Chapter 62 Fingers Swollen Like Radishes

Chapter 62 Fingers Swollen Like Carrots (I)

"Are you badly hurt?" Guanshan hurried over to help him up, instructing Jiang San and Ding Liu, "Don't just stand there gawking! Go see if there's any fighting over there that needs help! If not, hurry up and help clear the battlefield!"

"Yes!" Jiang San and Ding Liu stood at attention, saluting stiffly, and then ran off.

Well, well, well, things really were different now. Just two days ago, these two fellows had been glaring at Guanshan, finding fault with him at every turn, and secretly whispering behind his back calling him a fresh recruit relying on dumb luck, this and that.

"Wait! Come back, leave the explosive pack here for now!"

"Yes!"

"You two as well, hurry up and pack up your gear, and take Shanzi up to the mountain ridge!" Guanshan instructed.

"Yes!"

Shanzi said, "Squad leader, you're covered in blood too. Let me check you first to see if you're injured!"

"I'm fine, every part of me is—"

Guanshan suddenly noticed a very conspicuous bullet hole right on his haversack!

Oh crap! His canteen had also been pierced by a bullet, damn it!

If not for this bulletproof vest—damn those Japanese devils and their ancestors—would he have bought the farm today?

Buying the farm wouldn't have been a bad thing either, damn it; maybe he could have seen Nannan again...

Whoa, why do both sides of my rib cage hurt like hell?! Ah, hiss...

"Guanshan! Where is Guanshan?!" Chu Lianzhang's anxious voice came echoing over.

Guanshan hurriedly slammed the brakes on the emotional dam that was on the verge of collapsing, and shouted back, "Right here! Right here!"

Chu Lianzhang, with a submachine gun slung across his chest, ran over followed by a few soldiers.

(II)

"Are you all right, man? Not bad, kid, you're like a completely different person!" Chu Lianzhang gave Guanshan's arm a hard slap, grinning from ear to ear. But as he looked Guanshan over, his expression darkened, and he asked, "What's wrong? Got hit?"

Guanshan shook his head, nudging his chin toward the armored vehicle, and said, "Tossed two grenades in there, blew the inside into a bloody mess. I got covered in it myself from hands to clothes... Hey, hey, hey! Why are you starting to feel me up now?! Ouch, easy there, Old Chu, go easy on me..."

Chu Lianzhang thoroughly felt around Guanshan's body, especially near the bullet holes on the canteen and haversack. Only after making sure Guanshan wasn't actually wounded did he let out a sigh of relief.

"Hiss... It's not like I'm completely unhurt, damn it..." Only then did Guanshan feel a searing pain in the fingertips of his left hand. To his surprise, apart from his thumb, all the other four fingers on his left hand were swollen like carrots, and all four fingernails had turned a bruised purple-blue.

"Cold water! Cold water! Get them soaked in cold water right now!" Chu Lianzhang called out with experienced urgency.

"Hiss...!" Guanshan clenched his teeth, breaking out in a cold sweat of pain in an instant.

However, once submerged in cold water, it did feel a lot better.

This was caused by ruptured capillaries, and quick cold compresses could slow down capillary blood circulation. If there were ice cubes, it would be even better—such common-sense knowledge was still within the grasp of Guanshan, whose fitness level was that of an athlete.

"Thud-thud-thud-thud! Thud-thud-thud-thud! Thud-thud-thud-thud!"

Heavy machine gun fire suddenly erupted violently from the direction of the distant blockhouse.

"Where is your binoculars?" Chu Lianzhang lowered his head and asked.

"Left them up—oh crap, were they destroyed by the little Japanese's grenade launcher?!"

"Right here! Right here! Squad leader, you're lucky. Sun Ruiyi picked them up just now and gave them to me. When you jumped out, you knocked this case loose, otherwise they really would have been blown to pieces!" Jiang San ran over holding the leather case containing the binoculars.

"That works too?! Goodness me, bless the system, bless the system!" Guanshan muttered under his breath.

Chu Lianzhang reached out, took the binoculars, and looked toward the blockhouse. The soldiers pursuing the retreating puppet troops had already reached the trenches and drawbridge. Before all the puppet troops could run back, the blockhouse began hoisting up the drawbridge, and without regard for the puppet troops and Eighth Route Army soldiers mixed together, opened fire fiercely with heavy machine guns...

"Damn bastards! Just missed them by a hair!" Chu Lianzhang sighed regretfully.

"Any casualties? Are they heavy?" Guanshan asked with concern.

"Qin Dayou led the pursuit; he knows what he's doing!" Chu Lianzhang handed the binoculars to Guanshan.

"You keep using them for now!" Guanshan said.

Chu Lianzhang didn't stand on ceremony. He hung the binoculars around his chest, looked at the submachine gun in front of him, and couldn't help laughing. He looked at Guanshan and said, "Little Guan, how about it? Was the fight satisfying? Why don't you just transfer back to our 2nd Company!"

"Hehe, Company Commander, I'm afraid you're not reluctant to part with me, but rather reluctant to part with all these good things I managed to scavenge!" Guanshan bantered.

"Found a pistol, looks like it's Guanshan's!" a soldier reported.

"Mine? Mine is in the holster, I even changed the magazine... Oh! It really is mine!" Guanshan looked surprised, groping with his right hand to pull it out from the holster.

It was also a Luger pistol, the exact same model, but the color of the grip was slightly different from the one Department Head Zhang had lent Guanshan.

"Oh, I see what happened to the bullet holes on you, damn it!" Chu Lianzhang ejected the fully loaded magazine, felt Guanshan's pocket, and asked, "Where is the magazine you emptied? It's here—don't move, don't move, let me fish it out..."

By now, Guanshan also realized that just moments ago, he and the Japanese soldier crawling out from inside the vehicle had been firing at each other from a distance of just a few meters, practically pointing their guns at each other's noses!

A chill rushed straight from the soles of Guanshan's feet to the top of his head, and another layer of fine sweat broke out on his not-yet-dry back...

"You lucky bastard, you pulled it off again!" Chu Lianzhang shouted happily, "Quick, go inside and drag all the Japanese corpses out! Anyone carrying a German-imported pistol has got to be a big fish!"

"Yes!" A soldier immediately climbed onto the roof of the vehicle and crawled inside.

(III)

"Report, Company Commander! 3rd Platoon of 2nd Company executed the pursuit mission. A total of six puppet soldiers fled into the stronghold, while all the remaining Japanese and puppet troops were eliminated. Another nine puppet lackeys surrendered. Our platoon is currently maintaining security and clearing the battlefield. Please issue instructions for the next move!" 3rd Platoon Leader Qin Dayou reported to Chu Lianzhang.

"Good!" Chu Lianzhang pondered for a moment and said, "Let the prisoners go back. Give them a message: tell them we are going to set up an ambush position right here to encircle the stronghold and hit incoming reinforcements. Have them pass the word that our force here is a battalion, and tell the Japanese to send more reinforcements over!"

"Got it! Understood!" Qin Dayou replied.

Having answered, Qin Dayou didn't leave immediately. He turned his head to look at Guanshan, who was wincing in pain with a face full of cold sweat, and then glanced at the bullet-holed canteen on Guanshan's waist. He unbuckled his own canteen, handed it to Guanshan, and said, "If it hurts too badly, take a couple of swigs!"

"Thanks, Platoon Leader... Huh? You mean... that stuff?" Guanshan forced a smile.

"Shh! Keep your voice down, they're all wolves, damn it!" Qin Dayou whispered, then patted Guanshan's arm and said, "Good job, you've brought honor to our 3rd Platoon!"

Guanshan hesitated, wondering whether he should ask about the casualties in the 3rd Platoon, especially regarding his own squad and Wang Gensheng.

Welcome to bookmark, thanks for the recommendations!

Thanks to book friend Shu Ge You for the recommendation ticket! Thanks to book friend 120311120110957 for the recommendation ticket! Thanks to book friend Chudai Shouling for the recommendation ticket!

(End of this chapter)