Chapter 2

Hu Hao looked around and saw a few soldiers smoking nearby. He crept over and asked, "Hey, brother, can you give me a cigarette?"

"You, you can smoke?" a young soldier said, holding a cigarette in his hand.

"What do you mean? If you can smoke, why can't I?" Hu Hao said, dissatisfied.

"Well, here," an older soldier handed him a bag.

"Why are you giving me a bag?" Hu Hao said, dissatisfied, and opened the bag. Inside were loose tobacco leaves, not pre-rolled cigarettes. Oh no, this is something only old men in the countryside would roll and smoke.

"I asked for a pre-rolled one, with a filter," Hu Hao said.

"What pre-rolled, with a filter? Can we afford that! It's already good that we have cigarettes," another soldier said.

Hu Hao rolled his eyes, took out the tobacco and paper from the bag. The paper had a lot of writing on it. "This, this is toxic," Hu Hao thought.

But there was no choice. Since he had a craving, he didn't care about a little bit of toxicity. After rolling the cigarette, Hu Hao asked the nearby soldier for a light. The soldier directly handed him a lit cigarette. Hu Hao took it mechanically. Isn't it said that passing a lit cigarette will make you single forever? Well, he had never been in a relationship anyway, so it didn't matter. He might as well focus on how to get back.

After lighting up, Hu Hao gave the cigarette to the nearby soldier and took a deep puff.

"Cough, cough." What kind of cigarette was this? It was so strong that Hu Hao's eyes started to water.

"Haha," the other soldiers laughed at Hu Hao, and the older soldier smiled at him.

"What are you laughing at?" Hu Hao wiped his eyes and continued to smoke.

"You, you're really something, aren't you!" the soldier who had given him the cigarette said, dissatisfied.

"What are you talking about, Junzi?" the older soldier said to the other soldier.

"Class leader, look at him," the soldier pointed at Hu Hao.

"Hu Hao, are you feeling better?" the older soldier asked.

"Hu Hao, Hu Hao," the other soldiers looked at the older soldier in confusion, muttering.

Hu Hao glanced at the older soldier and asked in a low voice, "What year is it now? I can't remember anything."

"You, you can't remember? Do you remember the battle at Jinggang Mountain? Do you remember when you were injured during our breakout?" the older soldier asked, excitedly.

"I don't remember. I can't remember anything before today. What year is it now?" Hu Hao said.

"You don't remember? This is a problem. I thought you were better. It's September 1937, and we are in Shanxi now," the older soldier said, a bit sadly.

"Class leader? Him?" a soldier pointed at Hu Hao.

"Forget it, we don't have time to explain. Remember, he has been in the revolution longer than all of you. He joined with the regiment commander. If it weren't for saving the commander, he wouldn't have been injured and wouldn't have become like this," the older soldier said.

"Oh, that's why the commander treats him so well!" the soldier said.

"1937, it's actually 1937. No wonder there are still Japanese. But how did I end up here? I have to go back. It's too common to die in this era, and I haven't even gotten married yet," Hu Hao thought.

"Get ready for the battle, the Japanese artillery is coming again," a voice came from a distance. The older soldier immediately stood up and, seeing Hu Hao still dazed, pushed him a few times, "The Japanese artillery is coming, hide quickly."

Hu Hao came to his senses. Right, he had to hide. If he died, he wouldn't be able to go back. He immediately stood up, grabbed his gun, and ran to the ammunition storage to grab a few handfuls of bullets and put them in his pocket.

Just as he climbed into the trench, he heard the sound of shells flying. Hu Hao quickly lay down in the trench, covering his head with his hands.

"Boom, boom," the explosions continued around him.

He heard many soldiers screaming in pain.

"What the hell is this world?" Hu Hao thought, holding his head.

The artillery fire stopped after a while.

"Quickly get into position, the Japanese are coming," a voice shouted.

Hu Hao shook his head, which was ringing, grabbed his gun, and climbed into the trench. He saw the Japanese soldiers creeping towards them, already close to their position. Hu Hao quickly pulled the bolt and fired.

This time, Hu Hao didn't have the heart to count. He just kept pulling the bolt, firing, loading bullets, and firing again.

The battle continued until it was almost dark. Hu Hao, exhausted, leaned against the position. There were only a few soldiers left around him, and the one who had argued with him earlier was lying still. Hu Hao suddenly felt like crying and wanted to go home.

"Here," the older soldier rolled a cigarette and handed it to Hu Hao. Hu Hao took it, and the older soldier lit it for him.

"You're really good with a gun. Even though you have amnesia, your skills are still there," the older soldier said.

Hu Hao didn't say anything, thinking, "So it's really like in the novels, where people travel through time. I don't mind time travel, but why did I end up in this era? In the novels, people travel back to become emperors, princes, or rich heirs. Why did I become a soldier, and during the war? Oh, my fate is so hard."

Hu Hao looked up at the sky, which was now overcast, and it looked like it was going to rain.

"Right, lightning." Hu Hao felt a bit excited. He had heard that being struck by lightning could cause time travel. Although no one had verified it, that's what the novels said. If he could travel again, he might be able to go back. He had to try.

So Hu Hao immediately threw away the cigarette and ran to a high point behind the position.

"Hey, Hu Hao, what are you doing? Don't run around," the older soldier shouted when he saw Hu Hao running to the high point.

Hu Hao ignored him and continued running. When he reached the top of the high point, he raised his gun and shouted, "Heaven, strike me! I want to go back!"

"What is that idiot doing? Why is he running there and shouting?" a soldier saw Hu Hao on the small hill and said to the people around him.

"Who knows? How can we normal people guess what an idiot will do?" another soldier said.

At that moment, the regiment commander turned around and saw Hu Hao on the hill. He asked the soldiers nearby, "Why is Hu Hao over there? What is he doing?"

Before he could finish his question, a lightning bolt struck Hu Hao's gun, making his hair stand on end.

"You, damn it," the regiment commander shouted, "Quickly, two of you, go and carry him down, see if he's dead."