The War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression Begins in Songhu

Chapter 674 The Battle of Wealth (Two Chapters Combined)

Five days later, on April 3rd, around 4 PM.

Annie, Mina, and Xiao Cui, the three girls, were dressed in pretty little dresses, looking like rich young ladies or mistresses.

Each led a small squad of brothers, pretending not to know each other, as they walked the streets of Harbin in 1942.

The expressions on the three people's faces as they walked were quite interesting.

The expressions on Annie and Mina's faces, in particular, were quite complex.

How so? First of all, in the modern world, even Annie, who had the shortest time living in this city, stayed in Halbing until she was fifteen or sixteen years old before leaving to go to school elsewhere.

They were so familiar with every corner of this city.

So walking through the streets of Harbin at night, even after more than eighty years, I can still see many familiar sights and places.

For example, outsiders might think that the area is quite large, but in fact it is limited in size, yet it is quite exquisite.

Besides some beautiful European-style buildings along Central Street, you can see the brightly lit neon signs of hotels like Mathilde Hotel, Qiuling Kvass, and Hal Ice Beer everywhere.

Among the dense crowds on the bustling streets, there were many blond-haired, blue-eyed foreigners.

Harbin, the "Ice City," truly lives up to its reputation as the "Paris of the East" and the second largest city in the Far East, boasting Asia's busiest train station. It is a vibrant city that is captivating under the night sky.

But amidst this enchanting night, there are some things that make one feel nauseous.

The Japanese invaders, heads held high and strode with an arrogant air, were everywhere adorned with those small flags that looked like dog skin plasters.

They were once the masters of this city, but now they are compatriots with their heads down and their steps hurried.

They bow and scrape to the Japanese, but act like extremely arrogant black-skinned dogs towards their own people.

All of the above seemed to the three girls like a bowl of snow-white rice cooked with Wuchang rice, but forcibly mixed with rat droppings—disgusting beyond belief.

And so, when Annie raised her wrist and realized it was finally 8:50, she couldn't help but curse inwardly:
"Alright! We can finally get started."

That's right! Tonight is the night when Hu Biao and his men will officially launch their operation against Unit 731, this den of iniquity.

Although the guard force of Unit 731 consisted of only one battalion, with a size of about a thousand people, it posed no threat to Hu Biao and his men.

However, the location of that den of iniquity was only about twenty kilometers away from Central Street.

This means that if a large-scale battle breaks out there, the Japanese soldiers in Unit 731 won't need to actively request reinforcements; the numerous Japanese troops stationed in Harbin will automatically provide support.

In no more than half an hour, the first batch of Japanese reinforcements will arrive by truck, followed by a continuous stream of reinforcements, completely surrounding them.

This will definitely have a huge impact on Hu Biao and his team's operation to completely destroy the 731 den of iniquity.

In order to hold off the Japanese reinforcements and buy time for the main force, the time-traveling team used their signature tactic again:
Annie, Mina, Xiao Cui, and 803, along with fifty brothers, split up to create chaos in Harbin and hold back the Japanese soldiers in the city.

Why is it that among the four time travelers, there are three girls, but Zanana is excluded?

All I can say is that the above approach can be considered a way for the time-traveler team to take care of the female members; the operation in Harbin always requires time-travelers to lead the team, so why not send a few girls along and let them go shopping before taking action?

As for why Zanana wasn't included, Hu Biao'an did arrange it, but he wasn't interested in this humanoid female tyrannosaurus.

Therefore, Zanana's spot in Operation Harbin fell to 803, this native of Northeast China.

Also out of some consideration, this guy was allowed to take a proper stroll around his hometown from 80 years ago...

Nine o'clock in the evening was the time according to the plan devised by Hu Biao and others to take action simultaneously in Harbin and with Unit 731.

They did not choose to act after 1 a.m., or even 3 a.m., when the body is most tired, as they had done before.

Because five days ago, they launched another attack on the Japanese troops in Jiamusi.

The Japanese and their puppet troops throughout Northeast China went completely mad; in addition to mobilizing a massive force of over 200,000 troops to blockade the Lesser Khingan Mountains region and conduct searches in the mountains.

An astonishing bounty was offered to each member of the time-traveling team.

Not to mention Hu Biao, the Tiger of Shanghai, and all the other seasoned partners; even Awei, the newbie, enjoyed the treatment of being directly rewarded with gold of equal weight, whether it was bone or flesh.

Good heavens! That's at least seventy or eighty kilograms of gold.

In any case, with the Kwantung Army in front of them, the Japanese were determined to take down Hu Biao and his men at all costs.

In addition, once midnight arrived, the Japanese would immediately impose a strict curfew on all cities and send out a large number of patrol teams to guard against the spread of the virus.

The closer it gets to the early hours of the morning, the more vigilant and cautious we become.

They feared that another city might also be attacked and destroyed.

You have to understand! They have long regarded the resource-rich three northeastern provinces as more important than the four dilapidated islands on the mainland, and have always invested heavily in developing them.

If Hu Biao and his men continue to sabotage things like this, no Japanese soldier could bear the severe consequences and losses.

However, Hu Biao and his men were speechless in the face of the Japanese's methods, especially the curfew and the increasingly tight defenses as the night wore on.

It's not like they completely lose their fighting ability before midnight.

It's simply a matter of moving the attack forward a bit, which will catch the Japanese off guard.

So when 9 p.m. arrived, Hu Biao and his group, who were lying in wait outside Unit 731, along with Annie and her group who had infiltrated Harbin in small teams, all started to make their move.

Although they used different methods, they had one thing in common:

Thanks to the spatial equipment in that vegetable basket, and the large amount of equipment and supplies they obtained during the Jiamusi operation, their methods tonight were exceptionally ruthless.

If Hu Biao and the others were to describe their feelings at this moment in Li Yunlong's speaking style:
Damn it! We've never fought such a profitable battle before...

******
As the old saying goes, "Two flowers bloom, each telling its own story."

Before the group of time travelers took action, let's first talk about what happened in Harbin.

In a deserted alley, after a creaking sound, Annie opened the back door of the courtyard of a traitor with considerable status in the puppet state of Manchukuo.

He peeked out and quickly looked around. Finding nothing amiss, he waved.

Upon seeing this, Zhao Tiezhu, the former third leader of Erdaoling nicknamed "Over the Mountain Tiger" and now the platoon leader of Northeast KL, was both surprised and delighted.

Their plan to infiltrate a large, populous city like Harbin was relatively simple.

However, there is one condition: you cannot carry too many weapons. Each person can carry at most one pistol and two or three magazines, or a few magazine clips.

Without other stronger firepower, even if they risked their lives, they probably wouldn't be able to create enough chaos to hold off enough Japanese soldiers and buy enough time for Commander Hu and his men to act.

As the time for the operation approached, Commander Anne, who had been wandering around the city, gestured for them to follow.

When they arrived at this alley, Anne told them to wait outside while she went in to check things out.

If all goes well, enough weapons will be delivered here in advance.

Then, after Zhao Tiezhu and his group had only waited two or three minutes, the scene described above occurred: Annie opened the door and reappeared.

Just from Annie's calm expression, Zhao Tiezhu knew that everything was settled and the weapons and equipment had been delivered.

Just thinking about how he could fight against the large number of Japanese soldiers and puppet troops in the city without having to rely solely on a pistol.

After exchanging glances, Zhao Tiezhu and the others noticed the ecstatic look in their comrades' eyes. They quickly tiptoed toward the open door.

However, they soon discovered that an even bigger surprise was yet to come.

They followed Anne to a tool shed in the backyard, next to a small garden, but only pushed open the slightly ajar door.

They discovered that in a room of about ten square meters, apart from the absence of any tools that should be there, all sorts of light weapons and equipment were present.

It has Czech-made light machine guns, Type 96 light machine guns, Liaoning Type 13 rifles, and Hanyang rifles, along with various types of ammunition and magazines.

There were also hand grenades and wooden-handled grenades, whole boxes of military explosives, barrels of gasoline, and even helmets, gas masks, and bullets—it had everything.

If you put them all together, it would be more than enough for them to fight a high-intensity battle.

With time running out, Zhao Tiezhu and the others knew that now was no time to waste, so they quickly grabbed the weapons and equipment from the tool room and armed themselves.

Soon, they were armed to the teeth. Zhao Tiezhu, carrying a Type 96 light machine gun and with his body stuffed with magazines and grenades, felt his confidence soar.

Turning his head to look at the beautiful two-story European-style building on one side, he suggested to Annie, "Chief of Staff An, since we're going to take action soon anyway, why don't we start with this traitor's house?"

I'd heard before that there wasn't a single good person in their family.

As he spoke, he was about to grab his light machine gun and charge in, intending to shoot that traitorous dog first.

Upon hearing this, Annie grabbed Zhao Tiezhu and said, "No need for all that trouble. I've already made arrangements. This traitor won't get away."

Now let's go out into the streets and create chaos first.

After saying that, he pulled a kerosene lighter out of his pocket, lit it, and casually tossed it behind him. The moment the lighter was thrown, he led the group out the back door.

After running a couple of steps, Zhao Tiezhu instinctively turned around and saw the lighter fall to the ground, where flames erupted.

And the flames quickly spread toward the European-style building.

After a moment or two of stunned silence, Zhao Tiezhu realized that a can of gasoline must have been poured on him beforehand.

In fact, Zhao Tiezhu was wrong, because after Annie rushed in alone, she released more than 100 liters of gasoline from the vegetable basket she was carrying on her back, which was far more than just a 15-liter can.

It's important to know that even liquids lose their fluidity immediately once they're placed in the dimensional space of the shopping basket.

Therefore, when gasoline was initially collected from individual tanks, it wouldn't spill everywhere even if there was nothing inside.

When you want to release it, just cut out a small piece like cutting jelly and release some.

Releasing it is incredibly easy; you don't even need to hold an iron bucket and pour it out little by little.

While this type of European-style red brick and concrete building is relatively difficult to ignite, it is not impossible to ignite at all.

When Annie had a sudden thought and released over a hundred liters of gasoline into it, it was destined to be burned down to just an empty shell.

Not to mention the enormous flames that quickly engulfed the small building.

When the traitors and their families living there discovered the fire, they tried everything they could, but instead of reducing the flames, they made them even stronger.

As Annie and the others rushed out of the alley, they happened to see a group of more than a dozen Japanese soldiers.

Led by a sergeant, they were patrolling smugly in a column not far away, their Showa 5 military boots making a loud thud on the cobblestone pavement, giving them an air of arrogance.

At this point, what is there to hesitate about? Are we going to keep these Japanese devils around for the New Year?
When Annie opened fire on the Japanese patrol with a submachine gun, Zhao Tiezhu and the others followed suit without being told what to do.

Although Zhao Tiezhu and his group consisted of only seventeen people, they were now equipped with eight light machine guns and nine rifles.

Under such firepower, the dozen or so Japanese patrolmen were all killed in just two or three seconds, riddled with bullets like beehives.

The only problem is, I don't know if all of this happened too abruptly.

Nowadays, there are quite a few pedestrians on this street.

They just stared blankly at us, not at all like Annie and the others had expected, screaming in terror and running away to cause a panic.

It's nothing major, just something else to take care of.

Seeing this, Anne picked up her submachine gun again and fired three bullets.

As he killed a Japanese soldier in a kimono at the two o'clock position, he opened his mouth and began shouting a string of lies:
"If you don't want to die, get out of here when the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment is handling things."

Remember to get out of here! We've planted bombs all over the city; Halbing will be flattened by us soon!

The roar had barely faded when, as if to confirm Annie's threat, several explosions faintly reached everyone's ears.

In an instant, countless terrified screams rang out.

Those Japanese soldiers who had been standing there blankly suddenly started running away, and their headless, fly-like appearance seemed strangely familiar and endearing to Annie and the others.

"I wonder which of Xiao Cui and 803 is so clever and works so well together."

Watching the growing panic, Annie muttered to herself...

Annie muttered to herself that her time-traveling teammate, 803, was such a good match for her, or perhaps it was just a lucky coincidence.

Before taking action at 9 PM, just before arriving.

803 also found a secluded room and released a small portion of the astonishing amount of weapons, equipment, and supplies from the vegetable basket.

He quickly armed his followers to the teeth.

The difference is that their target was not passersby on the street, but the military police in the city. These were the Japanese soldiers who, in theory, could be mobilized and suppressed as quickly as possible after chaos broke out in the city, restoring everything to calm.

Therefore, after rushing out of an alley, 803 did not immediately open fire on passersby.

Instead, he picked up a Type 96 light machine gun and opened fire on an old transformer located 30 or 40 meters away on the roadside.

Before all 30 bullets in the magazine were fired, the transformer made a loud 'bang'.

First, thick smoke billowed amidst flashes of electricity, and then it burst into flames in a very short time; the lights and streetlights in a large surrounding area also went out completely.

Tonight happens to be a pitch-black night with no moon or stars, so dark you can't see your hand in front of your face.

Suddenly, this large area turned completely dark.

In this situation, 803 shouted urgently, "Hurry up, do what I just told you to do."

During the shouting, 803 did not hesitate at all.

As he raced along the street, he simultaneously conjured landmines from the Japanese arsenal in Jiamusi City into his hands with a thought.

Type 93 anti-tank mine, Type 97 pressure-activated mine, Type 98 anti-personnel mine, and many other models are available.

Regardless of the specific model, 803 threw one out every few meters.

The KL brothers who were with him also took out landmines from their satchels and threw them on the street.

Not long after, a narrow minefield appeared on the mountainside by the road.

803 then led his men to find hiding places along the roadside, waiting for the Japanese military police to appear.

During the process, some passersby did vaguely see these things, but seeing how armed they were, they only dared to find a place to hide.

Because the street in front of them was not far from the Japanese military police headquarters, soon an armored vehicle of an unidentifiable type appeared, followed by several trucks.

With a 'bang', 803 opened fire on the lead armored vehicle.

Despite the strange appearance of this Japanese-modified armored vehicle, which was completely unrecognizable by the 803 model, a hail of bullets could not penetrate its frontal armor.

And so, the Japanese military police convoy continued to fire back while accelerating forward.

It wasn't until the driver of the vehicle passed through the extremely narrow observation port designed to ensure bulletproof capabilities and saw the densely packed landmines on the road under the headlights that the situation became clear.

With immense terror, he slammed his foot on the brakes.

However, by then, it was all too late.

With a screeching sound of brakes, the armored vehicle continued to press towards the minefield ahead; driven by the instinct for survival, the Japanese driver inside frantically steered the wheel, trying to dodge the deadly mines.

He never considered that if he hadn't done that, and if his armored vehicle had been blown up earlier, it would have blocked the road, and the trucks behind it would probably have just crashed into a pile-up.

However, as he drove into the minefield, the trucks behind him followed and were annihilated.

Unfortunately, the minefield on the ground was too large, and after the driver of the armored vehicle struggled, the wheels still ran over an anti-tank mine.

The Japanese anti-tank mines were of limited power, far inferior to those of the Japanese soldiers and Germans, but they had no problem destroying an armored vehicle.

It was immediately engulfed in a huge ball of fire, and at the same time, the trucks behind it also exploded.

For a moment, even hiding in a roadside shop, feeling the flying parts hurtling overhead, 803 couldn't help but mutter a curse:
"I've fought so many battles, but this is the first time I've been this rich. It's fucking awesome..."

(End of this chapter)