Chapter 2: Killed a Devil

  The sky was filled with smoke, the earth that had been bombarded by shells was still emitting heat in this deep autumn, and the 21st Army's 3rd Battalion, which I belonged to, quietly entered the position.

  "Devil!" The scout, "Haozi", whispered, immediately crouching into a concealed posture. The old devil behind him, Zhu, also crouched down at almost the same time, and their breathing sounds were instantly suppressed very low. I followed behind, making combat concealment movements, but my mind was still a complete blank. Although I had died once, I was still afraid of death. I didn't have the confidence that bullets wouldn't hit me, or that I could be reborn again.

  "Report to the battalion commander, devils have been found in the front position, with two platoons of troops, 4 machine guns, clearing the battlefield, and we have not been discovered." Haozi whispered to the battalion commander who had just arrived.

  "One strike and then another, take advantage of their unpreparedness and wipe them out. Move quietly, disperse the formation, prepare to charge." Battalion Commander Zhao Dajun said in a low voice.

  I think most of the new recruits now should be like me, with excitement and fear mixed in their hearts, neither feeling dominant, almost complete blankness in their minds, watching the old devils slowly move their bodies, open up the combat formation, I quietly crawled to their back.

  "Get your butt down and let me see it again or I'll chop it off!" The mouse turned around, baring his teeth as he spoke to me.

  I smiled apologetically and muttered under my breath, "I haven't experienced any training at all?" The military training from my past life wasn't very useful on the battlefield.

  "That's your business, but don't let me see that cute little butt of yours again." The pillar crawled past me, and also touched my buttocks by the way.

  "Damn it!" he cursed silently in his heart.

  "With both elbows supporting his body, he crawled with the inside of his thighs scraping against the ground." The old devil turned his head and said in a very low voice.

  "Charge!" Seeing the formation scattered, Battalion Commander Zhao Dajun gave a loud order.

  The sound of "click" cocking the rifle echoed after a single command, and hundreds of people did this action together, giving a very strong sense of momentum. It was a kind of courage, a strong sense of support. I followed among them, holding a Hanyang-made gun that I didn't know if it would fire, and charged forward together.

  This was the first time I prepared to fire, when I just entered this military camp, a gun was given to me, but damn it, not even teaching me how to open it, let alone us new recruits go to the battlefield in a daze, "Damn" couldn't help but scold again in my heart.

  "Devil". As soon as I saw the enemy for the first time, I inexplicably shouted to myself in my heart. At the same time, the old devil's gunfire had already sounded. Running, half-crouching, shooting, pulling the bolt, ejecting the shell, the old devil's movements were smooth and uninterrupted, a standard demonstration even in a military camp in a past life. The Czech-style rifle in Zhu's hand also spat out flames, this kind of gun, Zhu could actually move while shooting, and his accuracy was not bad at all. I slowed down my advance as much as possible, charging forward meant facing more bullets, I shrunk my neck, lowered my waist, followed behind everyone, and charged forward, looking at the brave Zhu in front of me, I suddenly felt a sense of shame, "What am I doing? Are we men? Coward!" The deafening scolding voice, bypassing the gunfire, shouted into my ears, this voice was like a wake-up call, making my whole body tremble. Looking around, the scolding rat had just shot and killed an enemy, then turned his head to shout at me: "We are the Guangxi army, no cowards, get out!" "Get out!" "Get out!" Several soldiers who ran past me shouted at me in succession. This voice was like a silent trial, determining one's life, shame swept over me like a wave. "Is this me? Is this the meaning of my rebirth? Do I want to live with my neck shrunk and waist lowered for the rest of my life?" Countless voices collided in my mind, "No!" My eyes blurred, focusing on an enemy who had not been hit, only one voice kept shouting in my chaotic mind: "I'm not a coward! Not! Kill him! Kill that devil!" I ran like crazy, plunged into the trench, the enemy's attention was not on me, when I grabbed his neck with both hands, the bayonet was no longer needed. My hands tightly grasped the enemy's neck, suffocation left him without enough strength to struggle free, my hands kept pressing deeper into his eyes, I strained to tilt my head back, several bloody scratches were clawed onto my face, but I didn't feel any pain at all, I completely fell into madness.

  "Let go! Can you hear me, let go!" A wave of heat on my face brought back my consciousness. I was panting heavily, "Hah...hah..." and suddenly saw the guy I was choking in my hands. My legs instinctively pushed against the ground, my body leaned back, and I sat down on the floor with a thud. The guy I had choked to death had his tongue sticking out, his entire face had turned purple-blue from lack of oxygen, and his lifeless eyes were almost bulging out of their sockets.

  "Not bad, this is for you!" The company commander came over and patted my shoulder, giving me the Type 38 rifle that I had taken from the enemy, along with a few five-round clips.

  I mechanically took over the gun, feeling the 38 big cover that still had the body temperature of its original owner, and couldn't express any feelings in my heart.

  "Hehe, stop spacing out and come work!" Hǎozi ran over and pulled me over with one hand.

  "Sorry, I just...". I looked at the mouse, unsure of what to say.

  "It's okay, it's okay, first time on the battlefield, it's always like this, later it will be fine! You were very fierce just now, but next time it's better to use a knife, not that one." After making a hand-chopping gesture, Haozi continued: "Too slow!"

  "Kid, first time killing someone, huh? Feel good?" The pillar came over and pinched my neck, saying.

  "Awesome? My hands are still shaking now!" A life ended in one's own hands, this feeling is unbearable.

  "It's okay, just kill more and it'll be fine! Hehe!" Zhuzi patted me forcefully, making a final conclusion.

  "Cut the crap! Look at those shell holes, if you're not an idiot, hurry up and dig!" The old devil gestured to the surrounding shell holes with a flick of his tongue, indicating several deeper ones. Under the lead of the veteran soldiers, everyone worked together frantically to repair the trenches. The victory of the first battle pushed everyone's fighting spirit to new heights. From this skirmish, no one felt that the little devils were all that powerful. The joy of victory shone on every face, especially on the faces of us new recruits. But in an instant, it was replaced by the devils' brutal retaliation.