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

In the cold spring of 1941, the mountains and forests of the Pingxi base area were still covered with remnants of snow. Zhou Ye stood on the watchtower of the stronghold, a wisp of golden internal energy condensing at his fingertips, sensing the movements of the Japanese army ten miles away. Since Yamamoto Ichiki took over the special operations mission of the Japanese army in North China, the Japanese army's encirclement and suppression strategy had changed abruptly. Instead of blindly searching the mountains, they frequently released false intelligence in an attempt to lure him out.

"Brother Zhou, I just received intelligence from the underground courier," Zhao Hu said, quickly climbing the watchtower and handing over a crumpled note. "The Japanese army is storing a batch of 'top-grade cultural relics' at their Catholic church stronghold in Baoding Prefecture. It's said that there's a fragment of Zhang Zeduan's 'Along the River During the Qingming Festival' from the Northern Song Dynasty, as well as a batch of Yuan Dynasty blue and white porcelain. Yamamoto Ichiki is personally overseeing the operation, and they'll be transporting them to Beiping by special plane tomorrow at noon!"

A fragment of "Along the River During the Qingming Festival"? Zhou Ye's heart skipped a beat. This painting is one of the ten most famous traditional Chinese paintings. The complete version has long been lost, and the value of the fragment is immeasurable. It must not be allowed to be looted by the Japanese army. But he immediately frowned—the intelligence came too suspiciously. Yamamoto Ichiki had just taken office and released such a significant piece of news about cultural relics. It seemed more like a deliberate bait.

"Brother Zhao, do you think this intelligence is credible?" Zhou Ye rubbed the paper with his fingertips. As he circulated his internal energy, he could detect a faint trace of Japanese spy aura on the paper.

"It's hard to say," Zhao Hu sighed, "but what if it really is a fragment of 'Along the River During the Qingming Festival'? We can't afford to gamble! That's a treasure left by our ancestors. If the Japanese devils take it away, we'll be traitors to our nation!"

Zhou Ye remained silent for a moment, then activated the system's "Precise Artifact Detection" function, covering the Baoding Prefecture area with his consciousness. Sure enough, strong energy fluctuations from the direction of the Catholic Church emanated from the artifacts, including not only the energy characteristics of calligraphy and paintings but also the warm, lustrous energy of porcelain, perfectly matching the intelligence report. "The intelligence is true, but the trap must have been set too." A resolute glint flashed in Zhou Ye's eyes. "Yamamoto Ichiki wants to lure me out, but I'll play along, reclaim the artifacts, and give him a taste of his own medicine!"

That night, Zhou Ye changed into a priest's black robe, disguised himself as a foreign missionary, and, under the cover of darkness and using his invisibility technique, quietly infiltrated Baoding Prefecture. The Catholic church was located in the city center, surrounded by a large number of Japanese troops. Armored vehicles were parked at the entrance, soldiers were armed, and heavy machine guns were mounted on the roof of the church, clearly a tight security cordon.

Zhou Ye circled around to the back of the church, channeled his inner energy, and used the energy from his fingertips to create fine needles that pierced the barbed wire fence on the wall, silently scaling the wall. The church was brightly lit, and on the high platform in the center of the hall, there was indeed a brocade box and several pieces of blue and white porcelain. The brocade box was stamped with a special seal from the Japanese army, presumably containing the fragments of the "Along the River During the Qingming Festival" scroll.

Yamamoto Ichiki, dressed in military uniform, stood below the platform, followed by Miyamoto Ichiro—who had recovered but was still pale, his eyes filled with resentment. Dozens of elite Japanese soldiers stood around them, holding submachine guns, the muzzles of their rifles faintly aimed at the entrance to the hall.

"Mr. Zhou, now that you're here, why hide?" Yamamoto Ichiki's voice was tinged with laughter, yet it carried a chilling undertone. "I knew you would come. The fragment of 'Along the River During the Qingming Festival' is enough to make you take the risk."

Zhou Ye materialized from the concealment of qi, standing at the entrance of the hall, his gaze calmly fixed on Yamamoto Ichiki: "Yamamoto Ichiki, do you think these tricks can trap me?"

"Trapped you? No," Yamamoto Ichiki shook his head, clapped his hands, and suddenly several electric fences popped out from the walls on both sides of the church. "What I want is to capture you alive, to let you watch these artifacts being transported to Japan, to let you know how foolish it is to resist the Great Japanese Empire!"

Miyamoto Ichiro, carrying his katana, stepped forward with a sinister grin: "You managed to escape last time, but this time, let's see where you run!" His katana was still enveloped in black energy, clearly showing that his skills had improved under Yamamoto Ichiki's guidance.

Zhou Ye sneered, his golden inner force erupting and sweeping like a whirlwind, repelling the approaching Japanese soldiers: "You are not worthy to keep me and the artifacts!" He leaped and rushed towards the brocade box and blue-and-white porcelain on the high platform.

"Fire!" Yamamoto Ichiki shouted the order, and Japanese soldiers immediately pulled the triggers, bullets raining down on Zhou Ye. Zhou Ye circulated his inner energy, condensing golden qi into a shield. The bullets struck the qi shield and bounced off to the ground. Miyamoto Ichiro seized the opportunity to slash with his sword, the wind of the blade carrying poisonous energy, aiming straight for Zhou Ye's back.

Zhou Ye turned and swung his sword, the bronze sword clashing with the samurai sword once more. Golden internal force pressed down, and Miyamoto Ichiro screamed, flying backward and crashing heavily into the wall, spitting out black blood. Zhou Ye ignored him, his figure shooting towards the high platform like an arrow. He unleashed a burst of energy from his fingertips, shattering the seal on the brocade box. With a thought, he stored the fragments of "Along the River During the Qingming Festival" and the blue-and-white porcelain into his system space.

"Baka!" Yamamoto Ichiki's face turned ashen with rage. He pressed the button in his hand, and the heavy machine gun on the top of the church immediately opened fire. At the same time, the floor of the hall suddenly cracked open, revealing a trap several meters deep, filled with spikes and explosives.

Zhou Ye was prepared. He unleashed his inner energy, leaping into the air to avoid the traps and heavy machine gun fire. He looked at Yamamoto Ichiki, a cold glint in his eyes: "Yamamoto Ichiki, your traps are far from adequate!"

Just then, a warning popped up on the system panel: "Energy fluctuations of cultural relics have been detected at the bottom of the trap, suspected to be a Song Dynasty Ru kiln porcelain vase, 70% damaged." Zhou Ye's heart skipped a beat. He hadn't expected that Yamamoto Ichiki would place the precious Ru kiln porcelain vase at the bottom of the trap in order to set it up. He probably wanted to destroy the cultural relic in the process of mutual destruction.

Without hesitation, he gathered golden energy in his feet and leaped towards the bottom of the trap. Seeing this, the Japanese soldiers threw grenades, explosions echoing through the trap and billowing smoke. Yamamoto Ichiki laughed wildly, "Foolish! Now you and the artifacts are both doomed!"

As the smoke cleared, Zhou Ye was unharmed. A golden aura formed a protective shield around him, blocking all the impact of the explosion and the spikes. He bent down and picked up the damaged Ru ware porcelain bottle. The bottle had several cracks and the glaze was dull. "What a pity for such a fine treasure," Zhou Ye sighed softly. He put the bottle into his system space, then circulated his inner force, transforming his energy into a sharp blade that cleaved through the side wall of the trap, forcibly creating a passage.

Yamamoto Ichiki stared in disbelief at Zhou Ye, who burst out from the side wall: "This is impossible! How can you be so strong?"

Zhou Ye didn't answer. He unleashed a palm strike, the golden energy striking the church's electric grid, instantly causing it to short-circuit and malfunction. He flashed towards the church entrance, and the Japanese soldiers who tried to stop him were all blasted away by his energy.

"Chase him! We can't let him get away!" Yamamoto Ichiki roared, leading the Japanese soldiers in pursuit. But Zhou Ye had already vanished into the night, disappearing into the shadows, and no matter how they searched, they couldn't find a trace of him.

After escaping Baoding Prefecture, Zhou Ye found a secluded cave and entered the system space. He first took out the fragment of "Along the River During the Qingming Festival," unfolded it, and saw that although only a third of the scroll was in view, it still depicted the bustling scene of the Northern Song capital, with delicate brushstrokes and profound artistic conception. Then, he took out the damaged Ru ware porcelain vase and activated the system's "cultural relic restoration" function. Gentle energy enveloped the vase, and the cracks gradually healed, the glaze regained its warm luster, and it eventually became as good as new, even brighter than before.

"That's great!" Zhou Ye felt relieved and contacted Xiao Cao through the telepathic connection. It was early morning in Yan'an, and Xiao Cao was reading in the courtyard. Sensing her brother's presence, she immediately put down her book: "Brother, did you complete the mission? Are you hurt?"

"Brother is alright," Zhou Ye said with a smile. "This time we retrieved a very famous painting and a beautiful porcelain vase. Once they're repaired, I'll let you see them through the jade tablet."

"Really?" Xiaocao's eyes lit up. "Is it the 'Along the River During the Qingming Festival' that Teacher Wang mentioned? She told us about it, saying it's the best painting in the world!"

"Exactly," Zhou Ye nodded. "Little Grass is becoming more and more knowledgeable. When you have your vacation, your brother will pick you up and take you to the farm so you can see these treasures with your own eyes, okay?"

"Okay, okay!" Little Grass nodded vigorously, her little face full of anticipation. "Brother, you must be careful. Yamamoto Ichiki sounds very cunning. Don't fall into his trap."

Zhou Ye felt a warmth in his heart. He hadn't expected Xiao Cao to know Yamamoto Ichiki's name; Teacher Wang must have told her. "Don't worry, brother won't let him succeed."

After disconnecting, Zhou Ye exited the system space and returned to the base. Zhao Hu and the others were overjoyed to see him return safely, bringing back a fragment of the "Along the River During the Qingming Festival" scroll and a Ru ware porcelain vase. Zhou Ye handed some gold and silver coins to Zhao Hu, instructing him, "These supplies should be used to support the wounded and civilians in the base area. I will keep the cultural relics safe and hand them over to the state after the victory of the War of Resistance."

Meanwhile, in Baoding Prefecture, Yamamoto Ichiki, looking at the empty platform and traps, was furious. He never expected that Zhou Ye was not only incredibly strong, but also capable of retrieving cultural relics from a desperate situation, even managing to take away a damaged Ru ware porcelain vase. He immediately telegraphed the North China Japanese Army Headquarters, requesting more troops and skilled fighters, vowing to capture Zhou Ye and bring him to justice.

Standing atop the hill at the stronghold, Zhou Ye gazed in the direction of Baoding Prefecture, a sharp glint in his eyes. He knew that Yamamoto Ichiki's appearance meant the battles to come would be even more perilous, and the Japanese army's schemes even more cunning. But he was fearless—his mastery of internal energy, the ever-growing power of his system, and his sister's hopes and concerns were his strongest support.

A new battle has begun. Zhou Ye grips his bronze sword tightly, golden internal energy flowing around him. He will continue to fight behind enemy lines, using his blade to combat the Japanese invaders and his system to protect national treasures. In this chaotic world of war, he will safeguard the nation's memory and civilization until the day of victory. Yamamoto Ichiki, this formidable adversary, will be the most troublesome and crucial opponent he must defeat in his quest to protect these treasures and resist Japan.