Chapter 2

The Japanese puppet troops guarding outside the south gate of the county town seemed to have noticed something unusual and had already dispatched a six-man mixed Japanese-puppet patrol team toward this direction. Once the gunfire startled the Japanese puppet troops in the city, there would be no way to escape.

"Mr. Fat really has a hard life!" The fat man smiled bitterly, thinking he was too eager to surrender without figuring out what kind of "spy" he was facing, which instead alarmed the Japanese puppet troops.

The fat man gritted his teeth and decided to go all the way, ignoring the watermelon knife the other side was holding, and took a step forward.

"You, you don't come any closer!" The young man panicked and stabbed at the fat man's plump belly with the watermelon knife.

The fat man completely ignored the watermelon knife, slapped it away with his chubby hand, and then ran off.

"Run quickly! Do you want to be caught by the Japanese?" The fat man shouted while running.

The young man was stunned, got up, and ran after the fat man, holding the watermelon knife. Because he ran too fast, his straw hat fell off, revealing a head of long hair fluttering in the wind.

"Damn, it's a girl!" The fat man groaned as he ran.

What was even more frustrating was that he was now a fat interpreter, and his former terrifying physical strength had vanished. After running for a while, he found his stamina plummeting. He bitterly thought he must have been blinded by lard, and if he hadn't been so eager to be captured, he wouldn't have ended up in this dilemma.

"What's wrong with being a girl? I'm better than you, a traitor. Don't look down on people. Give me the gun, and I'll fight the Japanese!" The girl gritted her teeth and shouted.

"Fight the Japanese? You're just asking to be killed!" The fat man rolled his eyes, feeling a mix of laughter and tears. He inwardly wailed, "Heaven, don't play with me like this!"

The girl was completely talking without considering the consequences. His luck was really bad. With his current stamina, he couldn't run away from the Japanese puppet troops while protecting someone. He wasn't afraid of the few pursuers behind him, but he was afraid that the gunfire would attract all the Japanese and puppet troops in the city. Even a hero couldn't withstand a pack of wolves, let alone him, who wasn't even a hero. He was doomed.

But even if the two of them ran, they wouldn't be able to outrun the Japanese and puppet troops.

The fat man suddenly stopped running!

"Why did you stop? The Japanese are catching up!" The girl looked at the fat man, who had stopped, in surprise.

"Running is pointless!" The fat man sighed, feeling unlucky. He took out his twenty-shot pistol, knocked the watermelon knife away with the gun, and said with a roll of his eyes, "Meeting you has brought me bad luck for eight generations. Forget it, forget it. Run by yourself. Remember, don't run to open areas or villages; it will attract bullets and make it easier for the Japanese to corner you. Run to the forest. I'll hold off the Japanese and puppet troops. If I die, remember to light a stick of incense for me during the holidays."

The girl was stunned and said, "I won't leave. I'll take you back as a prisoner!"

She had no gun, and her tone lacked confidence.

"Hey, why are you so stubborn, girl!" The fat man rolled his eyes, feeling annoyed as he looked at the girl, who was covered in mud and soot. He felt a bit more at ease with the German Mauser M712 in his hand and two 20-round magazines in his pocket. He glanced at the Japanese and puppet troops, who were about a hundred meters away, and guessed they hadn't figured out the situation and wouldn't shoot and risk hitting the only interpreter in the county.

The fat man's eyes rolled forward, staring at the two Japanese and four puppet troops not far ahead. An idea came to him, and he said, "Lie down!"

"Lie down?" The girl was confused and asked.

The fat man didn't hesitate. As he lay down, he kicked the girl, making her fall to the ground.

"You..." The girl was angry, gripping the watermelon knife tightly.

"Shut up!" The fat man glared at her.

The two Japanese and four puppet troops had been approaching with their guns raised. When the fat man rolled into the grass, he put away his gun and walked over with a laugh.

"Yoshi, Mr. Liu is really impressive, catching a spy. Yoshi, Yoshi!" One of the Japanese, speaking in a mix of Chinese and Japanese, ran to the front with a wicked smile.

"Mr. Yamada, wait for me..." The other Japanese, with shorter legs, was running slowly, panting and shouting in Japanese, afraid of being left behind.

After making the girl lie down, the fat man came out of the grass with a fawning smile.

"Mr. Liu, bring the spy back, and you'll get a big reward!" The Japanese leader squatted and walked over with his rifle.

A cold light flashed in the fat man's eyes, but he quickly hid it, smiling and said in Japanese, "Sir, the spy is a woman. Look... shall I hold the gun for you?"

"Yoshi, Mr. Liu, you are a model of Sino-Japanese friendship, with a great heart!" The Japanese, seeing it was a girl lying in the grass, laughed in Japanese and handed his Type 38 rifle to the fat man.

The second Japanese arrived, and the fat man continued to smile and said in Japanese, "Sir, you've worked hard. I'll carry the gun for you!"

"Ha ha, Mr. Liu, you are a true friend of the Empire of Japan. I believe in you!" The Japanese, convinced by Liu, handed over his Type 38 rifle and patted Liu on the shoulder, nodding in approval, then followed Mr. Yamada.

The fat man felt nauseous at his own performance, thinking how despicable he was.

"You actually betrayed me!" The girl looked at the fat man in surprise, not expecting him to turn on her so quickly.

Her eyes shot two killing glares at the fat man, and she spat at him in anger.

The fat man pretended not to see, turned his head, and with a smile, disarmed the four puppet troops in the same way, then bent down to pick up the watermelon knife that had fallen in the grass...