Chapter 1635 - 1687: Minesweeper
Li Yifei had been on missions here several times and was quite familiar with the environment, knowing that the most dangerous things here might not be the serpents or insects, nor the unpredictable environment or venomous creatures, but the landmines hidden underground, various types of mines—plastic mines, anti-personnel mines, and so on.
Especially plastic mines, which can remain effective for up to 120 years. It’s only been half that time since the war, leaving several decades of validity left. Along the entire border, countless villagers have suffered harm. Li Yifei recalls passing through a village during a mission, a village with a hundred people but less than a hundred legs. Many men and women had only one leg, others had both legs blown off, and even young children had their legs, arms, or eyes injured by explosions. During that time, a deminer was rescued from the mountains by Li Yifei and a few teammates.
The deminer had accidentally stepped on a mine during voluntary demining, resulting in one leg being blown off, one eye blinded by a fragment, and even ten or so shrapnel pieces embedded in his body, which remain there to this day.
These deminers were mostly villagers from nearby villages, many of whom volunteered. The land was their fundamental means of survival, but it was filled with danger. If they didn’t clear the mines, then their sons and daughters might be killed or injured. Rather than letting their children face the constant threat of danger, they preferred to face the threat themselves.
After completing the mission, Li Yifei spent a day helping the village clear mines, along with his teammates, removing over eight hundred mines from several mountains in one day.
Those small hills contained so many mines, and the vast boundary had countless hills and ridges, each with uncountable mines.
Danger was everywhere, and Li Yifei and Xu Shanshan didn’t carry modern detection equipment, relying entirely on Li Yifei’s experience and observations to maintain a relatively steady pace.
After crossing over two mountains, they encountered an old woman, crawling along in a coordinated effort of her hands and feet. Her sudden appearance shocked Xu Shanshan, who stood guarded behind Li Yifei, eyeing the woman cautiously.
The old woman’s face was terrifying; one eye seemed to be absent, leaving only a frightening scar. Half of her face was twisted grotesquely, and even more horrifying was her having only one leg with just a stump remaining, and her left arm missing, leaving only part above the wrist.
No wonder she crawled through the mountains instead of walking normally.
Xu Shanshan’s heartbeat sped up, unintentionally conveying hostility, but in the dense forest suddenly encountering a ghastly woman, without Li Yifei beside her, she might have screamed aloud.
Li Yifei wasn’t frightened; having seen the woman’s condition, he understood. In these mountains, there were many people worse off than the elderly woman. However, how did this woman get to this solitary place between villages?
Li Yifei informed Xu Shanshan, then stepped forward.
The woman’s remaining eye barely opened as she turned over, leaning to sit up and watch Li Yifei approach, croaking, "Outsiders, this isn’t where you should come. It’s too dangerous, quickly turn back!"
She spoke in Chinese, though with a peculiar accent, yet both Li Yifei and Xu Shanshan understood.
"Thank you for the warning, elder. We know there are many mines here, so we’ll be careful," Li Yifei said, approaching and pulling out a bottle of mineral water and a piece of bread from his bag, handing it to the woman as he squatted down to ask, "Elder, why are you in this forest? There may be large beasts around here."
On their way, Li Yifei had seen signs of wild boars and destruction, and even tracks from some feline animal. He had fought tigers with Prince Sashar in the southern region.
Even small animals could easily kill such an elderly person.
The elder didn’t refuse Li Yifei’s offer. Retrieving her hand from her back, Li Yifei saw a worn-out bag, seemingly sewn from animal skin, exposing a machete, a wooden-handled axe, an old hunting rifle, and several small tools.
It’s clear why the elderly woman dared to stay in such a place alone; without weapons for self-defense, any random animal could kill her.
Xu Shanshan approached upon seeing the weapons, quickly explaining, "Old lady, we mean no harm to you..."
The woman grinned maliciously, rasping, "I know you mean no harm, or you wouldn’t offer me food. I bear no malice to you either; I’m just here to clear mines."
The word "demining" commanded Li Yifei’s respect for the old woman. Xu Shanshan squatted with curiosity, asking, "Elder, how do you clear mines like this? Oh, I don’t mean that; you’re not well, shouldn’t demining be left to the young, wouldn’t you be safer?"
The woman smiled grimly, saying, "Heh, there are no young people left. I, an old woman, live one day at a time clearing mines. When I die in the mountains someday, it saves others from burying me, making me a companion for my husband and son!"
Her husband and son had both died from mountain mines; her husband demining had unknowingly stepped on a triggered mine and was blown to pieces, while her son went to farm and unearthed a mine, setting off an explosive. He returned with a single breath, but died before reaching the hospital due to inaccessible mountain roads.
The woman lost her husband and son late in life, agonized, yet came to loathe the mountain mines tremendously. She sought to learn how to find and disable mines and armed with tools, began entering the forest.
Neighbors advised against it, yet the elder stubbornly insisted that each mine cleared reduces danger for village children.
As she cleared more mines, her skill grew proficient, clearing thousands over the years, until the day she encountered two overlapping mines—one conventional, another triggered. She thought it safe, intending to de-mine the conventional one, but set off the triggered mine, resulting in her current state.
She was found by villagers days later, rescued, and cared for a whole year. She has little income, relying on help from relatives, neighbors, and the government’s meager monthly allowance, insufficient even for minimal living conditions.
Once healed, neighbors advised resting at home, yet the elderly woman grew more stubborn, claiming she’d crawl if needed, continuing demining to safeguard future village children from disability or lost lives.
Her demining range expanded, initially capable of walking on one leg around her village, leaving in the morning, returning at night. Later, reaching her destinations in half a day, she’d bring provisions, spending days in the mountains, requiring self-reliance in facing beasts, venomous snakes, insect bites, basically facing everything alone as a disabled individual!
Li Yifei also saw several deactivated mines in the woman’s bag, including plastic, triggered, conventional types, all with fuses removed by the elder.
She wasn’t military, not government personnel, not obligated to enter the deep mountains to clear mines, yet after enduring such injuries, she could have given up. Yet, she persisted. She has been in the mountains for four days now, and must exit tomorrow lest she’s run out of food, a dire situation in the mountains.
Without refusal, the elder ate the bread and drank half the bottle of water. Xu Shanshan, out of sympathy, offered compressed biscuits and canned beef from her bag.
The elder accepted with a shy smile, thanking them, saying, "You’re good people, so you shouldn’t continue deeper into the mountains. It’s really dangerous in there."
"Thank you, we understand. How about... we escort you out first!" Li Yifei proposed.
The elder shook her head, saying, "I’ve eaten well and gained strength, so I can leave by myself. If you’re determined to enter, make haste; the daylight forest is far safer than night. Avoid aimless strolling at night, for these mountain demons have harmed too many people."
Both nodded repeatedly; the elder tucked the food Xu Shanshan offered into her bag, arranged its contents, and tied it shut before crawling downward.
Li Yifei felt deep sympathy but couldn’t remain with the elder indefinitely, though ultimately he cut a stick for her to lean on during her journey.
Both watched until the elder’s figure faded; she wouldn’t continuously crawl, using her hands and feet only when fatigued.
"Let’s... be more cautious!" Xu Shanshan clutched Li Yifei’s hand, conflicted, finally realizing after hearing the elder’s stories and witnessing her condition, the mountain was truly no fun—a grave danger.
Li Yifei nodded, releasing Xu Shanshan’s hand and glanced at the sun, noting, "We can walk for about two more hours, striving for distance before resting."