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

96. Never abandon, never give up

On the shore, on the observation platform.

General Wang Kangmei held up the binoculars, his hand steady, but his knuckles were white.

Beside him, a young staff officer whispered, "Sir, this...isn't this beyond the scope of the assessment? Should we stop it?"

General Wang Kangmei looked at the two fighting figures in the middle of the river.

Watching the splashes of water.

Watching that almost savage, yet vibrant confrontation.

Then, he put down the binoculars and slowly said:

"Suzhou River, 1937."

"The Japanese 10th Army landed at Jinshanwei and outflanked the rear of the Songhu defenders."

"To cover the retreat of the main force, a platoon of thirty-seven men held off an entire Japanese company at a small bridge over the Suzhou River."

"There were no fortifications, no heavy weapons, only rifles and grenades."

"They fought for four hours."

Finally, they ran out of ammunition and food.

"The Japanese troops launched a bayonet charge."

"Thirty-seven brothers, fix bayonets and charge back!"

He paused:

"They all died in battle."

"Not a single one survived."

"But their resistance bought the rear six precious hours. At least two divisions' main forces were able to withdraw from the encirclement."

Wang Kangmei turned to look at the staff officer:

"So, let them fight."

"This is... the real selection process."

"Because on the battlefield in 1937, there were no referees, no rules, and no 'outside the box'."

"There is only life and death."

In the middle of the river, the intensity of the struggle, after reaching its peak, inevitably began to decline.

Extreme physical exhaustion begins to dominate the body.

Lei Xiong and Xu Le's movements became sluggish and stiff, and they made frequent mistakes.

Every punch, every block, was accompanied by excruciating muscle-tearing pain.

After another struggle, the two separated, standing two meters apart, their chests heaving as they gulped down the cold air mixed with the smell of gunpowder.

Sweat and river water rolled down their faces.

"Do you want me to... hit you again...?" Xu Le asked, panting heavily, his scars turning red from the force.

Lei Xiong grinned, trying to laugh, but the movement pulled at his cracked lip, causing him to wince in pain, making him look more like a ferocious trapped beast.

He spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva: "Hit..."

"Why?" Xu Le stared at him.

Lei Xiong took a deep breath, as if using up his last bit of strength. He turned his head and looked towards the mudflats. A pure smile bloomed on Lei Xiong's face, which was covered in blood and water stains:

"Because...my brothers...are about to reach the shore."

"I've held you back..."

"I...completed the mission."

Xu Le fell silent.

He followed Lei Xiong's gaze and saw the four figures struggling to swim towards the landing beach.

He turned back and looked at the giant man standing in the river like a mountain, who refused to fall even though he was about to collapse.

He saw in the other person's eyes a flame of "responsibility" and "protection" that had never been extinguished even in extreme exhaustion.

He was all too familiar with that firelight. Every true soldier could recognize it.

"What's your name?" Xu Le's voice was hoarse, but much calmer.

"Thunder Bear".

Which unit?

"Army, 82nd Group Army, Special Operations Brigade."

Xu Le nodded. Scarface's face was expressionless, but something deep in his eyes stirred.

He took a step back and dropped his fighting stance.

"You win," he said.

Lei Xiong was stunned for a moment, seemingly not reacting to this sudden declaration of victory.

"Your mission was to cover your teammates as they reached the shore," Xu Le stated calmly. "You did it, in your own way. So, you won, and I won't stop you anymore."

He paused, looked at Lei Xiong's almost unsteady body, and added, his tone even bordering on sincere:

"But I must remind you that you've wasted too much time and energy here. Even if I step aside now, given your current condition and the remaining distance, the possibility of you crossing the river within the allotted time is... extremely slim."

Lei Xiong wiped his face, which was mixed with blood and water: "...Thanks for reminding me."

Then, he stopped looking at Xu Le and turned to face the mudflats.

There was no roar, no charging posture.

He simply adjusted his breathing, adopting a standard freestyle posture that was almost clumsy, yet remarkably firm.

Start paddling forward, one stroke at a time.

Despite being completely exhausted, and despite feeling like my arms were made of lead.

But he's still swimming.

Xu Le stood in the water, watching Lei Xiong's back.

Watching that enormous body move forward with difficulty but determination in the river.

He took a deep breath and then made a decision.

He swam toward Thunder Bear.

It's not about obstruction.

It means side by side.

"You..." Lei Xiong turned his head and saw Xu Leyou standing beside him, and was stunned.

"Shut up," Xu Le said, his voice cold, but his eyes burning. "Go on swimming."

"Why..." Lei Xiong asked, panting.

"Because I can't stand seeing people work so hard," Xu Le said. "Even more, I can't stand... people who work so hard losing because of time."

He paused:

"Besides, you're in the army, and I'm in the navy."

"An army soldier who can't swim can swim like this in the Yangtze River..."

"I admire you."

Lei Xiong wanted to laugh, but couldn't—he was too tired.

He simply nodded and continued swimming.

Two men, one a top-ranking soldier in the army and the other a scarred company commander in the Marine Corps, swam side by side across the Yangtze River at dawn.

There was no dialogue.

There were only the sounds of paddling, panting, and the flowing river.

Like two ships sailing side by side through the waves.

ashore.

Jin Sheng, Li Huai, Wang Jin, and Tan Ming have successfully logged in.

They collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath.

But nobody celebrated.

Everyone turned around and looked at the river.

I looked at the two figures still struggling to move forward in the water.

"Lei Xiong..." Jin Sheng scrambled to his feet, his eyes fixed on the river. "Hurry...hurry..."

Li Huai adjusted his glasses: "The water current is three meters per second. He's currently 180 meters from the shore. At his current speed..."

He quickly did mental calculations:

"It's too late..."

Wang Jin suddenly stood up.

This usually taciturn demolition expert, with bloodshot eyes, glanced at the river and made a decision.

He walked towards the riverbank.

"What are you doing?" Jin Sheng asked.

Wang Jin did not answer.

only--

jumped down.

"Wang Jin!" Li Huai exclaimed.

But Wang Jin had already jumped into the river and swam towards Lei Xiong.

Jin Sheng paused for two seconds, then was about to jump as well.

"Are you crazy?!" Li Huai grabbed him. "You've already reached the finish line! If you go back into the water, what if something happens..."

Jin Sheng looked at Li Huai, his eyes equally bloodshot:

"We agreed—"

"Never abandon, never give up."

Li Huai stood still.

He looked into the river and saw Wang Jin and Jin Sheng swimming desperately toward Lei Xiong.

He adjusted his glasses.

This tactical expert, known for his rationality, was currently working at lightning speed:

If we go into the water now to help Lei Xiong, the entire team might be deemed to have failed because "not all members arrived within the allotted time".

If he doesn't go down, Lei Xiong is likely to exceed the time limit and be eliminated.

Reason told him: Don't go. Preserve the group's score.

but……

"Some things..."

"More important than rationality."

"That's the spirit of a soldier."

With a splash, he jumped into the river.

In the middle of the river.

Lei Xiong is nearing his end.

My vision started to blur, I couldn't lift my arms, and my breathing was like a bellows.

But he's still swimming.

Because the finish line is there.