Chapter Fifty: The Prison Cell is a Trap

  It's midnight, the moon is high in the sky. In the county town, except for a few brothels, everything else is still brightly lit and filled with laughter. Some people linger, going back and forth to this gentle place, seeking pleasure. But the ordinary people of the county town have all gone to sleep peacefully, immersed in their dreams.

  Under the hazy moonlight, Huo Yao led the special warfare team members to hide in the shadows on the side of the street, advancing to about 100 meters outside the Little Devil's military camp. Then they flipped into a residential building on the side of the street and hid in front of the window on the second floor facing the Little Devil's military camp. They observed the situation at the Little Devil's military camp and waited for the time when the Little Devils would change shifts at the intersection.

  Originally, the military camp layout set up by Noda had no defensive depth on the periphery, which was a big taboo for military strategists. Noda naturally understood the reasoning behind it. However, before Noda followed his division to attack the county town, the Japanese army encountered minimal resistance wherever they went, and most of the Nationalist Party troops fled at the sight of them. (At the beginning of Japan's invasion of China, the Nationalist Party troops were taught by Chiang Kai-shek to "pacify internally before resisting externally". The Nationalist Party troops mostly did not resist the Japanese army.) As a result, the Japanese army thought they were invincible and unmatched in the world. That was why they boasted that they would occupy all of China within a few months. Noda, influenced by his surroundings, also had some underestimation of the enemy.

  On the day when the Japanese army occupied the county seat, the division commander of Noda was ordered to continue advancing and occupy the provincial capital with lightning speed. When the division commander led his troops out, he considered that the county seat was vast and sparsely populated, with many armed forces in the mountains and forests. The county seat is also a must-pass route for logistics supply transportation to the front line. In order to ensure the safety of the supply line, the division commander of Noda left behind an entire brigade of troops in this small county seat.

  The county town was originally garrisoned by the Nationalist Party army, with only about 100 to 200 soldiers. The Nationalist Party's barracks were naturally very small and could not accommodate Wada's thousand-strong troops. Therefore, Wada had no choice but to choose this residential area as his own barracks.

  After Noda's troops entered the residential area, Noda also made great efforts for the safety of the military camp. He first set up electrified iron wire around the outside of the military camp, set up roadblocks at each intersection, and strengthened his forces to strictly defend against them. Several 10-meter-high lamp posts were built around the military camp, with searchlights installed on top, and heavy machine guns were placed on the lamp posts. The residents in the houses within 200 meters outside the military camp were all driven away, and a no-man's land was established. And ordered the whole city that if Chinese people entered this no-man's land at night, regardless of who they were, they would be killed without exception. In addition, the city gate was guarded by devils and puppet troops, Noda's military camp had been safe for several years, and there had never been any accidental events.

  Also because of the peace and tranquility of the Yeoda military camp in recent years, now, the little devil soldiers patrolling and defending outside the Yeoda military camp have become somewhat complacent and lax in their vigilance. This has inadvertently provided some convenience for Huoyao and others. It has invisibly increased the chances of success for Huoyao and others to rescue people.

  The people hiding under the window, including Huoyao, observed the enemy situation which was almost the same as what Yan Niang provided. At the outer edge of the Ye Tian military camp, the devils patrolled every twenty minutes, and the devils guarding the entrance were replaced at midnight. The searchlight on the lighthouse kept scanning back and forth over the interior and exterior of the military camp. At this time, the devil's patrol team had just passed by the outer edge of the military camp, and the devils guarding the entrance and the lighthouse had also been replaced. The devils who came off duty lazily returned to the residential building next to the entrance with the lighthouse to rest.

  Everything seemed normal, but Huoyao had a mysterious and dangerous feeling in his heart. Since crossing over to this era, every time before danger arrived, Huoyao relied on this dangerous feeling to save his life countless times. But now that things have come to this point, none of them wanted to return empty-handed.

  The little devils' patrol team walked by outside the barbed wire fence once again. The little devil who had just taken over guarding the road entrance was leaning lazily against the roadblock, as if he hadn't woken up yet. The little devil on the lamp post was even lying down and taking a nap, and the searchlight hadn't moved for a while. The little devils who had just finished their shift and returned to the residential building were already asleep with the lights out. After hesitating for a long time, Fireworks finally decided to proceed with the original plan.

  The swallow moved to the window of another room, hiding with Zuo Caiyun in the residential building, aiming at the little devils guarding the intersection with a gun. Providing a safe retreat for Huo Yao and others in case the action fails.

  Gunpowder, Big Cow, Second Cow, Wang Xiaolong and Wang Xiaohu quickly moved to the outside wall of a residential building with a lighthouse where the little devils changed shifts to rest. Gunpowder took out iron wire clippers with wooden handles and quickly cut off the iron wires on the iron net. Gunpowder and others hurriedly climbed over the wall, entered the courtyard, and hid in the shadows.

  As the sound of footsteps from the little devils patrolling outside the barbed wire fence receded, Huo Yao and others immediately dispersed to take action. They had to eliminate all the little devils in this residential building before the next patrol passed by.

  Dà niú and Wáng Xiǎo Hǔ climbed up the lighthouse like apes, taking advantage of the shadows. The little devils operating the searchlight on top of the lighthouse to observe the situation, along with two heavy machine gunners, were indeed fast asleep on the platform. Dà niú and Wáng Xiǎo Hǔ crept onto the platform, and almost simultaneously launched an attack; Wáng Xiǎo Hǔ cut the throats of the two heavy machine gunners with his knife, while Dà niú twisted the neck of another little devil.

  According to the plan, after Da Niu and Wang Xiaohu dealt with the little devils on the lighthouse, they stayed on the lighthouse to provide firepower support for other rescue personnel in case of failure. Now that Da Niu and Wang Xiaohu have taken out the little devils on the lighthouse, Da Niu excitedly started fiddling with the heavy machine gun. Wang Xiaohu also rotated the searchlight, observing the surrounding situation.

  Gunpowder, Er Niu, and Wang Xiaolong also silently eliminated the little devils who were sleeping in the building. After confirming that all the little devils inside the building had been eliminated, the three of them climbed over the wall of this residential building again and came to the outside of the wall of the second residential building next door. This residential building was where Gunpowder heard the cries for help in the afternoon. It was also confirmed by Yan Niang that this was the prison cell where Wild Field imprisoned comrades.

  Huoyao briefly observed the situation of this residential building. In the front yard, there was nothing but trash all over the ground. Inside the main gate, there was a faint light flickering, but no sound at all. Huoyao nodded slightly and followed Er Niu and Wang Xiaolong into the residential building.

  Three people came to the front door, gently pushed it open a bit, and observed the situation inside with the weak light from the house. Only in the main hall of the front door, all kinds of torture instruments were messy, on a wooden table in the center of the hall, an oil lamp was lit. Several guard devils were lying on the wooden table, seemingly asleep. On both sides of the hall, there were several rooms, two of which had their doors open, and could see several revolutionary comrades hanging inside, it was unknown whether they were dead or alive.

  Gunpowder, Er Niu and Wang Xiaolong pushed open the half-door and slipped into the hall. They crept up behind the little devil who was sleeping on the table and launched a fatal attack together. As soon as Er Niu's hand touched the body of one of the little devils, it fell to the ground with a thud. Gunpowder and Wang Xiaolong also simultaneously discovered that the little devils in their hands had been dead for some time. The few people were shocked at the same time and couldn't help but think "This prison is a trap."