Chapter 5: Going to the Front Lines (Part 3)

  Whether from the perspective of leaving seeds for the special agents or not dragging down the team, Zhang Songling belongs to the category that must be left behind in the camp. However, he thinks that Director Ji has saved his life and he cannot just watch as his benefactor is surrounded without doing anything! So he begged persistently to follow Old Gou's team leader, insisting that the other party take him along.

  Lao Gou originally didn't want to agree, but couldn't withstand Zhang Songling's persistent persuasion. Having no other choice, he reluctantly agreed to the three conditions: Firstly, on the road, he must closely follow Shi Liangcai and do everything Shi did; Secondly, when encountering enemies, he was not allowed to recklessly open fire, and all actions had to be under command; Thirdly, if severely injured, he was not to drag down his comrades, but instead use his gun to end his own life, without expecting anyone to save him. If any of these conditions were unacceptable, then he should honestly stay at the 31st Division headquarters waiting for news, and not cause trouble for others.

  "Deal!" Before Lao Gou's voice fell, Zhang Songling immediately responded loudly. Having walked past Yan Wang twice in a row, he no longer felt that death was anything to be afraid of. On the contrary, it was more painful and torturous to see those who were good to him fall one by one under the guns of the devils or traitors. Therefore, Lao Gou wouldn't have frowned even if there were thirty or three hundred rules today, as long as he could participate in the rescue action, even if it meant using his own life to exchange for Ji Tuanzhang's life, he would be willing.

  "Then you go with Xiaoshi to collect things. Leave the big knife and rifle, bring the box cannon, bring enough bullets, and then go borrow a dagger from someone else, it might be useful at critical moments!" Captain Gou didn't expect Zhang Songling to be so "capable", he was stunned for a moment, and a hint of admiration flashed in his eyes.

  "Thank you, Captain!" Zhang Songling gave Old Gou a proper military salute and then chased after Shi Liangcai to gather his belongings like a happy dog on a snowy day. Officer Gou watched him with a shaking head and a smile. After thinking for a moment, he picked up the phone specially assigned to him by the 31st Division and had the operator connect him to Division Commander Chi Fengcheng.

  Chi Fengcheng and Ji Tuanzhang had also been old friends for many years, and upon realizing the latter's overdue return, his heart was already burning with anxiety. Upon hearing Lao Gou say over the phone that he would lead an elite small squad to search for Ji Tuanzhang's whereabouts, he immediately responded in a low voice: "Whatever you need our 31st Division to do, just let us know. As long as it's within my power, I'll never deceive you with empty words!"

  "First, I need you to have the 31st Division take on a posture of preparing for a counterattack to attract the attention of those little devils! Although he was just a captain and a small regiment commander, Lao Gou began assigning tasks to the lieutenant general division commander without any politeness. "Secondly, I need you to dispatch an elite force to escort us outside the actual controlled area of the 31st Division, and then wait there, ready to respond at any time. Third..."

  A chubby figure flashed before his eyes, and Officer Lao Gou's voice slowly fell, "If I don't come back in three days, help me send the Special Operations Battalion back to the military department. Then, then tell Old Camp Chief and Wu Jie and them that I, Lao Gou, will bother them again in my next life!"

  "Bastard! What are you talking about? You, with the surname Guo, do you know what you're saying?! Let me tell you, if you die outside, I'll...I'll...tell Wu Jie about it..." The voice on the other end of the phone had already disappeared. Chi Fengcheng slammed the metal telephone box onto the table, his eyes red with rage, and shouted towards the outside, "Old Huang! Old Huang! Get me a hundred veteran soldiers who have fought for more than five years. Find Liu Huazi from the Independent Regiment to lead them, to cooperate with Guo Youde in rescuing people. Tell Liu Huazi that all actions must be under Guo Youde's command. If Guo Youde doesn't come back, then neither is he allowed to return!"

  "Yes!" The commander of the 91st Regiment, Huang Dingxin, responded from outside and ran to mobilize the elite troops. Soon, 100 veteran soldiers were mobilized from their respective units and formed a company. Led by Liu Huozi, commander of the 31st Independent Regiment, they went to coordinate with Gou Yide's rescue operation.

  If there is virtue on that side, everything has been prepared neatly. After seeing Liu Huazi, he didn't bother with pleasantries and set off immediately with the newly formed rescue team. Liu Huazi also didn't say much, leading his brothers to follow closely behind. The group hastily left the 31st Division headquarters, walking along the small path trodden by shepherds for over two hours, before slowly coming to a stop on a rather steep mountain slope.

  "Beyond that rocky outcropping ahead, it's within the Japanese army's control. This area has high mountains and dense forests, with no highways or railways nearby, so even the Japanese devils don't bother to come here. Occasionally they'll send a small detachment to infiltrate behind our lines and stir up trouble, but most of the time, you won't even see a ghost of them!"

  "Wait for me here for three days! Three days later, at this time, if there is no news from us, you take the brothers back!" Lao Gou instructed in a low voice without hesitation.

  "Good!" Liu Huozi was a decisive person and agreed without hesitation. Afterwards, he opened up the mountain path for the sheep to pass through and bid farewell to Lao Gou and others with his eyes.

  The old veterans of the independent regiment also knew that the rescue team was going to be a nine-to-one situation. They quietly formed a square array, like soldiers accepting inspection, looking at the small squad warriors passing in front of them, with reverence written all over their eyes. Only one pair of eyes seemed to be an exception, its owner standing on the edge of the first row, frowning tightly, with dark clouds flashing across his face.

  According to the agreement with Lao Gou, Zhang Songling closely followed behind Shi Liangcai, the leader of the guard squad, without missing a single step. The other party had a stern face, and he also had a stern face. The other party puffed out his chest and raised his head, and he also puffed out his chest and raised his head. The other party didn't glance sideways, and he also didn't glance sideways. But in an instant, he faintly felt that among the crowd on the side, there was a very complicated gaze staring at him, as if he had offended this person somewhere before or owed him several hundred yuan without paying it back!

  Who? He quickly turned his head and found that complex gaze from the 31st Independent Brigade. The other person was startled, hurriedly avoiding his head to one side, refusing to meet Zhang Songling's gaze. However, the impression left on Zhang Songling by that wrinkled face was too deep, and he could recall it quickly without even thinking about it.

  "It's not that I won't help you, I'm also in a tight spot myself!" Zhang Songling stopped in his tracks, gave Liao Laoda a smile, and used his eyes to tell him that the favor he had asked for earlier was something he really couldn't do. Then, without caring whether Liao Laoda understood his meaning or not, he shook his head and quickly caught up with the group!

  With Zhang Songling added, the small squad had a total of twelve people. Soon, they disappeared into the shadows of the strange rocks and trees. A team of this size would definitely not attract the attention of enemy planes. Therefore, everyone didn't need to hide during the day and move at night, they could just walk forward under the scorching sun.

  Around noon, the group climbed up another small mountain full of rocks. Just as they were parched from the scorching sun beating down on them, Hu Feng, the soldier responsible for scouting ahead, suddenly crouched down and pressed his palms downwards. "Prepare for battle!" Lao Gou immediately led everyone to crouch behind the rocks, while swiftly issuing orders.

  Twenty or so boxes of cannon formed a semicircle, tightly sealing off the several large stones three zhang in front of Hu Feng's hiding place. Behind the stones was a small path for herding sheep from the other side of the mountain, faintly audible were the sounds of gravel rolling down from between the slopes.

  The mysterious figure opposite seemed to have sensed the danger as well, and quickly hid out of sight. Lao Gou led the group to hold their breath and continue waiting, refusing to expose themselves to the enemy's line of sight. They crouched in hiding for over 20 minutes, but still didn't see any sign of the enemy.

  "Old Zhu..." He waved his fist, indicating that a soldier named Zhu would volunteer to sacrifice himself to attract the enemy's attention. Before the other side could respond, Hu Feng, who was crouching at the front of the team, suddenly jumped up again and shouted in a low voice, "Don't move, I'll go!"

  After that, three or two rolled over to the side of the huge stone that blocked everyone's line of sight. Then, another fish jumped from above the stone and flipped over. "Ah——" A cry of surprise came from behind the boulder, followed by three wild goats rushing down the mountain slope, kicking off rocks everywhere. "Damn it!" Old Gou was furious and rushed over to check on Hu Feng's situation. But he saw that the other party had a dagger in his mouth, excitedly poking out a bloody head from behind the boulder.

  "Mutton - it's wild goat. Very nutritious!" Hu Fengrui brandished his dagger, proudly displaying it. His eyes were filled with the unique satisfaction of a Chinese farmer.

  "Eat, just know how to eat, you scared the old man to death!" The squad leader Gou pressed down Hu Feng's helmet and slapped him with his palm. The other brothers finally breathed a sigh of relief and rushed over, punching and kicking the man wildly.

  "Be careful, be careful. Be careful to be heard by the devils!" Hu Feng held a wild goat in his arms and couldn't spare a hand to defend himself. As long as he turned his back to his brothers and begged vaguely, "Stop, stop hitting me. Everyone has a share, everyone has a share. Eat, eat the wild mountain goat, and then we'll have the strength to walk on the mountain road!"

  "You just stink, no fire, how can you eat!" Lao Gou slapped a few times and vented enough. Found the shade of a large stone, took out the water bottle to quench thirst.

  "Alright, then!" Hu Feng triumphantly removed the dagger from his mouth and quickly stripped off the sheepskin, tearing off strips of red meat from the spine, thighs, and other parts. He then distributed two portions to each person, whispering: "Take it, take it, follow my lead."

  As he spoke, he quickly flipped over a few dark yellow stones, and at the junction of the stone and soil, he scraped off a layer of white frost with his knife and slowly applied it to the meat strips. Then he tossed the meat strips onto a sunny rock, ran to find Old Gou to show off, "On a hot day like today, it'll be dry in half an hour! Then you can carry it on your shoulder and take a bite whenever you need to replenish your energy."

  Lao Gou hesitated for a moment, then raised his wrist to look at his watch and realized it was already time for lunch. So, with the thought of giving it a try, he ordered everyone to stop and have some dried rations to avoid the heat. The brothers had been waiting for this and responded with a "yes", scrambling to dry their meat. In less than half an hour, the air was filled with the faint scent of meat. Upon closer inspection, the strips of meat laid out on the sun-facing rocks were already semi-transparent, with shiny oil droplets seeping out from the edges, one drop at a time.