Chapter 6

  Shao Hui turned his head towards the window and gazed at the sky outside, a plane flying in the opposite direction sprayed thick white clouds and flew quickly to its destination, which was domestic. He habitually put his hand into his pocket and took out his soldier's certificate, stared blankly for a moment, then touched Liu Junhao:

  Give me that photo of my wife, I've put it in my backpack.

  No, mine is in my backpack, not on me. Liu Junhao looked innocent.

  Shao Hui didn't say another word, stretching out his left hand in front of Liu Junhao without moving. Liu Junhao became anxious: I really didn't bring... Shao Hui impatiently hooked his finger before he could finish speaking. Just as Liu Junhao was about to speak again, Shao Hui pointed at the left breast pocket of his shirt. Liu Junhao's eyes rolled upwards, and with great reluctance, he pulled out a carefully framed photo and slapped it into Shao Hui's hand.

  Wow! When did my wife become so ugly? Shao Hui exclaimed in surprise as he looked at the photo.

  Liu Junhao stretched out his head and took a look, then grabbed one and threw it at him, and also dug out a piece from his pocket.

  For soldiers about to embark on a mission, every minute and second is a kind of enjoyment - the calm before the storm, imagining the thrill of executing the task, the instant relaxation after completing the task, and the joy of returning home. But this time was different, even the illustrious Shao Hui couldn't guess what fate they would face. He held his girlfriend's photo, lost in thought, his mind not on the matter at hand.

  The plane needs to fly for a long time, let's take a nap, and it's unknown whether there will be another chance to sleep in the future. The lieutenant colonel's concern is accompanied by a hint.

  There's a kind of fate called being powerless. Shao Hui understood the unspoken words, slowly put the photo into his pocket, lowered the sun visor and fell asleep quietly.

  Rat-a-tat! Rat-a-tat! The heavy machine gun fired out a string of fiery bullets straight at the off-road vehicle where Shao Hui was, several bullets hit the windshield glass with a crisp shattering sound, and then the bulletproof vest hanging on the inside of the window was penetrated. The bullets whizzed past his arm, piercing through the car body, and Shao Hui, whose eyes were bloodshot, stuck the machine gun out of the car window, aimed at the sparks, and pulled the trigger tightly. The red-hot bullets flew straight towards the opponent in the dark night, but suddenly he felt a chill in his lower abdomen, and after a brief numbness, the pain spread all over his head, he tried to stay awake, but his body was no longer under control. With a loud bang, the shaky car door fell off along with him, Shao Hui gritted his teeth, trying to get up and counterattack, but a vehicle mounted with a heavy machine gun had already crushed his legs...

  Hao... Shao Hui suddenly opened his eyes, took a deep breath after confirming that he was just dreaming, and looked out the window by opening the sun visor. The plane was about to land at the airport, and an armed jeep was speeding down the runway alongside the plane, passing close by. Shao Hui subconsciously dodged outward, waking up Liu Junhao who was sleeping.

  "What's wrong? Had another nightmare?" Liu Junhao asked sideways.

  Mmm. Shao Hui used his hand to press against his forehead and made a sound of acknowledgement as a response.

  Attention all passengers! We have arrived at Basra International Airport and are preparing for disembarkation.

  Attention all personnel... Major wearing a military cap and armed belt standing in front of the cabin loudly issuing orders.

  What are you wearing! There's no equipment at all! Wang Jianbin muttered in a low voice.

  The plane finally touched the ground, swayed a bit and slowly came to a stop. Basela is known as an inland mountain country, so the environment is dominated by mountains. This airport was built on a flat area between the mountains, and most of the country's water resources come from the blessings of the gods - the snow that falls for half the year. When Shao Hui saw the heavy snowfall, he felt like he was experiencing the same longing he had felt a few days ago when he was about to return home.

  The airport was extremely desolate, with fully armed soldiers and tanks far outnumbering the unarmed passengers. The fairy-tale-like pure snow-capped mountains formed a strong contrast with the warlords in front of them, it's unknown whether the bullets of modern civilization had polluted the beautiful fairy tale or if nature was using its pure language to accuse humanity of its crimes. Shao Hui followed his teammates onto the Toyota off-road vehicle, looking at the plane and lieutenant colonel getting farther and farther away, for the first time in his life he felt a sense of guilt as a soldier under the snow-capped mountains.

  The lieutenant colonel looked at the distant vehicle, slowly saluted and then turned around and boarded the plane.

  November 29, 2005, afternoon, Basra's capital of Al Zubair.

  The streets were extremely crowded and disorderly, with uniformed men carrying guns visible everywhere in the middle of the road and on the sides. The driver told the team members that they were the armed forces of this country, called the police force. Of course, it was quite different from the police and armed police in China. Here, as long as you wanted to be a policeman, you could get a uniform and a gun by paying some fees, and then be employed by the state or foreign embassies and other institutions, and just pay some money to the government on time to complete your task. Shao Hui was watching the veiled women on the street with great interest, and was about to ask a question when Zhao Zhenghao spoke up:

  Master, what is that pile of black balls on the side of the road?

  Hehe, don't call me master, from now on we're together, my name is Wang Shunan, just call me Little Wang, these black balls are... darn it!

  Wang Shunan slammed on the brakes, and the tires screeched against the uneven road surface, making a piercing noise. The team members inside immediately went on high alert. What's going on! We came here and they didn't even give us guns! Are they trying to get us killed?! Wu Yan gritted his teeth in anger, his calf muscles bulging exaggeratedly.

  "What's going on?" asked Yin Mo, a paratrooper who rarely spoke.

  Whew... Wang Shunan breathed a sigh of relief, nothing's wrong, nothing's wrong. I was too busy talking to you guys and didn't notice the front, we were too close to that car just now.

  He pointed at the vehicle in front of them with a foreign national flag hanging from it: Do you know how many countries are included in the Western Visayas organization?

  Sevia is an organization composed of many countries and Basera is its main battleground.

  I have a general idea. Shao Hui replied.

  It's okay if you know, no matter what you do when you go out in the future, just stay away from vehicles from these countries.

  "Why?" asked Zuo Ming tightly.

  Because... Wang Shunan was about to answer when the car in front suddenly stopped, he subconsciously made a sharp turn and sped away: Don't ask, just remember.

  The off-road vehicle drove out of the capital of Basra, and the road suddenly opened up. The vehicles flashed through the snow-capped mountains and villages like unbridled wild horses, and the howling wind and vast scenery greatly stimulated the blood of the special forces. Even Kong Huan Tian and Yin Mo, who didn't like to talk, rolled down the car window and shouted excitedly. A distance away from them, another off-road vehicle's tires rotated frantically, kicking up a cloud of yellow dust, accompanied by the roar of the engine as it overtook the first vehicle. Faintly, several lines of wild song could be heard:

  The wine in the cup that can't be finished... The heads of enemies that can't be killed off... The road to the Yellow Springs that can't be walked to the end... The song of farewell that can't be sung to the end...