Insufficient balance

  As I watched Fang Xiang and Chang Sun Ting lead the fifty assault team members slowly disappearing into the dense jungle, I turned back to look at the other team members closely following me, and a faint sigh escaped my heart. They were such excellent soldiers, almost representing the most elite forces of China's Xinjiang and Tibet Military Districts, but in the next twelve hours, the vast majority of them would rest forever on this land.

  According to military common sense, without any heavy firepower to suppress the enemy, in order to capture a high ground that is heavily guarded and has strong firepower, it is necessary to have more than three times the number of troops to launch a group charge. However, now the enemy has a company-sized force waiting for us with two high-caliber dual-purpose machine guns, ready to kill us off. On our side, 84 soldiers have been exhausted from days of continuous raids and sprinting, suffering severe physical losses, without necessary supplies, and currently we must conserve bullets and grenades.

  With soldiers swiftly moving through the dense forest, shells occasionally flew over our heads. Several Apache armed helicopters hovered above the forest, possibly thinking they had discovered something. The machine gun on one of the Apache helicopters suddenly roared to life, with dense bullets drawing two bright lines in the air and cutting out two parallel explosive lines on the ground. If this piece of forest didn't already "belong" to India's territory, I estimate they would have dropped incendiary bombs or toxic gas bombs with massive coverage areas onto our heads.

  A faint humming noise came from beside me, and in just a minute or two of lying on the damp earth, more than a dozen soldiers had fallen asleep. When the Apache armed helicopter repeatedly circled above our heads without finding anything, it finally flew away reluctantly. I whispered: "Let's move!"

  Those dozen or so warriors were like they had received some kind of telepathic signal, and after sleeping for only a few tens of seconds, they all opened their eyes at the same time.

  In these three days, we experienced seventeen battles big and small under the pursuit of the Indian army, rushing through the dense forest for over 200 miles, with each person's sleep time less than four hours. Even though we were an iron army that had undergone the strictest training, our spirit and physical strength had reached the limit of endurance.

  After a four-hour forced march, we finally reached the foot of Hill 447. At this time, all the soldiers were severely exhausted, with pale faces and uniforms soaked in sweat. It was already December, and a biting cold wind unique to the plateau blew over, causing everyone to shrink their necks and chatter their teeth. Several soldiers huddled together for warmth, but fell into a sweet sleep within half a minute.

  I quickly walked over and slapped each of them twice on the face, stuffed a few oxygen tablets into their mouths, and whispered: "Don't sleep, with your current physical condition, if you really fall asleep, you'll be dead for sure!"

  I turned to look at the soldiers lying in the mud around me, this group of iron men who dared to sign up for the assault team. More than half of them were looking at me with almost pleading eyes. Yang Qing was holding a sniper rifle and could hardly open his eyes. He lay on the ground, panting desperately, and said in a trembling voice: "Brother... no, Captain, please give me fifteen minutes, just let me sleep for fifteen minutes, I don't even have the strength to lift my gun now."

  Among the people present, only I and Bairitch could barely stand leaning against a large tree, looking at those wretched warriors. I just felt my eyes sour, not to mention them. Now I might immediately fall asleep if I lay down on the ground, but... we are now on the battlefield, we are racing with the god of death! If I let them rest, even for just fifteen minutes, it may cost more people their lives.

  "Everybody get up!" I called out in a low voice: "Immediately construct B-level anti-aircraft fortifications!"

  I saw them hesitating, so I lifted my heavy boots and stomped on them fiercely, shouting in a low voice: "You bunch of trash, get up! Did you come here to sleep like pigs and wait for death? Those sons of bitches are eating rich lunches on our Chinese land, firing at us whenever they feel like it, and you're sleeping soundly under their feet?! What elite troops, I really wonder if the instructors in those training camps have eyes on their asses, praising you as heroes who can fly to heaven and enter the earth!"

  The soldiers got up one by one in silence. The youngest member of our assault team was Cheng Yu Xia, who was only 19 years old today but had already been a veteran soldier with three years of military service. He had also participated in two small-scale battles on the border. He knelt on the ground with his eyes closed and dug desperately with his entrenching tool, tears streaming down his face uncontrollably. Some people without an entrenching tool used bayonets and their hands to dig, only realizing after half a minute that they had cut their fingers on sharp stones.

  Suddenly, a loud noise of something heavy falling to the ground came from fifty meters behind us. I quickly grabbed my submachine gun and rolled behind a large tree. In a low voice, I asked: "Who?!"

  "It was me." Bairuiqi's voice was a bit bitter, he jogged over and whispered: "Yang Qing climbed up a big tree to choose a sniping point, sat on the branch, and actually fell asleep and fell down."

  "Really?" I looked at the soldiers in front of me, and my worries grew heavier. If they encountered enemy heavy machine gun fire during a charge, would they fall asleep on the battlefield? They all seemed like walking corpses now, having lost the sharpness and agility of elite soldiers. They were simply the most delicious dessert for the enemy's heavy machine guns.

  Ba Rui Qi looked up at the sky and said, "Lian Chang, look at the current sky, it's very dark and gloomy, it's likely to be the first snow of the year. We won't have to worry about water source problems anymore."

  As I heard Bairuiqi's words, my whole body shook and I quickly raised my head. Through the branches above me, I saw a few dark clouds slowly merging in the sky, filling the last patch of blue. I grabbed the high-powered military binoculars and carefully observed these clouds. In the cloud layer, smoke waves rolled, and some small electric currents kept flashing on the cloud surface, bringing out blue light. These cloud clusters were getting thicker and thicker, pressing closer to the ground, making it hard for people to breathe.

  During reconnaissance training, the instructor used slides, VCDs and satellite cloud charts to explain in detail the shapes and characteristics of various clouds and their possible consequences. Slowly putting down my binoculars, I curled up the corners of my mouth, finally revealing the only smile in these three days.

  Heaven, don't give up on us! It's really going to snow!!!!!

  What Bairuiqi thought of was only our water source, but I saw a chance for survival behind this unknown blizzard! If it's a blizzard, the Indian army's bombers and Apache armed helicopters won't be able to take off, and the paratroopers I'm most worried about won't suddenly appear in my rear with a surprise attack. Even their communication network may lose its effectiveness due to the combined effects of the plateau climate and the blizzard.

  During the offensive, their dual-purpose heavy machine guns would be unable to exert normal effect due to obstructed vision. The exhausted troops I led would gain the most precious rest time. Even Long Sun Ting's side might take advantage of the blizzard to break through and reunite with us.

  As long as it snows, I have confidence in expanding a one-in-ten chance of winning into more than five-in-ten!

  I dropped the submachine gun and climbed up a big tree like a monkey, carefully exposing my hands outside the treetops, waiting for fate to take pity on our lone army. On the battlefield, in addition to strategic planning, bravery and real combat effectiveness, we also need a bit of luck, a little care from above.

  The soldiers were still struggling to dig the soil, they no longer had the extra energy to lift their heads and see what I was doing. Suddenly, my palm felt a chill, I withdrew my hand, and in my palm, there was a small water droplet rolling around, looking like a flowing diamond, exceptionally dazzling.

  I flicked the water droplets off lightly, and my right hand casually brushed past my eyes, sweeping away the things that were gathering there. They absolutely should not appear on a battlefield commander! Since I've already taken on the lives of dozens on the battlefield, I must strive to play the role of a hero in front of them, a strong fighting hero who will never be weak and always confident!

  Until I'm sure my emotions are fully restored, I slid down the big tree and commanded: "Leave five sentries behind, have everyone else rest for two hours. Divide into groups of four to monitor each other, no one is allowed to fall asleep within half an hour, otherwise the whole group will be punished. Send all the remaining rations into your stomachs, not a single bite left, no need to save supplies anymore, and don't worry about how many bullets you have left when attacking. Pour all our last strength onto those Indian bastards on top, whether we are insects or dragons, we'll bet everything on this!"