Chapter 41

The wind was fierce, and when the gale carried sand and gravel, many people could only lower their heads, bend over, and turn their backs to the wind, waiting for it to subside before continuing on their way.

Their headscarves were untied and wrapped around their heads, leaving only their eyes exposed. The harsh natural environment here had forged a stronger adaptability in the people.

Aisha gradually fell behind, reaching the end of the line. She found a sheltered spot and panted heavily.

When Muhammad realized Aisha was missing, he immediately turned back to search for her. He had to search for three miles before finding her.

"Muhammad, I'm holding everyone back," Aisha said. "Why don't you take the others and go ahead?"

"There are too many mountain paths here," Muhammad replied. "If you don't keep up, you'll get lost. You could wander for ten to fifteen days in these mountains and never find your way out."

Aisha stood up again and followed Muhammad, continuing forward.

They walked the entire day. When night fell, the whole group found a cave.

The goods on the donkeys were unloaded, and once the pressure was gone, the donkeys raised their heads and brayed a few times.

"Tonight, we'll stay here," Muhammad said. "Everyone is tired, so get some rest early. We have a long journey tomorrow."

The people lay down haphazardly and quickly fell asleep. Aisha, standing next to Muhammad, also soon emitted a steady breathing sound; she was exhausted.

The mountains provided the best cover. Muhammad didn't even post a sentry. Everyone was snoring, and the donkeys were sleeping outside the cave.

Aisha's body trembled slightly, and she slowly opened her eyes. She looked at Muhammad with a disdainful expression, quietly stood up, and walked out.

Soon, her figure disappeared into the darkness outside the cave, moving quickly as if staying here for a moment longer would be a disgrace.

When Aisha disappeared outside the cave, Muhammad's eyes opened. He sat up and looked at James, who was also awake, and spread his hands.

James and Muhammad had been putting on a show all along. Aisha was not an Afghan girl, nor was she in love with Muhammad. Her true identity was a KGB spy, a Swallow!

Using her position at the radio station, she had continuously interacted with Americans and even ventured into bars to serve drinks, all to gather intelligence for the Americans.

Her rescue by Muhammad was a carefully orchestrated setup. The classic "hero saves the beauty, beauty repays with her body" scenario, though old, was still effective.

The Soviet Union, vast and resource-rich, had selected her from the Central Asian republics, such as Tajikistan, where people's appearances and physiques were similar to those in Pakistan and Afghanistan. She was a carefully chosen piece sent to Peshawar by the KGB to gather intelligence.

Once she connected with Muhammad, Aisha wouldn't let go. She followed him to Afghanistan to uncover the secrets of the Afghan guerrillas.

Originally, she was supposed to infiltrate the Afghan guerrillas, understand their patterns, and then contact the Soviet forces. However, the weapons being transported this time made her act prematurely. She recognized the English markings on the boxes, which contained advanced American portable missiles. Moreover, James, an American, was training the guerrillas to use them. She finally decided to act early and seize the weapons!

Aisha's departure confirmed her identity as a Soviet Swallow, a spy who used her body to seduce others!

Muhammad made a gesture to James. Now that Aisha was gone, she would soon bring the Soviets. They needed to prepare immediately.

"Quick, follow the original plan and get ready for battle," Muhammad shouted.

All the guerrillas sprang up and ran out quickly.

A well-trained guerrilla had a strong sense of their surroundings. They had already noticed Aisha's movements.

They would use her plan against her! Aisha would bring the Soviets, and their task was to ambush and eliminate them!

Half an hour later.

The sound of footsteps on the sand grew louder. Fully armed Soviet soldiers, carrying their weapons, slowly approached the cave. The badges on their shoulders bore the special SP mark, indicating they were part of a specialized mountain warfare unit formed by the Soviet Union for the Afghan theater.

The SP special forces often operated in small teams. A team of 22 people included 3 PKM machine guns, 2 SVD sniper rifles, and 4 RPK-74s, with the rest armed with AK-74s.

The lead Soviet soldier carried a PKM machine gun, a general-purpose machine gun developed from the AK-47. It was widely produced and used during the Cold War and was the most common light machine gun in the Soviet army.

His steps were steady as he moved closer to the cave. The donkeys lay haphazardly outside, snoring.

Everything seemed normal; the guerrillas were still sleeping inside! He raised his arm and made a gesture.

The machine gunners quickly spread out, aiming their guns at the cave entrance. Their concentrated fire would seal off the entrance, preventing anyone from escaping.

The rest of the soldiers, armed with AK-74s, continued forward. The weapons were inside the cave, and their task was to eliminate the guerrillas and seize the weapons!

This was a simple mission, ambushing a guerrilla group, which should be easy.

The lead Soviet soldier's combat boots were already at the cave entrance. As his foot touched the ground, he suddenly felt a shock.

"Anti-personnel bounding mine!" the Soviet soldier shouted. "Fall back!"

He couldn't lift his foot. If he did, the mine would spring up, explode in the air, and injure everyone nearby.

He had to warn his comrades to prevent them from stepping on the mine. The guerrillas had planted mines at the entrance!

It was a trap, and he realized it the moment he stepped on the mine.

Hearing his shout, the others quickly moved to the side. The soldier quickly removed his helmet and then lifted his foot.

In movies, many scenes show people stepping on mines and not triggering them by not lifting their foot. This is just a foolish author's imagination. Modern mines ignite the propellant when stepped on, and the delay fuse ignites the main charge. Even if you could press down the propellant to prevent the mine from jumping, which is almost impossible, the main charge would still explode 1.5 seconds later, causing the mine to detonate underfoot, the only difference being that it wouldn't explode at a height of over a meter.

Stepping on a mine had two outcomes: either you were maimed or killed.

The soldier's reaction was very quick. He removed his helmet, lifted his foot, and the bounding mine immediately sprang up due to the propellant.

The helmet then fell, perfectly covering the mine. With great willpower, the soldier re-stamped his foot on the helmet.

The helmet fell to the ground, completely covering the mine. His foot pressed down on the helmet, and with a loud "boom," the mine exploded.

A strong impact hit his foot, and he dared not move it, pressing down on the helmet. Inside, shrapnel was flying.

A sharp pain shot through his foot, and the bones were likely shattered.

On the opposite hill, under the moonlight, Muhammad watched the Soviet soldier's feat and couldn't help but admire him. Damn, how did he do that?

The soldier's leg wasn't severed, and he managed to save it. Judging by how he hobbled to the side, he was probably only injured in the foot. What kind of helmet was that? It didn't even explode?

"Boom!" With the explosion, the donkeys, startled from their sleep, began to scatter in panic.

A Soviet soldier hiding behind a rock hadn't even shown his head when a donkey's hoof landed heavily on his back, breaking his ribs.

He endured the pain and made the worst decision of his life, pulling the trigger and shooting the donkey above him.

"Rat-tat-tat." With the gunfire, the donkey fell heavily on the Soviet soldier, and a massive force pressed down on his back. He spat out a mouthful of blood and passed out.

"Cease fire!" the Soviet commander shouted. The situation was too strange. There was no gunfire from the cave. Where were the Afghan guerrillas?

As he shouted, he looked around. The cave was on the middle of the hill, and the opposite peak was several meters higher. From that vantage point, they were completely exposed. With just two machine guns, they could be completely wiped out.

The Afghan guerrillas must be hiding on the opposite hill! This was a trap! That damn Swallow, how unreliable was her information? She had led his team into a trap!

"Machine gunners, quickly, turn your guns. Everyone else, prepare to retreat," the commander shouted. Once he realized the guerrillas were on the opposite hill and they were completely exposed, he immediately gave the order. They were facing the cave, with their backs exposed to the hilltop.

"Rat." At that moment, a bullet whistled from the opposite hilltop.