Chapter 8

Just at this moment, the people from another helicopter also arrived. Seeing the situation, they instinctively hid behind another large rock. They knew that defusing a booby trap was very dangerous, and there was a chance they might not survive.

At such a time, it was important to minimize casualties.

Seeing that everyone else had hidden, Sherov picked up another cigarette and said to Ilyich, "Lift your butt slowly, be careful, and make sure to do it slowly."

After speaking, Sherov lay down beside him, his eyes on Ilyich's buttocks, and at the same time, he extended his arm into the area.

Ilyich knew that this was the most dangerous moment. He felt the position of the grenade's lever, which had to be the last to be released.

Ilyich did a good job. When his buttocks were completely off the ground, he turned his head and saw that Sherov had already pressed down on the grenade's lever.

Although he had grabbed it, Ilyich did not move.

"Look around on the ground and find the pin of the grenade," Sherov said.

Sherov maintained this posture, watching Ilyich search around. At this moment, Sherov was already somewhat impressed by the person who had set the booby trap; he knew a lot!

This was a common Soviet F-1 grenade, designed and produced during World War II. However, the development and improvement of this weapon did not progress as quickly as other weapons, so even in the 1980s, it was still in use and had spread widely to Third World countries.

The outer shell of this grenade was made of pineapple-shaped iron chunks, designed to split into many pieces upon explosion, with a lethal radius of 30 meters. The standard procedure was to throw it and immediately lie down, otherwise, the thrower might also be injured.

At this moment, the safety pin of the grenade had been pulled, and the lever was pressed down. If this state were maintained, it would never explode, which was why the two unfortunate tank soldiers were still safe.

Once the lever was released and lost external pressure, the firing pin spring would push the firing pin, which would then strike the primer and ignite the delay charge. After a few seconds, the grenade would explode.

This was also the normal process for using a grenade: press the lever, pull the pin, and then throw it.

If that were the case, the simplest way for Sherov would be to throw the grenade and let it explode.

However, it was not that simple. Sherov knew that the person who set the booby trap was waiting for him to make this foolish move.

Because this grenade could be adjusted by rotating the screw to change the delay time. Now, this grenade had been set to a zero delay.

In other words, as soon as the lever was released, the grenade would explode. Even if Sherov picked it up, if he lost his grip, it would immediately explode.

In reality, no one using a grenade would do this. Grenades are for blowing up the enemy, not oneself. So, ordinary soldiers often forgot this feature of the grenade.

Sherov, however, did not forget.

Pressure-activated mines? The Afghan guerrillas didn't have any pressure-activated mines. To have these grenades was already a sign of a wealthy guerrilla group. A few days ago, they had taken out a guerrilla group that was still using scimitars.

"Found it." At this moment, Ilyich came over with a pin in his hand.

"Give it to me." Sherov took it and then reinserted the pin into the grenade.

For a grenade set to explode at zero seconds, the way to defuse it was very simple: just reinsert the safety pin. Generally, when using a grenade, the safety pin is pulled and thrown away, not kept, and usually discarded nearby.

Sure enough, Ilyich quickly found it.

Sherov completed everything and completely relaxed. Then, he picked up the grenade from the ground. There was a small pit below, and the grenade was half-buried in it.

The Afghan guerrillas were really deceptive, using this to simulate a pressure-activated mine?

While Sherov was thinking, he picked up the grenade. However, as he did so, he felt something push against the grenade, followed by a crisp sound.

"Click." The sound was not loud, but it was a sound of death. This was the sound of the grenade's lever being released.

Sherov looked at the grenade in his hand, which had a half-broken thin wire attached to it.

Damn it, there was another grenade below this one! This grenade was just a trigger. When he picked it up, it pulled the thin wire, which was connected to another grenade with a zero delay and a pulled safety pin!

He had been so focused on the upper grenade that he didn't realize the lower one was the real booby trap!

In an instant, Sherov understood, but it was too late. His life was already at its end.

He didn't know that he still hadn't guessed everything correctly.

When he picked up the upper grenade, he also pulled the thin wire. On the other side of the wire, the lever of another grenade was held by a rubber band. The wire pulled the rubber band, releasing the lever, and the firing pin struck the primer, causing the old F-1 grenade to explode immediately.

The pineapple-shaped outer shell split along its grooves, scattering in all directions, and flames shot out.

Next to the grenade, another pointed object immediately joined the explosion, as if it had been stimulated.

If Sherov could have dug up the ground below at that moment, he would have regretted his rashness.

Armor-piercing rounds!

Muhammad had called a few people to set this up. He wouldn't waste the remaining armor-piercing rounds on the tank. Although the rounds couldn't explode, the propellant inside the shell would increase the destructive power once ignited.

"Boom!" In an instant, the ground shook.

The grenade was placed on the primer of the armor-piercing round. When the grenade exploded, it immediately ignited the propellant of the armor-piercing round.

Armor-piercing rounds penetrate armor due to their high speed. To accelerate the rounds to this speed, high-energy propellant is needed. When this propellant ignited, it immediately created a crater over a meter deep.

In this explosion, Sherov, Markov, and Ilyich were all killed. If only the grenade had exploded, they might have been left intact, but now, they were almost completely shredded.

"Class leader!" The reconnaissance squad members hiding behind the rock were suddenly very anxious, especially Miro. He was supposed to defuse the booby trap, but now the class leader had died in his place.

He jumped up, not even afraid of the flying debris, and wanted to rush forward.

Behind another large rock, the other reconnaissance squad members were also very anxious. They were a team, and their comrades had been sacrificed.

They all wanted to move forward, but just as they were about to take a step, another powerful blast came from under their feet.

With a huge explosion, countless rocks, fragments, and even wrenches flew up from under their feet.

The explosive force was so strong that it created a crater over ten meters in diameter, and even the large rock was blown several meters away.

Everyone, not knowing what had happened, was thrown into the air by the explosion.

Only the helicopter pilots witnessed everything.

After the explosion, there were no living reconnaissance soldiers left on the ground. The best soldiers from both squads were all left here.

They died without knowing what had happened.

Only Muhammad, still traveling on the mountain road, was feeling very pleased. In a few days, he would go back to see the scene, which would surely be impressive.

Although it took a short time, Muhammad had set up a very clever chain of booby traps.

Under the buttocks of the two captives were fake booby traps, a real grenade connected by a thin wire, and an armor-piercing round. These setups were enough to blow up anyone trying to defuse the booby traps.

If it were just anyone, this would have been enough, but Muhammad was not satisfied.

He moved all the armor-piercing and high-explosive rounds from the tank and buried them next to the two large rocks.

The reason the two captives were seated next to the tank was well-considered. They were about twenty meters from the two large rocks, so when someone was left to defuse the booby traps, the others would definitely find cover nearby, and the two large rocks were the best cover.

Blowing up just the two captives and the person defusing the booby trap was not enough; the Soviet soldiers waiting nearby were also Muhammad's targets.

Next to the armor-piercing and high-explosive rounds, he cleverly placed grenades with pulled safety pins. When the explosion occurred, the ground would shake, causing the levers of the grenades to be released, and the firing pins would ignite the delay charges, leading to further explosions.

When the grenades exploded, the armor-piercing and high-explosive rounds buried together were also detonated. As for the other grenades, Muhammad kept them for important use, unwilling to waste them.

To increase the destructive power, Muhammad buried rocks and tools from the tank's tool box, which would fly up with great force.

Muhammad, a special forces elite from the 21st century, made the Soviets suffer.

He calculated everything very accurately, with no waste, and eliminated the best Soviet soldiers. PS: Thanks to the support from reader 198215dai!