Traveling through 1937, I came to fight against the Kwantung Army

The sky in Tokyo is gloomy and a depressing atmosphere permeates every corner of the city.

The announcement of the end of the war is broadcast repeatedly from morning to night!

Even in the coalition-controlled areas,

After recording the broadcast, the coalition's technicians continued to shout through loudspeakers!

Today, the news of Emperor Hirohito's second surrender quickly spread throughout Japan!

As the Emperor's surrender edict was broadcast, a moment of deathly silence fell in the tunnel, as if time had frozen in that moment. Then, from deep within the tunnel, a faint noise emerged: soldiers hurriedly gathering their equipment, whispers of discussion, and sobbing.

The first Japanese soldier who poked his head out of the tunnel had a look of confusion and fear in his eyes.

His uniform was tattered, his face grimy and haggard. He cautiously crawled out of the tunnel, like a frightened animal, warily observing everything around him. His hands hung limply at his sides, his eyes staring blankly into the distance, as if he couldn't yet accept the reality before him.

Then, more and more Japanese soldiers filed out of the tunnel. Their steps were slow and heavy, their once straight backs now bent. Some soldiers' faces were covered with tears, filled with despair over the defeat of the war and grief over the suffering they had endured. Others were expressionless, as if their souls had been drained away by the war.

The officers in the ranks also lost their former dignity. They lowered their heads, not daring to look directly at the eyes around them, and their eyes, which were full of aggression in the past, now became dim.

They mechanically led the soldiers out of the tunnel and piled their weapons aside, their movements slow and numb.

Allied soldiers were waiting in formation, watching the Japanese troops emerging from the tunnel with vigilant eyes. Their faces showed both the joy of victory and the cruelty of war.

As time went by, more and more Japanese soldiers emerged from the tunnel, forming a long line. They were like a group of lambs who had lost their way, driven by fate towards an unknown future. Under the sunlight, their figures looked particularly desolate!

Harada Matao, an ordinary young man who was originally just a waiter in a sushi restaurant in Tokyo, was now standing blankly in the crowd with a dazed look in his eyes. But beneath that seemingly dull expression, his heart was already in turmoil.

He glanced around secretly and saw that some of his comrades looked sad, some looked confused.

Harada Matao lowered his head slightly, a barely perceptible smile forming on the corner of his mouth. Because the announcement of the end of the war was good news for him!

Harada's thoughts drifted back to the days before the war. Back then, he would arrive early every day at the bustling fish market, carefully selecting the freshest tuna, salmon, and shellfish. Back at the sushi restaurant, he would expertly process these ingredients, his hands like a nimble dancer, perfectly assembling rice and sashimi, creating exquisite, delicious pieces of sushi.

The shop is always filled with a warm atmosphere. The customers' laughter and praise for the sushi are what he cherishes most. He loves his ordinary yet fulfilling job and dreams of opening his own sushi restaurant once he has enough money!

I never thought that my life would be completely changed by war.

The conscription order was like a demon, ruthlessly disrupting his peaceful life.

He was forced to put down the familiar sushi knife and put on the military uniform that he hated so much.

Fortunately, the mission of his brigade was to guard the south side of the core area of the imperial palace. There was basically no fighting, so they stayed in the underground fortifications!

He spent these nights in fear and despair, his only hope being that the war would end soon.

Now, the announcement of the end of the war was like a ray of hope, piercing the haze of war. Harada suppressed his inner joy, not daring to show it too obviously. He knew that this war had left his superiors in a state of bereavement, and if his secret joy were discovered, it might attract hateful glances.

But deep down in his heart, he was already looking forward to his life back home. He seemed to see the familiar street in front of his home and smell the familiar aroma of the sushi restaurant.

He imagined himself standing behind the counter again, making delicious sushi for customers, and the smile on his face grew even wider. He secretly planned to make some improvements to the sushi recipe when he returned to make it taste more unique.

Harada stood quietly in the prisoner-of-war camp, awaiting the day of repatriation. Although the atmosphere around him remained oppressive, his heart was filled with anticipation for the future. The former sushi bartender was about to return to his former world.

A group of Filipino soldiers, armed with weapons, rushed over violently, shouting and ordering the prisoners to line up in broken Japanese.

An ominous premonition arose in Harada Mata's heart. He looked around anxiously and saw that his comrades also had terrified faces.

The Filipino soldiers drove the prisoners of war towards the trucks in batches like livestock.

Harada Mata was squeezed in the crowd and was involuntarily moved forward with the team.

He tried to ask the soldiers about the situation, but was only slapped hard in the face, and his face suddenly felt burning with pain.

When he was pushed onto the truck, it was already packed with people, so tightly packed together that turning around was difficult. Harada Mata-o peered through the gap in the truck, gazing out at the familiar yet unfamiliar prisoner-of-war camp, his heart filled with despair. He couldn't understand why, after the war was over, he couldn't go home but was being taken to an unknown place.

The truck started up, and the violent jolt made Harada Matao shake constantly in the crowded crowd. He even had difficulty breathing.

The truck jolted along for three hours before finally coming to a halt in an open field north of the city. The door was roughly opened. He and the other prisoners were herded off the truck like livestock. The moment his feet touched the ground, he felt the cold and desolate nature of the land.

There was an empty space all around, with only piles of wood scattered randomly on the ground.

More than a dozen tanks and armored vehicles were parked on the side. Soldiers were holding machine guns on each vehicle, watching the prisoners vigilantly!

Harada Mata-o looked at the wood, his heart filled with despair and helplessness. The sky was gloomy, and the biting cold wind howled past, as if foreshadowing the coming suffering.

At that moment, a Haizhou officer stepped forward. He was tall, with a stern face and an undeniable authority in his eyes. He ordered in stiff, cold Japanese, "You, use these logs to build a wall and a house. If you don't finish, you will be severely punished tonight!" His voice seemed to come from an ice cellar, and Harada Mata-sama shuddered.

The prisoners looked at each other, their eyes filled with fear and helplessness. But under the watchful eyes of the surrounding Haizhou soldiers, they had no choice but to drag their exhausted bodies slowly towards the wood.

Harada Mata mechanically picked up a piece of wood, only to find it was icy cold, numb to the bone. He looked around and saw that the other prisoners were just like him, their movements slow and stiff.