Siheyuan: I, Shazhu, started out as an army and became a general.

The Jiefang brand truck bumped along the washboard-like mountain road for three days and three nights.

Forty-five people were crammed into two boxcars, heading north.

He Yuzhu leaned against the corner of the carriage, pretending to doze off, while he could hear his comrades talking in hushed tones.

"I heard that the Americans' planes are incredibly powerful, like they're laying eggs, one bomb can wipe out a whole area."

"What's there to be afraid of! We have cat-ear holes!"

"I heard from Lao Li that North Korea is so cold that it can freeze people to death, and you can even use your pee as an ice pop."

"Holy crap, won't that freeze the whole thing off?"

A suppressed jerk of laughter rose from inside the carriage.

He Yuzhu opened his eyes and glanced outside the car.

The sky was overcast and the distant mountains were covered in snow. The further north you went, the more biting the cold became.

Everyone in the carriage had changed into thick cotton-padded clothes, but they were still shivering from the cold. Only He Yuzhu in the corner remained as steady as an old dog, without even changing his expression.

The physical enhancement brought by the King of Soldiers Engine made him almost insensitive to the cold.

"The Yalu River is just ahead!"

Li Tie's voice came from the front of the train, and the carriage instantly fell silent as everyone craned their necks to look outside.

In the distance, a wide river stretched out before us.

The river was covered with a thick layer of ice, and snow-covered banks stretched out across the water. North Korea lay on the opposite bank.

"Once we cross this river, we'll be part of the Volunteer Army." Li Tie turned around, his piercing gaze sweeping over everyone.

"Remember this, all of you: our code name is the Chinese People's Volunteer Army!"

"We're not going to invade; we're going to help our Korean brothers drive out the invaders!"

"Do you understand?"

"clear!"

The convoy slowly drove onto the Yalu River Bridge, which was riddled with craters. In some places, the bridge deck had even been blown up and was only temporarily repaired with wooden planks. The wheels creaked as they drove over it.

He Yuzhu looked at the thick ice under the bridge and his heart skipped a beat.

This bridge is subjected to relentless bombing raids by US aircraft every day.

This is a damn lifeline that trades human lives for time.

After crossing the river, the convoy continued its rapid southward journey without stopping.

The road conditions were terrible; often there was no road at all, and trucks could only crawl along the dry mountain gullies.

In the middle of the night, the convoy suddenly braked.

"Everyone out of the vehicle! Take cover!"

Li Tie's roar exploded.

He Yuzhu was the first to kick open the car door and jump out, then rushed into the roadside woods with his gun in hand.

The others reacted just as quickly, following closely behind.

Just as I found cover, a piercing scream suddenly ripped through the night sky!

"It's an airplane!" someone shouted in a low voice.

He Yuzhu looked up and saw three US fighter jets flying low overhead like ghosts, clearly conducting armed reconnaissance.

Everyone held their breath instantly, lying motionless in the snow, as if becoming one with the environment.

He Yuzhu's finger rested steadily on the trigger.

In his mind, the King of Soldiers' Engine was running at lightning speed, and the aircraft's flight trajectory, speed, and possible attack range were instantly decomposed into a series of data streams.

A few minutes later, the enemy planes seemed to have gained nothing. After circling once, they roared away into the distance.

"We're safe now." Li Tie got up from the snow. "Let's keep going!"

He Yuzhu emerged from the woods, watched the departing plane, narrowed his eyes, and a murderous aura flashed across his face.

Air superiority.

It's so frustrating not having this thing in our hands. We dare not march during the day, we can only hide by day and move at night, this journey is destined to be difficult.

We traveled for another two days under the cover of night.

The convoy finally arrived at the front-line command post located in the mountain valley.

This is an extremely well-hidden underground bunker, perfectly camouflaged from the outside with branches and snow.

Li Tie led He Yuzhu and others in single file.

The bunker was dark and damp. A huge military map hung on the wall, and a middle-aged officer in an old cotton-padded coat with a dark complexion was staring at the map in a daze.

Upon seeing Li Tie, he suddenly looked up.

"Old Li, we've been waiting for you!"

"Commander Chen!" Li Tie snapped to attention and saluted. "The reconnaissance battalion of forty-five men is fully present and reporting for duty!"

Commander Chen nodded, his gaze sweeping across the ranks like lightning. When he saw He Yuzhu, he frowned.

"Li Tie, did you fucking pull a kid soldier from the greenhorn ranks?"

Li Tie chuckled: "Regimental Commander, don't let his youth fool you, he's the best archer in our battalion!"

As Commander Chen walked up to He Yuzhu, a strong smell of gunpowder wafted towards him.

"What's your name?"

"He Yuzhu!" He Yuzhu straightened his back and his voice boomed.

Commander Chen looked him up and down a few times, then nodded: "Hmm, you have a murderous aura about you."

He turned and pointed to the map, his expression instantly turning serious.

"The current situation is not optimistic!"

"The U.S. 1st Marine Division is assembling in the Chosin Reservoir area. Those bastards are trying to break through from the east, planting a dagger on the banks of the Yalu River!"

"Our superiors have given a direct order: we must hold them off like nails at Chosin Reservoir, buying time for the main force to encircle them!"

He paused mid-sentence, and you could hear a pin drop inside the bunker.

"However, as you know, the US military has superior equipment and firepower, so our casualties will be very high in this battle."

Regiment Commander Chen took a deep breath and looked at Li Tie: "Your reconnaissance battalion's mission is to be a sharp dagger, piercing the enemy's rear! Find out the US military's troop deployment and supply lines!"

"Find their weakness and create opportunities for the final assault! Understand?"

"Understood!" Li Tie roared.

Commander Chen looked at everyone one last time, his voice firm and powerful.

"Comrades, this battle is a fight with a nine-out-of-ten chance of survival!"

"But we must fight, and we must win!"

"Because behind us is our motherland, our parents, and our home!"

"yes!"

The forty-five men roared in unison, their roars seeming to overturn the entire bunker.

That very night, the reconnaissance battalion began its operation.

He Yuzhu led a squad of twelve men to scout the US military's forward positions.

In the snow, a group of people dressed in white camouflage clothing moved stealthily like ghosts.

The temperature has plummeted to minus twenty degrees Celsius, and the cold wind feels like knives cutting into your face.

Some soldiers had frost on their eyelashes, and their breath condensed instantly.

"Captain, there's movement ahead." The scout at the front suddenly made a hand gesture, and everyone immediately ducked down.

He Yuzhu quickly lay down and raised his binoculars.

Three hundred meters away, a patrol of about twenty American soldiers, carrying automatic rifles, was walking along the mountain path, cursing and swearing.

"Captain, what should we do? Go around it?" a soldier asked in a low voice.

He Yuzhu put down the binoculars, and data flashed through his mind.

The enemy's troop strength ratio is 20:12. Our side is in concealment, has favorable terrain, and a clear retreat route...

Three seconds later, he uttered four words.

"The advantage lies with me."

"Huh?" The soldier was taken aback. "Captain, we're reconnaissance soldiers, not the main attack force!"

He Yuzhu gave him a cold glance: "The best reconnaissance is to get the dead to talk. If you can't catch the living, look for clues from the dead."

He looked at the others, his voice not loud, but it carried an undeniable ruthlessness.

"Divide into three groups and flank from the left and right."

"Remember, leave one alive, and take the rest in one go."

"A swift and decisive victory is crucial; don't let them fire signal flares!"

The soldiers looked at each other, but seeing He Yuzhu's emotionless eyes, they gritted their teeth, nodded, and quickly carried out the order.

He Yuzhu personally led four people and stealthily made their way in from the left flank.

The snow became their best silencer.

One hundred meters.

Fifty meters.

Thirty meters!

He Yuzhu suddenly raised his hand and made an attack gesture.

Everyone stopped instantly.

He took a deep breath of the cold air, and the next second, he sprang up like a cannonball!

"Bang!"

A muffled gunshot rang out, and the American soldier at the back of the column was shot between the eyebrows, falling to the ground without uttering a sound.

"Enemy!"

The US military reacted swiftly, immediately raising their guns to locate the target.

But it was too late.

Before he finished speaking, He Yuzhu, like a tiger unleashed from its cage, charged headlong into the enemy ranks!

A vicious elbow strike shattered the nose of an American soldier with a loud crack! A swift backflip sent another American soldier's rifle flying into the air!

In the blink of an eye, three burly American soldiers collapsed to the ground, their fate unknown.

Soldiers from other directions also opened fire at the same time!

Gunshots, screams, and roars mingled together for a moment, then abruptly stopped within two minutes.

Of the twenty American soldiers, nineteen met their demise, leaving only one to be trampled underfoot by He Yuzhu.

He Yuzhu picked him up like a chick.

"Where is the command post?" he asked in broken English.

The prisoner was so terrified he wet himself, trembling like a leaf, nodding frantically.

"Speak!" He Yuzhu's eyes turned cold, and he slapped the prisoner across the face, making his eyes fill with stars.

"It's...it's ten kilometers to the east...a village..." The prisoner confessed everything in a tearful voice, pouring out his confession like beans spilling from a bamboo tube.

He Yuzhu nodded and turned to look at the soldiers who had already cleaned up the battlefield.

"Clean up the traces, then let's go check out their command post."

The soldiers were completely dumbfounded.

One soldier couldn't help but whisper, "Captain, there are only twelve of us. Are we... are we going to take over the command post?"

"Who said there was going to be an attack?" He Yuzhu glanced at him, his tone as indifferent as if he were asking what they were having for dinner.

"We're going on a reconnaissance mission."

He paused, a cold smile curving his lips.

"Of course, if the opportunity arises, it's not out of the question to take it along the way."

The soldiers were all petrified.

Is this what you call reconnaissance?

This is fucking open-world combat!

But seeing He Yuzhu's matter-of-fact expression, no one dared to say another word.

They quickly cleaned up the scene, took the prisoners, and disappeared again into the vast snowy night.

In the distance, from the direction of Changjin Lake, the faint sound of cannon fire could be heard.

The real war has only just begun.