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墨書 Inktalez
The rain was pouring down harder, large droplets splattering against the camouflaged tank. Suddenly, I thought of something and burst into laughter. Beta looked at me in confusion and asked, “Brothers, what are you laughing about?”
“Heh, I was just wondering how well-sealed our domestic tanks are. They seem to have a lot of gaps in the armor. If it keeps raining like this, wouldn’t the inside of the tank be flooded?”
“Pfft!” Beta scoffed. “Look, even domestic vehicles can drive in the rain, let alone tanks! You really underestimate us. Those gaps you see? They’re composite reactive armor blocks that fall off when hit, kind of like bulletproof vests. You’ve never seen anything like it, have you?”
I had no idea about any of that, so I scratched my head and said, “Stop bragging; let me see how impressive you all are first.”
“Hmph! This is nothing without the Red Army. If they come, just watch,” Beta replied with a hint of defiance.
We chatted back and forth like this until evening. By nightfall, our supply truck proved useful; after several rounds of eating compressed rations, everyone was close to throwing up. The only one who seemed to enjoy Compressed Rations was Pudding. This bouncy little thing sparked great curiosity and interest among the brother units. Once they learned that Pudding was one of our auxiliary fighters, they all started joking around. Pudding became a star, and eventually, some soldiers from the Tank Company even suggested we print Pudding on our bridge and rename it Crow Unit. I found this suggestion both amusing and exasperating, but Beta thought it was a good idea; many foreign units have their own lucky mascots printed on their flags and equipment.
Although the supply truck couldn’t make anything too fancy, it at least provided hot meals for everyone. However, this meant that nearby friendly units like the Engineer Company and Tank Company came over to share our food. After consulting with the Instructor, we prepared more dishes to share with them. Beta used the vehicle’s intercom to notify all tank crew members in the surrounding area to take turns coming for meals. By this time, the rain had mostly stopped. After dinner, several brothers from the Technical Company continued working on repairing Beta’s tank tracks.
I glanced at the sky and then at my watch before calling over Xuanhua. “Xuanhua, take two sharp-eyed ones with you, bring binoculars, and find a way to climb up that cliff over there to monitor the situation at Beachhead.” After thinking for a moment, I handed him my Walkie-Talkie. “Keep it on; remember to report immediately if anything unusual happens.”
Xuanhua nodded decisively and left. I then reported my arrangements to the Instructor. “Instructor, since the 1 o’clock Drill is officially starting now, both sides have begun their movements. I’ve sent out a surveillance team to check if the Red Army has dispatched troops to infiltrate from this side. Additionally, if they land here, we’ll be ready to respond.”
The Instructor sneered a few times and said, “If they really land here, how will we respond?” Just as I was about to say something else, he waved his hand dismissively. “You go make your arrangements! I need to stay by the radio waiting for orders from headquarters.”
With no choice but to turn away, I led Old Tang and directed the soldiers to continue digging trenches. With so many people around, setting up tents would be very conspicuous; trenches made for excellent cover. Once dug out, we could drape rain tarps over them so that from the outside it wouldn’t be noticeable at all. We also dug drainage ditches on both sides so that water wouldn’t seep into the trenches and make them damp. Laying down some materials inside would make sleeping much more comfortable at night.
As we finished digging the trenches and darkness began to settle in, I realized we had done everything necessary for now and there wasn’t much left to do but wait. So I instructed the soldiers to stay in the makeshift concealed trenches near the cliff while the Instructor, along with Old Tang and two communication soldiers, guarded the radio at one end of the trench. Meanwhile, I moved away from him and chatted with Beta at another end. I was quite interested in what he had to say about tank units as he recounted how he initially viewed tanks as moving iron coffins but had since developed an intense fascination with armored warfare.
As they say, “A friend who understands you is worth a thousand cups of wine; a conversation with someone who doesn’t is worth no more than half a sentence.” From after dinner until midnight—except for occasional checks during the night—we kept discussing military topics. To my surprise, Beta turned out to be an avid military enthusiast; not only did he study armored units but also various light and heavy weapons as well as knowledge about aviation and naval matters. He was interrupted several times by Xuanhua, who reported things like “Report to Company Commander: No activity on the sea!” or “Report to Company Commander: No activity at Beachhead!” Eventually, it became simply “All is normal!”
Thus time gradually passed until midnight. Aside from those on duty guarding the radio, all other soldiers had spread out rain tarps and ponchos inside the narrow trench and were sleeping in their clothes.
Sheng Xiong and Jinghe were sleeping beside me, while Pudding also had its head drooping, seemingly asleep as well.
At that moment, Beta suddenly slapped my shoulder. "Look!"
A green signal flare slowly ascended into the sky, visible from far away! The drill had begun!
"Look at the direction; it should be a signal issued uniformly by the command center to inform us that the drill has started," Beta murmured.
"Old Wang, should we wake everyone up?" Beta asked excitedly.
"There's no need. Besides, I've arranged for personnel to monitor things. Let the soldiers rest; there's not much we can do right now." I watched as the signal flare slowly disappeared and added, "Hey, make sure everyone in your tanks stays awake."
"Hey, I've already arranged for everyone to take turns on duty. By the way, tell me the intercom frequency so I can inform everyone; that way we can synchronize."
"Sure." I readily accepted this suggestion; it could be considered a step towards joint operations.
As feedback from the synchronized frequency gradually came in, I contacted Xuanhua again to ask about the current situation.
"Company Commander, I saw the signal flare; the drill has started, right?! Don't worry! Everything is normal here!"
It seemed that the Red Army was indeed planning a full-scale assault on Point A?! I felt a bit disappointed but still uneasy. I pulled Beta and ran to the radio station guarded by the Instructor. The trench here had been dug into a circular pit, with a tarp set up overhead and an electric light installed inside. Under the dim light, the Instructor was still awake while Old Tang lay nearby. Upon seeing us arrive, the Instructor pointed to a spot and said, "Sit down; let's see if your intuition is correct." There was a hint of teasing in his tone.
"I'll take turns with Tang using one communications officer each. After one o'clock, it's my turn; you all listen in," the Instructor said as he turned up the volume on the radio.
"Attention all units, attention all units, this is the command center. The Red Army has launched a fierce artillery strike on Point A at one o'clock. All units are advised to take cover! Repeat: all units are advised to take cover! Await further instructions for counterattack!"
"Is the Red Army really launching an attack at Point A?!" A wave of disappointment washed over me; it turned out that the Red Army's command was still following common sense and consensus in their offensive.
I fell silent, only listening to the voices coming from the radio. The commands from the command center echoed intermittently, instructing all units to continue waiting for the Red Army's artillery bombardment to conclude before beginning their counterattack.
"The artillery fire is extending! Attention! The artillery fire is extending! The Red Army is about to land! All units, pay attention!"
...
"The Red Army's artillery has retracted back to the Beachhead! All units! The Red Army's artillery has retracted back to the Beachhead, continue waiting! Repeat! All units, continue waiting!"
The radio noise startled Old Tang, who had just fallen asleep. Everyone focused intently on the unfolding battle situation, and time slipped by unnoticed.
It wasn't until Beta nudged me that I turned back in confusion. He wore a puzzled expression. "Under normal circumstances, the Red Army's naval bombardment lasts at most half an hour before landing. This time is usually used for breaching obstacles and clearing Sea Mines, giving the landing troops some breathing room. But why is it taking so long?"
I glanced at my watch; it read one-thirty. That meant the Red Army had been covering fire for about an hour.
Suddenly, my Walkie-Talkie crackled to life. "Company Commander! Company Commander!" It was Xuanhua! "Calling Company Commander, there seems to be lights out at sea!"
I sprang up. "Continue observing and clarify the situation!"
"Yes!"
The radio fell silent again.
Seconds ticked by, and several people anxiously watched my Walkie-Talkie. Even the Instructor couldn't help but wipe his forehead; I noticed that sweat had already beaded on his brow without me realizing when it had started.
"Crackle-crackle." The walkie-talkie emitted two sounds. "Hey, Company Commander, there are a lot of bright spots on the sea."
I nervously pressed the button on the walkie-talkie. "Xuanhua, don't stop. Just keep reporting the situation! What are those bright spots? Can you see clearly? Repeat, can you see clearly?"
"Crackle-crackle! Understood, can't see clearly, crackle-crackle." Perhaps due to signal interference, the noise grew louder.
"Hey, what is that? Crackle-crackle." Xuanhua muttered. "A large area of brightness, like fireworks. Crackle-crackle!"
Hearing this, Beta's expression suddenly changed. He exclaimed, "It's the Red Army! The Red Army is about to land here!"
We all looked at him as he turned pale and said, "I saw a hypothesis in a military academic study before: the landing troops' Engineer Breaching Squad can use a Multiple Launch Heavy Rocket Breaching Vehicle mounted on landing craft to bombard enemy obstacles and minefields from a distance, eliminating threats to the main force. After the bombardment, any remaining obstacles and minefields can be dealt with by Engineers using Lightweight Combined Rocket Demolition Devices mounted on Assault Boats, approaching the beachhead at high speed to clear a path for the Amphibious Armored Assault Group to land. I never expected that the Red Army would apply this in actual combat so quickly!"
He looked up at us and slowly said, "The Red Army's action at Point A was a feint; now we are facing their main force! They have launched a raid, and they are about to come ashore!"
The Instructor was taken aback and angrily waved his hand. "What’s still unclear? Don't jump to conclusions so early!"
(To be continued, more exciting content tomorrow!)
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