Chapter Twenty

  The Yūshi under the twilight began their third assault, and the Takeuchi Detachment under the twilight also began their third counterattack. The front line had been pulled to such a distance. Warships were almost firing at the fortifications, while mortar gunners shortened the fuse of shells to a distance that was almost fired from the barrel.

  They quickly became entangled, turning into a struggle for every inch of trench, with face-to-face shooting. Hand grenades thrown by one side were picked up and tossed back by the other due to their short range; a charge through a section of trench - as long as they weren't knocked down by the enemy's crossfire - could result in bayonets being thrust into the opponent's body.

  He Qiguang used a knife to madly cut through the iron thorns that blocked the army's advance. He was not afraid of death, really not afraid of death, he fell down, not hit by bullets - electric sparks flashed on the iron thorns.

  Barrels rolled down from the main fortification group of Nantianmen, and the Japanese soldiers who pushed them down immediately retreated back to their fortifications. Then those things started exploding, making a louder noise than aerial bombs, and the fragments inside flew out for hundreds of meters in all directions.

  Li Bing directed the mortar to launch smoke bombs for long-range suppression and indicate targets, but the smoke bombs that flew in from the three defenses immediately mixed with his launched smoke - so the subsequent long-range shells also exploded on both the Japanese army's position and our army's position.

  Li Bing was stunned and then clutched his chest in despair.

  Those two pairs of eyes stared at each other, Yu Xiaoqing's eyes were like a tiger. And the dead dog meat was waiting to be eaten.

  "Die, die": "I guarantee that everything I use is something I've seen with my own eyes, and it's going to be smashed on our heads in the future."

  Yu Xiaoqing immediately shifted his icy gaze from the deadpan face to the sand table: "Special Operations Battalion, prepare."

  Still attacking, still defending, endless attacks and endless defenses.

  Cannon fire bursts open in the night, any army would have paused its attack under such devastating explosions. But these two wouldn't - and so we see how tiny humans are beneath steel.

  The bazooka rocket finally exploded on the surface of the Nan Tian Men bunker, which meant they were only over a hundred meters away from their target. However, after the explosion, the bunker revealed its stone texture, and not even the muzzle flashes from the guns paused for a moment.

  The Japanese troops exposed their bodies from the upper layer of the tree fort, and what they threw were not hand grenades, but whole rounds of modified howitzer shells, 75mm mountain gun shells, and specially-made hand grenades ten times larger than usual. They exploded among the people who were desperately climbing up the tree fort with ladders and vertical ladders.

  My squad leader wasn't injured today, but rather... his tactics are so vicious that they're detestable. He electrified the iron thorns and not only laid landmines on the defensive line.

  He also set up five kilograms of explosives and nails, which were remotely detonated. He used the bodies to block the barbed wire that had been blown open, allowing the Japanese troops to appear behind Yu's unit through a tunnel. From the steep slope, he threw buckets filled with glass shards, shell casings, packages, and giant hand grenades made from cannonballs, incendiary bottles, gas, and corpses. He used indirect fire to wipe out half of the search party that was randomly firing signal flares, making it clear that firing signal flares was equivalent to treason. Yu's unit relied heavily on air support, but he neutralized it with smoke screens fired from an old-fashioned mortar. He even used fake smoke screens to lure American planes into attacking Yu's unit. He made people see the absurdity of war, and also attracted the most hatred, all coming from his own people.

  Yu Xiaoqing said: "Rest."

  And so everything came to a standstill, everything stopped abruptly. The dead, the living, and those who would die.

  The atmosphere in the room was like a solid, and everyone - Chinese, Americans, British - looked at the guy in front of the sandbox with a strange, resentful gaze. He was drenched in sweat, badly injured, and utterly exhausted. Even Macruhan did, even A-translation did - even I had an inexplicable, weird look in my eyes.

  Yu Xiaoqing lowered his head and looked at the sand table, Yu Xiaoqing didn't look at him.

  Yu Xiaoqing: "It's just past noon. Let's take a short break and rest for a bit. We'll continue in an hour."

  Then he didn't look at anyone and went out. Zhang Lixian and He Shuguang followed closely behind him, with Tang Ji also following.

  We looked at that man who was still standing like a stick and everyone subconsciously felt that he should go out first, including the Americans and the British.

  What's the difference between real death and death on this sand table? Those who are about to throw themselves into this war will think there is no difference. Most of the people in this house have already died, Yu Shi has lost more than half of his men, other troops would have fled long ago, but looking at Yu Xiaoqing you wouldn't doubt that he would fight until his last breath

  Yu Xiaoqing went out, and others also went out one after another. Only Tang Ji stopped beside us for a while.

  Tang Ji: "Dragon Captain, what do you want? What is it that you really want?"

  My squad leader lowered his head and didn't speak, so I felt that he had a hint of instinctive fear towards Tang Ji - or perhaps I should say apprehension.

  "I called out to the busy vendor at the stove: 'One bowl of wonton noodles, one bowl of mung bean flour.'"

  That guy raised his head and stared at me in a daze with a ghostly expression.

  "What are you looking at? I'm a wounded soldier, but I won't eat without paying!"

  The street vendor hurriedly lowered his head: "It's nothing, it's nothing. You don't have to pay."

  I think it's a bit too much, I patted him on the shoulder and put a few banknotes on the stove to comfort his heart. Then I went back to Deadlock, who was sitting in agony, pressing his wound - but the area of his wound would probably need twenty more hands to cover it.

  Yu Xiaoqing said to rest, so everyone had a place to rest, even Ah Yi had his campaign bed and food, while we were intentionally forgotten - although everyone knew that the two of us needed rest the most.

  I sat down next to Deadla, on a few small stools on the street, a broken low table. The wounds that had been tortured by the dead beast doctor a few hours ago were painful, and more importantly, I was very tired. He was in more pain and more tired than me. But that wasn't the most worrying part.

  "Can the Japanese army really fight like us today? So despicable?"

  He glared at me and raised his hand to hit me, fortunately, he was not very agile today.

  "Die! From northeast to southwest! From the 20th year of the Republic to the 33rd year! You're still here, foolishly dreaming? Slap yourself in the face!"

  So I slapped myself in the face, he was right, I asked a very stupid question.

  "You run away now, how about I find you a set of ordinary people's clothes? Don't follow the main road, there are too many Yu Shi people. You stay in the woods and wait until they start fighting, then head north. At that time it will be chaotic, no one will care."

  "Die die die: 'I won't run.'"

  "You've lost all your defenses, just one tree! Yu Xiaoqing and the entire special operations battalion and guard company! Didn't you see his eyes? You beat his troops to a pulp - if he wins, he'll behead you."

  "Die die: 'I've never been used to eating that local snack you wanted.'"

  He ignored me. He was talking about the food that had just been served, which is what I meant by "the stuff we're having for lunch today". I silently picked up my bowl of bean paste and sucked it in, which was a kind of unappetizing mush, while he was desperately adding chili peppers to his own dish, which looked like rice noodles.

  "Are you used to eating this?"

  "It's okay."

  "Die die: 'You're also used to eating this, you can move in with Zenda now.'"

  "None of your business."

  "Die, die!" I said. "I'm so fed up, have you thought about where we're going after the war?"

  I was stunned for a moment, this is really something I never thought of: "...is it over yet? Five years ago, we said we would recover the lost land, but instead, we've been pushed to this southwestern border. At this rate, I'm afraid we'll be fighting until next life."

  "Die die die: 'It's all going to be over soon. Where are you going?'"

  I gave a numb and mediocre answer: "Go home."

  "Are you kidding me? Being a crippled, foul-mouthed, and complaining cripple in the alley?"

  "What can I do? Don't people always shout 'for our home' when they go to war?"

  "Die die die: 'I see that Mi Long won't be back, he's already brought out what he had hidden in his heart. And you, always saying it's good when it's far away. Look at this bowl in front of us.'"

  I just looked at the bowl of bean paste I had eaten half of and didn't see anything: "What are you looking at?"

  "Die, die: "You're used to eating this weird local stuff, and it's not bad if there's no war. Annoying. A person's energy is limited in this life, especially when fighting a war, one year can consume ten years of heart, you'll be exhausted later, don't force yourself, your parents are here, that little girl is not bad either, both of you have clean hearts, and are young, don't do things that sacrifice what's near for something far away..."

  "What's the point of saying this? Am I bothering you? Do you think you're doomed too? Then run! - Or are you going to stay here and wait for Yu Xiaoqing to come and talk to you, and I'll take your head and run? Should I become a deserter for the third time? That way he won't be able to chop off your dog head. Boss, lend me a kitchen knife."

  The boss stared at me inexplicably, then forced a bitter smile and ate his bait.

  "Die, die! 'What's wrong with you? Can't bear me dying, just say it nicely, can't you?'"

  Me: "I told you clearly - you said mung bean flour!"

  Die die die: "I won't die."

  "What right do you have?"

  Die die die: "I won't lose."

  "What right do you have?"

  "Die, die! If I were to die, my brothers would still be dying in large numbers at the South Heaven Gate. Why would I engage in such a losing business?"

  "His heart is praiseworthy."

  I guarantee that even after Yu Xiaoqing beheads you, he will still say the same thing, for he is just a narrow-minded person who thinks he can contain all the rivers in his belly.

  "He's as good as his word, I'm perfectly safe."

  "He's worth a thousand bucks just for chopping off your head." I looked at him and started to realize something: "How do you fight? Tell me."

  He looked utterly uninterested and started eating: "I don't want to talk."

  But I began to feel a thrill of excitement, for I felt something familiar in the air, in Burma, at South Gate, that thing which always brought us back from the dead.

  "Want to guess again? Let me think. On the surface, we've both seen it, nothing special. The fancy stuff is in the tunnels. That day you crawled through the Japanese rat hole and came back smelling like crap, but very happy, yeah, three points for that, drew pictures all day. Little Master almost got killed by you, six points for that."

  "Die die die: 'Wrong wrong wrong. Change direction.'"

  "I don't believe it. The ghost is right in front of you, and you say you touched the roots of that tree? I believe you can do it. Why did you go touch the roots of that tree? What's with the map from the foot to the top of the mountain? You..."

  I was suddenly stunned, and I thought of a possibility, a possibility that only he would dare to do. I stared at him, but he acted as if he hadn't seen me, picking up the bowl of already-finished wontons to drink the soup. As he drank the soup, the bowl completely covered his face. But when he put down the bowl, I was still looking at him - I was no longer relaxed, even more heavy-hearted than before.

  "Dead dead: 'Wrong wrong. Wrong from the start. Guess again and again.'"

  But I've given up guessing already. Now, I don't care if he can defeat Yu Xiaoqing or not, he definitely can. What I'm concerned about now is something else, that's the real important thing.

  Me: "Do you have a way to take down Nantianmen?"

  "Die die die: 'You have to finish everything you ordered. Let me try some of your mung bean paste...'"

  I pushed away the bean powder he had brought over, a person who has always been on top of things has reason to be as angry as I am.

  "I: 'You went to the West Bank, not to find evidence to make Yu Xiaoqing give up the attack. You were looking for a way to take down the South Heaven Gate.'"

  "Come on, just like this meal, a mix of dry and wet, isn't it great? You're being evasive again?"

  "You've already found it, but you won't say, neither to me nor to Yu Xiaoqing... why?"

  "Ah? What's wrong with it? Such a good thing, why shouldn't I say it?"

  "Don't lie to me, we're so familiar with each other. You've been acting strange today, you know? I thought it was because of Yu Xiaoqing rushing you. But no... Just now when you advised me to settle down in Chan Da'an, I felt that you were really sad."

  He's dead, dead, a bit wooden, then starts to bitterly smile, even the bitter smile is very pretentious: "I don't have a heart. How can I be heartbroken?"

  "Why don't you just say it? This method can make you think of after the fight is over, and still make you sad."

  "Die, die! Because you don't have it. Your eyes are as numerous as a beehive."

  "I'm thinking... the way to take down South Heaven Gate is to dig under its roots... it's so dark you can't see your hand in front of your face... right? You're very excited, you dare to fight with dog meat, you dare to drill into a barrel... that's the way to take down South Heaven Gate. Isn't it? ... One person isn't enough. It takes many people... to fight this kind of battle, having subordinates who only trust you is not enough. They need to blindly follow... except for the Cannon Fodder Unit, no one will listen to you..."

  I was fumbling in the dark, like I was in front of a sandbox, relying on my familiarity with this team leader and the experience etched in my mind from the South Heaven Gate to grope out a way to deal with him. Then I was scared by what I thought of, and I'm sure that's exactly how he would do it. I was frightened. Can men be scared to tears? Physically weak but deadly, I always thought this at least made me stronger than others, but I almost cried.

  He died and died, looking at my expression with a bitter smile, he knew he couldn't hide it anymore.

  "Are you crazy?! We'll all die if we go like this! You never say that military orders are absolute, but whatever you say, we listen and believe. It's because you've led us to survive, no matter how hard or difficult it is, we stick together and live on! Don't come up with all sorts of weird ways for us to die! I called us the 'Cannon Fodder Squad' as a joke! Do you really think we're cannon fodder?!"

  "Go, go." He glanced at the stunned onlookers: "Don't talk about this here."

  "Give me your head! I'll take it and make you the third deserter! Not to hide from Yu Xiying, but to let the brothers of the Cannon Fodder Squad live! Your head is too much trouble! - Boss, kitchen knife!"

  "Go away! Don't reveal military secrets and collude with the enemy!" He put some money on the table as he spoke.

  "I've had enough! I'm asking you to take those sons of bitches who don't treat us as human beings!"

  That guy tightly took back his money and turned around to leave, I furiously followed him.

  The cripple in front of me was even more crippled than I was, he stumbled and staggered to avoid me, I chased after him with a burst of anger.

  "Don't say it out loud!"

  "Die die die: 'I didn't say it.'"

  "You swear, you make a poisonous oath! Heaven and earth will destroy you!"

  "Die, die! 'I swear... even if I say it out loud, Yu Xiaoqing won't use our troops. Didn't you see how he used our troops on the sand table? Just a backup artillery position.'"

  "Deceiving yourself and others! You're a genius at close combat - Yu Xiaoqing said so! What battle doesn't need you? Who would you use if not you? The main force regiment? The special operations battalion? Even if you used them, would they listen to you?"

  "Die die die: 'I won't say it!'"

  "I: "Are you still thinking, to say or not to say! - We all want victory, who the hell doesn't?! - But why is it always us? - Don't leave! Look at me! Do I look like a living ghost? Each of us looks like that. You're not looking at me now, but at all the brothers in the artillery company. Tell me, tell all the brothers, what haven't we done yet?"

  He looked at me for a while, sighed and said, "I really won't say it. Really."

  "What's with the sigh? Because you're hesitant, saying whether to say or not, in the end you'll definitely say it. That's what you said. Right and wrong are very important!"

  "Die die die:“...You also think it's right?”

  "I have my own battles to fight, I'll fight them myself - just like you do with me! Who told you what's right or wrong? The bean paste doesn't care if they can't tell right from wrong, they won't die for being right, nor will they not live because of being wrong - but they and Yu Xiaoqing are worth the same price, neither good nor bad, just alive! I'm telling you about life and death!"

  "Die die die: 'Can't they tell right from wrong? You're underestimating them.'"

  "They follow you, we follow you, we just follow you, even if you want to become Chen Sheng Wang by climbing a pole, it's all about seeking life in death." I laughed back at him with extreme anger: "Do you know what is called 'One Eye Leading Four Blind Men'? It means one-eyed person leading four blind men, we are the One Eye Leading Four Blind Men, and the Artillery Team is also the One Eye Leading Four Blind Men."

  "Die, die: 'You overestimated me... being with you guys for so long, it's really lively... but honestly... I'm about to lose my soul too.'"

  "Really? So you're saying that for the sake of your soul that's about to be lost but hasn't been lost yet, you'll... say it out loud?"

  He looked at me again and walked away, it was an escape, also a decision.

  Me: "...... I saw them!!"

  He turned back with a start, astonished, not so much by what I said as by the somewhat crazy tone in which I said it.

  "Who's there?"

  "Corpse!"

  Uttering this word made me on the verge of collapse, I slumped against the wall and slid to the ground sobbing. I don't know whether it was sympathy or curiosity that drew people closer to me, anyway even I myself didn't remember having been so weak.

  "Who's there?"

  "Kang Ya, Li Wula, want hemp, with names, without names, I remember the names, don't remember the names, familiar faces, unfamiliar faces, those I like, those I dislike, those I completely forgot, all of them, died in Myanmar, died at Nantianmen, died on the other side of the river, can't come back, dead, they're all staring at me, as if they're still alive, staring at me, just staring, saying nothing, yet saying everything, staring, staring... Please, I'm going crazy... Be good, please..."

  I turned myself around dizzily and then felt that guy touching my shoulder.

  "Ah, ah: “You... don't think too much. We all just do what we can reach... Look, thinking too much will give you nightmares.”

  "Who's been having nightmares? You can see the dead, we don't believe it, they say you're being haunted by ghosts. Now I know, you really are being haunted by ghosts. When I was about to die, I saw them, right in front of me, at the South Heavenly Gate, staring at us. There's no bridge on the river, they can't cross over. I didn't die, and when I went back to look again, I couldn't see them anymore. I thought I wanted to see... no, I don't know if I want to see. It's too hard, being stared at by them makes me feel like I'm falling apart, what's falling apart? My heart is falling apart, my soul is falling apart. You're watched by them every day, how do you manage to send us to that place?"

  He listened silently, patting my shoulder gently with his hand. It wasn't a comforting expression, but a frozen one.

  "How are they doing? What do they lack? Does Li Wula want to talk to the lost dragon? Did Kang Ya scold after eating Hao Shouyi's fake noodles? Is Want Ma also fighting with people over there?... Should I burn some paper money for them? So many people, how much should be burned for them to spend?"

  "Die die die: '...I...where did I know.'"

  "Is it that they need a bridge to come over? It's better to cross the river and go home. Right, paper boats! We made many paper boats, and the old man said they can also go home by sitting on paper boats."

  "Die die die: '...I...where did I know.'"

  "You're not a soul caller, are you?... Your mom was right, you don't have a soul root, living people can't even be at peace when they run into you, let alone the dead... But you should at least tell us what to do, do something for your brothers."

  "Ah, you really believe that? That's a lie to deceive Yu Xiaoqing, I had to say something ambiguous to save my life... If you loudly shout about iron-blooded patriotism, he wouldn't believe it, he'd just shout himself hoarse and then not believe anything at all... When one doesn't believe in anything, they become withered - like you, for instance. And so he believes these ambiguities."

  "Can you see dead people?"

  "Fooled you guys! I used the 36 Stratagems to coax you back from Myanmar... You guys are also, believing in things that shouldn't be believed, why believe in such illusions?"

  I was stunned for a moment, pushed away the hand he had placed on my shoulder, and my heavy hand made him grit his teeth, but I felt no guilt - I was no longer sad, at least not in front of him, and I wouldn't be sad about this thing again.

  "Are they doing well?"

  "It's all just empty words and nonsense, what's good or bad about it?"

  "Die, die: 'I don't want them, I have to... live, dare not think, but sometimes, suddenly...' "

  He choked there, and I saw his eyes suddenly fill with tears.

  "It's terrible... they can't go home."

  "Die die die: 'Paper boat... is it really useful?'"

  "It's fake. I made it up so you wouldn't tell your ingenious plan to Yu Xiaoqing."

  "Die, die: "Really, for you, it's really true. I'm truly sorry, you didn't tell anyone else, but you thought you could tell me - you've already died once, I haven't. I don't have the qualifications to discuss this with you, so you can only keep it in your heart, it's an experience that only you Meng Fan has had... and I've disappointed you again."

  "It's fake. Don't believe in such unbelievable things. You're so bold and daring, looking down on the past as worthless, just go ahead and do your thing. You won't wither away, remember that. Turn back and learn how to fold paper boats, and later make a few more for us."

  Perhaps I was only sentimental, not venomous, but the words stung him more venomously than any others, and I felt his hand on my shoulder tremble. Then he turned around, and I saw him clearly wipe away a tear with the bandage wrapped around his hand.

  He got up and went on with our war. I followed him, silent, and said no more about it.

  We walked through the empty alleys, hurrying to the sand table beside the teacher's office. The silence was so quiet that it seemed like there were no people in the alley, and I couldn't help but look around every corner.

  I quietly wait in the back.

  My squad leader was searching all the way, a pair of eyes looking at him but he couldn't see them. I clearly saw every single hair standing up on the back of his neck. I wanted to tell him, don't be afraid, the thoughts of the dead come flooding in like a tide, all thoughts, just like ours for them, only thoughts.

  Yu Xiaoqing raised his head, he was unhappy. Although the emblem of the elite guard, representing the Special Task Force and the Guard Company, had almost surrounded the Nan Tian Men tree fort, he was unhappy because he didn't like to be suspicious. So he looked at Diaoladiao from across the sand table. Diaoladiao lowered his head, his line of sight fell on the copper ladle on the sand table instead of the Nan Tian Men, in short, he didn't see anything.

  The knife on the sand table was never pulled out, so from Yu Xiaoqing's point of view, the blade was right on his neck.

  I stood behind Dead Dead's back. And in the eyes of the people around us, there was a gaze that seemed to want to devour us alive.

  I don't like this, I hate this place, there's no good intention here. Years of war have made me narrow-minded, and the people here simply bury hope and hatred together.

  I finally couldn't help but lightly kick his dead leg, which touched the wound, and he lifted a haggard face with a painful expression. The face had lost all its luster, but it made his eyes look even more piercing.

  Yu Xiaoqing: "How many more people do you have?"

  "Dead dead: '...three go two. A big team, about.'"

  Yu Xiaoqing: "The Japanese army is best at night raids, why don't you launch a night raid?"

  "Ugh... You're too well-guarded, every step is a trap."

  Yu Xiaoqing: "In the beehive you dug? You're a genius at close combat, I've been waiting for a hole to appear in my crotch and a dagger to pop out."

  "Die die die: '...So you're completely watertight.'"

  Yu Xiaoqing: "Bullshit! You're doing nothing until I'm farting on your belly button and firing cannons in your eyes! - What the hell are you up to?"

  It seems that Yu Xiaoqing wants to use his knife ahead of time, I hurriedly added: "Our main fortress and sub-fortress concentrated firepower to kill the assault team, used cold guns to shoot and kill the blasting hand, took advantage of the terrain to roll down the barrel, set fire to create an emergency obstacle, and used smoke bombs to hinder direct aiming and firing."

  Yu Xiaoqing: “... Does he get to decide?”

  "Whatever."

  Yu Xiaoqing: "Do you think a sip of reviving soup can bring back the dead? You slowly burn, I'll see how much gas you have, and when dawn breaks, I'll use scattered troops to launch a surprise attack - call up the Chuan army corps."

  I was stunned for a moment and everyone else was stunned too, but the most stunned person of all was A Yi.

  Yu Xiaoqing: "The people who can fight in this regiment are on the mountain top and against us - Lin Yi, deputy regimental commander, is in command."

  "Aya respectfully saluted with a vigorous attitude: 'Reporting to the master's seat, even if I die, I will gnaw down the South Heavenly Gate!'"

  Yu Xiaoqing: "Have you ever had your teeth inlaid with gold and steel? --- Hai Zhengchong's team was completely defeated, Yu Dazhi's team lost two-thirds of its troops, but your Sichuan army didn't lose a single soldier. Is this glorious or shameful?"

  "It's the greatest shame!"

  Yu Xiaoqing: "Listen to the special task force's dispatch with all your might and do what you should do!"

  "Yes!"

  The emblem of the Paohui Tuan also arrived at the Nantianmen position, huddled together behind the Special Service Corps and the Guard Company.

  War, from dawn till another dawn, even living became a shame, and even the dregs of the cannon fodder were molded into shape and thrown into the fire. My battalion commander returned as if possessed by a ghost, he never made a decent counterattack again. Everything he struggled for, his career built on deception and lies, had lost all meaning - because the ghosts of brothers who could not return home. He slowly put his head under Yu Xiaoqing's knife. He too felt that living was a shame.

  I leaned in close to my squad leader's ear: "If you lose, we'll still go die."

  He's dead, he's dead, and yet there was a reaction. Yu Xiaoqing also gave him a sharp glance.

  Yu Xiaoqing: "The Sichuan Army Corps is adopting a battalion rotation system to harass and attack, while the Special Task Force is intensifying its efforts to blast open breakthrough points."

  My sweat dripped onto the sand table, I didn't dare to raise my head, because raising my head would mean facing Yu Xiaoqing's gaze. The people around me were still struggling with their expressions, while Yu Xiaoqing on the other side of the sand table was not triumphant, but puzzled. He didn't like being puzzled, so this puzzlement had long since turned into anger.

  Yu Xiaoqing: "It's dawn. My hundred-battle general."

  He's dead, dead, lift his head and take a look at him, that gaze is almost like he just woke up.

  Yu Xiaoqing: "What are you doing? You're not doing anything. Just sending someone to follow me around and distract me? He's a good material, but his mind is narrow...". This guy who usually pretends to be rational suddenly became furious: "Ten minutes ago I could have blown your turtle shell! I just wanted to see what kind of evil you were up to!"

  His eyes were wandering aimlessly, and that really made me desperate.

  "Blow a hole open! We can still put up a good fight in the bunker! Takeuchi must have thought of this!"

  Yu Xiaoqing: "How long can you hold on?!"

  I forgot who I was arguing with: "This is not fair! This is just a sandbox! If we really fought such a brutal and bloody battle, the terrain would be complex and casualties would be heavy. Our army has no experience in actual combat without air support, who has the theoretical efficiency and theoretical courage to do so?!"

  Yu Xiaoqing: "I sleep no more than four hours a day, using one day as two days, all for efficiency! My Yu troops will never be less brave than the Japanese invaders!"

  "It's your own business how many hours you sleep each day, and even lying on a bed of nails and tasting bile can be spiritual opium! I don't know about other teams, but if the Cannon Fodder Team fights like this, they'll definitely mutiny!"

  I heard a deafening silence, and I quickly realized how much trouble I was in.

  Yu Xiaoqing: "What team?"

  "Chuan Jun Tuan."

  Yu Xiaoqing stopped talking, and I couldn't even make him angry. Zhang Lixian looked at him, but he didn't react either. So Zhang Lixian walked to the door, opened it, and pointed at me to Li Bing who was on duty and the guards, "Take him away."

  "I don't want to go home, but remember to help me fold a paper boat. I also don't know where I'm going."

  I didn't die. But I was talking to him, when Li Bing and the others walked towards me, Dead Dead stretched out a bandaged hand and pushed me away.

  "Die die die: My defense line is still here."

  Yu Xiaoqing: "What are you hiding? Do your subordinates have to threaten you with death to get it out of you? You won't say, but where is your defense line? All three lines of defense have been broken."

  "Die, die: 'Reverse slope defense. Two lines of reverse slope defense.'"

  Yu Xiaoqing: "Reverse slope? It's defending against copper shields! All its gun emplacements are facing west!"

  "Die, die! Is a copper buckle and red guerrilla squad worth two lines of fortifications?"

  Yu Xiaoqing: "It's the Indian Expeditionary Force! They're advancing eastward like a broken bamboo!"

  "Die, die!": "The reverse-slope defense was already taking shape before our army's irresistible advance, and there were still two Japanese divisions in between."

  Yu Xiaoqing no longer engages in such disputes; although he is always arguing, he actually dislikes arguing the most.

  Yu Xiaoqing: "I'll blow up the tree fort."

  "Die, die, die! We're attacking with all our might. The outcome is already decided, and we'll welcome death instead of retreating. Every design is meant to kill you. Kill more of you. Both armies are exhausted, aerial bombing has failed, the main force has retreated to the reverse slope, and your supporting artillery has also been destroyed. Both sides are at their last gasp, but my arrow is aimed straight at your forehead."

  Yu Xiaoqing looked at the sand table, calm to the point that I admired him a bit - but he had already lost everything, so I wasn't worried that he would come up with some new trick in his calmness.

  "…The entire Nan Tian Men, a huge trap, the bait is me - Takeuchi Ren Shan and the whole command center of the tree fort, you think that by taking it at all costs, you got Nan Tian Men, but in fact, it was created to kill more people, let Yu Shi exhaust his strength."

  Yu Xiaoqing looked at all his subordinates and put back on his gloves one by one.

  "It's too late... only when it's too late will you realize."

  Yu Xiaoqing: "Where did you learn...to fight like this?"

  His voice was hoarse, and he pointed at me with a "dead" tone: "Learn from him."

  Then I was stared at by Yu Xiaoqing, and I almost couldn't see Yu Xiaoqing's anger, only his innocence. If I suddenly snatched away Lei Baoer's most beloved toy and told him that I was actually his real father, I would also see this kind of helpless and nearly evil-free innocence.

  Luckily, they died and died again. He added another explanatory sentence: "They didn't want to die, but looking at the fact that one day they would have to go to war, they thought about how they would die. They thought about it every day and night, and later I was also infected with such thoughts - that's how I learned."

  Yu Xiaoqing: "...Disperse."

  The people stirred slightly, the greatest stir being that his closest subordinates stood beside him, openly expressing a desire: their commander would wave his hand and have these two troublemakers dragged out and executed.

  Yu Xiaoqing: "Everyone disperse."