Rebirth in 1972: Redemption in Changbai Mountain

"Got any wine? Give me a sip." Zhou Rui smiled, without saying whether he could handle it or not.

His physique, after being reborn and transformed, was already far superior to that of an ordinary person, but he had to hide this abnormality.

Once exposed, they will immediately become an outcast in everyone's eyes, with endless consequences.

Gu Dayong glanced at him; Zhou Rui had nothing to warm himself up except for a knife and a gun.

He immediately took a water bag filled with strong liquor from a militia member and tossed it to Zhou Rui.

Zhou Rui reached out and caught it without any hesitation. He tilted his head back and gulped down most of it in a few mouthfuls. The scalding hot liquor slid down his throat and instantly ignited a warm feeling in his stomach.

Before long, the people who had gone out to look for the sled returned, and the campfire in the sheltered spot was blazing.

Chen Dali and Liu Chuang had just settled the three children on the sled and re-tied the ropes, preparing to return home.

Chen Xiaoni suddenly threw off her coat and rushed into Zhou Rui's arms like a startled fawn.

Zhou Rui didn't rush to push her away, but instead patted Chen Xiaoni on the back of the head: "Xiaoni, what's wrong?"

"Brother Rui, I don't want to leave. Can I...can I go with you?" Chen Xiaoni's voice was soft, but it carried an unwavering determination, full of reliance after surviving a disaster.

Zhou Rui knew very well that this was a stress reaction left by the fear and anxiety she had endured on her journey after being abducted by human traffickers, and the intense conflict she had witnessed.

He was an acquaintance of hers and the one who had rescued her from dire straits, so this excessive dependence was entirely reasonable.

Chen Dali and Liu Chuang stood still, gripping the sled rope, and looked at Gu Dayong at the same time, waiting for his instructions.

Gu Dayong turned to look at Zhou Rui and saw him touch Chen Xiaoni's forehead with the back of his hand, then gently shake his head.

"Chen Xiaoni stays behind. Dali immediately takes the other two children to the health center and reports the whole situation here to the team leader."

Gu Dayong didn't waste any more words trying to persuade the child.

Having been through countless battles, he understands the state of post-traumatic stress response better than anyone else.

The safest option right now is to let her stay with someone she trusts.

As soon as the group that was sending the children away left, everyone except the two sentries on guard outside gathered around the campfire.

The two teams, each with their own mission, finally sat down together to verify all the key intelligence.

"...We noticed that the sled tracks on the snow were different, and the sleds were lighter. There were also fewer sleds and animals passing by. That's when we realized something was wrong and immediately turned back."

Zhou Rui, Gu Jiacheng, and Liu Qingguo listened silently with their eyes down until Gu Dayong finished recounting their experiences along the way.

"We have nothing to say." Zhou Rui threw a piece of wood into the fire.

The firewood we found was a bit damp, and when it burned, it produced thick blue smoke.

"After we came out, Da Huang led us this way. We saw your footprints on the way, so we knew we were going in the same direction."

"When we got here, we found these people lying here motionless."

Zhou Rui raised his finger and pointed to the messy marks pressed into the snow, then pointed to the young man next to him who was tied up like a dumpling.

"Then this guy suddenly got up and ran east. I fired a shot. It's good to take away one of their helpers."

"At that time, I didn't know you had already circled back. Looking back now, I realize that the kid couldn't withstand the pressure of being surrounded by enemies and was scared out of his wits."

"Haha..." As soon as the words were spoken, a burst of laughter erupted around the campfire.

Someone else joked, "Zhou Rui, are you a wolf or a tiger?"

"I think he's a lone wolf; it's all of us who are the tigers coming down from the mountain."

After making a ruckus for a while, Gu Dayong finally raised his hand to suppress his laughter.

He knew that everyone's nerves were on edge that night, and it would be good to relax for a while, but they couldn't relax for too long. The principle of leading troops is to alternate between tension and relaxation.

"Two militiamen, take this man away and interrogate him." Gu Dayong didn't tell anyone to treat the prisoner's wounds; in his eyes, the lives of human traffickers were worthless.

As soon as he finished speaking, several people stood up and pushed forward.

Nobody complained that the job was dirty; everyone wanted to vent their anger.

These people have been holding a grudge for a long time because they dared to snatch children on the territory of the Jiaolongxia militia.

"Ruiwa, do you think those shots fired in the ravine were from human traffickers' accomplices, or from the grain thieves?"

After the militiamen led the prisoners away, Gu Dayong turned to look at Zhou Rui.

He already had the answer in his heart, but he still wanted to confirm his judgment with Zhou Rui.

"Dad, I think it's those people who stole the grain."

Before Zhou Rui could speak, Gu Jiacheng interrupted, "On the way here, Da Huang led the way. I kept an eye on the footprints the whole way and didn't see any trace of turning back."

"Besides, we've been chasing these human traffickers for miles, and we've never seen them with long guns, or at least not anything that can fire in rapid succession."

"What's being fired from the mountain valley is rifle fire. The firepower isn't right; human traffickers don't need it and can't handle it."

Gu Dayong listened quietly, his face not showing a smile, but he felt very relaxed inside.

His third son has finally grown up. He can figure things out on his own and speaks eloquently.

It was definitely the right choice to force him away from me and let him follow Zhou Rui. If I had kept him in my hands all this time, he would never have grown up to be someone who could handle anything.

"Yes, that's right, just like I thought." Gu Dayong nodded in praise. "But they didn't use submachine guns later, they used automatic rifles."

"Huh? What's the difference between these two?" Gu Jiacheng frowned, his face full of doubt.

"Yeah, in the movies, submachine guns are always firing nonstop, sweeping down a whole row of Japanese soldiers with a single burst, right?"

"And the machine guns are the same; they seem to have an endless supply of bullets."

The villagers nearby also got excited, and everyone became interested when the topic turned to old movies they had seen.

"Submachine guns, rifles, and machine guns can all fire in bursts. But automatic rifles are more powerful and have a longer range than submachine guns."

Gu Dayong quickly explained the facts to them to prevent them from being misled and suffering a great loss.

"And there are machine guns, which are even more lethal and have a longer range. Don't be fooled by their high accuracy; the continuous barrage of bullets will injure you if you just graz them, and kill you if you get hit. If you see one in the future, stay far away from it."

As they were talking, Zhao Jie suddenly interjected, "Gu Dayong, since these grain thieves have escaped through this valley, why don't we hurry up and chase after them?"

"Who's responsible if the person runs away?"

He was Zhao Changshan's nephew, and he already had a lot of complaints about Zhao Changshan, the militia captain, not personally leading the team out.

Seeing Gu Dayong only talking to Zhou Rui and Gu Jiacheng only made him angrier.

Gu Dayong gave the well-behaved young man a smirk, too lazy to say a word, and turned to look at Chen Ye beside him.

Chen Ye met his gaze and instantly understood that he was being asked to step in and quiet the conversation.

A cold, hard smile appeared on his lips as he raised his hand to brush away the snowflakes clinging to his palm.

Over the past ten years or so, he has felt awkward about Gu Dayong being superior to him.

But the decision not to rashly chase them into the valley was made by the two of them together, and it wasn't up to Zhao Jie, a mere kid, to jump out and interfere.

"This area isn't far from our Jiaolong Gorge. I've been hunting with Dayong for years, so I've naturally scouted this place."

"This valley is a dead end. There may be a few places where people can walk, but livestock and grain will definitely not escape."