Chapter 1, Descending from the Sky

This is merely a matter of a few seconds

Because the parachute's suspension lines are only a little over ten meters long, and including the length of the deployment line, it totals just over twenty meters, it is essential to be cautious and careful when cutting open the parachute pack. One must not apply too much force; otherwise, the sudden rush of air will cause the negative pressure to dissipate rapidly, and Ye Zhenbang will experience a significant inertia akin to that of a one hundred and twenty-kilogram stone during free fall before hitting the ground. If the branch above cannot withstand such a great inertia, falling from a height equivalent to three stories will result in Ye Zhenbang dislocating his left arm and fracturing both legs.

Although the distant horizon is illuminated by the flashes and flames produced by the explosion, and the starry night sky is sufficiently bright, the dense canopy obstructs both the firelight and starlight, making the area below appear like an unfathomable canyon

Today is July 23, 2012, if I remember correctly. Ye Zhenbang wanted to confirm the time, but as soon as he moved his left hand, a piercing pain shot through him, causing him to tremble. If it weren't for his extraordinary endurance and years of rigorous training, he might have cried out.

The I L-76MD transport aircraft, taking off from the Huangpi base in eastern Hubei, flies at a cruising speed of 750 kilometers per hour, reaching the airspace over southeastern Fujian in just one hour. It then takes an additional ten minutes to cross the Taiwan Strait, and approximately 75 minutes after takeoff, it can deliver 120 paratroopers or three airborne combat vehicles to the Qingquan Gang Airport in Taichung

Due to the dislocation of the left arm, even if I can swing to the nearby branch, I am unable to climb down along the branch. I must find a rope, hang it on a nearby branch, and then slide down to the ground along the rope

While thinking, Ye Zhenbang simultaneously disengaged the safety of the pistol

Just as he forcefully leaned to the side and extended his right hand, before he could lift his left leg, the sound coming from the woods on the right side of the picture made Ye Zhenbang abandon his fruitless effort and quickly draw the 92-style 9mm pistol that was holstered on the outside of his right thigh

When he felt his nerves were about to be numbed by the torment of pain, Ye Zhenbang stopped, gasping for breath, with beads of sweat the size of soybeans rolling down his forehead. Although it was his first time on the battlefield, common sense told Ye Zhenbang that he could not stop. If he could not return to the ground before being discovered by the enemy, death awaited him. Even if he was not discovered, as long as he could not land before the prolonged suspension caused poor blood circulation and weakness in his limbs, he would not see the sun of tomorrow.

Before Ye Zhenbang realized that his main parachute had not opened and felt concerned about whether his reserve parachute could deploy in time, he lost consciousness. Just before fainting, he felt as if he were being pulled by a tremendous force, as if a giant hand were supporting him, allowing the airborne soldier, who was equipped with gear weighing 120 kilograms, to float in the air like a feather

All of this came too late, the flight altitude of the I L-76MD airdrop parachutists is two hundred meters, and when Ye Zhenbang was ejected from the cabin, the transport aircraft had already lost power, and the altitude had decreased significantly.

Because the 15th Airborne Army is the only rapid strategic deployment force in the entire military, and the 45th Division is a special rapid response division, it can reach any location within the territory within twenty-four hours of receiving an order. Every month, there are three surprise drills to assess the combat readiness of the troops. Therefore, when orders are received and departure is registered, grassroots officers and soldiers like Ye Zhenbang are completely unaware that this time it is not a drill

At night, the earth appeared dim and gray, and Ye Zhenbang only felt his body plummeting at an extremely fast speed

What supports Ye Zhenbang is not an unseen hand, but rather a branch of the camphor tree with a diameter exceeding 20 centimeters.

Ye Zhenbang did not act recklessly; the extensive knowledge he acquired from over a decade of reading informed him that a camphor tree can grow up to 50 meters tall and can live for hundreds or even thousands of years. The 20-centimeter thick branch indicated to him that this was a towering ancient tree. Calculating based on the 50 meters, with the upper 20 meters of the crown layer removed, there are still 30 meters above the ground. Falling from a height equivalent to ten stories, not to mention a paratrooper without a parachute, even a cat would be shattered to pieces.

Ye Zhenbang decided to ignore his dislocated left arm for the moment; what he needed to focus on was how to return to the ground. Although he had two years of experience as a paratrooper, Ye Zhenbang had never liked the feeling of being suspended in the air. From the day he entered the training regiment and was hung on the parachute tower by the instructor, he developed a condition he referred to as "acrophobia." As far as he knew, among the eleven soldiers in his class, except for the most outspoken squad leader, Qi Pengfei, the other ten all suffered from this "acrophobia," albeit to varying degrees. Ye Zhenbang was even more aware that paratroopers, much like the Greek mythological figure Antaeus, become unbeatable heroes as long as their feet are firmly planted on solid ground.

What is even more cursed is that a weapon bag containing a Type 03 paratrooper assault rifle equipped with a 35mm grenade launcher, four fully loaded magazines, two boxes of 200 rounds of loose ammunition, twelve grenades of three different types, and a PT89 type 80mm rocket launcher is hanging on the left leg

Several times in succession, the intense pain in his left arm caused Ye Zhenbang to fail in his efforts

For Ye Zhenbang, who weighs 75 kilograms, a weapon bag weighing over 20 kilograms is equivalent to 30% of his body weight

Even in death, one must take a few down with them

Through the starry sky above, Ye Zhenbang could imagine that before being caught by the branches, he had fallen more than 10 meters, breaking several branches in the process. The main parachute indeed did not open; what was caught by the branches was the pilot chute of the reserve parachute, which is a small chute with an area of less than 2 square meters deployed in front of the reserve parachute to utilize air resistance to pull the reserve parachute out of the compressed pack. Fortunately, if it had been the main parachute with an area exceeding 20 square meters, or even the reserve parachute which is not much smaller, Ye Zhenbang would have been wrapped up in the parachute lines like a rice dumpling before stopping his fall, and could have even been strangled to death.

A sturdy branch of the camphor tree snagged the parachute, and beneath him lay a dark expanse, resembling an endless abyss. Just a glance was enough to trigger a sudden wave of dizziness, prompting Ye Zhenbang to lift his head. The buzzing sound was fading, gradually giving way to the muffled noises coming from afar. Through the dense canopy, he could still see the dazzling light flashing on the horizon. Ye Zhenbang grasped the paratrooper helmet with his right hand and shook it vigorously a few times. It was as if the volume had been suddenly turned up to maximum; the sounds of explosions and artillery fire became exceptionally clear, and Ye Zhenbang was jolted awake.

The main parachute did not open, which must be due to the parachute deployment mechanism failing when the transport aircraft crashed. Under normal circumstances, the reserve parachute would automatically deploy after the main parachute malfunctioned; however, the jump altitude was too low, and before the reserve parachute could open, Ye Zhenbang fell into the treetops. The reserve parachute is stored in a vacuum-compressed state within its pack and requires a sufficiently large external force to be pulled out, which is why there is a dedicated deployment mechanism for the main parachute. When airborne troops descend, the tension generated after the deployment mechanism is activated exceeds 500 kilograms, easily pulling out the reserve parachute. Since the airborne troops carry equipment weighing only 120 kilograms, in a suspended state, they can only attempt to cut open the reserve parachute's pack, allowing air to slowly enter and reduce the negative pressure within the pack, thereby enabling the reserve parachute to be extracted and allowing for a controlled descent to the ground.

I glanced down, and that wave of dizziness surged back up again

For a paratrooper who can carry a weight of 50 kilograms, complete a 10-kilometer run in 90 minutes, and perform 100 repetitions of each event in the military pentathlon, lifting the left leg and extending the right hand to retrieve the parachutist's knife is certainly not a difficult maneuver. However, for Ye Zhenbang, who has dislocated his left arm and is suspended in the air by several parachute cords connected to his parachute backpack, this is undoubtedly a challenging and difficult task to accomplish. Lifting the left leg and extending the right hand to retrieve the parachutist's knife is certainly not a difficult maneuver. However, for Ye Zhenbang, who has dislocated his left arm and is suspended in the air by several parachute cords connected to his parachute backpack, this is undoubtedly a challenging and difficult task to accomplish

Ye Zhenbang took a deep breath and reached for the paratrooper knife tied to the outside of his left thigh

Only by slowly descending, pulling out the entire parachute, unfastening the parachute backpack, grasping the shoulder strap of the backpack with the right hand, lowering the altitude by one more floor, and then jumping down can one achieve a "safe landing"

Forty-five minutes after takeoff, Ye Zhenbang finally realized that this "was not a drill"

Perhaps no one would believe that this hero, who changed the course of history, was so close to death when he stepped onto the stage of war

Damn it, I need to get the paratrooper knife tied to the outer side of my left leg before this!

The rapidly assembled fragments of memory, like bubbles rising to the surface of the water, brought Ye Zhenbang back to the real world

It is a good thing that there are no fractures

The pain in his left arm forced Ye Zhenbang to concentrate.

When Ye Zhenbang woke up, he was still suspended in mid-air

However, how can one return to the ground

Unfortunately, it was only at this moment that I realized, and it was already too late

It would be best to take down three; after reporting to the King of Hell, we could still gather for a game of Mahjong. Two would suffice, allowing for a game of Landlord. With just one, we would only be able to play chess, which would be rather dull

Just fourteen hours ago, he was still a paratrooper dreaming of using the special prize money from the annual comprehensive assessment results in the military to buy a wheelchair for his father, who had been bedridden for over ten years—a sergeant and deputy squad leader of the 1st Class, 3rd Platoon, 9th Company, 133rd Regiment, 45th Airborne Division. In the more than twenty hours following the receipt of the urgent combat readiness order, Ye Zhenbang, like other paratroopers, completed the preparations for heading to the front lines and boarded the IL-76MD transport aircraft that would take them to the battlefield

I need to find a rope

After gently moving his left arm a few times with his right hand, the area where he felt pain led Ye Zhenbang to believe that it was merely a dislocated left shoulder and not a fracture

Ye Zhenbang clearly remembered that as the green light illuminated the cabin, the entire company of soldiers stood up in four rows, moving sequentially towards the rear door, jumping one after another into the pitch-black night sky. When it was the turn of the machine gunner, Corporal Lu Dingxuan, the transport aircraft seemed to be struck by an enormous fist, violently shaking at an altitude of two hundred meters above the ground. Ye Zhenbang clearly saw the engine cowling on the inner side of the left wing, resembling a burning shell, strike a comrade who had just jumped out of the cabin. In a moment of urgency, Ye Zhenbang grabbed Lu Dingxuan. This reflexive action saved Lu Dingxuan, preventing him from being turned into a mass of injuries by the incoming debris from the wing as he jumped out of the cabin, but it placed both of them in even greater danger. Just before the transport aircraft lost balance and entered a tailspin, Ye Zhenbang felt a powerful hand push him and Lu Dingxuan out of the cabin. To prevent their parachutes from entangling, Ye Zhenbang quickly gave Lu Dingxuan a push, and then, in violation of tactical regulations, spread his limbs to reduce his falling speed

The fear of death overwhelmed everything; after stabilizing his breathing, Ye Zhenbang decided to try once more