sacrifice. On the contrary, I'm proud of them. They sacrificed for the future of our country. They are the pride of the Chinese people and the heroes of our entire country!"
"Yes, they are our heroes!" You are also heroes of China!
"Let's not talk about these depressing and sad things." Xiao Li then took out the only dead mouse left in the cave like a treasure and warmly entertained the heroes. "Here, this is just caught at noon. It's very fresh. Everyone, please feel free."
The cobra among the twins said as if to take credit: "I caught them. I am now an expert at catching mice and snakes. Don't be polite, I will catch a few more after I finish eating."
"This is incredible! You actually have such a good thing here! We won't be polite to you." Several people cut a small mouse into pieces evenly like a treasure, and each of them ate it in one bite.
In the past, the meat of a mouse was not enough to fill one’s stomach, let alone fill the gaps between one’s teeth.
Now, several people were sharing a little mouse, eating it with gusto. After finishing, they patted their stomachs, their faces full of satisfaction, "Delicious!"
After wandering outside for so long, Xiao Li now has no idea what year it is.
He only knew that from the bitterly cold winter to the scorching summer now, his comrades fell one by one, sacrificed in a strange land, and were buried on the spot in a foreign land.
When they left the army, each of them carried seven days' worth of dry food. After seven days, they were out of food and unable to obtain daily necessities from the Korean people. They could only implement the measures of "local supply and self-sufficiency". The combat equipment had to be confiscated from the enemy, but it was not easy to confiscate weapons, and every confrontation was extremely dangerous.
Xiao Li still remembers how he felt when he first ate rat meat. He always thought he would feel nauseous and unable to eat it.
It was not until the bloody little mouse was divided into several equal parts and put into his mouth that he was shocked to find that people can eat anything when they are extremely hungry, and mouse meat can be so delicious!
After eating, he even looked forward to the next time.
They had eaten all sorts of edible things using local ingredients, and Xiao Li had discovered that rat meat was the best thing they had ever eaten. Sometimes they even complained that rats were difficult to catch.
This little mouse is the last stock of Xiaoli and his men. Eating the last bite means they are out of ammunition and food.
Go ahead, no more bullets.
Retreat, there is no food to eat.
How should I proceed with a group of disabled people?
Go forward, it's a dead end!
If you retreat, there may still be a glimmer of hope.
In that case, let's retreat...
"You guys take a break first. We'll retreat to the rear tonight..." The decision wasn't difficult. Even though Xiao Li had become brave, he was still essentially a cowardly loser. Faced with a situation where there was no way back, he didn't risk his life. Instead, he decided to seize the last glimmer of hope and retreat.
"Thanks."
"We are all brothers, why bother to thank me?"
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