Chapter 53: Desert Eagle (Part 2)

Pursuit units composed of Chechen anti-government forces, Afghan guerrillas, and "Assassin Organization" terrorists stopped at the edge of the desert.
"The Chinese soldiers have already fled into the desert. They haven't received supplies, they don't have enough food, and there's not much fresh water. It's simply impossible for them to cross this desert. As long as we're stuck at the edge of the desert, we can trap them alive inside."
From a military and practical perspective, the advice of the highest commander of the pursuing forces was not wrong at all, but politically, it was completely wrong!
Amirali, the supreme commander of the Chechen anti-government armed base, and the supreme commander of the Afghan guerrillas—without much discussion, they issued a deadly order to the pursuing troops: "Pursue, immediately pursue them inside!" If alive, see the person; if dead, see the corpse! Even if their bodies were pecked down to just a few bones by the vultures, you must still pick them up for me! As for the equipment you need, we will continuously airdrop it to you by helicopter. ”
The highest commander of the Afghan guerrillas proudly said to Amira, "There are more than twenty of us Afghan guerrillas in the pursuit team. Each of them is an elite skilled in mountain and desert warfare. In the desert, they are like eagles soaring into the sky, like fine horses galloping into the wilderness. Just wait and see the bodies of two Chinese soldiers!" ”
Afghanistan is naturally mountainous and deserty. When fighting Soviet troops, these guerrilla fighters relied on the mountains and deserts to wage guerrilla warfare. Calling them experts in desert warfare and survival was absolutely true.
With the unanimous persistence of the three commanders, the pursuit force of over two hundred men only briefly replenished the water before pursuing them into the desert. That afternoon, a helicopter personally stationed by Amirali delivered a large amount of supplies and equipment essential for desert survival.
For three consecutive days, every day helicopters delivered supplies to ground troops. Every day, they flew over the desert, trying to find traces of Zhanxiage and Zhao Haiping. As long as they exposed their positions in the desert with no cover, they would never escape the helicopter's heavy machine gun fire again.
On the fourth day, Ma Kai-shek, captain of Amirali's bodyguards, refused to fly the helicopter to the desert core again. Ma Kai-shek's attitude was clear: "Four days has already made them far enough. If we still swagger over their heads, I can't guarantee we'll be able to escape back into the mountains before the Russian Air Force shoots us down." Moreover, the facts are now clear: those two Chinese soldiers also understand the desert. Before escaping into the desert, they had already prepared methods to prevent our air attacks. ”
There's another important issue: whether it's the world's stingy "killer organization" terrorists, the penniless Afghan guerrillas, or the Chechen rebels whose veterans can only substitute dried cow dung for tobacco, none of them have satellite positioning devices and no satellite communication equipment. After entering the desert for over a hundred kilometers, their rudimentary communication equipment has lost contact with the base due to the desert's climate and temperature differences.
Without ground troop guidance, foolishly flying over the desert in a helicopter searching for two Chinese soldiers skilled in camouflage is no different from looking for a needle in a haystack?!
Five days later, Zhan Xiagege and Zhao Haiping stopped after crossing a mountain desert stretching 104 kilometers wide.
This mountain desert is spread across some mountain ranges without growing vegetation, separated by dry basins between the mountains. From the map, they had only covered 104 kilometers in four days, but they had to conquer one mountain range after another, including one with an uneven elevation over two thousand meters.
This kind of high-altitude desert climbing is extremely physically demanding, and the thin oxygen in high-latitude deserts accelerates physical fatigue. If you climb a mountain at night, without sufficient lighting, accidents are very likely. Zhan Xiagege and Zhao Haiping can only brave the increasingly annoying sun, braving yellow sand over 60 degrees Celsius that can cook eggs, advancing bit by bit during the day.
In less than four days, the fresh water they carried was basically all gone. Shaken by the military water bottle with only a thin layer of clean water, Zhan Xiaoge and Zhao Haiping exchanged a bitter smile.
There was really no way. Although they knew how important water was, they simply lacked containers to hold it, and they had to carry heavy weapons and ammunition.
Although he still rested once every hour, during those breaks, Zhanxiage could only tacitly allow Zhao Haiping to start reducing his fresh water intake. Every time he lay down, Zhao Haiping felt so sore all over that he didn't want to get up again. Within a minute, he would fall into a deep sleep, but by the twentieth minute, he would miraculously wake up on his own.
Once, Zhanxiage clearly saw Zhao Haiping applying lip balm to his dry, peeling lips, while Zhao Haiping stared blankly at the small tube in his hand. If it weren't for how important this lip balm is in the desert, and if it weren't so small and ineffective, Zhao Haiping would have swallowed the lip balm that still has a bit of moisture inside!
Noticing Zhan Xiage's gaze, Zhao Haiping looked up and forced a faint smile at her. Even though Zhan Xiaoge was as determined as iron, his nose tingled. Zhao Haiping's smile seemed to be ...... Crying!
On the fifth day, when Zhao Haiping woke up, he unusually found Zhanxiage still sleeping on the ground, not awake. Zhao Haiping jumped up and shook the sand off his body with all his might. Although he had wrapped his head tightly in clothes he had taken off the enemy's body while sleeping, some sand still got into his ear.
When Zhao Haiping removed the canvas from Zhanxiage, he was truly stunned.
The strong Zhanxia Ge, like a machine that would never be defeated or intimidated by enemies, now lay on the ground with a pale face, ...... Trembling uncontrollably!
On some of the skin and muscles exposed outside his clothes, there were even various symptoms of spasms. Zhao Haiping placed his hand on Zhanxiage's forehead. Cold. He only felt the battle hero's forehead wet and icy, that strange sensation involuntarily reminded him of snakes!
Zhao Haiping took off the cloth he had been using to prevent water loss from his body caused by mouth breathing while sleeping. While waving his battle heroic song, he shouted loudly, "Master, what's wrong with you?!" ”
Zhanxiage didn't answer him; he just unconsciously let out a few dry, astringent moans.
Zhao Haiping could hardly imagine the battle hero's song gouging out bullets from his body with a disinfected tiger-tooth combat saber, even without morphine injections, using a sterilized tiger-tooth combat saber to gouge out bullets from his body. What kind of pain was he facing at this moment to make him involuntarily moan weakly!
Seeing the sudden transformation of the war hero's song, Zhao Haiping was truly terrified! He grabbed his own water bottle, which was already empty. He grabbed the bottle of Zhanxiage and shook it vigorously. Thankfully, there was still a bit of water coming out from inside. Zhao Haiping pried open Zhan Xiaoge's mouth and poured all the remaining water from the kettle into her mouth. Then he stretched out his right hand, using all his strength, and pinched the philtrum hard. With his left hand, he grabbed a piece of canvas and used it as a fan, desperately fanning the song.
After a busy period, Zhanxiage finally managed to open his eyes, but his eyes, brimming with a sharp aura, blood-red and carrying a strange aura that could make gods and demons retreat, were gone!
Now, all that remained in his eyes was confusion and an unsettling emptiness.