I used the Mo Dao (a type of long-handled sword) to fight the Japanese.

With no other option, the Japanese began a massive search, so they had to hide in the village and not show themselves. They took the opportunity to tidy up the village as a way of preparing for the future.

The gate to the stockade had collapsed, leaving only a gap just wide enough for a horse-drawn cart to pass through. The stones on both sides were piled up haphazardly, reaching a height of more than two people. Fortunately, the rest of the stockade wall was still intact, and as long as there were enough men and ammunition, holding the gate would be no problem.

After some thought, Zhao Mancang decided to leave the village as it was without renovations. Since the goal was to conceal it, he didn't want people to easily notice any changes. He would rebuild a fortified wall, as high as the pile of stones, inside the village gate. From the outside, it would look exactly the same as before—an abandoned village. But once inside, one would have to pass through the fortified wall; closing the gate would be like trapping turtles in a jar—the people inside would be at the mercy of a beating!

You have to admire the wisdom of our ancestors! They had this design thousands of years ago, and it's perfect for fighting the Japanese invaders now!

When Zhao Mancang presented his design, everyone's eyes lit up and they praised his idea. Several of them rolled up their sleeves and got to work!

……

At noon, the highest-ranking Imperial Army commander stationed in Koya Prefecture, Nagano Yokoo, personally came to the iron mine to inspect the losses. This sudden riot shocked even this lieutenant colonel. Seventy-six Imperial soldiers had died in action, forty-four of them at the iron mine, and thirty-two more died in the train derailment and worker riot. This was the greatest non-combat loss since the start of the war. Before coming to the iron mine, he had already received a severe reprimand from Colonel Yamazaki of the brigade!

Most importantly, the person in charge of the iron mine, Nagano Muko, is his younger brother!

"Reporting to Lieutenant Colonel Nagano, all the Imperial Army soldiers who perished in this incident have been found. Shall we cremate them on site?" a Japanese soldier reported as he approached.

Nagano Yokoo's already tense face grew even more somber. Without a word, he walked to the bodies and examined them one by one. When he came to his younger brother's body, his face broke into deep sorrow, and he personally covered the man's face with a white sheet…

Seventy-six bodies were reduced to ashes in the fire. The soldiers collected the ashes one by one, placed them on military vehicles, labeled them, and waited for them to be sent back to the empire for burial.

"Have all those miners been caught?" The grief on Nagano Yoko's face vanished as he watched his brother's ashes being loaded onto a military vehicle, replaced by a fierce expression!

"We have captured 158 miners and recovered 103 miner bodies. Based on the previous count, there are still 77 miners at large! Currently, all teams are conducting a dragnet search, and we believe we will be able to apprehend all the remaining miners soon!" the soldier replied.

"Interrogate them as soon as possible, and send back the miners who are found to be without fault to continue mining! At the same time, notify Kato Oka to arrest able-bodied men and send them over to serve as miners. Mining here cannot be stopped!" Nagano Yokoo said sternly.

"Yes, sir!" The Japanese soldier obeyed.

Kato Oka was the squad leader stationed at the steel mill. It was his squad that was sent by train to rescue them. He was responsible for the loss of thirty-one Imperial soldiers!

After finishing his work, Nagano Yokosuke strolled to his younger brother's office in the courtyard to check the work records. When Zhao Mancang and the others cleaned up the mess, they hadn't taken these worthless items with them; the work records, iron mine operation ledgers, and so on were still untouched in the cabinet.

"Report!" Inoue Masao came in to report shortly after.

"So? What did you find?" Nagano Yoko asked expectantly.

Inoue Masao was the only junior under his command who had graduated from the Imperial Japanese Army Academy. He was meticulous, capable, and deeply trusted by Inoue. He was currently stationed at Xiahou Town, guarding a vital transportation route from the north to the south.

"Senior, the survey just now revealed that there are three damaged sections of the barbed wire fence surrounding the laborers. The one near the railway was not restored, which should have been the exit for a large number of laborers to escape. The other two sections have hooks at both ends that have been restored to their original state, and you can't even tell that they were damaged unless you look closely."

"Moreover, the locations of these two places are quite intriguing. One is near the toilet, and the other is behind the thatched hut. Also, the broken fork has been broken for some time, and this was found under a bed in a thatched hut." As he spoke, Inoue Masao took out two Coca-Cola bottles and placed them in front of the other person.

"...What does this prove?" Nagano Yoko asked, puzzled.

"This indicates that the other party frequently visited the kitchen in the courtyard, and the route they took out was the same as the toilet exit. This is also confirmed by the damaged door latch, which showed signs of being slid by a dagger."

"Behind the other exit is a bamboo grove above the mine, and we still can't figure out its purpose!" Masao Inoue said.

"Hmm, take a look at this." He said, handing the work records to the other person for review.

The unfolded page is the notebook from the day the haunting was discovered, with Nagano Mukoro devoting a large portion to recording the scene of the haunting.

"That matches up! It seems we've met a clever opponent this time!"

"First, they sneaked in to steal food, then they pretended to be ghosts to scare the soldiers and create panic in the squad. Then, taking advantage of the soldiers' fatigue while loading the trucks, they launched a night raid, sneaking into the courtyard to assassinate the sleeping soldiers. Finally, they used the soldiers' weapons to fight the soldiers outside and completely annihilated my mining squad!"

"It can be said that the entire operation, which proceeded step by step, was meticulously planned and flawless! Having such an opponent will cause us a lot of trouble!"

Inoue Masao analyzed the opponent's actions in one go. The fact that he could calculate such a seemingly simple matter to this extent shows that Nagano's defeat was not a loss!

"Alright! It seems you've figured out their tactics. The task of capturing this opponent is now yours. Try to find them and eliminate them as soon as possible! So many weapons in their hands are dangerous!" Nagano Yokogawa ordered.

"Hey! Junior, I'll do my best to find the opponent and kill them in one fell swoop!" Masao Inoue replied.

Encountering such an opponent excited him. Since the start of the war, he had originally envisioned galloping across the battlefield and achieving great deeds, but now he was assigned to guarding the place in the mountains. How could he possibly be excited about finally encountering a clever opponent!

"Yoshi! I'm entrusting my brother's revenge to you, please!" With that, Nagano Yokosuke stood up and bowed deeply, his attitude extremely solemn.

"Hi!" Masao Inoue quickly stood up to return the greeting.

If Chinese people saw this scene, they would be shocked. The Japanese devils were ferocious in front of the people and did not care about life or family. However, they would also be saddened when their own relatives and brothers were killed and would want to find the murderer to avenge their family!

Wielding a bayonet and slaughtering indiscriminately, while doing everything in his power to avenge the deaths of his own family members—this is a classic case of being a hypocrite!