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

In the early morning of Beiping, before the thin mist had fully dissipated, the streets were already bustling with people rushing to their jobs. Zhou Ye mingled among the crowd, heading towards the Lou family's steel rolling mill. The mill was located in the northeastern suburbs of the city, not too far from Nanluoguxiang. Half an hour later, the huge factory building belching black smoke came into view.

The atmosphere at the entrance of the steel rolling mill was completely different from usual. Two rows of heavily armed Japanese soldiers stood guard, their sabers gleaming coldly at their waists, their eyes scanning every worker entering the factory with vigilance; several puppet soldiers stood arrogantly by the gate, arbitrarily scolding the workers, even searching them, and punching and kicking them if they showed the slightest dissatisfaction.

Zhou Ye didn't approach rashly. Instead, he circled around to a shantytown on the west side of the steel rolling mill and hid in a secluded corner. From here, he could clearly see the layout of the factory: the main factory building was tall and spacious, with black smoke constantly billowing from its chimneys; there was a separate courtyard on the east side of the factory, heavily guarded by Japanese soldiers, presumably the Japanese offices and dormitories; on the west side, a large amount of steel and raw materials were piled up, guarded only by two puppet soldiers, a relatively weak position.

Zhou Ye activated his basic crisis perception skill, and the danger within a 50-meter radius became instantly clear—the main factory building and the east courtyard had the highest density of Japanese soldiers and the highest level of danger; the raw material area on the west side had only two puppet soldiers and the level of danger was lower; although the sentries outside the factory gate were heavily guarded, there were blind spots in their field of vision, making it easy to infiltrate.

He observed patiently as workers entered the factory one after another. Yi Zhonghai, Liu Haizhong, Xu Wude, and others mingled among them, dressed in coarse work clothes, heads down, not daring to make the slightest move. Zhou Ye noticed that the Japanese soldiers were not only searching the entrance, but there were also patrol teams moving back and forth inside the factory area, making it extremely difficult to infiltrate during the day.

Just as he was pondering this, a familiar shout came from nearby. Zhou Ye looked up and saw Little Stone carrying a broken bowl, begging near the shantytown, occasionally peeking towards the steel mill. An idea struck him, and he got up and walked towards Little Stone.

"Little Stone," Zhou Ye patted him on the shoulder, "what are you doing here?"

When Xiao Shitou saw Zhou Ye, his eyes lit up and he quickly said, "Brother Zhou, I heard that the steel mill has been occupied by the Japanese. I wanted to see if I could find some work, even just moving goods would be fine."

Zhou Ye understood. Although the child was young, he was very sensible and wanted to earn a living through his own efforts. He took out two silver dollars from his pocket and handed them to Xiao Shitou: "Take this money and buy some food first. I'm asking you, are you familiar with the steel rolling mill? Do you know what's going on inside?"

Little Stone took the silver dollar, glanced gratefully at Zhou Ye, and nodded: "I used to come here to beg often, and I'm familiar with some of the workers in the factory. The Japanese officially took over yesterday, and a lot of people came. They occupied all the offices in the factory, and divided the workers into several teams to work overtime to catch up on the work. They don't let us go home at night; we all live in the factory's dormitory."

"Where is the dormitory?" Zhou Ye asked hurriedly.

"It's in a row of bungalows on the north side of the factory area," Little Stone pointed in the direction, "There's only one Japanese soldier and two puppet soldiers guarding it, but they're very vigilant at night."

Zhou Ye considered that if he could contact Yi Zhonghai and the others to understand the specific situation in the factory, such as the number of Japanese soldiers, their deployment, and the progress of military supplies production, he could formulate a more detailed plan. However, the factory area was heavily guarded during the day, and there was no opportunity to make contact. He could only wait until nightfall.

"Little Stone," Zhou Ye said, "can you do me a favor? Tonight, try to pass a message to Yi Zhonghai at the factory, and tell him to wait for me under the old locust tree on the west side of the factory tomorrow at noon. I have something important to discuss with him."

Little Stone nodded emphatically: "Brother Zhou, don't worry, I'll definitely deliver it!"

Zhou Ye gave him a few more instructions, telling him to be careful, and then turned and left the shantytown. He was going to contact those who could help him, following the address on the deaf old woman's note.

The first address was in a quiet alley in the south of the city, an inconspicuous general store. Zhou Ye walked into the store, where only an old man wearing reading glasses was doing the accounting.

"Grandma, I'm looking for Manager Li," Zhou Ye said, referring to the name on the note, while secretly taking out the deaf old lady's keepsake—a small copper willow-leaf token.

The old man looked up and saw the bronze plaque. His eyes narrowed, and he put down the account book, stood up, and said, "Come with me."

He led Zhou Ye into a small hut in the backyard, closed the door, and then asked, "Are you the old deaf woman's person? What do you need?"

"Old man, my name is Zhou Ye," Zhou Ye said, getting straight to the point. "I would like to ask you to help me find out some information about the Japanese defenses at Lou's Steel Rolling Mill, as well as the transportation routes for Japanese military supplies in the city."

The old man pondered for a moment, then nodded: "The deaf old lady saved my life, so I will naturally follow her orders. I know a little about the situation at the steel mill. The Japanese have sent a small squad to guard it, about fifty men, and the commander is a major named Matsui. As for the supply transport route, it usually departs from the steel mill on Wednesday and Saturday afternoons and is transported to the Japanese headquarters in the west of the city."

Zhou Ye was overjoyed; this information was crucial. He then asked, "Could you help me contact some reliable people? I want to sabotage the Japanese army's supply transport."

The old man's eyes sharpened as he looked at Zhou Ye: "You want to fight the Japanese head-on?"

"It's not about fighting head-on, it's about outsmarting them," Zhou Ye said. "I only want to disrupt their military supplies and slow down their invasion. I don't want to harm the innocent."

The old man nodded, took a slip of paper from the drawer, and handed it to Zhou Ye: "This is the address of a car dealership owner in the west of the city. His name is Zhao Hu. He used to be a soldier in the Northeast Army. After the Japanese occupied the Northeast, he hid in Beiping and opened a car dealership. He has a few brothers under him, all of whom are reliable people. They might be able to help you."

Zhou Ye took the note and quickly thanked him, saying, "Thank you so much, sir. I will definitely repay you when I have the chance in the future."

"No need to thank me," the old man said. "I'll do my best to help as long as it helps kill the Japanese. Be careful, Matsui is a ruthless character, and he's vicious. Don't be careless."

Zhou Ye agreed and turned to leave the grocery store. Following the address on the note, he quickly found the car dealership. The dealership owner, Zhao Hu, was a burly middle-aged man with a full beard and sharp eyes; he looked like someone not to be trifled with.

Zhou Ye explained his purpose and then produced the old deaf woman's bronze plaque and the note from the old man at the general store. After reading the note, Zhao Hu looked Zhou Ye up and down and said in a deep voice, "You really have the ability to sabotage the Japanese army's supply transport?"

"Of course," Zhou Ye said firmly, "I need your help to find out the specific details of the transport convoy, such as the number of vehicles, the number of escorting troops, and the distribution of sentries along the way. After it's done, I will give you half of the supplies, enough for you and your brothers to live on for a while."

A glint of shrewdness flashed in Zhao Hu's eyes. He had long wanted to teach the Japanese a lesson, but he had never found the opportunity. Now, with Zhou Ye taking the lead and the deaf old lady's connections, he had no reason to refuse.

"Alright!" Zhao Hu slammed his hand on the table. "I promise you! I have a few brothers under me who run transport and are familiar with the routes to Beiping. I'll have them go and gather information, and they'll let you know when they have any results."

Zhou Ye was overjoyed and quickly said, "Thank you, Boss Zhao! I've written my contact information here. Feel free to contact me anytime if you have any news."

He wrote down his contact information, handed it to Zhao Hu, gave him a few more instructions, and then got up and left the car dealership.

It was nearly noon when Zhou Ye, as agreed, headed towards the old locust tree on the west side of the steel rolling mill. From afar, he saw Yi Zhonghai waiting there, looking anxious.

"Brother Zhou, you've finally arrived!" Yi Zhonghai greeted Zhou Ye warmly upon seeing him. "What brings you here? Did something happen at the factory?"

"Uncle Yi, I heard the steel mill has been taken over by the Japanese, so I came to check on things," Zhou Ye said. "How's the situation at the factory? Are the Japanese abusing the workers?"

Yi Zhonghai sighed: "Don't even mention it! The Japanese are too arrogant. Not only do they make us work overtime to catch up on the work, but they also don't give us enough to eat. If we don't comply, they beat and scold us. Yesterday, two old workers were arrested and taken to the military police station for resisting, and their whereabouts are still unknown."

Zhou Ye's eyes turned cold. Matsui, that bastard, was indeed ruthless. He said, "Uncle Yi, I want to help you, and I also want to teach the Japanese a lesson. I plan to sabotage the Japanese military supply transport, but I need your help to gather information about the factory."

Yi Zhonghai hesitated for a moment, then his eyes hardened: "Brother Zhou, just tell me! What do you need me to do? I'll do it! Even if it costs me my life, I'm willing!"

"Uncle Yi, there's no need to risk your life," Zhou Ye said. "You just need to keep an eye on the progress of military supplies production at the factory, as well as the departure time and number of transport vehicles. Let me know if you have any news. Also, secretly contact a few reliable workers, so that we can have someone to look after us if needed."

Yi Zhonghai nodded emphatically: "No problem! I'll definitely handle it! Brother Zhou, you'd better be careful, the Japanese are very cunning!"

"I know," Zhou Ye nodded. "You also need to be careful at the factory and don't let the Japanese see through our plan."

The two chatted for a few more minutes, agreed on how to contact each other, and then Yi Zhonghai hurriedly returned to the factory to work. Zhou Ye watched his retreating figure, feeling a surge of emotion. These ordinary workers, though unarmed, possessed an indomitable spirit; given even a glimmer of hope, they were willing to fight back.

After leaving the old locust tree, Zhou Ye didn't immediately return to the courtyard house, but went to Fuxinglou Restaurant. He Daqing was busy in the kitchen, and when he saw Zhou Ye come in, he quickly stopped what he was doing.

"Brother Zhou, what brings you here?" He Daqing asked.

"Uncle He, I've come to see you and also to let you know that there might be some disturbances recently. Please ask your wife and children to stay in the yard as much as possible and not go out," Zhou Ye said. "Also, please tell the neighbors in the yard to be careful."

He Daqing's heart tightened, and he quickly asked, "Brother Zhou, is something wrong?"

"I'm going to take action against the Japanese army's supply transport," Zhou Ye said in a low voice. "It might be dangerous, so you all must be careful."

He Daqing's eyes narrowed, and he nodded: "Brother Zhou, don't worry, I will definitely tell everyone! You must be careful too!"

Zhou Ye agreed, gave a few more instructions, and then turned and left Fuxinglou.

It was already evening when Zhou Ye returned to the courtyard. The neighbors had all gone home from get off work and greeted him as he returned. Zhou Ye responded with a smile, but in his heart, he was already making plans—he had made contact with Zhao Hu's convoy, had Yi Zhonghai as an inside man in the factory, and had the support of the deaf old lady's connections; his plan to sabotage the Japanese army's supply transport was already showing initial promise.

Next, all he had to do was wait for news from Zhao Hu and Yi Zhonghai, and at the same time use this time to improve his own strength, prepare enough weapons and ammunition, and ensure that the plan would go perfectly.

As night deepened, Zhou Ye sat in his room and entered the system space. The crops on the farm were growing well; the organic fertilizer from decomposing the Japanese soldiers' corpses was proving very effective. The corn and sweet potatoes were ripe and ready for harvest. With a thought, he harvested the mature crops and planted new seeds.

The system space also had ample weapons and ammunition, including Type 38 rifles, hand grenades, and more, enough to handle a small-scale ambush. Zhou Ye picked up a Type 38 rifle and expertly inspected it, his eyes sharp.

He knew that this battle was not only to disrupt the Japanese army's supplies, but also to boost the morale of the people of Beiping and let them know that the Japanese were not invincible and that as long as everyone united, they would definitely be able to drive the Japanese out of China!

Moonlight spilled onto the bluestone slabs of the courtyard, carrying a faint coolness. In Zhou Ye's heart, however, burned a fierce rage and unwavering conviction. He waited, waiting for the perfect opportunity to deliver a fatal blow to the Japanese!