Chapter 1

With the sound of "rumble, rumble, creak, creak" growing closer, the ground seemed to tremble along with it.

Hua Dongjie felt a throbbing pain in his head. At that moment, he was lying on the ground, but his body felt as if it had no strength, like when he was a new recruit and the shameless instructor had punished him with five hundred push-ups. The noise was too loud, and he barely managed to open his eyes.

What the hell is going on? Looking around, he realized that everything was unfamiliar. Could this be another special mission? Why couldn't he remember anything?

Hua Dongjie slowly opened his eyes, and once he did, he couldn't close them again.

What the hell is that thing?

Hua Dongjie's body didn't rise, but his head lifted first. The first thing he saw were the two iron plates moving forward, stirring up half a meter of sand as they moved. These were the tank's tracks, which Hua Dongjie recognized immediately. The creaking sound was from the tracks as they moved over the ground.

Behind the tracks, black smoke rose, a result of the tank's engine being roughly operated by the driver.

Looking up, Hua Dongjie saw the hemispherical turret and the raised gun barrel.

The gun barrel had a bulge in the middle, which was the fume extractor. As various tanks from around the world flashed through his mind, Hua Dongjie immediately recognized it.

T-62! Isn't this the Soviet T-62 that has been retired from frontline service?

His head ached severely, and his body felt weak. Hua Dongjie's head, which had just lifted, fell back to the ground. However, the ground's tremors and the tank's roar filled him with fear.

Something's wrong, this is a death trap!

That metal monster was heading straight for him! The black smoke rising was from the driver pressing the gas pedal, intending to run him over! Or more accurately, to crush him!

What's going on? Hua Dongjie looked again and realized he wasn't wearing his camouflage uniform. Instead, he was in a dirty robe, and his head was wrapped in a white cloth.

Next to him was a long cylindrical object. Just a glance told Hua Dongjie it was a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG), a common weapon in modern counter-terrorism wars.

What the hell is happening? Hua Dongjie shook his head hard, and he finally remembered. He was the commander of the Dongfang Divine Sword Special Forces, currently studying at the National Defense University. The news was that the Central Military Commission planned to establish a joint special operations command across three branches, and they intended to groom him as a high-ranking commander.

However, after less than half a year at the National Defense University, he received a mission to inspect a drill with some classmates.

This was a common task, but this time, something went wrong.

A Mi-171 helicopter took them directly from the National Defense University. Just as they reached Yanjiao, a mechanical failure occurred, and the tail rotor stopped. The entire helicopter spun like a top, and the people inside spun with it.

Just before the helicopter crashed, the cabin door suddenly opened, and Hua Dongjie was thrown out.

Parachutes were not used in helicopters, so they emphasized crash resistance. Hua Dongjie, without a parachute, felt the wind rush past his face as he fell to the ground.

Fortunately, his body wasn't turned into a meat patty.

But when he fell and opened his eyes, how did he end up like this?

The terrain around him was rugged and mountainous, but it was completely different from where he had fallen.

Where am I?

Hua Dongjie closed his eyes, and suddenly, many memories flooded his mind.

Muhammad Kamran, Afghan guerrillas, instructors, Soviet invaders—these things appeared clearly in his mind. Could he have really been transported to a terrifying time and place?

"Rumble, rumble, creak, creak." The sound grew closer.

Hua Dongjie looked up, and the massive object was right in front of him!

"The guerrilla in front is probably dead," the driver said clearly through the throat microphone inside the rumbling tank.

Behind him, the commander, sitting in the turret basket and observing through the periscope, gave a short order: "No need to turn, just run over him."

They were speaking Russian.

The task of eliminating this group of guerrillas was complete, and the other tanks in the company had already left. However, they were left behind to clean up the battlefield.

For tankers, cleaning up the battlefield meant running over all the bodies with the tank!

Their tank always had a bloody smell, but the commander took great pleasure in it. Only by doing this could they give the guerrillas the greatest shock, showing them the consequences of opposing the Soviet army!

Especially for those who weren't dead, being crushed in the middle and then having the tank turn, the tracks would grind them into a bloody mess in their despair!

Although the dust raised by the tank obscured the view and they couldn't stick their heads out, the driver confirmed that it was just a corpse.

As he moved forward, the corpse disappeared from the narrow field of view of the periscope.

The driver confirmed that the left track would crush the corpse. He pushed the gear lever forward, lowering a gear to gain more power. Then, he floored the gas, and the steel monster roared forward.

Although he couldn't see it, the driver could almost feel the corpse being torn apart by the steel teeth of the tracks and turned into a bloody mess.

In just a blink, it was over, and the 580-horsepower engine behind him continued to roar.

"Continue forward, to Area Three," the commander shouted. "Join up with our company."

Black smoke still rose from the back of the tank, and in the smoke, a figure suddenly stood up.

Hua Dongjie panted heavily, looking at the bald turret of the T-62, which resembled the back of Ge You's head. His face was solemn.

Fortunately, no matter how much his position had changed, he had never stopped his rigorous training. Especially the tank-overrun training, where a tank would rumble over, and he would remain motionless, passing between the tracks, testing his courage and will.

He had adjusted his position to pass under the tank, avoiding this disaster.

Now, it was time to destroy this tank!

He had already raised the cylindrical object on his shoulder.

The distance was very close, just over twenty meters. Even a blind person could hit it. The only problem was that if he fired now, he might also get injured.

However, the RPG-7 had a significant flaw. It was unguided, and although it had a sighting system, at longer distances, only the all-powerful Allah knew where it would end up.

So, Hua Dongjie had made up his mind.

You want me dead, so I'll take you down!

His face pressed against the heat shield, and through the sight, he aimed the back of the tank's cast turret at the center of the sight.

Next, he just needed to pull the trigger!

Fortunately, if the tank moved forward five more meters, he would be completely safe. In previous training, Hua Dongjie had always hit the target at a hundred meters.

But at that moment, he saw the tank's turret turning.

Damn!

Inside the tank, the view was limited. He was behind the tank and hadn't been seen yet, but once the turret turned, the coaxial machine gun on the right side of the main gun could tear him apart.

No need to wait, fire now!

Hua Dongjie held his breath and pulled the trigger.

"Click." Hua Dongjie's ears seemed to hear the sound of the firing pin striking the primer, and then the rocket-propelled grenade flew out. Hua Dongjie quickly rolled to the side.

The T-62 tank commander was just routinely rotating the turret to survey the surroundings. But halfway through, he saw the guy with the RPG in the corner of his periscope.

"Quick, accelerate and disengage, turn left!" the commander shouted loudly. His voice was clear even without the intercom, over the roar of the engine.

It was only half a second too late. The turret hadn't turned fully, and the coaxial machine gun couldn't hit the target. The guy had already fired the RPG, and at such a close distance, it would reach in less than half a second.

The driver, hearing the commander's shout, knew something was wrong. He floored the gas, and the engine's roar filled the tank. Then, he sharply pulled the control lever to the left.

The guy disappeared from the periscope. Then, a massive impact and explosion sounded, and a heat wave hit the commander, who lost consciousness.

The RPG, which Hua Dongjie had high hopes for, did not fail its mission. It successfully hit the front armor of the T-62. The impact ignited the explosive charge at the back of the projectile, and the shaped charge, designed to penetrate armor, produced a powerful metal jet that pierced the front cast armor.

Although the front of the turret was the thickest part of the armor, it couldn't stop the RPG-7. The metal jet, like a mosquito biting, opened a hole and rushed into the tank, expanding violently and causing a secondary explosion. The copper liner of the shaped charge shattered into hot, molten droplets, scattering inside the turret like solid projectiles.

The commander and gunner were immediately hit, and the shells in the turret were detonated. The loader and driver experienced the most spectacular second of their lives in the fire of the ammunition.

Hua Dongjie covered his head with his hands, hoping not to be hit by any flying debris. Without looking, he could hear the massive explosion.

Damn, T-72s often suffer catastrophic explosions, but T-62s rarely do. With such a big bang, did the T-62's turret get blown off?

After two seconds, Hua Dongjie finally stood up again.