Chapter 46

The fat man walked with his hands behind his back, striding leisurely with a swagger, his chest puffed out as he approached the sentry post of Warehouse No. 1. The nearby Japanese patrol squad saluted him as they encountered him.

Mr. Huang was quite capable, managing to get a lieutenant colonel's uniform that fit the fat man's figure. The uniform, which carried significant authority in the strictly hierarchical Japanese army, had a considerable deterrent effect, making many tasks much easier. This greatly impressed the fat man with Mr. Huang and the underground party members.

From a distance, he saw a squad of Japanese soldiers preparing to enter the warehouse, but they were stopped by the sentry, who asked in Japanese, "Password!"

All the light and heavy machine guns in the nearby defensive positions were aimed at the squad, ready to turn them into sieves if the password was incorrect.

"Mount Fuji, response!" the leading Japanese sergeant replied solemnly.

"Hokkaido!" the sentry responded, then saluted and let them pass.

The Japanese patrol squad was allowed to enter Warehouse No. 1. The fat man watched from a distance with a mischievous smile, his ears being so sharp that he had heard the entire exchange.

He quickened his pace, the sound of gunfire and cannon fire outside the West Gate becoming more intense.

"Password!" the Japanese sentry at Warehouse No. 1, seeing the fat man striding with a swagger, immediately stood at attention, saluted, and then asked for the password.

"Mount Fuji, response!" the fat man saluted in a proper manner and replied.

"Hokkaido!" the sentry responded, then let him pass. At the same time, all the Japanese soldiers in the surrounding positions stood up and saluted the fat man in unison.

Without even raising his eyes, the fat man returned the salute, then walked into the Japanese military stronghold—Warehouse No. 1—under the watchful eyes of dozens of Japanese soldiers.

Mr. Huang had somehow procured a fake Japanese mustache. Before leaving, the fat man stuck the mustache on his upper lip and looked at himself in the mirror, laughing for a long time. Who said being fat was a disadvantage? Impersonating a Japanese officer, being fat was a huge advantage.

The Eighth Route Army were mostly poor farmers; how many could grow as fat as him? Most of the Nationalist Army soldiers were conscripts, and how many of them had the means to be well-fed? Besides, with years of war, abandoned farmland, and widespread famine, it was hard enough to get a full meal, let alone some extra fat. Only the wealthy and officials could afford to be well-fed, but even among them, being fat was rare.

Seeing the fat man in a lieutenant colonel's uniform and hearing the correct password, the Japanese soldiers had no suspicion of this fake, fat lieutenant colonel.

They let him pass and saluted him. A sergeant leading a patrol squad in the warehouse, after confirming the password and saluting, approached the fat man with a cigarette, like a lapdog.

"Sir, Lieutenant Colonel, you have worked hard! Kyoto cigarettes, have a smoke..." The sergeant bowed deeply, then took out a cigarette and eagerly offered it to the fat man. This was the most famous cigarette in Japan, and the sergeant had managed to get it despite the tight supply.

"Bakayarou!" The fat man, upon seeing the cigarette, became angry and slapped the sergeant. Japanese cigarettes were too disgusting; he didn't want to smoke them!

With a crisp sound, the fat man used all his strength, not holding back against the Japanese. The sergeant was slapped in a circle, completely dazed, with a split lip and two teeth knocked out.

"Hey!" The sergeant, in pain, covered his swollen face but had to stand straight and bow his head, waiting for another slap. This was the privilege of a Japanese officer.

Actually, the sergeant thought, this fat lieutenant colonel was setting a good example. There was a "No Smoking" sign in the warehouse, and he had offered a cigarette, which was a mistake.

The fat man raised his hand to slap again but saw the ten or so Japanese military vehicles parked ahead. He had a sudden idea and spared the sergeant, snatching the cigarette from his hand, crumpling it into a ball, and angrily throwing it on the ground. Then he shouted in Japanese to the patrol squad, "This is an imperial military stronghold, no smoking! Hand over all your cigarettes and matches!"

The Japanese soldiers immediately started searching their pockets, taking out their cigarettes and matches, and placing them on their palms, holding them out in front of their chests for the fat man to confiscate.

The sergeant looked embarrassed, took out another pack of cigarettes and a lighter from his pocket, and even had a watch on his wrist. The fat man's eyes lit up.

The cigarettes were "Hadamon," which the fat man liked, so he confiscated them.

The lighter was a good one, a Zippo from America, so he confiscated it.

The watch was even better, a useful item for special operations. In the future, it could be used for real-time command, unlike the current method of coordinating multiple special operation teams by setting a time. The fat man didn't hesitate to confiscate it.

Next, he confiscated from the soldiers: "Da Qianmen" cigarettes, Japanese cigarettes, a slap and a kick, and then crumpled them and threw them away. He continued confiscating, ending up with two watches, three packs of good Chinese cigarettes, and one lighter.

"You, do well, and your future will be bright, a promotion to sergeant is certain!" the fat man said in Japanese to the sergeant.

"Hey!" The sergeant, hearing that he would be promoted to sergeant, was moved to tears. The slap was worth it, and the Rolex watch was a good "gift." Now he could become a sergeant.

"You, lead your squad and follow me!" the fat man continued in Japanese, walking ahead.

The sergeant, realizing this was his chance to show his worth, eagerly led his squad to follow the fat man.

The fat man was inwardly delighted. These early-war Japanese soldiers seemed to encounter few imposters, making them incredibly naive. He wouldn't hesitate to take advantage of this. Leading the Japanese soldiers into the warehouse, he was amazed by the vast amount of weapons and food stored inside, stacked in mountains.

70mm howitzers, 105mm mountain guns, 90mm mortars, 50mm grenade launchers, heavy machine guns, "Type 99" light machine guns, and "Type 38" rifles were all brand new, with oil residue on them. The ammunition boxes and food bags were piled up densely, in large quantities.

"What a pity!" the fat man lamented. He had to destroy all this, despite his greed, as he couldn't take it away.

"Who can drive?" he thought of a bold plan. Why not go for something exciting? If he could get some artillery and heavy machine guns back, it would be much more effective in future battles against the Japanese, and the defense of the base would improve significantly.

"Sir, I can!" Two Japanese soldiers stepped forward. The sergeant had been promoted to sergeant just by one sentence, so following the fat lieutenant colonel seemed to be a promising path. They were eager to show their worth and become sergeants.

"I order you to load the food, one 70mm howitzer, five 90mm mortars, ten heavy machine guns, twenty grenade launchers, and ammunition..." the fat man began issuing orders. He had come alone without any help, and he was worried about how to handle the Japanese Warehouse No. 1, but the patrol squad solved all his problems.

The howitzers were powerful but difficult to transport.

The entire Japanese patrol squad immediately got to work. Another patrol squad, seeing the busy activity, inquired and learned that the fat lieutenant colonel had been ordered by the regimental headquarters to load the food and weapons and send them to the neighboring county for support. Hearing that the fat lieutenant colonel would promote the sergeant, the other squad's sergeant also led his team to help, hoping to impress the fat lieutenant colonel and get a promotion.