War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 1687 FAB1500 blocking the door
In the desolate mountains, Wei Ran was leading his own donkey and walking step by step behind the flock of sheep.

The road was not easy to walk on, and there was no sign of anyone walking along the way. Especially the cold wind and the sand, he had to wrap his face tightly with a scarf, and also had to wrap the camera hanging around his neck with the blanket wrapped around his body to prevent sand from entering the camera.

From time to time, he would secretly take out the compass and take a look. All along the way, they were heading roughly west.

The flyback watch fixed on the other side of the compass accurately recorded that they had walked for nearly four hours since their lunch break.

Just as the sunset was about to be blocked by the distant mountains, the roar of fighter jets was heard from a far distance.

"Get down quickly!"

Mahbub shouted at Wei Ran in Russian and dragged him to hide in the shadow of a distant mountain.

At the same time, Habibullah quickly took off the Stinger anti-aircraft missile launcher on his shoulder, and the youngest Murtaza grabbed the collar on the neck of the head sheep to prevent it from running away.

However, before Habibullah could put the anti-aircraft missiles on his shoulders, several bombers suspected to be Tu-22M flew high overhead and were blocked by the mountains in the distance in the blink of an eye.

Although it was only a fleeting moment, the grandfather and his two grandsons were frightened and spoke anxiously in a language that Wei Ran could not understand.

Before Wei Ran could ask, a series of earth-shattering explosions were heard from a far distance!
Just by listening to the noise, Wei Ran could be sure that it was a noise that could only be made by bombs of at least FAB1000 or above!

A moment later, the bombers began to circle back from a very far distance. Mahbub and his two companions, who had originally prepared to rest, hurriedly drove the sheep and three donkeys and quickened their pace.

As the three of them crossed the barren mountain again and again, Wei Ran gradually smelled the smell of scorched earth.

When they climbed to the top of a hill again, Mahbub's legs went weak and he fell to the ground.

Just on the other side of this hill, this not-so-big valley was dotted with huge bomb craters. Further away, the top of another hill seemed to have been flattened by the explosion.

Taking a step back silently, Wei Ran raised the camera wrapped in a blanket. Before the last ray of sunset sank into the earth, he took in the picture of Mahbub lying on the ground, Habibullah and Murtaza who were trying to help him up, and the horrific bomb craters one after another at the foot of the mountain, and gently pressed the shutter.

"If we're going to do anything, we better hurry up."

Wei Ran covered the camera with a blanket again and reminded, "Maybe a Soviet plane will fly over to check the results of the battle."

This sentence reminded Mahbub, and he stood up again. He said something in a language that Wei Ran could not understand, and then he dragged the donkey and stumbled down the mountain along a zigzag route.

The only intact things here are the huge bomb craters which are the size of basketball courts and six to seven meters, or even seven to eight meters deep.

This was undoubtedly something that only FAB1000-level and above bombs could do. These powerful bombs easily changed everything here and buried everything here, so that Wei Ran tried to raise his camera to take pictures again and again, but had to put the camera down again and again.

In his viewfinder, apart from bomb craters, flocks of sheep, donkeys and three generations of desperate grandparents and grandchildren, there was no evidence or trace that made it look like anyone had ever lived here.

There were no bodies, at least no complete ones, and no caves. Even if there had been one, it had completely collapsed.

At this moment, Murtaza suddenly said something. Mahbub and Habibullah were stunned at first, and then ran like crazy towards the low mountain with the top cut off.

Seeing this, Wei Ran helped Murtaza drive the flock of sheep and three donkeys and followed behind.

While climbing over the ravaged hill, stepping on the still warm bomb craters, Wei Ran immediately noticed that at the opposite side of the ravine, at the foot of another low mountain, there was a huge bomb sticking diagonally!

He raised the camera again, took in the bombs in the distance, the three people running desperately down, and the sheep and donkeys following them, and pressed the shutter. Then Wei Ran covered his camera and ran down.

As the distance got closer, he pressed the shutter again and again towards them, until he came to this winding ravine and really saw the unexploded bomb clearly.

This is a FAB1500 free-falling bomb. It is stuck in a piece of mud with ice chips remaining, with its head down and its tail up.

It can be seen that due to various coincidences, it slid all the way down from the halfway point of the hill, and finally stopped because its tail stabilizer was blocked by a rugged rock.

But the fatal thing was that this bomb happened to block the narrow cave at the foot of the mountain, leaving a gap of less than 20 centimeters wide between the bomb body and the edge of the cave!
But, there were still cries of women and children coming from the cave!

Are you kidding me?
Wei Ran looked in astonishment at the bomb that could explode at any time. He had last seen such an outrageous scene in a classic anti-Japanese movie that was mostly funny. He had never thought that he would actually encounter such a scene!

Seeing Habibullah was about to touch the bomb, Wei Ran quickly grabbed him.

"Don't move! Don't move it!"

Wei Ran first shouted the first half of the sentence in Russian to stop Mahbub, and then switched to English and shouted the second half, "Don't move, its fuse is in the mud, it might explode if we move it even a little bit."

"My sister is inside!" Habibullah said anxiously.

"Listen to me, don't move, I'll handle it."

As Wei Ran spoke, he pushed the three men back a little and asked in Russian, "Uncle Mahbub, are you willing to give me some trust? I will dismantle this bomb."

"Can you dismantle a bomb?" Mahbub subconsciously expressed his doubt.

"If the demolition fails, I will die here." Wei Ran said seriously.

After a slight hesitation, Mahbub said, "My daughter is inside. She is about to give birth. Her husband is the leader of this guerrilla camp and my only surviving student. In addition, there is another child inside. She is the daughter of another student of mine."

"I will save them," Wei Ran said seriously, "I guarantee it with my life."

"What do you need us to do?" Mahbub asked seriously.

"We need to block this stream first."

Wei Ran raised his hand and pointed to the other side of the ravine, the direction where the winding stream flowed down, and said as he untied his suitcase from the donkey, "It will be easier for me to operate if we block the stream here.

Also, take the sheep and donkeys away at least 500 meters. Finally, tell the people in the cave to stay away from the cave entrance and keep quiet.

Hearing this, Mahbub began to give orders in a language that Wei Ran could not understand.

After a brief exchange between the three, Murtaza gritted his teeth, pulled the reins of the lead sheep and three donkeys and walked away.

At the same time, Habibullah quickly walked towards the upstream of the winding stream, blocked the stream which was only a dozen centimeters wide with stones found everywhere around, and built a dam to cut off the flow of water.

Mahbub said something to the woman in the cave, and then went upstream to help build the dam.

Slightly relieved, Wei Ran opened the suitcase, took out a flash light and connected it to the camera. He first took a picture of the entrance of the cave, and then took a picture of Mahbub and his son Habibullah in the distance. Then he threw the camera into the box and used the box as cover to take out the engineering shovel and flashlight.

"Mahbub, I need your help." Wei Ran fastened the suitcase and shouted loudly.

Hearing this, Mahbub ran back without any complaints, "What do you need me to do?"

"Holding a flashlight"

Wei Ran handed the flashlight to the other party, then used his hands to dig away the cold mud and sand, revealing the warhead fuse of the bomb.

Sure enough, just as he expected, the body of the bomb got stuck on the hard sandy ground, and its warhead luckily stuck into the wet and soft mud and sand.

But this dangerous balance could be easily broken. If his movements were a little bigger, the bomb would slide forward a few centimeters and the fuse might be triggered.

“Let Habibullah help, too.”

Wei Ran said, "You two must hold this bomb with your greatest strength and most cautious movements, and don't let it slide even a centimeter."

Upon hearing this, Mahbub immediately called his son back, and the two of them worked together to hold the huge bomb, acting as the last layer of resistance that was better than nothing.

At this time, Wei Ran was already wielding an engineer shovel and building a second dam with the sand and stones found everywhere around him. Then he began digging under the warhead with such rough movements that made Mahbub and his son shudder with fear.

After shoveling a few shovels of wet sand and gravel, he immediately used both hands to scoop out the turbid stream water in the pit, and finally made room for himself to barely operate.

After trying to twist the aluminum fuse, Wei Ran looked up and said in English, "Gas furnace, I need your gas furnace."

"I'll get it right now!"

After saying this, Habibullah communicated with his father for a few more words, then carefully released the bomb and ran towards the flock of sheep in the distance.

Soon, he came back with the small gas stove.

"Light it up"

As Wei Ran spoke, he had already carried a stone about the size of a basketball into the pit he had just dug. He used the sharp edges of the stone to hold the bomb in place, further preventing it from suddenly sliding down.

While he waited patiently, Habibullah lit the kerosene gas stove, and then at Wei Ran's signal, he hugged the thick bomb again.

Wei Ran picked up the kerosene gas stove and roasted the projectile under the horrified gaze of Mahbub and his son. At the same time, he scooped up icy water with his other hand and poured it on the fuse to keep it at a normal temperature.

After a moment, Wei Ran slowly put down the gas stove, took out the belt from his waist and tied it to the fuse, and wrapped the remaining part around the wooden handle of the engineer shovel.

Using the fuse itself as a fulcrum, the fuse, which was slightly deformed by the impact, was finally unscrewed.

With a slight sigh of relief, Wei Ran untied the engineer shovel and belt and put them aside, then unscrewed the fuse one circle at a time with his bare hands and placed them aside.

"Let go," Wei Ran said.

Upon hearing this, Mahbub and his son let go of the bomb they were holding.

Unexpectedly, after the two of them stepped back a few steps, Wei Ran used an engineer shovel to shovel a few times near the warhead whose fuse had been removed, allowing the bomb to slide along, and it hit the stone that Wei Ran had placed there in advance with a "bang". When this small balance was broken, the bomb also rolled down, and hit the muddy stream with a "smack", splashing the three of them with wet mud and sand as Habibullah screamed.

At the same time, Wei Ran also felt his brain confused for a moment, but it was not as serious as before.

"Bring out the people inside."

Wei Ran continued to pack his things while speaking.

In fact, he didn't need to say anything, Mahbub walked into the cave with a burning flashlight, followed by Habibullah.

Taking this opportunity, Wei Ran put away the engineer shovel, fastened his belt, and hung the camera around his neck again.

By the time he picked up the suitcase, a woman dressed in a secular way had come out with the support of Habibullah.

She was wearing a Soviet afhanka and Soviet boots. Under her long wavy hair, a gray scarf was only wrapped around her neck, leaving her delicate and pretty face completely exposed. At the same time, the raised collar of the dark blue tweed windbreaker on the outside covered most of her cheeks.

But this slightly larger tweed windbreaker still couldn't hide her bulging belly. Objectively speaking, Wei Ran would not be surprised even if she was about to give birth in the next second.

Behind her, there was a little girl who looked no more than 10 years old. The little girl was wearing jeans and a khaki turtleneck sweater with an open denim jacket on the outside, but on her shoulder was a Soviet SVD sniper rifle!

6◇9◇Book◇Bar

Following closely, Habibullah also came out of the cave holding Wei Ran's flashlight. In his hands, he also held a small enamel pot and a not-so-big radio.

"Where are we going next?" Wei Ran asked as he took the flashlight handed to him by the other party.

"Get out of here first"

Habibullah replied, “There is no one alive here anymore. We must leave as soon as possible.”

"Is there anything I can help you carry?" Wei Ran said, picking up his own suitcase.

"No, nothing more."

Habibullah paused, then took the initiative to introduce, "She is my sister, her name is Ayana, and the little girl is the daughter of my father's student, her name is Soraya, the same name as the former queen."

"Now is not the time for small talk."

Mahbub switched from Russian to his native language and urged, "Habibullah, help me help your sister onto the donkey. Let's leave here first."

Hearing this, Habibullah gave the things in his hand to Wei Ran to help carry. He also immediately went over to help, first untied the weapons tied to Wei Ran's donkey, and then carefully helped his sister onto the donkey's back.

"Who is he?"

The woman on his back, who looked like she might give birth at any moment, asked in a low voice. At this time, Wei Ran could already understand this strange language.

"A freelance journalist who was going to interview your husband."

Mahbub sighed, "Do you know what happened here?"

"I am not sure"

Ayana, who was riding on the donkey, tried to suppress her fear and answered, "I was teaching Soraya to read, and then we heard a huge explosion, and just as we were about to run out, the bomb suddenly slid down and blocked the cave, and then you came.

Dad, Muhanmude him"

"Dead, they are all dead, not even their bodies are left, just like your two brothers."

Mahbub answered calmly, as if he had already expected it, no, it should be said that he had already accepted this fact.

"The freelance journalist's condition is to take you, Murtaza and Soraya away from Afhan."

Habibullah also said in a language that Wei Ran "could not understand", "Now Muhanmu is dead, and I don't know if he is still willing to fulfill his promise."

"I'm not leaving," Ayana said. "I'm not going anywhere. It's the Soviets who should leave."

“It’s too early to say that now.”

Before Murtaza could comment, Mahbub said, "We must leave here as soon as possible and find a place to hide. Where do you think we should go?"

"Go to the spring two mountains away."

Ayana, who was riding on a donkey, said, "The cave where Muhammad and I had our wedding ceremony has some things hidden in it."

"Okay, let's go there, and we'll talk about the rest after we get there."

After Mahbub finished speaking, he glanced at Wei Ran who was walking behind him with a suitcase, then he looked away before the other person looked back, as if he had made some decision.

For safety reasons, although it was getting darker, Wei Ran didn't dare to turn on the flashlight.

Fortunately, both the goats and donkeys have a vision far beyond that of humans, so although the mountain road was rugged, at least Ayana, who was riding on the donkey, did not encounter any accidents.

Although the family had said when they first communicated that they wanted to go to the cave two mountains away, in reality they had climbed over five mountains, so that when they finally stopped in front of an inconspicuous cave, the sky above them was already filled with bright stars.

“We’ll rest here tonight.”

Mahbub deliberately switched to Russian and said, "Victor, can you lend us your flashlight?"

"certainly"

Wei Ran readily agreed, opened the suitcase he had carried all the way as a cover, took out a flashlight and handed it to the other party.

With the help of the beam of flashlight, Wei Ran could see everything in the cave clearly.

This cave was much larger than he had imagined, no wonder they had called it a "wedding cave" before.

If described with relatively accurate numbers, this cave is at least 20 meters deep and 10 meters wide. The whole cave looks like half an egg shell lying on the ground. There is a "skylight" with a diameter of half a meter above his head near the cave entrance, through which he can see the starry sky outside at a glance.

There were also some miscellaneous items piled up in the cave, including bundles of firewood as thick as fingers, a pile of dry cow dung, a small pile of coal, several wooden ammunition boxes and two 200-liter iron oil drums.

There was even a fence of about 20 to 30 square meters made of wooden sticks at the corner of one side of the cave entrance.

Just as Wei Ran was helping Murtaza and the little girl named Soraya to drive the sheep and two donkeys into the fence and take off the weapons and ammunition they were carrying one by one, Mahbub and his son also carefully helped Ayana down from the donkey's back.

While Mahbub was taking care of his daughter, Habibullah skillfully opened the lids of two iron buckets and took out bundles of blankets and other items.

When he lit cow dung and firewood in a campfire pit that had been there for who knows how long, he finally ignited the few coals covering it.

The little girl named Soraya had already spread out the blanket he had just taken out and placed it next to the campfire. Then, together with Mahbub, she helped Ayana over and let her lie on the blanket, which made her belly bulge more obvious.

Immediately afterwards, Habibullah used a Soviet engineer shovel to shovel up some burning bonfires and came to the other side of the cave, rekindled a bonfire, and apologetically invited Wei Ran to come here to warm himself by the fire.

“My sister is about to give birth”

Habibullah explained, “So give her some privacy.”

"Deeply understand"

Wei Ran replied that this had nothing to do with the evil beliefs of later generations. At that time, Afhan was basically a secular country, and this was simply out of respect for the most basic privacy of the mother.

At the same time, Mahbub, his grandson Murtaza, and the little girl named Soraya, used poles to prop up the second bundle of blankets and put up a curtain around the bonfire that was lit first, blocking any possible view from Wei Ran's side.

A moment later, Mahbub also came over and took out two milk cans of different sizes from a pile of luggage. He also took out two black plastic square barrels with a capacity of 50 liters from the sundries he had just taken out of the iron bucket.

"Victor, can you come with me to get some water?"

Mahbub extended the invitation and handed the milk can to his little grandson, asking him to go milk the goat with the little girl named Soraya.

"sure"

Wei Ran knew that the other party had something to say to him, so he stood up happily and followed him, leading his donkey.

"The person you want to interview is my student and my daughter's husband."

Almost as soon as they left the cave, Mahbub spoke, "But unfortunately, we are a step late, so what are your plans next?"

"Do you have any more constructive suggestions?" Wei Ran asked.

"If you are still willing to take my children away from Afhan, I will take you to find a new interviewee," Mahbub said, "also a guerrilla leader."

"Is he also your student?" Wei Ran asked subconsciously.

"All my students died after the explosion just now"

Mahbub looked up at the night sky, and continued walking in the night with Wei Ran, saying, "One of my former colleagues may still be alive. The guerrillas he led are not far from here. I may be able to convince him to give you a chance to interview him."

"Deal!" Wei Ran happily said the Russian word that the other party most wanted to hear at this moment.