Chapter 3: The Big Gun

  As everyone was almost done repairing the trenches, Lao Gui puffed on his cigarette, put his hands on his hips and shouted: "Si Xi introduce yourselves to everyone, you're all in the same squad, get to know each other so we can look out for one another."

  I took a look at the old devil and cursed in my heart: "What were you doing during the march a few days ago? You were all dragging along like a bunch of cripples, just because we're a few old soldiers talking, now you're pulling this stunt!" But I soon found out the reason.

  "I'll go first, you can just call me Fourth Joy, I'm like the class leader here, but when it comes to fighting, everyone should follow Old Ghost Brother, with him around, we're more likely to stay alive, haha." Fourth Joy does have some self-awareness.

  "Laozi is just a old devil, don't listen to Xizi's nonsense, I can't afford such a big responsibility. Everyone be careful, the new recruits are all ears listening, Zhu zi tell everyone how to dodge shells." The old devil finished speaking, sat down on the side, closed his eyes and fell asleep.

  "I'm Zhu Zi, he's Hao Zi, this is Si Long, the one with a cigarette in his mouth is Yan Juan. You new recruits, what are your names? Hurry up and say them out loud, then perk up your ears and listen."

  Puppy

  Liu Lang

  Second child

  The new recruits reported their names one by one.

  "Shells are coming, if it's a 'drip' sound that's sharp and long like the girls calling out, it means it's a distant shell, it won't hit you. The ones that can hit you are the ones that make a short and hoarse 'brush' sound. When avoiding shells, don't lie down like when shooting, don't sprawl all over the place, use your elbows and knees to support yourself on the ground, or else you'll be killed by the shell and your intestines will be shattered. Do you all understand?

  Pillar looked at several new recruits and continued: "Remember what I just said, if you survive the first round of shelling, immediately find a newly exploded crater nearby and get in it. If you're not extremely unlucky, you'll basically be safe." Pillar spoke very quickly, but everyone was highly concentrated on listening. If they could apply this level of focus to their studies, I estimate that each person would be able to pass the postgraduate exam."

  "Remember, on the battlefield you only get one chance! If you're wrong, it's all over." The wastrel stood up after finishing his demonstration and once again showed off his signature sneer.

  I learned all this knowledge in military training, but what I didn't expect was that this knowledge was passed down from generation to generation, right on the battlefield, with blood as a threat and death as a price, passing down the war experience of the Chinese army from generation to generation, ultimately creating a powerful Chinese army.

  "Take cover!" Haozi shouted loudly. At the same time as Haozi opened his mouth, I saw that Lao Gui and Zhuangzi had already prepared to take shelter behind a bunker, while I hadn't heard anything, perhaps this was the instinct of an old soldier.

  After the shout of "Charge!", the Japanese artillery shells arrived almost instantly.

  "Second child, quickly lie down, quickly, mom's quickly!" The pillar shouted loudly, but his body still maintained a lying down posture and did not rush over to save the second child.

  "Boom!" A shell exploded not far from Er Wa's side, and the impact of the explosion sent Er Wa flying directly to my side.

  "Second child." Looking at the second child covered in blood, I shouted desperately, although my voice was barely audible to myself. The second child's eyes were wide open, filled with terror, one hand covering his neck, blood flowing out from between his fingers. The rosy color on his face faded away at a visible speed, replaced by a deathly pale complexion. The second child's mouth remained wide open, as if he wanted to say something, but he couldn't make a sound, or maybe he did and I just didn't hear it. My mind went blank, everything in my body seemed to be sucked out by the second child's eyes, fear spread throughout my entire body, my stomach convulsed, my chest felt like it was blocked by something, making breathing difficult. Looking at the second child who kept convulsing before me, I finally felt the cruelty of war, wanting to do something but unable to move, time and artillery fire seemed far away from me, everything in the world only consisted of me and the second child.

  "It's alright, the devils have been chased away, take a nap, and when you wake up, we'll be home." The old ghost crawled over, gently touched Erwa's head with his hand, and said in a soft tone.

  After listening to Lao Gui's words, Erwa's expression was no longer so fearful and ferocious, gradually calming down, her whole body also stopped convulsing, only the bright light in her eyes gradually faded away, her dull eyes representing a kind of relief.

  "Go home, kid. You won't have to suffer from hunger and cold anymore." The old ghost's index finger and middle finger slid down over Erwa's eyes, and Erwa closed her eyes.

  "Help!"

  "Oh no!"

  "My legs! Help me find my legs!"

  "Save me! Monitor save me!"

  "Brother, brother, speak up!"

  The wails of the new recruits were endless, some had wet their pants in fear, others stared blankly, some shook all over while clutching their heads, and others vomited uncontrollably. Arms and legs were scattered everywhere, chunks of flesh with fresh blood and steam rising from them told people that they were once part of a living body. Until I saw the intestines scattered on the ground not far away, and a soldier whose lower body had been blown off but was still alive, I couldn't bear it anymore. The pungent smell of blood rushed into my stomach, stirring up a violent contraction, my two hands supported the ground, and I vomited. The joy of annihilating a small group of devils had long since dissipated, replaced by fear from death.

  He spat out a few mouthfuls, forcing down the urge to vomit, and looked at the bloodstains on the ground, thighs, arms, half of his body, and various organs that had been blown apart. He looked at Erwa's closed eyes, and a surge of hot blood welled up from some unknown place in his body, filling him with a bloodthirsty impulse. He shook his head violently, took a deep breath, and whispered to himself: "I mustn't die, I have to make it back alive."

  "Shut up, all of you! The medical soldiers quickly got busy, and everyone carried the wounded, those who were still intact, to the back, to give our brothers a complete body. Everyone pay attention to hiding, prepare to take cover at any time, hurry up, get busy!" The battalion commander shouted randomly, most of the new recruits came to their senses, but some soldiers still had dull eyes, perhaps war is just an elimination machine, and these kinds of soldiers would be eliminated by the ruthless shells, no matter how much they were talked about.

  "Haozi, your ears are too damn sensitive. With you around, it's really great." The tall pillar hugged Haozi's head and kissed him on the cheek, his unbrushed teeth for who-knows-how-long making me want to plug my nose from a meter away.

  "Damn it, damn it! Every time you're like this, it's so annoying! Damn it, I'm all sweaty now! Damn it!" The little mouse struggled and cursed, but its small head was unable to escape the bear's hug.

  The breath of death can't affect these old soldiers at all. In their eyes, you can't see a hint of fear, and the death of other brothers seems to be irrelevant. Suddenly, I knew why Zhu, Lao Gui, and Hao Zi, these three veteran soldiers who had been through many battles, rarely approached us new recruits on the march. In their eyes, the chances of survival for these new recruits were slim, and walking close together in peacetime would only lead to emotional entanglements on the battlefield. It's better not to know each other at all.

  "Liu Lang, take Erwa to the back." Si Xi shouted.

  "Yes!" He carried this 13 or 14-year-old child on his back, and in his heart, he felt a pang of depression, as if the weight of life's body was very heavy.

  "Take cover!" The rat shouted again.

  The lessons of blood, the guidance of death, allowed new recruits to grasp the ability to survive on the battlefield more quickly. This time it was clearly faster than last time, "Boom!! Boom!! Boom!!" The earth shook violently once again.