() The plane stopped at an unknown airport in Siberia for a while to replenish fuel and for everyone on the plane to take a rest.

This is an airport close to the Arctic Circle. Although it is only about 3 o'clock in the afternoon, it is already almost completely dark. Except for the runway, everything on the airport is covered with white snow. It is only October, and it is already dark here.

It started to snow.

Now, all passengers and crew members have left the plane and headed to the airport lounge.

"It's so cold!" Nadya, the girl sitting next to Ron, tightened the fur collar on her coat with her leather-gloved hands. Siberia is the cold center of the northern hemisphere, and it is even colder than the traditional

The Arctic is even colder. In a small town in Siberia, people even measured the lowest temperature in the northern hemisphere, minus 60 degrees! It is still October in Moscow, it is late autumn, and the lowest temperature of the day has certainly dropped.

It's below freezing, but the maximum temperature is still far above freezing. And at this airport in Siberia, the current maximum temperature is already below freezing.

There is still a long way to go from the end of the runway to the few short bungalows beside the airport. And this airport is not a large international airport. There are no buses or even large trucks to pick up and drop off. However,

They still have something very unique. That is - dog sledding.

Several groups of wolf-like Siberian sled dogs pulling several sleds approached the plane. With a whistle, the sleds made a beautiful sharp turn and stopped in front of everyone.

Seeing the big and lively dogs in front of the sled, Nadya was a little scared, and couldn't help but take a step back, and bumped into Ron. But Ron's leg was not very strong, and he had to use crutches to walk and stand.

Suddenly, he was hit by Nadya, his feet slipped, and he fell onto the snow...

The airport lounge is a typical house in the cold zone, with very thick walls and small windows. The windows are equipped with double-glazed glass to reduce the spread of heat. In addition, the fire is burning brightly in the large fireplace.

, so it is very warm inside the house.

Everyone sat around the fireplace, and the airport staff brought everyone hot black tea and vodka. The tea was very thick and did not taste very good. As for the wine, it seems that it should be called alcohol. But in Siberia, you can still

Asking for more?

"I'm so sorry just now." Nadya apologized again to Ron, who was sitting next to her.

"It's nothing. You've already apologized several times. If you continue to say it, I'll be embarrassed." Ron raised the cup filled with black tea in his hand and smiled at her. He saw Nadya's face being leaked from the fireplace.

The firelight came out brightly.

At this time, someone suddenly shouted from the window: "Come and look, the Northern Lights are the Northern Lights! They are so beautiful!"

Everyone immediately crowded to the window, but unfortunately the window was too small and could not meet the needs. So everyone hurriedly put on their coats.

With Nadya's help, Ron also left the house and stood with her under the eaves looking up at the Northern Lights. Countless mysterious fiery red light strips floated in the northern sky, like ribbons. These light strips

It is so bright that the entire land is illuminated. When you lower your head, you can even see the dark shadow left by the small bush in front of you.

"It's so beautiful, General Ron, have you seen the aurora before?" Nadya's big eyes sparkled against the aurora.

"I haven't seen it before. You are from the Soviet Union. You should have seen it many times?" Ron replied.

"The Soviets may not have seen it. For example, Vanya is the young man who helped you onto the sled with me just now. He is from Crimea and had never seen the aurora before joining our group."

Nadya smiled and said, "I am from Murmansk, so among the whole group, I must have seen the most Northern Lights. But it is very rare to see them as bright and red as today."

"No," a young man interrupted, "it's just that it's so bright. I've only seen such a red aurora once in 1941. Some people say that red aurora indicates a fierce war. It seems that there will be more next year.

It’s a massive battle.”

"The aurora in 1941 came from west to east. Look at today's aurora. It shines from east to west. This indicates that we will win every step of the way next year!" Another person interjected.

"What nonsense are you talking about? You are all still members of the Party, yet you actually believe in these superstitions!" an older man who looked like a cadre said sternly.

Nadya lowered her head and stuck out her tongue playfully. She pulled Ron's sleeve and said, "Let's go in, it's too cold outside."

…

Early the next morning, before the sun had risen (if the sun had risen, it would be noon) Ron and the ballet troupe set out on the road again.

This time, perhaps because she got acquainted with Ron, Nadya began to talk more. First she talked about the different customs of the United States and the Soviet Union, and then the topic turned to the war. Under Nadya's lead, everyone

Everyone asked Ron to tell everyone about some of the things he experienced during the war.

However, Ron felt that now, when he was dealing with the Soviets, it would be better to mention less about military matters. Therefore, Ron did not tell the story of how the Americans fought in detail, but focused on it.

The natural troubles they encountered on Guadalcanal. From the monitor lizards and pythons in the forest, to the centipedes and spiders that would get into people's boots. There were also the elegant dolphins in the sea, the mysterious killer whales,

The terrifying Jaws. Anyway, some of it comes from personal experience, and some, well, some of it comes from the complete set of Pei's works that Ron had on his computer before.

"You mean, those Japanese people have nothing to eat, so they look for meat bugs in the forest to eat?" Nadya couldn't believe it, "How can you eat such disgusting things?"

"Actually, many bugs are rare sources of high-quality protein," Ron said. "When I was in China, I even ate fried silkworm pupae. Some Arabs will eat roasted locusts. By the way, the snails that the French like to eat are also bugs.

?"

"But those things are at least familiar."

"Eating them raw is not that scary. Most bugs taste pretty good after cutting off their heads. Once again, I was shot down over the jungle and walked for several days before I returned to my side. Along the way.

Just eat bugs. Most bugs taste crunchy and chicken-like."

"Oh my God, General Ron, have you ever eaten that thing? Did you get roundworms or other messy things later?" Nadya looked at Ron carefully, as if she wanted to slice Ron's CD.

"What, are you scared?"

"is a bit."

…

The plane then stopped in Komsomolsk for another night, then crossed the Arctic ice cap and arrived in Alaska. Here, Ron bid farewell to the Soviet ballet troupe and took another military transport plane to fly back to Washington. When they parted,

Those Soviet artists invited him to come to their performances when he was free.

After arriving in Washington, Ron rested for a night and rushed to the Pentagon to meet General Arnold early the next morning.

"Ron, is your leg okay?" General Arnold asked with a smile after seeing Ron.

"It's nothing serious. The doctor said that in two weeks, you can play rugby."

"Both Doolittle and LeMay talked about your creative use of fighter units in Europe. Now they are basically certain that the German Air Force can no longer make a comeback. The air war against Germany can be said to have achieved a decisive victory.

What do you think of this?"

"General, I think this judgment is completely correct. Now in air combat, the average level of German pilots has dropped significantly. And this decline will continue. The Germans have now lost air superiority, and their pilot training, especially

It's because the training of new pilots cannot be carried out safely. This will inevitably lead to a vicious cycle of declining pilot levels. The German Air Force has been defeated." Ron replied.

"That's good, so I can use you elsewhere... Do you still remember that you and I discussed the plan to use B-29s to take off from China to bomb Japan?" General Arnold suddenly changed the subject.

When it came to the war against Japan, "We have now begun to select sites for airports in China. However, this plan does have a lot of military problems."

"What happened?" Ron asked.

"Let's not talk about China's efficiency. The military aspect is just as you expected. The flight distance is too long and the bomb load is greatly affected. The enemy has sufficient warning time and is easily intercepted. We hope to use the missiles taking off from China.

The bombers were used to achieve two goals. One was political, showing the unity and cooperation of the United Nations. This goal was certainly achieved. The other goal was military, which was to deal a heavy blow to the Japanese mainland. This goal was difficult to achieve.

"

Arnold paused and then said: "In order to gain greater strike power, some of us proposed such a plan. They developed a 'smart' bomb and prepared to use it to attack Japan. Next week, in Nevada, they

The first close to actual combat exercise will be conducted. I plan to let you take a look at this plan first. If you think it is feasible, we will go to China to try it. Anyway, we have invested so much money there, we must hear something.

sound."

Ron took the plan and flipped through it, and then he had to admire how imaginative some Americans were. Their plan was actually such a small-sized, high-intelligence supercar that could automatically find and attack targets.
Chapter completed!