Chapter 18: Another Round of Acquisitions

“Let’s go. We’ll head toward the mountains first. Everyone, be careful—watch your footing and don’t make any noise,” Wang Zhihao said. Whatever his eldest sister said, he followed without question.

By the time they reached their destination, night had completely fallen. No one dared light a fire to cook for fear the devils in the village would spot them. They gnawed on dry rations instead and let Wang Li and Liu Juntao rest first.

Around midnight, Liu Juntao quietly woke Wang Li. The two of them crept in the dark toward the house they had scouted earlier. At the door, two Japanese soldiers were sitting, guns in their arms, fast asleep.

Liu Juntao quickly took care of them both—one slash to each of their throats. He dragged the bodies aside and told Wang Li to keep watch at the door while he silently slipped inside.

Left alone at the entrance, Wang Li grew bored. She double-checked their pulses—definitely dead. She collected their guns, daggers, clothing, and money, storing everything into her spatial pocket. Then she dragged the bodies off a bit further and dumped them out of sight.

Inside the courtyard, Liu Juntao silently approached the room with a light on. Two men inside hadn’t yet gone to sleep and were chatting. The walls were thin and the windows were just covered with paper, offering no soundproofing.

Their voices carried clearly to Liu Juntao. He overheard them complaining that everyone else had gone back to the city, while the two of them were stuck guarding the supplies—grain, money looted from nearby villages, and some newly delivered weapons. They said a truck would come to pick everything up at dawn.

They also remarked how this village, backed up against the mountains, made the perfect relay point for storing weapons and supplies. Nobody would expect this place to be stockpiling arms and food. One of the soldiers grumbled that he’d already been stationed here for twenty days and several batches of supplies had already been shipped out.

Seems like it’s the same in every country—no connections, and you’re stuck doing the grunt work.

He listened a little longer and learned that the people from the nearby villages had been taken to labor camps.

Liu Juntao had learned Japanese back in school—never thought he’d get to use it like this. He waited patiently for the two to fall asleep and start snoring.

Then he made his move.

The room light was still on, which actually helped him. In one smooth motion, he took each one down—a blade to the neck with one hand, the other covering their mouths. Within moments, all four men in the house had met the King of Hell. It was only thanks to them being asleep—if they’d been awake, it would’ve been a real hassle for one man to handle four armed soldiers.

Liu Juntao then went to check the supplies in the backyard. There was way too much grain and too many weapons. He couldn’t carry them all himself, but at least after taking out these men, their group could rest easier.

He stepped back outside.
“All taken care of. Let’s go,” he said.

“They’re all dead? None got away?” Wang Li asked.

“None. It’s just a pity about all those supplies and weapons. We might as well take some grain. We’re low anyway. And each of us can carry a gun—if we run into more devils, at least we won’t be helpless. Once we get to a checkpoint, we can toss them,” he replied.

“Alright,” Wang Li agreed.

The two of them went back in and grabbed four pistols and a sack of grain.

“You go ahead and bring everything back,” Wang Li said. “My stomach’s acting up. I need to use the latrine.”

“I’ll wait for you,” Liu Juntao offered.

“No, go to the gate and stand guard instead. We can’t risk being surrounded.”

With that, Wang Li jogged off around the gate entrance. Liu Juntao grumbled to himself, Women really are troublesome.

Wang Li ran straight to the storage area. With a sweep of her arm, she stored everything every last weapon and sack of grain—into her spatial pocket. She also went into the house and took everything else that looked remotely useful. Only then did she run back out and rejoin Liu Juntao, and the two of them returned to the base of the mountain together.

Once back, they distributed the guns. Wang Li said, “I think we should keep moving in the dark head deeper into the mountains. If the devils send in a larger force at dawn, we might not get another chance to run.”

Everyone agreed with Wang Li, so the group pressed on in the dark, stumbling their way through the mountain path. By dawn, they had already walked more than ten li.

They were all exhausted and gasping for breath.

Han Ya grumbled, “Uncle, are there ghosts chasing us? Why are we walking at night and moving so fast?”

Wang Minghao replied, “There are ghosts—little devils. We need to get out of this area quickly. If we’re too close and they catch up, we won’t stand a chance. There’s only a handful of us, and the people in nearby villages have already been taken. If we’re caught too, we won’t escape. Besides, I still have a mission—I must reach Haicheng quickly.”

“Big sis, hold on—just a little longer!”

Wang Li also wanted to get out of there fast. She didn’t dare tell them she had taken things from the Japanese soldiers; once they arrived the next day and realized their things were gone, they’d be furious.

Han Ya continued complaining, “Then let’s hurry! Uncle, you’re really slowing us down. If your leg didn’t hurt, you could help Aunt carry the basket. She looks so tired—it makes my heart ache.”

Everyone, amid Han Ya’s constant chatter, helped and supported each other until they made it to noon.

Wang Minghao kept repeating, “We’re almost there, hang in there.”

The map they were using wasn’t very complete; they were relying mostly on Liu Juntao and Wang Minghao’s memory. Now, Wang Li and Han Ya had no choice but to follow them.

As long as they reached their destination, it didn’t matter. Without those two, Wang Li and Han Ya wouldn’t have made it this far. First, those empty villages were too frightening. Second, they couldn’t have handled the few little devils on their own. Traveling with the men had its pros and cons.

They took a short break at noon, ate some dry rations, drank a bit of water, and continued on their way, walking all the way into the night.

Wang Li was starting to struggle, and Wang Minghao’s leg pain was getting unbearable. So they decided to stop and rest for the night.

Wang Li secretly added a little sugar and salt to each bamboo tube. After sweating from all that walking, with this cold weather, someone was bound to catch a cold or fever—then they’d be in real trouble.

By now, autumn harvest was likely already over. They had been out for nearly two months. Life in this era was just too hard.

Even for able-bodied men like Liu Juntao, their legs were starting to give out.

Wang Li found a rock to lean against and sat down, completely unwilling to move. They didn’t dare start a fire either—for fear of being spotted by the Japanese.

As she sat down, her mind drifted. Back in her previous life, watching those TV shows about famine and refugees, it all seemed like a visual experience. But now that she was actually going through it, it was unbearably hard and exhausting. No wonder people often said—you can’t truly understand suffering unless you experience it yourself.

Wang Minghao asked, “Sis, what are you thinking about?”

He asked several times, but Wang Li remained lost in her thoughts and didn’t respond. Eventually, she fell asleep right where she sat.

Seeing her asleep, Wang Minghao quietly said to Liu Juntao, “You sleep—I’ll keep watch.” Liu Juntao, worn out, quickly closed his eyes to rest.

Han Ya saw her aunt had fallen asleep too. She wanted to sleep but was worried someone might steal their things. Her head kept nodding from drowsiness, but she didn’t dare sleep. Wang Minghao looked at her and chuckled—this child had been guarding against him and Liu Juntao the whole way.

After traveling together for so many days, Wang Minghao realized more and more that he had fallen for Wang Li. People are strange—there were so many beautiful girls at school, and he never had any feelings for them. He had worked on missions with many pretty female comrades too, but nothing stirred him. Yet somehow, he’d developed feelings for this woman—someone who had been married, and was even his friend’s stepmother.

And Haicheng needed a radio—he had to get it delivered quickly. Suddenly, he remembered: wasn’t the radio in the basket his sister carried? After all these days of cooking and rummaging, he hadn’t seen it. Could it be lost?

He wanted to check, but seeing that Han Ya was still awake, and fearing his sister might get upset if she found out he was suspicious, he held back.

Just as Han Ya was about to nod off, dawn broke. She quickly woke everyone up. After a simple meal, they set off once more on their journey.