Crossing the Ice River (3)

  The demolition expert continued to crawl forward on the ice surface.

  After the gunfire, a slight sound of gun bolt came from the bush. A soldier's gun bolt was frozen and still didn't move after several attempts to pull it. Chen Zizhong took over the gun, tore open his coat, and stuck the rifle body covered with frost to his bare chest. Several soldiers who couldn't pull the gun bolt also did the same thing.

  The metal wrapped in severe cold once stuck to the skin would stick tightly together, Chen Zizhong pulled hard outward, and with a "tearing" sound, he ripped off a large piece of skin and flesh.

  The warrior beside him was stunned for a moment, took over the spear with skin and flesh stuck to it, and the bloody gun bolt jumped up and opened.

  A series of piercing sounds came from behind Chen Zizhong's body.

  The demolition expert rolled forward on the ice surface, getting closer and closer to the explosives package in the center of the river.

  Chen Zizhong's face revealed a faint smile, and the blaster moved to the left for tens of meters with the explosive pack, which would put him in the blind spot of the US military's shooting.

  The explosive package slid steadily across the middle of the river, and the blaster crept closer in silence. Suddenly, a huge cracking sound like thunder burst forth from the ice surface, piercing into the air, and lingering for a long time in the cold and desolate wilderness above.

  "Undercurrent!" The demolition expert slammed his fist onto the ice surface, and the worst thing he had been worried about still happened.

  The US troops in the bunker were alerted and searched for targets on the river surface.

  The blaster stood up resolutely and sprinted wildly on the ice surface, with continuous collapses happening behind him, revealing turbulent water flows, and large chunks of ice and snow falling into the river, spinning and melting, as layers of fog swirled above the river's surface.

  The American machine gunner spotted the sapper and the machine gun fired again, hitting the sapper, with bullets ripping through his body and spewing out a large patch of blood mist.

  The demolition expert stumbled and ran a few steps, thudded to the ground, and the ice surface was stained crimson red. The demolition expert's body convulsed violently, his bloody arm slowly rose, jerked violently once, and fell towards the direction of the bunker.

  The bomber's body was dragged out with a long trail of blood behind him, leaving a shocking "1" shape on the ice.

  The straight "1" character is like a crimson attack arrow pointing directly at the US military bunker.

  "Machine gun cover! If I don't make it, Third Squad will cover, First and Second Squads will charge, one by one!" Chen Zizhong gritted his teeth, strapping two box-shaped cannons around his neck, leaping out from behind the bushes, and charging towards the riverbank.

  The gunfire on both sides of the river crackled like frying beans.

  Machine gun bullets chased Chen Zizhong's footsteps, plowing out a string of sparks on the riverbank, and the flying ice chips and gravel emitted a sharp whistle. Chen Zizhong's footsteps pounded the ice surface, and when he was near the center of the river, he jumped high and plunged into the turbulent icy river, with bullets stirring up rows of water columns on the water surface.

  Soldiers hidden behind the thorny bushes lined up in a row, firing at the bunker simultaneously. The fan-shaped firepower network formed by three light machine guns and dozens of Soviet-made rifles clashed fiercely with the machine guns inside the bunker. The gunner held the only mortar in the squad, looking for a place to set it up. The appearance of the mortar became the primary target of the machine gun fire from inside the bunker. The gunner was hit in the leg, fell on top of the ammunition bearer, and both men fell backwards.

  Chen Zizhong jumped into the icy river and his legs cramped up immediately. The bone-chilling water was like a series of iron spikes carrying cold air, taking away the heat accumulated from several hours of rapid marching. The icy, dark river bottom almost suffocated him. His military cap fell off, his hair and eyebrows froze into icicles, his shoes came off, and every few steps his feet would get stuck to the pebbles on the riverbed. After swimming underwater for a while, he looked up and saw a faintly glowing oval shape above his head - it should be an ice hole left by the American army to fetch water. He charged upwards with all his might and broke through the two-finger-thick ice layer.

  Chen Zizhong, with a pale face, crawled onto the ice surface, grabbed the explosive pack on the ice surface, and ran wildly forward, glancing at the big "1" character on the ice surface.

  The mist rising from the river and the firepower of the three rows of warriors suppressed for Chen Zizhong, who moved his body into the machine gun's dead angle.

  The bunker was built on a slope of earth in the riverbed, and Chen Zizhong could almost see the half cigar clenched between the machine gunner's teeth.

  Chen Zizhong's cotton jacket and pants absorbed the river water and froze into ice, increasing their weight by over a dozen kilograms, like wearing heavy armor. The sleeves and pant legs were frozen stiff, his hands and feet unable to bend, he could only hold the explosives high and move forward in a jumping posture.

  The gunfire seemed to stop for a moment, then grew more intense.

  Chen Zizhong is getting closer and closer to the fort.

  "Cease fire! Second squad leader cover platoon leader!"

  The three rows of warriors stopped suppressing firepower and stared at Chen Zizhong without blinking.

  Chen Zizhong was frozen stiff, all his organs were trembling, he had difficulty breathing, and every time he jumped up it seemed to exhaust all his strength.

  "Huff, huff!"

  The sudden stop of firepower made the US military in the bunker suddenly vigilant, and a soldier holding an M-1 rifle ran out of the bunker, kneeling on one knee to find the target.

  The rifle had just been pressed against his shoulder when a bullet shot out from the bushes and whizzed through his upper body.

  Another American soldier poked his head out and was shot through the neck with a whizzing sound, blood splashing on the bunker, and the green steel helmet rolled out.

  Chen Zizhong jumped onto the ice surface below the bunker, his stiff fingers finally pulling out the fuse after several attempts. He threw the explosive package onto the bunker with force.

  A deafening explosion shook the ground, and cement blocks of various sizes flew everywhere with rolling black smoke, hitting the hard frozen soil and leaving white marks.

  The warriors let out a cheer and quickly crossed the river in groups of ten, with several soldiers who were among the first to cross rushing towards Chen Zizhong.

  Chen Zizhong, maintaining his throwing posture, puffed out his chest and took a step forward, but ended up tumbling headfirst.

  Several warriors helped Chen Zizhong up, his wounded and scarred bare feet stuck together with the icy ground.

  Chen Zizhong's face was deathly pale, his teeth chattering like a telegraph machine, his eyes fixed intently on the cavalry rifle in front of him, its barrel wrapped with several strips of tattered cloth. He grabbed the rifle and hugged it tightly to his chest.

  Old Liu snatched the gun, bit off the dead knot with his teeth, and pulled away a few strips of tattered cloth that were randomly wrapped around Chen Zizhong's neck. He then lifted the lid of the iron can, dug out two pieces of butter, squeezed them together, and smeared several oil marks on Chen Zizhong's face: "It's cold, it's cold, the queue must be cold."

  Chen Zizhong shook off Old Liu, the icicles on his head crackling: "This stubborn temper... Ahhh... is really damn refreshing!"

  The soldiers were busy, using snow to thaw the frozen skin of Zhang Zongyi, taking off their own clothes to wrap him up, and stripping two pairs of military boots of different sizes from two incomplete US military corpses for him to wear.

  Cotton pants froze into ice cakes, sticking tightly to Chen Zizhong's thighs.

  "What's the point of taking it off... It's so hard, it can block bullets." Chen Zizhong shook his cotton pants covered with large ice beads, and there was a hint of pride on his face.

  The sky was about to brighten, Chen Zizhong limped and ran at the forefront of the troops, with the soldiers behind him like a surging lion group.

  "Quick! Get them all airborne for me!"

  "Not even a cripple can outrun them, let alone my brave soldiers!"

  Chen Zizhong's crotch was torn open at some point, and the cold wind was like a whip dipped in cold water that lashed his body from all directions.

  Chen Zizhong wore pants covered with icicles and ran limpingly at the front of the team, the cold wind cut his skin like a knife.