Canteen System Assistance Notes

A blazing light illuminated the world, leaving a massive signal on his retina. A materialized explosion pushed the air like a sledgehammer. He felt the ground vibrate, yet the surroundings were utterly silent. The rolling shockwave lifted up everything that could be lifted, pouring down like a torrential rain.

It was a warehouse storing about 5 tons of bombs. The white flash spread, rose, and gradually turned into an orange fireball. A large number of bombs that had not yet exploded were like shredded paper.

Generally, it was revealed. These 60KG bombs of picric acid were used in air raids.

The main force is also a shape that is convenient for animal-powered transportation. At this moment, it is like snow scattered out of thin air. With the explosion, it follows the influence of gravity and flies into the sky in a perfect parabola, and then falls back to the ground.

bang bang bang!

Even without fuses, the sensitive picric acid explosives still experienced numerous sympathetic explosions. For a moment, the entire Shimen Airport resembled a hell of wailing demons. The explosions were so continuous that it was impossible to discern the order of their succession. Artillery fire and aircraft explosions seemed powerless and ridiculous in the face of such earth-shaking scenes.

Immediately, everything seemed to stop, as if nothing had happened. Sakaki stood up in a daze, as if a string in his heart had broken.

Ten minutes ago, he was still thinking about his diary, how to explain to his childhood sweetheart after retirement everything about his role as a pilot, he was still analyzing the flight sergeant who tried to bully him, and trying every possible way to escape the situation where he was forced to compromise. But now, the fighter planes, the predecessors, the airport, and the machine gunner in the bunker just now, everything seemed to be wiped out by a giant hand, leaving only the raging flames, illuminating the night sky of a foreign country, and himself who was speechless and deaf.

Sakaki began to feel pain, as if a piece of shrapnel had just cut his leg. After the fierce collision and running just now, there were many scratches on his face, elbows and knees. The fatigue, hunger and sleepiness that he had never felt before suddenly hit him, making his eyes go black and he almost lost consciousness. Within a few seconds, Sakaki could no longer stand and fell to the ground.

Is this war?

If this is war, can I go back?

Retiring smoothly, finding a job in Tokyo, marrying your childhood sweetheart...does such a thing still exist?

Previously, the most common thing he experienced was following the pilots and carrying out bombing missions on flying bombers. At high or low altitudes, dropping a string of bombs,

Then I watched strings of white smoke rising and spreading on the ground.

It turns into a thick or thin column of smoke, as simple and ordinary as sprinkling a string of ink beads on a piece of white paper.

He felt fear. The nights of July and August were no longer cold, but he was shaking for no apparent reason, as if a hand was gripping his throat, making it difficult to breathe. He gasped for air and fell to the ground.

For the first time, Saburo Sakaki began to fear bombs and bombings. The explosions at close range on the ground were so terrifying.

But fortunately, I was lucky enough to survive.

He hugged his pen and notebook to his chest. Miraculously, they remained intact and undamaged. Sakaki Saburo hugged them tightly, as if his father and childhood sweetheart in Japan were holding his hands, blessing him and protecting him from the terrible harm.

"Here, there's a living one!"

"Look at his clothes, he's a Japanese pilot!" Huh?

Unintelligible language, unfamiliar voices, a large painted face appeared in the field of vision, and then another one. Against the backdrop of the starry sky, they had dense branches above their heads, their faces were pitch black, and only two white eyes with black were staring at him.

“Ghost!!!!!” Saburo Sakaki shouted.

With a whoosh, something was put over my head, and then I was roughly turned over, my hands were bent behind my back, and pressed tightly to the ground. "Damn it, what are you yelling about! Be quiet!"

Chapter 114: Talking Bushes

About 25 kilometers north of Shimen City is a county called "Lingshou", and next to it is Pingshan County, where the "Pingshan Regiment" was born. Since the 359th Brigade of the 120th Division arrived here, this place has always been the sphere of influence of our army.

Being so close to the Japanese army, in response to our army's repeated attacks on Shimen City in history, the Japanese army worked hard to dig pits and build fortifications outside Shimen City. Finally, around 40 years later, they were able to block our army's infiltration attacks with a relatively complete offensive.

In the summer of 1938, Saburo Sakaki naturally did not enjoy the protection of fortifications.

After being tied up tightly by talking bushes outside the airport and shaken by the shock wave, Sakaki, who was in a daze, was dragged by the rope and walked all the way north.

When he came to his senses, he realized that he had been captured by the enemy.

Then, Sakaki was thrown into the cart like a sack. Two soldiers in strange clothes patted the coachman, and the carriage started to run away.

"The two observation posts in the cave have begun to evacuate. Everything is going smoothly."

One of them pulled a squiggly telephone cord from his backpack and held it to his lips, saying, "The airport has been completely destroyed, the ammunition depot has been destroyed, and the artillery camp was cleared out so cleanly, damn, there's nothing left." "Oh, we even captured a Japanese soldier who looks like he could fly a plane."

Saburo Sakaki didn't understand what the other party was saying. He could only see the backpack with a small red light flashing back and forth, but he could roughly guess that these enemy soldiers were talking about him, because when the word "devils" was mentioned, the two black faces painted with ink would turn towards him.

When their eyes met, one of them would grin, revealing his sharp white teeth, and then reveal a terrifying smile and a gleaming dagger. "Behave! If I dare to touch you, I'll work you to death!"

Okay, he could understand this Concordian. Sakaki, who had been twisting and turning like a caterpillar, immediately lay down quietly, like a zombie.

Who is the other person? Sakaki lay down, looking at the stars in the sky, forcing himself to think so that his brain wouldn't go crazy.

First of all, they were definitely not guerrillas or bandits from the Nationalist Army. Their equipment was very poor, and they didn't have many guns, let alone 7mm artillery. Moreover, the black-faced enemy soldier used a back-mounted intercom, which I had never seen before.

Secondly, the Nationalist troops in the mountain city were definitely not: I heard from the soldiers guarding the airport that when the Nationalist troops used artillery, they would often push the artillery to the direct firing distance and use the sights on the guns to fire directly; and tonight's artillery attack on Shimen Airport was guided by the enemy's artillery observers who were responsible for direct aircraft support, and it was a typical "observation shooting."

Then...Sakaki Saburo thought of the goal of this mission,

Ah, it's over! I've been caught by the Red Army!

Previously, in the air battle, some fighter planes were attacked by Kuomintang fighter planes piloted by Chilu pilots, and many were shot down; and previously, an entire friendly army regiment was completely destroyed by the Chilu troops led by the Eighth Route Army. So now, the enemy force capable of launching such an artillery bombardment and night offensive must be Chilu!

Sakaki's head suddenly buzzed.

I haven’t married yet and I don’t have any children! Am I going to die in this foreign land? He couldn’t help but tremble.

With his thoughts spreading randomly, Sakaki Saburo's IQ was completely off the charts. He imagined more than a hundred ways of dying, from being brainwashed by the secret magic of the Red Army to

Transformed into a half-human, half-ghost monster; transported to the north, in a desolate place

He went down the mine to dig coal; then he was put on a noose by a group of cheering people and hanged on a telephone pole, fluttering in the wind...

The carriage creaked along, and after an unknown amount of time, Sakaki heard a gruff voice. "Hey, get down!"

"Ahhhhh! Don't kill me! Don't kill me!"

A gentle kick on his butt made him jump up and yell loudly. The wooden cart clanked and even the horse neighed.

The driver pulled the reins to control the frightened horse, while another figure

In a flash, Sakaki felt as if his body was free from gravity and flew off the car, and then had an intimate contact with the ground.

A powerful force grabbed the neck of his clothes and pulled him up like a chicken: "You devil, what are you yelling about!"

Sakaki felt a strong light in front of him, as if someone was pointing a light source at him, which made him unable to open his eyes. "Please, please, don't kill me, Mom..." "What are you yelling about! We won't eat you!"

The two sides could not communicate with each other, and the strong light from the other's chest made Sakaki unable to see anything. He only saw a huge flashing shadow, like a terrifying giant monster, but it was just mumbling before eating him. But now, his hands were still tied.

"You! Stop moving!" The other person was taller and forced Sakaki to stand still like he was holding a chicken. "Surrender your weapons and I won't kill you!" (Plastic Japanese) "Okay! Now I understand!

At least these naked beasts won't kill me directly, that's great!

"Chilu" operated on the light source on his chest, and the dazzling white light became much weaker, making it possible to see the human figure clearly. Sakaki Saburo found that the other party's face was also very typical of East Asians, without the big nose and deep eye sockets of the Akuro people. However, their faces were painted with yellow and green colors, just like the red-eyed samurai in Ukiyo-e. Coupled with the previous panic, Sakaki did not recognize their identity at the first time.

No, they seemed to have been speaking Chinese before? Although it had some dialect flavor, Sakaki could still tell that this was the Chinese he often heard in Shimen.

"You guys, bandits? Nationalist troops? Eighth Route Army?"

Sakaki knew some Concordia, a half-Japanese and half-Chinese language that emerged due to the forced implementation of Japanese in the three provinces and was now almost the only possible channel of communication between the two sides.

After calming down, he asked cautiously, fearing to offend the other party and make

The other party took out a dagger and slit his own neck.

However, the painted-faced warrior didn't understand much. When Sakaki asked about the "Eighth Route Army", he nodded and said, "Yes, we are the Eighth Route Army. As long as you are obedient,

The Eighth Route Army did not kill prisoners, but treated you well. "As soon as he finished speaking, he thought

Thinking: "If you behave yourself, we won't kill you."

"Now, you, get out of the car and follow!"

The Eighth Route Army warrior was wearing beautiful cotton clothes, with a gun on his back and a small curved flashlight hanging on his chest, which was emitting light and illuminating the dirt road ahead. Another one walked behind Sakaki, untied the rope on his hand, and instructed him to move forward.

The night wind was no longer as hot. After the continuous panic and intimidation, and after realizing that he had temporarily saved his life, Sakaki realized that he was sweating coldly. His flight leather jacket and flight cap were soaked with sweat and sticky.

This was an uphill slope, and the horses, under the control of the driver, were trudging up the slope in small, shaky steps. It was dark all around, and besides the area within the reach of the flashlight, only the rustling of the grass and bushes in the moonlight told Sakaki that he was heading towards the countryside.

There were only three of them... One of them was still driving the car, and it was night time... One of them was walking in front with a gun, and the other was following behind...

Sakaki Saburo's mind began to race. Even a carriage couldn't get very far in one night. And after the airport was attacked, the Imperial Army would surely send out a search party, searching in the direction of the bombardment.

If I can knock one of them down, seize his weapon, and then disappear into the darkness before the other one can react... Sakaki, an imperial soldier, began to get restless. He looked around and began to try to analyze the surrounding situation and judge the risks and benefits of doing so.

How could an imperial soldier be captured by the Eighth Route Army? A bold plan was gradually forming in his mind. "Alright, you, don't move." The Eighth Route Army soldier in front stopped and twitched at him.

what?

My plan was discovered?

"Whoa-whoa!" He picked up the whistle and blew it for a long time, then raised the curved flashlight, and the white light flashed. Under the blinding light

The Eighth Route Army soldier shouted towards the dark grass and bushes around him,

"Comrades, it's us! The battle went smoothly, we're back!" "Don't hide, come out!"

Chapter 115: The Red Army's Fullness

"What's your name?"

Saburo Sakaki was placed in a room. Two members of the Eighth Route Army, dressed in dark green, sat behind chairs in front of him. They were holding pen and paper, asking questions in passable Japanese. "They don't want to kill me, but maybe they're trying to extract some information from me?" Sakaki pondered, staring intently at a white box on the table, a distraction to relieve stress. "Horibe Yasubei."

He just made up a name, but who knew that the other person would burst out laughing as soon as he heard it. Huh?

"I say, you little devil." The Red Army soldier in charge of questioning finally stopped laughing and said with a smile, "Why lie?" "I... I didn't lie?"

"Hey,"

The air in the room suddenly turned cold, as if the plane suddenly rose to an altitude of 5,000 meters. A cold current like a knife cut across the other person's face, and pierced into Sakaki Saburo's brain from those eyes that still had a hint of a smile, as if the man's emotions did not change gradually like those of a living thing, but were controlled by a single switch.

"If you're Horibe Yasubei, I'm Mito Komon." He said coldly, narrowing his eyes and examining Sakaki Saburo as if he were looking at a piece of pork waiting to be cut up. "Do you really think I don't know the 'Kanadehon Chushingura'? Tell the truth!"

Another Red Army soldier looked at him with disdain, pressed a button on a machine, took out a white box, and put it back in: "This little devil, he still thinks we are old-fashioned!" With a click, the strange machine began to hum again. The cold air in the room disappeared, and the sun appeared again. The other party asked again:

"I'll ask again, what's your name?"

"Rank? Position?"

"Second Class Flight Sergeant, Machine Gunner." "Unit affiliation, designation?"

"Um...let me think..."

"In Shimen, you're flying a Type 93 heavy bomber, so you're from the 7th Flying Wing, right? Look at the Mount Fuji logo on your leather jacket. Aren't you originally from the Northeast? Why are you here? What mission are you planning to carry out?" "From the headquarters..."

"If the Kwantung Army is coming, it must be the headquarters coordinating with the expeditionary forces in China, sending you to bomb our major cities. And then a few days ago, we robbed one of your regiments, and you're planning to come and destroy us and bomb our base? Tsk... Never mind, your situation is basically like that, there's nothing much for you to say."

After just a few rounds, Sakaki didn't say much, but the other party had finished speaking. Am I, then, of no value as intelligence at all?

Aside from the time he'd just lied, these Red Army soldiers hadn't been aggressive, nor had they been torturing or insulting him. Sakaki Saburo was beginning to doubt whether he was actually being held captive. In previous training, the instructors had repeatedly warned him and his classmates that if captured, they must immediately commit suicide to apologize to the Emperor. Otherwise, the enemy would torture them with heinous and excruciating punishments to extract intelligence. Once their usefulness had been exhausted, they would be sent on to the next stage. The instructors' vivid descriptions of the various bizarre punishments had even made some of the more timid students wet their pants.

Ah, fortunately, the Red Army at least won’t kill me.

Saburo Sakaki considers himself the kind of person who really wants to live. He has things he wants to do, a wife he wants to marry, and a future he wants to start. How can he die so easily in this foreign land? Compared to the army sergeant nicknamed "postcard", he is not a very fanatical extremist.

But this won’t work!

You are a soldier of the Empire. Before setting out on the expedition, you swore to serve your country for the rest of your life! Within Sakaki Saburo's heart, a voice roared, a mighty and oppressive one, like a surging wave, bombarding his inner defenses, forcing him to instinctively surrender and succumb to it. It kept repeating: These are the Empire's enemies! You must remain vigilant. They are extracting intelligence in order to achieve their goal of destroying the Empire. If they succeed, your family, your loved ones, your life, everything you own will be seized and destroyed!

"So... next..." The Red Army interrogator opposite him put away the square box machine, gathered the things and put them away, and said to him.

Sakaki sat up straight. Although the confrontational emotion was no longer as strong, it still firmly occupied his heart. Red Army! What tricks do you have left? Use them all! I won't tell you a word! "It's almost noon. Are you still hungry? Let's go eat!"

Um?

Yesterday evening, Saburo Sakaki had a meal of "Ogura Ni" (Ogura-ni). It was a pot of taro, red beans, miso, and sugar, along with small items like tofu and fish bought from Shimen City. He ate it with white rice. This wasn't like his previous base on the Yangtze River, where he could eat fresh fish or meat every day.

It is said that the Red Army's life was difficult and the conditions were poor, so there shouldn't be anything good to eat. Forget it, I am a prisoner after all, so I just need to give myself some rice to eat. I worked hard all night last night.

In addition to the interrogation, Sakaki did not eat breakfast.

I was a little hungry. After following the Red Army soldiers out of the house, there were already many people queuing up at the camp on the edge of the village. There were two horse-drawn iron carts parked in the open space.

Many people lined up, waiting to get their meals.

"Grab your chopsticks and line up yourself."

The interrogator handed Sakaki an aluminum lunch box and a pair of chopsticks, and then stood aside to wait in line for his meal. Soon, Sakaki's lunch box was filled with a bowl of dry rice, a piece of fried meat, and a spoonful of celery and tofu shreds.

Sakaki Sanyou poked open the steaming steak with chopsticks. Under the crispy batter was a whole piece of chicken, so tender that juice could be squeezed out with a light touch. The pickled spices had even seeped into the texture of the meat. He took a light bite, and the satisfying feeling of fat and spices rushed to his forehead, as if someone was bombing his stomach. It temporarily drove away the stomachache of hunger, but it also stimulated his desire for greed.

Ah... That's great... Didn't they say the Red Army lived in poverty? How could this be called poverty? Isn't it just like being a pilot?

Between wolfing down his food, he stole a glance around. The Red Army soldiers were sitting in rows around wooden tables or on low stone stools, each one dining with their lunch boxes. It was impossible to tell who was senior, who was an officer, and who was a soldier. Everyone ate from the same dish, the same rice, the same soup. Even the man who was interrogating him—all the Red Army soldiers seemed to be eating alike.

"Ah, you guys, are you eating the same thing as me... Do all of you, regardless of seniority or rank, eat the same dishes?"

Confused, Sakaki finally asked the first question.

Chapter 116 A Place of Equality

The interrogator sitting next to him looked at each other and smiled.