After resting for one night in Belgorod, Shi Quan made a special trip to Belgorod Cathedral before departure.

This building with its light blue facade and golden onion roof is the birthplace of the oversized cross in Tatra's trunk.

But he didn't come here to deliver crosses. The purpose of Shi Quan's visit was to meet with the people from the German Missing Soldiers Retrieval Organization of World War II to hand over the artillery observer who committed suicide in despair by swallowing a gun.

Shi Quan didn't mind helping the soldier return to his homeland and bury him in peace. After all, this was one of the job responsibilities of the Digging Party.

Of course, don't expect Shi Quan to sympathize with this unfortunate guy. In his opinion, as long as war is involved, no one is truly innocent, whether it is the madman who started the war or the ordinary people who supported the madman. This is true for Germany, and the same is true for the little devils.

.

On the other hand, this is a German guy who has nothing to do with him. If it were a little devil who used his aunt's paper as a national flag, would you still want to be laid to rest? Crushing his bones and raising ashes would be regarded as a soft-hearted person.

Not interested in participating in the requiem ceremony organized by the church, Shi Quan handed the body and the soldier's tag to the staff of the Soldier Retrieval Organization, then turned around and headed north straight to Bonelli without stopping.

This time, the President and his brothers did not follow. They actually planned to find a bad way to try the live streaming trailer business.

I hope they won't be beaten to death!

With best wishes to the President and Bai Zitao, Tatra drove away from Belgorod. Compared with the way here, the return trip north was much easier. If it was the same way yesterday, even if it was

Tatra could not escape the fate of asking a tow truck for help.

After driving more than 200 kilometers for less than 3 hours, Shi Quan finally arrived in Boneri before lunch.

Poneri Station is more famous than the small town itself. During the Battle of Kursk, just to compete for this station, the German heavy armored destroyer battalion dropped a total of 21 Ferdinands.

Shi Quan didn't dare to expect to find a Ferdinand here. It was possible, but the probability was so low that it was almost like a daydream.

Before starting the excavation, he rushed to Poneli Station and took a walk. Although the smoke from the fierce battles could no longer be smelled here, the commemorative sculptures and the monuments with T34 tanks as symbols in almost every city were still there.

But it reminds people all the time what happened here.

It’s hard to say whether it was to pay homage or just to join in the fun. After a brief stroll around and taking two photos, Tatra left the city and drove north along the Snova River for about four or five kilometers.

This is almost the northernmost point of Kursk Oblast. As long as you drive along the river for up to two kilometers, you will enter Orel Oblast.

What's a coincidence is that this last green arrow is actually in the center of the Snova River, less than five meters away from Orel Oblast.

"Why are you in the river again?"

Shi Quan leaned his upper body on the steering wheel and looked at the green arrow outside the car window. In contrast, he really didn't want to go digging in the river.

Why?

Isn’t the water cold? Isn’t it dirty? Last time, just by salvaging the bucket truck, the floor of the RV was covered with smelly mud. The earthy smell did not dissipate for two days.

Hopefully there will be some gold bars or something this time!

He didn't believe this nonsense himself, so he took it as psychological comfort. After complaining enough, Shi Quan finally reluctantly put on his newly purchased diving suit and jumped into the river.

Don't tell me, the Chechen boss was not exaggerating at all. This diving suit looked much better on him than the brand-name one he threw into the trash can. After flopping along the river bank for more than ten meters as a warm-up, Shi Quan bit into it.

The respirator dived into the slightly cool water.

The channel of this small river is much cleaner than the water of the Dnieper River. Except for the dense aquatic plants and small fish and shrimps, there is no garbage at all. Moreover, the river bed is mainly pebbles, and there is not too much silt. It is clear.

The benefit of the underwater vision was that it allowed him to see the World War II relics marked by green arrows at a glance.

T34 tank!

You can recognize it from the highly recognizable hexagonal turret and the two round hatches on the turret. This is the M1943 T-34/76 tank!

At the same time, it is also the final model in the T34 tank family equipped with a 76mm main gun. And because of the two round hatches on the turret that can be opened side by side, German soldiers in World War II gave it a more vivid and memorable name.

Mickey Mouse Tank".

However, this "Mickey Mouse" is not in good condition. The large hole with a diameter of ten centimeters in its front armor should be its fatal injury. There is no doubt that this must be the masterpiece of the German Ferdinand tank destroyer!

Turn on the strong light and look in through the hatch on the turret. Although there is not much silt inside, it is covered with thick algae. According to the outline of the algae, you can still vaguely see the traces of damage from the shells.

However, what surprised Shi Quan was that the ammunition rack of this T34 was actually empty! When the light was moved to the breech of the 76mm main gun, it showed that it had not yet been fired.

Continuing to move the light, Shi Quan's eyes narrowed. He actually found a hole on the chassis inside the tank that was about the same size as the front armor! Although the hole was almost completely covered by algae, there were small fish coming in and out along the hole.

But you can see it clearly!

Swinging with his feet on the turret, Shi Quan looked at the posture of the T34 again. Only then did he notice that the front of the T34 was facing due north, and the 76mm main gun was raised high, pointing in the direction of the German attack.

As more and more clues were collected, a picture gradually emerged in Shi Quan's mind.

One day in mid-July 1943, the German heavy armored destroyer battalion targeted Poneri, a railway and road transportation hub.

Although the Soviet tank brigade, which had been prepared for a long time, sent infantry and T34 tanks to fight together, neither the anti-tank gun nor the 76mm main gun of the T34 tank could penetrate Ferdinand's 200mm thick frontal armor.

Finally, the ammunition rack of a T34 was emptied, leaving only a single shell in the barrel. Facing a strong enemy, the tank crew decided to bypass the Snova River and use the maneuverability of the T34 to detour to the side of Ferdinand.

Come on hard.

Unfortunately, when these brave tank crews just drove the T34 down the bank of the Snova River, an 88 mm caliber shell happened to penetrate its fragile armor from the front and penetrated the chassis of the T34 diagonally.

The T34, which had lost its crew, suffered fatal penetrating wounds, took the 76mm shell that had not had time to be fired, and plunged into the Snova River with regret.

Gently wiping the remaining tank number on the turret, Shi Quan stood up and emerged from the water with all his strength.

This T34 should not continue to wait for death in the cold Snova River in obscurity. It should be fished out and its existence should be known.

Even though this is not the hero of his motherland, and the land beneath his feet is not the land of his motherland, Shi Quan doesn't mind paying him the highest respect.
Chapter completed!