Bright Sword: I built Italian cannons for Li Yunlong

Zhou Zhen visited him every day, carefully cleaning the wound with his homemade boric acid solution, but without effective antibacterial drugs, all of this seemed to be in vain.

On the evening of the fourth day, Tiger's breathing suddenly became rapid, and his face turned an unnatural flush. The old army doctor touched his forehead, looked at the swelling spreading around the wound, and shook his head heavily.

"The inflammation has entered the bloodstream... We've run out of sulfonamides." The old military doctor's voice was very low.

"Now... it's all up to fate."

The other lightly wounded men around them silently lowered their heads.

They all knew that in the base area where medical care and medicine were scarce, a serious infection of a wound was almost a death sentence.

Zhou Zhen stood beside Hu Zi's sleeping mat, his fists clenched tightly, his knuckles turning white from the force.

He has a complete understanding of sulfonamide synthesis processes and the principles of penicillin preparation.

But all of this requires time, equipment, and raw materials to achieve.

But Tiger had no time left.

At this moment, he deeply felt this sense of powerlessness. This was the real world, without magic or a system.

Even if he is a time traveler, he cannot forcibly reverse his fate on his own.

In the early hours of the fifth day, a slight commotion suddenly broke out in the wounded soldiers' camp.

Zhou Zhenben hadn't been sleeping soundly, so he immediately put on his clothes and got up.

Tiger is awake!

The young soldier, who had been unconscious for several days, suddenly opened his eyes and seemed much more lucid.

He rolled his eyes, looking at Zhou Zhen and the old military doctor who had gathered around him, and even tried to force a smile.

But everyone present felt a sinking feeling in their hearts.

This is a final burst of energy before death!

Tiger seemed to have sensed something as well.

His lips moved, emitting a faint sound.

Zhou Zhen quickly knelt down and took his cold hand in his.

"Advisor Zhou...Advisor Zhou..." Tiger's voice was very soft, and each word required a great deal of effort to utter.

"Thank you...for taking care of me these past few days..."

"Don't talk, save your energy." Zhou Zhen's voice trembled slightly.

Tiger shook his head gently, his eyes gradually becoming unfocused, yet he forced himself to gather the last bit of light.

He looked at Zhou Zhen and asked the question that had been weighing on his mind for a long time.

"Advisor Zhou...you are so knowledgeable...do you think...we...can really drive the Japanese away?"

At this moment, the entire wounded soldiers' camp was completely silent.

All eyes were on Zhou Zhen.

She could feel Tiger's hand trembling slightly in her palm, the warmth slowly fading away.

Zhou Zhen gripped that hand tightly, leaned down, and said, word by word, in an extremely firm and unquestionable tone:

"Yes! It's definitely possible!"

His voice was exceptionally clear in the quiet room.

"We will definitely drive out the Japanese devils, and the revolution will surely triumph! Tiger, don't you think I know a lot? That's because I once had a very long dream, a dream that looked into the future decades from now."

Everyone around was stunned.

"In that dream, I saw with my own eyes that the revolution was victorious, the Japanese devils were driven away, and all of China was liberated."

Zhou Zhen's voice was steady and powerful, as if he were stating an established fact.

"The people were allocated land, factories were built, and their lives are getting better day by day."

"Children can go to school, have medicine when they are sick, and have warm clothes to wear in winter... I learned all my skills in that dream."

A glimmer of light seemed to flash in Tiger's dim eyes.

"So, Tiger, you must hold on and get through this!" Zhou Zhen gripped his hand tightly.

"When you get better, I'll take you to eat chocolate and drink cola..."

Tiger forced a smile upwards, a smile that was extremely difficult but genuine.

He murmured in a barely audible whisper:

"I...I really want to try...chocolate...and cola..."

"That would be... wonderful..."

The sound gradually faded, and finally disappeared into the deepest darkness before dawn.

The hand that Zhou Zhen was holding slowly loosened its last bit of strength.

Zhou Zhen knelt there motionless for a long time before gently placing Hu Zi's hand back on his chest and pulling up the tattered, patched-up quilt for him.

Suppressed sobs could be heard from all around.

A young medic turned his face away, his shoulders shaking violently.

Zhou Zhen stood up and walked out of the wounded soldiers' camp.

Before dawn, only a pale, fish-belly white light shone in the east.

The mountain wind was biting, but he didn't feel the cold.

Because at this moment, a blazing fire was burning in his chest—it was anger, grief, and an impulse that almost burst out of his body.

He wanted to grab his gun immediately, rush to the Japanese stronghold, and drag those bastards out one by one, making them pay for their crimes in blood.

But he knew even better that anger wouldn't solve the underlying problem.

What Tiger needs is not a vow of revenge, but a sulfonamide that can reduce inflammation and fever, a complete battlefield medical system, and a series of weapons that can quickly eliminate the enemy and protect the revolutionary fighters.

"Comrade Zhou Zhen."

Zhao Gang's voice came from behind.

Zhou Zhen did not turn around, but just stared at the gradually brightening sky.

"I heard everything." Zhao Gang walked to his side, his voice low. "Your 'dream' was very well said."

"The soldiers need hope, they need a future they can see."

"That wasn't just something I said to them." Zhou Zhen finally turned his head, his eyes bloodshot but his gaze sharp.

"Political Commissar Zhao, I will make that 'dream' a reality."

Zhao Gang was also taken aback by the certainty in the young man's words; he had never seen such confidence and certainty before.

The path of revolution was destined to be arduous and tortuous, although he firmly believed that he could drive the Japanese invaders out of China.

But he discovered that his determination was different from Zhou Zhen's.

Zhao Gang's conviction is a kind of unwavering faith.

He was willing to give everything, including his own life, for ultimate victory.

But he still has worries and uncertainties about when or if victory will finally come.

But in Zhou Zhen's eyes, he saw not a trace of confusion.

That certainty, just as he had just said, was as if he had truly dreamt of the future and witnessed the final victory.

However, the thought had barely crossed my mind when I quickly suppressed it.

"How could I, a materialist, have such thoughts?"

Because of what happened today, Zhou Zhen lost the desire to continue chatting with Zhao Gang.

After leaving the wounded soldiers' camp, he forced himself to calm down and think about what he could do.

His observations in the wounded soldiers' camp over the past few days made him realize that boric acid solution is not a panacea.

As a weak disinfectant, it is not ideal for disinfecting deeper wounds, and boric acid is toxic; excessive use may lead to poisoning.

We must get a better disinfectant.

Limited by the conditions of the base area, it would be time-consuming and laborious to synthesize it ourselves, so it would be better to rob it from the Japanese.

Engaging in "side hustles" has always been Li Yunlong's forte.

Moreover, he knew that Li Yunlong and Kong Jie had been eyeing the cavalry unit in the puppet army for the past few days.

As a cavalry training ground, it would naturally have ample medical supplies.

Compared to the Japanese soldiers, dealing with these puppet troops and traitors was obviously much easier.

However, in order to minimize casualties, Zhou Zhen planned to give Li Yunlong a "big gift".