Chapter 19

When it was confirmed that the gun fragments, some clothing fragments, and items on the ground belonged to the Japanese army, Yamamoto Kain did not delay and the telegram was once again sent to Okamura.

"Telegraph. Order Yamamoto Kain's squad to search the scene carefully. Order Yoshino to surround Bee Mountain. Notify the Special High Police detectives to follow the Misan garrison, and request support from Anle Town!"

Okamura issued orders with a grim face.

Being able to eliminate two standard army squads and having a company commander lead the team, this could not help but make Okamura cautious; this was certainly not a ragtag group. Nearly three hundred people in two squads were not something a ragtag group could handle. The most critical point was the big explosion. On Bee Mountain, the amount of explosives needed to create such a violent explosion must have been considerable. This meant that there, there might be an arsenal or even a manufacturing base for this team; otherwise, there could not be such a large amount of explosives.

Following Okamura's orders, the telegraph clicked, and messages flew in all directions...

"Search around the explosion site, do not overlook any suspicious clues."

Holding the message, Yamamoto Kain issued orders.

More than a hundred Japanese soldiers spread out, following the explosion site, and began searching in all directions.

About ten minutes later, a group of Japanese soldiers climbed to the hilltop.

Although the hilltop was covered with countless stones, shell fragments, and debris, it was still clear that this had once been a position. Because, on the dirty snow, there were several grenade pull rings and Type 38 rifle cartridge cases.

"Report, Lieutenant, a sniper position was found on the hilltop."

"Sniper position?"

Yamamoto Kain looked up at the nearly hundred-meter-high hilltop, then at the large crater formed by the explosion. Based on his experience, the distance was just right for a sniper position.

"Let's go up and take a look."

Yamamoto Kain said, leading the way up the hill.

The reporting soldier and four guards followed behind, and the group quickly reached the hilltop.

Seeing the traces of people lying on the messy snow and the Type 38 rifle cartridge cases mostly buried in the snow, Yamamoto Kain confirmed that this was indeed a sniper position; the weapon used was the Type 38 rifle.

While he was looking, a soldier bent down and picked up a snowball from the snow, rubbed it, and then quickly ran back.

"Report! A special cartridge case was found." The soldier stood at attention and handed over a cartridge case.

"Hmm?"

Yamamoto Kain was pondering how such a small position could have ambushed a standard squad equipped with machine guns and mortars. Hearing the report, he refocused and turned to look at the cartridge case being handed to him.

"Huh? This is..."

Seeing the cartridge case with a clearly smaller caliber than the Type 38 rifle, Yamamoto Kain suspiciously reached out to take it.

"Made-in-USA?"

Seeing the letters on the bottom of the cartridge case, Yamamoto Kain was stunned. Wasn't this American-made?

Could the team that attacked Fuji-ta be Americans? What are Americans doing here?

Several thoughts raced through his mind. While he ordered a thorough search of the surroundings, he quickly left the hilltop and rushed to the radio station to report the situation to Okamura.

5.5 caliber bullets? American-made? What are they doing with such a small caliber? Are they testing weapons? Or do they have another purpose?

Okamura's brows furrowed as several thoughts raced through his mind. After a moment, he ordered, "Telegraph to the Kwantung Army headquarters. A 5.5 caliber American-made cartridge case was found on Bee Mountain. The material and exact caliber of the cartridge case await further verification. Near the cartridge case, two standard army squads were completely wiped out, Lieutenant Fuji-ta and Lieutenant Shino were killed..."

The telegram caused a stir. The Japanese high command speculated whether the U.S. military had infiltrated Manchuria to intervene in the war or to test new weapons in the severe cold. The latter was less serious, but the former was hard to determine. If the U.S. military joined the war, along with the threatening Soviet Union, the Kwantung Army would be in a tough battle. Without early preparation, the entire invasion plan could be thwarted.

In the Kwantung Army headquarters in Fengtian, the Japanese Army Commander in China, General Tashiro, read the entire message, narrowed his eyes, and thought for a moment. He then ordered a telegram to the cabinet, explaining his judgment and requesting increased intelligence gathering on the U.S. and preparation for a possible war to avoid a passive situation.

With the message sent, the Japanese high command took urgent action. This news was no joke. Whether it was infiltration or just weapon testing, the U.S. having new weapons could hinder the plan to swallow China. Thus, a spy war against the U.S. began with a series of orders. Compared to history, Japan launched large-scale actions against the U.S. half a year earlier.

While the Japanese telegrams were being sent, Dong Ku and his team were rapidly sliding towards the outskirts of Bee Mountain. Dong Ku did not know that the cartridge cases he had overlooked would implicate the U.S. He knew that the M4A1 should not fall into Japanese or other countries' hands, but he had not realized that the information carried by the cartridge cases was equally important.

This information related to smelting, alloys, and the design of weapons based on bullet calibers. With these 70-year-old cartridge cases, the Japanese would certainly advance in military equipment manufacturing; at the very least, they would lead in smelting and alloys.

After five hours of rapid sliding, Dong Ku and his team reached the outskirts of Bee Mountain.

It was already past 3 PM, and the sky was beginning to darken.

Behind a snow ridge, Dong Ku stopped and said softly, "Rest here, eat some food to replenish your strength, and set off in an hour."

Liu Zhong and others were already showing signs of fatigue. Skiing on snow was especially tiring for the legs. Although they had rested in between, it was not a level of exercise that they, as new skiers, could handle.

When they heard they could rest, Mazi plopped down in the snow, quickly unloading his backpack and mortar, and removing his skis before standing up.

Others did similar actions, unloading their backpacks but not sitting down, standing and slowly eating the dried meat from their backpacks, accompanied by snow.

After unloading his backpack, Dong Ku climbed the snow ridge and took out a night vision binocular to observe the direction of home, where the trees were gradually thinning and the terrain was becoming flat.

When the Japanese soldiers lying in the snow by the distant road came into view, Dong Ku confirmed his judgment. The Japanese had indeed sealed off Bee Mountain.

After a careful observation, confirming the blockade positions and the general area, Dong Ku pulled back and said softly, "Eat more, we will travel all night and rest in the Dahuishan area." He then took out a piece of dried meat, grabbed a handful of snow, and ate it, alternating between the meat and snow.

Yoshino, who had already arrived at the outskirts of Bee Mountain, did not completely surround it, but he had sealed off all the main roads and even some small paths. He believed that with half a regiment's troops, the team in the mountain would be trapped, unable to start a fire for warmth, and would not last long in the snow.

A large force was also rushing to Misan, along with Special High Police agents and a dozen military dogs. They believed that these dogs would certainly make the enemies in Bee Mountain unable to hide.

In Anle Town, a company of Japanese soldiers was also rushing to Bee Mountain by car and would arrive at the outskirts in about three to four hours.

The sky gradually darkened. The Japanese soldiers lying in ambush on the main roads did not make any light, waiting for their prey to appear.

"We're off!"

Dong Ku, with all his belongings on his back, ordered Mazi to carry the branches and issued the command to set off.

With their strength restored, the group slowly used their ski poles to leave the resting place, quietly exiting Bee Mountain about two kilometers away from the ambush, and moved through the snow-covered meadows towards Dahuishan.

The few people following Dong Ku were very curious why he was wearing a hood in the dark and could still accurately avoid the tussocks and dodge the grass mounds.

They did not know that this was a night vision device, which was very suitable for use at this time. Although it was not as clear as daytime, it was much better than Liu Zhong and others, who could only see the figures in front of them.

Under Dong Ku's lead, the group quietly crossed the fifty to sixty miles of meadows. As they approached the edge of the meadows, they saw headlights on the road a few kilometers away, accompanied by the faint sound of engines.

"The Japanese are still reinforcing!"

This thought crossed everyone's mind.

Dong Ku, of course, understood even more. This series of trucks must have brought at least a company. It seemed the Japanese had been hit hard and were putting in a lot of effort. He had not yet realized that this large-scale action was actually targeting the American-made cartridge cases.

Knowing that they should not stay here long, Dong Ku paused for a moment and led the group into the forest, away from the road, and rushed towards Dahuishan.

When Dong Ku and his group disappeared into the forest, more than 5,000 Japanese soldiers had gathered around Bee Mountain by midnight. Although it was not completely sealed off, it was surrounded. If Dong Ku and his group were trapped, it would be difficult for them to escape.

Inside Bee Mountain, ten standard army squads had already entered, heading towards the position where Yamamoto Kain was. They would likely reach Yamamoto Kain's position before dawn. However, all the Japanese did not expect that the "U.S. team" they were hunting had already moved more than 100 kilometers away from Bee Mountain. Even if they found the tracks in the snow now, it would be difficult to catch up with Dong Ku and his group, who had skis.

However, the specially trained wolf dogs, in their view, would make it difficult for this team to hide, and the impending successful encirclement made them secretly excited.

At the same time, Yamamoto Kain and his squad were searching around the explosion site, expanding the search radius to over five miles, but they found no traces. It seemed that this "U.S. team" had disappeared, or had vanished with Fuji-ta and the others in the explosion.

While they were searching, Dong Ku had already entered the Dahuishan area. On the way, he thought about the training, which was far from over. Shunzi and Dog Egg's injuries should be able to move in a few days, although they could not participate in intense training, basic training should be fine. He did not want the three to fall too far behind.

"It seems we need to change the training ground..."

Thinking about the scene of the Japanese reinforcements on the road, Dong Ku knew that this area could no longer be used for grenade and shooting training. If they went to the Xing'an Mountains, the journey would not be a problem; they could reach there in a few days. However, the Oroqen people had been driven away by the Japanese, and the Japanese were building bases along the river in the Xing'an Mountains, making it impossible to conduct daily shooting training there.

"It seems we can only go there..."

As he thought, Dong Ku forcefully pushed his ski poles, climbed a small hill, and observed the surroundings. After everyone had caught up, he ordered a short rest and then found a place to rest after descending the hill... PS: Dear readers, in March, I am reporting that this weekend, the book will receive its first recommendation, a strong push in the category. Here, I humbly request your votes and collections. The data from the first recommendation is crucial, as it determines future recommendations. Therefore, I kindly ask for your full support. During this period, I will maintain two chapters of 6,000 words per day.