Chapter 16 Camp This bombardment was only a very short one, not as long as Lu Mingfei thought. It only lasted a few minutes, but those few minutes were like the beginning of hell. Although the bombardment was brief, it brought great casualties. When they arrived, there were more than twenty people, two squads of soldiers, but now, including Joseph Bem, there were six dead, and seven or eight injured. The air was filled with the smell of gunpowder and blood, suffocating. None of the veterans died or were injured. Those who died or were injured were the recruits. The veterans had much more experience than them and knew how to survive under such artillery attacks. They dodged the artillery fire skillfully and quickly, almost driven by instinct. The shells blew the cemetery into pieces, and the bodies buried in the soil were blown out by the shells. The bodies that were originally intact were torn into pieces by the shells. The mud and debris mixed together, forming a horrible scene. A hand and a thigh with a boot intact were scattered around Lu Mingfei. It was unknown whether they were the remains of the body he had just thrown out. These people who had already died were "killed" again, and their bodies were not intact. The crater created by the shells saved Lu Mingfei and his team the effort of digging a pit. They took off the name tags of the dead soldiers and then pushed them and the bodies that were already there into the crater and buried them. Then they sent the injured to the medical station at the front. Two soldiers inhaled the poison gas and they coughed hard. One of them even coughed out his lungs burned by the gas. The coughing mixed with wailing was chilling. Lu Mingfei and his companions returned to the grove. It was already bright outside and the truck had been waiting for them for a while. The sunlight shone through the gaps between the leaves, but it could not dispel the haze in their hearts. "I thought you were all dead. If you had come a few minutes later, I might have left." The truck driver leaned against the truck and said with a cigarette in his mouth, with a hint of sarcasm in his tone.
Lu Mingfei and the others ignored the truck driver's words and climbed onto the truck in silence. The originally crowded truck now seemed spacious, and they could sit down with their knees curled up. Everyone's face was filled with fatigue. The truck driver didn't get a response, and didn't say anything else. He put out the cigarette in his mouth, and then started the truck. The truck began to slowly drive towards the camp a few kilometers away from the front line. It started to rain heavily again, soaking their bodies. Some soldiers couldn't help but shiver, not knowing whether it was because of the cold or the bombardment. The rain flowed down their hair and cheeks, mixed with sweat and tears, unable to distinguish one from the other. Lu Mingfei and his companions were swaying with the truck. They were exhausted both physically and mentally and just wanted to have a good rest. When they closed their eyes, they could still hear the roar of the artillery fire. "Bang!!!" At this moment, a loud noise came from somewhere. Lu Mingfei and his companions, who were originally drowsy, were startled and woke up instantly. They put their hands on the fender of the truck and looked around nervously. If there was anything wrong, they would immediately jump over the fender and hide in the ditch beside. "Kids, it's okay. We are far away from the front line now." Kaczynski comforted them in a hoarse voice, but his current condition was not very good. His face was haggard, and his dark blue eyes were bloodshot, as if he might fall asleep at any time. Nothing happened afterwards, and the truck returned to the camp safely. After returning to the camp, Lu Mingfei and his team had only one thought in mind, which was to have a good sleep. The tranquility of the camp was in sharp contrast to the hustle and bustle of the front line, as if they were two different worlds. This was Lu Mingfei's first day on the front line. He didn't even know what the French on the other side looked like, and they had already lost half of their troops. The death of his comrades made him feel powerless. Lu Mingfei and his friends rested for a whole day, and no one came to disturb them. Their tired bodies were relieved a little. Lu Mingfei took the paper and a small wooden box and walked to the back of the camp. There was already a man sitting on the wooden box with his pants off, smoking a cigarette. It was Kaczynski. Lu Mingfei placed the wooden box next to Kaczynski, then took off his pants and sat on it. At this moment, the cruelty and tension on the battlefield seemed to be forgotten. "Huh~" Lu Mingfei let out a comfortable cry. At this time every day, a few people gathered together to shit and chat, which was a great enjoyment. They could sit on the box for hours without getting up, until everyone's thighs were numb as if they had been electrocuted. In the past, Lu Mingfei was worried about whether he would get hemorrhoids, but now he didn’t know if he would die one day, so why worry about hemorrhoids? On the front line where life and death were uncertain, all worries became insignificant. Lu Mingfei was embarrassed about such behavior at first, but after attending the boot camp, it didn't matter anymore. He still remembered going to the public restroom in the boot camp. That public restroom had no doors or baffles. More than 20 people sat side by side, and the size of everyone's penis could be seen at a glance. At first, everyone was quite shy, but as they did it more and more times, they got used to it. Everyone would comment on other people's penises from time to time, and the toilet became a place for everyone to share interesting stories in the camp. Later, this habit was brought to the front line. "Have one." Kaczynski handed a cigarette to Lu Mingfei. "Thank you." Lu Mingfei took the cigarette, lit it, and took a deep breath. He felt his tense nerves begin to relax under the effect of nicotine. The smoke lingered in the air, as if taking away some of his troubles. He was a non-smoker and even hated the smell of cigarettes. Even in the boot camp where everyone smoked, he did not become addicted to smoking.
But on the first night he set foot on the front line, he started smoking. That night he smoked more than ten cigarettes in a row and used up all his stock. The strong nicotine made his brain numb and he forgot everything. It was also from that day that Lu Mingfei became addicted to smoking. He finally understood why every soldier on the front line was a heavy smoker, and why the army might even mutiny if they were not given cigarettes. Cigarettes became their only comfort in this hell. Neither of them spoke, they smoked silently and looked up at the sky. In the distance, two planes were fighting. The planes circled in the air, chasing each other, like two fighting birds of prey. Watching planes fighting was one of the few pleasures for soldiers on the front line. The battles between planes were very entertaining, like two knights in the sky dueling. They would also bet on which plane would win. "Kaczynski, do you think our plane will win or the French plane will win?" Lu Mingfei turned his head and asked Kaczynski. "I bet on the French plane to win," Kaczynski said. "Then I bet that our plane can win. If I bet right, you have to answer me a question. If you are right, I will buy you a drink." Lu Mingfei continued. "Okay..." After a moment of silence, Kaczynski nodded in agreement. After that, the two of them did not speak again, but silently watched the two planes fighting in the sky. The machine guns between the planes fired at each other, sending out strings of sparks. Thanks to reasontruth brother for the 100 points reward. He has supported me many times and I am really grateful. (End of this chapter)