When the white light faded again, Wei Ran found himself once again at the farm in Clara Edelweiss's dream.
Habitually raising his head to glance at the carefree girl in the distance, Wei Ran took a deep breath and looked down at the metal book on the table.
Act 4
Role identity: Red Cross doctor Victor
Return mission: Kill at least two militants with cold weapons, rescue the captives, assist partner Kirill in completing the operation, and arrive at the refugee camp.
Red Cross doctor?
Wei Ran was stunned for a moment, and couldn't help but look at Clara in the distance again.
But soon, a rich white light swept over him, and he also saw the things that could be used this time, a Mauser bayonet, an eating knife, a medical kit, and that's all.
grass...
As Wei Ran cursed, the white light began to dissipate, but before he could see everything around him clearly, he heard a series of dense and deafening gunshots, explosions and even screams!
Blinking quickly to regain his vision, he realized that he was in the cargo bed of a truck with a tarpaulin.
He recognized it at just a glance. It was a Ural 4320, which was most likely a legacy from the Soviet-Afghan War.
There were many women, children and elderly people crowded in the cargo bed of this truck, and two injured men were also lying there.
Their wounds had been initially bandaged and treated, and they even had a bag of plasma hung on the roof of the shed, but even so, their condition was still not good.
He looked down at himself. He was wearing a blood-stained white coat, and slung over his shoulder was a Soviet medical bag with white paint and a conspicuous red cross. In the pocket of the white coat, he also touched the Italian-made
Micro camera.
Where did this special code come from?
Before Wei Ran could turn around and take a look inside the cab, the truck suddenly stopped with a creak.
"Da da da!"
The harsh gunfire caused the men, women, and children in the cargo compartment to subconsciously let out a half-shriek, but they skillfully covered their own mouths and even the children's mouths with their hands.
After separating from the crowd and walking to the back of the car, before Wei Ran could even open the curtain, a hand from outside opened the door curtain and shined the dazzling beam of a flashlight into the cargo compartment.
Looking back along the arm with squinted eyes, a militant wearing a turban showed only a pair of cold eyes. Behind him, under the dim sky, there was another militant holding an AK rifle and firing.
Smoking.
"You, come down." The militant said in Persian toward Wei Ran.
"We are Red Cross doctors, and the people in this car are refugees."
Before Wei Ran could speak, Kirill's voice came from outside the carport. However, before he could finish his words, he let out a scream along with a muffled sound.
"come down"
At the door of the cargo compartment, the militant raised his gun as he spoke and pointed the gun at Wei Ran.
"I'll come down right away, but when your flashlight shines on me, I can't see anything. I'm highly short-sighted." Wei Ran stammered in Persian.
Hearing this, the militant snorted, finally removed the flashlight and took a step back.
Seeing this, Wei Ran blinked his eyes deliberately, then pretended to be clumsy and jumped out of the car, accidentally falling down.
As expected, his embarrassed look made the militant laugh, but it also made Wei Ran, who fell down, see clearly that there were three militants in front and behind the car.
At this time, Kirill seemed to have been hit by a gun butt. He was leaning on the tire on the side of the cargo bed and wailing. Behind him, an armed man was about to climb into the cab of the truck.
On the passenger side, it seemed that someone also jumped out of the cab and was being questioned by an armed man.
"Where are you doctors from?" asked the militant who asked Wei Ran to get out of the car.
"Kabul"
Kirill answered the question on behalf of Weiyan, "We are preparing to take these refugees out of Kabul and go to the refugee camp in Peshawar."
"Let these people get off the truck, your truck has been commandeered by us." The militant at the back of the truck said, already raising his weapon towards the cargo bed.
"Please don't shoot"
Wei Ran immediately said, "Where are you going? We can send you there. This is a Red Cross transport vehicle for wounded and refugees. It can take you anywhere safely."
As he spoke, he also put his hand into his pocket, "Also, in addition, I have a small gift for you. My friend, please be sure not to shoot. They are just innocent children and old people.
"
With that said, Wei Ran walked up to the other party, took out the miniature camera and handed it to the other party, "Please accept it, this is a gift for you."
"What is this... poof!"
The militant finally put down the AK rifle he was holding horizontally, stretched out one hand to pick up the delicate object in Wei Ran's hand, and at the same time let the flashlight held in the other hand shine into Wei Ran's palm.
.
Just when he touched the camera, a Mauser bayonet suddenly appeared in Wei Ran's hand, and before the other party could react, he stabbed it in along the gap between the sternum, and just lightly cut it out.
It broke his heart.
"Here's the camera, friend."
As Wei Ran spoke, he released his bayonet and took the flashlight from the opponent's hand, and then pulled off the rifle.
Without turning off the flashlight at all, Wei Ran took the gun and pulled the trigger above his head to fire a bullet. At the same time, he walked quickly towards Kirill, handed the weapon to him, and pointed to the other side of the car.
One side.
After getting the hint, Kirill immediately rolled under the chassis. Weiran walked to the driver's side holding a dazzling flashlight.
"Did you find anything good?" Wei Ran asked in Persian.
"Found some cigarettes and..."
The armed man, who was mostly in the cab, didn't even finish his words before Wei Ran pulled him off by his belt.
"Bang!"
Amidst the screams of this militant, a gunshot was heard from under the chassis, and the screams of another militant were heard from the other side of the car.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! "Pop!"
Before the gunshots dissipated in response, Wei Ran had already kicked the militant he had dragged down behind his ear.
Stepping past the body, Wei Ran walked to the other side and saw the Red Cross doctor named Marcelo. He was shot in the arm and dropped his weapon. He sat on the ground and screamed.
militants, and even Kirill who had just crawled out from under the car.
"Crack!"
Before the two men could speak, Wei Ran kicked the militant in the back of the head. The latter immediately became quiet and fell to the ground with a plop.
"Did you kill him?" Marcelo asked in disbelief.
"No"
Weiran denied it, "He just fainted. I think we need to get out of here quickly."
"Yes, that's right, get out of here."
Marcelo reacted and quickly climbed into the cab, "Not only do we have to leave Kabul, we also have to leave Afhan."
"Wait for me a moment"
As Wei Ran spoke, he took off his white coat and threw it into the passenger seat. Then he walked around to the driver's side and squatted in front of the militant who was kicked to death to look at him. Then he put on the other person's burqa and returned to the driver's side.
He took off his scarf and wrapped it around his face, and imitated the other person and tied a blue cloth strip on his right arm.
After picking up the opponent's rifle, Wei Ran looked around and then noticed a motorcycle lying on the roadside that seemed to have a flat tire.
He walked to the back of the car and pulled out the bayonet from the corpse's chest, and took off the cloth strip on his right arm. Wei Ran went back to the passenger seat and took off the cloth strip on the corpse's right arm.
"Marcelo, you go to the back."
Wei Ran opened the passenger door and said, "Let me handle it if you encounter such a problem later."
"Alright"
Marcelo left the cab without saying a word, jogged all the way around to the back of the car and climbed in.
After he patted the window, Kirill immediately stepped on the accelerator and drove the truck, with a red cross painted on the hood and tarpaulin, along the road again.
"How far do we have to go?"
Wei Ran asked, taking a look at the Wrigley watch on the other person's wrist. The time displayed on the dial was early five o'clock.
"If we don't get stopped again, we can reach the refugee camp near Peshawar before dark," Kirill replied.
“It seems there is still a long way to go”
As Wei Ran spoke, he took apart the AK74 rifle he picked up, and after careful inspection, restored it to its original state.
"You have changed so much in these years in Afhan," Kirill sighed.
"yes..."
Wei Ran smiled, fixed the weapon on the armrest in front of him, and at the same time looked at everything in the cab of the truck.
The only special thing here is that there is a woven rattan basket between the two of them. In addition to the naan breads next to each other, there is also a small pot of cooked mutton and a Soviet oil stove.
, and a large bundle of hemp rope of unknown use.
"It's the same as before," Wei Ran couldn't help but say.
Hearing this, Kirill was startled, then smiled and said, "Yes, it's the same as before."
"I've forgotten how long ago that happened," Wei Ran said deliberately.
"Five years, five years." Kirill replied almost subconsciously, "The Soviet Union was still there at that time."
"yes..."
Wei Ran was stunned for a moment, then sighed, "It turns out it's been five years..." Wei Ran stopped before he finished speaking.
At this time, the car turned a corner along the winding mountain road, and two pickup trucks that were involved in serious car accidents appeared directly in front of them.
One of them was upside down on the roadbed of the winding mountain road, and although the other one was lying across the road, its engine seemed to have been smashed.
In the cargo bed of this pickup truck, there is also a KPV heavy machine gun with a mountain anti-aircraft mount.
Next to the car, a bonfire was lit. At this time, two armed men with cloth strips tied to their arms were torturing a man who was tied to the bed of a pickup truck.
"Bang!"
Amidst the strange and low gunfire, one of the armed men raised a pistol and fired at the man tied to the car, and the latter also trembled.
But soon, another militant had picked up a piece of firewood and pressed the sparkling end against the prisoner's wound.
Seeing Kirill looking at him, Wei Ran reached out and picked up the rifle that had just been inspected, "Just drive slowly."
Kirill opened his mouth, but finally just slowed down the car and reminded, "We still have injured people in the car."
“Allah bless you!”
At this moment, Wei Ran stretched out his entire upper body, holding up the AK rifle and waving it excitedly, "We have a car!"
With this voice shouting out, the two men subconsciously put down their newly raised guard, but at this time Wei Ran smoothly raised his gun and aimed at the two militants and pulled the trigger!
"Ta-ta! Ta-ta!"
After two short bursts of fire, the two militants were immediately shot and fell to the ground, and Kirill slowly stepped on the brakes.
Wei Ran did not relax his vigilance. Instead, he raised his gun and got out of the car. He circled the pickup truck cautiously and then looked in the direction they were driving.
Fortunately, there seemed to be no one in that direction.
"Victor! Come here quickly!"
At this moment, Kirill, who had already run to the prisoner's side, let out an incredible exclamation.
Upon hearing this, Wei Ran immediately ran over with a gun.
"Look at this guy!"
Kirill untied the wire from the prisoner's wrist and asked excitedly, "Multaza, is he Multaza?"
"Who are you talking about?"
Wei Ran was stunned for a moment, and quickly pulled out the flashlight he had just captured and pointed it at the man whose hand was still tied to the cargo bucket.
When the dim light beam enveloped this person's face, Wei Ran recognized it at a glance. This person was indeed Multaza!
"Why is he here?" Weiyan and Kirill asked the same question.
"We have to get out of here as soon as possible!" Wei Ran said, already reaching out to untie the wire on Multaza's other wrist. "You send him to the car, and I will deal with the scene."
"good"
Kirill said, picked up Multaza and ran to the back of the truck. At the same time, Wei Ran also roughly inspected the two corpses.
They were dressed almost the same as the ones who stopped the car before, and they looked about the same age as Multaza, no more than 20 years old.
He bent down and picked up the silenced submachine pistol still held by the young corpse who had just shot at Multaza. He looked at it. Wei Ran picked it up in his hand, and then pulled out a few American hand grenades.
, and then the two bodies were stuffed into the bed of the pickup truck.
Turning around and getting into the cab of the Ural truck, Wei Ran honked the horn as a reminder, then drove the vehicle slowly to the side of the pickup truck, and easily pushed it into the roadbed under the winding mountain road.
Without stopping, Weiran put the truck into gear and started to drive the truck along the winding mountain road.
Not long after, there was a banging sound from behind, and Wei Ran had to stop the car, opened the door and asked, "What's wrong?"
"His condition is not very good. We need to perform surgery on him. Victor, you have to come and help me." Kirill opened a corner of the tarp and shouted.
"Give me five minutes!"
As Wei Ran spoke, he pushed the door open, got out of the car, and ran to the back of the car. He used grenades and hemp rope to make an early warning mine on the side of the road.
After getting back into the car and driving forward two hundred meters, Weiyan deployed a second warning mine, then steered the car back one hundred ten meters before stopping.
Not daring to turn off the car, Weiran quickly ran to the back of the car and got into the cargo bed.
At this time, a bright kerosene lamp and two bags of plasma were hung on the top of the cargo bucket. Marcelo and Kirill were performing trauma operations on Multaza's left and right legs.
"His left leg was also shot, and a major blood vessel was injured." Kirill said without raising his head, "I have clamped it with a hemostat."
"Leave it to me"
As Wei Ran spoke, he had already opened the medical bag, put on gloves, and started debriding and suturing quickly with the bright light above his head.
"Why is he here?" Kirill asked suddenly.
Marcelo answered this question, "The war between the Soviet Union and Afhan is over, but the war in Afhan is not over yet."
"At least he's alive now, which is good news," Kirill said.
"If you have time to chat, it's better to move quickly. We don't have much time."
As Wei Ran spoke, he had already pulled out the bullet and threw it into the tray, and then began rough rescue work.
When the blood vessels and wounds on his side were sutured, Kirill and Marcelo, who had started first, had just begun to suture the muscles.
“Can’t believe where you got the medical training”
As Wei Ran said, he had already taken over Marcelo's tailoring work. The father's speed was even slower than Kirill's.
"We also couldn't believe the medical training you received there," Marcelo and Kirill said at the same time, annoyed.
"bandage the wound"
Weiran responded to the other party's rhetorical question with work.
While the three of them were busy in an orderly manner, the wounds all over Multaza's body were debrided and sutured one by one. The smell of blood in the cargo bucket inevitably became stronger and stronger.
"boom!"
Just at this moment, there was an explosion from the direction behind him. Wei Ran immediately dropped what he was doing and jumped out of the cargo bed, got into the cab as quickly as possible, stepped on the accelerator and drove the truck out.
"boom!"
When the early warning grenade exploded in the direction of the front of the truck, he had already increased the speed of the truck to the highest speed and easily escaped the explosion range of the grenade.
After driving along this winding mountain road for half an hour, Weiran stopped at a fork in the road. A moment later, Kirill ran over and got into the driving seat that Weiran had given up.
"How is he doing?" Wei Ran asked.
"Survived"
Kirill controlled the car while running and replied, "And he is conscious. When we get to the destination, we can have a good chat with him and ask him what happened in these years."
"Why did you return to Afhan?" Wei Ran asked suddenly.
"Why come back to Afhan?"
Kirill was silent for a moment and asked, "Why was I the only one who left Afhan alive? Why was I the only one reunited with my family? I didn't even dare to meet Ruslan and his family."
"So you returned to Afhan?" Wei Ran asked.
"Those questions keep me awake night after night."
Kirill said painfully, "I guess I might be able to find the answer here, so I came back."
"It's time to leave now"
Wei Ran said seriously, "Multaza may be your answer."
With that said, Wei Ran handed the submachine pistol he had just seized to the other party, "This gun seems to belong to Ruslan."
"It's indeed his"
Kirill just glanced at it and admitted with a wry smile, "This is his gun."
"It's also the answer you're looking for."
Weiyan then picked up a pack of cigarettes, took out one, lit it and took a puff, "In a sense, it may be a good thing that they failed to see the disintegration of the Soviet Union. There will be more tragedies in the future, Kirill."
, go back."
"Maybe it's time to go back," Kirill sighed.
"Speaking of this, has anything happened between you and your girlfriend?" Wei Ran asked, "Have you found Hakeem's girlfriend Vida?"
"Before coming to Afhan, I took my adoptive father's family and Yelena from Russia to Italy. Yelena and I were already married, and we also adopted the child of the female guerrilla."
Kirill stepped on the accelerator a little harder and said, "Remember those two little girls?"
"Soraya and Joya?"
"That's right"
Kirill nodded, "They are now nurses in the clinic run by my adoptive father."
"That Vader..."
“It’s a pity”
Kirill shook his head, "I went to Montpellier, France several times, but I still couldn't find this person."
"So you are Italian now?" Wei Ran asked abruptly.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! "Maybe..."
Kirill said something perfunctory as if he suddenly lost interest, and then increased the speed of the car even higher.
During the long journey that followed, Kirill talked to himself about all the things that happened when he took his children to escape from Afhan.
Talk about how Marcelo's family helped them obtain Italian citizenship, talk about their embarrassing situation when he rushed to Moscow as an Italian to find his adoptive father's family after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and also talked about the hardships they went through in order to leave Russia.
.
But the only thing that is not mentioned here, or that Kirill is unwilling or even afraid to mention, is the family members of Ruslan and others.
Finally, amidst Kirill's self-focused topics and self-focused narration, the car finally crossed the border at midnight and drove smoothly into the gate of the refugee camp.
"Maybe it's time for me to leave Afhan"
Kirill stepped on the brakes and looked at Wei Ran and said, "I still killed people in Afhan. It's time for me to leave here."
"Never come back here again," Wei Ran blessed in the rising white light, and at the same time, he saw Kirill seem to be handing something to him.
When the white light dissipated, Wei Ran couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. He finally returned to his familiar underground studio.
He rubbed his temples tiredly. He had never felt so physically and mentally exhausted.
This time was different from any other time. The changes in the Soviet Union before and after the war, and the changes in Afhan after that war. For him as an "insider", he was caught between the guerrillas and Soviet soldiers. He didn't even understand
Know which side you should "stand on".
He sympathized with the invaded Afkhan and the guerrillas who were like moths to a flame, and also sympathized with Kirill and others who were "deceived" to fight in Afkhan in a sense.
But he also knew that the Soviet Union was the aggressor in a substantial sense, and that Afhan would launch a bloody revenge in Grozny a few years later.
Inexplicably, he remembered what Kirill once said, "War is a mess made up of tragedies and corpses mixed together.
No matter how hard those of us who are wrapped in the mud struggle, war is still a war and mud is still mud."
Rubbing his face vigorously, Wei Ran finally looked at the metal book spread on the table and the lines of text written by the metal quill:
Imperial Cemetery
On January 14, 1988, Afhan guerrilla Abdul was killed in an ambush. Soviet pilot Ivan Rodkin and helicopter gunner Kamzat Pliyev were killed in an ambush. Mechanic Ruslan
Petrov and military doctor Kirill Polyakov were captured.
On the 15th, military doctor Kirill Polyakov delivered twins to the female guerrilla Ayana.
On the 16th, captive Ruslan Petrov fell into a minefield and died in action to save the son of partisan Ayana.
On the 17th, guerrilla Habibullah was killed in action after stepping on a landmine, and guerrilla Multaza was injured.
On the 18th, in order to protect the children, the guerrillas Mahbub, Hakim and Ayana took the initiative to draw fire from Soviet fighter jets and were killed one after another. The captive Kirill suffered a fracture while trying to avoid the landslide and falling rocks.
On the night of the 18th, after consultation, Kirill and the surviving war orphans Multaza, Soraya, Qiaoya and Ayana's son returned to the rest point to recuperate.
While recovering from his injuries, Multaza and others named the twins Habibullah and Hakim respectively.
On April 15, 1988, Kirill decided to take Multaza and other war orphans to Kabul to seek help from friends and leave Afhan for France.
On the night of the 15th, with the assistance of Marcelo, a trauma doctor from the Red Cross Kabul Representative Office, they secretly left Afhan with the war orphans in a transport vehicle. During this period, Multaza jumped out of the vehicle on the way and disappeared.
At the end of May of the same year, after traveling to many places, Kirill and others successfully rushed to Italy and hid in Marcelo's clinic. Later, with Marcelo's help, they successively obtained Italian citizenship in 1990 and went to Montpellier, France to search for him.
Hakeem's girlfriend Vida Said failed.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Kirill went to Moscow to secretly meet his adoptive father and his girlfriend, and took his adoptive father and his family to Italy to settle down and adopt war orphans Soraya and others.
In the winter of 1992, Kirill went to Afghanistan with Marcelo as a Red Cross medical volunteer to provide medical rescue services.
On the night of April 15, 1988, war orphan Multaza escaped from his car and headed to Kandahar alone. After two years of wandering and begging, he joined the student army and participated in the civil war.
In the winter of 1993, Multaza was captured in battle and was rescued by an unexpected encounter with Kirill.
In January 1994, Kirill and Marcelo left Afghanistan with Murtaza and returned to Italy.
In 1997, Multaza married Soraya and had a son and a daughter named Mahbub and Ayana.
In 1999, Kirill unexpectedly learned that his friend Ruslan's widow and daughter had immigrated to the United States. Multaza brought Ruslan's belongings and secretly delivered them to her residence on her birthday.
In the winter of 2001, Multaza said goodbye to his wife and children and returned to Afhan alone to join the war.
In the spring of 2004, Multaza was killed in a U.S. bombing raid.
In Wei Ran's sigh of regret and joy, the metal book wrote down brief information about two seemingly unrelated people, but they are the spiritual support of some people:
Afhan refugee Vida Said was killed in a Soviet helicopter rocket attack while fleeing Afghanistan with his family in 1980.
Ninel Polyakov, a Soviet military doctor, was captured in a helicopter crash in the spring of 1980 and died of serious injuries the next day.
After writing this, the metal quill started a new line and wrote a string of addresses in La Spezia, Italy. This address was a clinic - Polyakov Private Clinic.
"call--"
Wei Ran let out a long sigh. Fortunately, someone finally survived this time.
At the same time, the metal quill also started another line and wrote what Kirill once said: War is a mess made up of one tragedy after another and one corpse after another.
No matter how hard those of us who are wrapped in the mud struggle, war is still a war and mud is still mud.
Amidst the sound of turning pages, a red vortex appeared on the back of the light yellow paper, and the metal quill also wrote the last line of text: It is difficult to establish friendship, but to destroy it
Friendship is easy, all it takes is a war.
It was what Mahbub said at the beginning...
Wei Ran shook his head feebly. After trying to take out the things in the red vortex to no avail, he simply put away the metal book, stood up unsteadily and walked to the middle of the studio, and tried to take out the things inside again.
However, when he saw this "reward", he couldn't help but be stunned. It was the KPV heavy machine gun with a mountain anti-aircraft tripod that was used to ambush the Soviet helicopter!
Next to this heavy machine gun, there is a 50-liter iron oil drum.
This oil barrel not only contained the bullet chain with more than two hundred rounds of 14.5 mm caliber machine gun bullets, but also several large and small sealed film tubes and a miniature camera!
After a moment of silence, Wei Ran carefully picked up the films one by one, and then put away the anti-aircraft heavy machine gun that symbolized the beginning and the end.
But inevitably, he thought of the last line of defense on the small island on Lake Ladoga.
If those anti-aircraft militiamen who resisted the invaders were alive, would they sympathize with the invaded Afhan or...
At least Kirill must have a clear conscience, right? Maybe...
Sitting back on the chair at the table, Wei lit a cigarette and thought over and over about these extremely pessimistic questions that were destined to have no answers.
When the cigarette burned out, he finally took out the Guqin Yaoguang, closed his eyes and played the Guangling San song he first learned to calm down the mood filled with the desire for destruction.
Until the song ended, Wei Ran let out a long sigh again, put away the guqin and its case, and absently looked at the content written on the note on the table, then lit it and threw it into the ashtray, waiting for it to be completely
After it is burned out, use cigarette butts to smash it into pieces.
This investigation was to help Nineel. Even though he had ten thousand reasons to want to meet the surviving people, he just kept it in his heart and left everything to Nineel and let him do it for him.
After adjusting his mood, he got up and walked out of the basement of the library, heading towards the home next door under the heavy falling snow.
In any case, he would never go to that cemetery again.