The War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression Begins in Songhu

Chapter 554 It's Dark (Two Chapters Combined) (Request for Extra Chapter)
...As the years of fighting the Japanese devils went by, my fellow time travelers and I, along with many of my veteran brothers, developed some strange ailments.

Putting aside everything else, just considering the weather and time alone, there are many reactions that outsiders find both laughable and frustrating.

For example, some people may have no health problems, but when it rains, they feel uncomfortable all over and as if cold is seeping into their bones.

Some people, however, absolutely love rainy days. They beam with joy whenever it rains, their upturned lips harder to suppress than an AK.

Some people become involuntarily tense as soon as the sun rises at dawn, but visibly relax after dark.

I am not surprised at all by these problems; in fact, I understand them quite well.

Because behind every ailment and reaction lies a deeply etched memory, a series of brutal battles, like mountains of corpses and seas of blood, that will haunt your nightmares even years later.

When I encounter veterans like this, I always show extra leniency...

...Excerpt from Hu Biao's diary collection "Hu Shuo"...

"Damn it! Why is time passing so slowly? It's not even dark yet!" Ji Shouxing, a newcomer to this world, grumbled and cursed.

His tone was filled with anxiety.

The premise that made Ji Shouxing utter the above sentence was that he took advantage of the brief moment when he was replacing an eight-round magazine with an M1 Garand rifle and pressing it into the magazine.

He quickly raised his head and glanced at the setting sun on the horizon.

Then, to his dismay, he discovered that it would be at least another twenty or thirty minutes before the autumn sun completely set and the sky gradually darkened.

His emotions immediately became more and more agitated, and he couldn't help but start cursing.

It is said that Ji Shouxing is already in his thirties, but he has never felt that time passes as slowly as it does now.

If you calculate carefully, it's been less than four hours since the Japanese started their attack on their No. 3 position a little after 2 p.m.

But to Ji Shouxing, it felt as if four years had passed.

The reason is that at this point, it is already the fifth attack launched by the Japanese side.

And in the intervals between the two attacks, the Japanese did not give them any chance to stop and catch their breath.

They either launched an air raid or bombarded the enemy with cannonballs as if they were free.

The caliber of the shells also increased from only 70 mm to include many 75 mm howitzers, making the shelling even more intense.

It seems that since the Japanese began their offensive, they have been continuously transporting larger caliber and heavier artillery pieces over.

Even as time went on, heavy artillery of calibers such as 120mm and 150mm would join the battle, and shells would continue to fall on the position.

To be honest, Ji Shouxing wasn't really worried about those 150mm heavy artillery pieces that were said to be able to create a 15-meter-wide crater with a single shot, and that even a mouse couldn't survive within 40 meters.

Or to put it another way, he simply couldn't care less about these crises that wouldn't arrive until tomorrow.

Before these heavy artillery pieces arrived, if Hu Biao hadn't continuously sent reinforcements up and carried the seriously wounded down, the position would have been lost long ago.

Even so, almost none of the brothers he initially led to the No. 3 position are still alive; they have all been replaced.

Furthermore, the position that he had once considered exceptionally fortified was now in a state of utter ruin.

Considering all of the above, Ji Shouxing was eagerly anticipating the daylight to fall.

That way, the Japanese should stop their attack; then they can catch their breath and repair their damaged fortifications.

If we can get switched on defense, that would be even better...

As he muttered curses under his breath, Ji Shouxing's mind began to wander.

A sudden sharp pain in his right thumb brought him back to his senses. After instinctively shaking it a couple of times, it was clear that two-thirds of the nail on his right thumb had turned black and was filled with bruises.

Seeing this, Ji Shouxing's mood worsened.

How so? The M1 Garand rifle, the standard issue rifle for soldiers during World War II, was certainly effective.

The semi-automatic mechanism allows him to fire all eight bullets in a very short time, while maintaining a good range and accuracy.

With just an M1 rifle in hand, Ji Shouxing often made it impossible for Japanese combat teams of three to five men to raise their heads.

But this thing is great in every way, except that because of its special design and mechanism when the magazine is empty, it's easy to get your fingers caught when loading.

Fortunately, the above-mentioned bad mood did not affect Ji Shouxing's battle in the slightest.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw four Japanese soldiers leap out of a shell crater about 45 or 46 meters ahead at the 2 o'clock position, crouching as they made a quick charge forward.

Without a second thought, Ji Shouxing picked up the rifle that had just been loaded with bullets and started firing.

Three to five seconds later, with a 'ding' sound, an empty magazine was ejected from the chamber, indicating that the eight bullets that had just been loaded had been fired.

These eight bullets achieved a fairly good result.

Two of the four Japanese soldiers were killed and one was wounded.

The last remaining Japanese soldier was terrified. He immediately lay down on the ground and fired wildly with his gun, but the bullets seemed to have disappeared into the distance.

Unfortunately, Ji Shouxing couldn't even take a second look at such a victory.

Not to mention quickly loading bullets and killing the last Japanese soldier so that their four-man squad could reunite in the underworld.

As soon as the 'ding' sounded, he immediately grabbed his gun, crouched low, and sprinted through the thick layer of loose soil in the many collapsed trenches.

This action was a painful lesson learned by Ji Shouxing after suffering many losses.

More precisely, during battle, one needs to decisively change combat positions and not stay in one place for too long. Before the battle, veterans like Hu Biao had repeatedly reminded him of this point.

But once on the battlefield, Ji Shouxing lost his composure and forgot everything.

Until he saw one brother after another around him, especially the light machine gunners and submachine gunners, lingering in place because of their greed for firepower, only to be easily taken down by the Japanese with a single shot.

That's when they finally came to their senses and realized they had to move to a different location after firing a magazine of bullets.

Ji Shouxing's decisive decision to move away this time can be said to be very wise; he had only gotten up and run five or six meters when a small melon grenade, which was thrown by a grenade launcher, landed right where he was originally.

And a violent explosion occurred the moment it landed.

The shockwave from the explosion shoved him hard, sending him sprawling to the ground, his mouth full of mud and sand; a shrapnel grazed his temple, narrowly escaping serious injury.

Although he wasn't seriously injured, Ji Shouxing was still extremely annoyed.

As he scrambled to his feet and began reloading his ammunition while leaning against the trench, he spat out a mouthful of mud and sand and started shouting at the top of his lungs:
"Sniper, take out that Japanese grenade launcher."

Only after he finished shouting did he realize what was happening:

Where are the snipers left on the position? Of the three snipers assigned to them, the last one was killed in the last Japanese attack.

He was hit by at least seven or eight bullets from a Type 92 heavy machine gun and died a horrible death.

Realizing this, Ji Shouxing spat out a mouthful of saliva mixed with mud and sand, and suddenly stood up from the trench.

He raised his gun, aimed it at the two Japanese soldiers who were adjusting the firing direction of their grenade launcher, and pulled the trigger repeatedly.

Since all the snipers were killed, he would take on the task himself.

After five shots were fired in quick succession, the two Japanese soldiers with grenade launchers, about 120 meters away, were both brought down to the ground.

Unfortunately, Ji Shouxing's expression showed only panic, not a trace of joy.

No other reason than that! The first group of the hundred or so Japanese soldiers in front of the position were about to rush within thirty meters and were about to storm the position.

He quickly adjusted the muzzle of his gun, fired the last three bullets, and killed another Japanese soldier.

Ji Shouxing and Xin Huo, who were directing operations from the other side of the position, shouted in unison, "Grenade!"

As he shouted, he took off the two small melon grenades hanging on his body, pulled out the safety pins, tapped them on his helmet, and finally threw them out with a swing of his arm.

Together with the other brothers on the position, they threw grenades.

Immediately, a series of explosions erupted 30 to 40 meters in front of the position, sending the Japanese soldiers staggering about. Even before the sound of the grenades had completely subsided, Ji Shouxing and Xin Huo shouted in unison, "Fix bayonets!"

After shouting, the two of them took the lead and rushed out of the position.

Although they didn't want to at all, at this point they had no choice but to resort to the cruel method of hand-to-hand combat in an attempt to drive the Japanese back and hold their positions.

At this moment, only about thirty people remained after the two men rushed out of the position, including many wounded.

The only saving grace was that the order to "fix bayonets" only meant the start of hand-to-hand combat, not that the brothers had to actually hold their rifles and fix bayonets.

So the first thing Ji Shouxing and his companions did when they rushed out was to grab a DIY shotgun strapped to their thighs.

We were ready to rush within ten meters and give the Japanese a good whack with a spray of bullets.

Then he would draw the various long swords he carried on his back and take the opportunity to hack and slash, instead of engaging in bayonet fighting.

I believe that the dense barrage of iron pellets fired from dozens of DIY shotguns at close range will completely disrupt the Japanese troops' formation, making the subsequent hand-to-hand combat much easier.

This was also their greatest source of confidence in daring to charge out of their positions and engage in hand-to-hand combat with the Japanese.

What Ji Shouxing didn't expect was that when he ran all the way and was about fifteen or sixteen meters away from the Japanese soldiers,

In the dust that had settled down and was kicked up by the grenade explosion, he saw in horror a Japanese soldier pointing a Type 38 rifle at him, his finger already on the trigger.

At this point, it was completely too late for him to do anything.

"If we can really return to the modern world and be resurrected, I'd love to see people online still bragging that the Japanese soldiers didn't fire their guns before bayonet fighting and would even eject the bullets."

Damn it! I'll beat him to a pulp!

These were the last resentful thoughts that flashed in Ji Shouxing's mind before he lost consciousness, as a gunshot blazed before his eyes...

******
Ji Shouxing, the novice, didn't die, but that wasn't because he was lucky enough.

This was simply because Hu Biao and other time travelers, as well as his Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment, had long established a habit of wearing steel helmets:

When wearing a helmet, do not fasten the chin strap tightly.

This practice was learned from soldiers during World War II, and it is said to have saved the lives of 30 soldiers throughout the war; however, Hu Biao and his colleagues were unsure whether this claim was accurate.

However, based on their practical experience, it can be determined that:

This little trick can prevent Japanese soldiers from grabbing your helmet and causing you to suffocate during close combat.

In long-range combat, if you are unfortunately hit by shrapnel or bullets, an unfastened helmet will fall off due to the impact, thus dissipating some of the impact energy and reducing the damage.

Unfortunately, that one Japanese soldier, in pursuit of a fatal blow, aimed for Ji Shouxing's head.

The moment the bullet struck the helmet, the helmet was pierced through and simultaneously flew into the air.

Although the impact of the bullet still knocked Ji Shouxing unconscious; the sharp tip of the bullet also cut a long gash on the top of his head, exposing his white skull.

But at least Ji Shouxing didn't die, which is much luckier than many others.

Ji Shouxing, who didn't know how much time had passed, felt a sharp pain on his scalp and felt extremely dizzy. He slowly opened his eyes.

Instinctively, he reached up to touch his head and immediately felt a thick layer of gauze.

He didn't even need to look in the mirror to know that his head must have been wrapped up like Third Brother's.

It was at this moment that he heard Huang Adi's familiar voice: "Ludan, you must not move the gauze on your head; my bandaging skills are not very good, and it took me a lot of effort to bandage it for you."

Turning his head in the direction of the sound, Ji Shouxing realized that it had finally gotten dark.

He is still on the front line at position number three, where, besides Huang Adi, there are many unfamiliar faces urgently repairing the fortifications.

So the Japanese attack stopped, and Huang Adi led his men up to relieve them. He and Xinhuote were finally able to take their brothers down to rest.

After thinking about all this, he breathed a huge sigh of relief and was even on the verge of crying with excitement.

Even now, with my head still spinning, I couldn't quite grasp the subtle feeling that something was off about Huang Yizhi's words.

He immediately struggled to his feet, preparing to lead his brothers to retreat as quickly as possible; whoever wanted to stay in this wretched place could stay, but he certainly didn't want to stay a second longer.

Just a minute or two later, looking at the small team in front of him, including himself and Xinhuo, there were only eleven people in total, and everyone was injured.

Overwhelmed with grief, Ji Shouxing's eyes instantly reddened.

Including the reinforcements that came in one after another, he and Xinhuo should have led more than two hundred brothers to hold the No. 3 position.

During this period, in addition to the forty or fifty wounded who were successively sent to field hospitals in the rear for treatment,

By that calculation, at least 150 of his men died in battle in just one afternoon.

Many of them, in particular, were not even left with intact corpses after being bombed by the Japanese; they turned into countless pieces of flesh and blood scattered across the devastated battlefield.

In an instant, familiar faces appeared before Ji Shouxing.

In the less than a month that had passed, all the scenes of them training together, chatting and joking, and even fighting side by side flashed before his eyes.

As a modern person, Ji Shouxing had never experienced such a scene before.

Under intense stimulation, the night he had once eagerly anticipated arrived, and everything that could finally end became unimportant.

Instead, he wanted to stay here, to remain in this place that felt like a remote, isolated area.

Therefore, he turned to Xinhuo and said with a resolute tone: "Xinhuo, you take the brothers down. I want to stay on the front line and be with the brothers who died in battle."

They're all dead, I'm too ashamed to leave now.

Upon hearing this, Xin Huo retorted without hesitation, "You son of a bitch, if anyone's going to stay, it'll be the two of us. Do you think I'm a coward who's afraid of death?"

Just as the other nine surviving brothers saw this and their eyes reddened, they were about to speak up and say they would stay.

Huang Yizhi, who had been watching from the sidelines for a while, spoke up, offering advice in a rather unconventional way:
"Go down! Hurry up and eat something, treat your wounds, and get some rest to recharge your energy."

You don't think that the No. 3 position is completely handed over to me from now on, do you? Think again. The Japanese will continue their attack for several more days. Even if I were made of iron, I couldn't withstand it.

We'll have to wait until you come up to relieve us. There will be plenty of time and opportunities for you to fight the Japanese to the death.

The most important thing is that you all understand this: our main objective is to kill as many Japanese soldiers as possible, so that the brothers who died in battle will not have died in vain.

Hearing the above, Xin Huo, Ji Shouxing, and the others calmed down a bit; after a long sigh, they began to withdraw along the trench towards the second-line position.

During the process, the formation remained as neat as when they arrived, but the number of people was indeed sparse, making it seem inexplicably desolate.

Before long they arrived at the second line of defense and found that Hu Biao was already waiting there.

Hu Biao straightened his chest and tucked in his stomach, gave them a standard military salute, and then said:
"Brothers, you've worked hard. Xinhuo and Ludan, quickly take everyone to treat their wounds, wash up, and then eat. Everything has been prepared for you."

At this point, Ji Shouxing finally realized something was wrong and asked Hu Biao rudely:

"You damn bastard! Who did you call a hard-boiled egg?"

"Of course I called you. I heard that in order to treat the wound on your head, Fatty shaved your head bald. You'll probably be bald for a while from now on."

"When he saw your round, bald head, he gave you the nickname 'Hard-boiled Egg,' and now everyone in the thousands of people in the regiment knows it," Hu Biao replied confidently.

Good heavens! If I weren't so physically and mentally exhausted right now...

Ji Shouxing would probably rush back to position number three immediately and give Huang Adi a good beating; to be honest! That guy's mouth is really foul.

Surprisingly, after experiencing such a mess, Ji Shouxing's extremely depressed mood improved significantly.

Just as Annie had told them: don't worry too much about nicknames.

The biggest reason behind these nicknames is simply that, on this damned battlefield, it's a way for people to joke around and relieve stress.

It won't affect the fact that they will become your most trustworthy comrades-in-arms in the most dangerous times...

(End of this chapter)