Not enough Japanese devils to kill? 1.4 billion people volunteer for the Battle of Shanghai.

The engines of the Qilin tanks roared simultaneously, separating them by about fifty meters, forming an equilateral triangle.

However, the turrets were positioned to form a perfect crossfire network.

The turret of vehicle 101 is pointing northeast.

Car 102 is pointing northwest.

Car 103 is heading southwest.

Each tank's coaxial machine gun—a 12.7mm heavy machine gun—is responsible for covering the overlapping areas of adjacent quadrants.

This formation is not for mobility or for launching attacks.

It is for the purpose of—

Hold firm.

The goal is to maximize firepower density with minimal movement.

This was to tell the charging Japanese soldiers:

This road is blocked.

Those who enter—

dead.

At the same time, the vanguard of the Japanese 34th Regiment had entered firing range.

From the northeast, a small Japanese detachment was the first to leap out from behind a cluster of burned-down shops.

Ten Japanese soldiers, lined up in skirmish formation, with their backs bent and rifles pointed forward, quickly maneuvered to the flank of vehicle number 101.

Their objective was clear: to take advantage of the time difference when the turret of vehicle No. 101 turned northeast and could not temporarily attend to its flanks and rear, to quickly close in and launch an attack from the side or rear.

Good idea.

but--

"102, northeast flank, 11 o'clock position, skirmisher squad." The anvil's voice was calm.

"I see," the embroiderer replied even more briefly.

next second.

The remote weapon station on top of the turret of vehicle number 102, with its 12.7mm anti-aircraft machine gun, quickly leveled its barrel and aimed at the northeast direction.

The fire control computer has automatically locked onto the target.

The embroiderer pressed the firing button.

Rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat—! ! !

But he did not fire immediately.

He is waiting.

Wait until they climb a little closer.

Wait until they climb into a... better kill zone.

Fifty meters.

The sergeant engineer made a hand gesture: Prepare the explosive charge.

Ten Japanese soldiers simultaneously removed the grenade bundles from their bodies, unscrewed the safety caps, and prepared to pull the pins.

At that very moment—

The turret of vehicle number 101 suddenly turned around.

It's not using the main gun.

It uses a smoke grenade launcher.

boom--!

A smoke grenade was fired in all directions around the area where the Japanese troops were lying prone.

Thick white smoke rose instantly, enveloping an area of ​​thirty meters in radius.

The Japanese soldiers were stunned: What kind of tactic is this? Using smoke to cover us?

But the next second, they found out.

A light shone through the smoke.

It's not an ordinary lamp.

It is an infrared searchlight.

The Qilin tank's thermal imager can see heat sources through smoke. Infrared lights are used to indicate targets for other equipment.

But the anvil was used for something else.

"102, 103," he said over the comms. "Smoke area, full coverage fire."

"receive."

"receive."

The weapon stations of vehicles 102 and 103 opened fire simultaneously.

But this time, it's not aimed at a specific target.

It's a coverage shot.

The 12.7mm machine gun indiscriminately swept through the smoke-filled area.

Bullets rained down like a storm.

Screams could be heard from within the smoke.

A brief, rapid, and then abruptly stopped scream.

Some Japanese soldiers tried to break through the smoke, but they were riddled with bullets as soon as they appeared.

At this moment, a seasoned Japanese corporal reacted quickly.

He knew something was wrong when he heard the first burst of machine gun fire.

He immediately fell to the ground, his arms and legs outstretched, his face buried in the mud, and remained motionless.

Playing dead.

however--

He underestimated the power of the coaxial machine gun and the fire control accuracy of the Kirin tank weapon station.

When the fire control system detected suspicious heat signals still in the area where the corporal had "died"—

The machine guns at the weapons station gave him a second round of focused "attention" to the area within five meters of where he was lying.

Da da da da—!

The hard, scorched earth was blasted apart!

Broken clods of earth, stones, shrapnel, and metal fragments left over from the previous explosion shot out in all directions like exploding shrapnel!

The corporal felt as if his back, thighs, and the back of his head were being struck repeatedly by countless hard and hot objects!

A palm-sized, sharp-edged piece of broken brick spun like a flying knife and sliced ​​into the back of his neck, almost severing his entire neck!

He tried to scream, but with most of his neck cut open, he could only make a hissing, gasping sound.

He tried to move, but his spine was damaged, and he had no feeling in his lower body.

He could only lie there, feeling his life slowly slip away with the blood and excruciating pain.

It was truly worse than death.

In the smoke, Sergeant-in-Chief Yamada Ichiro was tightly clutching a specially made large explosive pack.

"Black Card Uproar - Banzai -!!"

He hissed and lit the short, sparking fuse at the top of the explosive charge.

Then, he took a deep breath, stood up abruptly from the crater, and rushed out.

Then--

The coaxial machine guns were aimed at him.

Rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat—! ! !

Three seconds after standing up, Yamada disintegrated in mid-air.

The head exploded first, scattering red and white particles everywhere.

He couldn't even let out a complete scream.

Only the still-burning explosive charge remained, detached from his severed hand, tracing an arc before landing with a thud on the edge of the crater.

It fell down next to... several other Japanese soldiers.

Three Japanese soldiers were still alive in the shell crater.

One of them is Private First Class Kobayashi, eighteen years old, from Osaka, who has only been in the army for three months. He loves to make witty remarks, but he is actually quite timid.

On one side was Private First Class Watanabe, 25 years old, a fisherman from Hokkaido, taciturn but quick and efficient.

On the other side was Sergeant Nakamura, thirty years old, also a seasoned veteran. He was the one who pulled Kobayashi and Watanabe into this relatively deep crater.

The three Japanese soldiers had just witnessed Sergeant Yamada raising a bomb, shouting "Banzai!", and then instantly turning into a sky full of blood and flesh fireworks.

They were all terrified.

My mind went completely blank.

My ears were ringing; it was temporary deafness caused by a loud gunshot at close range.

They lay on the ground, trembling, barely daring to breathe.

until--

The still-burning explosive charge fell to the ground in front of them with a thud.

It was less than 30 centimeters from Kobayashi's face.

Chi Chi Chi -!

The sound of the fuse burning was like a thunderclap to the three temporarily deaf people!

Kobayashi was the first to see it.

He lay on the ground, his face turned to the side, his eyes fixed on the explosive charge.

He watched the fuse shorten, sparking and emitting white smoke.

Looking at the Japanese markings on the surface of the explosive charge that read "For engineers only, handle with care".

Look... the fuse has burned to its limit.

He was stunned.

Two full seconds.

The brain cannot process the information at hand.

Then, his lips moved unconsciously.

"あれ?" (Eh?)

That catchphrase, spoken with an Osaka accent, full of confusion and bewilderment.

Watanabe saw it too.

He was slightly calmer than Kobayashi—or rather, a little more stunned by fear.

He blinked, looked at the explosive charge, then looked up at Xiaolin, and then back at the explosive charge.

His lips moved as well:

"what?"

His tone was filled with disbelief and a sense of absurdity, as if to say, "Are you fucking kidding me?"

Sergeant Nakamura was the last to react.

He was older and more experienced, which made him understand even more the power of the thing in front of him, and... their current predicament.

He stared at the explosive charge that was so close, its fuse already burned out.

Looking at the expressions on the faces of his two young subordinates, a mixture of fear, confusion, and absurdity.

Then I recalled the stupid scene where Sergeant Yamada held up this thing, shouted "Banzai!" and then died instantly.

The corner of the seasoned sergeant's mouth twitched uncontrollably.

Then, a thought popped into his blank mind:

Sergeant...

What the hell is this...?

What a terrible teammate!!!

The thought had barely crossed my mind—

The explosives have detonated.

boom--!!!!