Why fight? Because the enemy is there.
This was the famous saying of Group 7 that had shocked the Federation. However, Lan Xiaolong, who had said this at the Nebula Award, was now famous and no longer at the front lines.
Why climb a mountain? Because the mountain is there.
This was the famous saying that many adventurers worshipped as their creed. However, when Xiong Linquan and the others looked at the unreachable mountain peak in the dusk and the dangerous wall that was cut in half by the leaden clouds and compared it to Xu Le's words of directly climbing it, they could not feel any passion in their hearts.
Monkey took out the tactical manual and reported the height of this mountain peak to everyone. He then shrugged and said, "The top half of this mountain peak is completely above the turbulent cloud layer. The military satellites in the sky can see the ground very clearly. If we want to secretly climb it, we can only do it at night, and it's still very risky."
The height of the height of the height was shocking, and climbing in the dark was even more dangerous. The team members looked at Xu Le. Although they did not directly object, the hesitation in their eyes showed their attitude.
"We want to climb this mountain peak, but of course it's not because it's there that I don't like the look of it and have to step on it a few times."
Feeling the tension and suspicion in the team, Xu Le made a joke that was not very funny. He pointed at the snowy mountain and said, "It's because other than directly climbing, we can't find any other way. The further away from natural danger, the more likely it is to encounter danger from the same kind."
"Boss, we haven't seen each other for three years. How did you become a third-rate philosopher?"
Xiong Linquan said with a frown. He then took out a precise map from his backpack and began to try to find a relatively safe climbing route. Mocking was one thing, carrying out orders was another.
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This dangerous mountain peak that stood at the edge of the mining area in the southwest of Mo Hua planet had no name. There was not much green vegetation on the mountain peak that was about six thousand meters above sea level, only grayish-black volcanic rocks. There were no minerals. The empire that was busy mining graphite on this planet had not really paid any attention to it for thousands of years.
The team's final destination was a pass on the left side of the nameless mountain peak. The exact height was 5477 meters, and this route was relatively safe and easy to walk.
The weather in the mountains was a bit abnormal. The lone army walked along the rugged mountain road with difficulty, passing through the silent forest on the mountainside, and finally walked out of the strange thick fog area. Suddenly, they came to who knows how many meters thick lead clouds.
The battle-hardened team members still couldn't understand why this desperate battle would push the clouds to such a low altitude.
If Xu Le was given some time, he could probably use some vague calculations to form a formula between the amount of ammunition, electromagnetic turbulence, and this strange astronomical phenomenon.
However, at this time, he was holding the stretcher tightly with both hands and staring at the steep mountain road under his feet. Beads of sweat dripped down, and he had no energy to do such boring work.
If they had rested for a long time and had just entered the battlefield, it wouldn't have been difficult for Old Seven's team to climb this mountain in one night. However, this team had been on the run for many days in the southwest war zone and was already exhausted.
The equipment of the lightly wounded was all taken over by the other team members. Paul and Bead, who were responsible for carrying the stretcher, were already exhausted, and were replaced by Xu Le and Xiong Linquan.
As the two most physically strong people in the team, they also carried five or six heavy guns on their shoulders. They looked like two greedy hedgehogs preparing for winter, with too many fruits on their bodies.
The team members walked in silence within a distance of less than twenty meters. No one spoke, no one talked, and no one laughed, conserving all of their physical strength.
No one flattered or tried to take the guns on Xu Le and Xiong Linquan's shoulders, because this was a battle. Everyone needed to do something to maintain efficiency.
The mountain road gradually became steeper and steeper, and it couldn't even be called a road at all. The team just picked the gaps between the gray-black volcanic rocks to move forward. The temperature in the surrounding environment was getting lower and lower, and the increasingly heavy breathing formed a thick white fog in front of the team members' lips.
After passing through about seven kilometers of volcanic debris scattered area, the team stopped to replenish some nutrition and water, and at the same time to recover their physical strength.
Xu Le took two sips of water and then handed it back to Xiong Linquan beside him. Through the close-range pathfinding light above his head, he looked at the thinner and thinner fog and asked, "How long until we get out of the clouds?"
"Soon."
Xiong Linquan wiped the cold sweat on his forehead and took out a heated military blanket from his backpack to cover the stretcher behind him. He said, "The problem is that according to the height table on the map, the road above is much steeper than it is now. It is very likely that there will be snow at the top. Now we can still carry the stretcher, but we definitely can't do it later."
"Carry it."
Xu Le licked his dry lips and said without hesitation, "We two will change, and then you pay more attention to the warmth of the team members, especially the wounded. There must be no problems."
Xiong Linquan nodded and did not raise any doubts. Although carrying a seriously wounded person on his back and climbing the dangerous mountain peak would certainly bear a certain degree of risk, he was very used to doing things according to the orders of the boss, and he was proud of this trust.
On the stretcher behind the two of them, Dongfang Yu struggled to raise his right arm and tugged at the military blanket that was gradually heating up. Listening to the conversation, he seemed to want to say something, but in the end, he did not say anything. All he did was to seriously chew on the nutrition cream paste.
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After leaving the grayish-black volcanic rock area, they could no longer find a ready-made passage. Monkey, who was good at climbing, explored the steep cliffs, using the fluorescent stick tied to his hip to mark the direction. The rest of the team members carefully followed behind him, always paying attention to not step on empty air and fall into the endless dark night beside the cliff.
The stretcher with all the hydraulic equipment removed was left at the bottom of the cliff. Xu Le moved the heavy guns in front of him and tied Dongfang Yu behind him with a military belt. He followed behind Paul, always paying attention to his movements to avoid any accidents.
Xiong Linquan followed at the back of the team and said, "We'll change after another 100 meters."
Xu Le put his right hand deep into the cliff crack and climbed up with a muffled groan. He did not say anything.
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Similar to the calculation results, after climbing the steep cliff for a short time, the team passed through the lead-gray cloud area and came to the clear night sky. Although it did not take long, this part of the road was extremely dangerous.
The big moon, as white as a breast, was still on the other side of the skyline at this moment. Most of its beauty was covered by clouds, but it was still bright above the cliff because there was still a sky full of stars.
The tired team members suddenly saw the cliff in front of them become bright white. They subconsciously looked up and saw countless shining stars in the blue and black night sky. They gently blinked and sent the silver light to the cliffs, plastering the bodies of the tired travelers on the cliff.
The scenery was very beautiful, and the starlight was very quiet. The fatigue and injuries in the team members' bodies, and the numbing smoke brought by countless battles, seemed to be washed away in an instant.
They were very willing to watch the starlight fall asleep like this. They were no longer willing to lift their lead-like legs and climb toward the more dangerous pass to return to the thick lead-colored clouds again.
Xu Le looked at the stars in the sky and narrowed his eyes. He patted Paul's thin shoulder in front of him, indicating that he should continue to move forward. Then he ordered in a low voice, "Continue."
The cliff here gradually slowed down. The team members' physical strength was on the verge of collapse, but he could not allow the team to stop and rest because the altitude here was high and the temperature was too low. Once they stopped, it would be easy to have problems.
What was more dangerous was that when the starlight illuminated their path, it would be easier for the military satellites outside the atmosphere to find them.
"Let's change."
Xiong Linquan climbed over, gasping for breath, grabbed Xu Le's military boots, and said, "You ate too much of the quota. You have to give me some."
Xu Le looked back at him and smiled. His neat teeth looked particularly white under the starlight. He said, "When I'm gasping for breath like you, you can change."
Dongfang Yu, who was tied to his back, was the most relaxed person in this climb, but the low temperature and turbulence between the peaks still made him extremely uncomfortable. However, he did not want to affect the progress of the team, so he remained silent all the way. Even when the severe tearing pain came from the wound in his abdomen, he just frowned a little more and licked the blood between his gums faster. He refused to let out a groan.
However, at this time, when he heard Xu Le's words, he finally could not help but speak. He used the only hand that could move to tighten the blanket on his body and said mockingly, "He likes to show off. Big Bear, let him continue."
Xu Le ignored him and followed Paul's footsteps and began to walk again with difficulty. The heavy guns on his chest were like pendulums under an old clock, rippling back and forth, appearing to be particularly rhythmic.
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After several hours of difficult climbing, this lonely team, which was regarded as an enemy by all humans, finally succeeded in climbing the rarely visited Nameless Peak pass.
The pass was more than five thousand meters above sea level, and the oxygen density was extremely low, but it still ushered in a burst of soft cheers that could not be suppressed. The extremely tired team members, with wild smiles on their faces, struggled to walk to the bottom of the suspended cliff. They did not care about the ice and snow between the gravel, and just lay down on their backs.
With the cover of the cliff, there should be no need to worry about being discovered by military satellites in the sky, so Xiong Linquan did not stop the team members from collapsing like a carnival. He took a deep breath, drove away the tiredness in his chest and abdomen, and began to distribute medicine to the team members.
Xu Le piled Dongfang Yu and the heavy guns in the corner under the cliff and took the energy bar handed over by Xiong Linquan. From the label, he found that it was actually the provisions of the Imperial Army. Only then did he remember that they had been on the run for two months in the Southwest Theater of Operations, and the original provisions must have been long gone.
After chewing two mouthfuls of the energy bar, he walked to Paul and whispered a few words, then picked up his military backpack and walked out of the suspended cliff.
Xiong Linquan, who was changing the medical tape on Monkey's back, looked at his back in confusion. He did not understand what he was going to do. At this time, staying under the bright starlight for one more second may bring more danger to this team.
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