Chapter Fifty-Four

  The sky gradually darkened, and Wang Yuan saw that they had obtained half a liter of water, and finally relied on the half liter of water to pull Wang Can back from the "Nine Springs Apartment".

  Through the "GPS" positioning system, the rescue team also found them before nightfall.

  Everyone on the helicopter was silent, staring at the bodies of their comrades. Thinking about how just a few hours ago they were still full of life. Thinking about how their parents would feel when they see their cold bodies, and the unbearable grief that would follow. Everyone's eyes were red-rimmed.

  The wounded comrades gritted their teeth and endured the intense pain without a single moan, because they knew that being alive was better than anything else.

  The plane landed on the large playground of the Anti-Terrorism Command. The Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan and other officials, as well as the Pakistani Minister of Defense with a group of senior generals, had been waiting there for some time. As soon as they walked out of the airport, they immediately came up to greet them one by one and shake hands.

  There was no language barrier; everyone's eyes were moist at this moment.

  Pakistan's last medical team quickly lifted the injured soldier onto an ambulance.

  In the command room, the Chinese ambassador to Pakistan sorrowfully said to Yuan Shuai: "I have contacted the domestic side, and the Military Commission has instructed that the bodies of the martyred comrades should be transported back home. Let their relatives see them for the last time."

  Yuan Shuai was in grief at this time and did not hear clearly what the ambassador said.

  "A hero bears the weight of the world, drinking blood on the battlefield, wrapped in horsehide, how delightful!" He thought of Che Tian's words before his death. He thought of the sacrifices made by his comrades during this period. Thinking of these young comrades leaving him forever. Two lines of tears flowed down his face without stopping. "Bang" - he knelt down in front of them:

  "Brothers, you all take care on your way. You go ahead first and after you arrive downstairs, work hard to reserve a good spot for us too. Who knows when we'll come down to join you? If there's anything lacking or insufficient downstairs, just let us know in a dream. Don't be polite."

  Everyone present was moved to tears by this sad scene, sobbing uncontrollably.

  The Central Military Commission of the country sent a telegram on the second day, mourning the martyred comrades and congratulating them on their victory in Pakistan. Commendation to the station officers who fought bloody battles in this battle. The martyred comrades were awarded the honorary title of "Guardians of the Republic".

  Yuan Shuai and Wang Yuan were awarded first-class merit, directly promoted from first-class officer to second lieutenant. Zhang Qipeng, Wang Can, and Wang Lei were awarded second-class merit, promoted from second lieutenant to first lieutenant. Other comrades were awarded third-class merit, promoted two years in advance.

  But this did not bring them any surprise.

  It's better to be alive than anything else.

  In the evening, Yuan Shuai called Li Nan, Zhang Qipeng and Wang Yuan to go out for a drink together.

  The place they were in was a small town, so there weren't many good restaurants, and even the ones that passed domestic standards didn't exist. However, this didn't affect them. They found a small stall that looked relatively clean to eat at. Although the restaurant was small, there were quite a few people. It was like a teahouse, with all sorts of people.

  No sooner had he sat down than a number of people gathered around a table listening to a man with a goatee talking about "books".

  They sat down and looked over at the commotion, naturally turning their heads to listen to what they were saying. Since English was their official language, they could more or less understand what was being said.

  All I heard was the sheep's beard opening his eyes wide and saying with a flourish: "You know, this time in the desert, our army beat those 'terrorists' to the point of defeat. We were only forty or fifty people, how many did that 'devout army' have?"

  The people beside him widened their eyes and asked: "How many people?"

  "This number" the goat beard stretched out a palm. "500, one to ten, and in the desert, those people are camels of the desert. But our army was annihilated in one day, with zero casualties."

  "Wow, our army is so powerful!"

  "Yes, I hadn't heard about it before."

  The people around started discussing it.

  Yuan Shuai and the others were listening, when a male waiter wearing a "skirt" had already brought over the menu. Yuan Shuai took the menu and looked at it, dumbfounded. On it was written in crooked, twisted characters that looked like earthworms.

  "What's wrong?" Li Nan asked, looking at his appearance.

  "Take a look." He said, handing the menu to Li Nan.

  Li Nan was also stunned: "Is this Pakistani script?"

  "How many of you are Chinese?" the waiter asked in Mandarin.

  "Really, you can speak Chinese?" Li Nan asked in surprise.

  "We have many people here who speak Chinese, after all, China is a big brother." The waiter seemed to say excitedly.

  "As long as you can understand Chinese, bring us roasted lamb leg, mutton soup and beef. Also, do you have wine? Preferably baijiu."

  "There is, there's Erguotou here."

  The eyes of four people were wide open like cowbells. Almost in unison, they asked: "Is there still Erguotou here?"

  "Yes, this is especially for receiving Chinese friends. Our country does not drink alcohol and in fact it's not allowed for restaurants to sell wine, but Chinese friends are an exception."

  "Thank you, thank you so much."

  "Eight bottles first" was again in unison.

  The dishes were served, and the four of them drank while continuing to listen to what they had been saying.

  Just then, the man with a goatee said, "You know nothing. Do you know about the Lhasa incident? Who do you think did it? It was the Chinese who fought back, six people against over a hundred, and they even rescued those Chinese engineers. I think this time it might have been the Chinese big brother who did it." A younger-looking man with some cultural air to him said.

  "Yes, yes, I've also heard that, it was our own soldiers who said so." Someone else chimed in.

  "I heard that the World Special Forces Competition is the most formidable special forces in the world. Last time, China's big brother participated for the first time and won first place. The one who won first place was called Yuan Shuai."

  "Commander Yuan, I'm talking about you." Li Nan said with a mischievous grin, nudging him with his elbow.

  But this light sentence was heard by the service staff next to him.

  "You're China's special forces, no wonder you look different."

  This doesn't matter, but as soon as they started talking, everyone around them gathered over. One person took a lamb leg and another took stir-fried mutton. They all huddled together, asking questions left and right, but Yuan Shuai and the others simply gave a brief account of that special forces competition.

  "The once mighty and powerful Chinese special forces king is so young."

  "Yes, and he's still younger than my son, really amazing, Chinese big brother is indeed amazing"

  They said so, and as a result, they were all embarrassed.

  Everyone stood up, scratching their heads and didn't know what to say.

  Just then, the roasted lamb leg arrived.

  "Come on, everyone sit down and eat together." Yuan Shuai said to the people gathered around.

  "Good, good, good," they said, bringing their respective dishes over to eat together.

  The table is not big enough, so everyone put the tables together.

  That night we drank till very late, I don't know if it was because the Pakistani people were too enthusiastic or if it had been a long time since I last drank. Or maybe the repression in my heart could only be vented with the power of alcohol.

  A man's pain is usually only in his heart. When they are truly in pain, there must be a self-healing process, and any comfort can only hurt more deeply.

  There is no greater pain for a soldier than seeing his comrades fall before him. Every heart feels like it's being cut with a knife.

  It's only when liquor anesthetizes itself that it can reduce a little pain. However, after waking up, all the pain will be hidden in a corner.

  No one knew how long they had been drinking, anyway everyone didn't know how to go back to the barracks. The next day when I woke up, no matter what, I couldn't remember how I got back yesterday.

  Drinking was originally a violation of military discipline, but as the saying goes, "the general's orders are not received outside the pass." In addition, during this period, the terrorists had suffered two heavy blows and their destructive behavior had also been curbed. As Colonel Shang said, these arrogant guys are now intimidated by you at the mere mention of your name.

  "They don't seem like it, but their current quietness may be a sign that they are brewing an even bigger conspiracy." Yuan Shuai said with some concern.

  "Yes, it's possible, these people are too crazy."

  Things really turned out to be as General Yuan had worried. More than half a month later, those crazy devils actually attacked the Chinese Embassy in Pakistan and took away 12 working staff of the Chinese Embassy. They claimed that they would exchange them for members of China's special forces.

  "No way, absolutely cannot let you guys take risks again. This thing happened in Pakistan and I must be responsible for it. Otherwise, I would not be able to face the selfless assistance from our big brother China. These guys are too arrogant." The Colonel was furious and jumped up suddenly.

  "Chief, I think this matter is really not suitable for too many people to go together. Since they specifically asked us to go, if we send too many people together again, it would seem like we are afraid of them. Moreover, if there are too many people, it will force them into a desperate situation and kill the hostages, which would be a loss. On the other hand, if we have fewer people, we can still achieve a stealthy effect, and who knows, maybe even catch them off guard."

  The general admired their spirit, how he wished this was his troops. For a commander, having such excellent subordinates is a dream come true. Xiang thought to himself: "I'm so envious of your superior for having such good soldiers like you, you are the real deal, truly deserving of the title 'soldier', not many can be called that nowadays."

  "General, you're overpraising me. Aren't your country's warriors also brave and skilled in battle?" Yuan Shuai said.

  "Yes, my warriors are also excellent." However, this has an obvious implication of comforting one's subordinates.

  The hostages were taken by them to a place called Adi, which from the map is a relatively primitive and undeveloped area. There are large tracts of forest lakes and swamps. It's an easy place to get lost in. Moreover, the place is very big, it's hard to determine their exact location. Yuan Shuai only brought Li Nan, Wang Yuanshan and Zhang Qikai three people together to set out. Because he felt that too many people would be useless. Let alone the other few people who had also experienced the last battle, but overall their experience was still not enough. This time it's a rescue mission, no one can spare the effort to take care of them.

  As night fell, they set out on their journey. They liked the darkness as it made them easier to hide. Pakistan does not have any truly primitive forests, but the harsh conditions of the geographical location chosen by these "faithful army" were no less than a small primitive forest. As they marched westward, there was no decent road within ten kilometers, and they had to walk on foot, which brought great trouble to their march. The color of the rocks was completely different from those in China, very black and slippery. Wearing military boots to walk on it required a lot of physical strength. Those guys holding hostages here were indeed using their brains, which also indirectly explained their fear of Chinese people.

  The hostages were taken to a place called Adir, which from the map appears to be a relatively primitive and undeveloped area. There are large tracts of forest, lakes and swamps. It's an easily defensible location. Moreover, the place is very big, it's hard to determine their exact location.

  After crossing this rocky hill, there is a river. On the other side of the river is a mountain that looks like it hasn't been visited by anyone for hundreds of years. The mountain is covered with dense trees and overgrown with thorns and shrubs. Although the water in the river doesn't look very deep, it's very rapid.

  "Which way should we go now, upstream or downstream? Or is it the other bank?" Wang Yuan asked.

  "It shouldn't be the other shore, it looks like no one has passed by there, but they have so many hostages, and the riverbank is so high, how did they get across?" Li Nan analyzed.

  "What Li Nan said makes sense, but they can go ashore at another place that is easier to land." Zhang Qipeng continued after Li Nan.

  It can be said that the forest is Zhang Qipeng's domain, and his understanding of the forest surpasses anyone else. He can even rival a wild beast that roams the forest. Because he was once a member of the forest, grew up in it, and was nurtured by it, he has mastered the unimaginable skill of "贴地闻声" (literally "sticking to the ground and hearing sounds").

  "I think Zhang Qipeng makes sense, I'll take a look to see if there's another way to get ashore," said Yuan Shuai. "What are we waiting for? Can't we just go ashore directly?" Li Nan didn't understand why they still needed to find other routes, as it wasn't like they couldn't climb up here.

  "Now we just suspect they are on the other side of the river but not sure, so we need to confirm whether they are in the forest on the opposite bank. If we can find their traces entering the forest, we will land." Yuan Shuai explained.

  "Oh, I see what you mean now." Li Nan scratched his head and said with a bit of embarrassment.

  "Is it upstream or downstream?" Li Nan continued to ask.

  "What do you think, Zhang Qipeng?" Yuan Shuai knew that his experience in the forest was richer than his own. Everyone else also looked at Zhang Qipeng.

  "Generally speaking, the water flow in the lower reaches of the river is faster, so the riverbank will be washed away more deeply. The water in the upper reaches is slower, so we should go upstream." Zhang Qipeng said after some thought.

  "Then let's go upstream," said Li Nan, taking the lead and walking upstream. Yuan Shuai and Wang Yuan looked at Zhang Qipeng, who nodded in agreement.

  Zhang Qipeng is indeed the son of the forest, and as he said, the water upstream is getting deeper and slower. The water is deep and low, and after walking for about another kilometer, I saw that there were signs of cutting branches on the trees. Li Nan looked at the place where he was guarding and immediately rushed to the other side of the river. After running for a while, they didn't look right, and they were still standing on the other side of the river. Afraid again, came back, looking at them in doubt, "Why don't you go?" Isn't there a sign?

  "This place they've been to must be a familiar place for them. Is it that easy for outsiders to get in when they're familiar with the place?" Yuan Shuai said.