Chapter 913 - The Icy Fortification and Frozen Blood (1/2)

Chapter 913: The Icy Fortification and Frozen Blood

The frozen Yangtze River divided the city into two. North of the river was under the control of Northern Alliance Area while the area to the south was occupied by NAC.

Two days ago, the last batch of troops responsible to cover the retreat also returned to the line of defense and established a multi-layer defense line along the river.

The thickness of the ice layer was close to one meter. With special tires, it was not a problem to allow light armored units to pass. However, this thick ice was still far from enough to hold up the weight of the Wanderer tank. With the restriction of the terrain, the fierce offensive from the Northern Alliance Area finally halted to a temporary stop.

It was also on this ice that the NAC’s artillery exerted its maximum advantage. An electromagnetic pulse cannon could easily penetrate the ice, turning a solid layer of ice into broken ice shards, preventing soldiers from trespassing.

Machine guns along the bank also easily weaved a firepower net. On this frozen river, even the narrowest part was more than 1,100 meters in distance. It was almost an impossible task to rush through this ice sheet with bare flesh and blood.

Under the command of Han Junhua, the defense line of the Second Army was more than several times stronger than it was two days ago.

…

Scooping the snow from the foxhole to the outside with a shovel, Hu Cheng tossed down the shovel and rubbed his numb face. It was freezing outside, with wind gusting. His breath immediately turned into white fog as he sat on the ammunition box.

Two days ago, the retreat order freed him from the hell on the front line. Taking advantage of the light machine guns he had picked up from the battlefield, he was assigned to the foxhole.

There was only one task. It was to press the trigger when the enemy charged. He loved this job very much, he didn’t need to aim and just needed to use firepower to force the enemy to retreat.

In fact, their machine gunners did do that. NAC’s supply was sufficient, enough that he did not need to calculate how much ammunition remained.

Yesterday, those “barbarians” tried to launch three fake attacks and two assaults, but they were forced back without exception.

Today, they were suprisingly quiet, except for occasional shots through the blowing snow, there were basically no new movements.

There was an electric kettle not far from his hand. In such a weather, there was nothing better than drinking a hot cup of cocoa… Of course, hot cocoa was just a thing in his imagination. Since he climbed out of the hibernation chamber, he hadn’t seen any of these comfort things before the war.

He tossed a few dry tea leaves in the boiling water. This tea came from the tea garden near the Sixth Street with a beautiful name called Intoxicating Tea. Just brew in boiling water for a while, it would produce an alcoholic taste.

The tea was not just intoxicating, but also warmed the stomach.

These things were popular among the middle class. One of the most expensive luxury items that they could enjoy. If it was not for the generosity of General Jiang, they simply wouldn’t have the opportunity to enjoy these.

If he was to pay money for this, he would be too stingy.

Hu Cheng took out the binoculars, and cautiously leaned against the edge of the pit and confirmed the line of defense on the opposite side.

“Very well, it seems that they are too cold too,” muttering, Hu Cheng put the binoculars into his pocket, sat back onto the ammunition box, rubbing his hands together. Then, turned off the electric kettle, took out a steel cup, poured half a cup for himself, and took small sips.

He had never seen such a cold winter, nor had he seen such strange snow. When he woke up from the hibernation chamber, the toughest decade already passed. He heard from those who lived through the most difficult period after the war that this may be the fabled nuclear winter?

Intoxicating Tea also had the benefit of reducing radiation.

After finishing the tea, Hu Cheng looked at his radiation value and the iodine inventory on his EP. He stepped back to the machine gun position, and adjusted his grip.

At this moment, he suddenly saw a few green figures in the distance.

His eyes squinted, then Hu Cheng whispered and grabbed the binoculars.

“Am I seeing things?!”

Lifting up the binoculars, he examined the distance.

For a moment, he actually saw mutated humans. Could it be that I’m too tired? It was indeed possible since he didn’t get good sleep for many days.