When Wei Ran woke up again, the sky outside the tent had completely brightened up. It was a rare sunny morning, but the sunshine and the cold wind that dispersed all the clouds made the snow grits mixed in the sand on the ground melt and melt.

The rate of evaporation has accelerated a lot, which not only makes the ground more slippery, but also makes the temperature colder.

Because of the accidents of Habibullah and Multaza last night, Weiran and Kirill did not find the opportunity to change the dressings for the injured. Naturally, this essential work could only be carried out before departure.

"Uncle Habibullah is dead"

While Weiran was changing Multaza's dressing, the young man said sadly.

"Sorry, we couldn't save him." Wei Ran said apologetically.

Multaza opened his mouth but couldn't say anything, but his eyes were already red.

In silence, the medicines were changed for the three wounded people one by one. After everyone had a simple breakfast, Mahbub made new arrangements.

"We must change to a safer road, and this time I will go ahead."

As he said this, Mahbub, who was being helped by Hakim to ride on the donkey, was already shouting at the donkey to turn towards the direction it came from. At the same time, he kept saying, "Multaza, you ride the donkey and lead the donkey."

The leader is walking behind me, Soraya and Joya, you are walking behind the Soviets, Hakim, you should go last.”

"Teacher Mahboob"

Hakeem asked, "Do you really know of any other safe routes?"

"How many years have I been on this road?"

Mahbub responded matter-of-factly, and then urged the donkey to take a step forward.

Under his leadership, everyone followed him as he asked. Wei Ran and Kirill also carried Ayana and her two babies again.

The original road left this valley that had become dangerous, and Mahbubu led them over barren mountains one after another in repeated turns. It was not until near noon that he led them into a road that was even more dangerous than before.

Narrow valley.

This valley is only wide enough for two donkeys to walk side by side. The heavily weathered rock formations on both sides protrude toward the middle. The lower part is concave with remaining water lines. Obviously, this is probably the route of flash floods in the rainy season.

This has an advantage. In this valley, all kinds of firewood that can be used as fuel can be found almost everywhere, but there are also many corpses that have turned into bones everywhere.

These mutilated corpses seemed to have been brought here by the floods and left here, and the remaining clothes on their bodies seemed to be dressed like guerrillas.

“This road is not easy”

Mahbub, who was riding a donkey at the front, said in Pashto that Kirill could not understand, "Every year, you can only walk here after winter and before heavy snowfall. At other times, the sediment in the valley can

Sucking in every leg that steps in, after a heavy snowfall, a lot of snow will slide down from time to time above your head."

After a short pause and waiting for the echoes in the valley to disappear, Mahbub continued, "Abbas's accident happened here. He stepped on a landmine that was washed down by a flash flood."

"Where is his body?" Ayana asked as she was lying on the stretcher.

"Buried outside the valley"

Mahbub replied, "On the other side of this valley, we will pass by there when we come out of the valley."

After this brief exchange, Mahbub and others continued to remain silent and busy on their way, and there was only the sound of footsteps echoing repeatedly in the valley.

"Can I take some photos?" Wei Ran asked Hakim behind him.

"Whatever you want," Hakim replied casually, and then found Wei Ran pressing the shutter towards him.

"Help me carry it for a while," Wei Ran said unceremoniously.

Hakim glanced at Wei Ran in surprise, and then took the stretcher angrily amid Ayana's chuckle.

Wei Ran quickly ran to the front of the group, held his camera and stood aside, taking a single photo of everyone passing by in this winding and narrow valley.

Returning to her seat next to the stretcher, Ayana said, "Victor, help me take a photo of me and my child."

"My pleasure"

Before Wei Ran finished speaking, Kirill had already stopped, followed closely by Hakim and the two little girls riding a donkey behind him, who had to stop as well.

Carefully finding an angle, Wei Ran helped the mother and son take a group photo.

After he put away the camera, Kirill took steps again, and Weiran returned to the job that Akeem had temporarily taken over.

“It’s been a long time since I left the mountains.”

Ayana hugged the child tightly in her arms, looked at the narrow sky above her head and muttered to herself in Pashto that Kirill could not understand, "I have been fighting guerrillas in the mountains with my husband for these years.

"

"The war should be over soon," Hakim responded.

"I have no idea"

Ayana shook her head, "My radio battery has been discharged a long time ago."

"I heard what Teacher Abdul said"

"He guessed the war would be over soon," Hakim said.

"Even if the war is going to end soon"

Ayana asked, "Hakim, will you go find Vader after the war is over?"

"I have no idea"

Hakim paused, "I don't know if I can survive until the end of the war."

"What if I can survive until that time?" Ayana asked.

"Yes, probably yes."

Hakim said ambiguously, and at the same time, he subconsciously pressed the bone blue whale hidden in his arms.

"He must still be waiting for you."

Ayana looked at the linear sky above her head and said, "Let's go find her after the war is over."

"Let's wait until the war is over."

Hakim responded vaguely and grasped the rifle on his shoulder again.

In a new round of silence, the team walked along the valley until noon, and then stopped at a slightly more spacious location to rest.

“How far do we have to go before we get out?”

Kirill asked while Mahbub and others had not started the noon salute.

"I'll be out before dark"

Mahbub explained, and then took his children to start the noon ceremony.

Amid their prayers, Wei Ran and Kirill, who had been carrying stretchers all morning, sat tiredly on a dead tree and were busy pumping, pressurizing and lighting the oil stoves assigned to them, becoming more and more skilled.

He placed the leftover broth from last night on top.

"Look there"

Kirill put his hand to the oil stove to warm up the fire, and raised his chin in the direction of travel, "You know what that is, right?"

"Know"

Wei Ran, who had noticed the abnormality long ago, replied without raising his head, "A chemical warhead that has released all the poison."

"Many people must have died here, and they died tragically."

Kirill whispered, "In such a valley, the wind speed is so fast, as long as the warhead is thrown in and exploded, the poison will be blown by the wind to the other end."

"I thought those corpses washed down from upstream," Wei Ran said in a low voice.

"Have you seen the power of chemical warheads?" Kirill asked in a low voice.

Wei Ran couldn't help but shook his head, and nodded, "I've seen Jiezi Qi and Louis Qi before."

"Have we used these poisons?" Kirill asked in surprise.

"It's not on the Afhan battlefield," Wei Ran explained vaguely.

"Our chemical warheads kill very quickly"

Kirill whispered with lingering fear, "Last summer, I followed the troops to a stone fortress where guerrillas were hidden. The place was bombed three times by FAB3000 aerial bombs but it did not completely collapse."

"Did the chemical warheads work?"

"Um"

Kirill nodded, "It's just one. The poisonous mist drifted down the entrance into the tunnel. The people hidden inside were all dead. They all died in an instant. Some had cigarettes in their mouths, and some had cigarettes in their arms."

Holding weapons, some seemed to be laughing one second and then died."

"Why are you talking about this suddenly?" Wei Ran asked after a moment of silence.

"Perhaps this war was a mistake from the beginning..."

Kirill looked at the remains of chemical warheads lying across the valley in the distance and said to himself, "It wasn't until I saw those corpses that I truly realized that I was an invader."

"But you can't change anything," Wei Ran said to himself as well.

"I hope our reform-loving Zongshu prostitute can change something..."

Kirill sighed and said to himself again, "I want to go home, back to Moscow. If Yelena is waiting for me, I want to marry her immediately."
To be continued...