The thirteen individuals regrouped beneath the bridge, miraculously unscathed and with no casualties.
Despite the tumultuous journey, they had ultimately achieved their initial objective: reaching the railway bridge undetected.
****
“Now, let’s begin laying the explosives. While the foreign devils are still disoriented, we must swiftly complete our task.”
Upon hearing the squad leader’s command, everyone began unburdening themselves of the equipment they had carried during their arduous cross-country trek, meticulously arranging it on the ground.
Their supplies included the explosives themselves, indispensable for demolishing the bridge; the corresponding detonators and catalysts, crucial for a successful detonation; and the ignition device and fuses, designed to trigger the explosives from a safe distance – a vital component if one wished to avoid being consumed by the fiery destruction of the bridge.
Only three among them possessed the knowledge to assemble and place the explosives.
Having retrieved the charges and necessary equipment, they waded into the river, heading for the central bridge piers, while the remaining members stayed on the bank, maintaining a vigilant perimeter.
The Lanforthians had merely endured a few shellings; they weren’t entirely wiped out.
Should any of them wander into a suitable vantage point, they could still spot the individuals working beneath the bridge.
To prevent such an occurrence, even those not directly assigned to the task had to collectively raise their rifles and cover the surroundings.
Lin Yu was exempt, as her pistol had been lost during their chaotic escape.
As the tense placement of explosives neared its conclusion, the three men suddenly paused in unison, beckoning Lin Yu from the riverbank.
After confirming they were indeed calling for her, Lin Yu frowned and stepped into the river, a strange chill seeping into her boots as the icy current enveloped her calves.
Laboriously wading through the shallow waters near the bank, Lin Yu reached the second pier of the railway bridge, counting from the right bank, where a hand reached down from above to pull her up.
“Why did you call me over?” she asked, simultaneously stomping her feet repeatedly on the concrete pier, trying to expel the river water that had filled her boots.
From her calves to her upper thighs, she was thoroughly soaked, her uniform trousers clinging uncomfortably to her skin.
The temperature, moreover, was unbearable; the night wind blew with an icy, bone-chilling bite.
“The spot for the last explosive charge is too narrow. We can’t fit. You’ll have to climb up and install it. Don’t worry if you don’t know how; we’ll guide you through the steps.”
Lin Yu gazed upward, noticing a conspicuous groove on the steel bridge column.
It was indeed too confined for an adult man to pass through normally.
Even for someone as slender as her, squeezing in there would be a challenge.
A soldier handed her a detonator and a peculiar bottle. “The explosive charge is already up there. Just climb up and install these two items. Go on, quickly.”
Bearing the critical responsibility of installing the final explosive, Lin Yu tucked both items into her gear, blew a breath onto her hands, and prepared to ascend.
As a child, she had often climbed onto rooftops, a mischievous habit.
While this target was considerably higher than her family’s small, dilapidated tiled roof, she felt confident she could climb it without falling.
The real challenge, however, lay in the assembly.
A complete novice when it came to demolitions, Lin Yu had no idea how these otherworldly explosives were meant to be installed and detonated.
Could a few men shouting instructions from below truly suffice?
With a final glance back at the three men standing on the ground, and receiving their encouraging gazes, Lin Yu reluctantly began her ascent.
‘They couldn’t exactly force their way in, could they?’
Using both hands and feet, she swiftly scaled the column to the target location.
Lin Yu then squeezed sideways into the groove, her flat chest proving to be a distinct advantage at that moment.
Had she been as well-endowed as Nangong, she would undoubtedly have been stuck, unable to move.
The explosive charge they had placed lay directly beneath Lin Yu’s feet.
Within the groove, a small space allowed her to bend and maneuver, so she immediately retrieved the detonator and “catalyst” from her gear, beginning the installation of the ignition device.
“I’m in position. How do I install it?”
“The explosive charge has several pre-drilled holes. Find the one facing upward and pour all the liquid from the bottle into it…”
Following the remote instructions, Lin Yu meticulously performed the task on the explosive charge beneath her feet, pausing only before the final step.
“Is it all set?”
“It’s all set.”
“Are you sure?”
“Absolutely sure.”
Only after triple-checking with Lin Yu that no steps had been missed did the “demolitions engineers” on the pier instruct her on the final action.
“Whatever you do, don’t mess up this last step. Insert the red end of the detonator facing downwards into the hole where you poured the catalyst, then connect the fuse.”
“The red… end?”
Lin Yu’s reply to the voices below was hesitant.
It was already dim beneath the bridge due to the lack of light, and the main bridge column obstructed what little illumination remained.
She had completed every step, from beginning to end, in utter darkness, relying almost entirely on her sense of touch.
‘And now you’re telling me to find the “red” end? In this pitch-black gloom, who could possibly distinguish red from blue!’
Her left hand, gripping the detonator, trembled slightly. “What happens if I install it the wrong way?”
“It’ll trigger the detonator. It’ll explode in one second.”
“Right, I understand…”
Now she trembled even more.
Murmuring an incantation, Lin Yu cast a minimal healing spell, guiding the luminous motes within the mist to gather on the detonator’s surface, as if it were an injured patient in need of care.
Only by the faint glow of the healing spell could she discern which end was red, and swiftly insert it into the correct position.
‘Don’t explode, don’t explode, don’t explode.’
A second passed.
The explosive charge remained intact, and so did Lin Yu’s precious life.
‘Next time, I really need to learn a few more spells—like a light spell or a binding spell. Just one healing spell won’t cut it for serious business.’
Picking up the fuse, she connected it to the detonator’s tail end, then tossed the remaining length downwards.
Lin Yu then wriggled out of the narrow groove and descended the bridge column the way she had come.
The protruding steel structures and bolts offered her firm footholds, allowing her to land safely.
“Was it a bit much, playing a trick on her like that?”
“Look how much her voice was trembling. Wasn’t it adorable?”
“You… you all,” Lin Yu spluttered, nearly fainting from exasperation upon hearing their words. “At a time like this, you still have the nerve to joke around? Can’t you be serious for once?”
Had she not been constrained by the need to avoid drawing unnecessary attention, Lin Yu would have undoubtedly unleashed a torrent of curses to assert her authority.
‘As if a mere fake lieutenant possessed any authority to begin with?’
‘Forget it, two curses were definitely coming their way. Teasing me at a time like this? They were practically asking for it (TL Note: “皮痒痒了” (pí yǎngyangle) is a colloquial expression meaning “asking for a beating” or “asking for trouble” due to playful mischief).’
“Alright, alright, head back quickly. Pull the fuse and take cover. Our mission is more than half accomplished.”
The three men swiftly gathered the fuse and waded towards the bank.
Lin Yu, meanwhile, leaned out, gazing down at the flowing river directly beneath her.
She secretly stretched her toes, still encased in wet socks and submerged in water, feeling a distinct reluctance to descend.
‘If I don’t leave, I’ll be blown up with the bridge, so I have to force myself to go through this again.’
Stumbling through water that nearly reached her upper thighs, Lin Yu struggled with each step, striving to keep pace with the three men striding ahead.
Suddenly, her foot met empty space.
“…Whoa!”
Lin Yu was completely submerged, only half of her head remaining above the surface.
“Help, gurgle… help me!”
‘How could there be such a deep pit in what was supposed to be a perfectly normal shallow area?! And I can’t swim (TL Note: “旱鸭子” (hànyāzi) literally means “dry duck,” a colloquial term for someone who cannot swim)!’
A non-swimmer, Lin Yu had carelessly stepped into a hidden pit on the riverbed, choking on several gulps of water.
“Help… gurgle… me… mmph…”
Fortunately, someone quickly dashed down from the bank, splashing through the water with lightning speed to reach Lin Yu, then yanked her from the deep water onto the solid riverbed.
“Cough, cough… what happened… cough…”
Kneeling in the riverbed’s mud, she coughed incessantly, only managing to stand with the support of the person beside her.
It was Yang Xi who had rushed over to pull her out.
“You can’t swim?”
“We’re not in the navy, why would that… cough, cough… why would that matter…”
Standing on the bank, completely drenched, Lin Yu fixed a resentful gaze upon the three men who had called her over to install the explosives.
Especially the deplorable one who had dared to tease her and frighten her with talk of an explosion.
The unpleasant interlude quickly passed.
The suicide squad had perfectly executed their suicidal mission, and fortunately, without a single casualty, thanks to Lin Yu’s brilliance (a blatant exaggeration) and the seamless coordination of Diacla’s artillery.
The Lanforthians at the bridgehead, however, were far from pleased.
Having inexplicably endured several shellings that resulted in multiple casualties, they were now frantically engaged in rescue efforts and transporting the wounded, utterly consumed by chaos.
[Why do I feel like I heard a woman’s voice again?]
[You’ve really lost your mind, kid.]
[No, really, she was shouting ‘help,’ and it sounded like… Diaclan?]
[Didn’t you learn your lesson last time when we reported it and got thoroughly chewed out?]
On the bridge, two Lanforthian soldiers were discussing the sounds they had just heard.
One was convinced he had heard something, while the other vehemently denied it.
As they argued back and forth, they missed their last chance to intervene, allowing the “spies” to make their unhurried escape.