Chapter 8: Fangs

Placing his backpack in a relatively safe spot, Zhanxiage didn't need to search; his gaze naturally fell on the very center of the mountain, a block of ice over three meters high. Zhan Xia Ge walked over and gently wiped the snow off the ice with his sleeve. Through the almost unpolluted ice layer of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, he saw two ragged heroes tightly clinging to each other, drifting into a sweet sleep.
More than half a century has passed, yet the ice and snow on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau still faithfully preserve their posture from when they were alive. Their clothes were really thin, probably from fierce battles. On their bodies, you could still see the smoke and smoke marks left on the battlefield, and on one of the heroes' face, stains mixed with blood and dirt were visible. They all looked dirty and thin, their bodies carrying a chronic malnutrition syndrome. But for some reason, in this freezing cold, hungry, cold and snowy environment, they could only cuddle together for warmth, each wearing a sincere, happy ...... Smile!
Was it because they had a sweet dream they could never wake up from, or because they finally protected the red flag they held together in their arms with their own hands?!
Zhanxiage didn't know, he really didn't know! What he knew was that if it were him, he would definitely drape that red flag over himself to keep warm, instead of continuing to hold it high and let it flutter in the wind! Or rather, Zhanxiage would never force himself into a deadly place with no way out just for a single red flag!
Zhanxiage vaguely noticed that there was something in these two heroes that he had yet to understand, or rather, had not truly understood.
Zhan Xiaoge took out the bottle of 55-degree strong liquor from his backpack and the cigarettes he had stolen from Instructor Long Jianhui. He broke a block of solid ice from the ground and spun it swiftly with his military knife. Soon, he used this ice to make several simple but absolutely unique and beautiful wine glasses.
He placed a glass full of strong liquor in front of the two heroes, then refilled the glass in front of him. The rich aroma of the liquor drifted atop this iceberg about 400 meters above the ground.
Zhanxiage raised his glass, gazing at the two heroes before him and saying, "By age, I should call you grandpa, but you all look too young. I'll just call you big brother!" ”
"Big brothers, I've come to see you! Brother, I'll go first to show respect! ”
Zhanxiage thrust his neck back fiercely and downed the strong liquor in his glass. The 55-degree alcohol rushed into his stomach, instantly sending a wave of warmth.
Zhan Xiagege took out a lighter and lit the strong liquor in the glasses placed in front of the two elders. Blue flames danced in the ice-sculpted glasses, and the combination of blue and white looked indescribably harmonious and beautiful. Another gust of mountain wind blew by. Zhan Xiaoge stretched out his left hand, already worn through by the ice and nearly numb, shielding the wine cup.
"These are cigarettes. I think in your two brothers' era, they were called 'Western cigarette rolls,' right?" Zhanxiage tore open the cigarette wrappers and took out four cigarettes. He lit them all with a lighter, placing three in front of the two brothers, leaving the other for himself to smoke.
"Cough, cough, cough...... Zhan Xiage coughed and laughed, "I've smoked a lot of secondhand smoke, but I haven't really smoked a few times." My old man is strict with me, forbidding me from doing this or that. If I make a mistake, a rolling pin thicker than an egg, I can smash it without hesitation, making me so cautious that I feel like a mouse sleeping next to a cat. ”
"So, how is it? Doesn't it taste good? This kind of foreign cigarette is great—just take it out and smoke it, no need to carry a pipe like a dry pipe, and no need to hold a pipe like a hookah. ”
Zhan Xiagege sat cross-legged on the ground, exhaling mist while smiling and saying, "My instructor didn't tell me when the two brothers actually climbed this mountain. You must want to know what China has become now, right?" Simply put, the War of Resistance was won, our backs were strong, and no one was afraid anymore! The place you're staying in is really too remote, so you can't see the changes in China. But don't worry, this time my brother came up here to invite you all to come home together! ”
As he spoke, Zhanxiage suddenly fell silent, because he remembered Sun Jing. He sleeps deep in the deepest part of the world's vast ocean. Perhaps on a night when the moon is full, he will open his eyes, gaze longingly toward the east, thinking of his brothers, his homeland, and the navy he loves most.
That night, Zhanxiage slept beside these two heroic brothers. Using a special climbing rope capable of holding up to 3.5 tons, he tightly tied his sleeping bag to the bodies of the two heroic brothers, who had already plunged into the mountain.
The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, the sound of ice being cut echoed atop this steep peak. The ice on this snowy mountain had accumulated year after year, day after day. It would not be an exaggeration to say it was harder than stone. Zhanxiage spent a whole day holding the shovel before finally carving a thin layer of ice around the two heroes' bodies.
"Zhan Xia Ge, don't be afraid. We'll camp at the foot of the mountain and wait for you. If there's an emergency, the base's emergency support team's helicopter will arrive within half an hour!"
Instructor Long Jianhui told Zhanxiage, "We're only four hundred meters apart!" ”
Hearing this, Zhanxia Ge Sho became even more excited. Every day, when communicating with Zhan Xiage, Instructor Long Jianhui and more than twenty other trainees at the foot of the mountain could hear Zhan Xiaoge's heavy breathing and the sound of shovels and ice clashing through the radio communicator. The next night, the same voice suddenly came from the mountaintop. Long Jianhui grabbed the communicator and shouted, "Zhanxia Ge, why aren't you resting?" ”
"I'm a bit ...... It's cold, so I wanted to go out and find some exercise to warm up! ”
Long Jianhui fell silent. They were at the foot of the mountain, with temperatures around minus thirty degrees Celsius. They pitched tents in the leeward and hid in sleeping bags, waking up several times a night from the cold, let alone on the icy mountaintop, where they had to sing chivalrous songs day and night in the fierce mountain wind.
By the third day, the distinctive piercing sound of the iron shovel colliding with solid ice had disappeared, leaving only the "puff puff" sound. Based on Long Jianhui's experience, he could accurately judge that the shovel in the Heroic Singer had broken. He was probably using the bayonet to slowly pierce the ice, then used his own hands to push the ice apart.
On the fourth day, Long Jianhui ordered, "Zhanxia Ge, report to me immediately about the remaining supplies at your side. If it really doesn't work, don't force yourself to hold out!" ”
"No...... Question! Maybe it's altitude sickness. I don't have much appetite every day and don't eat much. The things I brought are enough to last another three days. Hmm...... The backup battery on the communicator is almost deed, I have to cut off the communication......
The voice of the war hero song on the communicator disappeared. In the following three days, every time he contacted Instructor Long Jianhui, he would only say one sentence: "I'm still alive, and I still have food ...... Much! ”