Chapter 7

One can't help but admire the meticulousness of the Japanese in their work. Even for Yang Zhen and his fellow experimental subjects, who would ultimately be consumed, the Japanese remained meticulous. Apart from the physical examinations and disinfection baths, everyone was photographed and a highly detailed file was created for each of them. Many of the prisoners only learned their blood types for the first time here.

After a long and exhausting night, the prisoners, who had been transported from the interior, were finally sent to the specially designated prison within the main facility. However, because the number of prisoners exceeded the prison's capacity, cells that were originally designed for two people were now crammed with three to four. The only difference was that the situation of two people sharing a pair of shackles was finally changed. Yang Zhen, who was placed in the same cell as Guo Bingxun and Xiao Huzi, now had his own set of shackles.

As the heavy door of the cell clanged shut, Yang Zhen, who had experienced a brief confinement in a solitary cell in a future life due to an act of bravery that backfired, began his first prison experience in both of his lives.

From the conversation between Ishii Shiro and Ota Sumi, Yang Zhen knew he had one month. If he couldn't come up with a way to escape within that month, he and all his fellow prisoners would become materials for the Japanese bacteriological experiments, referred to as "maruta" (logs) by the Japanese.

Looking at Yang Zhen, who was staring blankly at the small ventilation window high up on the wall, Guo Bingxun shook his head, walked over, and patted his shoulder, saying, "What are you thinking about, Brother Yang?"

"I'm thinking about where they've brought us. Brother Guo, with your shrewdness, you must have noticed something is off. The Japanese went to great lengths to transport us here; it can't be just to keep us in prison. Besides, although the conditions here are not great, they are much better than the prisoner-of-war camps."

Yang Zhen, who had been roused from his thoughts by Guo Bingxun's pat, pointed to the toilet and bed in the corner of the cell, items that were unimaginable in the prisoner-of-war camps, and forced a smile. Although Yang Zhen had not personally experienced the Japanese prisoner-of-war camps, he had a general idea from the emaciated appearance of the prisoners and the numerous memoirs written by survivors.

Guo Bingxun nodded and said, "I noticed that too, but I can't figure out what the Japanese are up to. I don't understand Japanese, so I couldn't make out what the few Japanese soldiers at the station and in the warehouse were muttering. If only we could understand their conversation. Unfortunately, none of my men know Japanese."

"I don't understand it, but I do. I'm not fluent in Japanese, but I can understand it without any problem." After a long silence, Yang Zhen revealed this shocking information to Guo Bingxun, who had always looked down on the 18th Group Army, thinking they were all country bumpkins, despite his friendly demeanor.

"You understand Japanese? Your 18th Group Army has such talent? If you're proficient in Japanese, how can you be just a company commander? With your skills, you could at least be a major in the Central Army."

"That's right. Our company commander is a refugee student from Northeast China. Before joining the army, he was a student at Peking University and participated in the December 9th Movement. He can even speak English. He has always worked in the enemy work department of the division headquarters but has always requested to be assigned to a unit. Our political commissar agreed to send him down to be a company commander to train him. If not for this accident, with his abilities, he would surely have a bright future."

Just as Yang Zhen was struggling to explain how he knew Japanese, Xiao Huzi came to his rescue. The main reason was that Xiao Huzi couldn't stand the condescending attitude of this "educated" official who had studied abroad. He wanted to show that his company commander was no less capable. However, as he thought about their current situation, his words became increasingly dejected.

Since someone had explained for him, Yang Zhen didn't dwell on the issue. In fact, he was also shocked when Xiao Huzi revealed his background. A student at Peking University? And a participant in the December 9th Movement? If he hadn't been captured, according to the 18th Group Army's tradition of valuing talent, he would likely have become a division-level officer by the end of the war. After the founding of the country, at least a major general was a certainty.

However, this thought only lasted a moment. He had no time to dwell on such things. If he couldn't escape, everything else would be meaningless except for contributing to the Japanese's dirty biological warfare.

Ignoring the shocked Guo Bingxun, Yang Zhen said calmly, "The Japanese unit here is called the Kwantung Army Epidemic Prevention and Water Supply Department, known externally as the Kamo Unit. Its functions are highly classified within the Japanese military."

"The unit's mission is to develop biological and chemical weapons to aid in their conquest of China and even the world. We are the experimental subjects for these weapons. Here, we are called 'maruta,' which means 'logs' in Japanese. They don't consider us human. To them, we are just raw materials for their experiments."

"Biological weapons? Didn't the League of Nations ban all countries from developing these things? How can the Japanese dare to do such inhumane things and risk international condemnation?"

Guo Bingxun, who had studied in Europe, was familiar with the concept of biological warfare and knew what these weapons were. He never imagined the Japanese would be so audacious, not only developing biological weapons but also using Chinese people for human experiments.

Yang Zhen's words shocked Guo Bingxun, but he didn't doubt them. Since boarding the train in Peking, he had felt something was off about the Japanese escort. The Japanese were known for their brutality, which he had experienced firsthand when he was transported from Xuzhou to Peking.

This time, however, was different. Along the way, as long as they didn't try to escape, the Japanese didn't randomly select prisoners for bayonet practice. The food and water were scarce but enough to keep them alive, which was unprecedented.

After being captured in Xuzhou and transported to the Peking prisoner-of-war camp, Guo Bingxun had seen the Japanese randomly select Chinese prisoners for bayonet practice. Those days were a nightmare for all captured Chinese soldiers. Without food or water, they were crammed into boxcars with barely enough air. Guo Bingxun still remembered that out of the many prisoners captured with him, only a few survived the journey to Peking.

The Japanese were brutal but also shrewd. The stark difference in treatment between the two transports had prepared Guo Bingxun for the worst. However, he never expected they would be brought to Northeast China to be used as human subjects for biological weapons research.

Seeing the shocked expression on Guo Bingxun's face, Yang Zhen shook his head and said, "You don't believe me?"

"No, I believe you. The Japanese escort was too unusual this time. It seems they wanted to ensure we arrived here alive to meet their needs."

"But what should we do? Should we just wait for the Japanese to use us for their biological experiments? Our deaths are not important, but we cannot let our brothers become sacrifices for their biological warfare, allowing them to use the results to kill our fellow countrymen."

Guo Bingxun, a man of deep thought, quickly regained his composure after hearing Yang Zhen's words. After a long silence, he looked at Yang Zhen and asked, "What do you think we should do?"

Yang Zhen didn't answer immediately. He walked to the cell door and tried to push the small window used for delivering food. Then he turned around and asked, "Brother Guo, how well do you know your fellow soldiers? How skilled are they? How many can you control? Are there any particularly skilled ones? Most importantly, are there any who would betray their brothers to save themselves?"

After a moment's thought, Guo Bingxun replied, "I have confidence in the Sichuan Army soldiers. They are all brave men, ready to fight the Japanese. There is no one who would betray their brothers for personal gain. As for the soldiers from the Northwest Army and the Guangxi Army, I don't know them well. The Nationalist Army has many factions, and the soldiers don't trust each other."

"However, one thing is certain: these soldiers are all brave. They only surrendered when they ran out of ammunition and food. When we were captured, the puppet government in North China tried to persuade us to join their army and serve the Japanese, but not a single one of us agreed. If there were such people, they wouldn't be here."

"As for whether there are any particularly skilled ones, I have one. He was my former bodyguard. Before joining the army, he was a famous thief in Sichuan. He was caught in Chengdu during a failed heist. I saw his skills when I was at the police station and, recognizing his talent, asked my superior to save him from execution. If it weren't for me, he wouldn't have been captured. With his skills, he could break through even a tenfold Japanese encirclement. As for the others, I'm not sure."

Hearing Guo Bingxun's words, Yang Zhen nodded and said, "One person is enough. The Japanese facility here is not yet complete, and many things have not been transported. We have one month before they start the experiments. You must find a way to contact him and tell him to follow my instructions to save our brothers. We need to observe for a while before making a decision."

"Alright, no problem. He will listen to me. I think the Japanese won't keep us locked up forever. They will give us time to exercise. I'll contact him then. When we entered this cell, I saw that he is in the cell next to ours," Guo Bingxun said confidently.

After a moment's hesitation, Guo Bingxun added, "Brother Yang, in the large warehouse, I noticed a Japanese officer who looks very similar to you. If it weren't for his Japanese uniform, I would have thought he was you. You were focused on the colonel and didn't notice."

The information about Unit 731 is limited online. While there are many books, not all are reliable. Much of the information is based on the old TV series "The Devil's Castle 731." If there are any inaccuracies, please bear with me.

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