Chapter 18: Why Suddenly Learn Japanese?

Chapter 18: Why Suddenly Learn Japanese?

(Part One)

Sure enough, before Guan Shan could speak, Li Yunlong slammed the table and cursed, “The crucial problem! Damn it! We don’t know how many of them there still are, or where the hell they’re hiding! Isn’t that infuriating?”

After a pause, Li Yunlong looked up at Guan Shan and scolded, “You useless good-for-nothing, you don’t even know how to bring back a live one. Damn it, speak up! What are you staring at me for?”

“Old Li! I don’t agree with you!” Zhao Gang quickly stopped Li Yunlong, saying, “In that situation, Comrade Guan Shan, who’s been in the army less than half a year, managed to eliminate two enemies and still ensured Teacher Bai and the others returned safely. That’s already excellent. You want him to capture one alive? Old Li, do you think he’s Wei the Monk or what?”

Li Yunlong glared at Guan Shan and cursed again, “Damn it! Probably spent more time drinking with monks than actually training!”

Zhao Gang almost laughed in frustration at Li Yunlong but didn’t want to argue further—he might just get dragged down himself—so he shook his head and said to Guan Shan, “Have some water, Comrade Guan Shan!”

(Part Two)

“A rookie? Interesting! What’s his name?” the commander asked with a smile.

The deputy chief of staff replied, “Guan Shan. Guan Shan, like the mountain—Guan Shan of myriad layers.”

The telegram from the Independent Regiment reported that soldier Guan Shan, working with local survey personnel, encountered and captured two Japanese scouts during their mission. The telegram also detailed the exact location, the combat process, and a list of spoils.

Actually, it wasn’t much of a battle.

Based on Teacher Bai’s judgment that the enemy might take the steep cliff route, Guan Shan found the spot ahead of time and set up an ambush above the cliff to wait.

Luck was on his side—the Japanese really did come that way.

Even more fortunate, one soldier climbed the cliff first by hand, carrying a rope to haul their weapons and equipment up, then pulled up another soldier with the rope.

Guan Shan patiently waited until the second soldier was almost at the top. He shot at the soldier holding the rope above, causing both to tumble down the cliff.

To ensure they were dead, Guan Shan threw a grenade down before climbing down to search them. According to the report, he stripped everything useful from the two soldiers and brought it all back.

To confirm the follow-up forces and verify the elimination of the enemies, they went to the scene. Aside from loincloths and smelly socks, there was almost nothing left of the bodies.

“Guan Shan, Guan Shan,” the commander muttered twice, shaking his head, “What a stubborn fool!”

The deputy chief of staff smiled and asked, “Commander, do you mean that he dared to shoot despite seeing them wearing Eighth Route Army uniforms? I later sent a telegram to ask. Li Yunlong said it was mainly nerves—this was a rookie with less than four months’ service, no live ammunition training yet. They planned to take him shooting recently, but the unit relocated, so he never got the chance!”

The commander sighed, “Yeah, he’s just a rookie, so we can’t expect much more.”

The chief of staff noticed the commander wasn’t pleased; his mood seemed even heavier.

Understandably so—the mysterious Japanese subunit using submachine guns hadn’t been figured out yet, and now another group disguised as Eighth Route Army soldiers, complete with radios and codebooks, had appeared!

If only they could capture one alive and make him talk—how many problems could that solve?

The phone rang. The duty staff quickly answered, asked a few questions, then looked up and said, “Commander, Chen Bo from the Special Operations Regiment is calling.”

The commander nodded, stepped over, took the phone to his ear, and asked, “Have the candidates for the Independent Regiment been chosen? Who are you planning to send?”

To deal with this group, the commander and deputy chief of staff had decided to send several elite members from the directly subordinate Special Operations Regiment down to the front lines and organize a special action team for targeted investigations and cleanups of these enemy soldiers.

The commander personally selected the team and ordered Chief of Staff Chen Bo of the Special Operations Regiment to take full responsibility.

“Good, good, that’s fine!” After hearing Chen Bo’s plan, the commander added, “There’s a soldier named Guan Shan in the Independent Regiment. When you get there, you can find him and get more detailed information. Good, very good!”

(Part Three)

“Learn Japanese?” Teacher Bai laughed and asked, “Comrade Guan, did you have any Japanese background before?”

Guan Shan awkwardly scratched the back of his head.

Teacher Bai quickly clarified, “Sorry, Comrade Guan, I didn’t mean it like that!”

Guan Shan said, “Teacher Bai, I just want to learn a few phrases, stuff like ‘Surrender your weapons and you won’t be killed,’ or ‘Hands up.’ Something along those lines.”

“Oh, oh, I get the general idea, Comrade Guan.”

Guan Shan continued, “Also, Teacher Bai, to be honest, when I shot that Japanese soldier at the cliff top, I was really nervous. Although I saw the radio at his feet and figured it wasn’t something the Eighth Route Army would have, I still worried—what if it was one of our own? Even if they executed me, it wouldn’t help, right?”

Teacher Bai sighed deeply, though they had already discussed this the night it happened.

Guan Shan rambled on, “Teacher Bai, you don’t know—these past few days, I’ve been having nightmares. Every time I close my eyes, I dream that I was wrong, that those two soldiers were our own, and I get captured, and then Commander Li pulls a gun to my head…”

That dream was real—it wasn’t made up, and he still felt uneasy recounting it.

Whether in his previous life or this one, it was Guan Shan’s first time killing someone.

Though he had played CS and similar shooting games before, the experience of searching those two dead bodies and stripping their clothes was a huge shock to him.

Even after several days back, he still had nightmares almost every night—many strange variations, but most often he dreamed of Li Yunlong about to shoot him.

Teacher Bai asked, “But what does this have to do with wanting to learn Japanese?”

“I’ve been thinking, Teacher Bai,” Guan Shan analyzed, “This group disguised as Eighth Route Army soldiers can’t be just those two. Also, I heard from the regiment’s political commissar that besides this group, there’s another small unit. Teacher Bai, I think the way to deal with these guys will definitely be different from how we handled the previous sweep operations…”

Welcome to keep this story and thank you for recommending it! Wishing you peace and health during the Qingming Festival, and a smooth holiday! Today we saw the long-missed sunshine—it must be a lucky day.

(End of chapter)