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

Chapter 212 [Battle of Shanghai] The Guidance of the Death Flag (4k)

Inside Shi Rui's live stream room.

From a first-person perspective, lying on the rooftop, I observed and recorded the entire battle.

In fact.

From a high-altitude perspective, the situation was far more intense than imagined.

The counterattack at Yunzaobang.

On the first day of the counterattack, the casualties of the Guangxi Army, as tallied from a distance using photonic supercomputers, had already reached over 10,000.

The Japanese army deployed heavy machine guns, infantry artillery precisely destroyed positions, and air power provided continuous bombing coverage.

Looking down from the top floor of the high-rise building on Shi Rui's side, the front-line soldiers fell in droves, while the rear-line soldiers continued to charge forward wave after wave. The battle was so fierce that it was like "a wave of people crashing against the shore."

The casualties that followed were even more extreme.

In just a few days, nearly 60,000 Guangxi soldiers were almost completely wiped out.

The brutality of the battlefield can be imagined.

Meanwhile, reinforcements from troops across the country arrived in Shanghai one after another.

next door.

Inside the live stream room of host Liao Feng.

Chenjiaxing, northern suburbs of Shanghai.

This small mountain village, almost invisible on the map, has now become the focus of contention between the two sides.

Chenjiaxing is located on the north bank of Yunzaobang in Shanghai and serves as the northern barrier for the main battleground of Dachang Town.

If the Japanese army breaks through this place, they can rush straight to Dachang and then tear apart the entire Songhu defense line. This place has become the key to blocking the enemy's southward advance.

When the Sichuan army arrived, Chenjiaxing had already fallen.

However, due to the constant attrition by the Sichuan Army, the position was repeatedly recaptured and changed hands, resulting in huge casualties.

at this time.

On the Chenjiaxing position, the air was filled with the smell of gunpowder and blood, and a faint wisp of yellow smoke drifted across the battlefield.

The anchor, Liao Feng, leaned against the trench, covering his mouth and nose with a wet rag, watching the sun gradually rise on the horizon, and said to the live broadcast room:

"hiss--"

"Another day has passed."

Liao Feng's right leg was stained blackish-brown with blood.

Wrapped in bandages, he dared not expose even a trace of his wound.

The faint yellow smoke that filled the battlefield was poison gas released by the Japanese army, and it had not dissipated even after half a night, still spreading across the battlefield.

Once a wound is exposed to toxic gas, high fever is the least of the problems; in severe cases, the wound will fester and die rapidly.

The Japanese army's tactics involved artillery barrage and poison gas attacks.

Meanwhile, the Sichuan Army...
There is no heavy firepower.

Each person had three hand grenades, plus a worn-out rifle and a broadsword.

The Japanese forces on the other side not only had Type 92 infantry guns and poison gas shells, but also Type 97 tanks.

The Sichuan Army soldiers could only rush under the tanks with cluster grenades to destroy them, and there were even scenes of them hacking at the tanks with broadswords. Liao Feng felt both heartbroken and helpless watching this scene.

Sudden.

A scream pierced the poisonous fog of the battlefield:
"Tanks! The Japanese tanks are coming!"

Liao Feng immediately got up:
"rough!"

He peeked out from the edge of the trench and looked outside.

at this time.

The tracks of the Japanese Type 97 tanks were rolling over the corpses of soldiers as they slowly moved side by side toward Liao Feng's position, and Liao Feng raised his rifle.

They fired at the tank, and a barrage of gunfire erupted around them.

But it had no effect whatsoever.

boom--!
A shell came flying in, but it didn't contain explosives; it contained poison gas.

A yellowish-green toxic fog instantly spread across the trenches following the explosion.

Liao Feng crouched down to avoid the attack, but the spreading air currents still caused him a burning pain with every breath, and painful coughs echoed all around him.

at this time.

Inside the adjacent trench.

Several Sichuan soldiers leaped out of the trenches, covering their mouths and noses, and charged toward the tanks carrying explosive packs, braving the spreading poisonous fog.

bang bang bang-

The Japanese soldiers hiding behind the tank suddenly rushed out and fired wildly at the Sichuan soldiers who wanted to blow up the tank.

Blood blossomed on the soldiers' bodies as they pulled the pins on their explosive charges in their dying moments, throwing them at the slowly moving tank.

boom!
boom!
A massive explosion spread.

But the advancing tank only stopped for a moment before continuing to roll forward.

The Japanese tanks were not in a hurry to advance, seemingly wanting to use up all the poison gas shells they carried, bombarding the position one by one.

The already lingering poison gas became even more concentrated due to the explosion and the spread of new poison gas.

In the sky.

Japanese planes roared overhead, dropping a dense barrage of bombs on the Sichuan soldiers' positions.

A sharp whistling sound rang out.

next second.

Deafening explosions rang out one after another, and dirt, gravel, and shrapnel flew everywhere. In the distance, the Japanese Type 92 infantry guns on the other side of the position were also bombarding the trenches.

Liao Feng covered his ears tightly with both hands and leaned against the trench.

Mud, gravel, and other debris kept flying up from above.

The intense shock from the explosion made him feel as if his internal organs had been displaced.

The bombardment lasted for more than half an hour before it finally stopped.

And this is just the beginning of the day.

Based on the situation in the previous two days, someone in Liao Feng's live broadcast room calculated that the Chenjiaxing position was bombed by the Japanese army for more than 10 hours a day on average.

at this time.

The battlefield was already a scene of devastation.

Liao Feng shook off the mud from his body, limped to his feet, and heard a ringing in his ears.

Soldiers kept getting up around them.

In Liao Feng's view, everyone was shouting something with their mouths open, but they were obviously deafened by the shells.

Someone waved their arm and pointed ahead.

There.

The vanguard of the Japanese army had begun to approach, with a number of Type 97 tanks leading the way, followed by a dense array of infantry. The sunlight shone on the bayonets, flashing a blinding cold light.

The Sichuan soldiers at the front began to raise their guns and fire at the Japanese troops.

However, because they couldn't hear the commands, the fighting became somewhat chaotic for a while.

Liao Feng also raised his gun and fired, but he ran out of bullets after only two shots. He bent down and searched the body of his fallen comrade, but only found six bullets.

Six bullets were quickly used up.

Liao Feng was so frustrated that he threw the old rifle away when he tried to pull the trigger.

A rifle without bullets is no better than a broadsword.

Drawing his broadsword from his back, Liao Feng crouched down, ready to wait for the Japanese soldiers to come and engage in hand-to-hand combat.

at this time.

On the battlefield, a blood-stained white cloth fluttered in the smoke of battle.

On the flagpole that had been cut in half by artillery fire, the character for "death," as large as a bushel, was written in the center of the flag.

On either side are several lines of smaller text: "In the face of national crisis, the Japanese invaders are ferocious. We hereby bestow this flag upon you, to be carried at all times. Use it to wipe away blood when wounded, and to wrap your body after death. Advance bravely, and never forget your duty."

Although I can't hear anything anymore.

I don't know what the order from the superior is.

But the moment the 'death' flag was raised, everyone knew what to do. Looking at the fluttering 'death' flag, Liao Feng looked down at the broadsword in his hand and his almost numb right leg. Liao Feng bent down and pulled the grenade off his fallen comrade's body.

With his two grenades added, he created a cluster grenade consisting of only three grenades.

Liao Feng, dragging his limp, moved through the trenches.

Two hundred meters away.

The Japanese troops had already begun firing at the position. Bullets swept across the position and also hit the flag with the character "death". Beside the flagpole, a bloodied and mangled figure clung tightly to the flagpole.

Let that flag bearing the word 'death' never fall, but flutter in the wind.

Liao Feng recognized the notebook on the young soldier's waist; it belonged to a messenger from the company headquarters.

He's only 17 years old this year, a little soldier with a baby face.

Liao Feng shook his head and cursed under his breath:
"The damn Japanese devils"

Until now.

The intense fighting had numbed Liao Feng; too many people had died.

Liao Feng, limping along in the trenches, got closer and closer to the vanguard of the Japanese army. He tied the cluster grenades together and pulled the fuse.

As the Japanese troops drew closer, Liao Feng suddenly pulled out the fuse!
He threw the cluster grenade at the Japanese tank, then climbed out of the trench and charged at the tank with his broadsword.

Chug tug tug——

A barrage of bullets swept past, bringing Liao Feng, who was charging with his knife, to an abrupt halt.

Several machine gun bullets had already pierced his chest.

My body collapsed uncontrollably, and I felt dizzy, but the buzzing in my ears suddenly disappeared.

In a trance.

It sounded as if one could hear a series of explosions.

Liao Feng knew that these were Sichuan soldiers who wanted to stop the Japanese army's attack with their lives, but unfortunately, Liao Feng could no longer control his body and could not see that scene.

I don't even know if the bundle of cluster grenades I threw killed any Japanese soldiers.

For some reason, this thought flashed through Liao Feng's mind.

After a few seconds.

The screen went completely dark.

This Sichuan army, wearing straw sandals and walking 3,000 li to the front line, fought a bloody battle with the Japanese army for seven days and seven nights at the Chenjiaxing position.

Of the more than 8000 men in the 26th Division, only a few hundred survived.

All officers of platoon rank and above died in battle.

Until the very end, only the flag bearing the character for "death" remained, fluttering in the wind, guiding the last soldiers to continue their defense.

next door.

Inside Shi Rui's live stream room.

As the Japanese army launched a fierce artillery attack, the Republic of China troops gradually became overwhelmed.

During this time, Shi Rui, lying on the top floor of a high-rise building, witnessed the Sichuan Army, which had marched 6 li, fighting a bloody battle for seven days and seven nights, while the six divisions of the Guangxi Army that came to take their place were wiped out in four days.

I've also been to other live streaming rooms.

I witnessed the soldiers of 15 divisions of the Hunan Army holding out for 21 days and nights, with almost all of them dying in battle. The saying "No Hunan Army, no Hunan Army" became a legend after this battle. After this battle, there was no more Hunan Army.

We also witnessed 50,000 Guangdong troops fighting head-on against 90,000 Japanese troops, with entire regiments and battalions being wiped out, leaving only about 3000 men in the end.

In order to cover the retreat of 700,000 main troops, more than 10,000 men of the 76th Army of the Northeast Army stayed behind, and the entire army was wiped out. The army commander, Wu Keren, charged forward with his gun, was hit by several bullets, and drowned in the river and died for his country.

These scenes.

This made many loyal Blue Star players feel both familiar and unfamiliar.

It felt familiar because the last time I saw a scene like this was during the Battle of Moscow in Europe.

The feeling of unfamiliarity stems from the fact that the situation is quite different from that in Europe.

The same sacrifice, the same tragedy.

But the difference is.

The Soviet was a highly organized state apparatus, and its war machine was maintained through institutionalized sacrifices in a tragic way.

The tragic story of China is the desperate counterattack of agrarian civilization against the invasion of industrial power, with troops from 22 provinces across the country joining the war and breaking down the barriers between warlords.

Warlords abandoned their personal interests, peasants put on straw sandals, the wealthy donated their savings, and soldiers used their flesh and blood to stop the advance of tanks.

Compared to the Soviet Union's iron torrent.

This despair of filling the generation gap with flesh and blood is what gradually awakens an ancient nation amidst the scorching flames.

The most representative example is a video that Shi Rui risked his life to sneak into the Sihang Warehouse and film.

He was shot and killed after filming this scene.
Because some live streams were earlier than Shi Rui's, they roughly knew the direction of the battle.

The story includes perspectives from various military units across the country, such as the Sichuan Army, Guangxi Army, and Hunan Army, but lacks the perspective of the Central Army.

Unfortunately, no one triggered the plot.

Therefore, Shi Rui's side became the best choice, because the other live broadcast rooms were filled with soldiers from various local troops, while his side was filled with fake reporters overlooking the battlefield.

Having learned of the subsequent course of the battle, and at the request of many Blue Star fans, Shi Rui infiltrated the Sihang Warehouse a day in advance.

It also recorded the most unforgettable moments for Blue Star fans.

Inside the empty warehouse.

The warehouse was filled with smoke and gunfire.

The soldiers of the Central Army charged head-on with the Japanese army. The distance between the two sides was less than 20 meters. The intense gunfire caused the front-line soldiers to fall almost instantly.

Soldiers from both sides immediately filled in, launching a frontal charge at such close range.

This directly shocked netizens on Earth.

Even if they could restart the game indefinitely, they never considered exchanging fire at this distance.

20 meters apart, almost face to face.

At 20 meters, the sound of a bullet piercing a chest could be clearly heard.

At a distance of 20 meters, the blood mist exploded amidst the smoke and even the smell of blood could be detected.

Fear is a human instinct.

But at this moment, what burned even hotter than fear was the determination in their eyes.

Without cover, without tactics, and even with very few bullets, all they did was aim, fire, and then, as the fallen soldiers stepped over the warm corpses to take their place and continue firing at the Japanese troops opposite.

They formed a Great Wall with their flesh and blood, and used their lives to hold back the invaders inch by inch.

The video shot by Shi Rui quickly went viral and became a trending topic.

The hashtag #ShootingAttackAtSihangWarehouseAtTwentyMetersAgo# has spread explosively across major platforms on Earth.

Even though the troops of the various federations on Earth were well-trained, they were still shocked by this resolute will.

Because this has nothing to do with tactics, but with absolute will and faith.

into the night.

Polaris Corporation, CEO's office.

Looking at the comments online.

The impact of the Battle of Shanghai continues to reverberate.

Compared to the shock felt in Europe, the tragic grandeur of the Chinese experience resonates even more deeply with people.

However, due to the triggering issue, many Blue Star players were unable to participate and could only watch others experience it. Zhao Ming also collected some feedback.

We're planning to extend the timeline a bit more.

Originally, the furthest timeline that could be selected was 1931, but it has been expanded to 1937.

Going any further is definitely not an option, since the timeline for World War I ended in 1939.

Zhao Ming then turned his attention to World War II.

After this period of build-up, although the sequel, "Cold War Clouds," doesn't have any major plot twists, gathering information is still quite enjoyable.

In particular, Blue Star players have a lot of free time. According to the backend data, Blue Star players are found almost all over the world, even in African tribes.

As players communicated and shared more information, the post-World War II world order and various conspiracies gradually became clearer.

Once the story in the "Age of Awakening" DLC is nearing its end, players can smoothly transition to the "World War II" storyline.

(End of this chapter)