Anti-Japanese War: Starting from Yaobai

Chapter 2993 Liu Jinbiao Wants to Cry!
As the puppet army platoon leader spoke, he pointed mockingly to several miners lying on the ground, groaning in pain, their bodies covered in wounds from the Japanese attacks. Then he said viciously:

"See that? This is what happens when you disobey! If you don't want to end up like them, you'd better focus on mining coal. You must complete your daily tasks. If you don't, don't even think about eating or sleeping!"

He then walked up to Liu Jinbiao and Suzuki, looked them up and down, and said in a sarcastic tone:
"You two, judging by your clothes, you don't look like poor people. But once you're here, it doesn't matter what you did before, you'll all have to go down into the mine and dig coal. In this mine, the only way to survive is to dig coal like crazy!"

Liu Jinbiao suppressed his anger, lowered his head, and pretended to be afraid.

Suzuki quickly nodded and bowed, smiling broadly, and said, "Sir, don't worry, we will definitely work hard and would never dare to have any disloyal thoughts."

The puppet army platoon leader nodded in satisfaction, then shouted to the crowd, "Remember this, everyone: in this mine, all actions must be under the command of the Imperial Army, and also under my orders. If I find anyone slacking off or making any trouble, you'll be in big trouble!"

After saying that, he waved his hand and shouted to his men, "Take them to the work shed to register and group them, then arrange for them to start work!"

Several puppet soldiers immediately responded, took notebooks and pens, and began to drive the crowd toward the work shed.

Liu Jinbiao and Suzuki exchanged a glance, both understanding that the days ahead would likely be difficult.

In front of the work shed, several puppet soldiers dressed in yellow leather uniforms held paper and pens and loudly ordered everyone to line up, register, and be divided into groups.

These puppet troops had long lost their humanity, and they would beat and kick the captured miners at the drop of a hat, treating them as if they were not human beings at all.

After all, in their eyes, no one could leave this mine alive once they entered.

One of the puppet soldiers cursed and said, "All of you, behave yourselves and line up properly. If you dare to try anything funny, I'll let you taste my whip!"

Liu Jinbiao and Suzuki stood helplessly in the queue, watching as the people in front of them were registered and then assigned to different work sheds. A sense of unease crept into their hearts. If they were assigned to different work sheds, it would be difficult to see each other again.

A moment later, it was finally their turn. A puppet soldier with a pockmarked face glanced at them sideways and asked impatiently, "What's your name?"

Liu Jinbiao quickly smiled apologetically and said, "Liu Jinbiao."

Suzuki quickly added, "Li Er."

The pockmarked puppet soldier scribbled a few lines on the paper, then waved his hand and ordered, "You two, go to work shed number three!"

"Thank you, thank you, boss!"

Liu Jinbiao and Suzuki thanked each other at the same time, because at least they had been assigned to the same work shed, so at least they could look after each other.

Led by another puppet soldier, they headed towards Work Shed No. 3.

Work shed number three was located on the edge of the mine, and its walls were haphazardly pieced together from broken wooden planks and scrap iron sheets.

The door to the shed was a piece of broken wood that looked like it could collapse at any moment, covered with holes of varying sizes.

The puppet troops brought them here and scolded, "Go inside and stay put. Someone will come to call you when it's time to go to work. Don't wander around. Imperial Army bullets don't have eyes. If you get shot for no reason, don't blame me for not warning you!"

With that, the puppet troops left, and everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief.

As soon as everyone pushed open the dilapidated door, they almost vomited from the stench.

A pungent stench assaulted my nostrils; it was an unpleasant odor a mixture of sweat, foot odor, and putrid smells that made me want to vomit.

Liu Jinbiao felt a churning in his stomach and almost vomited. He quickly covered his mouth and nose with his hand, frowning, not daring to even take a breath.

An old miner, half-dead, lay in a dark corner, groaning a few times, "You'll get used to it. It's like this when you first come here."

Liu Jinbiao looked in the direction of the sound, but couldn't see anything clearly at all.

The shed was very dark, with only a flickering oil lamp emitting a faint light.

A tattered straw mat was laid on the ground, on which some worn-out quilts were piled up haphazardly. The quilts were covered with stains and patches and smelled musty.

In the corner, there was a dilapidated wooden barrel filled with excrement, which no one cleaned up.

At this moment, an old worker with a haggard face and gray hair struggled to sit up and slowly walked out from the corner of the darkness.

He was wearing an old, tattered shirt and smelled of the same sweat as everyone else in the room.

He looked at Liu Jinbiao, Suzuki, and the others, who were clearly having trouble enduring it, and smiled helplessly, saying, "You'll get used to it. There are still more than twenty people working here who haven't come back yet!"

Listening to the old worker's words, Liu Jinbiao felt like crying. He looked at the small shed, which was already cramped with a dozen or so people living there. How could they possibly sleep if they were to squeeze in another twenty?
At this moment, thinking about how nearly forty people were crammed into this shed, which was less than ten meters long and no more than three meters wide, and how they still had to go hundreds of meters underground to dig coal, Liu Jinbiao felt like crying.

He kept shouting in his heart, "Captain, when are you going to start the mine? I don't want to stay in this place for even a day longer."

Suzuki also had a long face, because was this a place for humans to stay? He was starting to regret coming.

But obviously, there's no going back in this world, and he could only grit his teeth and swallow his anger.

He pretended to comfort Liu Jinbiao, saying, "Brother Liu, don't be too sad. Let's bear with it for now, and we'll definitely escape when we find a chance."

Liu Jinbiao nodded helplessly, but wondered how Fan Chao would sleep tonight.

Just then, a series of noisy footsteps came from outside; it turned out that the miners who had gone to work were returning.

They all looked exhausted, covered in coal dust, and their eyes revealed numbness and despair.

They entered the shed and saw Liu Jinbiao and Suzuki, two new faces. They glanced at them briefly, then each found a place to lie down, as if they had already become accustomed to it all.

Some miners, upon entering the work shed, would collapse onto the straw mat without even taking off their shoes, and immediately begin snoring.

Several other miners sat together, their faces full of mocking smiles. One of them said in a sarcastic tone, "Oh, another newcomer. Welcome to the eighteenth level of hell!"

The people around chimed in, "That's right, that's right, this place is hell! There's a hell of knives, a hell of fire, and a hell of tongue-pulling. Everyone, enjoy it! Hahaha!"

Some miners, with vacant and lifeless eyes, dragged their feet to a corner, sat down slowly like soulless zombies, hugged their knees, buried their heads between their knees, and ignored everything around them.

The outside world is no longer relevant to them; their greatest wish is to die as soon as possible.

Liu Jinbiao and Suzuki watched helplessly as these people squeezed in, unsure of how they would get to sleep.

Just then, a skinny man with a pointed chin and monkey-like face suddenly squeezed in from outside, shouting at the top of his lungs, "Newcomers, come with me to work and familiarize yourselves with your new positions. Remember, behave yourselves. The Imperial Army isn't easy to fool, and we foremen don't tolerate any slacking off! Anyone who dares to slack off will be whipped at best, and shot by the Imperial Army at worst!"