Under One Person: One Person Goes

Chapter 441 Old Friends in the City
The blocking battle outside the city is over.

Even though Zhang Zhiwei was seriously injured and dying in the end, at the cost of the lives of twelve Zhuge family predecessors, the couple of Qimen Dunjia, and fourteen highly skilled sorcerers, and with the help of the Eight Diagrams left by Zhuge Wuhou, the ancestor of the Zhuge family, he only managed to replace a destroyer and destroy the power of two gunboats.

The damage caused to other gunboats could also be ignored. It was no wonder that the ancestors of the Zhuge family would sigh and feel helpless before their death. Even if they worked together to reproduce the Eight Diagrams Formation of their ancestor Zhuge Wuhou, what could they do? Zhuge Wuhou's extraordinary cultivation had not reversed the trend of the world and continued the Han Dynasty.

Now, times have changed. The Eight Diagrams Formation, which was once able to use one state to defeat the nine states under the command of Zhuge Wuhou, is now facing an armored fleet and cannot even hold it out for half a day. The enemy only needs two rounds of salvos to blast the Eight Diagrams into pieces and it is on the verge of collapse.

Having said that, this is the perspective of Zhang Zhiwei, or the older generation of practitioners. They lament that the circle of extraordinary people is gradually declining in the changing times, and even the things left by their ancestors cannot resist this trend.

But from the perspective of the old devil Kiyoshi Hasegawa, it is a different story.

Hasegawa Kiyoshi is not an alien. Although he holds a high position and is familiar with the local alien circle, he is not an insider after all. He is in awe of this alien circle that coexists with major civilizations in the world and continues to this day.

Even though Japan underwent the Meiji Restoration, it also won several wars of foreign expansion on this basis, especially the war against the Qing Dynasty, and became a player in the world's pie.

But the feudalism at its root is even more outrageous than that of the current Republic of China, especially the local Izu circle. If you really want to trace the origins of many Izu schools in Japan, you can find their source in China.

The reason why the local extraordinary circle has been able to produce so many talents and young masters in the past half century is largely due to the fact that Japan fought several wars against the Qing Dynasty and seized a large number of classics. In addition to the resources, there has been such a blowout growth.

Naturally, the local supernatural circles would have this idea: since the local supernatural schools have experienced such a blowout growth due to the victory in foreign wars, then are the supernatural schools in China that have been passed down for thousands of years better than them in this regard?

Wang Yi is an example.

During the Battle of Shanghai, the Navy Headquarters building, which was so impregnable that even the Kuomintang planes could not blow a hole in it, was blew open by Wang Yi, who then captured him alive and brought him back as if he were in an empty space.

Now Wang Yi is busy taking care of himself in the city, and he is on the Yangtze River which is the only way to go.

A group of Chinese practitioners of uncertain number, together with a ragtag army that, in Hasegawa Kiyoshi's opinion, only had courage but could not even be considered a regular army, blocked his fleet here for two or three hours and inflicted such an incredible loss ratio.

No matter how much the other side paid, Hasegawa Kiyoshi did not dare to bet whether the other side would come again and whether they would aim at him as the commander.

Instead of betting on whether the other party has a backup plan, it would be safer to pass the blame on and let the army's idiots clear the mines for you.

It was Zhang Zhiwei's ruthlessness that caused Hasegawa Kiyoshi to be cautious, which also bought the soldiers and civilians stranded in the city the last bit of time to escape.

After the army had cleared the mines for Hasegawa Kiyoshi, Hasegawa Kiyoshi commanded the fleet to reach the designated waters and block the river on the afternoon of the 13th.

But at this time, there were no longer any civilians or defeated soldiers at the dock who had used wooden barrels and door panels to cross the river.

As Hasegawa Kiyoshi's fleet completed the blockade of the river, it also meant the complete fall of Jinling City.

A greater disaster also befell the soldiers and civilians trapped in the city at this time.
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December 16th, the third day after the capital was completely captured.

Although the battle is over, the afterglow of the war is still raging in the city. Sparse gunfire can be heard from time to time in the quiet city that seems like a ghost town.

The invaders who occupied the city were carrying out a brutal massacre of the soldiers and civilians in the city, and a part of the defeated troops trapped in the city were launching a dying counterattack.

At this time, on the streets ravaged by war, a small group of defeated Kuomintang troops were advancing cautiously, trying to avoid the invaders' search while also trying to cross the invaders' blockade and escape from the city.

This small group of defeated soldiers consisted of about thirty people and was well-equipped. Even though they had lost contact with the main force, they still maintained their formation and were alert to every corner along the way, fearing that they would be discovered by the enemy.

The leader of this small group of defeated troops was an old acquaintance of Wang Yi, the Kuomintang officer he met on the Songhu battlefield, Zhou Weiguo.

After safely traveling along the way and finally seeing the city gate not far ahead, Zhou Weiguo finally relaxed his tense nerves a little. He pointed to a relatively intact house less than 20 meters away on the left and motioned the team to go in, hide in it for a while, rest, and wait until dark before setting off.

The door was opened carefully by the subordinate who went there first. After confirming that there was no suspicious situation in the yard, he signaled the teammates behind him to follow.

"Captain, there's a situation!"

As he was signaling to his men to restore the situation to its original state, the team member who had entered the house ahead of him also whispered a warning.

Hearing this, Zhou Weiguo's heart skipped a beat and he ran over quickly. He then saw that someone had already entered the room. They were thirteen women who were dressed up beautifully, with above average looks and figures, and were carrying their belongings.

Judging from the way they were dressed, one could easily tell the identities of these thirteen women.

With the idea of ​​less trouble is worse than more trouble, Zhou Weiguo also signaled his men to put away their weapons and whispered: "Ladies, we just want to leave the city, we have no other ideas. We are all under the same roof now. If you don't make any noise, we will be quiet too. We will all be well."

"Tsk, they are still so arrogant even after losing the battle. Sisters, give these stray dogs some space."

One woman was full of mocking words, but she also understood the current situation and signaled the other sisters to make room for them. Zhou Weiguo then let his men go into the house and hide.

As night fell, sporadic gunshots could still be heard in the city, but they were getting farther and farther away. Instead, the sounds of the invaders celebrating their victory over the invaders could be heard echoing nearby.

Zhou Weiguo and others hiding in the house kept a clear distance from the thirteen prostitutes. They did not dare to light a fire and just endured it there.

But now it is the twelfth month, the beginning of winter.
Zhou Weiguo's side was easier to deal with. All the soldiers in the Jinling Training Corps were from good families. They were not malnourished and were full of energy. With the dry food and cotton clothes they were wearing, they would be fine.

But these thirteen prostitutes were in a hurry to escape, and their suitcases were filled with flashy clothes and gold and silver jewelry.

In this twelfth lunar month, even if we took out all the clothes in the box and put them on, we would not eat or drink a drop of water. No matter how tightly we huddled together, we would still be shivering with cold.

Looking at Zhou Weiguo and the others who were unmoved, the woman who had been full of mocking words before couldn't help but mutter in a low voice.

"Oh, it's so miserable. I sold my body and donated money, but in the end, the unfaithful man just walked away and even failed to defend the city. We sisters are forced to squeeze into this shabby house and suffer from cold and hunger..."

"Da Liu, send these things over to them."

"But Captain..."

"Excuting an order!"

"Yes!"

The soldier named Da Liu took the few dry food and water bottles handed to him by Zhou Weiguo, as well as his cotton-padded clothes. No matter how unhappy he was, he had to put these things in front of the group of prostitutes.

Seeing Zhou Weiguo's tact, the woman was not polite and quickly divided the dry food into several portions and distributed them to her sisters. After drinking a sip of water to moisten her frozen lips, she put on her cotton coat and joked, "I didn't expect you to be the head of the group. After all, the head of the group is very considerate. It's just that you look unfamiliar. Have you never been to our place?"

"Yuzhu! Stop talking!"

"Sister Ruomei, it's already this late. If they lose the battle and implicate us, I'm not allowed to say a few sarcastic words?"

The woman called Ruomei was obviously the leader of this group of prostitutes. After being scolded by her, Yuzhu stopped talking. Ruomei also took out a jade bracelet from her suitcase, walked lightly to Zhou Weiguo and handed it to him.

"Sir, my sister is spoiled. Please be magnanimous."

"Take it back. It's useless at this time. She didn't say anything wrong. We didn't defend the city, so we deserve all the criticism. But from your conversation..."

"That's all in the past. Now I'm just a prostitute who sings and sells her body. What's your name, sir?"

"Zhou Weiguo."

"Lin Ruomei."

"You guys are leaving town?"

"Yes, but if Miss Lin asks us to take you with us, I'm sorry I can't do it. I'm not even sure if I can take my people away."

"Why don't you hide in a safe area of ​​the city?"

"We are soldiers, and you are civilians."

Hearing this, Lin Ruomei said no more and returned to her sisters, huddling together for warmth around the cotton coat that Zhou Weiguo handed to her.

The two sides continued to stay in this room peacefully. As the night deepened, Liu Da would warm Zhou Weiguo's hands from time to time and asked with his breath, "Captain, when are we going to act?"

"Wait a little longer, until the Japanese soldiers at the city gate have rested, then we can act."

"Okay, Captain, I remember you met a big shot called Boss Wang at the dock before. Why didn't you see him coming to help?"

"The division commander ran away with the money, and the brigade commander also broke up with us. At this time, everyone is looking out for themselves. Who has the energy to care about others? They may be being hunted by the Japanese now."

Zhou Weiguo listened to his subordinates' questions and smiled bitterly with helplessness.

As the night gradually deepened, Zhou Weiguo stared at the hour hand on his watch which was about to reach the number 2, and began to call on his men to prepare to leave.

"boom!"

At this moment, several gunshots broke the silence of the night, forcing Zhou Weiguo and his companions who were about to leave to hide. Lin Ruomei and the other thirteen prostitutes in the house also became nervous. Soon, Zhou Weiguo and his companions heard hurried footsteps mixed with Japanese approaching the house where they were.

"Captain, it's a group of female students, and the Japanese soldiers are arresting them!"

The guard reported in a low voice what he saw. For a moment, the prostitute in the room and her men were all staring at Zhou Weiguo, waiting for their leader to give orders.

Zhou Weiguo was also struggling with his inner thoughts.

The Japanese soldiers chased but did not kill the group of female students who tried to escape to a safe zone under the cover of night. It is easy to imagine what they wanted to do with these female students. Once caught, the fate of these female students in their prime would be worse than death.

If he ignores it, and uses the time when these female students attract the attention of the Japanese soldiers, his chances of escaping with his men will be greatly increased, but...
Zhou Weiguo turned around inadvertently and met the eyes of Lin Ruomei and other prostitutes hiding in the house. The face of his fiancée flashed through his mind, which made him take a deep breath and let out a long sigh.

"If you want to stay here, stay here. If you want to go out with me to rescue people, follow me."

"Captain, we are only a few steps away from leaving the city!"

"I'm a soldier! And so are you!"

Having said that, Zhou Weiguo ignored his subordinates' dissuasion and went out through the back door with his weapons.

Seeing this, the soldier named Da Liu followed, followed by the second and third. Even the subordinate who tried to dissuade him cursed inwardly and followed.

On the dark streets, female students would often fall down because they couldn't see the road at night, and would be caught up by Japanese soldiers behind them, who would then commit inappropriate acts.

The remaining Japanese soldiers became even more beastly and sped up their pursuit, enjoying the pleasure of hunting.

Little did they know that in the darkness, Zhou Weiguo had already led his men with guns pointed at them, ready to kill them at any time.

"Kill the Japanese soldiers who are taking off their clothes first, then kill those who are chasing us. Wait for my order!"

In the dark night, the cries of the female students as they struggled and the wild laughter of the invaders intertwined together, waiting for Zhou Weiguo's defeated army to break the situation.

Just as Zhou Weiguo was about to give the order to open fire, a golden light appeared in the darkness.

The laughter of the Japanese soldiers who were about to do something indecent to the female students suddenly stopped. Zhou Weiguo could clearly see that as the golden light passed by, the heads of the Japanese soldiers disappeared.

Before the other Japanese soldiers could react, a sound of breaking wind was heard beside them.

In the blink of an eye, the Japanese soldiers who were chasing the female students on the street were turned into pieces on the ground and died on the spot without even being able to shout a warning.

Only the female students who survived the disaster stood there in a daze, feeling the hot blood splashing on their faces and looking around in shock.

Zhou Weiguo's breathing quickened because he had seen this golden light before. Among the people he knew, only one person had such a performance.

In the dark, Zhou Weiguo also saw it.

The air was filled with the smell of blood. Wang Yi walked out of the darkness. Behind him was a group of ferocious-looking men, staring at the direction of Zhou Weiguo like jackals.

"Captain Zhou, we meet again."

(End of this chapter)