Volume 1: Fierce Tiger Leaves Its Ties Chapter 14: Disguised Advance (Part 2)
On the mountain waist, two villagers wearing long gowns and wrapping half of their faces with white towels are driving several donkeys on a small road. From any angle, they are two small vendors selling goods in various villages. This kind of vendor, called "donkey merchant" by the US military, is very common in Afghanistan and provides necessary living supplies to villages in mountainous areas.
Apart from the long robe covering his whole body making Ling Tianxiang feel a bit stuffy, he was very satisfied with this disguise. At first, he didn't believe that such a simple camouflage could deceive the US military, but after several helicopters flew over their heads and the US soldiers on board didn't notice them, Ling Tianxiang finally put his mind at ease. Probably the US military had already seen so many Afghans dressed like this that they wouldn't think twice about it, let alone suspect that under these two men's robes, there were quite a few weapons and ammunition hidden in the baskets on the donkey's back.
All the way, Ling Tianxiang and Mai Di De didn't say more than ten words. One was that they didn't know what to say, and two was that neither of them wanted to talk. On this journey, Ling Tianxiang also noticed for the first time the magnificent mountains around him. If you don't mention war, this place can definitely be developed into a world-famous tourist destination. Within a radius of less than 100 kilometers, there are more than 20 mountain peaks with an altitude of over 7,000 meters. This is the most concentrated area of high mountains in the western part of the Pamir Plateau. Further west, you will enter the Central Tian Shan Mountains, where the height of the mountains decreases significantly, and even the height of the plateau decreases significantly, no longer having such a majestic momentum.
The donkey in front stopped, and Ling Tianxiang also stopped immediately. Maidede walked over. "If you go west for about 20 kilometers, you will arrive at the US military camp. Just keep walking in this direction."
Ling Tianxiang glanced in the direction that Mai Di De pointed and asked: "Are we parting ways here?"
"Right, I can only take you this far." Maddy shrugged her shoulders. "Up ahead is a US military restricted area. If I follow you any further, it'll just cause trouble for you."
"Alright then!" Ling Tianxiang stretched out his hand. "Thanks a lot! We'll meet again in three days at Buzaijabad."
Maddy just nodded slightly and took over the long gown that Ling Tianxiang had taken off. The sun had already fallen to the top of the mountain, and after walking for a day, the two had walked about 50 kilometers westward. Ling Tianxiang inferred that he should now be northeast of Sanggulit, where there was a US military camp, not very large in scale, with troops from the 10th Mountain Division stationed there, an armored cavalry regiment equipped with many "Stryker" armored vehicles.
Ling Tianxiang quickly took off the "disguise" on his body, bid farewell to Maidi De, and left the small path. When the sun fell behind the mountain peak, Ling Tianxiang had disappeared into the mountains. Maidi De kept watching his back until it was shrouded in darkness, then led several donkeys along the original route eastward. At the first fork in the road, Maidi De did not continue eastward but chose another path and headed north.
Under the cover of night, Ling Tianxiang's movements became more agile. He no longer had to worry about the US military helicopters, and his camouflage uniform could avoid being detected by the US military drones or even the infrared and microwave detection devices on spy satellites. In the faint starlight, even without night vision goggles, Ling Tianxiang was still able to move swiftly and surely, having long since developed eyes that could see clearly in the dark like a mountain cat's.
20 kilometers, for Ling Tianxiang, is a journey of about four hours. This way, he can arrive at the US military camp around 8 hours before dawn, observe the situation for a few hours, sneak in, get what he needs, and escape before dawn. For Ling Tianxiang, the four hours almost passed instantly. When he stopped his footsteps, the brightly lit US military camp was about two kilometers in front of him.
It took an hour for Ling Tianxiang to crawl to a barren land about 200 meters away from the US military camp, surrounded by rocks. In front of him was a flat ground that seemed to have been recently cleared. It appeared that the US military had also learned their lesson and created a 200-meter buffer zone outside the camp. This made Ling Tianxiang's head ache - anyone trying to run across this distance would need at least half a minute, and with full gear, it would take an additional ten seconds or so. The 40-second time limit was too dangerous! What's more, Ling Tianxiang didn't dare confirm whether there were landmines buried in the buffer zone. He had heard that the US military had laid tens of thousands of landmines around Guantanamo Bay.
What to do? Ling Tianxiang's brain quickly turned, and soon his gaze fell on the camp gate. The highway connecting the military camp and the outside world was just entering from the gate. Can you get in from the gate? Ling Tianxiang quickly dispelled this idea, the gate had a sentry post, and behind it were two machine gun forts, with two towers inside, also equipped with machine guns, Ling Tianxiang did not want to go and be a live target for the US military.
Just as Ling Tianxiang was looking for a way to enter the US military camp, a beam of light shot towards him. He immediately ducked his head and then discovered that it wasn't a searchlight from the watchtower, but rather headlights from the highway. He immediately turned his head around, and in the distance, on the mountain road, a massive convoy was driving towards the camp. Although they were still far away, judging by the number of headlights, the scale shouldn't be small, with at least over twenty vehicles.
Now, Ling Tianxiang thought of a way. It must be the convoy transporting supplies for the US military stationed here. Even if the Americans are wealthy and powerful, they cannot possibly transport all their supplies by helicopter, and still have to rely on transportation convoys. According to the intelligence obtained, since last year, the US military has contracted out the transportation of ordinary military supplies to companies such as "Blackwater", which is no longer handled by logistics troops. This can reduce military expenditures, reduce casualties among soldiers, and alleviate pressure on the government at home, while private defense contractors' deaths are none of the government's business.
Ling Tianxiang roughly estimated the time it would take for the convoy to arrive, about half an hour. Although it seemed close, the roads in the mountainous area were all winding and slow to walk on. This time was enough, after making up his mind, Ling Tianxiang quickly crawled towards the direction of the highway, this was his only way to enter the US military camp!
