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

In August 1945, the summer heat of Beiping had not yet dissipated. This ancient capital, which had been occupied by the Japanese army for eight years, was shrouded in layers of despair. The defeat of the Japanese army was inevitable. The mainland was attacked one after another, and news of surrender was swirling in the air. However, the Japanese North China Command in Beiping was making a final, desperate move. They hid the last batch of top-level cultural relics they had looted over the past eight years in a secret room on the third basement floor of the command headquarters. They planted explosives throughout the room and threatened that if they surrendered, they would turn the national treasures and the secret room into ashes, leaving nothing for China.

"The underground courier brought news that the Japanese won't last more than a few days, but they've strapped all their explosives to the cultural relics—they're going to fight to the death!" Zhao Hu clenched his fist and slammed it hard on the table. "Headquarters has ordered that we must retrieve these cultural relics before the Japanese surrender. We absolutely cannot let them destroy our national treasures! Although the morale of the headquarters guards has collapsed, there are still elite troops holding the core area, and the sensor-activated explosives in the secret room are absolutely not to be touched."

Zhou Ye's spiritual sense had already penetrated the reinforced concrete of the command headquarters, and every detail of the underground secret room was clearly imprinted in his mind: the entrance sealed by the steel plate door, the spiderweb-like array of induction explosives under the display shelves, the elite squad on guard, and the stubbornly resisting commander, Sato Ichiro. He lightly tapped the table with his fingertips, a golden light flashing: "The Japanese are currently in disarray internally, and the garrison is mostly busy gathering supplies, which is a good opening. I will first use my invisibility technique to infiltrate, destroy the explosive triggering device, and open the steel plate door. You and your team will hold them off from the outside, and wait for my signal before rushing in to wipe out the guards. Under no circumstances should you rashly force your way in, lest you trigger the explosives."

"Alright! Do as you say, but be careful!" Zhao Hu knew the importance of this matter and immediately arranged for his team to set up defenses, keeping a close watch on the entrances and exits of the headquarters, ready to provide support to Zhou Ye at any time.

Late that night, Beiping was deathly silent, but inside the Japanese headquarters, lights flickered and soldiers hurried about, many having already unloaded their equipment and focusing solely on looting supplies. Only the guards around the secret room maintained a tense vigilance. Taking advantage of the darkness and his ability to conceal himself, Zhou Ye transformed into an invisible shadow, avoiding the patrolling soldiers, and silently infiltrated the main building of the headquarters.

The corridor was filled with the shouts and chaos of the Japanese soldiers. Zhou Ye took advantage of the chaos, rounded the corner, and arrived at the study where the steel plate door was hidden. The two guards were drowsy. Zhou Ye condensed two thin streams of energy from his fingertips and accurately struck the back of their necks, instantly knocking them unconscious. He walked to the steel plate door, circulated the power of his golden core, and a wisp of pure spiritual energy transformed into a fine needle, probing into the keyhole and moving along the mechanical structure. After a moment, with a soft "click," the heavy steel plate door slowly opened inward without making a sound.

Inside the sealed room, dozens of brocade boxes were neatly arranged on display shelves, exuding a rich spiritual aura—each a top-tier national treasure of China, including a complete original of the Northern Song Dynasty's "Along the River During the Qingming Festival," fragments of the Shang Dynasty's Houmuwu Ding, a copy of Yan Liben's "Emperor Taizong Receiving the Tibetan Envoy" from the Tang Dynasty, and Tang Yin's "Pine Trees and Mountain Paths" from the Ming Dynasty. Below the display shelves, the fuse of an induction explosive was connected to a detonator in the corner; the slightest touch would result in total destruction.

Zhou Ye dared not delay. His golden core slowly rotated in his dantian, and spiritual energy transformed into an invisible barrier, completely enveloping the triggering devices of all the explosives. Then, with a series of flicks of his fingertips, he severed the fuses and destroyed the detonators one by one. In a short while, the explosives filling the room were reduced to scrap metal. After confirming that it was safe, he moved his mind, and the system space expanded. The gentle suction force swept up all the brocade boxes, and even the few small jade artifacts that had been overlooked in the corners, leaving nothing behind.

"Baka! How dare you touch the treasures of the Great Japanese Empire!" Sato Ichiro, wielding his katana, stormed into the secret room. He had just received an urgent telegram from the mainland in his office and knew that defeat was inevitable. He had come to detonate the explosives, but instead found the secret room empty. His eyes were bloodshot as he swung his katana at Zhou Ye. The blade was sharp, but it could not hide his panic and despair.

Zhou Ye dodged to the side, his palm carrying the power of a golden core, lightly striking Sato Ichiro's wrist. Sato Ichiro felt a tremendous force strike him; his katana flew from his hand, and his wrist fractured instantly. Zhou Ye followed up with a kick, knocking Sato Ichiro to the ground, and bound him, coldly saying, "China's national treasures—how dare you destroy them so easily? Eight years of invasion, you've plundered enough; now it's time to pay back!"

Sato Ichiro collapsed to the ground, staring at the empty display shelves, letting out a defiant roar, but he was powerless to resist any longer. At that moment, Zhao Hu's shouts came from outside. Zhou Ye responded and stepped out of the secret room. The team members who had already held back the scattered soldiers on the outside rushed in and wiped out the last few stubborn Japanese soldiers.

"You got all the artifacts? And the explosives were defused?" Zhao Hu strode forward, and seeing Zhou Ye nod, he breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness! Thank goodness! If these treasures had been destroyed, we would have been ashamed before our ancestors for the rest of our lives!"

Zhou Ye nodded, his gaze fixed on the city of Beiping outside the window: "The Japanese won't last much longer. News of their surrender should be coming soon."

Before his words had even faded, two days later, on August 15th, the Japanese Emperor broadcast the Imperial Rescript on the Termination of the War, announcing unconditional surrender. The news spread throughout Beiping (Beijing), and the people, suppressed for eight years, flooded the streets, banging drums and gongs, cheering and jumping for joy. Many Japanese soldiers unloaded their equipment, dejectedly emerging from their barracks to await surrender. This ancient capital, occupied by the Japanese invaders for eight years, finally escaped the trampling of their iron hooves and returned to the map of China.

In the following days, the Nationalist government took over Beiping, and orderly work began within the city, including the disarmament of Japanese troops, inventory of supplies, and the receipt of cultural relics. Zhou Ye and Zhao Hu led their team to hand over the captured Sato Ichiro to the relevant departments, and at the same time assisted the cultural relics receiving team jointly formed by the base areas in sorting out the national treasures in the system space.

When hundreds of cultural relics, including the complete original "Along the River During the Qingming Festival," fragments of the Houmuwu Ding from the Shang Dynasty, a Tang Dynasty tri-colored horse, and a Song Dynasty edition of the "Treatise on Febrile Diseases," were taken out one by one, restored, and neatly displayed at the temporary receiving point, all the staff involved in the inventory were deeply moved. These cultural relics span thousands of years, from Neolithic pottery jars to Qing Dynasty enamelware, from Qin and Han Dynasty bamboo slips to Tang and Song Dynasty calligraphy and paintings, each piece intact, carrying the roots and soul of Chinese civilization.

When pressed for details about the recovery of the artifacts, Zhou Ye simply stated that he and his comrades had infiltrated Japanese strongholds and fought desperately to retrieve them, never mentioning the power of cultivation or the system. Zhao Hu and his comrades understood this implicitly and simply corroborated his account. Although everyone was curious about his "mysterious abilities," they also knew how difficult it was to protect the treasures, and they all called him the "Hero of Protecting the Treasures of Beiping." When relevant departments of the Nationalist government wanted to award him medals and positions, he politely declined, saying, "I am just an ordinary anti-Japanese soldier. Protecting the treasures is my duty; it's nothing to boast about."

Refusing all special treatment, Zhou Ye returned to his base around Beiping and stayed there with his comrades. Although the War of Resistance against Japan had been won and Beiping had been taken over by the Nationalist government, the road to protecting cultural relics was not yet over. Some remnants of the Japanese army were still looking for opportunities to steal scattered cultural relics, and some speculators also wanted to profit from the chaos. Zhou Ye led his team to patrol around Beiping, using their spiritual sense to detect the aura of scattered cultural relics. They recovered many scattered treasures that the Japanese army had hidden in civilian areas and strongholds, while also protecting the national treasures at the temporary takeover points to prevent their loss.

After finishing his work, Zhou Ye found a secluded hillside, sat under an old locust tree, and activated his telepathic connection to Xiao Cao. Meanwhile, Yan'an was filled with jubilation. Children at the orphanage waved small red flags and sang songs celebrating the victory against Japan. Xiao Cao stood in the crowd, her face beaming. Sensing her brother's presence, she quietly went to the side and whispered in her mind, "Brother! Brother! The Japanese have surrendered! The War of Resistance has been won! Teacher Wang said that Beiping is finally no longer occupied by the Japanese!"

"Yes, we won." Zhou Ye's expression was filled with an overwhelming tenderness and relief. Eight years of bloody battles and eight years of protecting the treasures had finally come to a perfect end. "Brother has retrieved the last batch of national treasures, which are the most precious treasures of our China. They are all being kept safe now, and when a museum is built in the future, everyone can see them."

"That's wonderful!" Xiaocao was overjoyed, but her eyes were slightly red. All the worries and concerns of the past eight years vanished at this moment. "Brother, when will you come to Yan'an to see me? I miss you so much. I want to see the treasures you brought back and go back to Beiping with you."

"Soon," Zhou Ye felt a warmth in his heart, his fingertips stroking the jade pendant at his waist. "Once the cultural relic protection work here is settled, your brother will come to Yan'an to pick you up. Beiping is peaceful now, there are no more Japanese devils. Your brother will take you to see the Forbidden City, to see the Temple of Heaven, to see this land that we protected with our lives."

"Yes!" Little Grass nodded vigorously, her inner voice full of anticipation. "I cultivate diligently every day and study hard. Teacher Wang also taught me about cultural relic protection, saying that I can become a cultural relic guardian in the future. Brother, I've kept the Spirit Jade Heart-Protecting Pendant safe. When I see you, I'll show you the results of my cultivation."

"Okay, brother will wait and see." Zhou Ye replied with a smile, and through the connection, he could almost see the little girl's smiling face.

After disconnecting, Zhou Ye gazed towards Beiping City. The setting sun cast a warm golden glow on the ancient city walls. His golden core slowly rotated within his dantian, its spiritual energy resonating with this land weathered by time. Eight years of war had transformed him from an ordinary soldier into a Golden Core cultivator. From single-handedly intercepting supply lines to traversing China to protect treasures, from guarding only his sister to safeguarding the civilization of an entire nation—he had walked this path with unwavering resolve.

He knew that although Beiping had escaped Japanese occupation, it had not yet ushered in true peace, and the road to protecting cultural relics was still long. Only when Beiping was truly peacefully liberated could these national treasures be safely returned to their rightful place. And he would stay here, guarding these treasures that had survived so many calamities, keeping his promise to his sister, waiting for the day he could go to Yan'an to pick her up, waiting to witness the rebirth and blossoming of Chinese civilization with her under the true sunshine of peace.

A gentle evening breeze swept across the hillside, carrying the slight chill of early autumn. Zhou Ye's figure stood tall and imposing in the setting sun. The legendary tale of protecting treasures during the War of Resistance against Japan may have ended, but the journey of safeguarding the nation and civilization has only just begun. And his story with Xiaocao will turn a new page on this land that has returned to peace.