48 Hours a Day - Chapter 65

Chapter 65

Chapter 65: The Mannerheim Line Welcomes You VII

Zhang Heng had done everything that could be done, knowing he won’t be much help in the battle . So, he squatted behind a tree and waited for it to be all over . The skirmish ended faster than expected . Once the skilled sniper had a gun in his hand, he killed three Soviet soldiers within a swift 40 seconds .

Once the barrage of gunshots were over, Zhang Heng stealthily emerged from his hiding spot . The sniper still clutched the revolver in his hand tightly, albeit, seemingly a little more relaxed now as he did not aim the gun at Zhang Heng .

When Zhang Heng walked towards the sniper, he noticed that there was blood on his shirt . It was apparent now that in the heat of the shootout, he didn’t manage to dodge all the bullets . Zhang Heng came to realize that indeed, it was not easy for him to meet someone without hostile intentions . He had to figure out a way to bring him back to his base, no matter what . All his effort would have gone to waste if he let him die here .

Zhang Heng picked up his cellphone and turned off the alarm, noticing a sea of empty shells strewn all over the ground . Remarkably, and thankfully so, his cellphone was perfectly fine . He then proceeded to collect the backpacks of the dead soldiers . As his current supplies were almost depleted, he had to stock up well to stay alive in this inhospitable land . He had his eyes fixed on the sniper, who nodded his head at him . He was staring at the bullet case that was strapped to the dead soldier’s waist .

Immediately, Zhang Heng grabbed two magazines and passed it to him . Without a second thought, he reloaded his machine gun . Putting pressure on his wound with one hand, he mustered all his strength to stand up with the other . Two fierce battles had just taken place here, and the sound of continuous gunshots had probably attracted more enemies . They had to leave this place as soon as possible, or this time, they would surely die .

Zhang Heng picked a backpack and brought it with him . He, too didn’t let up on the chance to pick up a machine gun . Seeing that the sniper was having a hard time walking, Zhang Heng instinctively walked over in an attempt to assist him . However, it seemed like he wanted no help, shaking his head and pushing away Zhang Heng’s hand .

Zhang Heng was displeased by the response, knowing well enough it wasn’t the best time to play Rambo . Zhang Heng needed him to point him in the right direction if they wanted to survive this forest . Also, without Zhang Heng’s help, it would be tough for the severely wounded sniper to walk out of the woods alive . Both of them were in a tight spot now and had no choice but to rely on each other to get through this .

After a while, the sniper started to understand Zhang Heng’s intention . This time, he allowed Zhang Heng to prop him up . With an arm supporting his body, they both took the slow walk towards the direction that the sniper pointed to .

On the way, Zhang Heng saw countless bodies of Soviet troops . An armored personnel carrier lay in pieces beside the road, still burning with fury . There were also bodies of a few Finnish guerillas with their winter camouflage thrown all over on the ground as well . One could only see how much hatred the Soviets must have harbored toward the Finnish guerillas . Zhang Heng needed a change of coat, but sadly, most of the ones on the bodies were riddled with bullet holes . Some even had powder burns on them, leaving huge, smoldering holes .

Anybody passing them now would have found it extremely peculiar to see a duo made up of an Asian and a Finnish . To make matters worse, they looked completely out of place, like they didn’t belong to his forest .

For the forthcoming days, they would constantly see dead bodies on the ground and incessant gunfire from afar . This time the gunfire did not last long . Again, it didn’t look too safe anymore . The gunfire could have been a signal for the Soviets to help their allies . Then, in turn, the Finnish guerilla snipers would use the opportunity to clear all their enemies .

Their snowboards had allowed them to move effectively in the forest, and they were not about to stop unless absolutely necessary . As they cruised through the snow-caked forest, they saw large numbers of Soviet soldiers killed in many different ways . However realistic an award-winning film would shamefully fade in comparison to the unimaginable horrors that lay before them .

Zhang Heng had mentally prepared himself to witness all the dead . Despite that, he felt awfully unwell after witnessing so much death in one go . The horrifying scene was a violent assault on one’s senses, where war represented the worst of humanity . It also represented what would become of the frail-minded human after civilization had been so carelessly tossed away . Soldiers had regressed to their carnal instincts, to kill and protect in its most basic of forms . Looking at the sniper beside him, Zhang Heng instantly knew that the purgatory around them had almost no effect on him . He was simply used to it .

As they traveled on, they came across two Soviet troops . They managed to evade them, only lucky that they were not spotted first . They even encountered a Soviet soldier that moved alone . His allies were most likely killed in action and he was lucky to flee the battlefield alive . His spirit seemed broken, his face emotionless, lifeless even from all he had gone through . Having no weapons and trudging barefooted, there was a high chance he would end up dead in this forest if his allies failed to find him .

Zhang Heng saw that he was getting further and further away from him, hence deciding to just let him be . Seconds later, he heard a gunshot! The sniper’s hand was on the trigger of the machine gun and was no longer covering the wound! He had shot the soldier in cold blood .

When the sound of gunfire reverberating in the air, the Soviet soldier slowly stopped moving and collapsed beside a pine tree . Zhang Heng then looked the sniper in the eyes, searching for answers . He did the same as well, not batting an eyelid . His eyes were dead, with not an ounce of emotion left in them .

“…… . . ”

Zhang Heng was left speechless . If he was a soldier during the invasion of Japan, he would have shot any Japanese soldier if he ever encountered one . All these Finnish guerillas only had one goal in mind,, and that was to protect their people and country . For these reasons, Zhang Heng felt he had no right to criticize him .

The gunshot, however, would have again attracted more enemies to them, the last thing Zhang Heng wanted . It wasn’t time to play the blame game here . Besides, the sniper wouldn’t understand a word even if he scolded him . It would be more beneficial for them to figure out a way to get out of this sticky situation .

Zhang Heng landed his eyes on the snowboard behind the sniper’s back . Voila!

Five minutes later, they tied all their goods on the snowboard, and Zhang Heng tied a rope at the end of it for the sniper to pull on it later . He then squatted down in front of him . Strangely, it seemed as if the sniper understood what he was trying to do . Immediately, he jumped on Zhang Heng’s back and let him carry him .

When Zhang Heng stood up, he was surprised that the sniper was a lot lighter than he’d expected, probably weighing a tiny 100 pounds . They could finally move faster now . The only downside about this idea was that Zhang Heng’s stamina, and strength depleted a lot more quickly than he hoped it would . He could only do this for around 20 minutes .

Thank goodness they were out of the danger zone .