Chapter 11: Securing the Mortar

Watching the two men remain silent, the squad leader was about to gather his courage and ask again, unaware that the two guard robots were merely analyzing their language patterns and loading the corresponding language modules.

Before the squad leader could speak, one of the burly men suddenly broke the silence with a deep, heavy voice: “Xu Gaoxiang, our boss, is here!”

The soldiers were startled. Though the words were stiff and awkward, it was unmistakably authentic Chinese.

“Whoa! That foreign devil can speak Chinese too?!”

“That scared me!”

The lean, dark-faced soldier leaned toward the squad leader and whispered, “Squad leader, I heard that yesterday the fifth squad leader brought back a wealthy young master and also captured a little Jap.”

“Changchun even bragged to us that the rich young master gave the fifth squad leader a German submachine gun!”

The squad leader nodded slightly, thinking to himself that this rich young master was indeed peculiar, having such two hulking figures by his side—it was quite intimidating.

At that moment, led by Wang Chengzhu, Li Yunlong and Huzi were forced into a brisk walk, grumbling as they reached the outskirts of the camp.

“Phew! You, Chengzhu! Even in reincarnation, no one hurries like you! You’re the boss! When we moved before, you never ran this fast!”

Wang Chengzhu scratched the back of his head sheepishly and smiled awkwardly. “Heh heh… Commander, it’s not like that…”

Just then, sharp-eyed Huzi spotted a circle of soldiers from afar. “Commander, something’s happening!”

Hearing Huzi’s voice, Li Yunlong snapped back to attention, his back arching, body alert. He drew his Mauser pistol and his sharp gaze immediately swept the scene.

“What’s the situation? Huzi!”

“Commander, over there!”

Li Yunlong followed Huzi’s pointing arm and saw two figures standing out like cranes among chickens. “Whoa! What big fellows!”

Squinting into the distance, Li Yunlong noticed that each of the two giants was carrying a sizable wooden box in each hand. A thought struck him, and he broke into a broad grin. “Ha ha ha, it must be Xu’s men arriving!”

“Quick, Huzi, go greet them. Don’t let a flood wash away the Dragon King’s temple—family should recognize family!” Li Yunlong chuckled, holstering his pistol as he watched Huzi run over.

“Come on, Chengzhu, that treasure you’ve been longing for is right there!”

Huzi reached the two giants and gasped at their sheer size. “Hiss…”

Then he looked toward the second squad leader. “Second squad leader, the commander is coming right now. These two are his guests.”

Upon hearing they were the commander’s guests, the second squad leader and the others lowered their guard and glanced toward Li Yunlong approaching.

They slung their guns behind their backs and the second squad soldiers saluted in unison. “Greetings, Commander!”

Li Yunlong waved them off. “Alright, nothing for you here. Go prepare for battle, and tell your squad leader that the little Japs will be here soon. Hurry up and get all the grenades moved to the front line.”

With that, the soldiers dispersed. Li Yunlong’s eyes widened as he appraised the burly men before him. “Wow! That build—arms thicker than my thighs! Truly rare to find such guts in a dried fish belly!”

His eyes then gleamed as they fixed on the wooden boxes, marked with various codes and numbers.

“Ha ha ha, brothers, pardon me—you're here looking for my brother Xu, right? Come on, Xu’s resting at my place!”

Seeing Wang Chengzhu’s awkward hesitation, reaching for the boxes but pulling back, Li Yunlong shot him a sharp look. “Go on, don’t embarrass yourself.”

Turning back, Li Yunlong laughed heartily. “Please forgive us—these two giants are quite imposing. This country bumpkin hasn’t seen the world much!”

One of the burly men responded in a deep voice, “No worries, these are gifts from our boss!”

Li Yunlong felt a weight lift from his chest. If they were Xu’s men, matters would be simple—it was like family.

“Well then, no need for formalities!”

He didn’t treat himself as an outsider and immediately took charge, sparing the trouble of calling others to carry the boxes.

As the goods were about to be secured, Li Yunlong strode quickly, with the two giants close behind, their breathing steady and effortless. Li Yunlong both envied and admired them.

Soon, they arrived at the courtyard where Xu Gaoxiang lived. Li Yunlong immediately shouted at the top of his lungs.

“Brother Xu! Brother Xu! Come out quickly! Ha ha ha!”

Xu Gaoxiang, who had been squinting in the sun, shuddered at the sudden noise. “You scared me!”

Coming to his senses, as Xu’s vision cleared, Li Yunlong’s handsome, youthful face—familiar throughout the countryside—was right before him.

Xu Gaoxiang instantly energized and then noticed the two burly men entering the courtyard.

One wore a black wool coat, tanned and bald; the other had prominent features and wore sunglasses.

These were exactly as Xu Gaoxiang had described—one modeled after Black Adam, the other after the Terminator.

“Ha ha, brother, let me introduce you: this is Arno, and this is Adam—though calling him ‘The Rock’ works too!” Xu Gaoxiang patted Adam’s arm as he introduced them to Li Yunlong.

Li Yunlong praised them briefly but then shifted focus. Pointing at the wooden boxes they had set down, he said plainly, “Brother Xu, this must be my gun!”

Xu Gaoxiang was straightforward as well. He patted Arno and said, “Open it up, let my brother inspect the goods!”

With a creak, Arno opened the box single-handedly, making Li Yunlong click his tongue in admiration. “Such strength!”

As soon as the box was opened, an eager Wang Chengzhu crouched down, excitedly running his hands over the brand-new gun barrel and accessories.

Observing Wang’s swift and skillful assembly, Xu Gaoxiang guessed his identity—this must be “Artillery God” Chengzhu, Li Yunlong’s prized treasure.

Li Yunlong noticed Xu’s glance and proudly introduced him. “His name’s Wang Chengzhu. He used to be with the Northeast Army and is a skilled gunner. Seeing no chance to fight his way home with his own troops, he fled and then happened to find me in northern Shaanxi. Since then, he’s been fighting the Japs with me!”

Soon the mortar was fully assembled, and Wang carefully fitted the sight onto it.

Li Yunlong’s eyes were wide, fixed intently. In past captures, not to mention a mortar sight, even a complete spyglass was rare.

“Hey, Brother Xu, what country’s mortar is this? Does it work well? Looks like the ones from old Jiang’s side!”

Xu Gaoxiang shook his head helplessly. “Not just looks like—they’re the same model. Only difference is those over there are secondhand old guns phased out by other armies!”

Li Yunlong swore under his breath. “All of them with bad intentions, trying to take advantage of us. Damn it! And old Jiang’s such a sucker!”

The Americans were clever—trying to make a fortune from the war—selling steel and crude oil on one hand, and secondhand weapons on the other.

Unfortunately, the ambitious little Japs soon exceeded their expectations, preferring to seize weapons rather than buy, and directly rushed into Southeast Asia instead.