Whether the enemy had truly run out of drones or not, Gao Fei and the others did not see another one all the way back to the position.
There was no applause or cheering, only reverent gazes welcoming the three of them back.
"Sokholov's doing fine. He was sent off to the field hospital. The company commander appointed Glaski as squad leader of 1st Squad, and I'm deputy squad leader and team leader. Also, we've got water and some food here, and we brought back two two-hundred-round belted ammunition boxes."
Gao Fei delivered the company commander's orders, along with the precious water and rations.
"Take turns filling your canteens. One at a time, then get right back to your positions," Glaski ordered. Then he waved to Gao Fei. "Rex, come over here."
Gao Fei carried the two ammo boxes over to Glaski.
Glaski kept his voice down, asking cautiously, "What's the situation?"
"No reinforcements. Supplies reached the rear position, but there's no one to carry them forward. And there are barrier troops behind us—not our people."
From Gao Fei's brief explanation, Glaski understood immediately. Utterly astonished, he exclaimed in a whisper, "How is that possible? How could barrier troops from the regular armed forces be deployed behind our position? That's just sending us to our deaths!"
Gao Fei had no idea what was really going on. He had no access to Wagner's upper echelons, let alone an understanding of the true relationship between Wagner and the regular armed forces.
What he had read online in the past suggested that Wagner was essentially regular Russian troops, except that Russia found it inconvenient to deploy the official military openly, so they used paid mercenaries instead.
Judging from the current situation, however, this looked like a case of discarding the donkey once it had finished turning the mill—or worse, murdering with a borrowed knife.
"I don't know what's happening either, but the company commander looked furious. Not that getting angry does him any good."
Glaski drew a deep breath and murmured, "It wasn't like this before. Back then, supplies might have been slow, but we were never short on ammunition. Even if food and rations were delayed, they'd still arrive the same day. But now, we've taken the enemy's position, yet we can't even get our basic ammo replenished."
Gao Fei added quietly, "Our bounties haven't been paid out either."
So far they had only split the seized cash; the bounties owed for officially logged merits still hadn't arrived.
"They can't even send up ammunition, and you're dreaming of bounties?"
Glaski cursed under his breath in exasperation. Then he pointed toward the communication trench they were defending. "Our main mission is to hold this spot. We can't let the enemy advance down the communication trench. After you guys left this morning, I took some men to scout the trench. The bodies of the enemy soldiers we killed last night are gone. They retrieved all their dead."
"What does that mean?"
If you knew, you knew; if you didn't, you didn't. When in doubt, it paid to ask immediately.
With a grim expression, Glaski said, "Generally speaking, ragtag units cobbled together at the last minute don't risk venturing into dangerous ground to recover dead teammates. Bringing their fallen along during a withdrawal is the unmistakable mark of an elite force."
"The enemy last night spoke English," Gao Fei noted. "Every one of them had night-vision devices, and their rifles were NATO standard-issue. What's more, their night-vision gear was top-of-the-line."
Glaski nodded and continued, "There's another possibility: the enemy intends to keep using this spot as their primary breakthrough point. I know the Ukrainians well. They clear their attack routes. So if the enemy didn't carry their dead off when they withdrew last night, then they sent someone to clear the bodies this morning. And if it's the latter, they will definitely attack today."
If the enemy had cleared the corpses, it meant an assault here was guaranteed—a simple conclusion.
Yet because the enemy last night had been an elite force and not entirely wiped out, they might have simply hauled their dead away as they retreated. If that was the case, they might not launch an attack today.
Gao Fei worked through the logic. Details like these, easily overlooked by anyone who hadn't seen combat, were precisely the veteran's most invaluable wealth of experience.
"I heard explosions earlier. Did the enemy open fire with artillery?"
"Yes. They fired two salvos at us—registration fire. But they didn't keep shooting. Do you know what that means?"
"What does it mean?"
Gao Fei guessed the enemy was waiting for infantry to get into position before coordinating artillery fire. That was common sense, but out here you couldn't rely on guesswork, let alone textbook knowledge alone.
Glaski lowered his voice. "The enemy artillery has finished registration. Once their infantry reaches the assault position, they'll open fire. The Ukrainians usually advance about a hundred meters behind a creeping barrage. Once the bombardment lifts, it takes them roughly thirty seconds to storm right up to us."
Gao Fei's theoretical knowledge hadn't been wrong, but that brought him no comfort whatsoever. This was unmitigated bad news. The enemy's actions meant this sector was being treated as the main axis of attack.
Pinned to the forward position, forbidden to retreat, with nowhere to hide—they were cannon fodder, pure and simple.
Gao Fei looked at Glaski and asked softly, "What are you getting at?"
Glaski went silent for a moment before whispering, "Our situation is perilous. If we can't hold, run. But don't run straight back to the rear position—the barrier troops will shoot you dead. If our position is truly lost, find an empty trench to hide in first. Our main position is huge but very sparse. As long as the enemy doesn't have overwhelming numbers, they won't be able to clear the entire main position in a short time. That way, we might hold out until a counterattack comes. That's our only chance to survive."
It dawned on Gao Fei: Glaski was passing along his survival tricks.
"Got it."
Glaski let out a breath and smiled wryly. Clapping Gao Fei on the shoulder, he said, "There are only seven of us left in total. The company commander named you team leader, so take Samir and Andrey. You hold the right flank, and I'll take three men to hold the left."
At the trench junction, guarding both sides of the most perilous communication trench would also allow them to establish a crossfire.
Gao Fei nodded and murmured, "I understand. Crossfire, mutual support."
"No, it's so a single shell doesn't wipe us all out. The two most critical firing positions right now are you and me. We have to stay separated."
Glaski glanced left and right, then whispered, "If things look bad, run immediately. Whatever you do, don't wait until the enemy is right on top of you to bolt. By then, it'll be too late."
"All right. Should we set a signal so we can withdraw together if things turn sour?"
Glaski sighed. "No need for signals. The moment I say retreat, you pull out immediately. Don't worry about anything else. We scatter. Whoever makes it out, makes it out."
"Understood."
"Take your men over. Keep at least thirty meters between us—just make sure one shell can't take us all out."
Glaski was clearly planning for defeat before victory, but reality offered little room for optimism. A small-scale infiltration attack was one thing; if massive artillery bombardment was followed by an infantry assault, they didn't stand a chance.
Gao Fei turned around and gestured to Samir and Andrey. "You two, with me."
Following the trench a dozen or so meters to the right, Gao Fei picked a dugout and said in a low voice, "The situation doesn't look good. When I say fight, you stand your ground and fight to the end with me. When I say retreat, you run immediately. Speaking of running, which of you is better at staying alive on the run?"
The question was practically aimed straight at Samir's nose.
Samir rubbed his nose and whispered, "I... have plenty of experience running for my life, but on a battlefield like Bakhmut, my past experience doesn't seem to count for much."
Without hesitation, Gao Fei said, "Then it's you. If we have to bolt, you lead the way."
Samir nodded and murmured, "Leave it to me."
Andrey didn't seem too concerned about fleeing. Pointing toward the communication trench, he said, "Boss, that communication trench is too dangerous. We need to blow it up. At least that way the enemy can't rush straight down it at us."
It made sense, but it wasn't realistic.
Gao Fei frowned. "You're right, but how are we supposed to blow it up? We barely have any hand grenades, let alone explosives. What, dig it out with shovels?"
"Anti-tank mines!" Andrey said eagerly. "I've checked—the Ukrainians left tons of anti-tank mines behind. Two of them would be enough to blow the trench apart."
Gao Fei paused, looking at Andrey with curiosity. "How? Anti-tank mines are powerful, but how do you use them to blow up a trench?"
"Just use a hand grenade as the detonator. You can rig a tripwire or use the grenade's delay fuse. It's dead simple. As long as you run fast enough, you won't get blown up. I know how to do it."
Gao Fei was tempted.
Allowing the enemy to advance unimpeded down the communication trench right to their doorstep versus forcing them out of the trench dozens of meters away—the difference was astronomical.
It was risky, but worth it.
"Fine. Go grab two anti-tank mines. What else do we need?"
Without missing a beat, Andrey said, "Someone to cover me. And an entrenching shovel. We dig a cavity into the trench wall, plant the anti-tank mine inside, and set it off. That works best. After the blast, the ground will be all loose dirt that collapses underfoot. And if we bury another mine while we're at it, we can blow them up again when they push through!"
Gao Fei listened in utter disbelief. Andrey spoke like a seasoned expert—was this guy some kind of hidden master?
"You know how to rig booby traps?"
"Ha!" Andrey looked thoroughly smug, declaring with immense pride, "Guess why I went to prison?"
"Why?"
"Murder."
A flash of realization hit Gao Fei. "With explosives?"
"Bingo!" Andrey beamed proudly. "Boss, you're way too sharp. I didn't even say it and you already guessed. You really are... er... awesome!"
"If you don't know how to flatter people, you don't have to try. Stick to what's useful."
Andrey's speech was a blend of English and Russian, peppered with hand gestures, and Gao Fei was doing the same. It wasn't that Andrey didn't know how to flatter; his limited vocabulary simply cramped his style.
With a confident grin, Andrey explained, "I used to boost cars. After hotwiring them, I had to rewire the circuits—circuits, you get it? I also burgled warehouses, blowing holes through walls with explosives. Later, after I joined a boss and went to war with other gangs, we were outnumbered and outgunned. Since we couldn't beat them head-on, the boss had me make bombs to blow up their leader. I know how to do all this. Don't worry, boss, anti-tank mines are dead simple. Great stuff."
Gao Fei rested a hand on Andrey's shoulder and said with solemn gravity, "All right, say no more. Let's go get the mines."
Chapter 72