Courtyard House: Starting in 1938, kill enemies and loot equipment.

The fire at the steel rolling mill burned all night, leaving only a charred ruin after the thick smoke dissipated. Major Matsui was repeatedly reprimanded by his superiors, who then deployed a platoon of Japanese soldiers to garrison the steel rolling mill and ordered all personnel in the surrounding puppet army strongholds to be on high alert, wishing they could turn Beiping upside down to find the "guerrillas" who set the fire.

But the courtyard at No. 95 Nanluoguxiang remained peaceful and serene. Taking advantage of the steel mill's shutdown, Yi Zhonghai and others turned over the vacant land in the courtyard and planted vegetable seeds that Zhou Ye had taken out from the system space; He Daqing brought back some leftover food and snacks from Fuxinglou every day and shared them with the children in the courtyard; the deaf old lady sat under the old locust tree, watching her neighbors busy themselves, a smile always on her lips, but the only thing she looked at Zhou Ye with was a hint of expectation for the younger generation.

In the past few days, Zhou Ye took advantage of the peace and quiet in the courtyard to recuperate, while secretly meeting with Zhao Hu to finalize a new action plan—to intercept and kill the Japanese grain transport team.

The Japanese strongholds around Beiping City were running out of food supplies, and Matsui was urgently trying to transfer food supplies from the city. Zhao Hu's men found out that three days later, at dawn, a food convoy would depart from the Japanese army's granary in the east of the city and transport food to three strongholds around the steel mill. The convoy consisted of five horse-drawn carts and was escorted by a squad of Japanese soldiers and a platoon of puppet troops. The route would pass through the rocky slopes on the outskirts of the city, where the mountain roads were rugged and the perfect place to ambush the enemy.

"The Japanese suffered a loss at the steel mill, so this time they've doubled the number of soldiers escorting them, and they've even added two light machine guns." Zhao Hu squatted in a dilapidated temple on the outskirts of the city, pointing to a simple route map drawn on the ground, his brows slightly furrowed. "My brothers are all roughnecks, good at fighting, but not as good as you at tactics. This time we'll have to rely on Brother Zhou to make the decisions."

Zhou Ye traced the words "Luan Shi Po" with his fingertips, a cold glint in his eyes: "The mountain road here is narrow, and the carriages can only travel in a single file. We'll cut off the front and back, and then block off the mountain roads on both sides, making it impossible for them to escape."

He paused, then said, "You take ten brothers and split into two teams to ambush on both sides of the hilltop. They will be responsible for throwing grenades to block the front and rear routes and suppressing the puppet army's firepower. I will take five men and ambush at the bend at the bottom of the hill to take care of the Japanese machine gunners and commanders. The rest of the brothers will guard the mountain pass to prevent any escapees from running back to Beiping to report the news."

"Great! We'll do it your way!" Zhao Hu slapped his thigh, his eyes full of agreement. "As for weapons, I have a few pistols I bought from the black market, and more than twenty grenades. That should be enough."

"I'll add some more." Zhou Ye said, taking out four submachine guns and ten high-explosive grenades from the system space. "These guns are for your core brothers. Use the high-explosive grenades to blow up the wagons and destroy all the grain. We can't leave any for the Japanese."

Zhao Hu's eyes lit up as he looked at the brand-new submachine guns, and he thanked them repeatedly, saying, "Brother Zhou, you're truly amazing! With these guns, dealing with these bastards will be a piece of cake!"

The two discussed the signal, evacuation route, and timing, and after finalizing all the details, they went back to prepare. When Zhou Ye returned to the courtyard, it was already evening. Lü Bingxin was picking vegetables in the yard with Zhou Xiaocao. Seeing him return, she quickly waved and said, "Brother Zhou, you're back? Go wash up and rest. I've made chicken soup for you tonight to help you recover."

Zhou Ye smiled and agreed, ruffling Zhou Xiaocao's hair. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the deaf old lady sitting on the stone bench, glancing at him seemingly out of the corner of his eye. He stepped forward, bowed, and said, "Grandma, please sit down."

The deaf old woman looked up, pointed to the stone bench beside her, gesturing for him to sit down. Her voice was still hoarse, but every word was clear: "Young man, when it comes to things outside, act according to your ability, but don't be soft-hearted. The Japanese devils are like that; if you retreat one step, they will advance ten."

"Grandson understands." Zhou Ye nodded, knowing in his heart that the old lady had seen through his plan and was giving him a hint.

"The people in the courtyard are all honest people. They can't help you much, but they certainly won't hold you back." The deaf old lady paused, took out a small copper whistle from her bosom, and handed it to Zhou Ye. "This whistle is the one I used when I was young. It has a high-pitched sound that travels far. If you encounter danger during your mission, blow it three times, and someone will come to meet you at Old Man Li's place in the south of the city."

Zhou Ye accepted the bronze whistle with both hands. It was slightly cool to the touch, but his heart was filled with warmth: "Thank you, old lady."

"No need to thank me," the deaf old lady waved her hand, "Protecting the people in the yard, and protecting yourself, is enough."

Three days later, before dawn and while the night was still dark, Zhou Ye changed into a dark-colored short-sleeved shirt, with a short knife and a copper whistle at his waist, and a submachine gun on his back, and quietly left the courtyard. At the alley entrance, Zhao Hu and fifteen brothers were already waiting, all dressed in dark clothes, their faces smeared with soot, their eyes sharp, ready to strike.

A group of sixteen men, under the cover of night, quickly advanced towards the rocky slope. At this time, Beiping City was still asleep, with only the dim lights of the Japanese sentry posts illuminating the area and the occasional shouts of the puppet troops. They were completely unaware that an anti-Japanese force was heading towards their grain transport team.

Half an hour later, the group arrived at the rocky slope. As planned, Zhao Hu led ten men in two teams, who ambushed the rocks on both sides of the slope; Zhou Ye led five men, who lay in ambush at the bend at the bottom of the slope, a narrow passage for the carriages, perfect for a surprise attack; the remaining man stood guard in the woods at the mountain pass.

Zhou Ye activated his basic crisis perception skill, making it easy to discern any movement within a fifty-meter radius. Leaning against a rock, his gaze fixed on the road below the slope, his mind calm and focused solely on preparation for battle. His advanced combat proficiency put his body in peak condition, his finger resting on the trigger of his submachine gun, ready to fire at any moment.

Time ticked by, and the sky gradually turned a pale white, a sliver of light piercing the night and illuminating the rocky slope. Just then, the sounds of horses' hooves and wheels, along with the shouts of the puppet troops, grew ever closer.

"They're here!" Zhou Ye whispered, raising his hand to make a shushing gesture. Everyone held their breath and gripped their weapons tightly.

Soon, five carriages came into view. The first two carriages were escorted by puppet troops, the middle one carried the Japanese commander and two machine gunners, and the last two were also puppet troops. The procession was lined up and slowly made its way towards the bend, completely unaware of the impending danger.

As the first carriage entered the bend and the last carriage reached the top of the slope, Zhou Ye suddenly raised his hand and fired a signal flare.

"Bang!" A red signal flare exploded in the sky, breaking the tranquility of the early morning.

On both sides of the hilltop, Zhao Hu's men immediately sprang into action, hurling dozens of grenades like raindrops onto the road in front of and behind the carriage. Explosions rang out one after another, sending debris flying and smoke billowing everywhere.

The horses on the first carriage were startled, rearing up and neighing, overturning the carriage to the ground. The puppet soldiers were thrown about, crying out in pain. The last carriage was also hit by a grenade, its wheels blown off, and grain was scattered all over the ground. The puppet soldiers scattered in all directions, creating chaos.

"Baka! There's an ambush!" the Japanese commander roared, drawing his sword and trying to organize a counterattack. Two machine gunners immediately set up their machine guns, ready to fire at the top of the hill.

Just then, Zhou Ye and his five men leaped out from behind the rocks at the bend in the road. Submachine guns spat fire, and the "rat-a-tat-tat" of gunfire cut through the smoke. Before the two machine gunners could even pull the trigger, they were riddled with bullets and killed on the spot.

Seeing the machine gunner taken down, the Japanese commander's eyes were filled with terror, yet he remained fierce, brandishing his saber and leading several Japanese soldiers towards Zhou Ye.

Zhou Ye sneered, threw away his submachine gun, drew his short knife from his waist, and charged towards the Japanese soldiers. With his advanced combat skills, his movements were as fast as lightning. His short knife flashed coldly. As soon as a Japanese soldier raised his rifle, Zhou Ye severed his wrist with a single stroke, followed by a swift and clean cut to the throat.

Seeing this, the remaining Japanese soldiers swarmed around, and amidst the flashing blades, Zhou Ye nimbly weaved through them. With each swing of his short sword, he took the life of a Japanese soldier. His skill far surpassed that of the Japanese soldiers, and in no time, several Japanese soldiers lay dead in pools of blood, leaving only the Japanese commander.

The Japanese commander, his eyes filled with despair as he looked at the corpses strewn across the ground, still refused to surrender, brandishing his saber and lunging at Zhou Ye. Zhou Ye dodged to the side, then swung his saber in a backhand strike, stabbing the commander in the shoulder. The Japanese commander screamed in agony, and his saber fell to the ground.

Zhou Ye kicked him to the ground, pressed a short knife against his throat, and asked coldly, "What other plans does Matsui have? Speak!"

The Japanese commander glared, cursing under his breath, but refused to speak. A ruthless glint flashed in Zhou Ye's eyes, and with a slight twist of his wrist, the short knife plunged into the commander's throat, ending his life.

By this time, the battle on the slope was nearing its end. The puppet troops were cowards who feared death, and seeing that all the Japanese soldiers had been dealt with, they dared not resist. They either knelt down and begged for mercy or scattered and fled. Zhao Hu's men showed no mercy and opened fire on the fleeing puppet troops, annihilating all the escorts.

"Quick! Burn all the grain!" Zhou Ye shouted, and everyone immediately sprang into action, dumping the grain from the cart onto the ground, pouring gasoline on it, and lighting matches.

"Boom!" Flames instantly erupted, licking at the grain on the ground, thick smoke billowing straight into the sky. Looking at the raging grain, everyone's faces broke into a triumphant smile.

"Retreat!" Zhou Ye ordered immediately upon seeing that the grain had been set ablaze. The group then ran towards the woods at the mountain pass along the pre-arranged evacuation route.

Just as everyone stepped out of the rocky slope, the roar of cars came from afar—the Japanese reinforcements had arrived!

"Quick! Keep up!" Zhao Hu shouted, and the group quickened their pace, running deeper into the woods. Zhou Ye brought up the rear, occasionally turning back to fire his gun, slowing down the Japanese pursuit.

The Japanese truck stopped at the foot of the rocky slope. Seeing the burning grain and the corpses strewn across the ground, Major Matsui got out, trembling with rage. He drew his sword and hacked at the rocks beside him, roaring, "Zhouye! I know it's you! I will kill you!"

Little did he expect that his elaborate trap, designed to find the arsonist at the steel mill, would backfire, allowing the enemy to exploit the situation, intercept the grain convoy, and destroy all the supplies. He simply couldn't swallow this insult.

But by this time, Zhou Ye, Zhao Hu and the others had already disappeared without a trace under the cover of the woods, leaving only a sea of ​​fire on the rocky slope and Major Matsui's raging fury.

The group fled until they reached an abandoned kiln on the outskirts of the city, where they stopped. Everyone was panting heavily, but their faces were filled with the joy of victory, and they high-fived each other in celebration.

"Brother Zhou, you were amazing! That was a brilliant battle!" Zhao Hu patted Zhou Ye on the shoulder and laughed heartily. "The Japanese suffered heavy losses this time; they've run out of supplies. That bastard Matsui is probably furious!"

Zhou Ye smiled, wiped the sweat from his face, and looked at everyone around him: "Everyone has worked hard. This success is all thanks to the concerted efforts of the brothers."

He took out water and dry rations from his system space and distributed them to everyone: "Rest for a bit, eat something, and then go back when it gets dark."

The group ate and chatted about the battle they had just fought, creating a lively atmosphere. Zhou Ye leaned against the cave wall, gazing at the sky outside, a determined look in his eyes.

Intercepting the grain convoy was just the first battle he and Zhao Hu's team had fought together. Next, he planned to use this momentum to continue attacking the Japanese supply lines, destroying small Japanese strongholds, and gradually weakening the Japanese forces.

It's time for a change in the situation in Beiping.

Meanwhile, in courtyard number 95 of Nanluoguxiang, sunlight streamed into the vegetable patch, where tender green seedlings thrived. Zhou Xiaocao sat on a stone bench, holding a small flower in her hand, gazing towards the doorway, murmuring, "When will my brother come back..."

Lu Bingxin walked over, patted her head, and said with a smile, "It'll be soon. Your brother is a great hero, he will definitely come back safe and sound."

The old locust tree at the entrance of the courtyard, with its lush branches and leaves, swayed gently in the wind, as if it too was waiting for the hero's return.