War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 679 The Extinguished Tinder

On December 1991, 12, when the short day was replaced by night and the aurora, Wei Ran left the workshop on the front foot of the transport vehicle, followed by a dilapidated tracked artillery tractor.

Among the three windshields of this ATS59G artillery tractor, the side where the co-pilot is located is already covered with spider web-like cracks, and the middle side is broken into dross that sprinkled the cab.

The driver's cab was also terrible, all the seats were worn out, even the floor had large and small damage, and even the fuel tank had to be replaced with an oil drum placed in the cargo box because of damage. .Not to mention the searchlights that were almost tied to the roof with wire, they were all dismantled from the transport vehicle.

But even so, it is still full of power, and the noise far overwhelms the transport truck driven by Wei Ran.

"It's windy again, let's go faster." Apoli yelled at Wei Ran at the top of his voice.

"Put on the supplies first!"

Wei Ran also responded with a loud voice, and with the help of the rocker arm and winch in the cargo compartment of the transport vehicle, he selected some important materials that were moved out of the workshop at the beginning, and loaded them into the crawler traction along with the work records to be brought back. After the cargo box of the car was reinforced with steel wire ropes, it was covered with an additional layer of thick canvas.

By the way, they used canvas and wire to cover the windshield of the cab, and the two moved the cast iron stove in the cab of the transport truck into the cab of the tractor, and covered it with animal skins and blankets found in the living cabin. On the tattered seat.

Finally, the spy radio, two rifles and a few magazines were also sent to the tattered cab of the tractor, and then the two threw all the remaining supplies in the snow into the cargo compartment of the transport vehicle to remove the last traces of existence, and then Apolly drove it himself, and sent it backwards into the mine.

Amid the screeching sound of rubbing between the transport vehicle and the edge of the mine, one after another the halogen headlights were roughly torn off, crushed by the tracks, and then picked up by Wei Ran and thrown into the mine.

Finally, when the entire transport vehicle was forced into the depth of the mine tunnel for more than [-] meters, Apoli turned off the engine, opened the door with difficulty, and walked out slowly with a heavy battery.

At the same time, Wei Ran also found a large box full of mining explosives and the corresponding detonators and detonators in an oil drum less than ten meters inward from the entrance of the mine.

"Just bury it like this?" Wei Ran asked for the last time.

"Bury it up"

When Apoli said this, he didn't stop at all, and went straight to the crawler tractor that was noisier than a tractor.

Hearing this, Wei Ran no longer persisted, took out the explosives from the plastic box and placed them in the blast hole that had been drilled at the entrance of the mine, then connected the detonating wire, picked up the detonator and retreated all the way to the side of the tractor.

The two looked at each other again, and Wei Ran decisively pressed the switch of the detonator.

After a series of rumbling fine explosions, the cement-reinforced mine entrance collapsed amidst smoke and flying snowflakes.

"Get in the car." Apoli got into the dilapidated cab before he could finish his sentence. Looking at his expressionless face, he seemed to have no nostalgia, but also seemed too sad to turn back.

After pondering for a while, Wei Ran also opened the co-pilot's door and got in, and tied the door that couldn't be locked with wire.

Until he sat firmly on this side, Apoli immediately stepped on the accelerator, steered the crawler tractor made in the powerful period of the Soviet Union, and drove straight to the direction of the lower Tunguska River.

Because of the deafening noise of the engine, the two naturally lost interest in talking.

After driving in such a silent but noisy manner for seven or eight hours, Apoli drove the tractor away from the frozen Lower Tunguska River, and once again drove into a tributary without any ruts, and finally stopped. In the depths of a coniferous forest.

"Just go here"

Apoli turned off the engine, and after the still warm compartment was completely quiet, he said, "Let's get back to the river later, step on our skis and continue upstream. There is a freight train station within five kilometers, Comrade Victor, we Just part there."

"Apolly, you have to live."

Wei Ran looked at the night outside the window and replied, "Although it is difficult to live, I still hope you can live."

"Do not worry"

Apolly said seriously in a joking tone, "I will guard the fire, Comrade Victor, if we can meet in that mine next time, we will be enemies."

"I won't give you this chance"

While speaking, Wei Ran opened the car door that was tied up with wire, "In the future, I will find a warm place to start a new life."

"Wait a second"

Apoli stopped Wei Ran, and when the other party turned around, he threw a bunch of keys over, "Leave it for you as a souvenir, Comrade Victor, happy new year."

"It's already 1992?" Wei Ran, who subconsciously took the key, was stunned.

"Yeah, it's already 1992."

Apoli also left the car door. After putting on his skis, he put the wooden box containing the work records into the iron barrel used as a sled car, and finally saluted Wei Ran, "If one day the fire has a chance to be rekindled , I hope we will have a chance to meet again.”

"Let's have a drink together then."

Wei Ran raised his hand to return a non-standard Soviet-style military salute, and at the same time he sighed secretly. He knew that no matter the kind of fire symbolizing the colonization of space bacteria or the red fire seed, it would be very difficult to survive on this land. was lit.

"I believe that day will come. Goodbye, comrade."

After Apoli finished speaking, he lowered his arms, grabbed the rope connected to the iron bucket and carried it on his shoulders, and stepped on the skis step by step towards the frozen channel of the Lower Tunguska River.

"Goodbye, comrade."

Under the intense white light, Wei Ran muttered farewell to himself.

When the sight returned to normal, the surroundings had turned into a darkroom he had personally arranged. Until this time, Wei Ran was completely relieved.

While he waited patiently, the metal book placed in front of him, under the pattern that had turned into a black and white photo, wrote lines of words:
extinguished fire

Pavel, a researcher of the Tinder project, committed suicide on December 1991, 12 in the No. 16 mine in Nizhny Tunguska.

Murat, a researcher of the Tinder project, committed suicide on December 1991, 12 in the No. 25 mine in Nizhny Tunguska.

On December 1991, 12, Shalip, Talas, and Agwan, researchers of the Tinder project, were shot dead by researcher Gennady.

Gennady, a researcher of the Tinder project, was killed by Agwan and Apolly because he tried to snatch the original data of the Tinder project.

Barsukov, the person in charge of the Tinder project, committed suicide in the Tinder project laboratory on December 1991, 12, and burned all the data before his death.

On December 1991, 12, Apoli, a member of the KGB, buried the fire materials and the transport vehicle as agreed, and then drove the abandoned tractor away from the mine.

1992年1月7日，阿波利将勘探队全员证件、帕维尔佩枪及12月8日前所有工作笔记送抵KGB成员沙戈力家中后消失。

In the same year, Apoli faked his death with the help of the engineer riot at the 118th launch site of the Baikonur Cosmodrome.

In October 1993, Apoli joined the Tunguska Coalfield under the pseudonym Ivan Belov as a winter truck driver.

In September 1995, through bribery, he got the job of coalfield ecological environment monitor and winter field rescue station on duty. Since then, he has settled down on the banks of the Lower Tunguska River all year round.

Sha Geli, a member of KGB, escaped from the scientific research camp on December 1991, 12. After receiving the work records sent by Apoli in 15, he assisted in concealing the news of Apoli’s survival. Due to changes in the current situation, he completely gave up conducting research on issues related to the Tinder project. Reporting and follow-up investigations.

In 2001, Sha Geli immigrated to Australia with his wife and children.

In the summer of 2013, Sha Geli and his wife died in an accidental fire.

After writing this, the metal quill started a new line under Wei Ran's gaze, listing in detail Apoli's address on the banks of the Lower Tunguska River and the address of the No. 119 mine in Lower Tunguska.

While Wei Ran was waiting, the quill wrote another line, and wrote an ancient prose that Wei Ran was very familiar with, "Using copper as a mirror, you can straighten your clothes. Using history as a mirror, you can know the ups and downs. Using people as a mirror, Can gain and lose."

"At least Apollo survived"

Wei Ran sighed with emotion, the Soviet Union was a mirror from its prosperity to its disintegration, and everyone in that expedition team was also a mirror.

Those people in the mirror reflected too many shadows, and some of them chose to commit suicide because of the collapse of their beliefs.Some gave their lives for the subjects they had learned all their lives, and some were willing to spend the rest of their lives protecting the property left by the long-collapsed belief.Some even pull the trigger on former classmates and friends for the sake of wealth without hesitation.

In his racing thoughts, the light yellow paper page full of words was turned to the other side, and the metal quill also left a lightly sentence under the slowly rotating red swirl, "If one day the fire has a chance to rekindle, I hope We still have a chance to meet."

Letting the metal quill slam down on the paper, Wei Ran with a tired face was silent for a moment before reaching into the red vortex.

However, when he took out the things in the vortex, he frowned.

In this vortex, there is neither the AK rifle he has been waiting for for a long time, nor the spy radio station he thought he could give himself, or the safe filled with the original materials of the Tinder project. Instead, there are only a bunch of keys that Apolly gave him when he parted. That's all.

Or more precisely, the keys to the transporter.They are respectively used to start the engine, open the tool compartment, car door, cargo compartment door and living compartment door.

But besides that, there is actually a key to the safe on this shiny metal ring!Even next to the key, there is a stainless steel piece the size of a disposable lighter. In addition to the logo of a sickle and hammer, there are also several groups of seemingly random numbers printed on it.

(End of this chapter)