On December 31, 1991, when the short day was replaced by night and the aurora, Wei Ran drove the transport truck out of the workshop, followed by a dilapidated tracked artillery tractor.
Of the three windshields of this ATS59G artillery tractor, the side with the co-pilot position was covered with cracks like spider webs, and the middle side was even shattered into dregs that filled the cab.
The cab was equally miserable. All the seats were in tatters. Even the floor had large and small damages. Even the fuel tank was damaged and had to be replaced with an oil drum placed in the cargo compartment.
.As for the searchlights that are almost tied to the roof of the car with iron wires, not to mention, they are all removed from the transport vehicle.
But even so, it is still full of power, and the noise is far greater than that of a transport truck driven by sanitation.
"The wind is starting to blow again, we need to go faster." Apolly shouted at Wei Ran at the top of his lungs.
"Load the supplies first!"
Weiran also responded with a loud voice. With the help of the rocker and winch in the cargo compartment of the transport truck, he selected some important materials that were moved out of the workshop and loaded them into the crawler tractor along with the work records he planned to take back.
The cargo compartment of the car was reinforced with steel wire ropes and covered with an additional layer of thick canvas.
At the same time, they covered the windshield of the cab with canvas and wire, and the two moved the cast iron stove from the cab of the transport truck into the cab of the tractor, and spread it with animal skins and blankets found in the living cabin.
On a tattered seat.
Finally, they put the spy radio, two rifles, and several magazines into the tattered cab of the tractor. Then they threw all the remaining materials in the snow into the cargo hold of the transport truck to remove the last traces of their existence, and left
Apolly drove it himself and sent it into the mine in reverse.
Amidst the harsh friction between the transport truck and the edge of the mine, the halogen headlights were violently torn off, crushed by the tracks, and then picked up by the guards and thrown into the mine.
Finally, when the entire transport truck was squeezed into the depths of the mine tunnel, which was almost twenty meters, Apolly turned off the engine, pushed open the door with difficulty, and walked out slowly carrying a heavy battery.
At the same time, Weiran also found a large box full of mining explosives and corresponding detonators and detonators in an oil drum less than ten meters from the entrance of the mine.
"Just bury it like this?" Wei Ran asked for the last time.
"Bury it"
When Apolly said this, he didn't stop at all and walked straight towards the crawler tractor that was noisier than the tractor.
Hearing this, Weiran no longer persisted. He took out the explosives from the plastic box and placed them in the blast holes that had been drilled at the entrance of the mine. Then he connected the detonation line, picked up the detonator and retreated to the side of the tractor.
The two looked at each other again, and Wei Ran decisively pressed the switch of the detonator.
After a series of rumbling and detailed explosions, the mine entrance, originally reinforced by cement, collapsed amid smoke, dust and flying snowflakes.
"Get in the car." Before he could finish his words, Apolly had already gotten into the shabby cab. Looking at his expressionless face, he seemed to have no nostalgia at all, but also seemed to be too sad to look back.
After thinking for a moment, Wei Ran also opened the passenger door and got in, and tied the door that could not be locked with wire.
After he was firmly seated, Apoli immediately stepped on the accelerator, controlled the crawler tractor made when the Soviet Union was still strong, and drove straight towards the Lower Tunguska River.
Because of the deafening noise of the engine, the two of them naturally lost interest in talking.
After driving in such a silent but noisy manner for a full seven or eight hours, Apoli drove the tractor out of the frozen Lower Tunguska River, once again drove into a tributary without any rut marks, and finally stopped.
Deep in a coniferous forest.
“That’s it”
Apolly turned off the engine and waited until the still warm car became completely quiet before saying, "We will return to the river later and continue upstream on skis. There will be a freight train station less than five kilometers away. Comrade Victor, we
Let’s separate there.”
"Apolly, you have to live."
Wei Ran looked at the night outside the window and replied, "Although it is difficult to live, I still hope you can survive."
"Do not worry"
Apollo said seriously in a joking tone, "I will guard the fire, Comrade Victor. If we meet in that mine next time, we will be enemies."
"I won't give you this chance"
As Wei Ran spoke, he had already opened the car door that was tied with wires, "I will find a warm place to start a new life in the future."
"Wait a moment"
Apolly stopped Wei Ran, and when the other party turned around, he threw a bunch of keys over, "I'll leave it to you as a souvenir, Comrade Victor, Happy New Year."
"It's already 1992?" Wei Ran was stunned as he subconsciously took the key.
"Yeah, it's already 1992."
Apolly also left the car door, put on his skis, put the wooden box containing the work records into the iron bucket that served as the sled, and finally saluted Wei Ran, "If one day the fire has a chance to rekindle
, I hope we still have a chance to meet."
"Let's have a drink then."
Wei Ran raised his hand to return a non-standard Soviet-style military salute, and at the same time sighed secretly in his heart. He knew that neither the fire that symbolized bacterial colonization in space nor the red fire would be able to survive on this land.
was lit.
"I believe there will be a day. Goodbye, comrade."
After finishing speaking, Apolly put down his arms, grabbed the rope connected to the iron bucket and carried it on his shoulders, stepping on his skis step by step towards the frozen channel of the Lower Tunguska River.
"Goodbye, comrade."
Wei Ran muttered goodbye in the intense white light.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! When his vision returned to normal, the surrounding area had turned into a darkroom that he had personally arranged. It was only then that Wei Ran breathed a sigh of relief.
While he was waiting patiently, on the metal book in front of him, under the pattern that had turned into a black and white photo, lines of words were written down:
extinguished fire
Pavel, a researcher on the Pyrotechnics project, committed suicide at Mine No. 119 in Nizhniy Tunguska on December 16, 1991.
Murat, a researcher on the Pyrotechnics project, committed suicide at Mine No. 119 in Nizhny Tunguska on December 25, 1991.
Tinder Project researchers Sharip, Taras, and Agwan were shot to death by researcher Gennady on December 27, 1991.
Gennadi, a researcher on the Fire Project, was killed when Agwan and Apoli resisted while trying to seize the original data of the Fire Project.
Barsukov, the leader of the Pyrotechnics project, committed suicide in the Pyrotechnics laboratory on December 25, 1991, burning all data before his death.
On December 31, 1991, KGB member Apoli, after burying the ignition materials and transport vehicle as agreed, drove an abandoned tractor-trailer from the mine and left.
On January 7, 1992, Apoli delivered the identification documents of all members of the exploration team, Pavel's pistol and all work notes before December 8 to the home of KGB member Shagoli and then disappeared.
In the same year, Apoli faked his death by taking advantage of the engineering riot at the 118th launch site of the Baikonur Cosmodrome.
In October 1993, Apolly joined the Tunguska Coalfield under the pseudonym Ivan Belov as a winter truck driver.
In September 1995, through bribery, he obtained the jobs of coalfield ecological environment monitor and winter field rescue station attendant. Since then, he has settled on the banks of the Tunguska River all year round.
KGB member Shagoli escaped from the scientific research camp on December 15, 1991. After receiving Apoli's work records in 1992, he helped conceal the news of Apoli's survival. Later, due to changes in the current situation, he completely gave up on the issues related to the Tinder project.
Reporting and follow-up investigation.
In 2001, Shagoli immigrated to Australia with his wife and children.
In the summer of 2013, Shagoli and his wife died in an accidental fire.
As he wrote this, the metal quill pen started a new line under Wei Ran's gaze, listing in detail Apoli's address on the banks of the Nizhny Tunguska River and the address of No. 119 Mine in Nizhny Tunguska.
While Wei Ran was waiting, the quill pen started another line again and wrote an ancient text that Wei Ran was very familiar with, "Using copper as a mirror, you can straighten your clothes. Using history as a mirror, you can know the ups and downs. Using people as a mirror,
You can understand the gains and losses.”
"At least April survived."
Wei Ran sighed with emotion. The Soviet Union was a mirror from its prosperity to its collapse. Everyone in the exploration team was also a mirror.
The people in the mirror reflected too many shadows. Some of them chose to commit suicide because of the collapse of their beliefs. Some gave their lives for the subjects they had studied all their lives, and some were willing to spend the rest of their lives guarding the people who had already
The wealth left behind by the collapse of faith. Some people will not hesitate to pull the trigger on their former classmates and friends for the sake of wealth.
In his swirling thoughts, the light yellow page full of words turned to the other side, and the metal quill also lightly left a sentence under the slowly rotating red vortex: "If one day the fire has a chance to be rekindled, I hope."
We still have a chance to meet."
Letting the metal quill hit the page with a clatter, Wei Ran, who looked tired, remained silent for a moment before reaching his hand into the red vortex.
However, when he took out the thing in the vortex, he frowned.
In this vortex, there is neither the AK rifle he has been waiting for for a long time, nor the spy radio he thought he could give him, nor the safe filled with the original materials of the Pyrotechnic project. Instead, there is only a set of keys that April gave him before parting.
That's all.
Or to be more precise, this is the key to the transport vehicle. It is used to start the engine, open the tool compartment, the door, the cargo door, and the living hatch.
But in addition, on this shiny metal ring, there is actually a key to the safe! Even next to the key, there is a stainless steel piece the size of a disposable lighter, with a sickle and hammer logo on it.
, there are also several sets of seemingly irregular numbers printed on it.
