Courtyard House: Home Alone

Lin Yifan and Li Yunlong remained hidden, patiently waiting. Not long after, Wei Heshang returned and reported in a low voice, "Commander, there are thirteen Japanese soldiers in total. One is at a machine gun post, and the rest are resting in a dilapidated temple; they seem to be grilling something."

Li Yunlong licked his lips, seemingly smelling the aroma of meat: "Damn it, those little devils know how to enjoy themselves! Brother Yifan, what's your idea?"

Lin Yifan thought for a moment and said, "Get closer, I'll just take them out with grenades, then you guys come with me and rush in to finish them off. Let's finish this quickly and don't give them a chance to react."

"This...this is all done with grenades! Won't the machine guns be destroyed?" Li Yunlong said hurriedly.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of the machine gun crew with a knife. I guarantee it won't break." After saying that, he made a hand gesture.

Lin Yifan took a deep breath and darted out like a ghost, quickly approaching the machine gun post under the cover of night and trees.

He had no gun, only a bayonet he had captured from a Japanese soldier. Nearby, two Japanese machine gunners were idly smoking, completely unaware of their impending doom.

Lin Yifan pounced like a cheetah, his right hand flashing out a bayonet, precisely severing the throats of two Japanese soldiers. The soldiers collapsed to the ground without even uttering a sound.

The entire process was clean and efficient, without making a single unnecessary sound. Li Yunlong and Wei Heshang were dumbfounded; this skill was faster than a ghost!

Then, Lin Yifan made a thought and pretended to wave his hand, and three grenades appeared at the feet of the other eleven Japanese soldiers.

The Japanese soldiers, who were eating barbecue, were not paying attention to their feet when three violent explosions rang out in succession, "Boom! Boom! Boom!" which made the entire valley tremble.

Before the Japanese soldiers in the dilapidated temple could react, they were blown away by the towering flames and shockwaves. Limbs and burning chunks of flesh flew everywhere, and the once intact temple was instantly turned into a sea of ​​fire.

Some of the Japanese soldiers who were grilling meat were blown to pieces, while others were slammed against the wall by the shockwave of the explosion, coughing up blood and convulsing to their deaths.

The air was thick with the pungent smell of gunpowder and burnt meat, making everyone want to vomit. Li Yunlong and Wei Heshang's eyelids twitched; this kid was throwing grenades like they were stones, and with such accuracy!

Lin Yifan had already charged out like an arrow released from a bow, the bayonet in his hand gleaming with a chilling light in the firelight.

He kicked open the still-burning temple door, his eyes flashing like lightning as he scanned the ruins for any survivors.

Several Japanese soldiers who were lucky enough not to be killed directly by the explosion, but only stunned, had just slowly regained consciousness and hadn't even had a chance to scream when Lin Yifan accurately delivered a fatal blow, completely extinguishing their lives.

The whole process was so fast it was dazzling; from the moment Lin Yifan made his move to the end of the battle, it only took a dozen seconds.

Li Yunlong and Wei Heshang finally realized what was happening and hurriedly followed. Looking at the mess and the corpses of the Japanese soldiers, Li Yunlong swallowed hard and patted Lin Yifan on the shoulder: "Brother Yifan, your...your efficiency is unparalleled!"

Wei Heshang ran to the machine gun that Lin Yifan had "guaranteed wouldn't break," carefully inspected it, and exclaimed with delight, "Commander! It really isn't broken! Not a single screw is missing!"

Lin Yifan sheathed his bayonet, a slight smile playing on his lips, and said, "Let's go, don't waste time."

It was as if the terrifying explosion and carnage just now were nothing more than clearing away a few stumbling blocks for him.

Looking at his slightly thin but unusually upright back, Li Yunlong felt a surge of complex emotions again. What had this child gone through to be able to treat human life as worthless, yet still kill Japanese soldiers?

He shook his head, no longer thinking about it, and called to Monk Wei, "Monk, carry the machine gun! And gather all the usable bullets! Don't let the Japanese get away with it!"

Wei the Monk responded loudly and excitedly began packing up his spoils. Soon, the two caught up with Lin Yifan and disappeared into the vast night.

This little incident seemed to bring the three of them even closer. Li Yunlong no longer regarded Lin Yifan merely as an "important person" who needed to be escorted, but from the bottom of his heart regarded him as a brother who could fight alongside him.

Lin Yifan gradually felt the team's cohesion and Li Yunlong's unique charm.

Finally, around 10 p.m., they saw the outline of Zhaojiayu in the distance by the moonlight.

On the way into the village, sentries were on guard. Upon seeing Li Yunlong and Wei Heshang, they immediately greeted them warmly: "Commander! Heshang! You're back!"

Li Yunlong waved his hand and said, "He's back! Go tell Political Commissar Zhao that I brought back Brother Lin Yifan, whom headquarters specifically requested!"

The sentries looked at Lin Yifan with curiosity, wondering what kind of background this seemingly young boy had that made the commander take him so seriously.

Entering Zhao Jia Yu, the village was quiet, with most villagers fast asleep. Li Yunlong led Lin Yifan straight to the regimental headquarters, which was a slightly larger adobe house.

As soon as I arrived at the entrance, a refined-looking man in his thirties came out to greet me. He was Zhao Gang, the political commissar of the Independent Regiment.

Zhao Gang frowned when he saw Li Yunlong: "Old Li, can you give me a break? You ran off with the monk without a word, and I was pacing around at home worried sick. Now that you're finally back, I can finally go back and get some sleep."

Li Yunlong laughed heartily: "Don't worry, who are you, Old Li? How could anything happen to you? Besides, I brought back a great treasure!" With that, he pulled Lin Yifan in front of Zhao Gang.

"Old Zhao, this is the Lin Yifan brother mentioned in the headquarters' report!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Gang's eyes flashed with surprise. He carefully examined Lin Yifan and extended his hand: "Comrade Lin Yifan, hello, I am Zhao Gang, the political commissar of the Independent Regiment. Welcome to the Independent Regiment."

Lin Yifan also extended his hand and shook hands with Zhao Gang: "Political Commissar Zhao, hello."

Zhao Gang's hands were strong, and his eyes were full of gentleness and curiosity.

Li Yunlong chimed in, "Old Zhao, you have no idea how amazing Brother Yifan is! Yesterday in the county town, he single-handedly took down dozens of Japanese soldiers and puppet troops. His marksmanship is simply divine; from 400 meters away, he fired five shots in three breaths, each hitting a vital spot! And just now on the road, we took down a small Japanese stronghold, and Brother Yifan's skills were simply..."

Li Yunlong recounted his experiences from yesterday and today in great detail, making Zhao Gang's eyes light up. Zhao Gang looked at Lin Yifan with admiration and praise: "Comrade Lin Yifan, truly a young hero!"

Lin Yifan smiled somewhat embarrassedly: "Political Commissar Zhao, you flatter me. I just did what I was supposed to do."

Zhao Gang patted him on the shoulder: "Good! Humble and cautious, a good prospect! You must be tired from your journey, take a good rest first, and I'll have the cooks prepare something nice for you tomorrow."

Li Yunlong chimed in, "That's right! Brother Yifan, you go and rest first. Old Zhao and I have some things to discuss."

Lin Yifan nodded and followed a soldier to rest.