The War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression Begins in Songhu

Chapter 644 They Will Try Their Best (Combined Chapter)

It was obvious! The others besides Xiao Cui didn't know much about 'septicemia'; but just by looking at the thug's dark calf, they knew that the guy's condition was quite bad.

The city is now full of people, and the alley where they are is relatively secluded.

However, if you stay there for too long, you will eventually be discovered and your whereabouts will be exposed. It is not a place you can stay for long.

Old Ma looked up and glanced left and right, and upon discovering that there was a Japanese-run mountain goods store at the alley entrance, he immediately made a suggestion:

"Let's go! We can't stay here any longer. Let's hide in that mountain produce shop and talk things over there."

After saying that, he picked up an MG34 general-purpose machine gun and led the way towards the mountain goods store; Zhou Ergou, who was a step behind him and whose body was wrapped in a metal ammunition belt, quickly followed.

So here's the question: Where is that college student guy, who was the second secondary marksman tonight and the newbie Taro who came from another world?

That guy died in battle! Twenty minutes ago, during a firefight with a group of Japanese soldiers, he was unfortunately hit in the left cheek by a stray bullet.

The wound from the bullet was quite large, and after the bullet pierced Taro's skull, the wound on the back of his head was even more horrific; after glancing down at the wound, Old Ma knew that this novice was beyond saving.

"Damn it! Isn't it said that the machine gunner dies much faster than the assistant gunner? How come it seems to be the other way around here?"

With indescribable frustration, after muttering this complaint, Old Ma called out a name as if summoned by the King of Hell: "Zhou Er Gou" (a derogatory term for a dog).

Then Tuesday Dog, the KL warrior, became his third secondary marksman for the night...

When Lao Ma rushed to the door of the Guizi Mountain Goods Store, he found that the door was locked tightly.

However, this was not a big deal. For them, these old-fashioned brass padlocks were nothing more than a matter of smashing them with a rifle butt.

After breaking the lock and entering the mountain produce store, the others followed in single file, each carrying a thug.

As Lao Yu slammed the door shut, Xiao Cui shone her flashlight on the thug's black leg again; by then, the poor young man had already passed out.

After a hasty examination, Xiao Cui's face grew increasingly grim. She let out a long sigh and offered a more detailed and dismal explanation:
"The thug had several toes on his right foot that already had severe frostbite."

During the two days of rest in Kaoshantun, the situation had just improved somewhat, but it continued to deteriorate during tonight's operation; first, the frostbite caused gangrene, and then the gangrene caused sepsis.

Sepsis is a systemic inflammatory infection.

The assailant's symptoms were already very serious, and he was at risk of organ failure.

So everything is too late now. Even if we perform surgery immediately to amputate the thug's right leg, it won't help. We'll have to use an IV drip to administer large amounts of penicillin for antibacterial and anti-inflammatory purposes.

Even with all that, the chances of survival are no more than 30%.

Upon hearing the above statement, everyone else gasped in shock.

They knew that frostbite on the toes would be troublesome in the current environment; however, they never expected that frostbite on just a few toes would be so severe and potentially fatal.

What's worse, they even understand why the thug didn't mention his toe injury earlier, so that a few toes could be amputated in advance to prevent the condition from developing into sepsis.

Just kidding! In this kind of weather, if you cut off a few toes, it would take a week or two to regain your mobility.

Given their current situation of being constantly maneuvered and moved around while being pursued and intercepted by the Japanese, wouldn't that become a burden on others?
In the following time, the question of whether or not to quickly operate on the thug and amputate his leg became a difficult one for everyone.

Even if a leg is cut off, the thug's chances of surviving are slim.

This dilemma lasted only a little over a minute; because at that moment, a much louder commotion arose from the street outside the door.

Old Yu, Old Ma, Old Che, and the other two instinctively rushed up the stairs to the second floor; after opening the window a little, they looked outside.

Once they realized the situation, they immediately felt an even greater sense of unease.

The Japanese soldiers, who had been searching for their army outside the city, finally returned after receiving the news.

And even when faced with the chaotic scene in the city, and even when dealing with his own fellow countrymen, he still displayed some unusually iron-fisted methods.

At the other end of Nangang Street, a Type 97 medium tank, leading fifty or sixty cavalrymen and two or three hundred Japanese soldiers, was already charging along the road.

As he charged, he shouted loudly:
"Everyone stop running immediately, put your hands behind your heads and squat down by the roadside. Anyone who disobeys will be killed without exception."

Perhaps the rumors that Japanese soldiers were throwing grenades and shooting at civilians had already spread from the air force headquarters to this place; the Japanese soldiers and civilians running around like headless flies in the streets completely ignored such warnings.

Faced with this situation, the tanks and cavalry began to accelerate.

One of the Type 97 tanks, under the command of its Japanese commander who had half his body sticking out of the turret, rammed straight ahead, knocking over several people in no time.

Once the cavalry caught up, their methods became somewhat gentler.

He simply drew his saber and began to lash them with the back of the blade; even so, he still managed to beat these civilians until their heads were bleeding.

Even the Japanese infantrymen quickened their pace upon seeing this.

After catching up with the fleeing people, he swung the butt of his rifle and smashed it down hard; he even picked up his rifle and pulled the trigger, injuring the thighs of some people who were running away in the distance.

With such brutal methods, half the street was filled with the screams and cries of Japanese soldiers and civilians.

However, these Japanese civilians were also shameless; they all stopped in their tracks, squatted down with their heads in their hands by the roadside, and the riot on Nangang Street was quickly quelled.

The three men, including Lao Che, could not see what was happening in other parts of the city.

However, with such a large force, the Japanese could easily use this powerful suppression method in multiple areas simultaneously after returning to the city.

It seems that the unrest in other parts of the city is also being quelled quickly.

It must be said that the Japanese commander was quite decisive, showing a tendency to use harsh measures in chaotic times; although his methods were ruthless, the results were excellent.

Such an outcome is undoubtedly a disaster for these people.

As the old saying goes, you can only catch fish in troubled waters. Once the waters clear, these people will be in big trouble. So, although tonight's antics weren't quite enough, it's time for them to leave.

It was quite a coincidence, or perhaps Hu Biao and his group encountered a similar situation and realized they couldn't continue causing trouble.

A few blocks away from them, a green flare was suddenly launched into the sky; even amidst the raging blizzard, the bright green light could be seen from a great distance.

Signal flares come in many colors, but green is usually used to indicate that everything is safe and sound, and is therefore used relatively infrequently.

This is also the sole reason why Hu Biao used this rather uncommon color as a signal for everyone to retreat immediately.

Upon seeing this signal, the three of them didn't dare to delay for a moment. After hurriedly going downstairs, Old Yu immediately started shouting:
"The Japanese army has returned and is forcefully suppressing the riots. It seems the unrest in the city will soon be quelled."

The thugs had already signaled to leave immediately, so there wasn't time to perform surgery or administer IV fluids to the thugs.

"Alright then! I'll carry him. Whether he can hold on until the surgery, whether he'll ultimately survive, depends on how tough the kid is."

After saying that, he didn't even squat down before picking up the thug behind his back.

The dissenting voice of "No!" came from Old Che's mouth. Everyone turned to look in surprise, only to see the owner of this modern-day self-service mahjong parlor calmly offering his explanation:
"The Japanese army has a large number of troops, and the key is that the riots in the city are about to be quelled."

Even if we retreat now, they might still catch us by the tail.

So you all go. I'll stay and figure out a way to steal that Type 97 medium tank from the Japanese, and then recreate the riots to give you some opportunities.

The words had barely faded when Zhou Ergou's voice rang out:

"Count me in. I've killed seventeen Japanese devils today, which is more than enough. It's time for me to go down and be with my wife and kids. I can't drive a tank or an anti-tank gun, but I can fire a machine gun."

Even on his deathbed, he could still take down a few more Japanese soldiers.

Hearing what the two men said, before Lao Ma and the others could say anything, one of the thugs, who seemed to have woken up at some point and was in slightly better condition, spoke up:

"I'm not going anywhere. Rather than die on the road, I'd rather get into a tank and operate a machine gun."

After hesitating for a few seconds, Lao Yu answered:
"Alright! You've only gone ahead of us, but I feel this trip was anything but simple. The casualties might be just as staggering as the one the veteran and Cao'er went through."

But before you leave, we'll help you seize that tank.

During the time travel that involved the veterans and the children like Cao'er, only Hu Biao survived and returned to the modern world; the casualties were quite alarming.

Upon hearing this, the other transmigrators' expressions naturally became even more solemn.

However, this did not prevent them from acting swiftly, preparing to take action against the Japanese tanks that were advancing along the way...

******
Two minutes later, the Japanese Type 97 medium tank slowly pulled up to the location in front of the mountain goods store. As it drove along, its 47mm tank gun occasionally swayed left and right.

Although no cannon was fired directly, the dark, gaping barrel was enough to instantly calm the Japanese civilians who were being targeted, bringing them back to their senses.

Then, amidst the shouts and curses, they all stopped in their tracks, covered their heads, and squatted on the ground, displaying an air of complete submission, much like the way tanks have moved.

This scene made the Japanese tank commander, who was leaning halfway out of the turret, feel extremely powerful.

But just as he was passing by a mountain produce shop, a human figure suddenly leaped out of a second-floor window and landed on the steel plate in front of the tank turret with a loud thud.

Startled, the Japanese tank commander tried to shrink back into the tank.

But just as he was about to squat down, a large hand grabbed his collar; with a pull, his 120-pound body was pulled out of the tank like a radish.

And with a swinging motion, he flew up and flew about ten meters before landing.

Unfortunately, the moment he landed, his neck snapped due to hitting his head first, and he died on the spot.

The person who suddenly appeared above was naturally the commander of the old Type 59 tank from the modern world, the number one person in armored warfare for the transmigrator team.

After throwing the Japanese train commander out like a radish, he did not throw a grenade inside as he usually did.

The main problem was that doing it this way in the past resulted in the tanks being covered in a layer of blood and flesh, making it a huge ordeal to stay inside.

Having learned his lesson the hard way, he's become more shrewd now.

Immediately, he inserted a submachine gun in his right hand through the tank turret's entrance and opened fire.

After firing nearly twenty bullets in one go, the remaining three Japanese crew members inside were all killed.

Then the old man immediately climbed into the tank, grabbed the bodies of the Japanese crew members, and handed them out one by one to the tank turret entrance.

At this point, Zhou Ergou also jumped from the second-floor window onto the tank.

They caught the bodies of the Japanese tank crew members who had just been handed over, and together they quickly emptied the inside of the tank.

Later, Zhou Ergou pulled the slow-moving thugs onto the tank and shoved them inside.

This resulted in a three-person crew: Old Che drove the tank, Zhou Ergou operated a machine gun behind the turret, and Da Shou operated a machine gun in front.

During the above process, Lao Yu, Xiao Cui, and Lao Ma naturally wouldn't be idle.

It also played a crucial role in the process of the three old cars vying for the tank.

Even before the old car jumped out of the window, an MG34 general-purpose machine gun and two submachine guns had already opened fire on the twenty-odd Japanese soldiers following behind the tank.

In the blink of an eye, these Japanese soldiers were knocked to the ground by a hail of bullets.

Then, the three men raised their guns slightly and continued to fire wildly at the Japanese soldiers further away, regardless of whether they were Japanese soldiers or civilians who were crouching on the ground with their heads in their hands.

Those Japanese civilians who had just calmed down were instantly killed or wounded in the midst of flying bullets, and they dared not stay in the same place any longer.

They screamed again and began to scatter and flee.

The situation on Nangang Street, which had just begun to improve, was thrown into chaos once again; however, this terrible situation with the Japanese was only the beginning.

There wasn't even time to say a final goodbye to Lao Yu, Lao Ma, and Xiao Cui.

This Type 97 medium tank, destined to leave a huge psychological shadow on the Japanese soldiers in the city, had its three-man tank crew already moving amidst the roar of its engine.

When the old vehicle pressed the control lever, one track remained stationary while the other track began to rotate.

The Type 97 medium tank quickly made a U-turn on the spot.

Zhou Ergou and his henchman each held a Type 92 machine gun with a 7.7mm caliber, more compact design, and a 20-round magazine, ready to fire at the Japanese.

The difference is, before firing the machine gun.

The 1.9-meter-tall thug was huddled in the narrow machine gunner's position, his right sleeve biting down hard in his mouth, while his left hand pulled out a dagger and stabbed it viciously into his right thigh.

There was no way around it! Ever since he attacked Mirong Village, he had felt something was wrong with his toes, which were already somewhat frostbitten.

Just as Xu Feng, based on his pride as a veteran time traveler, didn't say anything even though he had a cold and fever, not wanting to become a burden to everyone, he also endured it and didn't say anything.

The situation has continued to worsen, and now, due to the severe reaction to sepsis, symptoms such as decreased body temperature, rapid breathing, nausea, sharp pain in large joints, and mental confusion have appeared.

Other symptoms are fine, but when you're in a daze, you can't even see the outside objects clearly. How can this be okay?

Left with no other choice, the thugs resorted to this self-harming method.

Moreover, this was only his initial method; in his pocket, he also carried an injection of morphine as his final measure.

Believe it or not! After the knife was plunged in, if the thug hadn't tightly gagged himself with his sleeve, he probably would have screamed in pain; but despite the intense pain, the young man immediately regained his composure.

By this time, the old vehicle had already completed the tank's turnaround.

They revved the engine to its maximum, causing the 15-ton iron behemoth to spin rapidly along its tracks, quickly reaching its top speed of 38 kilometers per hour.

Along Nangang Street, it rampaged like a wild boar that had stormed into a vegetable field.

No matter who's blocking your way, just run them over and crush them.

In addition, each machine gun in the Japanese medium tanks was equipped with 2000 rounds of ammunition; the thugs and Zhou Ergou didn't care about the consumption of ammunition and fired wildly all the way.

I don't ask to kill many Japanese soldiers, but I just want to scare them so badly they wet themselves.

The actions of the three individuals were highly effective, and the riots that had just subsided on Nangang Street quickly escalated to the point of becoming even more severe than before.

During the process, the Japanese soldiers did not do nothing, but they were knocked around by civilians who were running at several times their speed, and even raising their guns to fire was difficult.

Not to mention that they could grab a bag of grenades and blow up this big guy; the crowd trying to stay as far away from the tank as possible didn't give them any chance to get close to it.

By sheer luck, the Type 97 tank driven by the three men became virtually invincible.

Before long, the tank, its tracks and even its outer shell covered in blood and flesh, had already smashed through the crowd and rushed across Nangang Street, the most bustling street in the city.

Upon arriving at the adjacent street, the riot had surprisingly subsided.

Some Japanese civilians, led by some puppet troops and Japanese soldiers, were even demolishing some houses around the puppet provincial government building.

Judging from this, they are preparing to stop the fire from spreading and protect this important part of the city.

However, once Lao Che and the others arrived, the Japanese plan was destined to fall apart, and the tank continued to advance as the tracks spun rapidly.

After killing several Japanese soldiers, it smashed through the wall of the provincial government building and began its forced demolition...

Half an hour later, Hu Biao and several others struggled through the thick snow and arrived at a shrine on a hill outside the city.

Upon arriving, Hu Biao found that Lao Yu and more than a dozen others had already arrived and were waiting for him.

Including Hu Biao, they were able to escape to this place relatively easily thanks to the tank driven by Lao Che, his henchmen, and Zhou Ergou, which caused a ruckus in the city and kept the Japanese soldiers occupied.

That is why countless Japanese regular army units are now chasing and intercepting that tank.

It goes without saying what the final outcome will be for the three of them.

Although they would not hesitate to sacrifice themselves to save their teammates, they would do the same without hesitation when faced with such a situation.

But watching the commotion in the city from afar, the group felt extremely frustrated.

This situation continued until the newcomer, Frost, asked a question:
"Damn it! Are we going to keep waiting here? Also, how are Annie and the others doing? Will they be able to complete their mission successfully?"

"It's 3:41 now. If we wait another 20 minutes, those who haven't arrived will probably never get here. We'll start our retreat then."

After glancing at his watch in the moonlight, Hu Biao made a decision.

He hesitated for a moment, then added, "I don't know if Annie and the others can complete the mission, but they will definitely do their best..."

(End of this chapter)