All the resources would become military resources during wartime. Mo Hua Planet was rich in high-strength graphite ores, which was the resource that was most urgently needed during the war. Therefore, when the war started, the Southwest Mining Area naturally became the Southwest War Zone. It became the hot land that the Federation and the Empire desperately fought for. Then, it gradually became a wasteland under the damage of gunpowder and bullets.
Salé City, which was located in the center of the Southwest War Zone, was the largest settlement of workers in the Empire's graphite mining area. After thousands of years of mining and cultural accumulation, this city had brought a pleasant atmosphere. The old-style buildings were neatly arranged on both sides of the street. The big sycamore trees stretched their broad leaves peacefully, bringing shade and happiness to the people walking on the street.
Now, this city had long become a wasteland. The stubborn sycamore trees were neatly cut down by the army and fell on the street as a barrier. The old-style buildings were painted black, their front teeth were broken, and they were on the verge of collapsing. There was no beauty to speak of.
The fierce battle lasted for three years. The gunshots seemed to have echoed in this city for three years without stopping for a moment. The seemingly quiet and empty alley could have a huge explosion at any time. Only a few decaying beams of the clock tower were left. No one knew how many snipers were hiding in the dark city ruins, looking for the enemy, ready to pull the trigger at any time.
There were too many dangers hidden in the ruins. Every minute, there were soldiers wearing military uniforms who fell, and then couldn't get up again. Occasionally, there would be soldiers who were lucky enough to stand up, but who knew that they would fall again in a few days?
Of the original residents of Salé City, only a small portion of them had time to evacuate before the war. Most of the civilians could only helplessly hide in their own homes, waiting for a rocket to blow their wedding photos and themselves into pieces at the same time, or for the Federation soldiers to violently kick open their doors.
Three years that seemed to be longer than life had passed. There were very few civilians who were lucky enough to survive in this city. They hid in the cellars, from fear to numbness, from anger and sadness to numbness, from passion and excitement to numbness, numbness to survival, numbness to waiting for death.
However, in recent months, even numbness had become an extravagant hope. Ferre City had turned from a hot land to a wasteland, and now it had turned into a scorched land. The arrival of death seemed even more reckless and casual.
In the strategy that Du Shaoqing had drafted before he left, the southwest war zone was determined to be an important target to provide cover for the battle in the straits. The four Federation's reorganized mechanics ignored the layers of barriers that the dynasty had set up and launched continuous attacks without any regard for their lives. The dense cluster of missiles tore through the gray sky, and hundreds of close air combat jets roared as they dove down, leaving trails of fire behind them.
In such a terrifying war environment, it was not easy to survive like a wild dog.
…
…
Shedd Capudanovitch was an ordinary old watchmaker in Sale. He rubbed his rheumatism that was becoming more and more serious. Looking at the broken vat in the corner, the wrinkles on his face became even deeper than the pain. His dry and gray lips moved slightly as he counted how many things were left in the cellar.
There were only two bags of compressed biscuits left. These were the spoils of war that the old watchmaker had risked his life to climb out of the cellar in the middle of the night and loot from a Federation soldier on the street last month.
The oil lamp without a discharge was almost gone. The lamp hanging in the cellar was so dim that it seemed like it was about to cry.
What was even more despairing was that the miniature circulating water filtration system in the corner that his son had spent a lot of money to buy before the war had finally stopped working after stubbornly holding on for three years.
"Azila, don't fix it. Come over to grandpa. I have something to say to you." The old watchmaker looked at his granddaughter who was busying herself in front of the water table with a gaze full of love and said emotionally, "After your father died, who would still be fiddling with such a high-class thing?"
Azila was sixteen years old this year. She had a head of beautiful dark chestnut curly hair. Because of malnutrition, her eyes were a little sunken, but they made her look even more beautiful. She turned around and looked at the old watchmaker. "Grandpa, what should we do?"
"There haven't been any knocking sounds from the cellar over at Old Tom's house for three months." The old watchmaker sighed and scratched his sparse hair. "They probably aren't there anymore. Later at night, I'll go through the waterway and see if there's any water left in their water tank."
The young girl Azila frowned and protested softly, "Grandpa! That's too dangerous. Your leg isn't convenient. If anyone has to go, it should be me. "
"How can I let a little girl take away an old man's job?" The old watchmaker chuckled, took out a hunting rifle from the black cabinet behind him, and stood up with great difficulty.
"Grandpa, I'm already sixteen years old." The young girl Azila pouted unhappily.
The old watchmaker was slightly startled. He frowned deeply and said with uncontrollable sadness, "Yes, my beautiful Azila, you've been with this old man in this dark place for three whole years."
In order to survive in this ruined city, other than luck, one only needed to be strong, strong, and strong. So the old watchmaker did not allow himself to be immersed in the harmful emotions of sadness for too long. He took a deep breath to calm himself down, and then carefully checked the hunting rifle. After confirming that it was well maintained, he nodded in satisfaction.
"Azila, I've told you many times. Every time you leave the cellar, you have to fight."
The old man looked at his granddaughter lovingly and gently stroked her slightly knotted dark chestnut curly hair. "Some people in this city have surrendered to the enemy. Some are fighting, and some are waiting. I'm old, but sometimes I can still fight those invaders. But you're a girl. You should wait."
The young girl Azila squatted in front of the old watchmaker and said with certainty, "Can't I do anything but wait? If I had a gun, I could kill a few Federation people. "
"When you live to my age, you'll understand that everything in this world is trivial, including war. Happy people only need to do one thing."
"What is it?" Azila opened her big, curious eyes. Her pupils were as beautiful as gemstones.
The old watchmaker said with a tone of truth, "Live, as long as you live."
At this moment, a few muffled sounds came from the broken iron sheet in the corner of the cellar. The old watchmaker's expression suddenly became nervous. Above the broken iron sheet was a ventilation pipe made of pig iron, and the sound from the ground could be heard clearly.
The muffled sounds continued. The old watchmaker frowned and listened for a while. After confirming that it was gunfire, he asked in a low voice, "Is the door closed?"
"No," Azila replied.
The old watchmaker did not have time to scold the girl. He signaled for her to lock the iron door at the entrance of the cellar. Although the entrance was disguised, there was still a possibility that the soldiers on the ground would discover it.
In the past three years, the grandfather and granddaughter had heard gunshots from the ground countless times. They had encountered such situations before, so the young girl Azila was not nervous. She lifted the stained hem of her dress and jumped to the door like a deer.
Footsteps came from outside the door.
The old watchmaker opened his mouth slightly, and a look of despair appeared on his face. He subconsciously lowered his head and pushed the magazine away, and then reached for the cold bullets beside him.
The young girl Azila covered her mouth in horror to stop herself from screaming. She ran to the door, but before she could reach out, the heavy iron door was kicked open.
The iron door hit the young girl's delicate body heavily, and she was knocked to the ground two meters away. Just like that, she fainted.
Looking at the two Federation soldiers who rushed in, the old watchmaker howled in anger and despair. He wanted to raise his gun to protect his last home with his life.
However, the watchmaker was really old. After three years of torment, his hands, which used to be able to repair the most delicate watch cores, were trembling and unstable. He couldn't press the bullet into the barrel for a long time. His keen eyesight, which he was most proud of, had long become muddy. He could only vaguely see the enemy's figure.
The Federation soldier who rushed into the cellar pulled the trigger at the old man without hesitation. The bullet hit his chest and abdomen, leaving three horrifying bullet holes under his ribs. Blood flowed out continuously.
The old watchmaker fell from the chair, but he did not stop breathing immediately. He panted and looked at the Federation soldiers. With the last of his strength, he begged in the most humble and desperate tone, "Please let my granddaughter go."
The one who rushed into the cellar was a Federation captain and his orderly. In the previous fierce battle, the captain's unit was directly crushed into a bloody pulp by an imperial mecha battalion. He saw the opportunity and quickly left the battle zone. He broke into this residential building behind the street and did not expect to luckily find a cellar.
The Federation captain's military uniform was in tatters. He looked extremely haggard. Right now, his mood was also abnormally irritable. He looked at the old imperial man who looked like a skinny dog on the ground and growled, "What did he say?"
"I don't know," the orderly replied honestly.
The captain spat on the ground and pulled the trigger again without hesitation.
The bullet pierced through the shriveled body for the second time. It did not bring out much blood, but it directly brought death.
In the imperial Mo Hua Planet, Feile City, an ordinary old watchmaker named Shedd Kabdanovich ended his life just like that in this dark cellar.
The young girl Azila woke up. Her face was pale as she looked at the old man lying in a pool of blood. Her gem-like eyes suddenly lost all their luster. She was as ignorant as a stone. She knelt on the ground and crawled to the old man's side. She reached out her weak and trembling arms and gently hugged him.
The Federation captain frowned at her. He reached out and grabbed the young girl's curly hair. He roughly pulled her up, then saw that pale and sorrowful but still tender face.
The young girl stared at his face. The stone in her eyes began to burn. She stubbornly raised her head and then prepared to shout. She believed that there must be imperial troops on the ground.
The captain tried to cover her lips, but Azila bit him hard. The captain groaned and looked at his bleeding hand. He hit the girl hard on the ground like an injured wild dog.
After a moment of silence, the captain's expression gradually became cruel and strange. He stared at the crying girl who was half-kneeling at his feet. He reached out and tore off the thin skirt on the girl's body. He used his bleeding hand to cover her face and pressed her down. After kicking off his pants, he began to gasp for breath.
Just like a dog.
…
…
(Note: According to my habit, I always save the whole number of chapters for the important chapters. In this chapter, I used some of Walter's lines about defending Sarajevo.
I'm very engrossed in writing. My current confusion is that if I continue to write like this, this episode will end much later than I thought.
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