Chapter 7

"Hand over the gun? What a joke!"

After the battle just now, this 98K sniper rifle had excellent headshot accuracy at 600 meters. The fat man had once read in a document that this gun was manufactured in Germany and specially selected for use as a sniper rifle. As for how Captain Zhang got it, that was not within his consideration.

However, he would never return what he had set his eyes on. Therefore, he continued to smoke his cigarette, ignoring Captain Zhang.

Seeing that the fat man was not only indifferent but also so arrogant, Captain Zhang glared at him with eyes full of murderous intent, pulling the bolt of his Czech light machine gun, ready to spray bullets and turn the fat man into a sieve at any moment.

"Do you have any proof that this gun is yours?" Facing the black muzzle, the fat man remained unmoved, holding the 98K sniper rifle in his hand and saying calmly.

"I... This gun is mine, anyway." Captain Zhang was speechless. As a soldier, having his own gun taken away was not only embarrassing but also a matter of life and death, and it stripped him of his dignity as a soldier.

"If you say this gun is yours, call it once. If it responds, it's yours." The fat man was never afraid of trouble. After knocking out the other guy and taking his beloved gun, making him lose his dignity as a soldier, he had no hope of joining the Nationalist Army. He decided to go all the way and would never give up the gun.

"Hmph! Twisting the facts!" Captain Zhang was almost choked with anger. No one had ever been so unreasonable in front of him. As a high-ranking graduate of the Berlin Army Military Academy, Captain Zhang could not tolerate being ignored, let alone the humiliation of being knocked out and having his beloved gun taken away.

If he couldn't even protect his own gun and had it taken away, he had no right to ask for it back. The fat man instantly had a bad impression of Captain Zhang and decided to ignore him.

"What do you want to do to get the gun back?" In front of so many people, Captain Zhang really didn't dare to shoot the fat man. The fat man had killed so many Japanese, and if he shot him in front of his subordinates and the Eighth Route Army, it would certainly ruin his reputation.

"You can try to win it back from me." The fat man said calmly. Both being soldiers, he felt that if he didn't show his skills, this guy would never leave him alone.

"Gun duel?" Captain Zhang's gaze sharpened. He had just examined the body of the Japanese squad leader and the fat man's sniper point, finding that the shortest distance was 600 meters. He knew he was far from being able to make headshots at 600 meters, and he definitely couldn't win a gun duel against the fat man.

"No!" The fat man refused straightforwardly.

"Then what do you want to compete in?" Captain Zhang wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, relieved. A gun duel would definitely not be won against this fat man, and losing in front of the Eighth Route Army would be even more embarrassing.

Hand-to-hand combat? Captain Zhang felt even less confident. After being knocked out by the fat man, he knew that the fat man not only understood human anatomy but also had very sophisticated methods of dealing with people, even more so than veteran soldiers who specialized in dirty tricks. He had no confidence in winning a hand-to-hand fight.

"Draw straws." The fat man lit another Hardmen cigarette, took a leisurely puff, and said, blowing out the smoke.

Captain Zhang almost fell over. He thought the fat man would propose a military skills competition to determine the ownership of the German 98K, but he never expected such a childish method as drawing straws.

He didn't know that after the battle, the fat man was already hot, tired, and weak. In such hot weather, a military skills competition would be the end of the fat man. Forcing him to kill a Japanese squad had already made him hate the hot weather.

Earlier, Wang Yi had briefly mentioned that the fat man was a Japanese interpreter, familiar with the Japanese puppet army's defenses. If they could get information about the city's defenses from the fat man, their chances of passing through the blockade would be much higher.

A few days ago, Captain Zhang had received orders from his superiors to work with the Eighth Route Army to escort several doctors to the Japanese-occupied area. When the team arrived at the county town, they found that the main road to the Japanese-occupied area was heavily guarded, and other roads were mined, blocking their way forward.

With only a dozen people in both teams and the need to protect several doctors, they couldn't force their way through the heavily guarded checkpoints or risk the doctors in the minefields. They could only gather information about the Japanese puppet army's minefield defenses to outsmart them. Unfortunately, three reconnaissance teams had been sent out, but none had captured a valuable prisoner, and several people had been lost to the minefields. They hadn't even made it through the county town.

Now, the Japanese puppet army seemed to have detected their presence and increased their search efforts. The longer they lingered outside the city, the more likely they were to be found by the Japanese puppet army.

As a Japanese interpreter, the fat man knew the city's defenses and minefield layout, increasing their chances of passing through the defense zone. If they killed the fat man, the team would have no hope of easily passing through the Japanese puppet army's defenses and minefields.

"Alright, let's draw straws." Captain Zhang nodded after a long silence. As a high-ranking graduate of the Berlin Military Academy, he was well aware of the fat man's tactical skills and had no confidence in winning a physical confrontation.

Moreover, the fat man had blocked the entire Japanese squad, saving everyone, despite being a Japanese interpreter. Captain Zhang didn't dare to shoot the fat man. When the fat man suggested drawing straws, it gave him a way out.

The fat man turned his back to Captain Zhang, broke two branches, stripped the leaves, and fiddled with them for a while. Then he clasped his hands, holding the two branches, and used his body and clothes to block the ends of the branches. He turned back to Captain Zhang and said, "I have two branches in my hands. Do you want to draw the long one or the short one? The one who draws it wins, and the gun goes to him."

"Let's draw the long one." Captain Zhang nodded. This method was not only simple but also avoided conflict. Most importantly, when the fat man turned to fiddle with the branches, Captain Zhang had already memorized the longer one, which had a bug spot on the tip.

"Are you sure?" The fat man's cheek twitched, and a hint of panic flashed in his small eyes. He continued, "Do you want to think about it again?"

"Sure! Whoever draws the long branch is the owner of this 98K sniper rifle." Captain Zhang observed the fat man's expression, smirking inwardly.

Military strategy says, "War is a matter of deception."

After being tricked by the fat man once, Captain Zhang carefully observed his performance in sniping the Japanese puppet army and the booby-trapped craters. He knew the fat man was a cunning and devious person. What seemed real was often false, and what seemed false was often real.

Captain Zhang unhesitatingly drew the branch without a bug spot, and the longer he pulled, the longer the branch became, making the fat man's face more and more panicked.

"Ha ha, how about that? The gun should be mine now." Captain Zhang held the half-foot-long branch and laughed at the fat man. The humiliation of being ambushed, having his gun taken, and being tied up by the fat man was now gone, as if he had avenged a great wrong.

"Ah!" The fat man shook his head and sighed, giving Captain Zhang a disappointed look. He slowly pulled out the remaining branch, saying, "Sometimes, being too smart is a mistake."

"What?" Captain Zhang didn't understand why the fat man said this, but a moment later, he understood the meaning of the words, and his face turned ashen.

The branch in the fat man's hand kept getting longer, seemingly endless...