Rebirth in 1972: Redemption in Changbai Mountain

Section Chief Lin smiled and comforted him, "Alright, don't be angry. These kinds of enemies who have been lying in wait for a long time are the most cunning and will basically not reveal any flaws."

I've been fighting spies from various countries for nearly ten years. If a spy who hasn't given himself away stood in front of me, I wouldn't even recognize him.

"That's true. Such an enemy is too cunning. They don't fight us head-on at all. They just hide and lead us in circles."

"If I had known, I would have brought the farm's military dogs with me. They wouldn't have been on the run for almost half a month and still not caught."

"Squad Leader Li, it's no use. I tried it at the farm last time, and I couldn't find Lao Qin even with his clothes." Section Chief Lin shook his head.

"These enemies have a lot of strange things on them, probably because they've sprayed drugs to mask their own scent, so military dogs aren't very useful."

"Section Chief Lin, do you think we can catch up with them?" Squad Leader Li was somewhat unsure.

He had only studied how to fight on the battlefield, and he was completely helpless when it came to this kind of cat-and-mouse game.

If it weren't for Section Chief Lin's ample experience, who seized every opportunity to catch the enemy's tail, their team would have lost track of them long ago.

"Of course they can. Since they dared to come to our Chinese land with malice, they shouldn't even think about leaving unscathed. Even if they want to leave, they'll have to be skinned alive."

Section Chief Lin's eyes revealed unwavering confidence—the conviction of a soldier, the determination to defend the motherland from invasion.

The winter night in Heilongjiang Province was usually bright with a clear moon and few stars, but a rare cold wind suddenly swept across the entire land.

From the Greater and Lesser Khingan Mountains all the way to Changbai Mountain, it was as if a glass dome had been shattered with a huge hole, and large flakes of snow fell from the sky.

The wind blew stronger and stronger, whipping up the loose snow on the ground and clashing with the snowflakes falling from the sky. The whole world seemed to have fallen into a silvery-white abyss, stretching as far as the eye could see.

"Old Gu, Old Gu, Captain Gu?" Park Bo-sang kept pushing Tong Jinjun.

Tong Jinjun woke up groggily: "What's wrong? What happened?"

"It's snowing heavily and the wind is howling, what should we do?" Park Bo-sang's anxious voice was loud, but it was not very clear in my ears, as if it had been blown far away by the wind.

"It's just wind and snow, what's so strange about that?" Tong Jinjun complained.

He was older than Park Bo-sang, and the mental strain of escaping his pursuers had taken a toll on his energy. Old Qin, who was even older, was still unconscious.

"The wind is getting stronger and the temperature is dropping sharply. If we don't do something soon, we'll freeze to death here tonight."

Park Bo-sang looked anxiously at their wretched surroundings, which were just a small, slightly lower-lying hut with a flame flickering precariously in the strong wind.

There was nothing they could do; the three of them were being chased too closely by the Chinese soldiers and simply didn't have time to properly set up a shelter.

Tong Jinjun also sensed something was wrong. The wind was howling, and he was losing body heat very quickly. He could no longer feel the warmth of the fire beside him.

"Old Qin, Old Qin, get up! Grab your tools and dig a little deeper, or we're all doomed."

Tong Jinjun shoved Lao Qin forcefully, and at the same time took out a dagger from his luggage and used it to dig around under him.

However, the snow below was completely frozen, making it very difficult to dig with the dagger. Each time the tip of the dagger touched the ground, it could only dig a hole the size of an egg.

Park Bu followed suit and pulled out a dagger to do the same, but Old Qin had nothing and could only find a sturdy wooden stick to kneel on the ground and dig.

Meanwhile, Section Chief Lin and his group, who were hiding in a valley depression, also encountered the same predicament, but their situation was much better because they had the mountain blocking their way.

"Section Chief Lin, this is troublesome. The temperature is dropping rapidly, and the brothers are struggling to hold on." Squad Leader Li glanced at his men who had come out with him, looking very worried. They were all strong young men of eighteen or nineteen; he couldn't let them succumb to such harsh conditions.

It's all their fault for chasing after us in such a hurry that they only had time to grab their guns and water bottles, and didn't even have a quilt.

Section Chief Lin looked at the only two entrenching tools in the equipment: "Dig a shelter. Within an hour, do everything you can to dig a hiding place out of this mountain."

"They can't dig it out in such a short time, can they?"

"Use all your strength and dig as hard as you can. We'll switch people every three to five minutes. I'll go first." Section Chief Lin picked up a shovel and started poking at the mountain behind him.

With a clang, the shovel sank a few inches into the snow, and when it hit the frozen ground, it made a metallic clanging sound.

Squad Leader Li quickly picked up another shovel and started digging as well.

"Section Chief Lin, tracking these enemies is already difficult enough. With this heavy snow, I'm afraid even the few remaining traces will be erased?"

Squad Leader Li was completely oblivious to his own predicament, still worried that the enemy might take advantage of the snowstorm to escape.

"It's alright. Didn't we lose them a few days ago too? We still managed to catch them. As long as they're still in these mountains, we'll find them sooner or later."

Besides, if we're not having a good night, they won't be either. They can't pull us much further behind.

Section Chief Lin wielded his half-meter-long entrenching tool swiftly, scattering patches of dirt from his upper body.

His voice was low and resolute, carrying the unwavering will of the older generation of revolutionary martyrs, as if there was nothing in this world he couldn't do.

Squad Leader Li seemed to be infected by Section Chief Lin's imposing manner, and he used even more force with both hands, treating the frozen soil as an enemy, and shoved it in hard.

A few minutes later, the shovel slowed down.

"Xiao Zhang, Tie Tou, substitute."

Two young soldiers immediately stepped forward, took the entrenching tools from Section Chief Lin and Squad Leader Li, and began to shovel with force while kneeling on one knee.

Section Chief Lin let out a long sigh, rubbed his shoulder, and looked at the new recruits, lamenting the passage of time.

Back in the army, I was the best in every professional skill. I never imagined that my physical condition would decline so much in just ten years after returning to civilian life.

"Squad Leader Li, we don't know how long this heavy snow will last. We might not have enough firewood for heating. Let's go find some more firewood while we can still see the road."

"Okay, let's hurry back. If the snow gets too heavy, we might not be able to find our way back."

Squad Leader Li answered very readily.

"Keep digging here, not too high, just enough for a person to crawl in, but try to go as deep as possible."

Squad Leader Li paused for a moment, then continued, "Also, if we're not back in half an hour, it means we've been blinded by the snow. You guys fire a shot every minute to show us the way home."

"Yes, class monitor."

Apart from the two soldiers who were still working, everyone else answered loudly in unison.

Squad Leader Li nodded to Section Chief Lin, and the two of them, holding flashlights, walked into the snowstorm in opposite directions.