War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 665 Lower Tunguska Mine No. 119

In the swirling snowflakes, everyone worked together to lift the materials buried before returning to the camp to the transport vehicle.Nowadays, not only the cargo hold is filled with necessary supplies, but even the living quarters are the same.

Wei Ran was elected by the two doctors to be in charge of material statistics because of the sentence "You treat me as a part of this transport vehicle". Therefore, he knows better than anyone else how much the team has saved like a hamster.

Nowadays, fuel oil alone has a full 24 large barrels of 4800 liters.That's all, not counting the fuel tank reserve of the transport vehicle that was just filled.

In addition to fuel oil, there are also 15 barrels of coking coal also packed in iron barrels.These coking coals that should have been used for metallurgy are far less useful to them than those fuel oils.

But they are far more resistant to burning than firewood, as long as a bucket is carried into the living cabin, it is enough for them to stay in the living cabin for several days without going out.This advantage doesn't matter in normal times, but it becomes extremely important once you are unable to leave the living cabin in a snowstorm for several days.

In addition to these fuels that almost occupied the entire space of the cargo hold, as well as two fuel-fired generators and the crucial core sampling equipment, there are also a lot of other living materials.

These boxes of vegetables, bags of flour and even various seasonings, changes of clothes and bedding, and rifle bullets were all carried into the living cabin by the crowd.Not even a few emptied oil drums were wasted, all roped to the roof just in case.

Finally looking at the list of supplies in his hand, Wei Ran secretly clicked his tongue, most of these items were traded not long ago.But from the beginning to the end, he didn't know what was hidden in Apolly's glove at that time, so that he could easily exchange for so many supplies.

In his wild thoughts, Dr. Murat, who had rekindled hope, personally lifted the last box of cans into the living cabin, took a deep breath and said, "Considering the current situation, we will go directly to the tundra to carry out sampling Work. And strive to complete the sample collection of the tundra by February next year. In the meantime, we will probably not waste time returning to the camp."

"Teacher, do we have a chance to go to the copper mine you mentioned earlier?"

Agwan asked Dr. Pavel, "I also want to see the portrait of Khrushchev where you sent those two corns."

Hearing this, Pavel's eyes lit up, but he didn't answer Agwan's question. Instead, he asked Dr. Murat, "Murat, how do you think this is our camp?"

"That abandoned copper mine?" Murat raised his eyebrows.

"It's there"

Pavel paced back and forth and thought for a while, pointing to the wooden boxes all over the floor and said, "We have a lot of supplies, but it is impossible to put all of them in the living cabin, and we also need a place where we can store samples. There's plenty of room in that copper mine for that sort of thing, doesn't it?"

Murat thought for less than two seconds before nodding in agreement, "That's a good idea, let's go there!"

"Where is the exact location?" Apoli asked proactively, lighting a cigarette.

"wait a second"

While speaking, Dr. Murat got up and walked towards the metal cabinet next to the bathroom, took out a map from it and laid it on a wooden box full of various supplies.

After the two doctors searched and confirmed, Murat pointed to a point on the map with a pencil, drew a circle and said, "It's in this area, where the frigid coniferous forest and the tundra border, As long as we rush over, we can find it easily."

After taking the map and looking at it, Apoli took out a map ruler from his arms, and after some calculations, he said, "The distance in a straight line is about 270 kilometers. It is estimated that this road will take a long time."

"What we need most now is time, isn't it?"

Murat sat on the wooden box again, "Apoli, Victor, take the radio away, we don't need it anymore."

Hearing this, Apoli nodded, picked up the single-soldier backpack radio station, and greeted Wei Ran, who had not expressed any opinions from the beginning to the end, to leave the living cabin.

"Come and drive"

After sitting firmly, Apoli took out a compass and glanced at it, raised his finger and pointed in one direction and said, "Drive in this direction, and stop when you encounter a river."

"Why is he willing to give us that radio?" Wei Ran started the car while searching for the topic knowingly.

"If you don't need it, it will be given to us naturally."

Apoli stuffed the individual radio in his hand into the gap behind the seat, "This outdated equipment, even if the signal environment is good enough, the communication distance is only 20 kilometers at most, but how far are we from the camp now? "

"The straight-line distance is at least 80 kilometers." Wei Ran stepped on the gas pedal while speaking, "Apoli, can we still come back?"

"Of course, don't worry." After Apoly finished speaking, he had already put down the seat, took off the thick cotton hat and put it on his face.

Amidst the roar of the engine, Wei Ran drove the fully loaded transport vehicle slowly away from the frozen river, and got into the coniferous forest next to the river. After a long time, he got out from the other end of the coniferous forest and continued to In the wind and snow, he was heading in the direction directed by Apoli.

In the thousands of miles of frozen Siberian wilderness, the distance between two points on the map is less than 300 kilometers. In reality, it may take at least 500 kilometers to go up.

When the journey was nearly halfway through, Apoli stretched his waist and sat up straight, "Stop the car and let me drive."

Hearing this, Wei Ran, who had already started to feel drowsy, immediately stepped on the brakes and changed places with Apoli, kicked off his boots, curled up on the reclined seat, and fell into a deep sleep.

Counting it, since the last day, he has been driving for more than ten hours without any serious rest.

When Wei Ran was awakened by the cold wind, Apoli had already stopped the car, and Dr. Pavel also opened the door on Wei Ran's side from the outside, and Dr. Murat followed behind him.

Looking out of the window, except for the area covered by the headlights, which was brightly illuminated, the sky was still pitch black.But fortunately, the snowfall that had lasted for an unknown amount of time finally stopped.

Yawning, Wei Ran moved in with his cold-proof clothes and sat beside Apoly. Until this time, the two doctors climbed into the cab one after another.

"I'm sorry to wake you up." Pavel said apologetically to the sleepy Wei Ran.

"It's okay, how long have I been asleep?" Wei Ran yawned again while speaking.

"less than five hours"

Apoli responded, reached out and took out a bottle of vodka from the hearth of the cast iron behind the seat, unscrewed it and took a sip, handed it to Wei Ran and asked, "Dr. Pavel, Dr. Murat, We have now arrived at the junction of the forest and the tundra, which direction shall we go next?"

"Let me see if I know you here first," Dr. Murat responded first, and then raised the binoculars hanging around his neck.

On the contrary, Pavel took a sip from the wine bottle handed by Wei Ran, and said in a very affirmative tone, "I remember that there is a tributary of the Lower Tunguska River just west of the abandoned copper mine. The boss personally asked the driver comrade."

"That's right, I remember it too."

Murat put down the telescope that could not see anything. After hesitating for a moment, he pointed to his left hand and said, "Apoli, let's drive to the southwest along the junction first. If we see the tributaries of the Lower Tunguska River If we don't see the copper mines, then we must be going in the wrong direction."

The road is broken, it is better to throw shoes
Wei Ran muttered to himself, and handed the wine bottle that Pavel had passed back to Apolly.

"Victor, after we find the copper mine, you can get us something to eat."

Pavel took out a cigarette, distributed one to everyone, and said to himself while lighting a cigarette, "We haven't eaten anything decent all day."

"So do I"

Wei Ran declined the cigarettes, and then simply switched positions with Apoli to take over the driving job, so as not to be surrounded by these three old smokers and smoke.

It took less than half an hour to drive along the border between the forest and the tundra, and the trees on the left were getting sparser.In some places, there are even open spaces next to each other.

"We seem to be going in the opposite direction"

Dr. Murat said angrily, "I have an impression. I remember this ghost place. When we flew to the military base on the west bank of the Lower Tunguska River by helicopter, I seemed to have taken pictures of this ghost place."

"you sure?"

Before Wei Ran finished speaking, a frozen river appeared in front of him, and there seemed to be a long-abandoned pier on the edge of the river.

"Sure, let's go back!" Pavel continued, "I remember the pier, we did go in the opposite direction."

Hearing this, Wei Ran didn't say much, and turned the steering wheel happily to the right, steering the transport vehicle in a circle, and walked back along the rut he had just left.

After returning to the original road and driving continuously for more than an hour, I switched to the coniferous forest on the right and abruptly re-opened an obviously man-made logging road.The two doctors also pointed to the forest road in unison.

After driving less than a hundred meters into the coniferous forest along this road, the two doctors immediately urged him to turn left and drive onto another logging road.

Continue driving along this road for half an hour. When the car reaches the end, there are also several low tube buildings and a workshop surrounded by tube buildings in front of you.

In addition, around these few buildings, there are also a lot of outdated mining equipment covered in snow.

Under the glare of the lights, everyone could clearly see that not far from these buildings, there was a pitch-black mine that was not yet covered by snow, extending obliquely into the ground.

Although there is a lot of snow at the entrance of the mine, you can still see a bulldozer with its back facing the entrance raising the bucket high. Under the track of this bulldozer, it seems that a stone base has been specially made for it. As far as it looks more like a monument.

Especially on the surface of the rusty shovel that did not catch the snow, someone welded a steel bar as thick as chopsticks on it, which seemed like a eulogy, "The No. 119 lower Tunguska mine was exhausted in 1962 due to the exhaustion of resources. Closed on Christmas Eve."

"Here it is," said Dr. Murat. "Pawel and I were still taking pictures in front of that bulldozer."

"I can take another picture for you at dawn." Wei Ran was about to turn off the engine while speaking.

"Victor, wait a minute."

Apoli reached out to stop Wei Ran's hand that was about to turn the key, "Turn the direction and point the front of the car at that workshop."

Hearing this, Wei Ran didn't talk nonsense, he skillfully steered the transport vehicle around in a circle, and pointed the front of the vehicle straight at the locked iron door on the side of the workshop.

When the car stopped, Apoli immediately pushed the sunroof above his head, pointed his AK rifle at the top of his head, and pulled the trigger.

For a while, the clear and crisp gunshots echoed repeatedly among the surrounding buildings, and soon, wild animals ran out of those tube buildings.

But this time, Apoli did not point his gun at them. Instead, he patiently waited for them to run away, and then called Wei Ran to get off the car. The two covered each other and approached the workshop which was only 20 meters in front.

After tearing off the iron chain that had already been shattered by bullets, Apoli nodded to Wei Ran, who carefully pushed open the rusty iron door with the muzzle of his gun.

When the headlights behind the two passed through the open workshop door, Wei Ran and Apoli Qiqi breathed a sigh of relief.

Apart from the solid ice in the workshop, there are no facilities and equipment at all. Obviously, the people who evacuated from here have taken away all valuable things.

"Roof looks solid"

Apoli withdrew his gaze, glanced at the two doctors walking behind, and continued, "We can definitely drive the transport vehicle in backwards, and then put the supplies here that are temporarily unused, so that at least the beds in the living cabin It can be erected again.”

"The samples we collected can also be placed here," Murat continued.

"In this case, let's start now." Apolly made a decision without hesitation.

(End of this chapter)