Chapter 13: Being an Anti-Japanese Hero Isn’t That Easy

The defenders on the mountaintop were thrilled now that Jiang Yu had provided them with weapons and ammunition.

But the Japanese soldiers at the bottom of the mountain were in deep trouble.

“Damn it, where did that tank cannon come from?!”

Akita Oniichi, who had been hiding at the very rear, was nearly blown to pieces by a shell. He crawled up from the ground, disheveled and seething with rage.

“Colonel, sir! That looked like our own Type 95 Ha-Go light tank…”

“Baka! Impossible! The Type 95 weighs at least 3.5 tons—how could those damn Shina pigs possibly get a tank up on the mountain?!”

Boom—!

“Protect the colonel—uh…”

“Retreat! Fall back, quickly!”

“Call for reinforcements, hurry—!”

Akita Oniichi wanted to say something more, but before he could, another round of shelling sent him tumbling down the hillside in a mess. He barely survived.

“Sir, it’s no good! The planes can’t come. Headquarters said we have to find our own way…”

“Why?!”

“All the shells were diverted to support the other two fronts. The ones meant for us haven’t even been dispatched yet.”

“Baka! No air support, no ammo support—how the hell are we supposed to manage?!”

Just as Akita Oniichi was dusting himself off and trying to maintain some dignity…

The moment he heard this news, his facade completely fell apart.

What to do now?

Was he really supposed to gamble with the lives of Imperial soldiers?

No way!

These soldiers were his lifeline. If more than half were lost…

He’d be finished as a colonel.

Realizing this, Akita Oniichi quickly made up his mind…

Meanwhile, atop the mountain—

Holding Jùróng (a key location) wasn’t going to be accomplished in a day or two.

But to just defend this final line—and with Jiang Yu continuously supplying weapons and ammunition—

Combined with the Japanese army’s own internal issues…

They managed to beat the enemy into such a mess that the Japanese began to doubt their own lives and finally had no choice but to flee in defeat.

“Girl, you get top credit for today’s battle! Come on, let’s go find the general…”

Yang Ergou, who had never experienced what it was like to chase after and beat down Japanese soldiers, was clearly envious of Cao Datou and the others.

But he knew very well that bringing Jiang Yu back to the base was even more important.

“Let’s go!”

Jiang Yu quickly packed up the tank and turned to follow Yang Ergou and the others back to the base.

It wasn’t about credit or honor for her.

She had all sorts of urgently needed supplies for the 66th Army stored in her dimensional space.

She remembered the embarrassing sound of stomachs growling on the frontlines, loud enough to be heard over gunfire…

And not to mention the ridiculous mix-up she’d caused herself—since she was here, she might as well deliver the goods and make them count.

But just as they reached the outskirts of the base, even though the general wasn’t present, the officer left in charge—Commander Hao—showed up with a massive welcome party to greet her.

“What did you say to him?”

Jiang Yu’s mouth twitched as she looked at the formation before her: lines of soldiers on both sides, shouting slogans, banging gongs and drums, all but rolling out a red carpet and staging a lion dance.

“I just told the truth. Who knew Commander Hao would go this far…”

Yang Ergou was also blushing from the display. Seriously, if you’re gonna throw a celebration, fine. But this was just… off.

It looked a little like the grand opening of a storefront, a bit like a wedding, and—because of the lack of resources—even had a tinge of a funeral atmosphere.

The people were clearly just thrown together last minute to make up the numbers.

The whole thing was only marginally better than kids playing house, which actually took away from how weird it all felt…

“What did Commander Hao do before this?” Jiang Yu asked quietly.

“Uh… I think his family used to work as ceremonial hosts,” Yang Ergou replied after thinking for a moment.

“Ceremonial hosts?”

“Yeah—weddings, funerals, store openings… the gong-and-drum crew.”

“No wonder!”

Finally, after toe-curling awkwardness, they made it into the base. Jiang Yu thought that was the end of it.

But then—

“What’s the meaning of this?” Jiang Yu asked, staring at the bright red bridal sedan chair in front of her, suddenly overwhelmed with the urge to turn around and flee.

“Oh, Master Jiang, please forgive us! The Japanese cut off our supply lines.

This was all we could get by bartering with a local family. We’re sorry to inconvenience you…”

“Wait, wait! I’m not inconvenienced—I can walk just fine!”

“How could we let you walk?! You’re our great benefactor, and the path to the inner camp is still a bit far.

There’s no way we can let you walk—this is not how the 66th Army treats honored guests…”

“Really, it’s fine. I’ve been crouched on the frontlines so long, walking a bit will help stretch my legs…”

She had to come up with all sorts of excuses along the way before she could finally shake off the overly enthusiastic Commander Hao—who was acting like a brothel madam greeting a top-paying patron.

Even though Jiang Yu was already exhausted, she didn’t dare rest. She immediately called Yang Ergou to help her unload the supplies.

Unload, then leave quickly!

To be honest… she didn’t know if it was just her imagination, but she felt that the way Commander Hao looked at her made her very uncomfortable.

Even though there wasn’t the slightest bit of malice…

“I told you that Master Jiang definitely wouldn’t fall for the ‘handsome man strategy’! Those idiots barely qualify as ‘handsome’!”

“I actually think Commander Hao’s idea wasn’t bad—he just picked the wrong guys.”

“Pick your ass! Didn’t you see that Master Jiang already has someone with her?”

“Hey, do you really think Master Jiang is that magical?”

“Do you even have to ask? You know how little ammo we had! It was a miracle we survived a full Japanese assault.”

“Too bad I spent all morning sharpening my bayonet—didn’t even get to use it…”

—

Yang Ergou had said he could take a shortcut to the warehouse with Jiang Yu, but along the way, they happened to overhear this juicy gossip.

“What do they mean by ‘handsome man strategy’?”

Could it be…? She recalled that bright red bridal sedan chair and the two neat rows of unusually clean soldiers from earlier.

Jiang Yu’s face instantly darkened.

“Uh… that… actually, Commander Hao’s a good guy. It’s just that lately he’s been a bit… off from dealing with logistics. Just ignore him, really!”

Yang Ergou wanted to defend Commander Hao, but after racking his brain, that was all he could come up with.

“Fine then.”

What else could she do? The guy was just too “enthusiastic.”

Finally, they reached the warehouse. As soon as Jiang Yu stepped in, she found Commander Hao already waiting inside—with a line of tall, long-legged soldiers at attention.

Jiang Yu turned, ready to question Yang Ergou—Didn’t we take a shortcut?
How were they already here waiting for us?

But one look at his equally confused and awkward expression, and she decided not to say anything.

She quickly started unloading the items from her spatial storage—everything except the portion she’d reserved for herself.

Amid gasps of awe from the crowd, she swiftly pulled out:

Guns, ammunition, tanks, vehicles, food, clothing, medicine, pots, pans—even a whole box of gold bars.

The gold, she handed directly to Yang Ergou and Commander Hao, in front of many stationed soldiers.

Of course—

It wasn’t to show off or because she didn’t trust Commander Hao.

It was just that she vaguely remembered that some high-ranking officials in the Nationalist Army were notoriously corrupt.

She gave the gold in hopes of providing stipends for the soldiers, or even something they could send home—not to line anyone’s pockets.

Once the unloading was done—

Jiang Yu flat-out refused Commander Hao’s increasingly enthusiastic invitations to a celebration banquet, awards ceremony, and all the rest.

Ignoring everyone’s pleas, she grabbed Liang Mengyao, and even used her invisibility technique—

Before finally making her escape like a fugitive.

“Master, where are we going now?”

After leaving the 66th Army base, crossing several mountains in a row, Liang Mengyao noticed Jiang Yu seemed to be doubling back.

Carefully, she asked.

“Nowhere. Let’s find a place to rest first.”

Jiang Yu didn’t realize she had instinctively started heading back toward the army base.

All along the way, her eyes scanned the surroundings for a suitable cave to rest in.

Because—

She was exhausted.
Not just physically, but emotionally too.

It had only been a few days since she arrived in this era, but it felt like she had lived through a year—or several.

Now that she could finally relax, the traumatic scenes from the battlefield began to flood her mind.

As soon as she closed her eyes, all she could see were limbs and flesh flying through the air under a hail of bullets and artillery fire.

She felt like shrapnel and bullets were constantly zipping past her head.

Her body trembled uncontrollably from time to time.

The only silver lining was that the enemy corpses were too far away to see—otherwise, she might have vomited all over again from her allergy.

What a relief.

Back when she first crossed over, she had been full of ambition, eager to wipe out the Japanese invaders.

Now?

All that remained was her uncontrollable gag reflex.

Damn it!

Of all the things to be allergic to—why them?!
Now every time she kills one, she has to be extra cautious.

It’s ridiculous!

Turns out—

Being an anti-Japanese hero isn’t so easy.
One misstep, and you end up looking like a coward.