Chapter 14

"Whang Erga? What does that mean?" Fu Kang heard and turned back, puzzled, to ask Su Peng.

"During the Anti-Japanese War, in the Japanese-occupied areas, there was an underground organization. Among them was a young messenger named Whang Erga, who had to deliver an extremely important message to the guerrillas. However, to pass the message, he had to go through a Japanese watchtower in the city, followed by a bridge."

"The Japanese patrolled every half minute, leaving a half-minute gap during which they couldn't see anyone passing the watchtower. However, this half-minute wasn't enough for anyone to run across the bridge. If Whang Erga tried to cross the bridge, he would inevitably be spotted by the Japanese and shot dead by their machine guns."

"But the clever Whang Erga came up with an idea and easily passed the watchtower to deliver the message to the guerrillas. Can you guess how he did it?" Su Peng asked with a smile.

Fu Kang was momentarily at a loss, but Sun Shijia answered, "Ah! I know. He took advantage of the half-minute gap to run from the city onto the bridge, ran halfway, and then turned around. When the Japanese ended their gap and saw him, they would think he was heading into the city and let him turn back, allowing him to leave the city!"

"Very clever," Su Peng said, snapping his fingers with a smile. "That's the right answer. Haven't you noticed that our situation is similar to Whang Erga's?"

"You mean we should follow the story you told? Take advantage of their patrol gap, walk to the bridge, turn around, and change direction so that when they spot us, they think we're coming from Jiangning County?"

Ji Ming asked after listening.

Su Peng nodded. Fu Kang couldn't help but whisper, "No way! That's too far-fetched! You're talking about a story to trick children. How could it work in real life? Not to mention whether the bandits would be fooled, what if they don't let you turn back and just grab you? We're four people! And it's the middle of the night in the mountains, how can that make sense?"

"Who said we have to go together? We only need one person. If they don't let us turn back and instead grab us... let them. We're not just expecting them to think we're from Jiangning County and let us go. Since we can communicate, we can mislead them," Su Peng said.

"You mean, use lies to trick them?" Ji Ming asked, seemingly interested.

"Yes... in a direct confrontation, we might not be a match for them, so we need to divide them. The plan I mentioned earlier wasn't to get that person back to Jiangning County, but to confirm that we are from Jiangning County and use the information to mislead them, for example, telling them that the Black Water Army plans to pass this shortcut before dawn to head to Green Mountain Fort!"

Su Peng continued to explain his plan.

"What? That's not revealing the information to these bandits?" Sun Shijia asked, puzzled.

"Isn't that better? If we pass false information and it reaches the main bandits, it could ease the crisis at Green Mountain Fort. If not, we can proceed with the next plan and kill these bandits to cross the river," Su Peng said.

"But how do we explain how we got the information? What if the bandits suspect us?" Fu Kang frowned.

"There are many reasons. For example, you could say you're a blacksmith from Jiangning County who learned the information while shoeing horses for the Black Water Army and wanted to send a message to your relatives in Green Mountain Fort to prepare military supplies and make some money," Su Peng said.

"What's the complete plan? How do we proceed next?" Ji Ming asked.

Su Peng glanced at the tower at the bridgehead and said, "Whether our information is true or false, the bandits guarding the bridge won't ignore it. They will report it to their superiors... But think about it, would the bandit in the tower dare not report it personally?"

Ji Ming thought for a moment and said, "He wouldn't. There are only eight people here, so guarding the bridge isn't too important. But the false information is very important. If I were the leader, I would report it to my superiors because the responsibility would be too great if I delayed the information."

"Exactly. Bandits also avoid responsibility. This small leader wouldn't dare make a decision. The importance of the information would make him not let the small bandits report it, as he couldn't bear the consequences. The most likely scenario is that he would take the person with the message to his superior, but he wouldn't abandon the bridge. At least two bandits would need to follow, which could divide about half of the bandits here," Su Peng said.

"The route he takes with the person has only two options: one is to go back to the main bandits near Green Mountain Fort, or to the bandit camp eight or nine miles away. We can ambush them on either route. As long as they can't immediately gather their forces to fight us, we can kill the divided bandits and then the remaining half to cross the bridge."

"Too far-fetched! This means we lose one person before we even start fighting? And we don't know which route they'll take? The most absurd part of your plan is who will be the decoy? You?" Fu Kang said, lowering his voice.

"They will go to Green Dragon Mountain," Ji Ming said, seemingly following Su Peng's logic. "This small leader's position isn't high enough to know the ambush location of the bandits on Green Dragon Mountain. The most likely scenario is that he will return to Green Dragon Mountain. I think there is a leader on Green Dragon Mountain."

"Moreover, I think this plan is feasible. The person going to decoy the bandits might not lose their fighting ability, and if they're lucky, they might not even be disarmed. Using one person to potentially lose their weapon to divide the bandits in half seems worth it."

"Also, if we ambush them in advance, I have a 90% chance of disabling one bandit's fighting ability," Ji Ming said, patting his bow confidently.

"I think this plan is good... it seems nice," Sun Shijia also said.

"Alright... if you all agree, who will be the decoy? You?" Fu Kang asked, seeing that the three agreed and his opposition wasn't strong.

Ji Ming snorted and ignored him. Fu Kang sneered, "I think this should be decided by a vote. I nominate Ji Ming. I think Ji Ming is quick to react and can tell lies well."

As he said this, he glanced at Sun Shijia, as if saying, "It's your turn to speak, agree with me!"

Sun Shijia looked at him, somewhat reluctantly. He didn't want to offend anyone, but having Ji Ming go would reduce his own risk. After hesitating for a long time, he finally said, "I agree with Ji Ming going."

Fu Kang was immediately pleased, looking at Su Peng, as if saying, "Vote for Ji Ming, let him go, and you'll be safe."

Su Peng frowned. Fu Kang's suggestion to vote was already suspicious. Fu Kang clearly wanted to use the alliance with Sun Shijia to his advantage. If Ji Ming went this time, the next time a collective decision was needed, it would be his turn.

"I think the voting method isn't fair and ignores personal interests," Su Peng said after thinking.

"Then what do you suggest? Should you go yourself? After all, you're the one who took on this mission and proposed the plan. What do you think, Ji Ming?" Fu Kang said, seemingly venting his hidden dissatisfaction with Su Peng.

Su Peng looked at the sneering Fu Kang.

"I can shoot one person and know a small path after crossing the bridge that the bandits on Green Dragon Mountain won't follow. Moreover, I don't like the voting method," Ji Ming said coldly.

"Let's draw lots," Su Peng said, smiling again after looking at Fu Kang. "Actually, being a decoy isn't that dangerous. As long as you follow what the bandits say and act like a regular person, there won't be much danger. Even during a surprise attack, if you have a weapon, you can quickly attack, and if you don't, the other side will be momentarily stunned, giving you a chance to run. Since everyone dislikes this task, let's draw lots, the fairest way."

"I agree," Ji Ming nodded.

"I... I agree too," Sun Shijia said, seeing the tension and agreeing with the idea of drawing lots.

"Draw lots... hmpf," Fu Kang said, dissatisfied that his goal wasn't achieved, but seeing that Ji Ming and Su Peng had formed an alliance, he reluctantly agreed.

Su Peng looked at the ground, pulled out four dry grass stems, and quickly made three long and one short. He then said, "The one who draws the short stem will be the decoy. It's all up to luck, no complaints, right?"

"Hmpf," Fu Kang said again, but didn't argue further. Ji Ming and Sun Shijia nodded.

"Fairness-wise, you draw first, and the last one is mine," Su Peng said, holding the grass stems in one hand to make them look the same length, and then handed them to Ji Ming.

Ji Ming drew a long stem.

Su Peng then handed the stems to Sun Shijia, who also drew a long stem.

Now only Su Peng and Fu Kang were left.

Fu Kang took a deep breath and drew a stem... it was the short one!

"Damn!" Fu Kang cursed.

Su Peng remained expressionless and drew the last stem from his hand.

It was a long stem!

"Fu Kang, it looks like you're the decoy," Su Peng said to Fu Kang, who spat and looked dark, but still acknowledged it.

...

"Fu Kang, wait, remember, act submissive, and they won't do anything to you," Su Peng instructed Fu Kang.

"Got it! Hmpf... it's just a decoy, if the game character dies, it's not like I'm really dead. Damn, what bad luck," Fu Kang muttered.

"Attention! The bandits have a gap in their patrol!" Sun Shijia, who was observing the two patrol teams in the tower, shouted.

Fu Kang immediately ran out of the woods with his iron hammer, quickly heading towards the bridgehead!

Su Peng and the others watched tensely. They were in the middle of an A-shaped terrain, with the woods in the middle, so the patrol teams on both sides could only see a line and wouldn't notice Fu Kang running from this side.

Fu Kang quickly ran halfway, and the patrol teams on both sides were still facing away from him, not noticing him.

Finally, Fu Kang reached the bridgehead, which was full of obstacles. He struggled to get past the wooden fence entangled with thorns and then turned around, as if coming from Jiangning County.

At this moment, the patrol teams on both sides had ended their gap and noticed Fu Kang!

"Who's there!"

"Stand still!"

"Stop!"

The shouts rang out, and the patrol teams quickly rushed over, reaching the bridgehead in less than six or seven seconds!

Fu Kang stood there, seemingly scared, and the bandits ran over and surrounded him.

The leader in the left tower also noticed the commotion and walked out towards the bridgehead.

Su Peng and the others waited, seeing a noisy commotion at the bridgehead, which calmed down a bit when the leader approached.

Then there was a series of indistinct conversations, mixed with the shouts of the bandits.

After a while, there was a strange silence, as if the leader was thinking.

Then, the leader seemed to have made a decision. Three bandits surrounded Fu Kang, pushing him to the left!

"It worked!"

Sun Shijia said tensely in a low voice.

"Go!" In the dense forest, Ji Ming, holding his bow, said in a low voice.

Su Peng and the others, in the dense forest, moved stealthily towards Green Dragon Mountain, occasionally stopping to observe the rear. They saw the bandit leader indeed leading three bandits, escorting Fu Kang, heading towards Green Dragon Mountain along the small path.

Su Peng and the others moved stealthily, quickly finding a suitable ambush spot.

"Here," Ji Ming said, and Su Peng and Sun Shijia nodded. Ji Ming found a good ambush point behind a large tree that three people could hug, and drew an arrow.

Su Peng and Sun Shijia also found their hiding spots, their eyes fixed on the bandit leader and Fu Kang, who were moving up the mountain.

Soon, they appeared in Su Peng's line of sight.

Ji Ming's hunting bow was already loaded with an arrow...

...

Fu Kang was being pushed by three bandits, following the bandit leader up the mountain.

Fortunately, his iron hammer wasn't taken away, possibly because the bandits thought he was submissive and the hammer wasn't a weapon and was too cumbersome to move.

Although it was a virtual game, Fu Kang himself was sweating, and it was a lie to say he wasn't nervous, given the importance of the job.

Knowing there would be an ambush on this path up the mountain, but not knowing when, was quite nerve-wracking...

He couldn't help but look at the mace in the bandit leader's hand, swallowing hard... the mace seemed much heavier than his iron hammer. Were the four of them a match for the bandit leader?

Just as Fu Kang was lost in thought, he suddenly saw a white line shoot out from the forest!

"Bang!"

An arrow shot out from the forest, piercing the shoulder of the bandit leader, causing a spray of blood!

"Attack!"

Two figures, taking advantage of the bandits' shock, suddenly leaped out from the forest!