Courtyard Houses: Longevity Since the War of Resistance

My principle is to be proactive and enthusiastic, and use my sincerity to leave the Japanese scratching their heads. I'll start by giving them two humorous and brain teasers, like how many steps it takes to kill a beastly, useless, bastard dog.

Answer: Three steps.

The first step is to take out the telegraph machine, the second step is to send a message, and the third step is to take the telegraph machine back.

It's 3:30 PM now. I've told headquarters to have the column arrive in Suzhou before 5 PM.

After the attack, the Earth's Intimates activated, this time to recede the water. The groundwater that had been drawn up began to flow back slowly, like obedient children. The water on the surface receded at a visible rate.

On the square, Japanese soldiers were busy counting supplies when suddenly someone shouted.

"The floodwaters have receded!"

"Huh? Really!"

"The earthquake stopped, the water receded, did Amaterasu open her eyes?"

Muto Akira stood on the steps of the command post, watching the rapidly receding floodwaters, his brow furrowed. This was receding way too quickly; normally, groundwater seepage takes at least several hours to recede, and this was only a few minutes?

Not right.

But there was no time to think about it in detail, because there was more important work to do. The supplies had to be re-sorted and stacked, the damp ones had to be dried, and the squadrons had to be reorganized. Although the earthquake had stopped, there was a lot of follow-up work to be done.

"Squadrons, speed up!" he shouted the order. "Preparations must be completed before dawn! We must prevent the enemy from taking advantage of the chaos to attack the city!"

"Hi!"

The Japanese soldiers continued working, unaware that the real enemy was already inside the city. He pulled out a heavy machine gun from his pocket, and in his old habit, stood on one leg, supporting it.

Pull the trigger, rat-a-tat ...

The Japanese soldiers carrying supplies in the square were beaten to a pulp like rags, and the supplies were scattered all over the ground.

"Enemy attack!"

"hidden!"

"Find their location!"

"It's towards the pillbox!!"

Muto Akira heard the machine gun fire too. He was hiding in the command post, his face ashen, but he remained relatively calm. "Take cover! There aren't many of them. Find them using the fog. I want them alive!"

Dude? I was the one who set off the thick fog!

I created the fog! Just like I farted! I'm willing to take the blame for my superiors. My strategy for attacking every city was to inflict casualties on the Japanese, create chaos, and make them unable to resist the main force's attack.

The same was true in Su City. After firing 250 bullets and killing more than 200 Japanese soldiers, Ti Yunzong changed his position and came to the city wall.

As the saying goes, "The high-level player hits the low-level player, and the idiot hits the fool." (Mute!)

Aiming at the densest concentration of Japanese soldiers, they threw grenades into the thick fog. The Japanese soldiers couldn't defend against them at all; it was like picking fruit in an orchard, throwing them one after another.

The Japanese soldiers heard a whooshing sound, but the fog was too thick to see where it came from or what it was. They only realized it was a grenade when it landed and exploded, but it was too late.

"Scatter! Scatter!"

"In the fog! The enemy is in the fog!"

Where can we scatter?

The square was littered with corpses and supply crates; lying down meant certain death, and standing up and running meant certain death as well. Thirty or so grenades had caused over 130 casualties. In the command post, Muto Akira listened to the continuous explosions and screams outside.

"General..." Adjutant Ono's voice trembled, "This can't go on. We don't know how many enemies there are, or where they are. We're at a huge disadvantage."

Muto Akira suddenly looked up, as if he had just remembered something.

"Hostages! Go and capture the hostages! Those Chinese are still in the pillbox! Bring the hostages over to use as shields!"

"General, you are wise. The Central China Vanguard Column and the 18th Route Army Group cannot see the Chinese being harmed. This is called being afraid to throw a stone at a rat for fear of breaking the vase."

How could I not know what the Japanese were thinking?

I finally managed to save them, and now you're all getting your way? I used the Earth Intimates to change the terrain. Now, all the streets leading into Su City are blocked by underground bluestone slabs, reaching up to your thighs, completely blocked.

I also deliberately left three paths, and in the very middle of each path I set up an entrance to a fourth-dimensional space, to lure people into a trap.

Muto Akira passed down the order, and the first team of fifty Japanese soldiers, guns in hand, rushed toward the nearest pillbox.

When they reached the street corner, they were completely dumbfounded.

"Where...where is the road?"

The sergeant in charge hesitated for two seconds, then ordered, "Take a detour! Go through the alley next door!"

Following the bluestone slabs, they discovered the first path. As soon as they took a step, the dozen or so Japanese soldiers in front of them suddenly lost their footing and plummeted downwards without warning, disappearing without even a cry.

The people behind them stopped in shock: "What's going on?!"

"Yamada! Sato!"

No one responded; only deathly silence remained in the fog.

The sergeant steeled himself and probed forward, poking the spot where the man had just disappeared with his bayonet.

empty.

The bayonet plunged straight into the void, but touched nothing.

"This...this..." The sergeant's hair stood on end. "Retreat! Retreat!"

Before the people behind could react, the ground beneath their feet began to glow blue.

"Sorcery... Demonic arts!"

"save!"

The last scream was stuck in their throats, and the entire team was gone.

The second group of Japanese soldiers waiting at the alley entrance heard a brief commotion inside. They waited for two minutes, but no one came out.

"Captain...should we go in and take a look?"

Team leader Matsui gritted his teeth and ordered, "Go! Two people per group, tied together by the waist with a rope!"

The same path, the same disappearance; the third team took a different path, but the ending was the same.

No one dared to go anymore.

"General!" The communications soldier scrambled back to the command post. "The roads are blocked! There are only three paths left, and everyone who went in has disappeared!"

Muto Akira rushed to the window, "Missing? What do you mean by missing?!"

"It's like...the person went in, and then disappeared without a sound..."

The command post was deathly silent. Several staff officers were pale-faced, and one muttered quietly, "Did we encounter a ghost?"

"Baka!" Muto Akira slapped him across the face. "Where did this ghost come from! It's the enemy! They must have used some methods we don't know about!"

But he was also feeling uneasy. The earthquake, the dense fog, the alleyway that seemed to eat people—this was beyond his comprehension.

"General," Ono said in a trembling voice, "the hostages can't be retrieved... what do we do now?"

If you can't capture the hostages, then create new bargaining chips.

A ruthless glint flashed in his eyes: "Pass on the order! Artillery positions, target Su City!"

Ono was stunned: "Suzhou City?"

"Yes!" Muto Akira gritted his teeth. "Don't they call themselves the People's Army? They shelled civilian areas, causing massive chaos and casualties! Let's see if they dare to attack the city again!"

Muto Akira added, "The fog hasn't cleared yet, no need for precise aiming, just fire randomly! They're not blowing up our houses anyway! Let's fire ten rounds, then see if they'll fight the fire or attack the city!"

"Besiege Wei to rescue Zhao"? They've turned their attention to military strategy instead of recipes!