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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter Thirty-Nine: Disappear
“Beep--------!” A sharp whistle jolted me awake from my dreams. “Get up!” I instinctively shouted, quickly pulling out the neatly folded clothes and pants I had placed under my head and putting them on. The soldiers around me also got up, dressing quickly and fastening their hats and belts as they headed outside.
It was drizzling outside, but it didn’t significantly hinder our activities. The sky remained overcast, and even though it was summer, visibility was poor. I glanced at the nearby forest; deep within it lay a thick fog that obscured everything. Looking higher up, the mountain peak was shrouded in a dense white mist, its outline completely hidden.
Since the dining vehicles from various units had arrived, breakfast was ready. We had porridge, pickled vegetables, and steamed buns. I filled my bowl with porridge and squatted by the kitchen tent to eat. “Wang!” While I was eating, someone tapped me on the shoulder. I turned to see the Company Commander and quickly stood up. “The command post has arrived last night; all equipment in the barracks is now deployed.”
“Yes! What’s our mission?” “Our regiment is stationed at the rear near the foot of the mountain. Later, personnel from the Laying Line Team will come from that direction to lay down covering lines extending to each participating unit. When they come down, they will pass by your squad; you need to find a few soldiers to assist with this.”
“Understood!”
“Additionally, according to the notice, each person will receive five Blank Rounds. Find someone to go to the designated point to collect them and distribute them to everyone. Pay special attention to safety; given the nature of our mission, most of them will need to be collected back later.”
“Understood!”
Watching the Company Commander turn to leave, I immediately called Garfield over and asked him to fetch the Blank Rounds. At the same time, I planned to call He Baisha and another soldier to check out the forest for any activity. However, after searching around, I couldn’t find He Baisha or Xuanhua in the tent; it seemed Xuanhua had gone off somewhere. I frowned slightly; he was indeed a lazy one. The most alert in our squad was He Baisha. Looking up at Xuanhua again, an idea struck me—having him accompany me to assist with the Laying Line Team would be beneficial since he had a loud voice and could easily maintain contact in the dense forest. More importantly, he was tall and strong; while normally two people would carry a hundred-eighty-pound Bridge Board, he could manage it alone and help carry telephone lines.
With this thought in mind, I called out to Xuanhua, “Xuanhua, come with me for a task.” “Sure thing!” he replied boisterously. “What do you mean ‘sure thing’? It’s ‘yes!’” I shot him a glare; he was a new recruit just out of Unit training—a rural soldier who was simple and hardworking but had some habits that were hard to break. “Yes!” Xuanhua straightened up immediately. “Follow me; don’t be so nervous.” I led the way out of the tent.
Once outside, I briefed the Second Squad Leader to wait for Garfield’s return and take over my duties as Squad Leader temporarily before heading towards the forest at the foot of the mountain with Xuanhua.
As we approached the forest, a wave of mist enveloped us. I looked up; a large expanse of gray clouds covered the mountain peak, with thick white fog below it. How strange, I thought to myself—why was there gray mist? Why hadn’t I noticed it earlier?
Watching Xuanhua trudge ahead without a care in the world made me sigh inwardly; he truly was all brawn and no brains. I called out to him and took out my Military Walkie-Talkie—this was issued by our Command Center for reporting road conditions and progress as we led our convoy. According to the Company Commander, its range could reach up to five kilometers; I wondered if it could reach across this mountain. Turning on the walkie-talkie, I first established contact with our command post. After confirming that I was responsible for assistance, they promptly connected with Command Headquarters to obtain communication frequencies for the line-laying team and instructed me to establish contact as soon as possible to assist in completing their task efficiently.
“Robin, Robin, respond if you hear me! This is Otter, I’m on the opposite side of your mountain, do you copy?”
“Zzz—zzz.” The interference was heavy. After calling out two more times, I finally received a response. Due to the terrain, the communication was quite disrupted; I could only make out that they had already set off and were currently halfway up the opposite mountain.
I let out a quiet sigh of relief. It seemed like it would take a while; just clearing a path and climbing would take at least a couple of hours, not to mention laying down the lines. “Xuanhua, come back with me to get the tools, then you can start clearing a path up here. No rush, take your time and be careful.”
Xuanhua acknowledged and turned back with me to Base to gather the tools. My biggest concern upon returning was the issue of Blank Rounds. Given the nature of our unit, we did have shooting training, but it wasn’t our main focus. The soldiers were most interested in shooting, which made me worry about issuing ammunition without proper oversight.
Hurrying back, I ran into Garfield, who had just picked up a box of ammunition. Without saying a word, I pulled him into my tent and opened the box. A bright yellow mass greeted my eyes, but there were no bullet heads—just Blank Rounds as expected. “Garfield, go call over the squad leaders and their deputies!” I thought for a moment.
Garfield nodded and went out. Before long, he returned with four squad leaders and their deputies.
With everyone gathered, I spoke seriously. “Brothers, this drill is live-fire. Each of you will receive five rounds of ammunition for your squads. However, do not distribute them yet; wait for orders before doing so. For safety’s sake, remember this clearly—understood?” “Understood!”
“Good. I don’t care how other squads handle their ammunition; as long as ours remains safe and sound, you all need to pay attention. If something happens in any squad, that squad leader and deputy will be in serious trouble!”
“Yes!”
“I’ll be going on a mission shortly; Liang Squad Leader will take my place. Everyone cooperate well.”
“Yes!”
After giving them my warnings, I stepped out of the tent and wandered around Base for a bit but found nothing unusual. I then made my way to the Foot of the Mountain and noticed that Xuanhua was moving quickly; he had already cleared a winding path upward and was nowhere in sight now. Looking toward the mountain top, I saw that a gray mist enveloped it completely, pressing down like white fog spilling outwards and spreading down the slopes in all directions.
I climbed up the path, calling out, “Xuanhua!” “Here!” There was no sight of anyone, only the sound of a response.
“Not bad, you're quick.”
“Reporting, Squad Leader! I used to do farm work back in my hometown, so climbing mountains is something I'm used to.”
“Good, looks like I picked the right person this time.”
As I reached Xuanhua's side, I opened the walkie-talkie again and continued to call the Laying Line Team. Inside, there was still a constant crackling noise, interspersed with the voices of the team saying, “We—crackle—are approaching the summit—crackle.”
“Received, received. Robin, keep communication lines open. I will call every ten minutes. Once you reach the top, confirm your direction and we will come to pick you up. Over!”
“Received—crackle—zzzz—”
This is where wireless communication falls short compared to wired communication; it is easily disrupted by terrain and enemy electromagnetic interference. Once the opponent covers the main communication frequency with jamming, we can only rely on the wired communication set up by the Laying Line Team. However, wired communication has its drawbacks too—it has a limited range and is easily destroyed by shelling. It seems that while modern warfare methods are diverse, traditional practices still have their merits in certain situations, I pondered.
“Squad Leader, how far do we need to go?” Xuanhua suddenly turned around and asked. I wasn't sure either, but we couldn't just sit around doing nothing. So I casually replied, “Let’s go up to the mountainside; not too far though, so we don’t miss it. After all, we don’t know how they chose their line for laying. Just zigzag slowly as you go; make sure not to run into any wild game.”
“Wild game?!” I saw Xuanhua's eyes light up as he licked his lips. “Squad Leader, have you ever eaten wild rabbit or wild boar?”
“Where would you find those in City? What about you, Xuanhua? Do you eat them often?”
“Hehe, being from the mountains means these kinds of food are quite common.”
“Xuanhua, keep an eye out. If you come across any Bamboo Rats, catch a few for the Brothers to snack on!”
I felt a bit hungry myself; the Unit's meals shouldn't be subpar. It just wasn't suitable for me—too many chili peppers. Most of the dishes were stir-fried with chili, or could be summed up as stir-fried anything. I hadn't had a proper meal of meat in a long time.
“Do you think there are Bamboo Rats on this mountain?” I licked my lips.
Xuanhua was clearing the path ahead, “There must be! There could be plenty on the mountaintop!”
The mountaintop? Oh no, I completely forgot to call the line crew on schedule. The walkie-talkie had been crackling the whole time, but I hadn’t heard any calls from the other side. I quickly shouted into the walkie-talkie, “Robin, Robin, report your status! Report your status!”
Silence, with only the occasional crackling sound.
“Is Robin there? Robin, calling, calling Robin!”
“Crackle-crackle.”
I started to panic.
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