Chapter 24: Destroying the Troops (Part 1)

  Xiao Ran learned on the car that the officer who came to pick him up was called Wei Qidong, the leader of the destruction class. This mysterious destruction company is located in a valley in a large mountain range, and from the outside, there doesn't seem to be anything special about it.

  "We're here, just ahead." Wei Qidong said.

  Xiao Ran saw that after passing through the small checkpoint, there was a thick iron gate, and the surrounding walls were the highest and most solid he had ever seen. On the mountain side, there was also a lookout sentinel.

  "Due to the special nature of this place, the sentries here can fire warning shots at people who refuse to listen, and their magazines are all loaded with live ammunition." Wei Qidong said.

  When the car arrived at the courtyard, Xiao Lie saw eight people standing in the courtyard. When they saw the car, they started applauding. It was clear that they were sincere, which made Xiao Lie feel a warmth in his heart.

  "Come on, let me introduce you to our class members. Everyone, this is our new comrade Xiao Lie. This is..."

  "Ah, never mind, class monitor, we'll do it ourselves. I'm Tang Fei, the 'Tang' in Tang Fei, the 'Fei' in Tang Fei. Welcome to the most treacherous hell." Tang Fei said with a smile, looking carefree and only knowing joy.

  "Hello, I'm Li Xiaoqiao, the safety officer of our class. Welcome to our family." Li Xiaoqiao looked like she was over thirty years old, with a steady face.

  "Hello, I'm Gu Yu, the maintenance officer of our class. All the machines here are under my care, hehe." For Gu Yu, being able to manage the machines here is a source of pride for him.

  "Hello, I am Gao Yuanshan, the Destroying Soldier." The tall and sturdy Gao Yuanshan looked particularly robust here, and it was clear at a glance that he had great strength.

  ……

  "Did you see those big words in front of you?" Wei Qidong said.

  Xiao Lie raised his head and saw that on the wall opposite him were written twelve bright red characters: "Reckless driving is equivalent to suicide, luck will inevitably lead to accidents."

  "Demolition experts are recognized worldwide as having the most dangerous occupation. If you're not careful, your survival rate is very low, and there's also your comrades to consider. Here, you need not only skilled techniques, a cautious heart, and strong psychological quality, but also an ordinary yet calm heart." - Comrade Xiao Ran

  "Arrived!" Xiao Lie straightened his back, knowing that in the environment he was in, it was impossible not to feel a chill. Any normal person would be surrounded by tens of thousands of unstable bombs that had been left over from years ago, and no one knew what would trigger them to explode suddenly. Even if only one bomb exploded, the entire base would likely be destroyed instantly, and the survival rate of everyone here was almost zero. Thinking about this, who wouldn't feel a chill?

  "I believe that as a member of the People's Liberation Army, you will definitely complete the mission entrusted to you by the country and the military. Here, it is not just you who are fighting alone, but also your comrades-in-arms who are with you. Now, all you need is your courage," said Wei Qidong.

  This was Xiao Lie's first and particularly unforgettable farewell dinner, which wasn't eaten in the cafeteria but in a warehouse filled with scrapped bombs. On those rusty bombs, Xiao Lie vaguely saw that some of them were even produced in 1950, older than his father. What's more frightening is that these bombs didn't even have their fuses removed, and if any part inside was damaged, or even just static electricity, it's hard to say they wouldn't explode. If that happened, Xiao Lie would really become a martyr.

  Seeing a table of delicious food placed in such a warehouse, Xiao Lie felt a bit full already, although half an hour ago he thought his stomach was growling.

  "Life is like the Pacific Ocean, one wave after another." Tang Fei smiled and said: "Actually, these are nothing, after a long time, you will get used to it."

  "Yeah, it's like being a mortician in a morgue. At first, you're scared of all the corpses, but once you get used to it, it's just another day on the job. If we can eat animal meat, why be afraid of human bodies? Military personnel face danger every day. Pilots are especially tough - they soar into the sky in an instant. What if a part malfunctions at high altitude? The pilot will still crash and burn." Li Xiaoqiao said nonchalantly, a stark contrast to his serious demeanor when working.

  "You guys said it like that, calm down, life is about being calm." Gu Yu smiled and said: "The class leader has arrived."

  Wei Qidong came in from outside and said: "Let's eat."

  "Class monitor, aren't you going to say something?" said Gao Yuanshan.

  "What's with the talk?"

  "Today is our new comrade welcome dinner, which only happens once a year."

  "Ah, I see. Comrade Xiao Lie should eat more from now on. We're doing physical labor, we can't do it without energy." Wei Qidong said with a smile.

  Among the laughter and chatter of a group of people, Xiao Lie ended his welcoming party, only to find out later that all the bombs in the house had actually been emptied, placed there specifically for new recruits as a welcoming party, to help them adapt quickly.

  At night, lying in bed, Xiao Lie couldn't help but sigh. If he stayed here, after a few years, he would probably only have the chance to go home, and his original wish would not be possible. He wouldn't be able to bring anything back to his mother, not even a little news. If it weren't for this place, even if he went to an ordinary field army unit, with his own efforts, it wasn't impossible to make a name for himself there. Now, he could guess which unit Xiao Yang had served in before his death, and if he didn't guess wrong, the possibility of it being a special forces unit was greater. If he wanted to know more about Xiao Yang, he not only needed to enter the special forces but also be excellent. But now, everything had changed, nothing was as it used to be. Although the people here were good to him, he still missed home, missed Xiao Yang, and missed his mother. Now, he was a real orphan, without relatives, without a home, like a stray wolf with nowhere to go. He thought of the picture of his family of three when he was young, which was the most precious place in his heart. Thinking of this, he buried his head in the quilt and secretly cried, maybe crying would make him feel better.

  There are two rows of soldiers here, and many of the demolition soldiers have been serving for several years. Due to the special nature of their work, generally, old soldiers stationed here will not be demobilized unless they request it themselves. There are many old soldiers who have been serving here for over a decade. Apart from daily demolition tasks, some necessary military training is also conducted here, just like in regular troops.

  After breakfast, Wei Qidong took Xiao Lie to the clothing room.

  "Please put away all your clothes, for work safety, in the workshop, besides laying anti-static flooring, everyone's clothing, including underwear, must be made of pure cotton." said Wei Qidong.

  "Sometimes the grassroots troops sent us scrapped ammunition, some of which had already rusted into a pile of iron scraps, some were dropped during transportation, and even unexploded shells after firing. These hazardous explosives could only be destroyed by burial. One time, I and two fellow soldiers each took charge of destroying two explosive pits. When I ignited the TNT and prepared to retreat to a safe area, I found that the fuse of one pit had not caught fire due to dampness. As a result, this pit of ammunition would be thrown in another direction by the shockwave generated by the explosion of the adjacent pit."

  I felt the five fuses hissing in my ear, and underfoot were hundreds of kilograms of explosives that could blow a person to smithereens. The god of death had never been so close to us before, but this time it was closer than ever. If I wasn't afraid, it would be impossible. I turned around and rushed back to the crater, re-lit the fuse, and then sprinted towards the safety zone with all my might. Before I could even reach the point, a deafening explosion shook the earth, accompanied by a powerful shockwave that sent me tumbling to the ground.

  Although Wei Qidong seemed to be talking about something that had nothing to do with himself, Xiao Ran couldn't help but feel a chill on the side. It wasn't until later that he learned that apart from blowing up and destroying, more ammunition was disposed of by returning it. This is a method of decomposing ammunition and then recovering useful parts. Detonators, gunpowder, bottom fire... everything is highly explosive and dangerous; anti-electricity, anti-lightning, anti-fire... the conditions for destruction are extremely high; cannot be touched, squeezed or thrown... the entire process of destruction is extremely careful. In comparison, burying and detonating is much safer.

  At this time, Wei Qidong took out a white paper from one side, and in less than 1 minute, Xiao Lie was given an unforgettable lesson: a small pinch of black gunpowder on the white paper, after being ignited, instantly turned into blue smoke, leaving no trace on the paper.

  In the workshop with a humidity of up to 70%, compared to the cold outside, there is not only dampness but also stuffiness. To prevent static electricity and friction from causing fires, soldiers work in a humid environment, wearing wet shoes, carefully taking down shells one by one from the destruction line. They open the tight seal that prevents gunpowder from leaking out, lift dozens of kilograms of shell casings, and gently scrape off the gunpowder on the shell wall with a brass scoop... Every day, hundreds of kilograms of black gunpowder pass through their hands, and even a slight large movement could endanger their own lives and those of their comrades.

  "Here, we don't fight wars, but every day is a battlefield." Wei Qidong said: "In each workshop, there are only a few people, and each person has several actions that must be strictly followed. Here, you must not only recite the 'Ammunition Disposal Business Management Implementation Details' and 'Ammunition Scrap Safety Management System' by heart, but also engrave them in your bones. Many brigades will say"

  "Regulations are iron, whoever touches it will bleed." Here, this is not a frightening phrase. Every step of the process is related to life and death, and must be strictly followed according to operating procedures. For example, when transporting ammunition, one hand must cover the fuse at all times. Once an error occurs, the fuse hits a hard object - in the blink of an eye, everything ends, there is no chance to correct the mistake!

  When he saw those neatly arranged rows of explosive ammunition, Xiao Lie was deeply shocked.