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

The sound of leather boots outside grew closer, mixed with the Japanese soldiers' incoherent laughter and curses, like poisoned needles pricking Zhou Ye's eardrums.

He pressed Zhou Xiaocao firmly into the shadows of the corner, his palm pressed against his sister's head, his fingertips taut—as soon as the Japanese soldiers outside dared to step across the threshold, he would immediately activate emergency containment and send his sister into the system's temporary space.

"Little Grass, close your eyes, cover your ears, and don't make a sound no matter what you hear." Zhou Ye's voice was very low, hoarse but with an undeniable firmness. The warmth of his palms passed through the coarse cloth clothes, slightly soothing his sister's trembling body.

Zhou Xiaocao nodded vigorously, her small hands tightly covering her mouth, her dark eyes tightly shut, tears still clinging to her eyelashes, yet she stubbornly refused to make a sound.

Zhou Ye slowly turned to the side, pressing himself against the charred mud wall. He held a steel machete in his right hand, the blade close to his leg, its cold light flashing in the firelight. He peered out through a crack in the mud wall and saw three Japanese soldiers in khaki uniforms strolling into the courtyard, their Type 38 rifles slung across their backs and their sabers jingling at their waists.

The leading Japanese soldier had a small mustache and was playing with a silver bracelet in his hand, which was the dowry of Granny Wang from the village, but he was now casually fiddling with it; behind him, a short Japanese soldier was carrying half a bloody chicken, his chin slick with grease; the last tall Japanese soldier was walking at the rear, looking down and poking at the broken pieces of wood on the ground with his bayonet, his eyes were nonchalant, and he obviously did not take the looted village seriously.

They had just finished sweeping the front yard and were walking towards the mud-brick house that had collapsed halfway, no more than three zhang away from the door.

[Target: 3 Japanese soldiers invading China, currently unprepared, suitable for ambush!]

[First kill reward doubled! Kill one enemy to unlock farm space and activate basic shooting skills!]

A system notification sounded softly in his mind. Zhou Ye's breathing was extremely steady, his fingertips gripping the hilt of the woodcutter's knife, his knuckles turning white. With the foundation of the original owner's son of a hunter, and the added benefit of basic knife skills (beginner level), the most ruthless way of attack automatically appeared in his mind—a throat slit, a fatal blow, without any hesitation.

The Japanese soldier with the small mustache was the first to walk to the door, and kicked the rickety wooden door. With a loud crash, the wooden door fell to the ground, raising a cloud of dust.

"Baka! You inside, come out!" the bearded Japanese soldier shouted in broken Chinese. He probed forward with his bayonet, glanced at the mess inside the house, and, finding no living person, relaxed his guard and was about to step inside.

It's now!

Zhou Ye suddenly leaped out from behind the earthen wall like a lurking leopard, his ferocity erupting instantly. He pushed off with his feet, using the momentum to pounce on the bearded Japanese soldier from behind. His left hand tightly covered the soldier's mouth, silencing him completely, while his right hand slashed the soldier's neck with a steel machete!

"Pfft—"

The sound of the blade slicing through flesh was crisp and piercing, and scalding blood gushed out instantly, splattering Zhou Ye's face and body, the sweet, metallic smell filling his nostrils. The bearded Japanese soldier's body tensed abruptly, his eyes widening, his hands futilely reaching for his neck, only to find sticky blood in his hands. He kicked his legs twice, then collapsed stiffly to the ground, lifeless.

[One Japanese soldier killed during the invasion of China!]

[First kill mission complete! Reward: 20 Merit Points!]

[The Anti-Japanese War Farm space is officially unlocked! Basic marksmanship (Type 38 rifle specialization) has been distributed!]

[Emergency containment privileges have been upgraded to permanent privileges, allowing you to bring Zhou Xiaocao into the farm space at any time!]

A series of system notifications rang in his mind, and a warm current instantly surged into Zhou Ye's limbs and bones. All the skills of using the Type 38 rifle appeared out of thin air in his mind - loading, aiming, firing, and even the details of reloading were crystal clear, as if he had practiced it a thousand times.

At the same time, a pale golden light screen unfolded in his consciousness, and ten acres of flat black soil appeared before him, with a faint energy barrier around the edges. In the corner, a spiritual spring was bubbling up a thin stream, and a stone house stood quietly at the entrance. This was his farm space!

Before Zhou Ye could think it through, the short Japanese soldier behind him had already reacted. Seeing his comrade die tragically, he yelled and pulled the trigger on Zhou Ye!

"Bang!"

Gunshots rang out in the small courtyard. Zhou Ye was prepared and rolled over using the body of the Japanese soldier with the small mustache to dodge the bullets. The bullets grazed his shoulder and hit the adobe wall, splashing up a cloud of dirt.

When the short Japanese soldier missed, his eyes turned red and he charged forward with his bayonet raised, shouting incomprehensible Japanese, acting like a madman.

Zhou Ye drew the Japanese soldier's saber from his waist and charged at the short Japanese soldier's bayonet. Basic sword techniques flashed through his mind. He dodged the bayonet by sidestepping, twisted his wrist, and plunged the saber into the short Japanese soldier's chest!

"ah--"

The Japanese soldier let out a piercing scream. Zhou Ye twisted his wrist forcefully, then pulled the knife out sharply. Blood splattered, and the Japanese soldier fell heavily to the ground, twitching twice before going still.

[Killed 1 Japanese soldier invading China, rewarded with 10 merit points, current merit points: 30!]

The last tall Japanese soldier panicked completely. He hadn't expected such a ruthless character to be hidden in this seemingly dilapidated house. He turned to run away, shouting for help in Japanese.

"Trying to run?" A cold glint flashed in Zhou Ye's eyes. He picked up the Type 38 rifle of the Japanese soldier with the small mustache from the ground. His basic marksmanship skills were instantly activated in his mind. He raised his hand, aimed, and locked onto the tall Japanese soldier's back with three points in a straight line.

He had never even touched a gun in his previous life, yet now his hand holding the gun was as steady as a mountain, without the slightest tremor.

"Bang!"

The second shot rang out, and the bullet accurately struck the tall Japanese soldier in the back. The soldier staggered forward two steps, fell to the ground, and never moved again.

[Killed 1 Japanese soldier invading China, rewarded with 10 merit points, current merit points: 40!]

[Host detected to have consecutively killed 3 Japanese soldiers. Bonus reward: 5 silver coins, 1 bottle of hemostatic medicine!]

The system reward was instantly deposited into the farm space. Zhou Ye breathed a sigh of relief. His hand holding the Type 38 rifle trembled slightly, not from fear, but from excitement and the exhilarating satisfaction of getting revenge!

He looked down at his blood-stained hands and the three Japanese soldiers' corpses on the ground. The anger in his chest subsided slightly, but then a fiercer flame ignited—this was just the beginning. There were countless Japanese soldiers and countless traitors who owed blood debts to the Chinese people, and he would take revenge on them one by one!

"elder brother……"

A timid voice came from the corner of the wall. Zhou Ye snapped back to reality, quickly walked over, squatted down, and carefully brushed aside his sister's hair, wiping away the tears and dust from her face: "Xiao Cao, it's alright now, the Japanese devils are all dead, we're safe."

Zhou Xiaocao slowly opened her eyes and saw the Japanese soldiers' corpses on the ground. She shrank back in fright, but still reached out and hugged Zhou Ye's neck, whispering, "Brother, you're so amazing."

Zhou Ye felt a warmth in his heart, rubbed his sister's head, and picked her up: "Come on, brother will take you to a good place."

Holding his sister, he activated the full-size entrance to the farm space. A pale golden light door appeared before him, behind which lay warm sunlight, smooth black soil, and a gurgling spiritual spring—a stark contrast to the hellish landscape outside.

Zhou Ye carried his younger sister as he stepped into the portal of light. The pale golden portal closed instantly, completely isolating the outside world from the blood, fire, and darkness.

As soon as they entered the farm space, a warm atmosphere greeted them. The constant temperature of 25°C instantly warmed up the brother and sister who were shivering from the cold. The fresh air carried the fragrance of soil and grass, without a trace of blood.

Zhou Xiaocao looked around curiously, her little eyes wide open: "Brother, where is this? It's so beautiful."

"This is my secret base, our future home," Zhou Ye said with a smile, carrying his sister to the spring. He scooped up a handful of spring water and brought it to his sister's lips. "Drink some water, it's sweet, and it will warm you up."

Zhou Xiaocao took a sip, her eyes instantly lighting up: "Sweet! So delicious!"

The spring water was clear, sweet, and refreshing. After drinking it, a warm current flowed down his throat and into his stomach, greatly relieving his fatigue and fear. Zhou Ye also drank a few sips and felt completely refreshed. The soreness from the battle disappeared instantly, and his strength was mostly restored.

He carried his younger sister to the stone house, put her down, took out the emergency rations rewarded by the system from the farm space, opened a pack of compressed biscuits, and handed it to his sister: "Eat something to fill your stomach."

Zhou Xiaocao took the biscuits and ate them in small bites, while Zhou Ye walked to the ten acres of black soil, and with a thought, exchanged a bag of corn seeds from the system shop—the easiest to grow and the fastest to mature grain, suitable for the current situation.

He scattered the corn seeds on the black soil. As soon as he scattered them, the soil automatically churned up and covered the seeds. The spring water from the spiritual spring was automatically drawn over to nourish the land. He didn't have to lift a finger during the whole process.

The corn seeds have been planted and will mature in 1 hour (6 minutes outside the environment), depending on the space-time flow.

The system notification sounded, and Zhou Ye was overjoyed. With this farm space, he and his sister would no longer have to worry about food and clothing. In this chaotic world, the most precious food could be grown infinitely here!

He walked to the stone house, looked at the stone bed and stone table inside, and then at his sister who was happily eating cookies, his eyes filled with determination.

He has a system, a farm space, a steel gun in his hand, and a younger sister to protect.

In 1938, amidst the bloodshed and flames of Beiping, Zhou Ye was determined to survive, to protect his sister, to kill all the Japanese invaders, and to defend our land!

Next, he will take his sister away from Zhoujiazhuang and head to Beiping City to find a safe place to settle down. That will be his first stronghold in Beiping and a new starting point for his path of revenge!