Chapter 88 Farewell

They thought Kirill and the other three would retreat after hearing about the difficulty of the Smolensk battle from their own mouths. Malashenko, who had already regarded the three men following him as close friends, did not want them to follow him at all. Throw yourself into Smolensk, the human meat grinder that has devoured hundreds of thousands of lives.

But what Malashenko did not expect after saying this was that the principle of facing difficulties and fearing life and death has not been a joke since ancient times. When the most sincere friendship between men This is even more true after being covered with a layer of life-and-death friendship.

"No matter how big the difficulty is, we can overcome it together, Comrade Commander! With you commanding us, those Germans have nothing to fear!"

"Yes, it's just like what Nikolai said! As long as our crew is together, those Germans can't defeat us!"

"Sir, we have already discussed it! We will not give up if you don't nod and agree. Just take our crew with you to the Smolensk front line!"

In that later generation that was already doomed by the dust of history and was extremely far away, at that time Lin Jie was just an ordinary "turtle" office worker who returned from studying in Moscow.

In that money-worshiping trend where people were indifferent and materialistic, Lin Jie was used to seeing too many betrayals and abandonments when he first entered the society with a passion for campus.

From initial shock and anger to final indifference.

Whenever Lin Jie lies in bed in the dead of night and feels the golden moment of tranquility after a noisy and busy day, Lin Jie, who is used to picking up his mobile phone and flipping through his address book, can always do it again and again. Find those numbers that have long been empty and out of service but you can’t bear to delete.

As an idealist, Lin Jie always hopes that his friends and the environment around him can develop in the best direction, but the cruel reality has time and again splashed thorns turned into cold hearts into his side. On the body.

When Lin Jie, who was indifferent and helpless, found that he was the only one around him who was like a "fool" and an idealist with good hopes for people's hearts. The naive ideals he had accumulated in his school days were finally shattered by the cruel reality at this moment. In order to protect himself from being hurt by others, Lin Jie had to hide his true feelings and show them with a "mask" like everyone around him. .

If he continues to develop according to the already established trajectory, Lin Jie, whose life's wheel of fortune is slowly turning forward, is afraid that he will continue to keep this "mask" for the rest of his life.

But when he woke up, Lin Jie transformed into Malashenko, who had long been wiped out and was not remembered by anyone in the long history. For the first time in this special era, he felt that people who did not show off their masks could actually The sublimation of people's hearts is so real, and peers who are united under the same flag and the same ideal are like a complete will, without any hypocrisy or ugliness.

Those fragments of ideals that had been buried deep in Lin Jie's heart finally coalesced and sprouted again at this moment. Seeing that the ideals in his heart could turn into reality little by little in this special era, he felt a mixture of emotions in his heart. Malashenko can finally affirm with excitement and joy that these comrades who follow him are not just talking about it.

Malashenko, who seemed to have a blazing fire rising in his heart, finally stood up from the bed with the support of the ideal that reunited in his heart. His right arm raised in the air seemed to be filled with faith and steel. The strength is generally tenacious.

"I swear here, my comrades! The soldiers who are united under the same red flag will never easily perish under the enemy's gunfire! From today on, until this great war ends in victory, we will be glorious and proud. The legendary No. 177 crew! Never be separated!"

When Malashenko's passionate and faith-filled words reverberated in the hearts of everyone present with soul-stirring charm, a staggering figure was leaning on a cane with one hand, supported by someone beside him. , but at this moment, it blocked the sunlight coming from outside the door and appeared in front of everyone.

"I hope you don't mind me interrupting your oath, Major Malashenko. But I want to interject, are you still short of crew No. 177?"

When the trembling fifth fist of the injured right arm came together in mid-air, Malashenko, who stared at the man in front of him with a firm and smiling expression, did not respond with any unnecessary rejection. The words they spoke after looking at each other and smiling were as powerful as the loud oaths they made before.

"Of course, you are welcome to join us, Second Lieutenant Iushkin."

At the last moment when he was about to leave for the Smolensk front line by train, Malashenko received an unexpected gift from the political commissar Petrov who came in a hurry. A set of shiny Soviet tank corps major uniforms and an equally brand-new tank corps major fireproof combat uniform.

"I expect that you will not have the opportunity to change to a new military uniform during your trip to Smolensk. The war on the front line is now tense. It is already awkward enough for you to wear a lieutenant uniform with your original rank of captain. , I can’t let you, a newly promoted major, continue to report in Smolensk wearing the uniform of a lieutenant.”

"Although our 20th Tank Division suffered a lot of losses, we were still able to get two sets of major's uniforms."

After saying that, he handed the two brand-new military uniforms in his hands to Malashenko and stood still. Looking at the young man in front of him, Petrov, who had mixed emotions as if he was bidding farewell to his own relatives, immediately took off the top of his head. The big-brimmed hat revealed the black and white hair that was almost bald, and he slowly spoke.

"I won't say any more unnecessary nonsense, Malashenko, as you said, there is no need to mobilize troops to say goodbye to each other. The child Kirill is in your hands, you must help me Take good care of this little guy and hopefully he will grow up to be like you today."

After staring at Malashenko in front of him with determined eyes, he gently put his right arm on Malashenko's shoulder. After saying goodbye, Petrov's political commissar, who didn't know when we would meet again, then finally said goodbye. Open your mouth.

"No matter what the fighting is like on the front line, or how crazy the Germans are who are sweeping in overwhelmingly. Promise me, Malashenko, you will come back alive as a hero!"

After hearing the sincere words from Petrov's mouth, which were spoken from a personal perspective rather than a public official capacity, Malashenko, whose eyes were slightly moist, immediately repeated the words that he had promised to Commissar Petrov many times. blurted out in a solemn military salute.

"We will definitely fulfill our mission, uncle!"