Military orders were as unyielding as a mountain: if you were told to go, you went, whether you wanted to or not. If you weren't ordered to go, wanting to wouldn't do any good either.
Sokholov took Samir and left, leaving behind the walkie-talkie, the radio, Gao Fei, and Glaski.
The atmosphere was rather subdued. Gao Fei took over Samir’s job, swinging the shovel to clear dirt, while Glaski rested his gun, watching for movement across the enemy lines and glancing up at the sky every now and then.
Gao Fei kept at it without a break for a long time, clearing nearly half of the collapsed trench section.
"Take a break. Don't exhaust yourself."
Gao Fei stopped what he was doing. He caught his breath, set down the shovel, turned to Glaski, and asked, "They'll be all right, won't they?"
"Hard to say. The assault detachment's casualty rate is high, but not impossibly high. Generally speaking, at least one makes it back. Both coming back happens too. And of course, neither coming back is perfectly normal, too."
Glaski spouted absolute nonsense. He took out a cigarette, offered it to Gao Fei, and said, "Usually we don't make friends with new recruits, because they die not long after you meet them. But I think you're different from the rest."
Of course he was different. Gao Fei had high emotional intelligence; if he were like those blunt, straight-thinking Russians, how could he even survive out here?
Gao Fei took the cigarette, pulled out the lighter Sokholov had left him, lit Glaski's cigarette, and murmured, "You and Sokholov are good men. Meeting you was my good luck. Actually, Samir is pretty great too."
"Mm, if he survives this time, he'll be a veteran too."
Glaski blew a smoke ring and said placidly, "Depends on his luck. The fighting's gotten heavier by the day lately; it all comes down to luck. The two of us staying behind aren't necessarily safe either—the enemy might launch a preemptive strike."
Gao Fei asked in surprise, "Didn't their large-scale assault just fail? Can they mount another attack this fast?"
"Oh, a large-scale offensive is one thing, small-scale skirmishes are another. Tanks charge by day, special forces raid by night—one doesn't interfere with the other."
Gao Fei gaped in surprise.
Glaski continued nonchalantly, "We lack night-vision goggles, while the enemy is shorter on heavy armor right now. We have fewer and fewer drones, and they have fewer and fewer shells. How should I put it? The enemy prefers fighting at night now, while we prefer daylight."
"Understood!"
"So if it's just the two of us tonight, it's actually pretty dangerous. Well, still relatively better than an assault detachment mission, of course."
Scratching his head, Glaski sighed with helpless resignation. "In short... it's all down to luck. If you're lucky, you survive and we keep fighting in the same trench. If your luck runs out, you die and get replaced. That's just how it is. It's actually very simple, nothing complicated. Don't be nervous. It's just a job, nothing special."
He wanted to comfort Gao Fei, but feared making him too relaxed; after offering a bit of reassurance, he would hastily tack on a warning, only to worry that the warning had scared Gao Fei. Glaski had done his best, but he really wasn't cut out for morale work.
What could Gao Fei say? He could only nod and say, "All right, I hope they're okay. So how long have you been fighting?"
"I've been here two months. Sokholov and I met about a month ago. Since partnering with him, quite a few people around us have rotated out. Just at this position alone, three have died and five have been wounded. Sokholov and I have had good luck. I hope you and Samir are just as lucky."
Gao Fei didn't know what to say. He could only respond with silence.
Glaski didn't know what else to say either. After thinking for a moment, he said gravely, "If Sokholov doesn't come back and I die too, you become the leader of this combat team. Come here—these are the coordinates for the forward positions, and you need to know the radio frequency for the walkie-talkie. A team leader has to know this."
Gao Fei said helplessly, "I don't speak Russian. Whatever orders they give, I won't understand a word."
"Uh, that is a problem. I forgot about that. This won't do; you have to learn Russian. I'll teach you right now, starting with the most basic combat terms and commands."
Naturally, Glaski began teaching Gao Fei some basic phrases.
After repelling the enemy's morning assault, the battlefield had grown much quieter. Gunfire and artillery hadn't stopped entirely, but they were sparse.
As the two chatted and practiced, time passed a little faster. At noon, Gao Fei ate two compressed biscuits and drank some water from the plastic jug. Gao Fei thought it tasted flat, but noticed no strange flavor.
Then he went back to digging out the collapsed trench, resting when he was tired and practicing Russian on the side. Time seemed to move quickly, and before he realized it, the sun had begun slanting to the west.
Gao Fei tried hard not to think about Samir and Sokholov, preparing himself mentally for never seeing either of them again.
He didn't know how to describe the feeling: the more intentionally you tried to avoid thinking about someone, the more you tried not to care, the more you cared.
Now Gao Fei understood why Sokholov and Glaski didn't want to get to know new recruits. He hadn't even been here a day, yet he was already feeling this anxious tug at his heartstrings. For those who stayed on this battlefield long term, enduring life-and-death partings every single day, caring like this would make life impossible.
Yet surprises always loved to arrive out of nowhere. Just as Gao Fei couldn't help thinking of Samir once again, the walkie-talkie hanging on Glaski suddenly crackled to life.
A few hurried words came through the speaker. Then Glaski's face lit up in delighted shock. "They're coming back!"
"Huh? What?"
"The assault detachment has been disbanded! They're coming back to reinforce defense at the positions."
Gao Fei was overjoyed. "Really? That's great! Was the plan cancelled?"
"No, another unit definitely took over. New reinforcements must have arrived. Either way, at least there's nothing for us to do today!"
Glaski was thrilled too. He let out a breath and grinned. "HQ notified us that assault team members are returning to their original positions, and to be careful not to cause friendly fire. Just wait, they'll be back soon."
It really was soon; barely two minutes later, Sokholov's shout echoed.
"Glaski!"
"It's me, come on over!"
They didn't use any passwords. Sokholov and Glaski were familiar enough with each other that recognizing voices was all it took.
Sokholov led the way, jogging back with beaming cheer. The moment he saw the two, he couldn't wait to burst out, "Haha, the penal battalion is here! The penal battalion has arrived!"
Glaski was overjoyed upon hearing that. Worrying that Gao Fei wouldn't know what a penal battalion was, he hastily explained to him, "Great news! A penal battalion is made up of hardened felons from prisons. They do the most dangerous work. Things are going to be easy for us now—until the penal battalion is wiped out, we won't get any overly dangerous tasks!"
Glaski had specifically emphasized the penal battalion. Gao Fei actually knew about them.
Russia had penal battalions, which some called disciplinary battalions, but strictly speaking, penal battalions and disciplinary battalions were two different things.
The difference was that a penal battalion consisted entirely of convicts—specifically violent felons. The Wagner Group recruited hardened criminals from prisons, and after serving six months on the frontline, their criminal records would be expunged and they would receive a payout.
If they performed exceptionally well in combat, they might even be discharged on the spot after the battle.
Disciplinary battalions, on the other hand, had existed since Tsarist times and continued through the Soviet era. Errant soldiers were gathered together and sent to the most dangerous places to carry out the most perilous missions.
Sometimes entire organized units were punitively assigned hazardous operations due to infractions, and calling such units disciplinary battalions was also acceptable.
But now, right here, the penal battalion Glaski emphasized was specifically the hardened convicts recruited from prisons by the Wagner Group; their official designation was indeed the penal battalion.
Wagner wouldn't deliberately send the penal battalion to die just for the sake of it, since the group was severely understaffed. However, the penal battalion would undeniably be assigned the most hazardous missions. They would assault in organized formations first; once only a handful remained, those surviving convicts would be dispersed across frontline positions to keep carrying out the most dangerous tasks.
Thus, the arrival of the penal battalion meant far fewer ordinary mercenaries would die.
That was how Sokholov and Samir had managed to return.
For the first time, Gao Fei found those vicious felons rather endearing.
Sokholov walked straight up to Gao Fei, extended his right hand, and declared in high spirits, "Give me my stuff back!"
Gao Fei paused, but promptly pulled out the cigarettes and lighter. Placing them in Sokholov's hand, he said cheerfully, "Here you go. Don't give them to me again."
Samir was beaming too. He nodded to Gao Fei, who eagerly said, "I didn't touch your stuff. It's all yours."
Sokholov lit a cigarette for himself, took a long drag, and said comfortably, "I was dying for a smoke."
Glaski handed the walkie-talkie back to Sokholov and grinned. "Everything's returned to you. Mm, do you know how many came?"
Sokholov declared proudly, "Over a thousand! And right onto our stretch of the front!"
"What great luck."
Glaski sighed in wonder. Then his expression suddenly shifted, and he turned to Gao Fei and Samir. "You two, if you run into anyone from the penal battalion, don't provoke them. Don't get into any conflicts with them."
Sokholov's face turned serious as well. He nodded and said, "We don't know where the penal battalion will launch their assault from, but it's very possible they'll pass through our position. If you really do run into them, don't clash with them. These men are desperate thugs—true cutthroats."
Though both served six-month contracts, surviving half a year was vastly harder for penal battalion convicts than for regular mercenaries like Gao Fei.
Gao Fei certainly had no intention of provoking such desperate criminals.
After warning Gao Fei and Samir, Sokholov continued, "The penal battalion arriving here isn't entirely good news either. There will definitely be an operation tonight. Once the penal battalion takes the enemy positions, our position might have to move forward along with them. So get some good rest now. Don't just stand around here—sleep if you can, and if you can't, get off your feet and rest. Await orders."
Chapter 16