Chapter 2: The Sudden Battle

  At first, when reading about the history of fleeing in disarray in the face of the Japanese army's attack, I would only laugh at how useless they were. However, now that I'm facing all this myself, I've come to realize that I'm no better than them...

  "Little brother, newcomer!" Just as I was stunned, an old soldier walked up to me and handed me a jug of water: "Here, there's no wine here, so use water to calm down!"

  I gratefully glanced at the old soldier, took over the canteen and poured a few mouthfuls into my mouth. It was only then that I realized how thirsty I really was, and once I started drinking, I couldn't stop, gulping down water like a cow, and only after quenching my thirst did I return the canteen to the old soldier with a word of thanks, and my head also cleared up a bit.

  "Little brother!" The old soldier took the canteen, screwed on the cap and hung it on his body while comforting me: "Not used to it! Don't worry, you'll be fine in a few days! Look at them..."

  He glanced at several new recruits sitting next to me and continued: "They are all newcomers, our troops are about the same as yours..."

  "What?" I was taken aback and asked, "Older brother, are you saying... most of our troops are new recruits?"

  "What's boot camp if it's not for new recruits?" The old soldier nodded in response.

  "Hmm!" I pretended to understand and nodded, but in fact, I had no idea what the military training team was, wanted to ask but worried that the old soldier would be suspicious, so I could only pretend to understand.

  It wasn't until later that I found out the military training corps was actually just a new recruit camp, it's just called differently in a more literary way.

  "Older brother!" Then I asked with lingering fear: "You said we are all new recruits, how can we fight against the Japanese..."

  I hate the Japanese, but I also know that at the beginning of the war, the little devils who attacked our country were all seasoned veterans. Now, when I hear that most of the troops in this unit are new recruits, I feel a bit uneasy.

  "What are you talking about?" A thin warrior, like a monkey, hastily said: "What do you mean how to fight against the Japanese? If we don't fight, can the Japanese let us go? Besides, those Japanese have bullied us for so long, can we swallow this insult?"

  "That's right!" Others chimed in, "The Japanese are too bullying, no big deal, let's just fight it out with them!"

  "Killing one is one, killing two makes a profit!"

  ……

  Some people even shouted at me: "I'm telling you, brother, if you don't have the guts, go back home and farm, don't lose face here!"

  In an instant, I became the target of public criticism. There was no time to explain, and while feeling embarrassed, I couldn't help but feel a bit strange. Weren't Japanese people supposed to be fleeing for their lives? Why did what I saw now seem like a completely different scene?

  "Alright, alright, alright..." In the end, it was still Old Li who came to my rescue. He waved his hand at the others and said, "What's the point of talking so much? Just mind your own business!"

  After the others left, the old soldier said to me with a serious tone: "Little brother, don't listen to them. For us soldiers, being able to survive on the battlefield is already an achievement! Let me tell you, the one who was holding a handgun next to you earlier is our platoon leader, surnamed Chi. I am the squad leader, surnamed Hu, just call me Squad Leader Hu. You'll get to know the others later! Now, prepare yourself, the devils will attack soon!"

  "What? The devils are going to attack again? Didn't we just... didn't we just fight them off earlier?" Upon hearing this, my entire nervous system tensed up once more.

  "What just happened was only the enemy's firepower reconnaissance!" Li Ban Zhang casually threw out a sentence: "The real attack hasn't started yet!"

  It took me half a day to come back to my senses after hearing this, the firepower reconnaissance was already so terrifying, what would the real attack be like?

  I will know soon.

  "Wooo..." A shrill, ear-piercing air raid siren blared through the air, followed by a dull "rumble" that sounded like thunder in the sky. Everyone instinctively looked in the direction of the sound, but the scorching summer sunlight made it impossible for us to see anything.

  "Disperse! Get down! Get down quickly......" The squad leader, Pool, stood up in an instant and waved his hand at us, shouting: "The enemy's plane is coming, find cover quickly!"

  It was then that the warriors realized that war had once again descended upon us, and they quickly made their preparations. However, their behavior was different; some hid in houses, others lay in trenches, and there were even those who held up rifles towards the sky, as if to shoot down planes with their rifles...

  It's still a bunch of new recruits! Looking at this scene, I feel even more depressed.

  The rumbling sound was getting closer and closer, I didn't have time to think much before following the order of Pool Chang to lie down in the trench... Then I heard a series of piercing whistles in the air, followed by a burst of chaotic explosions, and fragments of stone and mud came rushing towards me like a tide. For a moment, the sounds of explosions, machine guns, screams, and planes roaring filled the air... The tremors coming from the ground made me feel as if I was standing on the edge of an erupting volcano.

  It wasn't until after a long time that the outside world finally quieted down, I slowly got up from my trembling body, but to my astonishment, Pool Rack Long was still waving at us and shouting loudly, only I couldn't hear anything in my ears except for a buzzing sound...

  Just as I was guessing what the pool queue meant, another sharp whistling sound came from the sky, followed by a wave of shells exploding around us like a landslide, scaring me to hurry back into the trench and not dare move.

  As a history major, I am well aware that the Japanese are accustomed to using aircraft and artillery in battle. Their goal is not only to destroy our fortifications with planes and cannons but also to intimidate us by showcasing these modern weapons, thereby crushing our will to fight and achieving their objective of defeating us without a fight.

  In fact, during the early days of the War of Resistance, there were many such situations where Little Japan would launch a barrage of planes and artillery, and our defending troops would flee in disarray, after which the Japanese army would occupy our defensive zones without any effort...

  In some ways, I actually hoped that the troops in front of me would flee like the others, at least giving me a chance to catch my breath... But unfortunately they didn't, not only did they not retreat, but they also showed an unprecedented high morale, such as those around me who would occasionally stick their heads out to observe the enemy during the artillery fire!

  Then I quickly understood, I remembered that the team leader told me that today is July 28th, which means it's only twenty-one days away from the Marco Polo Bridge Incident. What does this mean? This means that Japan has just launched a full-scale war and those who join the army at this time are likely to be people filled with hatred and ready to fight to the death against Japan on the battlefield, and this military training team is no exception!

  Thinking of this, I couldn't help but feel a pang of despair. If things go on like this, won't my life be over? No, I don't want to just die like that, I must do something! But what can I do? I'm just a university student, and even if I said I was useless in this battlefield, it wouldn't be an exaggeration...

  Just as I was in a dilemma, with a strange cry, the Japanese army came in threes and fives from the fields outside the barracks to our military camp.

  It was the harvest season, and the crops in the rice paddies had grown to over half a person's height. These were originally the fruits of our countrymen's hard labor, but now they became excellent cover for the Japanese army. Those little devils relied on them to sneak safely under our noses before launching an attack on our defensive lines. However, this was also unavoidable, and it was already too late to cut down the crops at this point.

  The mountains and fields were all Japanese troops, countless in number, each wearing camouflage, holding bayonets, with a beast-like glint in their eyes. Just looking at them made my legs go weak with fear. If it weren't for the fact that there were our own people everywhere in front of and behind me, I think I would have turned around and run!

  It's actually quite funny, when I first read about the history of fleeing in disarray from the Japanese military's attack, I would just laugh at how useless they were. But now that I'm facing all this myself, I realize that I'm no better than them...

  It's clear that I'm not the only one who's afraid in the troops, because I see a considerable number of soldiers looking around at others' reactions. After all, we're all new recruits, and the gap between ideals and reality is still quite large; it's already pretty good that we've been able to hold on until now!

  "Get ready for battle!" The platoon leader shouted in his slightly hoarse voice while waving his mobile phone.

  The warriors set up various weapons on the trenches, and I had no choice but to find a position to set up my rifle. Just as I was about to aim, I suddenly remembered that I had run out of bullets. With a sudden anxiety, I turned to the warrior beside me with a mouthful of tobacco and asked: "Brother! I'm out of bullets, do you have any spare ones to give me?"

  That warrior gave me an incredible look, nodded towards the ammunition box behind him with a dissatisfied expression and replied: "Get it yourself... what time is it now that you just realized you don't have any bullets?"

  My old face turned red, and I didn't say much. In a few steps, I ran to the ammunition box, grabbed bullets and stuffed them into my pocket, and also grabbed a few hand grenades.

  Hurried back to the front of the trench, loaded bullets into the rifle and was about to fire when he was stopped by Hu Xu Zha Zi.

  "What are you doing?" Hu Xu Zha Zi shouted at me without any politeness: "Didn't you hear the squad leader's order? Don't fire, let the enemy get closer before hitting!"

  "Ah!" I nodded in response. I had to admit that I was already somewhat disoriented when facing those Japanese soldiers, to the point where I didn't even hear the order from Poola.

  Through the rifle's sight, I gazed at the Japanese soldiers across from me, and they continued to charge towards our position one after another, shouting viciously in words I couldn't understand...

  Is all of this real? I asked myself again, did I really go back 70 years and become one of them?