You are ordered to support the War of Resistance against Japan; China enters Level 1 combat readines

"Buzz—!"

The sound was initially very soft, as soft as the wind blowing through an electrical wire, a buzzing sound that was completely drowned out by the booming noise of the "board," and almost no one noticed it.

But it grew bigger, closer, and heavier, changing from a buzzing sound to a booming one, and from a booming one to a deafening one, as if ten thousand muffled thunderclaps were rolling over from behind the clouds, pressing down and crushing everything in their path.

Someone looked up.

"What's that sound?" someone asked. The sound was very faint, as faint as a mosquito's buzz.

The clouds in the sky were thick and white, and you couldn't see anything.

But the sound was above the clouds, growing louder and closer, as if something enormous was turning over from behind the clouds, about to burst out.

Then, air raid sirens sounded throughout the city.

Woo-woo-woo-woo

Each note was more urgent and shrill than the last.

The crowd fell silent.

Air raid siren?

They had never heard an air raid siren before.

This thing has been around for decades, and no one has ever heard it make a sound since the day it was installed.

Some say it will never ring, some say it's just a decoration, and some say the empire's skies will never be touched by enemies.

It's ringing now.

Everyone is stupid.

I don't know what this means, I don't know where to run, I don't know whether to squat down or lie down, I don't know whether to cover my ears or my mouth.

Some people stood motionless, like a tree stunned by the wind; some spun around in circles, unsure which way to go; some hugged the person next to them, unsure whether they were comforting the other person or looking for something to hold onto.

But in that blank silence, the boy in the school uniform suddenly smiled.

"I see!"

"This is an exercise! It's an air defense exercise organized by the Empire!"

"How could the Empire possibly have enemies flying to Tokyo? Absolutely impossible! This is an exercise! It's to train our air defense awareness!"

A boy in a school uniform tilted his head back, chin held high, and the veins on his neck bulged out one by one.

He pushed up his glasses and squinted at the vast expanse of white sky.

"A plane that appears in our country must belong to our country!"

The others were taken aback at first, then nodded in agreement.

Reasonable!

"Yes, yes, yes!"

"It must be a new type of aircraft that the Empire is testing!"

"We're in Tokyo, the capital of the Empire. How could we possibly be enemy planes? How could the enemy possibly fly to Tokyo?"

"Exactly! The Combined Fleet is blocking their way across the Pacific; the Chinese can't even leave the sea!"

exercise!

It must be a drill!

How could the capital of the empire be bombed by the enemy?

It is the empire reminding its citizens not to let their guard down, and the government is training everyone's air defense awareness.

"Banzai!" someone shouted.

"Onboard! Onboard! Onboard!"

More and more people joined in the chant.

The shouts echoed from the Prime Minister's Office, across Nagatacho, across Kasumigaseki, across the Imperial Palace, and across the entire city of Tokyo.

The air raid sirens were still sounding, but the crowd did not disperse, run, or take cover.

They stood there, heads tilted back, looking up at the vast white sky, laughing, shouting, and clapping, as if welcoming something.

……

heaven.

Ten H-6 bombers were lined up in neat formation at an altitude of 9,000 meters.

The clouds covered the area below the aircraft in a thick layer, a white blur, making it impossible to see anything.

Gao Zilong's gaze shifted from the dial to the window, then back again.

His hand rested on the control stick, his fingertips slowly clenching and then slowly loosening.

Despite being a bomber, the J-6 completely outclassed the Japanese Zero fighter in both speed and altitude.

"Lower altitude and break through the clouds."

The formation descended slightly, nose down, and the pointer on the altimeter slowly rotated.

7,000 meters.

6,500 meters.

Six thousand meters.

5,500 meters.

almost.

At this height, even with the naked eye, one can roughly see the ground.

Zhao Dahe raised his gaze from the nautical chart and landed on the land outside the window—a land he had never seen before, never imagined, and never witnessed by any Chinese soldier.

He saw a river, very wide, shimmering with a silvery-gray light in the morning light, flowing from the north, turning a corner, and flowing into the bay.

He saw the bridge, iron-gray, huge, spanning the river.

He saw those gray, square buildings, densely packed together like matchboxes.

He saw the cluster of buildings surrounded by green trees, with layered tiled roofs, gleaming with a bluish-black luster in the sunlight.

"I see the palace."

Zhao Dahe's voice came through the earphone, carrying a slight tremor that even he himself didn't realize.

"To the left front, heading 92, approximately three kilometers away."

"And the Prime Minister's residence, right west of the Royal Palace, those few gray buildings, do you see them?"

The observer in the back seat remained silent.

He lay sprawled on the observation binoculars, his hands gripping the telescope tube, as if he were nailed to his seat.

"Target confirmed! The Imperial Palace, the Prime Minister's residence, and the headquarters—all confirmed."

"No deviation, correct course, target locked!"

Gao Zilong took a deep breath, picked up the walkie-talkie, and pressed the call button.

His voice traveled from 5,000 meters in the air, through the clouds, across the sea, across the North China Plain, and reached the city command post 2,000 kilometers away.

"Reporting to command, 81192 has arrived over Tokyo!"

"Repeating, 8119 has arrived over Tokyo!"

"All targets confirmed. Please provide further instructions. Over!"

……

Command Headquarters for City Governance.

The deputy director's hand suddenly trembled, and the red and blue pencils fell to the ground, bounced twice, and rolled to the corner of the wall.

He opened his mouth as if to say something, but then swallowed it back.

Then he stepped aside, making room for Shen Wang in the open space.

Shen Wang stood up, walked to the telegraph machine, and took the microphone from the telegraph operator.

He took a deep breath and then slowly exhaled.

"This is the command post!"

"81192, please immediately drop 90 tons of incendiary bombs on the Japanese stronghold!"

"Repeat, 81192, immediately drop 90 tons of incendiary bombs on the Japanese stronghold!"

"Yes! Received! 81192!" Gao Zilong's voice came through the microphone again.

"Attention all aircraft, proceed according to the pre-arranged plan, disperse and lock onto your respective targets!"

Ten H-6 bombers moved simultaneously.

The lead plane maintained its course and continued flying toward the palace.

Aircraft No. 5 and No. 6 veered to the right and flew towards the Prime Minister's residence.

Aircraft No. 9 and No. 10 veered to the left and flew towards the military headquarters.

Gao Zilong's lead plane was the first to enter the bombing flight path.

Zhao Dahe stared at the observation telescope, his hands gripping the telescope tube as he observed the ground targets.

"What are they doing?"

Zhao Dahe was a little confused!

What did he see?

He saw that the Japanese soldiers on the ground were actually cheering!

They were all looking up, waving their arms, and seemingly shouting something.

Even through a high-powered telescope, you can see the smiles on these people's faces.

Zhao Dahe was completely dumbfounded!

"Are they... welcoming us?"