Durin's Diary

Chapter 867 Must be useful

Someone knocked on Li's door early in the morning. The head of the Li family got up early and felt a little surprised - who would come to see him so early in the morning?

He came to the door, unlocked it, and opened the old, mottled door.

Outside the door stood his five grandchildren, the young men in camouflage training uniforms, smiling and greeting their grandfather.

Among them, the third and fifth were from the Marine Corps, one from the 263rd Company and the other from the 141st Company.

The eldest is a logistics officer of the Air Force's flat-top aircraft carrier, the second is from the Navy, and the fourth is from the Army.

They are all members of the Shangjing Military Region and are not members of the same unit, but they all have a day off today.

In an instant, the old man of the Li family understood something. He wiped his nose, forced a smile, and made way for the children to come in. After all the children came in, he stuck his head out.

I saw every household in the alley, the young people, and even the military vehicles outside the alley and the middle-aged officer lighting a cigarette in front of the military vehicles.

He saw the old man from the Li family, straightened his body and saluted him.

The latter walked to the entrance of the alley and saluted the middle-aged man in front of him: "Xiao Qiu, the operation will be carried out in a few days. The three armed forces will be combined. I have never encountered such a thing when I was in the army."

"Old commander, the time has not been set yet. The marshal said that the children who went to Beijing should go home to visit. You are a sensible person, so I can't say much. If you want... just take them to the photo studio to take a family photo." The middle-aged man said as he gave the old man a cigarette.

"Okay." The old man of the Li family nodded and looked at the middle-aged man in front of him: "You haven't retired yet?"

"After what happened back then, none of us brothers left. We all hoped that the old master would help us vent our anger. So, could we wait until we can counterattack Luzon and bring our brothers home?" The middle-aged man smiled at this. "I wonder if we can finally get what we want this time."

"Thank you for your hard work." The old man from the hometown patted the middle-aged man on the shoulder: "Your family..."

"My two younger brothers have retired. My family will not die out, but Commander Wang..." "I know the Marines are all good, and you are all good too. If I were old and no one wanted me, I would also like to follow you young people to the beach again. There are too many Marines left in the occupied areas."

At this point, the two men, one old and one Chinese, sighed knowingly.

The old man smoked half a cigarette and saw his little boy running out of the door. He came to the two of them and said, "Grandpa, grandma is crying. You should go and see her."

"I understand. You go back first." The old man patted the little thing's head.

After he left, the old man took a last puff of his cigarette, then put out the butt and threw it into the trash can beside him.

"Old Captain, go back. My sister-in-law has been through this before and knows what's going to happen next. Go and persuade her."

"Why should I advise you? In Shangjing, this province, and Changtang, every family has died this way." The old man said as he walked towards his home without looking back.

The middle-aged man kept his head down until another old woman came over.

He saluted and she returned the salute.

"Old Li went back cursing. It seems that all the children in this alley have returned today." An old woman came in with an eye patch on her left eye and a robotic arm in her left hand.

"Yes, old brigade commander, we..." Facing the woman, the middle-aged man was a little afraid to say it out loud.

"If you don't want to talk about it, don't talk about it. If it weren't for you brothers and Old Wang, I would have died on that beach. Today, when I saw my brothers and sisters' grandchildren coming back, they thought the military was on holiday, but I know what happened..." The old woman said this and sighed: "You didn't retire. Why?"

"We were wondering if we could still bring our brothers home. Too many of them were left there, and someone had to go and bring them back." "What if your generation can't reach the beach?"

"Then naturally someone will come and pick them up."

Someone said so.

The old woman and the middle-aged man turned their heads and saw the old man from the Yan family. The old man looked at them and said, "This action was a joint effort of the three armies. Don't tell anyone. If the military court really knows that the news came from you, it will be very difficult for me to deal with it."

"We will never make things difficult for Marshal Yan." said the middle-aged man.

"I will never embarrass Mr. Zhenqing. My child is definitely a good soldier who will sacrifice his skin and flesh but never fall behind." The old woman saluted slightly.

"Are you Marines still saying this now?" asked the old Zhulong of the Yan family with a smile.

"It's always been said that we Marines will shed skin and flesh but never fall behind, and we will sweat and bleed but never shed tears." The middle-aged man replied.

"Don't worry, this time, all the descendants of our Yan, Luo, and Mo families will be mobilized, as will the Liu, Lin, and Zhang families." After Yan Zhenqing finished speaking, he took out a cigarette case and gave two cigarettes.

"Thank you, Mr. Zhenqing." The old woman took the cigarette and sighed, "I only regret that I was born early. I have to watch young people die in such a war."

"If Commander Wang hadn't carried you back from the Spirit Tower, you would have died once." Yan Zhenqing scolded softly.

"But it should have been me standing on the beach, holding the flag and fighting to the end in the name of the Marine Corps' command, instead of letting Lao Wang and his three children shed their last blood on the beach." The old woman said as she lit a cigarette for herself.

In the smoke, Yan Zhenqing saw her right hand shaking due to shell shock, a condition that many veterans suffered from.

Veterans of the Marine Corps had experienced countless encounters with puppet skeletons and monsters. Compared to the meager equipment of the aliens to the west, the puppet skeletons and monsters were better equipped, even possessing firearms. Many veteran Marines had only survived to retirement through sheer luck.

"Xiao Qiu, go back and come to pick people up tomorrow morning." Yan Zhenqing gave the order. The middle-aged man nodded, got on the car, and the military vehicle convoy began to move.

Yan Zhenqing looked at the old woman: "What about you?"

"My husband and my children couldn't make it to the beach. I've been living in the old house lately, and my brothers and sisters are here too... Mr. Zhenqing, please take me with you, okay? I've often thought of my old brothers in my dreams over the years... They still look so young in my dreams."

"You're too old. I've seen your veteran's medical records. You have severe shell shock. I'm afraid you won't be able to get off the landing craft once you get on."

The old woman looked at Yan Zhenqing with a pleading expression: "My husband, my children, so many young people haven't come back yet, I can't wait any longer."

“We’re not going to Luzon this time.”

"If we're not going to Luzon... then let me be the first wave to go ashore. I've lived enough, and it would be nice if I could help the young people take a few more bullets." The old lady's eyes were red. "Or, make me a fearless warrior. I just want to be able to go ashore again one day and bring those young people back, or give them an extra shelter."

Yan Zhenqing shook his head. "You don't get a spot in the Dreadnought. The early models are no longer in production. All the current Dreadnoughts are direct-drive models."

At this point, he sighed and said, "I'm sorry, Brigade Commander Wu, you've already fought the war you were supposed to fight. Just enjoy your retirement at home."

"What about you? You fought in wars hundreds of years ago. Why don't you retire?" the old woman asked desperately.

In response to this question, Yan Zhenqing, who had already turned around, turned back and smiled happily: "Those who are capable should do more work."

(End of this chapter)