Bright Sword: The Flowers of War

Chapter 8 Here... is this the Thirteen Beauties of Jinling?
While observing the surroundings, Su Yaoyang casually said, "My name is Su Yaoyang. You can call me Brother Su or Brother Yaoyang, it's all fine. We're all Chinese, so helping each other is only right."

At this time, the streets of Nanjing were filled with destroyed buildings. The three of them walked along the streets full of broken bricks and tiles, talking as they went.

"There's chaos and turmoil right now, why are you running around everywhere? Don't you know there are Japanese devils everywhere?" Su Yaoyang turned his head and asked.

"I...we don't know either."

Shujuan lowered her head and whispered, "We are all students of St. Paul's Church. Our priest was killed by a Japanese bomb yesterday."

Japanese soldiers were everywhere, so Chen Qiaozhi led us out of the church, trying to escape to the safe zone, but we ran into Japanese soldiers halfway there... We... we got separated from them, and now we don't know where to go."

After saying that, she started to sob.

“Chen George…a Japanese…St. Paul's Church…”

The more Su Yaoyang listened, the more familiar the name sounded. A fragment suddenly flashed through his mind, and after a moment of stunned silence, he blurted out, "Is your priest named Engelmann?"

"Yes."

Shujuan was slightly taken aback, hesitated for a moment, and then asked, "Do you know Father Engelmann?"

"Is the young man named Chen Qiaozhi who brought you out about fifteen or sixteen years old, and is he wearing glasses?"

"Brother Su, how did you know?" The three women were genuinely surprised, slowing their pace and looking at him in astonishment.

"Damn it..." Su Yaoyang's expression immediately changed.

He finally understood. This was clearly a character from the movie he had seen called "The Flowers of War." He had been brought into the movie by that chubby kid.

"Brother Su, what's wrong with you?" Seeing Su Yaoyang's face darken, Shujuan and the other two girls were startled. This handsome, fair-skinned young man in front of them was their only hope now. If something happened to him, they would really have no hope left.

"It's alright, this is none of your business."

Su Yaoyang offered them a few words of comfort, but his mind was racing.

According to the movie, if they hadn't met him, only one of the three girls who got separated from their companions would have escaped back to St. Paul's Church; the other two would have been stabbed to death by Japanese soldiers with bayonets.

Now, because they met him, the fates of the three of them have changed, but this is only temporary, and no one can predict what will happen next.

Thinking of this, Su Yaoyang said to the three of them, "I advise you not to run around anymore. It's too dangerous outside. Let's go back to the church and hide for a while."

"I……"

The three women exchanged glances, and Shujuan hesitated for a moment before asking, "Brother Su, can we come with you?"

"Follow me? Aren't you afraid I'm a bad guy?"

Su Yaoyang was surprised. He had never met them before. Why would they want to follow him? Weren't they afraid that he would harm them?
“Yes, Brother Su.” Another girl wearing glasses gritted her teeth and whispered, “Brother Su, if you hadn’t saved us just now, the three of us would have been captured or killed by the Japanese devils long ago.”

You are our savior. Even if it's detrimental to us, we'll accept it.

"I……"

Su Yaoyang was both amused and exasperated. Are all girls these days so naive?
After thinking for a moment, he slowly shook his head. "I am grateful for your trust, but I still cannot take you with me."

“Brother Su…” The three women’s expressions changed, and they were about to speak when Su Yaoyang raised his hand to stop them. “Listen to me first. There’s a reason why I’m not taking you with me.”

Not to mention that the ferry crossings leading out of the city have been blocked by the Nationalist army, so you can't get out at all. Moreover, I have companions waiting for me in the inn.

How about this, you all go back to the church first, and after I find my companions, I'll take them to St. Paul's Church to find you. Is that alright with you?

"I...we..."

The three women hesitated for a moment, exchanged glances, and finally nodded slowly.

"Brother Su, we believe you."

"Don't worry, I'll come to the church to find you after I find my companions, I promise." Su Yaoyang raised his hand in a vow gesture and made a funny face, which made the three girls burst into laughter through their tears.

"Brother Su, let's go back to the church first."

The three women knew that if they continued to follow Su Yaoyang, they would not only be of no help but also become a burden to him, so they could only support each other and slowly walk back the way they came.

Looking at the three women who kept turning back to look at each other, Su Yaoyang felt both touched and amused. He then remembered something and called out to them.

"Oh, right, wait a moment."

Su Yaoyang strode forward, took out the M1911A1 pistol and two magazines from his waist and handed them to Shujuan, then handed a cloth bag to the girl wearing glasses.

"Your name is Wang Xiaozhen, right? Here are six Japanese hand grenades and two rifles for you to use for self-defense, but you'd better be careful when using them..."

After briefly explaining the use of grenades and rifles to the two women and asking for directions to St. Paul's Church, Su Yaoyang watched the three women reluctantly walk back the way they came.

After watching the three women leave, Su Yaoyang, relying on his memory, carried the remaining Type 38 rifle towards the inn. However, after taking only two steps, he suddenly heard a piercing metallic scraping sound from ahead, accompanied by bursts of explosions.

"That's...that's...that's a tank..."

Su Yaoyang hesitated for a moment, then his expression changed. Although he had never seen the real thing in real life, as a young man who grew up in the 21st century and was used to watching movies and TV shows and watching countless military videos, how could he be unfamiliar with this thing?
He glanced into the distance, then at the Type 38 rifle in his hand, and slapped his forehead: "Damn... I'm a guy with cheat codes, why am I still using this piece of junk?"

"We can't create overly advanced weapons right now due to limitations in our mental capabilities, but surely we can get a decent light weapon for self-defense?"

He arrived here first, looked around, and hid in a house that had been half-destroyed by the bomb. After fiddling with it for a while, he came out again with a large weapon hanging on his chest and a weapon taller than himself on his back.

Anyone familiar with the area would exclaim in surprise upon seeing the equipment Su Yaoyang was holding, "A Chicago typewriter!"

That's right, the weapons that Su Yaoyang just cashed in for were the famous Thompson submachine gun and the Russian PTRD-41 anti-tank rifle from World War II.

As for the captured Type 38 rifle, he had long since thrown it away in some corner.

Not only that, Su Yaoyang also had more than a dozen M24 stick grenades hanging on his chest and back, as well as two bulging ammunition pouches.

Logically speaking, the weight of just these two guns alone is 27 kilograms. Adding the grenades and bullet belts, Su Yaoyang's body load at this time is at least 50 kilograms.

For an ordinary person, carrying such heavy loads would be exhausting, let alone marching or fighting. However, since his mental strength surged, Su Yaoyang's physical fitness has also improved significantly. Carrying these things is nothing to him, and he can still walk briskly.

(End of this chapter)