We promised to develop a game called Candy Crush, what the hell is the Third Reich?

Chapter 210 [Battle of Shanghai] The Sound of Cannons at Dawn (4.2k)

Although the concession area was safe, the view from the window made it clear that it wouldn't be easy to sneak in.

The security was tight. Even before nightfall, patrolling soldiers had already begun patrolling along the river, fearing that someone might try to cross undetected.

Shi Rui also wanted to go, but he didn't know how to get in.

But there's no money to stay here.

In this chaotic situation, if things really get shut down, we'll just have to start over.

Shi Rui was also undecided for a while, so he asked the viewers in the live stream if they had any good ideas.

Soon, a barrage of comments appeared.

[Run, anchor! The vanguard of the Japanese army is almost here!]

Find a yard, dig a cellar! Explore Shanghai at night.

[Go to the French Concession! There's an underground Communist Party liaison point on Avenue Joffre!]

[Go to Yong'an Company Pawnshop, I know the secret passage!]

[Bring two packs of Hademen cigarettes; offer them to them in a pinch, and they might just save your life!]

[Hilarious! Did the Japanese army smoke Hademen?]

Seeing the comments scrolling by, Shi Rui's eyes suddenly lit up.

Although he doesn't have any money, there are quite a few players who start in Shanghai, and some of them will know some secrets, such as the underground party contact point mentioned above, or the secret passage of the Yong'an Company pawnshop.

These were all discovered within their respective storylines, meaning that these two must also be present in his storyline.

In that case
Shi Rui immediately opened the game forum and had the Photon supercomputer search for the keywords 'Shanghai', 'money', and 'secret'.
soon.

A whole bunch of links appeared before Shi Rui's eyes.

The viewers in the live stream were completely bewildered when Shi Rui clicked on a link. The post inside was from a player who described how he had discovered a hidden official's mansion in a certain place in Shanghai.

He said he would come back every week, but he only left for two days this week.

The streamer then scaled the wall and explored the area, finding numerous gold bars and property deeds, among other things.
Upon seeing this, the viewers in the live stream all widened their eyes.

Is this even possible?

Shi Rui was also full of excitement, looking at each item one by one, waiting for it to get dark so he could go and loot a bunch of loot.

These are all standalone storylines. The secrets that are discovered in other people's storylines are well hidden in his storyline and have not been discovered by anyone.

As darkness fell, Shi Rui went out.

The next day.

It's just morning.

Shi Rui, who went out empty-handed yesterday, came back with a box full of small yellow croakers and silver dollars, and even through the secret passage of Yong'an Company that netizens had previously discovered.

He sneaked in, changed his clothes, and came back with a camera from the pawnshop.

Now no one will suspect anything if I'm pretending to be a reporter.

Looking at his reflection in the mirror, dressed in a suit and tie, with the camera in hand, Shi Rui nodded in satisfaction and said to the viewers in the live stream:

"Brothers, all the equipment is ready."

"Next, they'll impersonate reporters."

"Shouldn't a journalist's identity provide some protection from the Blue Team?"

talking.

Shi Rui changed the title of his live stream to
[1 day countdown to the start of the Battle of Shanghai]

Although there are still a few days left in the game.

However, at the speed at which the story is skipped, what takes a few days in the game can be skipped by tomorrow morning in real life.

So the countdown is naturally written as '1' days.

Meanwhile, in the other live streaming rooms next door...

Some streamers who also failed to trigger the Four Crossings of the Chishui River are learning from Shi Rui's actions in an attempt to trigger the Battle of Shanghai.

However, some people are just too far away.

So they simply joined local military units nearby, because in the CG on the Polaris official website, you could see that troops from all over the country were supporting Shanghai.

Even a blind cat can stumble upon a dead mouse; what if the unit I join turns out to be a combat unit?

And once those players joined, they quickly skipped the storyline.

The time skipped ranged from half a month to a month, and soon some streamers actually triggered the plot, and the troops received orders to go to Shanghai to provide support.

at this time.

In the live broadcast room of Liao Feng, a live streamer who joined the Sichuan Army.

Having joined less than half a month ago, their training was interrupted by a sharp whistle, and the messenger ran to the parade ground:
"Everyone! Pack your gear!"

"The Japanese devils from the East China Sea have reached Shanghai! We must go reinforce them!"

The messenger's words caused a commotion among the soldiers.

Some people were excitedly rubbing their hands together, some turned pale, and many more were completely bewildered and had no idea what was going on.

The host, Liao Feng, looked around, taking in the expressions of those around him, and also letting the viewers in the live stream see them. Then, Liao Feng began to speak:
"Most people are still unaware of the situation."

"But yes."

"Most of these soldiers were local farmers who didn't even know what Shanghai was."

Following Liao Feng's gaze, the troops that came into view in the eyes of the Blue Star netizens were wearing patched-up gray uniforms and straw sandals.

Some soldiers carried old rifles on their shoulders, the paint on the stock worn away long ago.

New recruits like Liao Feng weren't even allowed to carry guns; their only weapon was a broadsword.

However, no one objected.

Following the messenger's order, the soldiers, under the command of their respective officers, packed up their equipment, without even having time to say goodbye to their families back home.

Carrying their meager belongings, they began to walk out of the military camp.

Along the way, many villagers were discussing the matter, wondering what had happened and where the soldiers were headed.

Xiangjiang River area.

A Hunan Army unit is urgently boarding a train.

The streamer, He Ran, was also looking around, broadcasting the situation to his viewers on Blue Star.

This area is much closer to Shanghai than the Sichuan region, so many locals knew about the Japanese plan to attack Shanghai.

On the platform, soldiers carrying luggage lined up and squeezed themselves into the stuffy carriages.

Many soldiers had strings of bright red dried chili peppers hanging from their backpacks, which were gifts from their families or local residents.

He Ran's gaze swept across the platform; the soldiers outside could no longer stop the crowd.

An elderly mother with white hair carried a small bag of boiled eggs, calling out her child's nickname over and over again, searching for her child.

A young wife, holding her child, wept uncontrollably as she parted from her husband.

Some enthusiastic students impulsively wanted to join the team, but were prevented from passing by several soldiers.

But every moment of parting must eventually come to an end.

soon.

The first group of soldiers boarded the train, and as the train whistled, it slowly started moving and pulled away from the station.

He Ran squeezed into a corner, while the soldiers around him gathered by the window, waving to their families back home, completely unaware that this might be the last time they would ever see each other.

Wait until the station completely disappears from the window.

The soldiers returned to their seats, and the atmosphere suddenly fell silent. They all looked out the window with reluctance in their eyes.

Before I knew it, the hushed discussions around me had gradually increased.

"I heard their planes and artillery are very fierce."

"Screw it, let's do it!"

Mountainous area in northern Guangxi.

The anchor, Qiao Jie, was panting heavily as he forced his way through the mountains.

Most of the soldiers around were fit and strong, wearing shorts and leggings, and moved quickly through the mountains and forests with agile movements.

Compared to the soldiers around him.

Although George's physique looked good, he wasn't as quick as theirs.

The officers rode ahead on horseback, and the distinctive, urgent bugle calls of the Guangxi Army echoed through the mountains from time to time. Occasionally, a soldier would turn around and glance at the towering mountains.

He then turned his head and quickened his pace. The group moved silently and swiftly.

Even Qiao Jie, the anchor, didn't have time to provide commentary because he was simply too out of breath.

Their destination was also quite simple.

It means arriving at the nearest railway hub and then heading to Shanghai.

A town in Northwest China.

Li Ran, a streamer who wanted to join the army based on the location on the map, ended up joining the local security regiment by mistake.

I thought there was no hope, but then the story skipped around and triggered the Battle of Shanghai.

Even some viewers in the live stream were stunned.

Even the local security forces know about it? And they still want to get involved?
The troops were now assembled at the town entrance. The soldiers' uniforms varied, some even being from the previous batch, making the scene appear somewhat chaotic.

The weapons were even more varied and disorganized.

Aside from some old rifles, there were mostly old-fashioned rifles and homemade firearms like shotguns.

At the front of the procession was a simple platform.

An officer in a faded uniform stood atop the platform, looking down at the villagers and soldiers below, his voice loud yet tinged with sorrow:

"Fellow villagers!"

"The rise and fall of the nation is the responsibility of every citizen! With the Shanghai crisis, the whole country is sending reinforcements!"

"Though we are not the elite of the central government, we should still defend our land with our flesh and blood! Today we set out on this expedition, knowing we will die or be reborn! We will not fail the kindness of our hometown folks who raised us!"

offstage.

The soldiers were filled with fervor, waving their makeshift weapons and roaring deafeningly:

"Kill the enemy to serve the country! We swear to defend it to the death!!!"

"Kill the enemy to serve the country! We swear to defend it to the death!!!"

From the perspective of the live broadcast room, and in the reluctant gaze of the people in their hometown.

The security regiment, hastily reorganized into a regular army unit, set off across the Northwest, its departure carrying a strange sense of determination and tragic grandeur amidst the rising dust.

next door.

Inside the live stream room of host Tian Hong.

While other live streams were still on their way to the Battle of Shanghai, the Battle of Shanghai had already been raging for some time in Tian Hong's live stream.

However, he didn't know what was going on beforehand, so he could only keep skipping through the plot.

Fortunately, after repeatedly skipping over it.

His unit finally received orders to go to the Shanghai-Nanjing battlefield for support, which relieved Tian Hong's team, who almost thought the order hadn't been triggered.

Fortunately, they didn't give up.

at this time.

In front of the platform of the Jinpu Railway train.

Wu Keren, commander of the 67th Army of the Northeast Army, stood with his hand on his sword, his gaze sweeping over the soldiers outside each train car, his eyes filled with a resolute determination:
"Brothers! Today's southern expedition is not to flee for our lives! It is to tell the whole country that the Northeast Army is not all dead!"

"The blood feud of the Songhua River must be repaid with the blood of the Japanese devils on the Battle of Shanghai!"

A deafening roar erupted from the platform in an instant:
"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

The soldiers raised their rifles high, their eyes burning with the flames of revenge. As they boarded the train, it emitted a piercing whistle and slowly began to move.

Heading south to the Shanghai-Nanjing battlefield.

The next day.

As dawn broke.

The sky was just beginning to brighten.

However, the atmosphere in Shi Rui's live broadcast room suddenly became heavy.

Today marks the start of the Battle of Shanghai, though the people of Shanghai are unaware of this at the time.

The wealthy and powerful have already gone to the concession area, drinking coffee and looking across the river, some even playing mahjong, while most ordinary people have chosen to stay here.

It still looks like a normal scene.

With a camera strap hanging around his neck, Shi Rui walked down the street, and the people around him looked at him with slight surprise.

Then he went about his own business.

On the third floor of a building on the street.

An old woman patted down a quilt that was drying in the sun, making a loud thud, while a newspaper boy ran across the street, waving freshly printed newspapers still glistening with ink.

"Extra number! Extra number!"

"With frequent Japanese military exercises, the municipal government recommends storing three days' worth of rations!"

"Extra number! Extra number!"

"Japanese army."

The sound faded into the distance, and the old man selling soy milk nearby muttered curses under his breath.

"What good are three days' rations! Those Japanese bastards' shells don't have eyes!"

"If you ask me, just start hitting them already, kill them and that's it."

The woman buying breakfast whispered upon hearing this:

"This morning I saw many soldiers at the Shiliupu Wharf carrying those long wooden crates for loading guns onto the ships."

Just saying.

boom--!
A muffled clap of thunder echoed across the skies over Shanghai.

The woman buying breakfast trembled, and the soy milk in her hand almost fell to the ground, while the cursing old man froze on the spot.

Those wealthy and powerful people in the concession on the other side of the river stopped what they were doing and looked over.

After a few seconds.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom—!
The continuous roar of artillery fire signaled the start of the Battle of Shanghai!
The idea flashed through Shi Rui's mind.

The streets were in complete chaos. The people who remained there were clearly not expecting things to turn out so suddenly, and they were all quickly packing up their belongings.

The old man selling soy milk quickly picked up the stool, pushed his cart, and ran away.

People who had bought breakfast around also rushed home, and the old lady upstairs who had been patting her quilt also took it back and closed the window.

Only Shi Rui ran in the opposite direction from the others, heading towards the place where the artillery was raging.

Go against the flow of people.

The bluestone slabs beneath Shi Rui's feet gradually began to tremble, a result of the intense artillery fire from the Japanese army.

After running for more than ten minutes, I passed the corner of the department store in front of me, and the Huangpu River came into view, along with the warships moored on the river amidst the smoke of gunpowder.

Shi Rui glanced around and then rushed into the department store amidst the chaos.

They climbed to the fifth or sixth floor before looking out to survey the battle situation from their vantage point.

Boom boom boom boom——

Japanese artillery was fiercely bombarding the urban area of ​​Shanghai.

An elderly woman carrying a vegetable basket was knocked down by rubble from a shattered wall, while a bank employee in a suit grabbed his briefcase and rushed into a crater to escape the bombardment.

However, the Japanese soldiers who rushed into the city spotted him and fired a shot.

boom--!
He died directly in the bomb crater.

In the chaos and panic, many people bumped into each other and were shot dead by Japanese soldiers who killed anyone they saw before they could even get up.

This scene made Shi Rui and the netizens in the live broadcast room gasp in shock:
"rough!"

"They directly bombarded the city and massacred civilians."

"They're even more beastly than those from the Empire."

Shi Rui picked up his camera and began taking pictures of the Japanese soldiers massacring civilians in the distance.

I don't know if it will work, but I'll take the picture anyway.

While screenshots are convenient, they can only be viewed on Earth; NPCs in the game can't see them. However, photos taken with the game's camera can.

And far away.

After being caught off guard by the sudden attack, the Shanghai security forces, which had already reacted, were also gathering from all directions and quickly rushing to the battlefield.

(End of this chapter)