Chapter 56

Dong Ku looked at the two and said, "Liu Zhong, your task is to bring them back to Dahei Mountain. Before I return, continue to attack the Japanese troops outside the Heizuizi area using the previous methods, focusing on hunting and destruction. Absolutely do not gather a force, and do not engage the main force."

Before Liu Zhong could respond, Dong Ku looked at Shunzi and said, "You are the calmest here. You must often remind Brother Zhong not to act on impulse."

"Dong Big Brother..."

Liu Zhong and Shunzi felt something was off, as if he was making arrangements for the future.

Dong Ku smiled and interrupted them, "Don't worry, you must believe in my abilities. The Japanese can't keep me. I'll just return a few days later than you. Don't worry."

Liu Zhong and Shunzi exchanged doubtful glances but said nothing. Dong Ku was right; his skills and abilities were such that the Japanese couldn't detain him.

Turning to look at the truck that had been loaded, Dong Ku called everyone over and said, "Now I will assign tasks..."

Half an hour later, Shanzi, Liu Zhong, and Mengzi drove out in a car.

Sun Tao drove the truck, loaded with grain from the Wang family, following behind.

Shunzi drove another car straight to Songjiang Road...

As the sky gradually darkened, the cars and truck bumped along, arriving at the checkpoint in the Japanese residential area in the eastern part of the city.

"What are you doing here?"

The Japanese guard at the checkpoint, bayonet at the ready, shouted.

"Sir, we are delivering grain for the preparatory committee." Shanzi opened the car door, bowed deeply, and handed over the special pass.

"Yoshi!"

The Japanese guard seemed familiar with the preparatory committee. He carefully examined the pass, handed it back to Shanzi, and walked around the car toward the truck.

Shanzi, holding the pass, followed the Japanese guard to the back of the truck. Without the guard lifting the tarp, he opened it himself and shouted inside, "Sir, please check, turn on the lantern."

As he spoke, the dark truck interior lit up with a dim light. Dong Ku, holding the lantern, bent over and stood there, waiting for the inspection.

The soldier leaned into the truck, saw several bags of grain and various bottles and jars, and then let go, jumping down and asking, "Why so little?"

"Sir, there's another truck behind. We'll be back late at night." As he spoke, he took two bottles of wine from Dong Ku, held them up to the Japanese guard, and said, "Sir, this is for you. You can enjoy it after your shift."

"Yoshi. You are very good."

The Japanese guard bared his yellow teeth, smiling broadly.

"Here's this too."

Shanzi, as he spoke, took a paper-wrapped roasted chicken from Dong Ku.

"Yoshi! Yoshi!"

The Japanese guard, holding the wine bottles, grabbed the roasted chicken, sniffing it and praising Shanzi, satisfied, and walked toward the checkpoint, raising the wine bottles and roasted chicken to signal for them to pass.

The Japanese guards at the checkpoint, seeing the wine bottles, all smiled and moved the barriers, waving them through, "Quickly, quickly!"

"Ha! Ha!"

Shanzi ran back to the car, bowing deeply, and waved to Sun Tao to follow, starting the car...

In the car, Dong Ku carefully observed the surroundings. Soon after the truck entered, he tapped the roof to signal Sun Tao to stop. He leaned out, felt the wind direction, and made some gestures to Sun Tao.

Sun Tao understood and pretended to check the tires, circling the truck, then got back in and continued forward, turning into a residential area at the second intersection.

Shanzi, seeing the truck turn, found a spot to turn his car around, waiting at the intersection where Sun Tao had entered. He idly watched the samurai in kimonos with swords, thinking to himself, "How long can you keep bouncing around?" However, he knew that the dozen boxes of black powder on the truck could only destroy a hundred meters or so, and the collapse of buildings might not even reach that distance.

Following Dong Ku's instructions, Sun Tao stopped the truck and turned off the engine, parking it by the roadside. After a few minutes, Dong Ku signaled that it was time to leave, and they quickly returned to the intersection, getting into the car.

Dong Ku pulled the wires under the car into the grass, got back in, picked up four spools of telephone wire, and, after checking the lantern, jumped out of the car, setting up the door curtain and pull wires, quietly disappearing into the night.

On Songjiang Road, Shunzi's car was parked in an alley. He hid in the shadows, watching the gap between two watchtowers. This was the agreed-upon spot where Dong Ku would cross the barbed wire.

The searchlights on the watchtowers were bright, their beams crisscrossing, illuminating the hundred-meter gap between the barbed wire.

Suddenly, Shunzi saw a shadow flash and then disappear.

Is it Brother Dong? He rubbed his eyes and stared again.

The searchlights on the watchtowers continued to rotate, showing no signs of anything unusual.

"Am I seeing things?"

Shunzi blinked, about to look elsewhere, when Dong Ku suddenly appeared silently in front of him.

"It's me."

Before Shunzi could raise his gun, Dong Ku whispered.

"Chishan Hu!"

Shunzi, breaking out in a cold sweat, instinctively whispered.

"Quick, give me the stuff. You must return immediately. Remember to take my gun. If the bullets run out, hide the gun; it must not fall into the wrong hands." Dong Ku spoke quickly, not responding to Shunzi's exclamation.

"You didn't bring your gun..."

Shunzi handed over a square box, feeling a growing unease. Dong Ku never left his gun behind unless it was a special situation.

"Quick, you have three minutes. Follow the orders!"

Shunzi, without hesitation, stood at attention and ran to the car. Soon, the engine roared, and he headed back to the Wang family's house.

Dong Ku quickly connected the wires to the detonator, hiding in the shadows, watching the watch.

The luminous watch clearly showed the second hand ticking.

His heart beat steadily in sync with the watch.

If the wind direction is miscalculated, if the gas drifts this way, then I, Dong Ku, will go first! To save more lives, I can only sacrifice my own!

Dong Ku's eyes were sharp, his hand steady on the detonator. With a single twist, the Japanese residential area two kilometers away would become a hell. He wanted the Japanese to understand that killing Chinese civilians would be repaid tenfold, even if it meant harming his own people.

He was prepared to personally verify the direction of the gas. If it drifted west, he would sacrifice his life to compensate for the lives of his compatriots, though it would be far from enough.

Three minutes passed, and a patrol of Japanese soldiers marched south along Songjiang Road. No one noticed the hidden figure, and no one would have thought that within their heavily guarded area, they were storing the mustard gas they used to bombard Fengtian, causing countless civilian and military casualties.

Dong Ku watched the second hand, listening to the surroundings, giving Liu Zhong and the others time to enter the tunnel.

He was very reluctant. The growth of these hunters was limitless. Even the less capable Liu Hai would be considered an elite in any modern army. However, this operation was necessary to make the Japanese more cautious. They had to feel the pain to truly change.

"They should be in the tunnel by now." Dong Ku looked up at the night sky, dotted with light clouds, took a deep breath, and was about to press the detonator.

At that moment, he heard a faint sound of footsteps behind him.

His pistol instantly pointed in that direction, his left hand still steady on the detonator.

"Chishan Hu..."

A weak voice called out.

"Hmm?"

Dong Ku was surprised. Only nine people knew he was called Chishan Hu. Who was this?

Before he could figure out the source of the weak voice, Shunzi and Sun Tao quietly turned into the alley, approaching where Dong Ku was hiding.

"Why aren't you following orders?!"

Dong Ku put away his gun, his voice low but stern.

"We can't leave you alone. Even if it means disobeying orders. Brother Zhong is waiting for us for ten minutes. After that, they will leave." Sun Tao whispered.

"You..."

Dong Ku wanted to get angry but couldn't.

"Brother Dong, we can't do without you. With you, we can live longer and kill more Japanese." Sun Tao ignored Dong Ku's anger and continued in a low voice.

Dong Ku took a deep breath. He knew that the stubborn and simple nature of these hunters couldn't be erased in just a few months. It seemed they had noticed his intention to stay behind, which was why Shunzi had returned to the Wang family and then come back with Sun Tao.

Before he could speak, Shunzi handed him an object and whispered, "Brother Dong, I brought your gun. If you stay, I'll stay with you."

Dong Ku realized they wouldn't leave. Time was short, so he quickly took the gun, put it on his back, and took the two magazines Shunzi handed him. "Do you have towels? Soak them in water and cover your nose and mouth. Hurry!"

"We have them!"

The two quickly pulled out towels from their bags and soaked them with water. Shunzi didn't tie his, handing it to Dong Ku and pulling out another from his bag.

Dong Ku didn't have time to think. He quickly tied the towel around his face, saw that Shunzi had soaked his, and whispered, "After the explosion, quickly return to the Wang family. Avoid shooting if possible and don't stop on the way."

"Yes!"

The two responded in low voices. Shunzi added, "We'll go together."

Dong Ku took a deep breath, said nothing, and looked at the distant flickering street lamps, resolutely pressing the detonator.

Boom!

As the detonator was pressed, the ground shook, and a deafening explosion rose in the distance, a brilliant fireball instantly illuminating the night sky...