Chapter 73

"Up ahead is our village," Laimaier said, recalling that half of his guerrilla fighters had come from this village. However, those people were all gone now, leaving only him. Thinking of this, he felt a deep sorrow in his heart.

Damn the Soviets!

Laimaier looked at the village covered in snow. If it weren't for delivering the grain, he felt he wouldn't have the face to return to his village.

"Mr. Muhammad, we need to rest in this village. My legs are about to give out," Lili said in a coquettish tone beside Muhammad.

"I told you not to come," Muhammad said. "The mountain paths in the snow are not easy to walk, but you insisted on coming."

Muhammad was complaining. This Lili was not someone to be trifled with, clinging to him all the way. Muhammad finally understood how difficult it was to deal with a woman in heat. She wouldn't leave until she had her way with him.

Even in the base, Lili had already taken the initiative to consider herself Muhammad's woman. Some damn guerrilla fighters even called her "sister-in-law," and she responded with a sweet smile.

Lili had not originally planned to come, but when Muhammad was about to leave, she insisted on following him. Western women pursued love boldly, passionately, and directly. The problem was, Muhammad wasn't really repelled by Lili; he just felt something was a bit off.

"I am a volunteer for the Red Cross. This batch of grain was collected by the Red Cross, so I naturally have to personally ensure it reaches the village in need. It's my duty," Lili said.

Listening to Lili and Muhammad bicker, Laimaier discreetly moved to the side. Even in his heart, he automatically considered this woman as Muhammad's. Heroes should be paired with beauties, and this woman was quite seductive.

Just as he said that, Muhammad suddenly heard a rumbling sound from the distant sky.

Is it thunder? Several Tajik young men, leading donkeys, looked up at the sky.

"Quick, take cover!" Muhammad said. "It's a Soviet plane!"

Afghanistan's winter doesn't have thunder. The sound was clearly from a Soviet plane! However, it was different from the sound of the Su-25s and the old Su-25s. What kind of plane was this?

"Run, take cover in the village," Laimaier said.

"It's too late," Muhammad said. "Quick, get the white cloth and cover the donkeys."

The plane was coming fast. If it discovered their grain transport team, it might dive to drop bombs. They didn't have Stinger missiles this time, and Muhammad felt a great deal of pressure.

From the sky, the black donkeys were the most visible. Covering them with white cloth made them blend in with the snow. The donkeys seemed to enjoy it, wagging their tails.

Everyone crouched down, watching the plane roar overhead. The red stars under the wings were clearly visible.

"MiG-23!" Muhammad said. He recognized the Soviet plane at a glance. However, the MiG-23 was an air combat model, and this plane had bombs clearly visible on its wings. It was the ground-attack variant, the MiG-23BN, later renamed the MiG-27.

No wonder the instructor from the East recognized the plane model instantly! Laimaier, crouching not far from Muhammad, was very impressed. To others, the planes flying overhead were just "planes," at most differentiated as large or small.

"MiG-23?" Lili said. "Mr. Muhammad, you know so much. I like people like you."

Lili crouched beside Muhammad, her words and breath touching his face.

Muhammad didn't respond, watching the plane fly away. He relaxed and was about to call everyone to continue their journey when the plane suddenly made a graceful arc in the sky, turned, and dove, the rumbling sound becoming more intense.

"Attention, the Soviets are about to drop bombs!" Muhammad said. "Stay crouched, don't run around! Watch your donkeys!"

The bombs the plane dropped were powerful. When they exploded on the ground, they caused shockwaves. If you lay on the ground, you could suffer internal bleeding from the shock. If you stood, you could be hit by shrapnel. Crouching was the safest position.

Muhammad was puzzled. In the sky, the pilot's speed was very fast. How could he have spotted them in such a short time?

Muhammad couldn't think of anything else that would make the Soviets send a plane to bomb them. Could there be a traitor among the Tajiks, revealing their location?

The pilot in the sky finally identified the target amidst the complex landmarks. He pressed the control stick, turning the plane and diving.

Regardless of the precision bombing navigation equipment the plane carried, a dive bombing was the most accurate method. Especially now, with the Afghan guerrillas having no air defense capabilities, the dive bombing was like a training exercise, without the threat of ground fire.

On the old display in front of him, the target was clearly visible, captured by the television camera in the wing root fairing. A crosshair appeared, indicating the target for the bomb.

He adjusted the plane's heading, keeping the crosshair steady on the center of the village, and continued to dive, the horizon getting closer and closer.

At an altitude of less than 500 meters, his finger pressed the red button on the control stick. As soon as he pressed it, a bomb on the wing rack would scream to the ground.

Static crackled in his ear, and the pilot pressed the button.

A thud came from the wing, the rack detached, and the bomb left the rack, falling to the ground.

The pilot then pulled back on the control stick, and the MiG-23BN roared, pulling up at an altitude of over 200 meters. The lower the altitude, the higher the precision, but the greater the danger. In this situation, he had no second chance to pull up.

Without looking, he knew the bomb he had dropped would destroy the entire village.

The Lyulka AL-21F-300 engine in the tail was set to afterburn, generating maximum power, and the plane soared into the sky.

As he broke free from the low altitude, the pilot heard the base's voice in his ear: "Black Bear, stop the bombing mission and return immediately!"

Stop the bombing? The pilot leveled the plane and looked down. There was no fire from the village below. The bomb didn't explode?

As the bomb wobbled down, Muhammad immediately determined the impact point: not their transport team, but the village ahead!

What's wrong with the Soviets? Always bombing villages?

Seeing the plane pull up, Muhammad immediately said, "Leave two people to watch the donkeys. The rest, follow me to save the people!"

Saying that, Muhammad quickly ran forward.

The bomb would explode upon impact, causing civilian casualties. Saving people was the priority!

Laimaier followed Muhammad. This was their village, and saving their own people was their responsibility, yet a foreigner was leading the charge!

Several Tajik young men followed behind, while only two of the slowest responders stayed behind. The grain was also important and needed to be watched. The dive of the plane had clearly frightened the donkeys.

The bomb hit a dilapidated house, piercing through the roof, narrowly missing an old man, and creating a large crater in the ground.

The old man watched in tension. One second, two seconds, one minute, two minutes... the bomb did not explode.

Only then did he react, running out in three quick steps.

He met someone coming from the opposite direction. This person jumped over the mud wall and ran into the yard, asking the old man, "Is anyone injured in the house?"

The old man shook his head.

Muhammad ran a few steps into the collapsed house. The bomb had luckily not exploded. Although Muhammad knew the bomb could explode at any moment, he had to take the risk. If he could defuse the bomb's fuse, they would be safe.

Bombs are mechanical devices, and like any machine, they can malfunction. In regular combat, bombs are rigorously tested, and out of dozens, at most one would be a dud. For the first bomb to be a dud now was incredibly lucky.

However, as Muhammad saw the bomb through the light from the broken roof, he immediately held his breath and quickly retreated.

He saw the black skull symbol on the bomb and noticed a crack on one side, with yellow liquid oozing out.

The liquid had just started to flow and hadn't evaporated. Muhammad immediately recognized it as a Soviet chemical weapon!

Muhammad didn't know if he had been poisoned in that moment. He knew that chemical weapons could harm people through two routes: inhalation and skin contact.

He was fully wrapped in thick clothing, so his skin wouldn't come into contact with the gas. As long as he didn't inhale the gas, he should be fine.

Muhammad held his breath and retreated from the room. Laimaier had already rushed into the yard.

"Quick, evacuate the entire village! It's a gas bomb!"