Chapter 8: Asking for a Beheading as a Meat Bullet

  "Good marksmanship!"

  For capable subordinates, Liu Ruming has never been stingy with his praise.

  "Too easy." Gao replied calmly and continued aiming at his next target.

  The devils finally couldn't hold on and retreated. At the same time as Gao Quan let out a sigh of relief, he also knew that after dawn, the devils' attack would be even more fierce, so it was crucial to seize the opportunity to rest for a while. Wang Dazhu and Qian Sixi were not new soldiers either, seeing Gao Quan hugging his gun and leaning against the city wall with closed eyes, these two also closed their mouths, just like their squad leader, hugging their guns and closing their eyes to rest.

  It was just getting light when the devils came again.

  This time, the first to appear were not the enemy's tanks or daredevil troops, but the enemy's airborne thieves. Five Japanese planes loudly circled in the air, dropping bomb after bomb, making the position even more devastated. The Great Wall was also hit by a bomb, which blasted out a large crater, and several soldiers nearby sacrificed their lives.

  Gao Quan glared fiercely at the plane flying in the sky, and when it flew over his head again, he raised the rifle in his hand like a flying disc, firing a shot at the plane. The Japanese plane shook its wings, as if mocking him for being arrogant. Gao Quan pulled the bolt of the rifle again, but the enemy's plane had already flown far away.

  Like yesterday, after the devils' big cannons bombarded, they launched a charge with tanks as guides.

  The armor of the enemy's tank was a bit easier to deal with, but when the tank came over, it was quite difficult to handle. Several groups of people rushed up together, but still couldn't do anything about this tank. The mortar's accuracy was not good to begin with, and after finally hitting the tank with one shot, it only slowed down the pace of this steel monster for a moment, without causing any damage to it. After stopping for a moment, the tank continued to move forward with a loud rumbling sound, firing shells and machine guns non-stop, and one of the front-line positions had already been blown to pieces by the tank's cannonballs, not a single soldier inside managed to come out alive.

  "Gaoquan, the company commander has gone down personally, you three go to the company commander's place to help!" Yesterday evening, the highest officer among those who returned from the night raid, that deputy platoon leader, had taken over Wang Hechun's position as battalion commander and became Gaoquan's superior.

  "Yes!"

  There's no room for haggling on the battlefield. A superior officer's orders must be carried out without any discount, and as a soldier, Gao understood this point naturally.

  Inside the city gate, Liu Ruming held a knife in one hand and a gun in the other, loudly giving orders: "One more group, we must blow up this tank of the devils!"

  Two warriors walked out silently, each holding two bundles of tied hand grenades, with several more inserted in their waists. Liu Ruming glanced at them, a strange emotion flashing across his eyes, "Go." After the simple two words, his gaze turned to outside the city gate.

  These two warriors can be said to have a good head on their shoulders, they didn't advance together but instead moved forward separately from the left and right sides. The enemy's bullets occasionally whizzed past them, these two also walked in a stop-and-go manner, constantly finding objects for cover. The machine gun responsible for covering fire at the back was roaring loudly, which also alleviated some pressure on these two.

  The enemy tank was too powerful, and the two were still twenty or thirty meters away from the tank when they were hit by the machine gun on the enemy tank.

  Liu Ruming's eyes turned red, "Next group!" Immediately, two more soldiers stood up, their faces full of determination.

  "Sir, I'll give it a try." Gao Quan couldn't bear to watch anymore, how many people would have to die to blow up this Japanese tank by forcing them in? Although he couldn't guarantee his own safe return either, he believed his understanding of tanks far surpassed that of the 29th Army's soldiers.

  "Who?" Liu Ruming looked at Gao Quan in surprise, this outstanding shooter he certainly remembered, it was him who promoted him personally last night, originally wanting to cultivate him as his trusted subordinate. Using people like this to blow up tanks is almost a death sentence, with no chance of return! These explosive soldiers, or human bombs, were all designated by their commanders at the grassroots level, designating which person would go, and if they didn't go, it was considered disobedience on the battlefield, punishable by beheading on the spot! If they went, there was a reward to be collected afterwards, and in the future, they could improve their family's living conditions. Therefore, these soldiers had no expression on their faces, but in their hearts, they were not necessarily willing, only agreeing under pressure from their superiors, helplessly consenting.

  However, no one asked him to do so. As a talent valued by Liu Zuming, Master Liu was also reluctant to let Gao Quan die here, so he hesitated for a moment.

  "Let me go, sir!" Gao Quan said, and went to take the grenade from the demolition expert's hand. The demolition expert looked at his superior officer, unsure whether he should hand over the grenade to this stranger.

  Liu Ruming was a general after all, and his momentary hesitation flashed by. Since Gao Quan had publicly expressed his desire to undertake this extremely perilous task, if he didn't let him go, how could he lead his troops in the future? How would his soldiers look at him? When there's danger, your trusted subordinates will hide behind you, and the ordinary soldiers will be sent to their deaths. Liu Ruming's hesitation was just a human instinctive reaction. As the saying goes, "familiarity breeds contempt", it's this kind of situation. Nobody wants anything bad to happen to someone they're familiar with. However, General Liu quickly adjusted his mindset.

  "Good job! After you leave, be sure to take extra care. If anything happens, I will personally deliver the condolence money to your family." It's not that this kind of talk is unlucky, but for this kind of dangerous work, making arrangements for after death is a must.

  "Relatives? My relatives?" A bitter smile flashed across Gao Quan's face. "I have no relatives. Master, if I really can't make it, give the condolence money to Wang Dazhu instead, he is my brother." After saying that, Gao Quan had already put all the hand grenades of a blaster on himself.

  "Let's go together, it's better to have someone to take care of each other."

  Gao turned his head and saw that Wang Dazhu had already handed the gun over to Qian Sixi, who was walking in this direction.

  "No need." Seeing Wang Dazhu's slightly displeased expression, and still trying to squeeze over, Gao Quan's voice immediately became stern. "Wang Dazhu, stop right there! I'll go alone, I have a plan in mind. If you follow me, you'll only be a hindrance! I order you, stay here and cover for me!" As he spoke, he also equipped himself with the other explosive expert's hand grenades, until his body was fully loaded.

  "Be careful, Gaoquan!" Liu Ruming looked at Gaoquan and couldn't help but remind him again.

  "Don't worry, Master!" Gao Quan said, stretching his arms and legs, feeling that the many hand grenades on his body were still within an acceptable range for movement. With a burst of speed, he exited the city gate.

  The area outside the city gate was within the range of the Japanese army's gunfire, and occasionally bullets whizzed by, hitting the trees and rocks nearby, making strange noises. Gao Quan rolled to the back of a boulder. The spot where he had been standing was hit by several bullets, creating a row of holes in the ground. The devils have discovered us!