Steel steam and flame

There seemed to be a silence that everyone had agreed upon in the underground storage room, and the only sound was the friction of gears moving forward.

They all looked at the map in front of them and pondered. There are many military bases and stations on the map, which appear in the shape of irregular stars. They are all marked with numbers. Road lines marked with black dotted lines connect them like blood vessels.

But the map was last signed thirty years ago. This means that these data were mapped by professional personnel thirty years ago. The roads in the desert map are represented by dotted lines, which is also a unique feature of the desert landscape.

The huge temperature difference between day and night can easily cause strong winds. The sand grains that have been worn smooth over the years are like invisible sea water. They rush over the sand sea under the power of the wind. The connected crescent-shaped dune chains are Moving waves. The landscape in the desert changes slightly every year, and if there is a desert black dust storm, this change only takes a few days.

And the highway built in it is in danger of being swallowed by the sea of ​​sand at any time. This phenomenon may not be obvious at the edge of the desert, but as you walk deeper, the sand dunes under your feet may be the stations marked on the map.

The official map should be rotated every five years. The brand-new looking drawing in their hands is already an old thing from several versions ago.

"How soon are you ready to set off?" Gustin was always the first to speak. He collected the map and put it in the backpack behind him, then looked around at the faces of everyone looking over and said, "Even if the contents of the map have already been It’s too old, but now it’s our only way out.”

Everyone nodded, the map was as important as the compass.

Then his voice did not stop: "Everyone has seen the map by now, and we should know how many military stations or supply depots there are on it. And how many of them are still in operation, none of us know . So in order for us not to fall on the same route together, I think after we divide into three teams, the routes chosen should not overlap as much as possible. The first is because we don’t know whether these numbered stations are still there; the second is that inside The amount of supplies also needs to be considered.”

"Finally, the three of us teams should agree on a secret code. According to the information given by the military school, the recent range of activities of our target, the oil-head Nolida, is in the Gerun Oasis. I don't think everyone will get there. At that time, the situation was still the same as it is now, so in order to ensure contact at that time, there should be an agreed password."

"Gulika." This was Li Hill's feminine voice. At this time, he stood aside and spoke, "This is the code. And where is the meeting place? Do any of you know the specific situation of the Gerun Oasis?"

Li looked at everyone's faces, his eyes were deep and dark, which meant teasing. The answer was silence.

"Since there is none, let's agree to meet at the edge of the tallest building in Gerun Oasis. What time? The full moon night is thirteen days later, so let's set the time for our meeting sixteen days later. In the evening of that time , use the secret signal to gather." Li said his plan, and everyone nodded to accept it.

Then the surrounding atmosphere changed again at this moment. That's because of Gustin's words.

"I want to set off immediately. My team needs to bring five water bags per person. Because there is no food, we can only hunt the nocturnal animals in the desert to satisfy our hunger. And in the past few days, there were some plants on the outskirts of the desert. This is also the source of food. If you are lucky, you can come across a station that is still in operation. At that time, it was the simplest thing that could be solved with money. The coldness at night is not as good as the temperature during training in the military school, so it is best to rush on the road. Weather conditions. The high temperature in the desert at noon is deadly."

He hung five water bags on his body, all of which were three liters in size. This would ensure adequate hydration in the first few days and prevent the weight of the water bags from affecting his usual speed on the road. Most of the time on the road is in the evening and early morning, and noon is used to rest and restore physical condition. But you can also imagine that the efficiency and effect of rest must be very bad.

"If you want to join my team, you can follow me now." Gustin was ready. He stood in front of the corridor. Of course, Crichens also picked up his things and waited aside.

Some of the twenty people came out one after another. Finally, when Gustin led the team to leave first, there were only twelve people left in the basement.

"I want to act alone." This is one of the few female members in the team, and her body is in the shorter category. She also carried several water bags on her body, and hung them in front of her as a repeating magazine-type gun. She stepped forward, drew her intended route on the map spread out on the tin box, put on her mask, and disappeared from everyone's sight in a few steps.

The remaining people also prepared silently, and then two more people chose to go it alone. When the time came to one o'clock in the morning, Li Ye left with four people and embarked on the road to Gerun Oasis.

Cassia stayed at the end. He originally wanted to go alone, which would avoid a lot of trouble. But thinking about the dangers hidden under the yellow sand in the desert, I finally decided to go with the remaining three people, which was Kara's team.

But Kara had no intention of setting off now. She placed the sniper rifle in her arms on the iron box and began to disassemble and maintain it, removing the dust collected in the desert.

So after the last two people received Kara's answer of "we'll start again tomorrow", they resolutely formed a group of two people, put on their water bags and equipment and hit the road. They didn't even draw the route as they walked, and they must have been furious.

"If I had known, I would have been with Gustin or Li and the others." Two people's voices came from the darkness of the corridor. Through the sloping passage, you can see the black shadows they left, and the color of the corner is gradually fading. Deep blue sky.

"Aren't you leaving?" The silence that had accumulated for a while was broken. Kara assembled the sniper rifle parts one by one, her movements were very familiar and smooth. As if peeling an apple, the movement is slow but precise and elegant, pulling out an uninterrupted and even apple peel from beginning to end.

"I wanted to go alone, but after thinking about it later, it was good to have a few partners. But I didn't expect..." Cassia sat on another box, and his voice echoed in the empty basement.

"I didn't expect that I would drive away people who were supposed to be companions and comrades in this way? I didn't interrupt the captain in the first place. The captain's assignment was made by Li alone. I didn't nod. Silence does not mean It means approval." Kara smiled, she wrapped the sniper rifle in a cloth and carried it with her bulging backpack. Then many water-skins were filled, and a man weighed them there for a while, and finally settled on Gustin's number, five. Gustin’s choice of the number of water bags was not a random decision.

"Do you want to set off? I also think it's good to have a few companions, although you are the only one left in the end." Carla was fully prepared and put on her mask.

Cassia put on her backpack and didn't forget to turn off the high-pressure mercury lamp when she walked out of the basement.

The wind outside finally stopped at this time, and the gravel rustled under my feet. Without the cover of the yellow sand in the sky, the light of the new moon made the sand under the sky a little dark and pale. The two rows of footprints behind him can be seen in the distance, and the shadow of the old station has long since disappeared among the undulations of the sand dunes.

Cassia's current destination is another station nearly seventy kilometers away from the old station, where there may be some food.

However, after setting off for so long, the two of them were walking at a trotting speed, and there was still yellow sand in front of them that could not see any landmarks. At the same time, white has begun to appear in the sky, and the surrounding temperature is rising rapidly, and it will be dawn soon.