Canteen System Assistance Notes

This kind of rigorous self-training quickly made him the best among more than 20 children, and naturally became the unspoken "leader of the kids". He even successfully knocked the only 17-year-old child in the team to the ground in a wrestling competition used to "divide the levels".

Kawakami's team cheered excitedly, escorted the child off the field, and hurriedly helped him remove his protective gear. "Fujino, why are you so reckless?"

As a teacher, Kawakami Ryutaro couldn't feel happy at all amid the children's joyful cheers. He knew that as the training continued, the Communist army was approaching the city, and the day for the entire team to go to the battlefield was getting closer and closer. The time when the children in the team might die on the battlefield was also getting closer and closer.

The ticking of a clock seemed to echo in his head. The more actively Fujino Seibei trained and the better his results, the more a sharp pain pierced his heart. "Teacher Kawakami, isn't it good to be fearless and forge ahead?" As the young man Fujino walked off the field, he bowed respectfully to his teacher and instructor and sat down beside him.

"No, it's not that bad. If we were back home, I would definitely encourage you to overcome all the difficulties and defeat your opponents on the field." Kawakami Ryutaro pretended to be frightened and continued with difficulty, "But this is war, war! Kid, you're so reckless, you might die. Bang! One bullet, one piece of shrapnel, and you'll be dead."

16 years old, although Kawakami Ryutaro had only taught elementary school before, he had also seen such half-grown children. This is the stage when a child grows up quickly. They are lively and active.

Eager, lacking the ability to be truly independent, yet desperately trying to shake off

Elders prove their growth.

How will he answer?

Mr. Kawakami is prepared for unfounded self-confidence, arrogance without understanding the truth... and even arrogant stupidity.

"Isn't it the duty of every citizen of the Empire to sacrifice oneself for the great cause of the Eightfold Sphere of the Empire? If I were to die, it would be a glorious sacrifice, a death of honor!"

Fujino Seibei's voice, still in its puberty, produced a rhythmic yet chilling tone.

"That's what my teachers taught me when I was in school! My respected father served in the military for the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. My beloved mother cared for my younger siblings to ensure the survival of the military state..." His tone was artificial and chanting, as if he were repeating a poorly written text. "Now, the Empire needs young people like me. Shouldn't I follow the example of my predecessors and bravely charge into the enemy's path?"

"Fujino! If you die here, your parents will be very sad!"

"Teacher Kawakami! My father would be so proud of me!" Fujino took off a small gilded copper locket with three bells from his neck, reciting like a performer with body language. "Teacher, look! This is exactly what my father captured during the campaign to capture Shanxi Province. He gave it to me and encouraged me to be like that brave and powerful soldier. I bravely advanced towards the evil barbarians on the battlefield. My father would be so proud of me if he saw me..."

Fujino Seibei's childish face was filled with a hint of enthusiasm. He ignored Kawakami Ryutaro's shocked and even horrified expression and continued:

"Teacher! Please watch! I will definitely get the best score in tomorrow's drill!"

Chapter 618: Bad Team (IV) Definition of Death

Due to a shortage of supplies, or perhaps even stinginess, many Japanese units, including the 90th Special Infantry Squadron, were unable to conduct high-volume live-fire training, relying instead on "simulated exercises" without ammunition. The equipment used by the 9th Squadron's men for the past few days consisted primarily of "wooden stick demolition tubes" and "cloth bag explosives"—so before heading into battle, the battalion headquarters at least organized a simple live-fire exercise.

The exercise was conducted outside Jinyang City, using the existing city defense fortifications.

Under the gloomy sky, each team began the exercise in a chaotic manner - not many people could hit the target with five shots in the 5-meter live-fire shooting, there were two cases of grenade slips and casualties, and the charge and transfer were like a chaotic vegetable market, with some people clumsily moving their hands and feet, some tripping and falling, and some not knowing what to do and standing there in a daze.

However, the members of the brigade headquarters did not seem to have any dissatisfaction. Instead, they loudly encouraged everyone that they had done a good job and were qualified soldiers. They asked each unit to seize the time, train diligently, and kill more violent troops on the battlefield.

The training of the Special Infantry Squadron 9 was an exception. Under the personal command of the squadron leader, Warrant Officer Ishii Hayashino, a group of children set off smoke screens in an orderly manner to help the light and heavy machine gun teams move their positions. After the 37mm rifle grenade hit the "running mechanism" of the tank simulated by the mound, the grenade launcher team hiding behind fired grenades at a burst rate to cover the blasting teams that launched assaults in two directions.

The children in one group were startled by the simulated explosions caused by firecrackers and sawdust, and hesitated, falling behind. In the other group, the leader, Fujino Seibei, took the lead, pulling the fuse of the Type 99 demolition canister and quickly inserting it into the tank's engine. The remaining members of both groups then lay down in simulated craters until the demolition canister exploded, shattering the mound of earth and the tank.

This is an infantry anti-tank process that has many flaws, but it is well-organized and complete, and can be called a perfect one at this time.

If it weren't for the death of Fujino Seibei.

Fujino is dead.

Just the day after Ryutaro Kawakami spoke with him, and after the only live-fire exercise.

Perhaps because he lay too tightly and was too close to the explosion when dodging it, or perhaps because the 16-year-old child was not fully developed and unable to resist the shock wave of the explosion that an adult could endure, Fujino Seibei suffered severe impact injuries and spleen bleeding from the impact of the 2.25 kg TNT warhead of the Type 99 demolition tube.

This dangerous internal bleeding was not detected at the first time, and Fujino was able to move around as if nothing had happened after the explosion until dinner time: the continued bleeding under the spleen capsule eventually ruptured and quickly caused fatal delayed massive hemorrhage, and soon after, the even more fatal hemorrhagic shock followed.

Fujino Seibei, who was bragging to his friends, fell to the ground and died before being sent to the military clinic.

Such a death happened so quickly that people could not react, and shock and fear replaced everyone's sadness - after all, a classmate and comrade who was still eating and chatting with them died so suddenly. It was a fact that was difficult to accept not only for the children, but also for all the veterans of the 90th Squadron.

But now, they didn't even have the chance to collect Fujino Seibei's body or hold a funeral. Faced with this sudden loss of personnel, the battalion headquarters quickly blocked the news and issued a gag order. The members of the regiment headquarters rushed into the 90th squadron's base and took the child's pale body.

An old soldier was so angry that he tried to stop them, but was hit with the butt of a rifle by the other party and knocked to the ground. This time, Warrant Officer Ishii Linye could no longer stop them. He just separated the two groups with an expressionless face, led the survivors back to the base with an expressionless face, and continued to maintain discipline and training with an expressionless face.

Over the next few days, the captain's temper worsened.

If the children made the slightest mistake during training, they would be kicked with leather boots and beaten with belts. Even the veterans who defended them would be scolded and slapped. His standards were strict, even harsh and demanding, and the training time was extended to the point where it could hardly be extended any further.

His hair and eye circles became darker day by day. When Kawakami Ryutaro looked at the sunken-eyed face of Squad Leader Ishii Hayashino, it was as if he was looking at a machine or a corpse.

Or, like a drowning man.

The news that a 16-year-old boy was killed in a bombing during an exercise quickly spread among the various special teams.

The mother's cries were like an ominous black veil wrapped around everyone's heart, and the news of the Communist Army's continuous breakthroughs on both the northern and southern fronts continued to arrive.

The Communist Army's reconnaissance planes also began to appear more and more frequently over Jinyang City.

The situation of the Japanese troops in the entire northern defense zone of the city began to slide further into the abyss.

Although the Japanese army had no habit of informing ordinary soldiers of the battle situation, no one could hide the fact that there was only one Japanese regiment in Jinyang City. When several friendly divisions had been wiped out in battle, the Japanese soldiers who were used to fighting naturally knew exactly what the remaining troops, simple weapons and useless Japanese residents could do.

In this case, why not live life to the fullest and enjoy life while you can?

Taking this as an opportunity, a large number of vicious incidents began to break out: some people organized veterans to pry open the squadron's material warehouse and military post station at night, snatching alcohol and drinking all night, and even fighting over it; some people wandered around Jinyang City in groups of three or five, searching for lone girls, and regardless of whether they were Japanese or not, they would rush up and molest them; some people robbed, some stole

Shoot and kill anyone who gets in the way...

The disciplinary office of the 58th Division (formerly the 9th Independent Mixed Division) and the military police of the First Army received a flood of complaints and accusations, from local gentry, from the puppet army,

From the Japanese community, but in the pool) Division Commander Kenji and Corps Commander Yoshio Shinozuka

Under instructions, all those who were originally responsible for maintaining discipline closed their eyes, plugged their ears, and pretended to be deaf and dumb.

And in this storm of carnival, ruin and destruction, the 90th Special Infantry Squadron was like a small boat tossing on the crest of the waves.

Trying hard to maintain the last bit of discipline.

"No, we will survive. I will bring you back to Japan safely."

Organized by Captain Ishii, the children, armed with grenades and bayonets, and with veterans as their backbone, took over a food warehouse near Xiaoximen and expanded their control to the maximum extent possible, sheltering approximately 40 Japanese civilians and several Chinese who had taken refuge there. Captain Ishii blew his command whistle and patrolled day and night. Several activists working in the Lukou stronghold led the charge, pounding the drunken soldiers with their rifle butts, forcing back group after group of scoundrels who intended to steal the food and women.

One veteran, distraught, pulled Kawakami Ryutaro over to persuade the squad leader to rest. But Ishii Linye ignored his words and continued to man the front lines. His wounds piled up, his hair visibly graying, yet he remained like a small, indestructible pillar, towering over Squad 90's position.

The days passed one by one, and as the number of defeated soldiers fleeing back from the north decreased and eventually fell silent, the war atmosphere outside Jinyang City finally reached its peak.

The number of Communist fighters and reconnaissance planes in the sky increased. The faint noise from the north gradually emerged from the background sound, and some strange shadows began to appear at the end of the field of vision... The battle of Jinyang City finally began.

The order to enter the position and prepare for battle was finally issued to the front-line troops. As the codeword "Daybreak" was passed down step by step, the Special Infantry Squadron 90, including Ishii Linye, Kawakami Ryutaro, and the children, began to enter the preset position and face their ultimate fate.

Chapter 619: Bad Team (V) Ishii Linye

(This chapter is slightly lyrical)

Ishii Rinno was born in Hokkaido, but he is not a real Hokkaido native.

His family originally lived in the mountains of Aomori Prefecture, an ordinary farming family in Tohoku, making a living from logging and planting. During the Meiji era, during the wave of development in Hokkaido, hoping to change their lives, the Ishii family's ancestors left the barren mountains of Aomori and journeyed to the snowy plains and forests of Hokkaido, taking out loans to start a small livestock farm.

Business was good at first, with milk and mutton selling well in Hokkaido. However, as the focus of Japan's foreign trade and investment shifted to its colonies, Hokkaido's population and investment growth slowed, and the Ishii family's business suddenly declined. However, the bank's principal and interest payments continued unabated, and after several rounds of struggle, the Ishii family returned to their former selves, returning to the path of the vast majority of the Hokkaido colonists: working for others.

This made it very difficult for Ishii's father to find a wife. After much deliberation, he finally married a girl from the Peninsula who was a member of the pioneer group and gave birth to Ishii Linye.

The family lived in relative harmony, their lives manageable. However, the fact that a Japanese man had married a Japanese man from the Peninsula had, for some reason, displeased the other villagers. They found a pretext and perpetrated a classic Japanese form of cold violence against the Ishii family: village sniping. This forced Ishii into a state of extreme poverty, leaving him unable to even attend high school. He was forced to enlist in the army, becoming a "soldier."

During the interwar period, military service was not a good career in Japan. However, the sensible Ishii had no choice. His studies were a burden on his family, and military service offered no future prospects. However, at least he could support himself.

Thus, in 130, Ishii Linye enlisted in the army. From the moment the Japanese army entered the three northeastern provinces, he followed the troops southward, fighting against the Anti-Japanese United Army, the Nationalist Army, and the Communist Army. During his decade-plus in the military, Ishii endured the "special slaps" of a boot and was forced to memorize the "Battle Training," "Military Pardon," and "Model Orders," all required of every soldier in the Japanese military. Through beatings, slaps, and verbal abuse, Ishii gradually rose from an ordinary private to a warrant officer, becoming the "veteran" who could bully others in the ranks.

During these years, Ishii Linye had seen the tenacious Anti-Japanese United Army, the National Army betrayed by their superiors, the elusive Eighth Route Army, and the traitors begging for mercy. This distant ancient Western country, Japan's former teacher, gradually became familiar from being unfamiliar.

He became so familiar with them that he could feel that the Japanese were no different from those people. He felt that he could see his parents, relatives, and even himself in these Chinese.

But this familiarity brought no change; the war situation continued to evolve silently and steadily. The Japanese army went from being unstoppable at the beginning to being utterly disorganized and running around in the face of a tiny "anti-Japanese united army"; from making rapid advances in the battlefields within the Great Wall, with more victories than defeats, to the entire army, having been stretched to its limit, beginning a slow death.

Ishii silently followed the troops as they marched and fought, like an efficient chess piece.

After graduating from junior high school, Ishii Linye joined the army as soon as he was old enough and spent almost his entire life in the army. His experience was based on the army, and his world was based on the army.

His life was almost dependent on the military.

Therefore, apart from some farm work, Ishii hardly knows anything other than being a soldier and fighting in battles - obeying orders is almost his instinct and habit.

Fortunately or unfortunately, Ishii Linye just happens to have a brain that can think.

During his twelve years of service, as he saw more and more people and things, saw more and more villages like his hometown being burned and destroyed, and saw more and more people like his parents falling under the guns of this army, he gradually realized how many tears and bones were buried under the so-called "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere".

Shijing Linye was filled with fear and terror, which gradually turned to numbness, and finally to immense exhaustion. The battle in North China was like a car careening into a quagmire. The driver pressed the accelerator, only to watch as the car slowly lost momentum, gradually being enveloped by the creeping mud and plunging into the abyss.

Ishii began to not want to fight anymore, especially a meaningless war that would only result in casualties.

But Ishii couldn't help but think about how many people he had already killed—both enemy soldiers he'd shot on the battlefield and innocent civilians killed during raids. He put himself in their shoes and asked himself if he still had the right to casually say, "I'm tired, I don't want to fight anymore," and then throw down his gun and enjoy peace.

Before this, Ishii had never had the courage or the thought to disobey orders. He would think, argue, and refute, but whenever his superiors pressured him with the righteous pretext of "a soldier's duty is to obey orders" and "the emperor's decree, the superior's order," he would quickly convince himself, submit, and obey the orders meekly.

But gradually, Ishii Linye discovered that behind those guys who were always talking big, he could see some deep-rooted, huge and terrifying indescribable things that were watching, whispering, warning and pushing every Japanese.

And every time this happened, the guilt that permeated my heart and dreams would quickly dissipate, revealing the killing machine that efficiently executed orders: shooting prisoners, setting fire to villagers' houses, being sent to the 90th Squad, and being assigned to garrison the Lukou stronghold...

What should I do? Where should I go? What should I pursue? What can I pursue?

Ishii Linye couldn't figure it out. He felt like he was struggling in a lightless ocean, following the unstoppable turbulent current, and gradually falling into the mud on the seabed - the mud was rotten and filled with a strong smell of blood, but it was the only thing that could be felt and touched in this pure darkness: everyone who drowned in the ocean, whether they wanted to or not, would be deified as nutrients and completely devoured.

I'm a damned criminal anyway, but the others in the team aren't, and those kids certainly aren't... At least there's something I can do. It's my responsibility to bring them back safely. He grasped at his last straw.

In a sense, Ishii succeeded.

The small Lukou stronghold and the 90th Infantry Detachment became a peaceful haven. Through reconciliation with Kangjia Town, Shijing and more than 20 equally unwelcome "bad soldiers" enjoyed precious peace amidst the war. They could safely trade with the villagers, earn food and goods through labor, and walk without fear of being shot. During that time, everyone felt as if they had escaped the vortex of war.

Ishii Linye coveted this moment of tranquility and was willing to do his utmost to maintain this "common prosperity," even though he was fully aware that the shadow of war would always follow the Japanese army until it completely withdrew from China, Manchuria, and the Peninsula. This illusory and fragile situation could not last at all, and he was willing to prolong this nominal peace as much as possible.

Unfortunately, in the real world, escape is not only shameful, but also ultimately useless.

As the battle entered its final stage, the Special Infantry Squadron 90 finally received weapons for actual combat, and Warrant Officer Ishibinami, who was hands-on, personally checked all the weapons. Because of the casualties in the exercise, he had proposed to the battalion headquarters that they must find a way to solve the problem of destructive tubes and explosives that could easily kill the blasters. The other party readily agreed and said that they would definitely consider it carefully and solve it seriously.

As a result, Ishii Linye saw the truncated fuses and detonators, the Type 99 detonator tubes, the Type 99 explosive mines, and the improvised "cloth-bag explosive mines" (explosive packs). Their delay structures had been adjusted from five seconds to more than ten seconds to a uniform shortened to 1.5 seconds.

This means that as long as the user pulls the trigger, the deadly explosives will "explode instantly", burying them and the enemy together.

The problem of easily causing casualties has also been solved.

Now, Ishii's last life-saving straw was also brutally taken away.

Chapter 620: Bad Team (End) Final Strength 9

(Update)

"What do you want?"

"Sir Captain, all the demolition tubes and explosives my unit received had their fuses shortened. Not a single one remains. They are all instant-explosion weapons. Please give us normal weapons.

"Warrant Officer Ishii, I remember you weren't such an unreasonable person. They wouldn't understand this - as long as you keep silent."

silence.

"Why? Why... they're going to die! You're sending them to their deaths!"

"Everyone dies on the battlefield. They can be shot by bullets, blown away by shells, stabbed by bayonets... including being killed by explosive bombs - what's the problem with that?" "But they are still children, the oldest is only 17 years old! They shouldn't die here!"

"What's wrong with the child? People are dying everywhere in the fight against the brutal enemy. Aren't we going to die too? Are we supposed to die? Isn't it right to sacrifice our lives for victory?" (Silence)

"Sir, this is different."

(Sound of jacket being unbuttoned) (Panic shouting, guns being drawn)

"Don't move! Don't move... Mr. Ishii, why are you... doing this?"

"Sir, I just...why, why? Why! Enough Japanese have died!"

(silence)

"Then let me tell you: the purpose of shortening the fuse is to ensure that they can kill enough communist troops, and this order comes from the battalion headquarters, and the battalion headquarters' order is issued by the division headquarters.

"Also, Warrant Officer Ishii Hayashino should have been the one who led the charge, bravely fighting against the rebels and died.

"In this way, his family can receive pensions and preferential treatment, and be free from hunger and poverty."

Ishii Linye walked out of the squadron headquarters, and no one dared to stop him from behind.

Ten minutes ago, he kicked open the door of the squadron headquarters on the pretext of reporting military intelligence, and left several guards outside the door who were holding their stomachs and groaning; a few minutes ago, he took less than 5 seconds to knock over the slicked-head lieutenant who had just graduated from the Reserve Non-Commissioned Officer Academy in the room, and punched him in the face, almost breaking his nose.

With a fear of certain death, he opened his coat, revealing a cloth-wrapped bomb inside - the kind with a shortened fuse. Through such highly rebellious and violent means, the warrant officer was finally able to gain a brief, fleeting power and be able to have an equal dialogue with the squadron leader, who was a captain.

But when the squadron leader turned the topic to his family, Ishii Linye finally gave in. He was like a loser who started well but ended badly, step by step.

Move from the squadron headquarters to the base next to the Xiaobei Gate.

It was already dark, and the streetlights had been extinguished early due to the blackout. The curfew patrol ignored Ishii Rinno's presence, leading the Japanese expatriates, who could barely march in step, through the streets. He passed by low, densely packed houses, by barricades piled with sandbags, by sentries napping and slacking off... This central city in China's Shanxi Province seemed like a lightless black hole, sucking in everything around him, leaving Ishii Rinno feeling as if he were gradually losing touch with reality.

After all, he was unable to cross that line: the army had been the totem of his career for the past decade, his reliance on proving his true existence, and the insurance of his parents' lives. In the end, he still did not have the courage to cut off everything and say goodbye to his past self.