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

The news of the successful interception of the grain convoy spread like wildfire throughout the underground anti-Japanese strongholds in Beiping. Even Old Man Li, who ran a general store in the south of the city, sent a message to Zhou Ye praising his brilliant victory. But behind this elation lay Major Matsui's almost insane desire for revenge. The Japanese and puppet troops in Beiping began an unprecedentedly tight control. City gates, streets, and major transportation routes were filled with heavily armed Japanese and puppet troops. Anyone acting suspiciously was arrested and interrogated. The entire city of Beiping was shrouded in a gloomy atmosphere.

Although the courtyard at No. 95 Nanluoguxiang remained peaceful, a sense of tension had crept in. He Daqing would always bring back news from the city after returning from Fuxinglou: "I heard that bastard Matsui has gone mad, offering a bounty of silver dollars for the capture of the grain-destroying team. Their portraits are plastered all over the alleyways; thankfully, they don't look like Brother Zhou at all." "The puppet army stronghold in the east of the city has been reinforced; even the small roads in the suburbs are patrolled by Japanese soldiers. You have to take a detour when you go out."

Yi Zhonghai and the others dared not chat casually about factory matters anymore. They went back to the courtyard after get off work, locking the gate early and leaving only one dim light on, for fear of attracting unnecessary attention. Zhou Ye knew that Matsui had suffered two major losses and would not let it go easily. He would definitely set a trap to lure him out. During this time, he was even more cautious, staying in the courtyard during the day to organize weapons and plan subsequent actions. He only went out at night using stealth techniques to meet with Zhao Hu and exchange messages, never lingering outside.

Sure enough, three days later, Zhao Hu sent a trusted confidant with an urgent message: Matsui had used the pretext of "the steel rolling mill urgently needing porters to resume operations" to recruit idle people around the steel rolling mill. In reality, he had set up a large ambush in the wheat fields outside the factory area. He also deliberately spread rumors that the steel rolling mill was being transported in with a batch of high-quality military equipment from the Northeast. It was clear that he wanted to lure Zhou Ye into a trap.

"That old bastard has gotten smarter; he knows to use weapons as bait." Zhou Ye gripped the letter, his fingers tightening slightly, causing several creases in the paper. "He must have calculated that I wanted weapons and wanted to capture me in one fell swoop."

Zhao Hu rushed over, his face grave: "Brother Zhou, this is clearly a trap. The wheat field is surrounded by open ground. If the Japanese are lying in ambush inside, we'll be like lambs to the slaughter. We absolutely cannot go in."

Zhou Ye shook his head, his gaze falling on the words "superior weaponry" on the letter, a glint of light flashing in his eyes: "Matsui thought I would try to force my way in for the weapons, but he overlooked one thing—his ambush was also his Achilles' heel."

He drew a simple topographical map on the table, pointing to the locations of the steel mill and the wheat field, and said, "The wheat field is next to the back wall of the steel mill's raw material area. Matsui has moved his main forces to the wheat field to set up an ambush, so the defenses inside the steel mill must be weak, especially the armory he's hiding in the factory's office building. It must be poorly defended now. Instead of breaking into the ambush in the wheat field, we should take advantage of the situation and destroy his armory, then set it on fire to cut off his supply lines."

Zhao Hu's eyes lit up, and he slapped his thigh, saying, "Brilliant! This feint attack will never have caught that bastard Matsui off guard! But what about the ambush troops in Mugita? If we take the armory and they come to reinforce, won't we be caught in a pincer attack?"

"This requires someone to help us lure the ambush." ​​Zhou Ye's lips curled into a cold smile. "Old Li knows a few porters in the north of the city. They were all forced to lose their families by the Japanese and have been looking for a chance to take revenge for a long time. Have them take some firecrackers and torches and make noise in the grove west of the wheat field, pretending to be about to ambush the ambush. Matsui's ambush will definitely be lured there. We can take advantage of this gap to sneak into the steel mill through the hole in the back wall of the raw material area and finish the job quickly."

With the plan finalized, everyone immediately split up to carry out their tasks. Zhou Ye returned to the courtyard to prepare, and made a special trip to the backyard to see the deaf old lady, briefly explaining the plan to her. After listening, the old lady took out a small iron key from under the kang mat and handed it to Zhou Ye: "The hole in the back wall of the raw material area of ​​the steel mill was left by workers sneaking out of the factory years ago. This key can open the small iron gate in the back wall of the raw material area; it's faster and quieter than drilling through the hole."

Zhou Ye felt a warmth in his heart, took the key, bowed and thanked her, "Thank you very much, Grandma. Your grandson will certainly live up to your expectations."

"Remember, know when to quit while you're ahead, don't linger." The old woman's cloudy eyes were full of advice, "As long as you're alive, you can always make a comeback."

At the dead of night, the moon was obscured by dark clouds, and the world was pitch black—the perfect time to act. Zhou Ye, along with Zhao Hu's five core brothers, changed into puppet army uniforms and, under the cover of darkness, crept to the back wall of the steel mill's raw material area. Sure enough, the small iron gate was hidden in the weeds. Zhou Ye gently turned the key, and the gate opened silently. The men slipped inside, finding only two puppet soldiers dozing. Zhou Ye quickly knocked them unconscious with two karate chops and dragged them behind a pile of debris.

Meanwhile, the porters in the north of the city lit torches and set off firecrackers in the grove west of the wheat field as planned. The crackling sounds, mixed with shouts of "Charge! Kill the Japanese devils!", instantly shattered the tranquility of the night. As expected, the ambush troops in the wheat field fell for the trap. Matsui, thinking that Zhou Ye had really arrived, immediately ordered a full-scale attack, surrounding and killing the troops in the grove. The ambush troops in the wheat field were quickly wiped out, leaving only a few scouts guarding the crossroads.

Outside the armory of the steel mill's office building, there were indeed only three Japanese soldiers and two puppet soldiers guarding it, their vigilance pitifully low. Zhou Ye signaled for everyone to disperse, then activated his stealth ability, silently circling behind one of the Japanese soldiers. With a swift slash of his short sword, he cleanly and efficiently took him down. Before the other four could react, Zhao Hu's brothers had already rushed forward. The muzzle flashes of their submachine guns flickered in the darkness, and after a few muffled thuds, all the guards were dead.

Zhou Ye kicked open the armory door, and the scene inside made everyone's eyes light up—shelves against the wall were filled with Type 38 rifles and submachine guns, boxes of grenades and explosives were piled up in the corner, and there were also several brand-new light machine guns, which were exactly the fine military equipment that Matsui had mentioned.

"Quick! Move the light machine guns and grenades up, leave the explosives behind!" Zhou Ye shouted in a low voice, and everyone immediately sprang into action, carrying the lightweight weapons on their backs. Zhou Zhun then placed explosives in various corners of the armory, with fuses connected to the door, waiting for an order to detonate them.

Just as everyone was about to finish moving, Zhou Ye's crisis perception skill suddenly issued a frantic warning. A strong sense of danger came from downstairs in the office building—it was Matsui returning with his ambush troops! It seemed that the porters in the grove had decided to quit while they were ahead and scattered and fled. Matsui realized he had been tricked and immediately led his men back to the steel mill.

"Damn it! Matsui's back! Retreat!" Zhou Ye shouted, and everyone immediately grabbed their weapons and rushed out. Just as they exited the armory, they saw lights from downstairs rushing towards them, and Matsui's roar was clearly audible: "Zhou Ye! Don't run! I'll kill you today!"

Zhou Ye lit the fuse of the explosives with his backhand, grabbed his brothers and ran wildly toward the back wall of the raw material area. The explosions behind them roared, and the flames of the armory shot into the sky, turning the night sky of the entire steel rolling mill red. The weapons on the shelves were detonated, and the continuous explosions shook the earth. The screams of the Japanese soldiers rose and fell.

Matsui was furious at the towering flames and led his men in a frenzy to chase after the raw materials area. But when they reached the back wall, Zhou Ye and the others had already disappeared. Only the small, open iron gate stood out starkly in the firelight.

"Chase! Chase him all over the city! Even if we have to dig three feet into the ground, we must find Zhou Ye!" Matsui roared, but he knew in his heart that the streets and alleys of Beiping were crisscrossed and Zhou Ye was familiar with the terrain. He had already disappeared without a trace. This plan had once again come to nothing.

Meanwhile, Zhou Ye and his men had already circled back to the abandoned kiln on the outskirts of the city under the cover of night. They put down their weapons and, looking at the several brand-new light machine guns and a full box of grenades, all of them showed excited smiles.

"Brother Zhou, you're amazing! Not only did you raid Matsui's armory, but you also made his ambush pointless. Now we've taken all his assets!" Zhao Hu picked up a light machine gun, stroking it with obvious delight, his eyes filled with excitement.

Zhou Ye wiped the cigarette ash off his face and smiled. "This is just the beginning. Matsui's armory is gone, and the steel mill has been bombed and can't resume operations. He won't be able to organize a large-scale manhunt in the short term. We can take this opportunity to clear out the surrounding Japanese strongholds one by one and strengthen our forces."

Everyone nodded, their eyes filled with determination. After this battle, Zhou Ye's courage and strategy completely won over Zhao Hu's brothers, and everyone was willing to follow him. This small anti-Japanese force became increasingly cohesive.

As dawn approached, Zhou Ye set off alone on his way back to the courtyard house. Along the way, he could see thick smoke rising from the direction of the charred steel mill and Japanese soldiers and puppet troops running around everywhere. But no one noticed that the young man walking in the quiet alley was none other than Zhou Ye, whom Matsui hated to the core.

Back at No. 95 Nanluoguxiang, the gate was ajar. Zhou Ye gently pushed it open. The courtyard was quiet, except for a small lamp still lit in Zhou Xiaocao's room. As soon as he reached the door, it opened, and Zhou Xiaocao, rubbing her sleepy eyes, threw herself into his arms: "Brother, you're back! I've been waiting for you for so long."

Lu Bingxin also came out of the house, her eyes full of worry. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that he was safe and sound: "It's good that you're back. Come in and wash up. I left you some hot porridge."

Zhou Ye hugged Zhou Xiaocao and nodded, his heart filled with warmth. He looked down at his younger sister's innocent face, then at the familiar plants and trees in the yard, his resolve growing stronger—no matter how many dangers lay ahead, he would do everything in his power to protect this peace and the people around him, until the Japanese invaders were completely driven out of Beiping and out of China!

Meanwhile, Matsui, far away at the steel mill, looked at the wrecked armory and the still-burning flames, and roared hysterically toward the direction of Beiping City. His contest with Zhou Ye had just entered its most intense phase.