Song Heping felt his face was rather warm, and when he reached out to touch it, it was red.
It was blood!
But he didn't feel any pain; he guessed it must be soone else's blood.
He quickly turned to look at Samir lying next to him, "Are you hurt?!"
"No!"
Samir shook his head desperately, his face had turned pale.
"Boss, what do we do?"
"Stay down! Don't move!"
Song Heping shouted out the answer.
Besides the restaurant, there was only an empty space around them. In such a place, you had no way to hide from artillery fire.
Even if you ran into the tents, it would be of no use. The artillery shells could pierce through the top of the tents and take out everyone in a single blast.
Moreover, standing up and running away in the middle of an artillery attack was an extrely foolish act, undoubtedly exposing yourself completely to the barrage.
The shrapnel from the artillery shells usually caused a lot of injuries, and standing up made you 90% more likely to get hurt than if you were lying on the ground.
"Don't panic!"
Seeing Samir's anxious expression, Song Heping reassured, "The barracks must have counter-battery radars and duty artillery. They will retaliate. Hold on for ten minutes!"
"Alright..."
It was then that Samir rembered that all US army barracks were equipped with duty artillery and definitely had counter-battery radars.
Once attacked, they would calculate the enemy's location based on the trajectory of the incoming shells within seconds and then inform the duty artillery positions, which would organize a counterattack.
The speed of the response depended on the duty artilleryn's skills. If they were fast, retaliatory shells could be fired within five minutes.
The forces attacking the barracks were definitely the resistance fighters from Mosul City. Their artillery was no match for the US Army in terms of accuracy or firepower.
Therefore, they wouldn't stay in one place for too long but would adopt a hit-and-run strategy; otherwise, they would risk losing their own lives.
Boom——
Boom——
A few more shells landed within the barracks.
Clearly, the enemy had launched a round of salvos.
Song Heping estimated that this would also be the last round of shelling.
Screams erupted from the barracks. The restaurant had caught fire due to the shelling and was now emitting thick smoke.
Soon after, a large number of Arican soldiers poured out of the restaurant and lay down on the open ground.
So of them were obviously restaurant staff, dressed in white chef uniforms.
So were female soldiers and female service personnel.
They were the ones crying out the loudest of all.
The sudden artillery ambush turned the calm night into chaos and panic in an instant.
Song Heping's quick reaction saved himself and Samir, but the situation around them was not looking good.
The shockwaves from the explosions had not only destroyed the nearby restaurant but could have also caused serious damage to other facilities and personnel in the camp.
You could see the rising black smoke curling up into the sky.
"Soone! Co quickly!"
Two minutes later, the shelling finally stopped.
Lieutenant Colonel Mandres was the first to get up and yelled to everyone around, "Stop lying there, the shelling has stopped! You bunch of cowards! Get up and do sothing, where are the fire extinguishers?! Bring so over here and save people!"
The air was filled with dust and the sll of gunpowder, screams, cries for help, and the urgent whistles for assembly mixed together, creating the chaotic backdrop typical of a battlefield.
"Suka!"
The cook got up, brushing dust and debris off of him, and hurried over to Song Heping.
"What do we do now? Looks like we can't have our al."
Song Heping looked around, the whole camp seed not yet recovered from the attack.
He turned his head to look at the restaurant.
All he could hear were groans and screams.
His gaze involuntarily fell to the ground.
That severed leg was still there.
The military boot was still on the foot.
"Let's go, we should help them out."
Lieutenant Colonel Mandres was moving a piece of fallen makeshift paneling when suddenly it felt lighter in his hands.
He looked towards the other end of the panel and saw that Song Heping was pulling on the other side, helping him out.
He nodded gratefully at Song Heping.
"One! Two! Three!"
The two n strained together and moved the paneling that was blocking the entrance of the restaurant.
Song Heping finally saw the inside of the restaurant.
There was a faint firelight, thick smoke filled the air, and so tables, dishes, and food were scattered everywhere.
The air was filled with an odd sll, a mix of the aroma of food and the stench of blood.
Song Heping saw sothing moving in the smoke and ran over, bending down. It turned out to be a soldier who was trapped under a food cart.
The ceiling was crushing the food cart, which in turn was pinning him down.
Song Heping imdiately went over and grabbed one corner of the cart, putting all his strength into lifting it.
The food cart didn't budge.
"Disaster Star! White Bear! Co and help!"
Upon hearing Song Heping's shout, the two n hurried over, and the three of them worked together to move the cart.
Indeed, they were the two strongest n in the team.
With the assistance of White Bear and Disaster Star, the food cart was finally lifted a couple of inches.
Just then, a large amount of fresh blood suddenly gushed from under the catering cart.
It was like a bucket of tomato juice had been carelessly knocked over, slowly spreading across the ground.
Song Heping couldn't see what was being crushed underneath the cart.
He even thought it was just tomato juice leaking from the cart...
When the soldier was pulled out, he groaned and pleaded, "There are still people inside..."
It was only now that Song Heping and others realized that the liquid flowing out wasn't tomato juice...
The cook glanced under the cart and shook his head at Song Heping, "No hope, can't pull them out."
This made Song Heping sowhat uncomfortable.
He looked at the blood flowing past his feet, not knowing whether to set it down or not.
Although the cook said there was no hope.
There was a person inside, after all.
The cook then said, "The head is crushed!"
Song Heping, White Bear, and Disaster Star lowered the cart, and the soldier burst into loud weeping, crying out the nas of his comrades.
A few minutes later, rescue teams arrived.
The debris of the restaurant was once cleared away.
Corpses were carried out one by one from the rubble.
dics were busy at the scene.
Inside the camp, the M777 howitzers continued to roar in retaliation.
In the sky above, A-10 "Warthogs" skimd low like swallows, their distinctive GAU-8 cannon fire signaling another round of strikes was about to rain down on Mosul City Center.
The glow of explosions twinkled in the distance, fireworks lighting up the night sky, also reflecting the ferocious face of war.
The US Army suffered a heavy blow, and they vented their anger in their retaliation.
But such revenge had no aning other than to cause more innocent civilians to die; it was purely a senseless and futile outburst.
Lieutenant Colonel Mandres appreciated the help Song Heping had provided earlier and, despite being extrely busy, did not forget to send for a sergeant to take Song Heping and his group to his own tent.
This was a tent in Zone C, marked with the white number C12.
Entering, there were cabinets on both sides at the entrance, and behind them were the army's common eight double-decker single beds.
The place was quite clean, it seed to have been tidied up.
"Exhausted !"
The cook threw his backpack onto a lower bunk bed and collapsed onto it.
"Who would've thought, didn't even get to eat, and got a bombing instead!"
White Bear complained while sitting on the edge of the bed, "I purposely ate less at noon, thinking of trying their food, but I didn't expect..."
He cut off abruptly when he noticed the blood on his feet.
It was the "tomato juice" that had spilled out while they were moving the catering cart to save soone.
He rubbed it vigorously against the ground, trying to get the blood off his combat boots.
Disaster Star, on the other hand, was the quietest of them all; he was never much for words. He sat down, rummaged through his backpack, found a bunch of canned goods, opened them with his survival knife, and began to eat voraciously by his bed.
Grey Wolf, sitting on the single bed opposite, couldn't help but ask Disaster Star, "Aren't you going to cook that? Just gnawing on it cold? You're even more of a wild man than ?!"
Since he was originally from the mountains, sotis White Bear would tease Grey Wolf by calling him a "wild man."
Without even looking up, Disaster Star said, "The kitchen's been blown up, where can I cook?"
The cook sat up from his bed and said, "Right, I'll go make a fire at the entrance. Let's cook our own food."
"What are you planning to cook tonight?"
"Russian mixed stew! Give so of your at cans and vegetable cans, and two bags of individual rations. I'll handle it!"
"Take them!"
Song Heping rummaged through his backpack and tossed a couple of individual rations to the cook.
He knew his partner was itching to show off his cooking skills again.
Since the cook was good at cooking and enjoyed it,
he would let him do it.
In less than twenty minutes, the aroma ca wafting from outside the tent.
Song Heping stepped out of the tent and saw that he had actually set up a small pot at the tent entrance, along with an alcohol burner—this set was always carried by the cook in the trunk of the off-road vehicle.
Watching the busy cook, he couldn't help but smile faintly.
Russian mixed stew...
He had only ever heard of Northeastern Chinese mixed stew before.
He never thought the Russians also had this cooking thod.
"Wait another ten minutes, and it will be ready to eat."
The cook, sitting by the fire, was intensely focused, expertly dumping the contents of the at and vegetable cans into the pot, adding seasoning packets from the individual rations, and swiftly cutting a few slices of onions and potatoes with his knife to throw into the pot, his movents neat and orderly.
Soon, the tent was enveloped in an aroma that mixed the rich scent of at with the freshness of vegetables. This fragrance seed to have a magical power, not only whetting everyone's appetite but also allowing their tense nerves to relax slightly.
The sll made everyone suddenly feel very hungry; they all gathered around the cook, each holding a bowl, waiting for the al to be served.
Just then, two humvees suddenly arrived and ca to a halt in front of the tent at high speed.
The dust kicked up by the wheels covered everyone in a film of dirt.
"Damn!"
The cook waved his spoon at the approaching humvees, cursing in dissatisfaction.
"What idiot! Can't they see I'm cooking?!"
As the humvee doors opened, six fully ard Big Beards from the US Army got out. They glanced at Song Heping and the others, ignoring the cook's anger, and walked straight into the C12 tent with their backpacks.
Song Heping assessed the combat gear of these n before him.
MICH tactical helts, ACU camo, MK18 assault rifles and MK-48 light machine guns, Navy edition CIRAS tactical vests, "Jack Pirate" and Arican flag patches...
Noticing the "Jack Pirate" patch, Song Heping imdiately realized that these brash fellows were the Seal Team that was to join forces with his defense company for the Mosul hunting mission...
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