【Summer Five】Iron City Wall

After returning from Batu Town, they continued to immerse themselves in the modification of the bow and arrow, and it took more than a week of repeated adjustments before they were satisfied.Wu Enqi was a good friend, and it didn't take long to finalize the draft, pay the deposit and ask them to write the letter.

"The elders don't know a lot of words." He scratched his head embarrassingly, "Caixi is a woman again, there are some things that I don't want her to know, so I can only ask you two."

Xia You had no objection and expressed his willingness to help.Overjoyed, Wu Enqi brought a pen and paper, cleared his throat, and began to scribble out word by word.They were busy working in the yurt, and Wu Tiao, who was not interested, stood against the wall, yawning from time to time, not knowing whether he was listening or not.

Wu Enzi is indeed a rough person-the dictated information often fails to convey the meaning, and he keeps saying the same thing several times.Xia You edited part of the wording appropriately, trying to keep the strong "grassland flavor" in the words as intact as possible, so as not to be too written to look like this big man.

The juvenile's characters are chic and neat, with stable form and concentrated spirit, and they are self-contained and determined, with a bit of restraint in their free and easy style.Hongshu called it "Xiuzhu", and now it is used to carry family letters with rough words and unreasonable words, and it has a unique charm.

After writing the letter, they stayed one more day before preparing to leave.

For this delivery, Wu Enqi hoped that the two of them could hand over the letter and the bow and arrow to a friend named Mo Zhigen.This means that they will step into the army territory, enter the base through several fortified barriers, and search for a soldier who does not know whether he is alive or dead in the vast crowd.Xia You was naturally worried—but Wutiao was never afraid, and even he began to feel that "it's nothing".

When they set off, Cai Xial borrowed the only off-road vehicle in the town, and Wu Enqi sent the two of them out of the fourth district to the non-commissioned officer's office stationed at the border.There were bumps and bumps along the way, Wu Enqi stepped in and told them to be careful, not to force Mo Zhigen to come back, even if they only bring a reply letter.

It stands to reason that this road is quite remote, but Wu Enqi is so proficient that he seems to know every branch.He repeatedly strayed off the main road, arrived at the NCO's office with unstoppable speed, and handed the teenagers over to a bald officer.

"Have you brought your work permit?" The chunky, middle-aged uncle was wearing a dark green military uniform, his stomach almost bursting with buttons.The man wore a military cap obliquely on his head, the brim of the hat was white, and a few thin gray hairs protruded from the gaps, and he looked listless and listless.

Xia You showed his ID, and the uncle waved Wu Enqi away, stuffed the two into the back seat of a truck, squeezed into the co-pilot and asked the driver to start the car.Wu Enqi chased after a few steps, worry was clearly written on his rough and dark face, and he yelled a few words of caution, and was quickly left behind the first checkpoint.

The uncle straightened his hat and said, "I know you are here to do business. Don't look or listen when you go in. Just go to the staff on the third floor. If you want to find someone, let's make sure you are dead or not."

These words are quite poisonous, and the speaker's attitude is also extremely impatient.Xia You opened her mouth to refute, but she held back her words as she rolled them on the tip of her tongue.

Don't get angry--he told himself--especially the army.

The stench of leather filled the entire carriage, the driver held a cigarette with his hand outside the window, and the smell of cheap nicotine wafted into the car from time to time, mixing it into a nauseous smell.

Wutiao stretched out his hand to hold Xia You, fastened it one by one along the gaps between his fingers, and took the hand with sharp joints.He leaned closer and whispered: "I'm just a corporal, so I just try to show my skills at this time, and I won't be forced to teach me a lesson when I enter the compound."

This miraculously soothed Xia You.He tried his best to smile, and shook his hands back: "It's okay, it's just that he's upset."

The truck passed through six or seven checkpoints, the barbed wire fence was slowly opened, and the covered bridge passed overhead.It suddenly became clear before the eyes: a yard as big as five football fields lay across it, surrounded by neat buildings on both sides, all iron gray, just like the epitome of this city wall.

Several phalanxes were practicing in the field, and the sounds of whistles, footsteps, and orders were mixed, resounding through the square base.

The corporal urges the driver to stop, throws "Don't run around, follow me" at Xia You, unbuckles the seat belt and moves out the fat legs and feet that are deep in the seat.

The moment he stepped on the ground, Xia You suddenly felt a great sense of unreality.

For any law-abiding citizen, the word "Military Department" is like a distant belief.These soldiers armed with driven armor went to the battlefield one after another to protect human beings from the steady stream of fantasy species and guard the last line of defense of this sanctuary.They seem to symbolize the most iron-blooded and ruthless side of the iron city wall, as well as the sharpest spear and the strongest shield to defeat the enemy and escort the next dawn.

But at this moment, he was in it so easily. The base between the fourth district and the third district was only a stone's throw away from the snow field outside the city wall.

"What are you dawdling about! Haven't you eaten yet!" the corporal yelled while wiping his sweat.

The five waves were calm, and did not show the slightest shock to the surrounding scene.He was still holding Xia You's hand, and followed the corporal directly into the Juzhong building regardless of other people's eyes.

The corridors are simple and crude, with battle tables from several quarters ago nailed to the walls, and discarded defense maps scattered all over the floor, as if they haven't been cleaned in ten years.Xia You was immediately disillusioned - this disillusionment successfully helped him get out of the previous trance.

Ascending to the second floor, the corporal pushed them into a room marked "Personnel Registration Office" and closed the door with his backhand: "These two brats are looking for someone. 'Mo Zhigen', from District 49, worth [-], joined seven years ago Reserves. Use your hands to check."

The office worker inside was a woman in a brown and yellow military uniform with a sub-frame mirror on her face.She curled up in the middle of a pile of old newspapers, the faint light source of the computer screen was reflected by the mirror, and she was typing on the keyboard with her hands.

When she heard the name, she didn't even lift her head. She quickly clicked the mouse to bring up the window, her eyes moved up and down, and there seemed to be a dozen pages of information scrolling down.

"Mo Zhigen—served in the 25th Regiment for six years, a private first class, and was wounded and retired in the small-scale battle in the Eilat hills." The woman took out a piece of carrot from the lunch box on the table, fed it to her mouth, and chewed Lazily said: "Go to the field hospital and look for it. There is no death registration. I guess it is still lying in some corner."

After the official business was over, the corporal took them out of the office and said viciously: "You can see the big characters of the hospital, don't go anywhere else!" After finishing speaking, he walked in the opposite direction with his head held high.

Xia You breathed a sigh of relief, another thing came to mind at the same time.

Before coming, he thought about the current situation of this "friend" countless times.For troops with constant friction, life and death are only a matter of thought, and losing one's life unknowingly is probably the most common thing on the battlefield.If this person who has not heard from him for seven years is really sacrificed, it is okay to say, if he can still breathe but chooses not to contact his family and friends-the character must be weighed and weighed.

Now that he heard the news of "retirement due to injury" was a year ago, Xia You suddenly didn't know how to feel.The white-eyed wolf who got promoted and made a fortune seems unrealistic, but it is worth pondering when he is obviously discharged from the army and will not go home.

No matter what the facts are, since the person is not dead, we must go to find out and hand over the things to him.

Xia You was about to talk about how to get to the field hospital when her wrist tightened and she was dragged downstairs by Wutiao.The silver-haired boy skillfully crossed the practice field, turned a few turns, pointed to the red two-character sign and said, "It's here."

The hospital is indeed conspicuous.

Pushing open the door, a damp and foul smell rushed towards his face, choking Wutiao almost coughing.

The aisle is narrow, and the walls on both sides seem to slope inward, giving people a sense of oppression.Medical staff in white coats and masks walked through the room, doors opened and closed, and faint crying and moaning came out of the cracks, mixing with the smell of disinfectant in the air.

Passing through the corridor, a few wounded soldiers with hanging bottles stared at them, all of them were covered with dense bandages, and every pore exuded a dead air.They were clearly still young, but their faces were sallow and gloomy. The scars left by the gunpowder smoke from the battlefield pierced through them, and the smell of scorched flesh seemed to be in their noses, making their scalp numb.

"Mo Zhigen? Bed 409 in 10." The nurse at the registration office said, "It's been here for more than half a year, and I don't want to leave anyway. It's inconvenient for us to evict people before the deadline. If you come to claim it as soon as possible, I'm afraid it will be late." I can carry the ashes back."

Xia Youzao was a little nervous, cold sweat dripping down in strands.

He had never been so close to war.These devastated people were wrapped in a strong smell of gunfire, and the overflowing despair and despondency wove into an impenetrable net, and they came to him with a sharp and piercing hiss like fantasy, and the blood foam flew everywhere. You can almost smell the stench of sulfur and drive fluid all over the mountains.

On the other hand, looking at the five articles, it is too calm.Even his expression was very calm, and his whole body was still cold and isolated from the world.In the hell on earth, the young man still walks on the clouds, his thoughts are not disturbed at all, just another place where all living beings are in various states.

"It's this one." Wujo said in a flat, almost indifferent voice.He pushed the door casually, took Xia You into 409 where there were only a few empty beds left, opened the curtain, and stopped in front of bed No. 10.

A handsome young man lay on the bed.He was very quiet, not saying a word, dripping with his left hand, and the rest of his body was covered by bedding.Xia You's eyes gradually turned downwards, and when he saw the half-empty quilt, he suddenly lost his voice.

He suddenly remembered Wu Enzi's letter.

"My brother Mo Zhigen, it has been seven years since we parted. Although I don't know how you are doing, after thinking about it, it is much more convenient than the poor life on the grassland. When you were young, you shouted all day to go out of the grassland to see, Now that the dream has come true, have you ever been happy? We haven’t seen each other for many years. Abu and Erji have both left. Before I asked you, I could only hold their skinny hands and say, ‘he is having a good time’, really not Taste!"

"You see, we haven't written a single letter in all these years, and we don't know if we can deliver it. If we lose it halfway, we can't fly over to deliver it to you. No, I found a pair of young people Someone will help deliver the letter, this time it will definitely be delivered to you, so please wait with peace of mind. Military life must be very hard, so you are not tired, are you? I heard that you can go outside this city wall? That would be terrible, It is said that the place is full of strange dragons with long wings, they bite off their heads frequently, and there is nowhere to hide. But you have been better than me since you were young, and you are as clever as a fox in hunting, and you will definitely come back safely every time."

"Do you still remember Cai Xial from the house next door? Just the girl with braids and singing in the eagle howl, she is now my wife! This girl is looking forward to your return with me every day, but she is so anxious. She said that Zana is old My aunt lost her sheep several times, and every time I saw her, I asked where you were, why didn't you help my aunt find the sheep."

……

"I enclose a set of bows and arrows with the letter. I entrusted two young men to make them. The prototype is the old bow that Abu taught us to hunt when he was young. Technology, you don’t need to aim with the naked eye anymore, and it’s much easier to pull the string. The disciples of Gardi’s family can open a full moon! The arrows are recyclable, and you can find them back if you lose them. They are very sharp and easy Pine nails pierce the jackal's brain."

"Longevity, if you feel uncomfortable in the army, go back to the grassland. Everyone is waiting for you. If everything goes smoothly, it doesn't matter if you don't see me in this life; but someday you can't go on... look at this bow Come on, look at the blood and soul flowing in it, the gift of longevity nourishes every citizen. Don’t forget the grassland that breeds handsome wolves and eagles, the fiery red Sarilang and the golden river under the sun! There will always be Fresh pancakes, this is your forever home."