Dragon Raja 5; Chapter 269: For Your Majesty (84)

Dragon Raja 5

A swarm of helicopters approached the tracks from the side, and the wind blew snow across the mountain. They dropped cables, and the engineers effortlessly hooked the heavy steel hooks onto the four corners of the cars, evidently skilled in the operation. The locomotive, dining car, and equipment car were left behind, leaving only the sleeping cars for the passengers and crew suspended in the air. The entire operation took only a few minutes, while the passengers remained soundly asleep in their cars.

The Mi-26 helicopter, the heaviest helicopter in the world, is a mechanical masterpiece of the Soviet era. Although it has astonishing fuel consumption, the carrying capacity of the “Super Stallion” heavy helicopter that Americans are proud of is less than 1/4 of it.

This is probably the only helicopter in the world that can lift a heavy bulletproof train. In its glorious history, the Mi-26 even lifted a 50-ton medium-sized passenger plane to an altitude of 2,000 meters.

The so-called disappearance of the special train was nothing but the result of great effort. Bunin used his financial resources and imagination to perform a breathtaking large-scale magic show on the snowy plain.

The remaining carriages reassembled and rumbled along the original track, the locomotive shoveling up waves of snow two men high. The engineers, having completed their mission, immediately withdrew, taking the signal light with them. Only a deep track remained in the snow, extending along the track. Lu Mingfei suddenly remembered Christina’s words about an FSB train following them. Bunin had actually known this all along.

It was difficult for the elite GRU special forces to notice that some of the carriages had been lifted away. Even the footprints left by the engineers were obscured by the snow dust raised by the Mi-26. They would chase the empty, self-driving train to the end of the railway.

“The FSB guys always wanted to know the train’s final destination, but no matter how many times they ran along that railway line, they couldn’t find any fork in the road. This created a sense of mystery, as if they had vanished into thin air in the Siberian snowfields.” Bunin laughed. “I like this sense of mystery. I like them thinking of me as a magician.”

“The GRU special forces can also help you solve a small problem,” he patted Lu Mingfei’s shoulder, “According to my intelligence, there is a mysterious team waiting to ambush us in an abandoned station ahead. I guess they are here for you.”

Lu Mingfei shuddered quietly, not for himself but for the proud special envoy Christina. Everything in Siberia seemed to be under Bunin’s control. Was this including Christina?

An hour later, they saw the railroad tracks again. Originally, the tracks were buried in the snow, but the engineers who had arrived here earlier had cleared out nearly one kilometer of tracks.

The heavy locomotive was already waiting. The Mi-26 placed the six carriages one by one on the tracks, reconnecting them to form a new train. It looked exactly like the original, even the layout of the dining car was identical. If you weren’t extremely observant, you wouldn’t even realize that part of the train had been replaced.

“Siberia has always been the Soviet Union’s most crucial strategic depth. During World War II, they mobilized 10 million Red Army troops from Siberia to the European front. After the war, someone proposed building a comprehensive railway network in northern Siberia, connecting those never-before-seen research institutes, military fortresses, and semi-ice-free ports. With such a vast rear area, even if the European part of the Soviet Union destroyed by nuclear bombs, they could rely on the military factories deep in the Siberian mountains to continue fighting.” Bunin’s voice was distant, as if he was recounting a story from a century ago, even though that country had disappeared less than 30 years ago. “But they underestimated the difficulty of building a railway network in Siberia, and they were busy engaging in an arms race with the Americans in space. In the end, only a small part of the grand plan was realized, which is the ‘Obsidian’ railway you see under your feet.”

“The FSB doesn’t know about this railway?” Lu Mingfei asked.

“The Federal Security Service and the Ministry of National Defense are two separate departments. The information about this railway is only kept in the Ministry of National Defense, and even there, probably few people remember it. Furthermore, it’s been abandoned for many years. To prevent it from being used, the connecting line to the currently operating line was removed, so we had to use a heavy-duty helicopter to lift it here.” Bunin smiled. “Although it’s an old railway, it can still withstand turbojet locomotives!”

“Jet motorcycle?” Lu Mingfei was stunned.

Just at this moment, their train began to accelerate, and two blue pillars of fire suddenly appeared above the heavy locomotive in front of them. The kind of fire pillars that should only appear at the tail of a jet fighter seemed.

The heavy motorcycle accelerated so quickly that Lu Mingfei, with his poor balance ability, was almost overturned without any preparation.

Although they were in the snow and ice, the heat waves were coming from the front, and it was not difficult to imagine how powerful the two jet engines were.

Bunin laughed heartily. “The SVL locomotive is a masterpiece of the Kalinin Locomotive Works. It has two AN-25 turbofan engines on its roof. In the 1970s, this thing could reach a top speed of 250 kilometers per hour, as fast as your high-speed trains in China.”

“Isn’t this just an airplane running on rails? The kind without wings!” Lu Mingfei held on to the iron railings tightly to prevent himself from being blown away by the strong wind.

“That’s right! During the era of the great construction of Siberia, this thing was used to cross Siberia, delivering cigarettes, liquor and photos of their loved ones to the brave young people!” Bunin held the iron railing skillfully, and the lapels of his coat were blown by the strong wind.

At this time, someone pushed open the door and came out. It was Christina, who looked sleepy. She must have just woken up and wanted to come out for some fresh air.

FSB agent Christina was still wearing the same smoky dress and high heels from last night, though she’d thrown a short mink coat over it to shield herself from the wind. She must have been conceited about her exceptional physique. But as soon as she exhaled the breath of alcohol, she was stunned by the scene before her. The snow and the pine forest were rapidly receding, as if they were running through a tunnel of time. Her pointed heel caught in the crack under her foot, and Christina nearly fell headfirst. Fortunately, a strong arm reached out from the side and grasped her slender waist.

It was not Lu Mingfei, but Alexander Bunin. The old man hugged Christina and caught the short mink coat that fell off her shoulders. He put it on her gracefully, patted her shoulders to comfort her, and waved his hand across the vast snowfield.

At that moment, Bunin revealed the youthful vigor and pride, as if he was showing off his collection to the girl he liked.

Recalling that Bunin had previously said that he grew up in Siberia, Lu Mingfei immediately understood that the era of construction with raging fire and flourishing flowers was Bunin’s youth or childhood.

Even though time has passed, the oil has cooled and the flowers have faded, in Bunin’s memory, Siberia is forever frozen in its best years.

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