Chapter 1

"Hey, isn’t that Translator Liu?" The squad leader Li, standing guard at the south gate of the county town, saw a bald, fat man walking over, greeted him with a smile, and hurriedly offered him a cigarette.

The fat man named Liu Meng, looking listless, carried a 20-shot pistol on his back, drenched in sweat, fanning himself with a fan, his shirt unbuttoned, exposing his sweat-soaked belly. The scorching midday sun made him feel unbearably hot, and he wished he could strip off all his clothes. Seeing Squad Leader Li greet him warmly and offer a cigarette, he sniffed and responded listlessly, took the cigarette, and put it in his mouth.

"Are you going out of town, sir?" Squad Leader Li hurriedly took out a match to light Liu Meng’s cigarette, his face beaming with a fawning smile. Although his rank in the puppet army was not high, he was very smooth and fawning, always ready to curry favor, and despite being just a common soldier, he had gained the trust of Colonel Gu of the puppet army. After a few years, he became a squad leader and was usually in charge of the guard duty.

"Damn it, do I need to report to you, you little bastard, where I’m going?" Although Liu Meng had a big belly and a cigarette in his hand, his movements were quick, and he kicked Squad Leader Li in the leg.

"Ouch, Translator Liu, don’t hit me, don’t hit me. Be careful not to tire yourself out in this heat. I’m just a common soldier, but you’re a favorite of the Japanese. Just treat me like a fart!" Squad Leader Li, unable to dodge, took the kick, his calf nearly splitting open, the pain piercing his heart, but he still smiled, puzzled by how such a fat man could be so strong.

"Damn it!" Liu Meng glanced at the puppet squad leader, spat, and rolled his eyes, his face full of disdain, forgetting that he himself was a puppet translator. He raised his head, fanning himself, and walked towards a melon stand outside the city. In this scorching heat, carrying this fat body was almost unbearable.

Others who traveled through time either woke up with a fortune or as high-ranking officials, but he, Liu Meng, had ended up as a Japanese translator, and a fat one at that. The disparity made him feel utterly miserable and despise his own identity. In the seven days since he had traveled through time, he had used his position as a Japanese translator to familiarize himself with the city’s defenses and the deployment of Japanese and puppet troops, but his main goal was to defect to the enemy.

Before traveling through time, this fat man had been a troublemaker in the Special Forces A Team, causing chaos and making Southeast Asian drug lords tremble, with as many commendations as punishments. But due to an accident, he had died, only to wake up in the body of this fat translator, becoming a puppet translator.

Liu Meng was a rogue, lacking in principles, but his patriotism was his bottom line. He despised puppet soldiers like Squad Leader Li and wished he could shoot him on the spot.

Over the past few days, he had considered various plans to fight back, but he lacked the supernatural abilities of characters in anti-Japanese dramas, and he certainly didn’t have the power to wipe out an entire Japanese regiment or a reinforced puppet battalion. Looking at his fat, greasy body, he felt even more hopeless.

Jumping into a river, he couldn’t sink because of his fat body.

Hanging himself, he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

Stabbing himself, he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

Unable to die, he decided to defect to the enemy, refusing to betray his country and people.

Fortunately, his special forces training and skills were still intact, and he still had his cunning.

However, his fat, greasy body was a major hindrance to his physical and explosive power, which were essential for many special operations. He abandoned various plans to kill the Japanese, not wanting to die before accomplishing his mission, which would be a waste of his good physique.

The only way to avoid betraying his country and people was to defect to the enemy.

But, where was the enemy?

The melon stand was about 300 meters from the county town’s guard post, under a large tree.

Liu Meng walked to the shade of the tree, feeling a cool breeze, his spirits lifted. He put away his fan, threw away the cigarette butt, and squatted down, selecting a melon weighing about 20 pounds from the stand. He tapped it and listened carefully, confirming it was ripe, and smiled broadly. He grabbed a melon knife and cut it open, revealing the juicy red flesh.

The fat man couldn’t resist the temptation, about to take a big bite, when he heard a cold voice say, "Hey, how can you just eat it without paying?"

The fat man reflexively reached for his pocket to pay, but then he paused. The words sounded familiar. Ordinary civilians, seeing his Japanese uniform and the 20-shot pistol on his hip, would have been too scared to speak.

Something was off. The fat man looked up, his small eyes sizing up the young man selling melons, who was wearing ordinary coarse clothing. Although the young man had pulled his straw hat low and his face was covered in soot and mud, making it hard to see his features, Liu Meng could tell from the voice that it was a woman.

"What? Isn’t this melon for sale?" the fat man asked, holding up the melon.

"Even if it’s for sale, you should ask the price first," the young man selling melons replied.

The fat man suddenly became fierce, saying menacingly, "What? I can eat your rotten melon without asking the price, and I can eat in the city’s restaurants without asking the price too!"

With that, he grabbed the melon and started eating it greedily, feeling very pleased. He was eagerly waiting to be captured and defect to the enemy, almost impatient.

"You should leave yourself a way out in these times," the young man selling melons said, his voice growing colder.

"What?" The fat man was inwardly overjoyed but kept a surprised expression. He was sure this melon seller was suspicious, either from the Eighth Route Army or the Nationalist Army.

No matter which side he joined, it would be a defection, and as long as he could escape his current predicament, it would be fine.

Seeing the young man’s surprised expression, he suddenly stood up, raised his hands, and laughed, "Come and capture me!"

"..." The young man was taken aback. This fat translator knew the Japanese and puppet army’s deployments, and a group of people had been plotting for days to capture a valuable prisoner, but they hadn’t succeeded. Today, she had unexpectedly found one, but the ease and suddenness of it left her stunned.

"What are you waiting for? Let’s go!" the fat man urged, almost in tears.

From the first glance, he had known this person wasn’t professional, and his disguise was easily seen through. If he wasn’t captured quickly, the guard post would be alerted, and with only 300 meters to the city and no obstacles within 500 meters of the city walls, the puppet soldiers would spot him, and his plan to defect would be ruined.

"Uh," the young man nervously picked up the melon knife and shouted, "Drop your weapon, or I’ll shoot!"

The fat man almost fell to his knees. Where were the impressive agents and underground party members who could infiltrate and eliminate enemies? This person, without even a gun, dared to try to capture him? Who was this "spy," so ignorant and reckless?