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

In the afternoon at the system farm, Zhou Ye stood on the edge of a field, his golden inner energy flowing like a thin veil around him. As he circulated the "Mysterious Origin Evil-Breaking Technique," the airflow swirled through the wheat fields, forming circular ripples. He was attempting to integrate his mastery of inner energy cultivation into his stealth technique. In an instant, his figure transformed into a semi-transparent phantom, without even bending the blades of grass beneath his feet—this was the realm of "Qi Concealment," where inner energy and stealth were perfectly integrated, completely breaking free from the limitations of physical concealment. Even in open areas, he could distort light with his inner energy, avoiding detection by the naked eye and instruments.

As he finished practicing, the system panel suddenly flashed: "Detected deep integration of host's cultivation technique and stealth technique, unlocking the 'Precise Artifact Detection' function, which can sense the energy fluctuations of artifacts within a ten-mile radius and mark their specific locations and degrees of damage." Zhou Ye's heart stirred, and he immediately activated the function. The artifacts in the system space within the farm instantly formed a clear map in his mind, even accurately displaying the cracks in a Warring States period jade pendant that had not been noticed before.

At this moment, the communications officer at the outpost rushed over and handed over a encrypted intelligence report: "Captain Zhou, urgent report from the underground courier! The Japanese army has concentrated the cultural relics recently looted from Beiping, Fangshan, and Yixian at the Wanping City outpost, filling three armored vehicles. They are being escorted by a reinforced company led by Miyamoto Ichiro and will depart from the Wanping City secret passage tomorrow morning, and be transferred to Japan via Tianjin Port! The secret passage is full of explosives and sentries. Miyamoto Ichiro has also brought the Japanese army's newest 'flamethrower squad' to ensure the safety of the cultural relics."

"The secret passages of Wanping City?" Zhou Ye traced the topographical map in his mind with his fingertips. Wanping City was the southwestern gateway to Beiping. The Japanese army had been building it up for many years, and its secret passages were interconnected and linked to the moat. Once the explosives were detonated, not only would it be difficult to escape, but the cultural relics could also be destroyed. The "flamethrower squad" was even more troublesome. The wide-area attack of the flames was exactly what countered the stealth of the stealth technique.

"Brother Zhao, prepare ropes and armor-piercing grenades. I'm going to infiltrate the secret passage to intercept the treasure. You and your team will meet me outside Wanping City. If you see any fire at the exit of the secret passage, immediately use grenades to blow up the outer defenses and let me escape." Zhou Ye quickly deployed the plan. "Remember, no matter what noise you hear, you must not rush into the secret passage until you see my signal flare."

Although Zhao Hu was worried, he knew Zhou Ye's decision well and immediately nodded: "Don't worry, leave the outer perimeter to us! Be careful, the flamethrower is extremely powerful, don't try to withstand it head-on!"

At midnight that night, Zhou Ye transformed into a phantom and silently infiltrated Wanping City. Japanese patrols moved back and forth through the streets, their searchlights sweeping across the walls, yet they remained completely unaware of the phantom so close at hand. He activated the "Precise Artifact Detection" function, and three intense energy fluctuations immediately appeared in his mind, located beneath the stronghold in the city center—the very artifacts awaiting transport.

Following the probe, Zhou Ye found the entrance to the secret passage, disguised as a well with pressure sensors hidden beneath the cover. He channeled his inner energy, his fingertips forming fine needles that precisely severed the sensor circuitry. He then lifted the cover and leaped into the dark passage. The passage's walls were constructed of stone slabs, with an oil lamp every ten meters. Hidden firing ports on both sides allowed glimpses of Japanese soldiers.

Zhou Ye moved stealthily, his footsteps barely touching the ground. Midway through his journey, he suddenly smelled the pungent odor of kerosene. Around the corner ahead, he heard Japanese soldiers talking: "Have you checked all the flamethrowers? Lord Miyamoto said that if there's any unusual activity, immediately seal off the entire secret passage and burn the rats to ashes!"

He quietly circled around to the back of the corner, gathering his inner strength in his palms, transforming it into two invisible bursts of energy that precisely struck the back of the necks of two Japanese soldiers. The two collapsed to the ground without uttering a sound. Zhou Ye then seized the flamethrowers from their hands and tossed them into his system space—these things were quite powerful and might be useful in supporting the base in the future.

Continuing deeper, the secret passage suddenly opened up, forming an underground chamber. Three armored vehicles were parked in the center, their cargo compartments open, revealing neatly stacked wooden crates containing artifacts. Miyamoto Ichiro stood by, holding a samurai sword, supervising the work. Four flamethrower soldiers surrounded the armored vehicles, vigilantly scanning their surroundings. Dozens of boxes of explosives were piled up in a corner of the chamber, their fuses connected to a triggering device at the entrance.

Zhou Ye's gaze sharpened, and he activated the detection function. The hidden compartment deep in the secret room immediately appeared in his mind—there was a cultural relic with extremely strong energy fluctuations hidden there. It was a gilded bronze Buddha with Tang Dynasty inscriptions on the base. It was obviously a top national treasure that the Japanese army had secretly hidden.

Without hesitation, he unleashed a burst of energy, his figure solidifying from a phantom, and struck the nearest flamethrower soldier with a palm strike. The golden energy crashed down like a heavy hammer, killing the soldier instantly, and throwing the Japanese troops beside the armored vehicle into chaos. "It's you again!" Miyamoto Ichiro roared, charging forward with his sword. This time, his blade was enveloped in a layer of black energy, clearly indicating that he had mastered some kind of insidious sword technique.

"Clang!" The bronze sword was drawn again, golden internal energy clashing with black qi, causing the air in the secret room to surge and all the oil lamps to go out. Zhou Ye used his qi concealment technique to move nimbly in the darkness, his sword moves like shooting stars, each strike aimed directly at the vital points of the Japanese soldiers. A flamethrower soldier tried to light it, but Zhou Ye's qi struck him from a distance, severing his arm. The flamethrower fell to the ground, flames shooting out, causing the Japanese soldiers to scream in agony.

Miyamoto Ichiro wildly swung his katana in the darkness, but couldn't even touch Zhou Ye's clothes. Instead, he was struck repeatedly by the force of the energy blasts, leaving him covered in wounds. "Baka! Do you dare to fight me fair and square?!" he roared, his eyes filled with madness.

Zhou Ye snorted coldly, his figure materializing beside the armored vehicles. He unleashed a burst of energy from his palm, instantly shattering the locks on the doors of the three armored vehicles. "These cultural relics belong to the nation; how dare you steal them!" With a thought, the wooden crates containing the cultural relics inside the vehicles, along with the gilded bronze Buddha in the hidden compartment, were all stored in his system space.

At that moment, a violent explosion suddenly erupted from the entrance to the secret chamber, sending stones raining down—the Japanese soldiers, sensing the disturbance, had detonated the explosives at the entrance to the secret passage, intending to trap Zhou Ye underground. Seeing this, Miyamoto Ichiro laughed maniacally: "You can't escape! This is your grave!"

Zhou Ye's eyes sharpened, and he unleashed his full inner strength. Golden energy surged like a giant wave, blasting away all the Japanese soldiers in front of him. He leaped to the exit of the secret passage, looked at the collapsed rocks, and condensed a ten-foot-long blade of energy in his palm, then slashed down fiercely! "Boom!" The energy collided with the rocks, forcefully cleaving open a passage, sending debris flying everywhere.

Seeing this, Miyamoto Ichiro charged forward like a madman, yelling, "Stay here!" Zhou Ye turned and struck him squarely in the chest with a palm strike, the golden energy causing Miyamoto Ichiro to cough up a mouthful of black blood and fly backward, crashing heavily into the explosives box. Zhou Ye ignored him and rushed out of the secret passage, stepping on the rubble.

Outside the secret passage, Zhao Hu was leading his men in a fierce battle against the Japanese outer perimeter forces. Seeing Zhou Ye, he immediately shouted, "Brothers, cover Captain Zhou!" His men unleashed a barrage of fire, pinning the Japanese down. Zhou Ye leaped out of the ground, tossing several smoke grenades behind him, and under cover, rejoined Zhao Hu: "Withdraw!"

The group fought and retreated, quickly disappearing into the night. Inside Wanping City, the Japanese soldiers were furious at the sight of the collapsed secret passage and the corpses scattered on the ground. When Miyamoto Ichiro was rescued by the soldiers, he was already on the verge of death, still screaming Zhou Ye's name.

Upon safely arriving at the base, Zhou Ye immediately entered the system space to inventory the cultural relics. The relics seized this time were unprecedented: a gilded bronze Buddha from the Tang Dynasty, more than twenty pieces of official kiln celadon from the Song Dynasty, four blue and white plum vases from the Yuan Dynasty, more than one hundred scrolls of calligraphy and paintings from the Ming and Qing Dynasties, as well as countless gold, silver and jade artifacts looted from the people, and more than thirty volumes of Song Dynasty edition books alone. Zhou Ye used the system's restoration function to process each item. Damaged calligraphy and paintings were smoothed out, broken porcelain was restored to its original state, and even the inscription on the base of the gilded bronze Buddha became clearly legible.

Through the telepathic connection, when Zhou Ye contacted Xiao Cao, the little girl was practicing calligraphy in her classroom at the Yan'an Nursery. Sensing her brother's presence, she quietly looked up and whispered to the air, "Brother, have you gotten your treasure back?"

"Yes, this time there's a golden Buddha statue and a bottle that can be painted with beautiful patterns," Zhou Ye's voice was tinged with laughter. "When you're on vacation, your brother will use the system space to pick you up so you can see these treasures with your own eyes, okay?"

Xiao Cao's eyes lit up instantly, and her pen even paused for a moment: "Really? That's great! Teacher Wang said that the Buddhist statues from the Tang Dynasty are the most exquisite. Is that the kind you're talking about, brother?"

"That's right," Zhou Ye nodded. "Xiao Cao learns so quickly; she'll definitely become a cultural relics expert in the future. You should study hard, and after the victory of the War of Resistance, we'll donate these treasures to the National Museum together so that more people can appreciate them."

"Okay!" Little Grass nodded vigorously, carefully writing the agreement down in her notebook. "Brother, be careful, I'm waiting to see the baby!"

After disconnecting, Zhou Ye exited the system space and looked at the cheering team members inside the stronghold, his heart filled with determination. Although the Japanese army's encirclement and suppression were becoming increasingly frantic, his strength was also constantly improving, and the system's functions were becoming more and more powerful. He knew that every artifact recovered was a piece of national memory protected; every Japanese invader eliminated brought them one step closer to peace.

Meanwhile, the Japanese North China Command was furious when it learned that the cultural relics had been intercepted again and that Miyamoto Ichiro was seriously injured. It ordered the mobilization of five companies to carry out a carpet-style "mopping-up" operation on the Pingxi base area and the surrounding area, and doubled the reward money, determined to capture Zhou Ye.

Zhou Ye stood atop the watchtower of the stronghold, gazing at the lights of the distant Japanese camp, a flash of golden inner energy flickering in his eyes. He gripped the bronze sword in his hand, silently chanting, "Little Grass, wait for me; my country, wait for me. All the looted treasures, I will reclaim them all; all the invading Japanese invaders, I will drive them all out!"

The night was deep, the flames of war still raging, and Zhou Ye's figure stood out even more in the moonlight. His path of protecting the treasure and resisting the Japanese was fraught with thorns, but his unwavering faith and deep concern made him even more resolute and steadfast. What followed was an even more intense maneuvering and counterattack, and he was already fully prepared.