The company HQ was two kilometers from the foremost position, but that was two kilometers as the crow flies. Walking there through the winding, twisting trenches, there was no telling how far it would actually be.
The main position would be set farther back, but not too far from the forward position. The exact distance depended on the terrain and the available troops. But the terrain here was a vast plain, so by convention, the distance would be somewhere between four hundred and one thousand meters.
It depended on how well the trenches had been dug. The more complete the trench system, the more fully the positions were laid out, the closer they could be. But if there was no systematic trench network to support them, then the main position and the forward position had to be farther apart, to avoid being swept away all at once by a single enemy assault.
From what Gao Fei could see, these trenches had been dug very thoroughly. The communication trenches were laid out in proper order, alternating between zigzag and sawtooth patterns, which could greatly reduce the killing power of artillery shells.
Along the way, he could see support trenches and reserve trenches, only there was no one in these functional trench sections.
There was no one in the support trenches because these trenches had originally belonged to the Ukrainians. After Wagner took them, the supporting positions were no longer needed.
The reserve trenches could still be used. If there was a large-scale attack, men would need to gather there, but when there was no major offensive, the reserve trenches were empty as well.
There was more than one communication trench too. Crossroads appeared frequently. Without someone leading the way, it would be difficult even to find one’s own position accurately.
They had walked at least two kilometers since leaving the company HQ. Gao Fei did not feel particularly tired after those two kilometers; it was just that his fingers hurt from being strained by what he was carrying.
A straight, snake-like trench was the most basic kind of trench, but Wagner’s current trench system was extremely complex and fully functional. Ahead was another fork in the communication trench. This time, four trenches, each one meter wide, branched off from it. From their layout, it was clear they were support trenches meant for combat.
Vatrelev also had to stop and carefully identify the route. After calling over the radio, he led the way into one of the trenches.
Just then, an explosion suddenly sounded up ahead, followed immediately by Vatrelev’s shout.
“Drone! Don’t stop! Move, quickly!”
Gao Fei quickened his pace and followed the trench forward. He soon saw the unlucky men caught in the explosion. One man lay motionless on the ground, and three meters away, another recruit was struggling in agony.
It should have been a hand grenade. It was not very powerful, but the two soldiers had been too close together, only three meters apart, so one grenade had been able to hit them both.
They had not even entered the battlefield yet, and they had already lost two men.
The number 13 really was unlucky. The number 14 was even more unlucky.
Vatrelev was still shouting urgently up ahead, “Pass through quickly! Don’t stop! Pass through quickly! Move away, don’t stop! Clear the passage! Someone will come save him!”
The trench was already very narrow, the kind where even two people passing side by side would have difficulty. Vatrelev was walking at the very front. At that moment, he was calling for everyone to pass through quickly, not telling them to carry the wounded men away at once.
Gao Fei sped up. He stepped over the motionless recruit, while the other recruit, still struggling in pain, was howling loudly. But no one stopped to pull him up.
Something about this was definitely wrong, but Gao Fei knew why Vatrelev was doing it. The reason was simple: they had already been spotted by a drone. And when drones were deployed, there was often more than one.
One grenade had been dropped, injuring two men. But if they stopped and tried to treat the wounded, what came down next might very well be even more grenades. So at a time like this, accelerating through the most dangerous area would instead give the wounded a chance to survive.
For one very simple reason: when drones dropped bombs, they dropped them where there were the most people.
Gao Fei stepped over the wounded man again. This time, he recognized them. The two who had been hit were the two Iranians who had ridden in the same vehicle as him.
Their pace suddenly picked up, and at that moment, Gao Fei heard another tremendous boom from ahead.
It was still a hand grenade. The grenade had been accurately dropped into the trench, and once again, it had been dropped where people were densest.
Another miserable scream rang out. This time, only one unlucky bastard had been hit by the grenade.
Vatrelev did not stop. At the very front, he roared himself hoarse, “Pass through quickly! Don’t stop!”
The wounded man was rather smart. He should have been a veteran too. He did not block anyone else’s path, nor did he call for help. Instead, he lay down where he was, rolled over, and pressed himself tightly against one side of the trench. Although blood was flowing from his leg, he gritted his teeth hard and did not make a sound.
That was the advantage of veterans. Veterans knew that scattering quickly at a time like this was safest. If he really slowed down his comrades, there was a good chance everyone would die together.
Protective netting appeared over the trench ahead. Farther forward, a section of the trench had cover over it. The cover was very crude, just branches, planks, and the like laid over the trench, with a layer of dirt spread on top. But such simple protection was already enough to resist drone attacks.
Vatrelev was the first to rush in. He turned back and said urgently to the people behind him, “Quick, quick!”
Gao Fei was the second to last to rush into the cover.
There were three people inside the shelter. Now, with eleven more, it became somewhat crowded.
Panting, Vatrelev said, “I’m going to send the recruits to the position. Three people were wounded behind us. Bring the wounded over. Don’t bother with the dead. I’ll have the body collection team come.”
They had not even reached the place yet, and three men were already casualties. Yet the people here seemed long accustomed to this.
“Got it.”
A man carrying a rifle went out and looked up at the sky. Through the camouflage net, one could see the drone, but when the drone’s camera looked down through the camouflage net, the view would be very blurry. And if a grenade fell, it would be caught by the camouflage net, causing the triggering fuse to fail.
After watching for a while, the man with the rifle said loudly, “The drone’s gone. You should go too.”
Vatrelev beckoned and said, “Follow me. Keep moving.”
They continued forward along the trench. After leaving the cover of the camouflage net, Gao Fei could not help raising his head to look up.
At this moment, Vatrelev pointed at a trench branching off and said, “Three people go here. You’re the machine gunner, right? The three of you go.”
They were beginning to enter the position. Following one trench led to one fighting position. Vatrelev had a good memory. He remembered which of the recruits was a machine gunner, so he specifically assigned a machine gunner there.
The three men silently walked into the trench Vatrelev indicated, while the rest continued following Vatrelev forward.
After walking another few dozen meters, Vatrelev said, “Two here.”
Every forty or fifty meters, he split people off. At most, three went; at the fewest, two.
“Sir, the two of us used to be comrades. Can you let us stay together?”
“All right. You two go over.”
At another fork, Vatrelev pointed to one of the trenches. Gao Fei and Samir got their wish and were assigned together.
After walking less than twenty meters, the trench turned. Once they rounded the bend, they immediately saw a light machine gun propped against the trench. Beside the light machine gun was a shell-proof dugout. A man sat in the dugout with his legs drawn up, his eyes dull as he looked at Gao Fei and Samir.
Was this the place where they were going to fight?
Gao Fei walked up to the dugout and placed the box of machine gun belts he had brought beside it. Then he said to the soldier in the dugout, “Hello.”
There were several shell-proof dugouts along the trench. Five meters ahead was another dugout, and inside it was also a man curled up. When the man inside saw Gao Fei, he immediately said, “There are plenty of holes. Find one and hide yourself first, then talk. I’m your team leader. Everything here is under my command.”
“Yes, sir.”
Samir quickly answered from the side. He dropped the ammunition box in his hands and ducked into a shell-proof dugout.
Before Gao Fei entered a dugout, he glanced around. In this section of trench were four RPG-27 rocket launchers, one RPG-7 launcher, and beside them, several assembled rockets scattered about. In addition, in a nearby hole sat two boxes of grenades. The boxes were open, and he could see that they were packed full of hand grenades.
If there were only four of them in total, this firepower was quite strong.
Gao Fei crawled into the dugout. It was not large, but it was enough for one person wearing a pack to sit inside with his legs drawn up and still have some room. However, sitting was all he could do.
All four of them hid in the dugouts. They basically could not see one another, and could only hear each other’s voices.
Given the current situation, idle chatter seemed a little inappropriate.
“I’ll explain the situation to you. Right now, you belong to First Squad, Assault Platoon, E Company, Fourth Assault Detachment. I am your fireteam leader, Sholokhov. Four hundred meters ahead of us is the forward position. The men at the forward position are still alive for now, so we have early warning in front of us. What we need to be alert for are drones, as well as the routine daily shelling. Do you understand the situation now?”
Without the slightest hesitation, Gao Fei said, “Understood, sir.”
Samir also said loudly, “Understood, sir.”
“Very good. Then wait. I have nothing else to say.”
They would be in the same trench from now on, but their team leader did not seem interested in getting to know his new subordinates.
Gao Fei thought for a moment. He took off his backpack, opened it, and pulled out a plastic bag.
According to Huaxia habits, cigarettes and liquor paved the way. Unfortunately, there was no vodka, but cigarettes would do.
He took out all the cigarettes. In the dugout, he tore open one pack, first put a cigarette in his own mouth, then stuck his head out and looked around. After that, Gao Fei quickly ran to the dugout below the machine gun emplacement, took out a cigarette, handed it over, and said in a low voice, “Buddy, got a light?”
The veteran looked at Gao Fei in surprise. Then he groped in his jacket pocket and took out a lighter. After lighting his own cigarette first, he casually leaned the flame over to light Gao Fei’s.
This gesture counted as very friendly. One cigarette quickly opened the situation.
Gao Fei lit his cigarette and nodded to the veteran. Then he handed over the newly opened pack and said, “Do you still have cigarettes? Keep this pack and smoke it.”
His face full of astonishment, the veteran immediately accepted the cigarettes, then said without hesitation, “Thanks!”
Gao Fei nodded, then immediately ran toward the team leader’s position.
He had only heard the voice and had not seen the man. After walking a few meters, he saw a veteran similarly curled up in a shell-proof dugout.
“What are you running out here for?”
Gao Fei took another unopened pack of cigarettes from his pocket. He directly handed over the entire pack and said, “Team leader, have a smoke.”
Team leader Sholokhov immediately reached out and took the cigarettes, but his mouth said urgently, “Get back to the dugout quickly. It’s dangerous outside.”
Gao Fei did not leave at once. With a sincere expression, he said, “Team leader, do you want something to eat?”
“Hm?”
“I brought some bread when I came. Do you want any?”
“Uh, thank you!”
Gao Fei immediately said, “One moment. I’ll bring it over right away.”
Gao Fei returned to his own dugout and took out a few pieces of large rye bread. When he passed the machine gunner, he first handed over two pieces. Without waiting for the machine gunner to thank him, he immediately ran to the team leader.
Sholokhov snatched the black bread with one hand. He took a bite and said indistinctly, “I’ve been eating compressed biscuits for days… Do you have water?”
“Yes! I do.”
Gao Fei could have brought everything over in one trip, but he did not. He deliberately wanted to make a few more runs.
After he had distributed bottled water to the two men as well, Gao Fei came to the team leader again. This time, with an expectant and embarrassed look, he said, “Team leader, do you have a phone? Can you lend it to me so I can make a call? It’s very important to me. I urgently need to call my family.”
The team leader hesitated for a moment, but in the end, he still nodded and said, “I do, but the battery is very low. Mm, keep the call as short as possible. There’s no way to charge it here.”