Chapter 55

The squad leader's shot didn't hit the fat man at all.

The fat man didn't knock the squad leader flying either; instead, the squad leader chickened out at the last moment when the military truck was about to hit him.

Of course, he had the courage to die in battle and wasn't really afraid of death. However, it was the first time he faced a huge, intimidating metal object charging at him, and any normal person might reflexively choose to avoid it at the most critical moment.

At such a moment, people are always agitated. While dodging the enemy's military truck, the squad leader's hand touched the trigger of the loaded rifle, and the gun went off.

The fat man drove the enemy's military truck forward, straight to the village entrance, and then into the village, stopping only when there was no more space. He opened the door and jumped out directly.

"Damn, you dare to compare your courage with me, Fat Grandpa? Hmph, you're a bit too thin!" The fat man took out a Hardmen cigarette, lit it with a lighter, took a puff, and then turned around, only to be stunned.

The monkeys, Dog Bear, and Xiaocui in the car were also stunned.

They saw dozens of guns of various lengths aimed at them, and the uniforms of the gunners were incredibly mixed. Only the caps with the Eighth Route Army insignia revealed that they were Eighth Route Army soldiers, but the fat man didn't recognize any of them. None of the men from the Third Regiment that Commander Ma had brought were there, so he guessed they were local Eighth Route Army soldiers.

"Drop your weapons, or we'll shoot!" Dozens of soldiers shouted in unison, creating a spectacular scene.

Monkeys and Xiaocui were directly scared to shiver, but Dog Bear was tough, glaring with his eyes wide open, ready to be a hero even if he died.

"You Eighth Route Army always bully the few with the many, and use guns against unarmed people, right? Well, Fat Grandpa has seen it all." The fat man said sarcastically with a Hardmen cigarette in his mouth.

These words were sharp and full of provocation.

"Traitor, what are you showing off for? Brothers, take his gun away!" A big man walked out from the Eighth Route Army, with a Mauser pistol on his waist, likely at least a company commander. He said to the fat man with disdain, "Don't talk dirty. If you're a man, come out and fight. If you're scared, crawl down and call the Eighth Route Army grandpa. Dare you?"

"Haha, you know I talk dirty, but how do you know I'm a traitor?" The fat man laughed, feeling very angry that even a man would curse him like that.

When the fat man laughed, the consequences were serious.

"Looking at you, driving the enemy's military truck, aren't you a traitor? Are you an animal? Hahaha..." The company commander glanced at the fat man a few times, his words were very sharp.

The surrounding soldiers burst into laughter.

The fat man suddenly smiled at the company commander. Those who knew him well knew that when he was angry, he would laugh. Then, he slightly raised his hand holding the cigarette and flicked it with his middle finger. The cigarette butt shot straight into the company commander's mouth, who was laughing loudly.

"Grandpa is awesome!" Monkey looked at the fat man's skill enviously.

"No wonder Grandpa shoots so accurately." Dog Bear muttered under his breath, vowing to practice flicking cigarette butts when he had time to improve his machine gun skills.

"Haahh..." The company commander's laughter instantly turned to pain. He lowered his head, spat out the cigarette butt, and panted quickly, a black spot on his tongue from the burn.

The surrounding soldiers' laughter suddenly stopped, the change was too fast and unexpected.

The company commander finally caught his breath, endured the pain, took out his pistol, and shouted angrily at the surrounding soldiers, "Take their guns away, bind them, and take them to see the commander. Shoot them on the spot if they resist!"

"Let's see who dares to bind me!"

As the company commander shouted, a thunderous roar came from behind him.

Why does this voice sound so familiar? The company commander turned around and saw Commander Ma with a dark face, leading Xiao Li, unbuttoning his belt and walking over.

"Commander, good!"

In unison, all the soldiers saluted, including the company commander.

"Was it you who wanted to bind them just now?" Commander Ma's expression was unfriendly, his belt already unbuttoned and in his hand, ready to lash out. He stared at the company commander and asked.

"Report, Commander, we caught a traitor and were about to bind him and take him to see you." The company commander saluted and said.

"A traitor?" Commander Ma glanced at the fat man, who was smirking, knowing he was angry. He raised the belt and lashed it at the company commander, scolding while beating, "I'll teach you to look down on people... to bind people... you dare to dodge... to slander good people..."

"Ouch... Ouch... It hurts..." The company commander dodged while making strange noises.

The fat man, also a veteran, saw through Commander Ma's act at a glance. He smiled and said to Commander Ma, who was chasing his subordinate with the belt, "Enough, stop acting. Do you think I don't know you're protecting me?"

"Hehe." Commander Ma's smile was somewhat forced. Since his act was exposed, he could only awkwardly continue, "Still, you understand me, brother."

The company commander was curious. He knew Commander Ma was just putting on a show, but the fat man, wearing enemy boots, pants, and a white shirt, seemed to be Commander Ma's acquaintance.

"Xiao Li, who is this?" The company commander asked the guard Xiao Li as soon as he stopped being beaten.

"You don't know him?" Xiao Li's words immediately attracted the attention of the surrounding soldiers, who gathered around to hear how the commander knew this fat man who looked like a traitor.

Xiao Li, seeing so many soldiers paying attention to him, felt proud and said, "This is a big shot. Do you know how the doctor from the division headquarters crossed the enemy's minefield? Do you know who flattened the enemy's No. 1 warehouse last night?"

"Is it this fat man?" The company commander was stunned. He had heard Commander Ma say he would trade the entire regiment for this fat man. Now, he had offended him, and he might be the first one Commander Ma would trade for the fat man.

"With the guns we have, do you think this fat man couldn't disarm you? Commander Ma was saving you. Be smart and don't provoke this fat man, or you won't know how you die." Xiao Li glanced at the company commander and said.

"We're not holding burning sticks; we have dozens of guns aimed at him. Impossible!" The company commander still tried to argue, feeling insulted that dozens of people with guns couldn't take down this fat man.

"No wonder Commander Ma scolded you for being dense. We didn't see the fat man blow up the enemy's No. 1 warehouse, but let's talk about what we saw. You think your soldiers are great, but are they better than a squad of the enemy? Better than half a battalion of the enemy? No way!" Xiao Li looked at the company commander.

"Our soldiers have old rifles and no machine guns. A grenade can even explode in two. How can we compare?" The company commander replied with resentment.

"Exactly. This fat man, remember, one person, destroyed a squad of the enemy, circled the minefield, and killed half a battalion of the enemy. Can you and your soldiers do that?" Xiao Li looked at the company commander with disdain. People lack self-awareness. At first, he didn't like this fat man, but he had to admit his skills.

"..." The company commander didn't dare to speak, and the surrounding soldiers who heard Xiao Li's words were also silent, shocked by the huge gap between them and the fat man. They were all fighting the enemy, but why was the gap so big?