Chapter 61: All a Matter of Pure Guesswork

Chapter 61: Blind Luck, Pure and Simple

(I)

"Bang! Bang! Bang!" Guan Shan raised his pistol and fired repeatedly at the head. Then, the head wobbled before sinking abruptly!

Guan Shan lunged forward in a single bound, his left hand gripping the edge of the hatch while his right hand held the pistol, firing blindly into the interior of the vehicle compartment. He didn't even count how many shots he fired, not stopping until the mechanism clicked with an empty rattle.

Tossing the empty-handed pistol casually to the ground, Guan Shan pulled a wooden-handled grenade from his waist, bit off the cap, pulled the pin with his teeth, and hurled it inside with all his might. Then he drew a second one from his waist, repeated the process, and tossed it in as well...

Before he could even draw a third grenade, Guan Shan saw a ball of fire erupt from the hatch. A sharp, searing pain shot through the fingertips of his left hand, and he let out a yelp, releasing his grip. The next instant, he felt as though he had been shoved violently from behind, hurtling backward through the air.

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

Guan Shan wrapped his arms around his head, rolling over several times on the ground to dissipate the momentum. A fierce ringing filled his ears, accompanied by sharp, agonizing pain. He winced and grimaced, taking several seconds to adjust...

His gun? His pistol? Oh, right, that Luger pistol. Guan Shan fumbled to slide the weapon back into its holster. Realizing something was amiss, he drew it out again and felt around to change the magazine...

He couldn't just throw an empty magazine on the ground, damn it! He could let the shell casings go, but not the magazine! Groping about, Guan Shan retrieved the magazine and slipped it into his pocket.

As he was patting his pockets for the magazine, his fingers brushed against something else. Guan Shan felt around again. Haha, motherfucker, a demolition charge! Well, it probably wouldn't be needed now!

Or would it? Unless they could drive this metal beast away, they still had to blow it to scrap metal. Otherwise, a simple repair job and it would still run, wouldn't that just be handing a gift to the little Japanese devils?

Could it still run? Could it really?

Clutching the demolition charge, Guan Shan staggered to his feet. Groping his way to the side of the iron turtle, he placed the charge on the vehicle and scrambled up, sliding feet-first down into the tank's compartment. A heavy stench of blood rushed over him, and Guan Shan nearly vomited. He quickly poked his upper body back out, taking several deep, gasping breaths. Even the acrid, choking smoke outside was better than the stench inside!

(II)

The smoke of battle had thinned somewhat. Standing a bit higher, Guan Shan could see that the positions along the ridge and the mountainside were still exchanging gunfire with the Japanese and puppet troops near the foot of the mountain. He also noticed the fighters on the ridge moving down toward the mountainside position...

"Beep-beep-beep... beep... beep-da-beep-beep-beep..."

Was that... the charge bugle? Were they going to charge?

But didn't the Japanese still have machine guns set up at the foot of the mountain?

Sigh, there was no other choice, damn it. The 2nd Company had a total of only two light machine guns, no grenade launchers, and no mortars. With an average of just ten rounds of ammunition per soldier, it was utterly impossible to trade fire with the Japanese and puppet troops on equal terms!

"Rat-tat-tat-tat!" The Japanese machine gun position was not far from Guan Shan—barely a hundred meters away—along with that bastard with the grenade launcher, damn it! And there were over a dozen puppet troops running toward this side, too!

The fighters on the mountain were launching a charge, and the Japanese were rushing over here, yet there was no firepower coming from the mountain to hold them back?

God damn it! Watching several charging soldiers stumble and crash face-first into the ground, a surge of rage rushed straight to Guan Shan's head. Cursing aloud and ignoring the foul stench inside the compartment, he held his breath, squeezed his way inside, and strained his eyes to search through the darkness.

The handwheel, the crank handle! Guan Shan reached out and grabbed the crank, his hand closing over something slick and sticky. Disgusting as it was, he couldn't afford to care; he spun the crank fiercely. The direction was wrong, so he cranked it the other way!

Screech, screech, screech!

Guan Shan forced the observation port around, turning it until it aligned with the Japanese and puppet troop positions.

Fumbling in the dark, Guan Shan gripped the heavy machine gun's handles. Where was the trigger? The trigger?

Ah, it must be the spade grip. He extended his right index finger forward and hooked it...

"Thump-thump-thump-thump!"

The gunfire erupted. Taken completely by surprise, Guan Shan's arms shook violently as a string of fire and a wisp of blue smoke spat out directly in front of the observation port!

After a brief pause, Guan Shan tightened his grip on the handles, hooked his right index finger around the spade grip, and pressed and released, pressed and released!

"Thump-thump! Thump-thump-thump!"

Bright red blossoms of blood burst across the chests of two half-crouching Japanese grenadiers!

"Thump-thump-thump! Thump-thump-thump-thump!"

Several puppet troops, driven by the Japanese to charge toward the armored vehicle, were cut down by the barrage!

"Thump-thump-thump! Thump-thump-thump-thump-thump-thump-thump!"

When the muzzle swung toward two Japanese machine gunners, Guan Shan kept his finger pressed down without releasing it! He watched with his own eyes as the two Japanese gunners were struck by the stream of tracers, twitching violently as if electrocuted or seized by spasms!

Damn! Damn! Turns out fighting a battle wasn't so damn hard after all!

"Thump-thump! Thump-thump-thump!"

Guan Shan continuously swept the muzzle, firing at clusters of three or five puppet troops.

Dropping their guns and clutching their heads, the puppet troops scrambled away in a panic, tumbling and crawling!

"Click, click, click, click!" Only when he heard the dry clicking sound of an empty chamber did Guan Shan reluctantly stop firing.

How the hell was he supposed to reload the magazine or change the ammunition belt?

Guan Shan fumbled around in the darkness. Damn it! Why was everything he touched so sticky?

Wiping his hands on his clothes, Guan Shan grabbed the ladder and climbed back out.

Ah, compared to the foul stench of the compartment, the smell of gunpowder smoke actually seemed remarkably sweet and alluring!

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

Sporadic gunfire echoed intermittently, and from time to time, fleeing puppet troops would pitch forward and crash to the ground!

"Charge! Kill them!" Watching from not far away, the fighters who had reached the foot of the mountain thrust their bayonets forward as they lunged at the Japanese and puppet troops. Several puppet troops were skewered simply because they were too slow to raise their hands in surrender.

"I surrender! Eighth Route Grandpas, I surrender! My arm is hurt, I can't raise it..." a puppet troop screamed at the top of his lungs, his voice cracking with desperation!

The charging soldier abruptly checked his bayonet, but due to momentum, he still collided with the man, lifting his leg and kicking him fiercely in the chest. The puppet troop shrieked as he flew backward through the air.

Third Platoon Leader? Haha! The one who had rushed forward and kicked away the puppet troop was none other than Qin Dayou, leader of the 3rd Platoon of the 2nd Company where Guan Shan had been assigned, and one of the few surviving veterans from the battle of Wild Wolf Valley years ago.

Guan Shan grinned, wanting to laugh, but it dissolved into a fit of violent coughing. His throat tasted salty and raw, burning as if it had just been scraped with a file of sandpaper.

(III)

"Holy crap, Squad Leader! You were fierce as hell back there!"

When Guan Shan looked over, Jiang San and Ding Liu were staring at him as if he were some kind of monster.

"Blind luck, pure and simple, all blind luck!" Guan Shan grinned, his voice raspy.

"Squad Leader, have some water!" Jiang San hurriedly offered his canteen. Guan Shan jumped down, took the canteen, and gulped down several mouthfuls, finally putting out the fire blazing in his throat.

With a bandage wrapped around his head and supported by two soldiers, Wang Shuan walked over. Looking apologetic, he said, "Squad Leader, I'm sorry. I almost got you killed..."

"Haha, aren't I doing just fine?" Guan Shan patted Wang Shuan on the shoulder, causing Wang Shuan to stumble and nearly fall over.

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(End of Chapter)