The door of the courtyard house has been welded dead

Chapter 1018: Sword Pointing to the Sky
The desert and Gobi, the sword pointing to the sky.

In the Gobi Desert in the dead of night, with yellow sand sweeping everywhere, the sentries on duty still hold their guns in their hands, and stick to their posts in such a harsh environment.

Although it is located inland and in a remote location, it is difficult to reach without a vehicle, but the soldiers still did not take it lightly, because...

Someone is checking up on me~!

Xiao Zhanwu, wearing a military coat, yawned, rubbed his eyes, lifted the tarpaulin of the tent, bent down and walked out.

The moonlight was like water, shining on people's bodies like a cold light, making Xiao Zhanwu's body and appearance emerge like a mirror.

He had a light stubble that he never shaved off, and his lips were peeling and cracking due to long-term dryness and dehydration.

The skin is much darker than before and the roughness is visible to the naked eye. This is the result of long-term sunburn. The Gobi Desert is like this. The conditions are harsh and are definitely not comparable to Jiashan near Shanghai.

He shook his shoulders to make the military coat he had just put on fit his body better. He looked back at the top of the tent and saw grains of sand rolling down to the ground.

Here, only stones can maintain their temperature at night after being exposed to the sun during the day, slowly releasing the accumulated heat, but the sand at night is always cold.

The desert Gobi lacks stones that can absorb and store heat for a long time.

Hearing the noise of the tarpaulin being lifted, the soldiers on guard still shouted out meticulously even though they knew it was the battalion commander who was checking the post.

"Stop, command~!"

"Siyao, reply~!"

"Three seven~!"

When the man came closer, the soldier threw the gun back onto his shoulder and saluted. Xiao Zhanwu returned the salute. Under the light at the door, one could see that there was an extra star on the shoulder of Xiao Zhanwu's coat than before.

"Thank you for your hard work~!"

Seeing that the young soldier was in high spirits, Xiao Zhanwu smiled and patted his shoulder. With this smile, his dry lips suddenly cracked, revealing the red lip flesh inside.

"It's not hard, Captain Xiao. Being a soldier is easier than farming!"

"Haha, take it. Eat it after you get off the sentry post. Be careful not to be seen by others~!"

Xiao Zhanwu rubbed the little soldier's head. In addition to admiration, his eyes also showed a hint of doting like an older brother. He took out a carrot from his military coat and stuffed it into the little soldier's hand.

The young soldier is called Tong Youquan, he is sixteen years old. He was assigned to his battalion after joining the army last year. It is rare for a new recruit to come to the Second Battalion.

I have never enjoyed a single day of comfort with them. I have been stationed here silently, like a stone, doing the hard work without any complaints. This is truly commendable in this Gobi Desert where people's hearts and temperature are as fickle as ever.

As the battalion commander, the new recruits are the future seeds of the Second Battalion and the youngest soldiers. In fact, he sees everything. The squad leader teaches them skills, but he is also generous in giving them commendations as the battalion commander.

In the Gobi Desert, water is more valuable than gold. Even some wilted carrots are still vegetables and a top-notch delicacy.

"No, Captain Xiao, I can't take it. This is for your nutritional supplements. I, I can't eat it~!"

Tong Youquan looked terrified and waved his hands quickly. Although the saliva he swallowed did reveal his longing for carrots, he still rejected the battalion commander's kindness.

"Take it if I tell you to. That's an order~!"

The issuance of the order put Tong Youquan in a dilemma. He could only watch the battalion commander lift the tent curtain and enter the tent, tears flashing in his eyes. He carefully stuffed the broken radishes into his coat, even though they were a little shriveled and dehydrated.

Inside the tent, the radio operator on duty had already heard the noise outside the door. When the battalion commander came in, he immediately stood up and saluted.

"It's okay, take a seat. Is there any news tonight?"

After taking a look at the furnishings in the tent, Xiao Zhanwu finally looked at the radio station flashing green light. Even though he knew there was no news, he still asked. If there was an important announcement, it would not be him who lifted the tent curtain, but the radio operator.

"No, it's still the notice from the day, asking us to keep the radio station open 24 hours a day~!"

"Well, Lao Ma, I trust you to do the job. Since you asked me to keep the radio open, it must be that the superiors have something important to discuss. You must pay attention and don't miss it~!"

This is also the reason why Xiao Zhanwu couldn't sleep and came in when he was checking on the post. Generally, considering the life of the radio station, it is sufficient to send messages at fixed times every day.

But this time, the order from the superior was obviously intriguing. It was not known whether welcoming the Second Battalion was a good thing or a bad thing. If there were enemy planes entering the country, they would have to enter combat readiness instead of keeping the radio open, which could expose their position.

Even though they were confused, the Second Battalion where Xiao Zhanwu was still had to follow orders, just like Tong Youquan. Once the order was given, they had to accept it even if they didn't want to.

"Don't worry, Xiao Ying, leave this to me~!"

Old Ma nodded. Even if Xiao Zhanwu didn't remind him, he wouldn't fall asleep. At such an important moment, the people of Bashu would not be lazy.

Just in case, just in case, we can leave this deserted and desolate place, then the hard days of the Second Battalion will finally be over.

"Yes, I do~!"

He also patted Lao Ma on the shoulder, and Xiao Zhanwu made a joke to Lao Ma in Trump's words, then opened the tent and walked out.

The Second Battalion has set up many tents like this, including ones for personnel to rest, ones for storing supplies, and even one tent for drinking water. Xiao Zhanwu still has many places to check next, such as the command tent that had made great contributions to the Second Battalion.

The radar is not turned on 24 hours a day. It is located in a desert area where the temperature is hotter than in coastal areas. The heat generated when the machine is running is not easy to dissipate. Here, the replenishment of electronic components is not as convenient as before.

Not turning on the machine does not mean that there is no one on duty. On the contrary, the personnel on shift have to sleep in this tent, or even next to the machine, with a camp bed. That is the place to sleep, which makes it convenient for people to make timely responses to invading objects in the air.

Even without combat readiness, they still apply the combat readiness thinking in their daily lives. This is the spirit of the Second Battalion.

Xiao Zhanwu, holding a flashlight, watched the resting conditions of the soldiers of the Second Battalion in a passage where only half of his body was left. Finally, the orange round light of the flashlight shone on the walls of the tent.

Above it, a pieced-together photo of the wreckage of a U2 high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft hung.

That was the plane shot down by the Second Battalion more than a year ago. The only flaw was that the pilot who parachuted was intercepted by someone else. What was originally a perfect thing ended up being incomplete, just like the moon.

I heard that there was a gunfight when he was captured and some people were seriously injured. There was no further news about Xiao Zhanwu until he was transferred to the Gobi Desert.

"I hope you're not dead yet. One day, I'll have to settle accounts with you~!"

After coming out of the tent and thinking of this regret, Xiao Zhanwu couldn't help but shook his head towards the moonlight, as if he was talking to himself, or as if he was setting a flag against someone. It seems that he can't get over this.

Coming out of the command tent, Xiao Zhanwu continued to inspect meticulously the tents of each class and row, until finally, the SAM-2 air defense missile position.

Traces of previous launches can still be vaguely seen on the launch pad. Even though it has been repainted, the difference between the two can still be seen. After being baked at scorching temperatures, it is still strong. Xiao Zhanwu, who was patrolling here, couldn't help but pat the launch pad.

What is different from the coastal areas is that here, there is no need for camouflage, and the missile launchers are aimed diagonally to the southeast at the best launch angle.

Maybe it was because it was too far inland, or maybe it was because they lost two planes in succession, but after arriving here, there were few birds in the sky, let alone U2. It was in this difficult, irritating, but useless place that they persisted for a long time.

Drinking saline water brought by trucks and eating steamed buns and corn bread, it would be a lie to say that I have no regrets in my heart. Xiao Zhanwu really wants to witness again the magnificent scene of the long sword rising into the air.

They are the sword-bearers of the motherland. However, only those who are in it can deeply understand the feeling of the sword in the sheath.

The moment he walked back to his tent from the Fan Ge radar position, Xiao Zhanwu shook his coat on his shoulders again and looked back at his own camp, even though he was so familiar with it that it couldn't be more familiar.

"Xiaoying, Xiaoying, urgent call, urgent call~!"

Xiao Zhanwu, who had just hung up his coat and had not yet laid down on the camp bed, suddenly jumped up from the bed.