Soldiers Assault: Starting from the 7th Steel Company

Chapter 187: My luck was pretty good.
As night falls, the vast grasslands of Inner Mongolia unfold like a long, ink-wash scroll, slowly covering the sky.

As the last rays of crimson sunset slid down the ridge of Mazong Mountain, the waves of grass suddenly lost their daytime emerald hue and turned a deep, bronze-like blue.

Yet a speeding convoy raced past this beautiful scene, occasionally startling a few night-patterned sand larks.

"Battalion Commander, is it really okay for us to drive like this without headlights?" This convoy was the Seventh Company selected by Chen Jiang, and at this moment, the driver of the lead vehicle, Li Erniu, was driving with a highly tense expression.

Because Chen Jiang strictly forbade the use of headlights, except for the taillights of each vehicle which emitted a faint red light to help the vehicles behind them follow, all other lights were prohibited, making the pitch-black driving environment particularly eerie.

"Just follow orders. The road ahead is clear. Do not slow down without my command!" Chen Jiang kept a close eye on the road conditions ahead through the observation post on the tank.

He knew that to achieve the element of surprise in a long-distance raid, he had to minimize the risk of exposure, a tactic he had learned from the small-scale raid on the United States.

As for not turning on night lights on the grassland, although there is a certain risk involved, the road conditions on the grassland are relatively boundless, and there are occasional small obstacles, which Chen Jiang can easily avoid with his strong perception.

Therefore, he chose Li Erniu as the driver for the lead vehicle because he valued Li's honesty and integrity, and believed that Li would resolutely carry out his orders.

In addition, Tang Xinyi, He Chenguang, Wang Yanbing, and others were also in the car. Chen Jiang's order to them was to go to sleep as soon as possible to conserve their energy.

As for Jiang Fahui, the company commander of the 7th Company, he was arranged by Chen Jiang to be in the second vehicle, which was probably "safer" for him.

The temperature difference between day and night on the grassland is extreme. Although the temperature inside the vehicle is very high during the day, it gets quite cold at night. At this time, armored vehicles are basically not equipped with air conditioning. The air conditioning on the Type 99A main battle tank is mainly for cooling down the equipment.

Because there were many people in the car and the space was small, the cold air from outside was forced to rush in to ensure air circulation.
The soldiers inside the vehicle huddled together for warmth.

But Tang Xinyi was in a bad situation. As a girl, she couldn't possibly squeeze in with the male soldiers, could she?

Moreover, she had always felt unbearably hot inside the infantry fighting vehicle, so she only wore a T-shirt, and the current low temperature had already made her teeth chatter.

Chen Jiang's attention was now focused on the road ahead, while also using the GPS to determine their location so they wouldn't get lost. They didn't have much fuel, so they had to take the most suitable route to successfully complete their mission.

"Director Tang, here you go!"

At this moment, He Chenguang noticed Tang Xinyi's embarrassed state, took off his coat, and handed it to her.

"I'm not cold, it's okay." Although Tang Xinyi was shivering from the cold, she still politely declined the coat offered by a stranger, especially since He Chenguang had stood up for Chen Jiang on the spot.

"Even if it's not cold, wear something. It's windy at night." After saying that, He Chenguang, wearing only a tank top, leaned against Wang Yanbing and the others, closed his eyes, and fell asleep.

Tang Xinyi originally wanted to be a little sentimental, but it was just too cold. Since everyone had already gone to sleep, she could only put on He Chenguang's training uniform.

To be honest, she had always thought that male soldiers' clothes were very dirty and smelly, but to her surprise, He Chenguang's clothes were actually quite clean, and the slight smell of sweat gave Tang Xinyi a hint of masculine scent.

The sounds from the armored infantry fighting vehicle were quite rhythmic, and she soon fell into a deep sleep.

Tang Xinyi didn't know how long she had been asleep when the tank suddenly braked hard, almost causing her to fall off her seat. Fortunately, the soldier next to her reacted quickly and grabbed her arm.

When I opened my eyes, it was He Chenguang.

"What's wrong?" Tang Xinyi was still a little confused.

"It's foggy. Visibility is extremely poor," He Chenguang said worriedly.

On the grasslands, they fear nothing, not even wolves, because their armored vehicles are capable of handling most wild animal attacks. However, if the fog is thick, things become more complicated.

The vehicle is very heavy, and because it is traveling at full speed, it is very difficult to brake.

Just now, Li Erniu suddenly saw an animal dart out in front of him, and his kind nature led him to instinctively brake, resulting in a serious collision that severely injured the people in the car. Fortunately, the vehicles behind had already followed Chen Jiang's instructions and created some distance, otherwise, there would probably have been a chain-reaction collision.

"Battalion Commander, take a break." Jiang Fazhi's voice came through the walkie-talkie. "With this kind of visibility, we can't pick up speed."

Chen Jiang frowned slightly. The fog on the grassland was indeed something he hadn't expected, but based on his experience, this fog wouldn't dissipate until at least noon tomorrow. If he continued to rest like this, he would undoubtedly waste more time.

"Company Commander Jiang, we can't rest. Time is life, time is victory! People can rest, but the vehicles must not stop."

“But Battalion Commander, at this speed, we’re not going to be fast enough!” Jiang Fahui was also busy in vehicle number 2, studying the company’s marching route. He later realized that at the current speed, it would be impossible to arrive on time. So why risk such a long march?
This was just an exercise after all. If the mission wasn't accomplished and another accident occurred, things would be even worse.

"Battalion Commander, if we want to complete the mission, we can only take this straight line." At this moment, He Chenguang put forward his opinion. He had long noticed that the troops' speed had dropped significantly, and the only solution was to shorten the driving distance.

"My God, this road crosses the desert! Although this desert isn't very large, it's still over 100 kilometers long. If something unexpected happens along this route, the consequences would be unimaginable." Wang Yanbing thought He Chenguang must be crazy when he saw the route He Chenguang was pointing to.

"Nothing ventured, nothing gained. If a battle is easy to fight, is it even an opportunity? Soldiers must have a spirit of adventure." He Chenguang's personality was really compatible with Chen Jiang's; they were both the kind of people who would do anything to achieve their goals.

At this moment, Tang Xinyi fiddled with her laptop and said to everyone, "Actually, the data shows that there aren't many bad weather events in this area this season. It's foggy now, so tomorrow will definitely be a sunny day."

"Alright, let's not waste any more time. Yanbing, you take over for Erniu. He's been driving for a long time. Erniu, go and rest for a bit. Increase the speed, no less than 60 km/h." Chen Jiang issued the same driving instructions to the other vehicles. In any case, there was only one goal: to reach the target area at all costs.

Under Chen Jiang's command, the convoy once again advanced at maximum speed.
Tang Xinyi anxiously looked at her computer screen. Satellite positioning showed their approximate location. "In about ten minutes, we'll be entering the Kurchi Desert."

The green terrain on the map was gradually replaced by yellow desert areas.

Fortunately, everything went relatively smoothly at first. Although the desert was more unpredictable, the fog here was much better, so Chen Jiang and his team's speed soared to 75 kilometers per hour. At this speed, they would be able to leave the area in 2 hours.

"Chen Jiang! There seems to be a sandstorm ahead, oh my god!"

Tang Xinyi's computer could share data with weather satellites, so she could see the general weather conditions ahead. Based on her experience, she figured it was most likely a sandstorm—just what she feared most had happened.

"Impossible, right? The weather outside is so nice, we can even see the moon." Although Chen Jiang told Li Erniu to go to sleep, he couldn't fall asleep at all. "The weather in the desert changes in an instant. Except for the fact that it rarely rains, anything is possible." Chen Jiang was very good at geography, so he was mentally prepared for the conditions in the desert.

Chen Jiang immediately grabbed the walkie-talkie: "Attention, all crews! A sandstorm is approaching! All teams, close the distance and move closer to me. Do not separate or act alone!"

The sandstorm came sooner than expected.

As soon as he finished speaking, the area around the vehicle was covered in sand. The clear moonlight outside the vehicle instantly turned into chaos. The sound of sand hitting the armor changed from "shasha" to "crackling", like thousands of steel balls being poured down.

This unique desert landscape left Erniu and his companions, who had never traveled far from home, speechless with amazement.

The air filter of the infantry fighting vehicle emitted a sharp whistling sound and began to operate at full power.

He Chenguang and his team quickly closed all the gaps in the observation windows to prevent sand and dust from flying in.

"The filter is seriously over-standard." Li Erniu stared at the red pointer jumping on the dashboard.

"Turn off the air filters! Otherwise, if they break, we'll be in even more trouble." Chen Jiang gave the same order to the other crews.

Once the equipment was turned off, the temperature inside the vehicle quickly began to rise, as the oxygen storage was limited.
But the sandstorm didn't seem to pass so quickly; it only lasted for about 30 minutes, and most of the people in the car turned red in the face due to lack of oxygen.

Chen Jiang had no choice but to order everyone to turn on the air filtration system, but the sandstorm outside was still severe, and the vehicle's filtration system wouldn't last long in this environment.

Even worse, the electrostatic monitoring device started alarming wildly—static charges generated by the friction of sand and dust were accumulating on the vehicle's surface.

"Turn off all external electronic devices!" Tang Xinyi had just shouted when Chen Jiang tried to remind the other vehicles, but the walkie-talkies were also affected and the calls couldn't be made.

At this point, the air filter finally gave way and stopped working, triggering a piercing alarm.

Chen Jiang used the flashing lights to transmit information to other vehicles in Morse code, urging them not to leave their vehicles and to persevere.

At the height of the sandstorm, the entire world turned into a brownish chaos. Visibility was less than a meter; all you could see were the churning sand dunes outside the car.

Everyone's attention was highly focused. Faced with the irresistible forces of nature, humans are quite small and helpless.

The roar of the sandstorm grew louder and louder, and the sand particles whipped up by the gale struck the armored vehicle's exterior like bullets, making a dense "rat-a-tat" sound.

Inside the car, the temperature had soared to nearly 40 degrees Celsius, and sweat soaked through their clothes.

Tang Xinyi was covered in sweat. As the oxygen levels dropped, the soldiers were panting heavily, and her face was excessively flushed.

Suddenly, she pointed to the dashboard, her voice tense: "Chen Jiang, we can't go too slow, or our tires will be buried by the sandstorm, and it will be incredibly difficult to get them out later."

The extreme heat in the desert, coupled with sand and dust clogging the cooling system, had pushed the armored vehicle's engine to its limits. If the vehicle stalled, they would be trapped in the eye of the sandstorm, with potentially disastrous consequences.

But Tang Xinyi's reminder was indeed very reasonable.
Chen Jiang quickly made a decision: "Yanbing, reduce the speed and keep the engine running at the lowest power to cool it down as much as possible."

"Understood!" Wang Yanbing immediately adjusted the gear, the speed dropped sharply, and the engine noise decreased somewhat.

But a new problem arose – as the vehicle speed decreased, sand and dust were more likely to seep under the vehicle, and the tracks and transmission system began to make abnormal friction noises.

Everyone remained silent, awaiting the judgment of fate.

Suddenly, He Chenguang squinted: "The wind seems to have died down?"

Everyone was taken aback and listened carefully—the howling outside had indeed weakened somewhat.

Tang Xinyi struggled to climb to the observation port, wiped the sand and dust off the glass with her hand, and looked out.

"The sandstorm is weakening!" she exclaimed in delight.

Sure enough, a few minutes later, the gale gradually subsided, the sandstorm began to settle, and visibility slowly returned.

As the last wisp of sand settled, the first light of dawn could be seen on the distant horizon in the east.

"This damn weather, it changes so fast!" Li Erniu had truly experienced the power of a sandstorm. If they hadn't been hiding in the car, they would have been in grave danger.

Chen Jiang took a deep breath and picked up the walkie-talkie: "Report the situation from each vehicle group."

Soon, other vehicles responded one after another. Although they all suffered varying degrees of damage, all passengers and crew survived.

Only two of the vehicles were stuck in the sand and could not move.

Chen Jiang immediately organized the remaining vehicles to carry out battlefield rescue, and with the help of the tow rope, the two "unlucky" vehicles were finally successfully freed.

"Full speed ahead, get out of this hellhole as soon as possible. We'll rest once we get to the grasslands." Chen Jiang knew they couldn't stay here any longer. Although the air filtration system was broken, the weather had improved, so they could open the windows for fresh air. The morning air felt especially precious.

Tang Xinyi was still closely monitoring her equipment. "Chen Jiang, we're almost out of the desert area."

This is more gratifying than anything else right now; the long-distance sprint has finally come to an end.

After about ten minutes, they finally saw a patch of green. Where there is green, there is hope. They had finally made it through this barren land.

Chen Jiang thought to himself: In the future, I should still respect nature and do less of this kind of thing that fights against the heavens. Luck won't always be this good.

(End of this chapter)