Chapter 27: The Godly Gunman Follows Me

  "Which brother just took out the enemy machine gunner with a few shots?" Zhang Da-mao asked, standing in the trench with his hands on his hips, looking at the soldiers who were either lying or sitting. He knew that if they hadn't taken out the enemy commander and machine gunner just now, the outcome would have been really hard to predict. He had already prepared himself for when the enemy charged forward another few dozen meters, he would greet them with a round of hand grenades before engaging in close combat with the enemy.

  Although they were a reinforced company, almost equivalent to half a battalion in strength, if they really clashed with the enemy's "Japanese" army company and fought with bayonets, even if they managed to overpower the enemy, their own casualties would definitely be much higher than if they were lying in a commanding trench. This was because the Japanese army's bayonet fighting skills were indeed very strong, while nearly a third of his side were new recruits who had never seen blood before. This was also why he left behind Jingwei's 20+ veteran soldiers as a reserve team. He deeply understood that bayonet fighting was like a group fight, and first and foremost, one had to overwhelm the opponent with momentum, just like his regimental commander Guo Jinan said: "When brave men meet on a narrow road, the victor is the one who seizes the initiative." When more than 20 young soldiers, their eyes blazing with excitement, charged towards the enemy lines, even if it was a woman who had never held a knife or gun before, she would be inspired by her inner heroic spirit.

  So he knew the importance of this godly gunner, and of course not only did he understand it, but also the opposing Little Japan understood it, so he must keep this ghost machine gunner's nemesis safe.

  "Commander, commander, he, he, he..." Zhang Damao's voice had just fallen when the old soldier who had just scolded Zhao Zhibang pointed to Zhao Zhibang beside him and stuttered. His eyes were filled with admiration and awe, thinking that he was still teaching Zhao Zhibang how to shoot a gun just now, and suddenly felt a little ashamed.

  "Is that you? What's your name?" Zhang Daman walked up to Zhao Zhibang with a smile on his face, excitedly asking. Later, everyone would say that at the time, Zhang Daman looked at Zhao Zhibang with an expression as if he had just met his long-lost father.

  "Reporting to the superior officer... My name is Zhao Zhibang."

  "Zhao Zhibang, you're a new recruit who just came up, right?" Zhang Daman asked after hesitating for a moment.

  "Reporting, sir! Yes, I am the one who arrived at our company half a month ago!" Zhao Zhibang replied after saluting Zhang Damao.

  "Alright, alright... On the battlefield, we don't need to talk about so many rules. Did you really take out those few machine gunners of the little devils?" Zhang Damao pulled down Zhao Zhibang's raised right hand and asked with some doubt and excitement.

  "It's true... stationary devils are easy to hit"

  "Haha, the immobile devils are easy to beat... What were you doing at home before? Hunting?" Zhang Damao couldn't help but laugh upon hearing Zhao Zhibang's words.

  "Not, used to be a doctor,,,,,, never 'touched' a gun" As soon as Zhao Zhibang's words came out, the trench that was still a bit noisy suddenly became quiet. This silence is not strange, because what's really strange is that Zhao Zhibang, a doctor who had never fired a gun before, could have such skill after only three months of training in the new recruit camp, which left them speechless.

  "Report to the officer, Zhao Zhibang was a natural-born god of guns when he was in the new recruit camp. The instructor said that he would specially train him for shooting." Seeing the skeptical faces of the company commander and the old soldiers, Li Weiguo, who was standing next to Zhao Zhibang, couldn't help but stand up and say, as if he was the one being doubted.

  "Yes, yes... Instructor Gui's son indeed said that he was good at holding a gun and practicing aiming every day. He rarely participated in those life-and-death hammer training sessions!" After Li Weiguo finished speaking, Wu Fayun, who was standing beside him, couldn't help but add:

  Actually, no one is born with it, as the saying goes 'genius equals ninety-nine percent hard work plus one percent talent'. The reason why Zhao Zhibang shoots well is actually more due to his father Zhao Chuanfu's training in flying knives since he was a child, apart from physical strength and martial arts. In the early days of practicing flying knives, most of the time was spent practicing his eyes, often staring at the target for half an hour, which is why he has such focus.

  Of course, his current shooting technique still relies on the training of instructors in the new barracks later on. However, this instructor may also be a military academy student who has never been to the battlefield. He did not teach Zhao Zhibang how to hit moving enemies, and this is indeed not something that can be said clearly in normal training. This contains too many factors, such as the geographical environment where the target is located, whether it is uphill, downhill or flat road, and the distance the target moves at one time. More profoundly, wind direction and wind speed must also be taken into account, and these experiences must rely on oneself to accumulate and play out in the field.

  "Ah, okay, okay, okay! Li Lian Sheng!" Zhang Da Meng said several "goods" in a row and then patted Zhao Zhi Bang's shoulder.

  "Zhao Zhibang is Li Liansheng's soldier. Looking at the old soldiers and Zhang Daman's second company commander with envy, Li Liansheng also felt that his face had gained a lot of glory."

  "You'd better keep an eye on him for me, if anything happens to him I'll chop off the six and a half catty weight on your head, I'll take a look from the second row," Zhang Damao said with his back turned, then he glanced at Zhao Zhibang again and walked away laughing.

  "Let me take a look at the gun..." Li Liansheng, with a big smile on his face, looked at Zhao Zhibang after Lianzhang left. He took the rifle from Zhao's hand and pulled back the bolt with a "click". Then he raised it to aim for a moment before silently handing it over to the old Northeastern soldier beside him.

  "Get back, get back!" Zhao Zhibang didn't understand Li Liansheng's meaning and thought that Li Liansheng was not allowing him to go onto the battlefield. Li Liansheng didn't say anything but turned around and walked a few meters away to the trench, picked up a brand new Type 99 rifle and walked back over.

  "Your gun has been used for a long time, I'm afraid its accuracy is not that good anymore. Use this one instead, it will make me look good. If you can take out Hata Junroku with one shot, I'll let you be the platoon leader, haha... At least, you'll get to be a company commander." Hata Junroku was the commander of the Japanese Central China Expeditionary Army. If they could really take him out, it's likely that their superiors would be so pleased that making Li Lian Sheng a regimental commander wouldn't be a problem. As soon as Li Lian Sheng's words fell into the trench, there was an immediate burst of laughter, although they didn't know who Hata Junroku was.

  "Thanks, buddy..." Zhao Zhibang took the gun and skillfully pulled back the bolt, also imitating Li Liansheng's silly smile as he aimed.

  "Your name is Zhao Zhibang, right?"

  It is, yes, this, that, these, those.

  "Alright, alright... Zhi Bang, when we fight again, you just follow me and don't run around everywhere, got it?" Li Lian Sheng said intimately, placing his hand on Zhao Zhi Bang's shoulder, even dropping the formal address. Seeing Zhao Zhi Bang's puzzled gaze, Li Lian Sheng continued: "The devils have just suffered a great loss at your hands, they must be thinking of ways to take you down now. Those turtle sons aren't easy to deal with, when we fight again, you must listen to me, I'll tell you who to attack and who not to, got it?"

  "Oh..." Zhao Zhibang looked at Li Liansheng's serious expression and nodded vaguely.

  "Alright, everyone take a break and rest for a while. I estimate that the devils won't be able to hold on for much longer before launching their second attack. Everyone hurry up and dig your trenches again, don't get too comfortable or you'll regret it when the devils' artillery starts firing."