Joining Tiandao Company: Starting by mending a zombie world

Good books and good stories accompany you every day.

"Waaaaah... My poor junior brother."

"You died so young... those damned Japanese devils, they're so despicable!"

Gantian Town, on the ruins of Futian Hospital.

Yu Chuda and Xiaodouzi squatted in front of a small, trembling fire.

The only sounds were the soft crackling of sparks and the distant whimpers of wild dogs.

The ashes from the paper were swept up by the night wind, swirling and sticking to my face, making it wet and itchy.

As he cried, Yu Chuda suddenly felt a faint chill on the back of his neck.

It was so fine, like... someone was breathing softly close by.

He shivered and glared at Little Bean: "Stop fooling around!"

Little Bean blinked, looking bewildered:

"I...I didn't move...Brother Chu, this place is creepy, is Brother Chu really coming back?"

"Of course!" Yu Chuda stiffened his neck and shoved a stack of paper money into the fire. Sparks crackled and popped, illuminating his pale face.

"Burning him for seven days will surely bring my junior brother's soul back! Bring him back to the Fuxi Hall and appoint him as a 'Heavenly Soldier'!"

"From now on, treat him to the best food and drink, and I'll make sure he's rich in his next life."

The more he talked, the more he felt the chill on the back of his neck not dissipate.

It became clearer, and you could even feel a strand of hair being blown by the wind.

Suddenly, his hair stood on end, and he grabbed with his backhand—only to touch a cold, solid piece of clothing!

"Who?!"

His soul seemed to leave his body, and he bounced up.

Little Bean was also startled and let out a strange cry, almost dropping his Type 38 rifle, which he then pointed wildly at the shadow behind him.

"Hehe, it's me."

Chu Sheng walked into the firelight with a smile, letting the two of them see his handsome face.

Yu Chuda was taken aback at first, then his face lit up with wild joy, and his voice changed tone:

"Junior brother! How come you snapped back to reality so quickly?"

"A ghost...a ghost! Brother Chu's ghost is back!!" Even though Xiao Douzi had seen Ma Wencai's ghost before, he still screamed in fright.

"What are you yelling for? It's not like you've never seen a ghost before." Chu Sheng patted Xiao Douzi on the head and said irritably.

"Ouch! That hurts." Little Bean grimaced and rubbed his head, a look of confusion flashing in his eyes.

"Why does it hurt just as much when this ghost hits a living person?"

Chu Sheng laughed and said, "Nonsense, I'm not dead, what difference would it make?"

Yu Chuda jumped up with a "Wow!": "Junior brother, you're not dead?"

Chu Sheng pressed his face close to Yu Chuda's, blew a warm breath on him, and smiled:

"Is it hot?"

Yu Chuda and Xiaodouzi were both shocked and stepped forward to grope Chu Sheng.

They pinched and squeezed him until the two confirmed he was alive, then exclaimed in shock:

"Junior brother, the entire hospital was bombed. How did you survive?"

Chu Sheng had already prepared his explanation, and said, "There's a secret passage in that basement; that's how I escaped."

He glanced around; it was pitch black, and there were still scattered embers from the battle. He couldn't help but ask curiously:

"How long have I been 'dead'?"

Yu Chuda blinked and casually said:

"Not long, only a little over three hours."

Three and a half hours, which is seven hours?

Chu Sheng was taken aback. It seemed that the timelines of the two worlds were determined by his actions.

Similarly, seven days correspond to seven hours.

He smiled, which was quite humane.

He then said:

"Come on, take me to see my master. I have something to tell him."

Upon hearing that Chu Sheng wanted to see his master, Yu Chuda grabbed Chu Sheng's hand and pulled him forward:

"Master is in the front-line command post, discussing how to fight the Japanese."

Looking at Yu Chuda's slightly arrogant demeanor, Chu Sheng couldn't help but wonder:

"Is this war not over yet?"

"Not yet..." Little Bean shook his head, pointing to Mancheng not far away.

"Kuji had withdrawn all the Japanese soldiers into Manchuria, which was practically an impregnable fortress."

"We couldn't break through at all; many of our brothers died."

Chu Sheng glanced subconsciously at the dark surroundings, where there were broken walls and ruins everywhere, and the occasional sound of crying.

He was experiencing the cruelty of war for the first time and asked in bewilderment:

"Is the entire city harder to conquer than the outer city?"

……

The frontline command center was filled with smoke.

The kerosene lamp cast the shadows of the men, their brows furrowed, onto the mottled wall, flickering uneasily with the flame.

Yang Shaohui ripped off his gray military cap and slammed it onto the spread-out map, his voice hoarse with anxiety:

"Damn it, we've already taken over the outer city, but this tortoise-shell-like city wall is holding us back!"

"That old devil Kujiro has shrunk his remaining troops inside like turtles!"

Feng Zhenguo, a local, pointed to the square "city within a city" on the map:

"Captain Yang, when the Manchu city was built during the Qing Dynasty's Eight Banners campaign, it was to intimidate the Han people and prevent internal strife."

"The foundation of the wall is more than ten feet thick, and it is built with bluestone strips all the way to the top, making it several times stronger than the outer city wall."

"Once the Japanese retreated inside, they truly became an iron hedgehog."

"It's more than just a hedgehog!" Yang Shaohui slammed his fist on the edge of the table, making the teacup bounce around.

"The city walls are positioned on all four sides, each guarded by two Type 92 heavy machine guns. Their cunning firing positions and crossfire completely sealed off the base of the walls!"

"That's not all. Several teams that were sent out to explore the area came back and said that as soon as they got close to the city wall, within a hundred paces, they felt dizzy and disoriented, as if they were possessed."

Madonna, who had been standing with her arms crossed against the wall, walked to the table, her slender fingers tracing the outline of the city on the map, her tone cool yet resolute:

"No need to guess, it must be the evil formation set up by the sorcerers of the Nine Chrysanthemums faction."

"The city is shrouded in yin energy, which bewitches people's minds and confuses their direction."

"For ordinary soldiers to go in is tantamount to sending them to their deaths."

She glanced at Mao Xiaofang.

"In the art of formations, I am not as good as my senior brother; I still need him to make the judgment."

Yang Shaohui sighed, leaned close to Mao Xiaofang, grabbed his shoulder, and said urgently:

"My dear Master Mao, we are also deeply saddened by Comrade Chu's sacrifice."

"The problem is, we still have tens of thousands of soldiers outside resisting the Japanese invaders."

"You must pull yourself together, don't let their sacrifice be in vain."

Mao Xiaofang's body trembled slightly. He slowly raised his head, gently pulled away from Yang Shaohui's hand, straightened his body, and spoke in a low but clear voice:

"Junior Sister Ma is right."

"The lingering yin energy surrounding the city could not have formed naturally; it must have been an extremely powerful evil formation."

"Without understanding the principles of battle formations, even with a vast army, one can only circle around on the periphery."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the crowd, and said decisively:

"I must personally go to the city walls to observe the atmosphere and determine its location."

"Absolutely not!" Feng Zhenguo and Yang Shaohui shouted almost simultaneously.

Feng Zhenguo said anxiously, "Master Mao, the Japanese are keeping watch with machine guns! You'll only be sacrificing yourself in vain if you go."

Yang Shaohui waved his hands repeatedly, saying, "No way! No way, let's think of another way..."

Mao Xiaofang frowned.

If he doesn't go, he won't know what kind of formation the enemy has set up;

Without breaking the formation, the city cannot be captured.

This creates a vicious cycle.

For a moment, silence fell over the command room.

"Master, Master, look who's back!"

Fortunately, Yu Chuda's cheerful voice broke the oppressive atmosphere in the command room.

"Stop making such a scene! What kind of behavior is this!"

Mao Xiaofang was already upset,

Hearing Yu Chuda's commotion, an inexplicable anger welled up inside me.

"Master!" Yu Chuda rushed excitedly to Mao Xiaofang, completely unfazed by his threatening expression, and pressed him for an answer:

"Master, guess who I brought back?"

Mao Xiaofang said calmly, "Who?"

Yu Chuda shook Mao Xiaofang's hand, boasting, "Guess! Guess!"

Mao Xiaofang said angrily, "Hurry up and speak! Can't you see we're busy here?"

Upon seeing Mao Xiaofang's angry expression, Yu Chuda chuckled and exclaimed:

"I've brought Junior Brother Chu back!"