Chapter 4: The Five Unfortunates

Page 1 of 3

People on the internet always say that when a Chinese person is alone, they are a dragon, but when a group of Chinese people are together, they are a worm. In an unfamiliar environment, they fight amongst themselves more viciously than anyone else.

As far as I’m concerned, that’s nothing but hot air. During the eight-year War of Resistance Against Japan, weren’t my companions and I, who also hailed from the modern era, in an unfamiliar environment? Yet, even in the most difficult and desperate situations, everyone set everything aside and fought to the death. However, having said that, I recall when I first met these guys, they were all full of hidden agendas; they were truly treacherous...

— Excerpt from Hu Biao’s diary collection, "Hu Says" —

Around nine-thirty in the evening, the platoon leader and the others, having finished the last of their wine and meat, blew out the kerosene lamp in the room and fell asleep, reeking of alcohol. Even so, Hu Biao continued to feign sleep for quite a while. After pretending to sleep for another hour in the room, thick with the stench of sweat and feet, he quietly rose from the straw, preparing to make a run for it.

Miraculously, at the very moment he braced himself to sit up, he was surprised to see, under the exceptionally bright moonlight, that he was not the only one planning to do so. He spotted four other people in the crowded room quietly rising as well; their cautious movements made it clear they definitely weren't heading for the latrine. The only possibility was that they, like him, had been waiting to escape and had bumped into each other. Caught off guard, the five of them stared at one another, completely bewildered.

Hu Biao was the first to react. He pointed toward the main door and used his right index and middle fingers to make a gesture suggesting they all run away together. The other four nodded in tacit understanding, reaching a silent agreement. Afterward, everyone put on their shoes and moved stealthily toward the door.

Hu Biao, taking the lead, cracked the door open and peered out into the moonlight. To his dismay, he saw two veteran soldiers in the courtyard, armed with Hanyang Type 88 rifles, standing guard with their eyes wide open. It should be noted that the Jiangsu Security Regiment to which Hu Biao and his group currently belonged was a large unit consisting of six regiments. Originally a local security force in Jiangsu Province, they had been reorganized and trained over a year ago by the Generalissimo, intended to serve as a model for the reorganization of all local security forces in the Republic of China. Although that nationwide reorganization eventually fizzled out, the strength and equipment of the Jiangsu Security Regiment were quite decent, not much worse than some of the local irregular units.

Of course, that is not important. What is important is that out of the 132 men in the replacement company, seventeen or eighteen were veterans of the Security Regiment who carried firearms. Hu Biao was willing to bet everything he had that those two veterans in the courtyard definitely had ammunition in their rifles; if they discovered anyone trying to escape, they would certainly open fire. Running out through the front or back doors seemed impossible.

Page 2 of 3

Hu Biao, clinging to a final shred of hope, secretly crept to a window on the side. He didn't even need to poke his head out; as soon as he punctured the window paper and saw the flickering glow of a cigarette butt in the shadows nearby, he felt completely hopeless.

"Damn it! We aren't prisoners; do they have to watch us this closely?" Hu Biao grumbled to himself in frustration...

*******

"Fuck! See if you can keep staring like this forever. If not, I’ll definitely find a chance to run."

After lying back down on the straw to feign sleep, amidst the tractor-like snoring of the two men beside him, Zhou Kun told himself this. Compared to a guy like Hu Biao, who had already completely given up on life in the modern world, Zhou Kun undoubtedly had a much brighter and more promising future.

From childhood, Zhou Kun had always been the "neighbor's kid" that everyone talked about. From elementary school through high school, his grades were always at the top of the class. He was admitted to the famous Wudaokou Vocational Technical College, specializing in the highly sought-after field of materials science. After graduating with a master’s degree, he immediately went abroad for further studies. With a high-paying scholarship, he obtained his Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from an Ivy League university in Uncle Sam’s country. During his doctoral studies, he published several influential papers in SCI Zone 2 and Zone 3 journals, demonstrating strong professional capabilities.

Now, having just graduated, several large foreign companies had already offered him high-paying positions, waiting for him to choose. Even his advisor, a renowned materials expert in the U.S., had discussed with him the hope that he would stay on as a lecturer and assistant. In short, green cards and high salaries were not an issue at all; Zhou Kun’s future was full of hope and possibilities.

Yet, it was at this very moment that his grandfather called, asking him to return to a domestic materials research institute. Aside from a small subsidy for household registration, the salary was 9,000 yuan a month during the internship period, plus social security and housing funds. Not to mention this meager pay, which wasn't even a fraction of what the foreign companies offered, there were rumors about the domestic research environment—where even an Einstein-level genius would have to stand up and toast, or they wouldn't be able to survive.

Zhou Kun immediately and decisively rejected his grandfather’s suggestion. Without any hesitation, he got into a heated argument with his grandfather over the phone because of his firm refusal to return. Fueled by his foul mood, Zhou Kun went out for a few drinks, returned to his apartment, and fell into a drunken sleep. When he woke up, he found himself in the northern Jiangsu region in 1937, about to head to Shanghai to become cannon fodder on the Songhu battlefield.

Given all this, he would have to be insane to actually go to the battlefield and potentially have his life ended by a stray bullet. With the knowledge in his head, which was nearly an era ahead of this time, he could probably win Nobel Prizes until he grew tired of them. Wouldn't it be much better to hang out in the U.S. and become a super-rich man or a great scientist?

Page 3 of 3

Regrettably, the veterans of the 3rd Replacement Company seemed to have anticipated that someone might try to run away; they had blocked all escape routes with their rifles, making it impossible to flee. The only thing he could find some comfort in was that there were likely four other unlucky fellows just like him. I say "likely" because, in the current environment, it wasn't convenient for him to strike up a conversation with the four others who had risen at the same time to discuss the details.

However, if he thought back carefully, he could recall the march during the day. These individuals had displayed temperaments and nuances that were quite different from this era. It was only because he had been so distressed by his sudden arrival in this world that he hadn't scrutinized these details; otherwise, he should have discovered their differences much earlier.

And so, in a state of extreme mental turmoil and in such wretched conditions, Zhou Kun hardly slept all night. The main reason was the intense feeling of unwillingness in his heart, which drove him to get up every so often to see if the sentries had fallen asleep so he could seize the chance to escape. Unfortunately, every time he got up, he received no good news. The other four were the same, for whenever Zhou Kun crept up, he always saw them rising as well, not a single one missing. From time to time, he could also hear the rustling of these people tossing and turning on the straw. It was clear that these guys were just like him, forcing themselves to stay awake.

The most crucial reason for this was that no one dared to bet that if someone else found an opportunity to escape, they would kindly call out to the others. If they failed to escape because of that, wouldn't they be kicking themselves? At this moment, the modern habit of doubting everything and denying everything was fully exposed.

After repeatedly getting up to check, they kept at it until nearly dawn, when Zhou Kun finally drifted into a fitful sleep. But it felt as if he had only closed his eyes for a few minutes before he was woken by the loud voices of the veterans. Feeling his body exhausted to the extreme, and thinking that he would have to walk on his own two feet for an entire day again, poor Zhou Kun almost cried.

Later, in the cool breeze of the early morning, Hu Biao, Zhou Kun, and the other three washed their faces listlessly. Not one of them noticed a line of text flickering rapidly across the surface of an old well beside them:

"Before August 30, 1937, the five must reach Nanxiang Town in Shanghai. Those who fail to arrive on time will be eliminated; there is no reward for those who arrive on time. :)"