In the distance, the monotonous and dreary cawing of crows could be heard. It seemed to be mocking us. What was puzzling was that there were still birds alive in this war zone... The living dead and the dead living were piled up together, and flies greedily sucked up the blood. The wounded soldier lying in the corner opened his one remaining eye and let out a groan, but didn't raise his gun, with only two fingers left on his arm.
We didn't pay any attention to him. Ji Ling lifted his leg and stepped over the dying bodies, then gently knocked on the door: "Is anyone there?"
What greeted him was the black muzzle of a gun. After confirming his identity, Hanmerck stuffed his pistol back into his waistband and gave Ji Ling a hug: "Nice to see you, Ji."
He said that Ji Han was a classmate in the first commando course and was attached to the sixth team.
"My sister is here too. You'll confuse me with her like this."
"So you should get a cool code name—how about 'FuckShit'?"
"Get lost!"
"Valgina, we've reached the evacuation point. How much longer do you need?" I pressed the communication switch. "Three minutes!" Ivan replied. Meanwhile, wild music blared into my ears rudely. I guessed what they were listening to. "—To the right! Son of a bitch!"
It seemed that these Russians were okay. I set up my gun on the sandy windowsill and waited for them to appear. The evacuation point was the coordinates provided by the sixth team, which could temporarily serve as a landing and take-off site for a helicopter. Then the fourth team would take Tucker Liu and leave first.
Currently, the situation on the battlefield was extremely chaotic. The fifth team had joined up with the sixth team. The fourth team was moving in our direction, and the zero team would arrive after the fourth team. Both the seventh team and the second team were evacuating westward. The first team and the main force were breaking through together. The rapid reaction force would land on the mountainside in the west to establish a new evacuation point for us. So, generally speaking, all the teams were heading west.
The sound of motorcycle engines rang out from the end of the street, reaching up to the sky. What appeared were actually two shiny BMWs, with pure black paint and brand-new BMW logos on the front, looking glamorous and out of place in this dilapidated world. Along with them came several familiar figures leaning out of the car windows, and among them was Valgina.
I raised my gun and ordered: "Provide covering fire."
Streams of fire created by killing weapons advanced side by side, piercing through human bodies, flesh and blood, or bricks and stones, creating the value that their creators intended to give them. The smell of sulfur grew stronger, combined with the gunshots, making one think of the night of the Chinese New Year's Eve. The pursuers hadn't expected us to set up an ambush here and were hit hard.
Valgina jumped back into the car. The car skidded 720 degrees on the ground and finally came to a steady stop. The Russians quickly cut their seat belts and swarmed out, dragging Tucker Liu, who had his head covered, out of the car.
"We're all getting beaten up. How come they can be so much cooler than us?" Yang Shixiu replaced the magazine.
Liang Dong remained unmoved: "If I take your gun away and you can still fight a bear one-on-one, then you can go and show off too."
"Alright." Yang Shixiu sighed dejectedly. The firelight slightly lit up his young and handsome face. "I mean, we can go home after this battle, right?"
"What? Are you planning to go back to your hometown and get married after this battle?"
"No, it's just—being on the battlefield is so tiring. This leave will be a month long, right?"
"Be careful. Don't jinx it for us," I interrupted the two of them. "If something goes wrong this time, it'll be all your fault."
"What? Are you telling me what to do?"
"Let's put it this way," I sighed. "Actually, we'll get paid before the holiday, four months' worth. With the bonus, it's a total of ten thousand US dollars. The captain has the right to deduct up to 60% of the payment amount from the team members."
"Damn it!" "Don't do that! I'm broke!"
The arrival of the Black Hawk caused a huge commotion. Accompanied by two AH-6 armed helicopters, it slowly landed on the landing field. Valgina and her men boarded the plane. The Little Birds then used their own Gatling guns to conduct ground attacks. The smell of something like burnt barbecue could be faintly smelled.
The air current stirred up by the propellers was turbid and dirty. Tucker Liu's troops tried to attack it with RPG-7s, but no one succeeded. It's not the 20th century anymore. Everyone was trying their best to avoid accidents like the Black Hawk Down incident.
After the cleanup, the attack helicopters hovered in the air on patrol. The team members on the Black Hawk waved goodbye: "See you at the base!"
"See you at the base!"
The helicopter turned around and left, and we also began to set off on our way back. Everyone's morale was boosted. Since the mission was already more than half completed, who wouldn't want to enjoy the holiday?
"Quick, quick, quick, quick, quick," Ji Ling rushed forward impatiently.
"Holiday, holiday, holiday, holiday, holiday!
"Slow down!" I couldn't catch up with him.
"Don't be so fast!" Zhuge Yu shouted. "Don't break away from the team! It's useless for me to run faster now. The sandstorm is coming—What's that!?"
The girl's voice suddenly became filled with hysterical fear at the end. Guided by her, I turned around, and what came into view was her pale face that had lost all color. In her pupils was reflected a rising flash.
"It's too close!" The pilot roared. "Hold on to the handrails! We've been hit—MAYDAY MAYDAY, repeat, MAYDAY!"
The propelled grenade hit the side of the helicopter. There was a deafening boom, and the huge steel behemoth slowly tilted in the air, spinning and falling like a bird with broken wings.
"Damn it." Bob spat and, along with us, nervously witnessed the Black Hawk's struggle. The helicopter dragged a long tail made of thick black smoke, zigzagging in the air like a wild bee without any pattern, throwing off tiny fragments. After falling halfway down, the pilot finally managed to barely control the direction of the fall and drifted eastward, scraping crazily along the roofs of the rocks and soil along the way, kicking up clouds of sandy yellow dust. The sound of steel rubbing against calcium carbonate was so grating that it could be heard clearly from hundreds of meters away.
The smoke and dust gradually dissipated, and this "performance" finally ended with a loud bang.
"How could this..." Zhuge Yu's pupils lost focus, and she squeezed out a few barely audible words through her teeth.
"Team Five calling Team Four. Come in, please. Repeat; repeat, Team Five calling Team Four. Come in, please...Damn it, the radio's malfunctioning!" After multiple calls, there was only louder and louder static in the radio channel. Not only had we lost contact with Team Four, but I also realized that I couldn't even communicate with my teammates who were right beside me. When it rains, it pours. At this critical moment, we had lost our means of communication and, naturally, our battlefield information advantage.
Damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it. The emergency response protocol was—
"Zhuge!" I ordered. "Switch to the communication mode!"
"Okay." Zhuge Yu's facial expression was a bit unnatural, but she still did as she was told.
"Tell your people to recall the drones."
Hedwig came out of the shadows with Team Zero. Her somewhat fierce eyes stared at me, and under the scorching sun, a chill rose from the bottom of my spine.
I was both relieved and a bit scared. It was a complicated emotion, part fear and part a sense of relief at finding a backbone in a desperate situation.
"The sandstorm is coming," she continued. Besides the meticulous seriousness on her face, there was also a hint of numbness. "If you don't want to lose a drone for nothing, don't do that."
Bob came over and whispered, "Sir, what should we do next?"
I also turned my gaze to Hedwig. With the loss of contact with Elsa, the command authority had naturally transferred to her.
"Let's leave while there's no one around," Hedwig turned around and walked away. "I remember there's a safe house up ahead. Let's replenish our ammunition first and then discuss what to do next."