Rebirth in 1972: Redemption in Changbai Mountain

The wind blew harder and harder, blowing away a layer of snow from the ground, which was then covered again by heavy snow falling from the sky, making it even thicker.

The bear enclosure that Zhou Rui and his group occupied had a door jamb more than a meter high piled up at the entrance, with only a window about 30 to 40 centimeters in diameter left at the top as a ventilation hole.

The cave was unusually warm, and the five people, along with all the dogs and mules, slept soundly.

Zhou Rui was awakened by the sharp whistling sound of the wind blowing into the cave entrance. He raised his wrist and checked the time by the dim firelight; it was only 1:30 a.m.

The whistling sound continued. Zhou Rui got up and walked to the edge of the cave. It was pitch black outside, but snowflakes were constantly being drawn into the cave through the ventilation holes.

Zhou Rui turned around, found the spot where Wang Shouye was sleeping, and nudged his shoulder.

Wang Shouye woke up, looking completely dazed: "Ruiwa, what's wrong?"

"Uncle Wang, it's windy outside, and there's white fluff flying everywhere. We might not be able to leave tomorrow."

Wang Shouye also heard a whistling sound coming from the cave entrance. The wind was blowing through the narrow ventilation hole, producing a long, whistling sound.

Wang Shouye got up, picked up a flashlight, and walked to the edge of the cave.

Just then, a gust of cold wind blew in, hitting Wang Shouye directly. Wang Shouye couldn't help but shiver and quickly tightened his collar.

Then he turned on his flashlight and shone it out the window. He saw that the heavy snow outside was so thick that the beam of light only shone a few meters before being cut off.

Wang Shouye stared quietly for about ten seconds before turning off the flashlight and turning back.

"Let's go back to sleep. Looks like we won't be able to work tomorrow. With this much snow, if it snows for most of the night, the snow will be so deep it'll reach up to your thighs when you step in."

"Uncle, how long will this snow last?"

"Who knows. It might last two or three days, or it might be over in a few hours. Whatever, at most we'll only make a small amount this time, earning less. It's fine."

Wang Shouye spoke casually. The warm cave and plenty of food gave him a sense of security, and he didn't mind staying there for a couple more days.

Zhou Rui wasn't really concerned about how heavy the snow was outside; he was just worried that if he got home late, his younger siblings would worry. Especially An'an, he wondered if she would miss him if he stayed out too long.

Compared to the comfortable environment Zhou Rui and his group enjoyed, the other two groups in the mountains had to work much harder.

Section Chief Lin and his group fared slightly better. At least they managed to dig a trench two meters long and more than one meter deep into the mountainside.

A campfire was burning outside, and the eleven people huddled together tightly, managing to endure the ordeal.

Tong Jinjun and his team worked the hardest. The three of them used daggers and wooden sticks to dig for more than half an hour, but they only managed to dig down a little over thirty centimeters.

Even so, the group was exhausted, and in the end, they had no other choice but to find some thick branches, stick them diagonally into the snow, cover them with their camouflage clothing, weigh them down with snow, and offer some protection from the wind and cold.

The heavy snow fell all night and didn't stop until dawn. The entire mountain was silent; apart from the raging snowstorm, there was no sign of any animal activity.

All living things had either already returned to their lairs to hide, or had been frozen and then covered by heavy snow.

Since they didn't have to get up early to travel, Zhou Rui and the others slept in comfortably.

There was nothing to do after I got up, because the heavy snow outside hadn't subsided. I could only see things within a few meters, and I couldn't see anyone beyond seven or eight meters.

They could only hide in the cave, eat barbecue, drink Beidahuang wine, and listen to Wang Shouye tell stories of hunting in the past.

Section Chief Lin and his men huddled in the trench, silently munching on their dry rations. Only when they occasionally felt numbness in their hands and feet would they crawl out to move around briefly before quickly scrambling back inside.

Such hardship seems nothing to them; they have experienced even more arduous training before.

Their training is based on the hypothetical enemies of the behemoth in the north and the giant across the sea to the east, representing the two poles of world military power.

Training them as a benchmark naturally produces the world's best soldiers, with the strongest will.

Tong Jinjun and Lao Qin huddled in the pit they had dug themselves, shivering. The makeshift roof overhead offered no protection against the invisible, chilling wind that seeped in and out.

The snow on the roof piled up thicker and thicker, and even the tree branches creaked and groaned. Sure enough, the roof couldn't hold on any longer.

As a slightly stronger gust of wind blew by, the tree branches snapped, and then the entire roof collapsed, burying people and the fire inside.

"Pfft..." "Ptooey, ptooey."

About ten seconds later, two heads emerged from the snow, constantly pulling at the snow around them while spitting out what was in their mouths.

After Tong Jinjun and Park Bushang finished vomiting, they looked at each other and suddenly felt something was wrong. Why was one person missing?

"Old Qin."

The two quickly shoveled snow away with their hands. Where had Old Qin been lying just now?

Two minutes later, the two finally managed to dig Old Qin out. Old Qin's eyes were closed, and his face was somewhat bluish.

Tong Jinjun shook Lao Qin's shoulders vigorously: "Lao Qin, Lao Qin. Wake up."

"Cough cough..." A mouthful of snow foam spurted out of Lao Qin's mouth, spraying Tong Jinjun's face.

"Cough cough...cough..." Old Qin kept coughing, as if he was trying to cough up his lungs.

Tong Jinjun wiped his face: "Old Qin, how are you?"

"Damn, a mouthful of snow fell down my throat and almost sent me to meet my maker."

"Old Qin, you're really not up to par! You almost died in that one moment, and you call yourself a veteran agent?"

Park Bo-sang stood aside, somewhat gloating.

"You're no good, your whole family is no good. Look at your lousy name, Park Bo-sang. You can't even afford to go to a prostitute, what can you do?"

"Alright, stop arguing. You two can argue when you get back alive. If you keep standing like this, we'll all be going to meet our maker."

As Tong Jinjun spoke, he rummaged through the soft snow around his legs, searching for the rooftop buried in snow, where a few pieces of clothing remained.

After a while, Tong Jinjun and the other two huddled together in a small snowdrift, with their clothes used as a makeshift roof over them. They couldn't start a fire, so they could only huddle together, relying on their body heat for warmth.

Before long, the still-falling snow covered the clothes, leaving only a vast expanse of land stretching out in one continuous stretch.

The heavy snow continued for a day and two nights, only stopping on the morning of the third day.

Boom! The snow wall at the cave entrance was broken open, and a figure rushed out impatiently.

Breathe...inhale...breathe...inhale...breathe...breathe.

"Is it that painful?" Wang Shouye laughed and kicked out.

Gu Shaofeng turned around: "Master, what do you think? For a day and a half, the few of us plus a dozen or so animals ate, drank, and relieved themselves inside. Can you imagine what that smelled like?"

"If I don't come out soon, I'm going to suffocate!"

Everyone breathed in the fresh air and carried everything out of the cave. They'd make breakfast, eat it, and then head down the mountain.

After more than thirty hours of snowfall, the mountains were no longer suitable for hunting; the loose snow made movement difficult. We should wait at least a few days until the snow froze solid before coming back.

After finishing their meal, the group prepared to descend the mountain. The three sleds were lined up in a row, each pulled by a mule, a dog, and a person.

Looking down from the sky, who will Zhou Rui and his group eventually encounter on their journey?