The expeditionary force began to dominate Southeast Asia by recruiting defeated soldiers

Zhang Chi carefully put away the map, stood up, and loudly asked the 67 people in front of him:

"So I've decided that we should leave for the airport this afternoon. Do you have any objections?"

Everyone looked at each other and shook their heads.

Second Lieutenant Hao Yi, the highest-ranking officer among them, was merely a platoon leader promoted on the front lines. He had never attended a proper military academy, only a few days of private school. Aside from Hao Yi and Xiao Dongbei, no one else could even understand a map. Now that Zhang Chi was taking the lead, everyone naturally agreed.

Zhang Chi looked at their bewildered expressions, and was furious. He was fighting for the lives of these remaining soldiers, but why did they all act so complacent?

Zhang Chi imitated the military training instructor's tone and shouted angrily, "You guys have already eaten and slept. Why are you all so effeminate and silent now? Answer me louder, do you have any objections?"

"No!" everyone answered loudly.

"Very good, now you're acting like a soldier. Stand up straight, everyone. We are an expeditionary force fighting for glory for our country, not some damned scumbag generals who have lost a battle. From now on, each of you must obey my orders. If you disobey me, you will be starved for a day the first time, and you will be expelled from the team the second time. You will live on your own in the rainforest. Do you understand?"

"I understand!" everyone answered loudly again.

------

In the afternoon, a huge fireball emitting scorching sunlight in the sky gradually set in the west.

In the tropical rainforests that can be seen everywhere in Bago, Zhang Chi led the team south along the winding river.

Zhang Chi was wearing a jungle camouflage uniform produced by the system and standing in the turret of a Sherman M4 tank, with only half of his body exposed.

The humid, hot air of the tropical rainforest, mixed with the smell of soil and rotten leaves, filled Zhang Chi's nostrils. He held a Motorola walkie-talkie in his hand and muttered something into the microphone.

Around him were lightly wounded soldiers holding weapons and walking slowly near the tanks. Platoon leader Hao Yi Zhangchi appointed him as the temporary platoon leader of the wounded platoon. The straw sandals on their feet made a slight "rustling" sound on the soft mud, which was intertwined with the gurgling sound of the river beside them, making people drowsy.

A few hundred meters ahead of the team, Xiao Dongbei and several healthy soldiers dispersed, holding the M3 submachine guns provided by Zhang Chi, and formed a vanguard reconnaissance squad, always alert to possible enemy situations.

In the tropical rainforest, the dense vegetation limits everyone's vision to within 30 meters. Only near the river bank, there is a dirt road frequently trampled by locals, and the vision on this road is relatively unobstructed.

The members of the vanguard reconnaissance squad paused periodically on the dirt road, listening intently for any movement around them, afraid to miss a single movement. Their figures loomed in the dappled light filtering through the trees beside them, as if blending seamlessly into this pristine rainforest.

Xiao Dongbei was wearing jungle camouflage uniform, holding a brand new M3 submachine gun, wearing well-fitting military boots, and carrying a Motorola infantry radio on his back, with a long wire antenna swaying behind him.

This new and unusual equipment, which he had never seen before, made him even more curious about Zhang Chi's background. In his opinion, the equipment of the legendary elite Wehrmacht soldiers of the Hans Kingdom was probably just like this, right?

He didn't know that his entire set of equipment, excluding the Motorola rifle strapped to his back, had only cost Zhang Chi 30 Silver Lions. His reconnaissance squad, consisting of 11 people, had only cost him 330 Silver Lions.

"This is the White-Faced Owl Squad. Everything is normal, no enemy activity, over."

Xiao Dongbei followed Zhang Chi's instructions and used a walkie-talkie to contact Zhang Chi in the rear.

This magical iron box that claimed to be able to communicate within a distance of 5 miles almost made Xiao Dongbei think that Zhang Chi knew the legendary Taoist magic. It was not until Zhang Chi explained that this Motorola walkie-talkie and the rather large and bulky radio station at the regiment headquarters used the same principle that Xiao Dongbei vaguely understood that this was actually the power of technology.

"This is the nest. Stay alert and don't be careless. Over."

Zhang Chi put down the microphone and looked towards the river on the right.

On the river, an LVTA-1 amphibious tank was sailing steadily, and the river water gently hit the tank's armor, splashing small water droplets.

The fragile and seriously injured soldiers were placed in the cargo compartment inside the tank. As for Kusuma's body that was originally placed there?

Zhang Chi was thrown into the river as soon as he left the village.

The group slowly advanced towards the Sancha River estuary. All along the way, the soldiers remained silent to conserve energy. Aside from the constant stream of reports coming over the radio, there was no other sound in the ranks.

Zhang Chi nodded with satisfaction. If nothing else, at least the remnants of the 66th Regiment maintained quiet marching discipline quite well.

Suddenly, Xiao Dongbei's voice came over the radio. He reported to Zhang Chi in a low voice: "Sir, there is movement ahead. It seems to be a small group of devils!"

Zhang Chi made a quick decision and waved his hand to signal the soldiers to stop advancing.

The Sherman tanks and soldiers immediately moved into the nearby jungle and hid quickly.

"LVT No. 15, land quickly on the other side and take cover in the jungle." Zhang Chi, holding the microphone, asked nervously, "White-faced Owl, what's the situation over there? How many Japanese are there? Over."

"There are only five devils, less than half a squad, and they are escorting more than 40 prisoners. Judging by their uniforms, they are all ours. What should we do? Over."

"White-faced owls, quickly hide in the rainforest by the roadside, and when the Japs come, just attack them. Over." Zhang Chi decided to wait and see. The dirt road by the river bank was winding and surrounded by towering tropical trees. It was a good place for an ambush. A mere five Japs could be taken down in an instant, but he had to be careful not to hurt friendly prisoners.

The Sherman tank stopped under a huge tree and shut down its engine. Everyone held their breath and hid in the dense bushes and trees. The shadows of the rain forest provided them with natural cover as they waited quietly for the enemy to approach.

(Note: The lower-level soldiers of the Nationalist Army lacked subjective initiative. They would do whatever their officers told them to do, and would scatter like birds and beasts if their officers died. This is one of the reasons why the Nationalist Army's suicide squads often failed in their assaults, and the unit's combat effectiveness would collapse immediately. Three PLA soldiers could get separated and still capture a group of Sindhu soldiers. Once the Nationalist Army soldiers left their superiors, they really didn't know what to do.)