Chapter 5

Holding the Type 38 rifle that had run out of bullets, the five remaining Japanese soldiers' chests heaved violently, their eyes filled with terror as they looked up at the snow-covered ridges, as if expecting bullets to fly at any moment.

There was no sound of gunfire; they could not imagine what kind of weapon was being used against them, nor who their attacker was. But one thing was certain: they were all going to die.

"I don't want to die..."

One of the Japanese soldiers threw away the empty Type 38 rifle, crouched behind the snow ridge, and trembled uncontrollably, completely giving up any resistance.

The other four Japanese soldiers were not much better off. Their eyes, once filled with cruelty, now looked fearful and lifeless. No one thought of fleeing, and no one considered resisting. All they could do was hope that time would pass quickly, and whatever was coming would come soon.

Puff!

A head exploded right next to him.

There was no surprise, no fear; the others who were still alive seemed to think this was normal.

Puff!

Warm, sticky blood splattered on a soldier's face. The soldier, who was hit, didn't even think to wipe it off, as if his soul had already left his body.

"I surrender! I surrender! Don't shoot!"

After three of his comrades' heads exploded, one of the remaining Japanese soldiers suddenly stood up, raising the Type 38 rifle over his head, and screamed in a hoarse voice, his eyes darting around, trying to find the direction of the attack.

"Is it possible that the notorious Kwantung Army would surrender?"

Dong Ku, looking through his scope, let the surrendering soldier go. He muttered to himself, then pulled the trigger several times, killing the remaining two injured soldiers. He surveyed the battlefield and saw that only the crouching soldier and the one who had surrendered were left.

Dong Ku took a deep breath, stood up, and aimed his gun at the surrendering soldier, walking steadily from the high ground toward the explosion site.

The moment Dong Ku appeared, the surrendering soldier saw him. Seeing a figure in their uniform but holding an unfamiliar and advanced weapon, he didn't know which side this person belonged to. He raised his hands even higher and kept shouting, "I surrender! I surrender! Don't shoot!"

"Relax, throw the gun on the ground."

Dong Ku, keeping an eye on the crouching soldier, spoke in fluent Japanese to calm him down.

The soldier, upon hearing the voice, reflexively threw the gun to the side. After throwing the gun, he realized that the person speaking was using their native language. He looked at Dong Ku with a puzzled expression and asked, "Are you an Imperial Army soldier?"

Dong Ku ignored him and kicked the Type 38 rifle with the bayonet, which flew into the air. He held the M4A1 in his left hand and caught the Type 38 rifle with his right, thrusting it forward. With a thud, the bayonet pierced the heart of the puzzled soldier.

"Ugh..."

The soldier reflexively grabbed the rifle, his eyes struggling to focus on the person in front of him, desperate to know the answer.

"I just wanted to save a bullet..."

Dong Ku said coldly. As he spoke, he yanked the rifle out, not even glancing at the soldier, and quickly approached the crouching soldier, thrusting the bayonet into his heart without hesitation.

The crouching soldier convulsed, his body slowly relaxing. His lifeless eyes showed no pain or fear, only a sense of inexplicable relief.

Having dealt with the last moving target, Dong Ku, with one hand holding his gun and the other the Type 38 rifle, circled the explosion site. He stabbed each of the non-fatally wounded soldiers, then crouched and ran toward the river, leaping into it and heading toward Hu Zi.

Four hundred meters away, Hu Zi was still lying quietly, his fingers, starting to turn white, stiffly resting on the trigger, his eyes fixed on the explosion site.

He saw a figure stand up and another approach. The moment they got close, one of them fell.

"Brother Dong?"

The silence ahead confirmed that the pursuing Japanese soldiers were definitely gone. Hu Zi's breathing quickened, his blood boiling, but he didn't notice his fingers were almost frozen.

Just as he was getting excited, he suddenly heard running footsteps approaching. His scalp tingled, and he reflexively turned his head, aiming his gun in the direction of the sound.

"Hu Zi."

At that moment, a voice sounded in his ear, and a large hand firmly grabbed his right hand on the trigger, pressing the gun into the snow.

"Brother Dong..."

Shocked, Hu Zi felt weak all over. He didn't turn his head but asked tentatively.

"Hu Zi, it's me. Rub your hands."

Dong Ku slowly helped Hu Zi pull his stiff fingers off the trigger and covered them with snow.

"Brother Dong... the Japanese soldiers..."

Panting, Hu Zi took off his other glove, grabbed some snow, and rubbed his frozen fingers while asking.

"They're all dead. Let's go clean up."

Dong Ku, picking up Hu Zi's Type 38 rifle, walked toward the explosion site.

"All dead?!"

Hu Zi shook off the melting snow from his hand, grabbed more snow, and rubbed his fingers while standing up, unable to believe it.

"Yes, all dead."

Dong Ku stopped, looked back at the white cloth on the snow, and picked it up, handing it to Hu Zi, saying casually.

"Phew..."

The expected result still filled Hu Zi with uncontrollable joy. Thirty Japanese soldiers, no gunfire, just one explosion, and they were all dead! Following behind Dong Ku, he didn't feel the pain and heat in his fingers, only the tall, god-like figure in front of him...

"Hu Zi, move faster. Collect these weapons and ammunition, find a place to bury them in the snow, and come back for them later." Dong Ku quickly gathered the weapons and ammunition on the ground, urging Hu Zi, who was stunned by the scene.

Hu Zi snapped back to his senses, hurriedly collecting the bullets, hand grenades, and wooden-handled grenades...

The intermittent gunfire made Liu Zhong and the other three, running in another direction, uneasy. They couldn't imagine what caused the explosion, perhaps it was the artillery Dong Ku mentioned. The gunfire that followed made them very worried, unsure if the others had been caught by the Japanese soldiers.

"Brother Zhong, what if..."

Meng Zi, worried, asked while running.

"Don't talk nonsense. With Brother Dong, nothing will happen."

Sun Tao, running, interrupted Meng Zi.

"Brother Dong is so skilled, and his gun can hold so many bullets. Even if the Japanese catch up, it won't be a problem."

Liu Hai, breathing heavily, said enviously, without stopping.

"Is Dong Ku sent by the old leader to save us?"

Looking back at the vague figures below, Liu Zhong remembered that when he first saw Dong Ku, there were no footprints around him. This thought crossed his mind...

Below, the relentless pursuit by Yamaguchi Eiji had already revealed four figures in their uniform through the binoculars. Seeing their uniforms and the three or four rifles they carried, he suddenly had a bad feeling. They weren't chasing civilians; civilians couldn't have wiped out over twenty Imperial soldiers. The civilians' clothes must have been taken from the dead soldiers...

"Could it be the Anti-Japanese United Army?"

This thought made him roar, "Speed up! Catch them!"

He knew that only by catching the people ahead could he get the answers. As for the explosion and gunfire, he didn't optimistically think it was a signal of success from Watanabe. He was more worried that Watanabe, unaware of the situation, might be ambushed by the Anti-Japanese United Army in their uniforms.

Yamaguchi Eiji's shout made the scattered Japanese soldiers form two teams, following Liu Zhong's footprints closely. The leading soldier, seeing vague figures, fired a few shots while running.

Thus, the crisp gunfire echoed through the forest, but the distance of over a thousand meters made it impossible to hit Liu Zhong and the others. It only made the snow on the trees fall, adding to the tension.

"Brother Zhong, the Japanese saw us!"

The moment the gunfire sounded, Meng Zi instinctively looked back, exhaling a long breath.

" Ignore them, they're just scaring us from this distance."

Running, Liu Zhong glanced at the terrain and pointed to a patch of grass on the hillside. "Follow the grass."

Following Liu Zhong's direction, the others saw a snow trail leading into the grass. They understood and ran diagonally down the hill, through the dense hazel bushes, heading in that direction.

Yamaguchi Eiji, determined to catch the people ahead, increased their speed. Seeing the figures disappear behind the ridge, he changed his cautious approach and ordered, "No need to test for traps, speed up! The Chinese pigs don't have time to set traps!"

The two teams of Japanese soldiers abandoned their tactical advance, holding their rifles and running quickly through the snow.

After a mad dash of about ten minutes, the Japanese soldiers successfully reached the top of the hill. As Yamaguchi Eiji had predicted, they encountered no resistance.

At the top of the hill, the figures running below came into view.

Yamaguchi Eiji, upon reaching the top, took out his binoculars to survey the area and let the soldiers catch their breath.

Through the binoculars, the four figures were running, circling around a rare green edge on the snow and heading toward the ditch below.

"They're exhausted, chase them! We need to capture them alive!"

Yamaguchi Eiji stopped the soldier about to shoot, waving his pistol and giving the order to pursue.

The distance was at most a thousand meters. The Japanese soldiers, knowing the Type 38 rifle's long-range capabilities, charged down the hill, determined to close the gap. Once they were within two hundred meters, the Type 38 rifle would be effective, and the people ahead would be doomed.

But the Japanese soldiers didn't know that a trap was waiting for them ahead...