Finally Driven One to Insanity

(1/3)
Chapter 69: Finally Driving One Mad
(I)
Lai Xiaozhong stumbled toward the telephone, trembling...
He couldn't dial! He absolutely couldn't! If he told the truth, would the imperial reinforcements still come?
Staggering toward the stairwell, he lifted the trapdoor and shouted downstairs, "Artillery squad! Artillery squad! Get to the back courtyard! Observation squad! Observation squad, up to the roof!"
"Baka! Wala wala wala wala!" The Japanese corporal squad leader pointed his rifle at the puppet army captain and spewed a torrent of angry words before aggressively racking the bolt.
"We have to blast the infantry following the armored car! None of you know how to operate the artillery anymore! If you don't trust us now, we're all going to die together!" Lai Xiaozhong was past the point of cowardice; he gestured wildly at the Japanese corporal.
Two puppet soldiers rushed up to the third floor, freezing in place when they saw the scene, unsure whether to advance or retreat.
"What flags are you holding?! Tell them to man the phone below, use it to relay the firing coordinates and deflection, and for goodness' sake, don't show your heads! Showing your head means—"
"Boom!"
Before Lai Xiaozhong could finish the word "death," an artillery shell exploded on the roof, sending dust and debris raining down from the ceiling and walls.
The two puppet soldiers scrambled backward, turning tail to flee downstairs!
"Bang! Bang!" Lai Xiaozhong pulled out his handgun and fired at their feet, roaring, "Observe right here! Observe and then report! Hold your ground, all of you, or we'll all die!"
"Yoshi! Your loyalty, very big!" The Japanese corporal finally lowered his rifle from Lai Xiaozhong's chest.

(II)
"Puppet army brothers in the blockhouse, listen up! I am still Zhao Gang, Political Commissar of the Eighth Route Army's Independent Regiment!" 2nd Company Political Instructor Lü Feng shouted through a megaphone. "Just now, I persuaded our Regiment Commander Li to extend the deadline a bit, and he agreed..."
"Thump-thump-thump!"
The devils' heavy machine gun barked again.
"Thump-thump-thump-thump! Thump-thump-thump! Thump-thump-thump-thump!" The two 7.7mm machine guns at the front of the armored car opened fire simultaneously toward the firing slit!
This time, the retaliatory firepower was exceptionally fierce, sustaining a barrage for a full half-minute!
(1/3)

(2/3)
When the shooting stopped, the crenel around the third-floor firing slit of the blockhouse was pockmarked beyond recognition.
Lai Xiaozhong stood against the wall, his heart pounding as he looked at the Japanese machine gunner whose head had been half blown off, and at the splatters of red and white dotting the floor and walls. The room was already thick with the stench of cordite and blood.
The two puppet artillery observation scouts were both pressed flat against the ground, dry-heaving into their hands...
"Where's the artillery? The artil—"
"Rat-tat-tat-tat! Rat-tat-tat-tat!"
Lai Xiaozhong peered through the observation port into the back courtyard. A puppet soldier lay on the path leading from the back door to the courtyard wall, his body riddled with bullet holes. The other three artillerymen hadn't made it into the courtyard either—dammit! The Eighth Route Army had sealed off the back door leading to the courtyard wall with machine-gun fire!

(III)
Though the slope of the back mountain was steep, it would have been a piece of cake if Guan Shan's left fingers were intact!
Right now, however, that was impossible. The four fingers on Guan Shan's left hand had turned a bruised purple and were completely devoid of strength!
The fingers are linked to the heart; while he could grit his teeth through the pain, it severely impaired fine motor control, especially for reflex actions that bypass the central nervous system and conscious thought. No matter how strong a person's willpower, fighting against pure instinct has its limits.
Even just maneuvering and driving the armored car required Guan Shan to grit his teeth, sweat pouring from his body in waves of agony.
The gunfire ceased, and Political Instructor Lü Feng continued shouting: "Puppet army brothers! As our Regiment Commander Li just said, and as I, the political commissar, reiterate: even if you've done some bad things, as long as your hands are clean of the blood of the Eighth Route Army and our local folks, it all still counts! Take out those little devils inside, and then walk out waving a white flag to surrender!"
At the third-floor firing slit, there was no return fire this time!
The second floor was deathly quiet as well.
Everything was still, save for the rumbling motor of the armored car.
"Also, let me add one more thing: if your conscience is really that guilty and you're terrified, there's no need to be buried alongside the Japanese! Brothers, head down the back mountain and leave! Your brothers who left just a moment ago made it out, and we didn't fire a shot!" Lü Feng cajoled patiently, offering the puppet soldiers an easier way out.
"What are they saying? Tell me!" the Japanese corporal demanded of Lai Xiaozhong.
With a weeping expression, Lai Xiaozhong pointed his left hand at his own heart and said, "My loyalty, absolute! My loyalty, doing my absolute best..."
Chaos had already broken out on the second floor. Lai Xiaozhong heard the hoarse, shouting curses of his two most trusted subordinates.
"Nobody move, damn it! Get back here! Are you trying to mutiny? I'll execute you right now!" That was Liu Xiaoxian's voice.
(2/3)

(3/3)
"Your hearts, they are rotten! Drop your weapons!" The Japanese corporal jumped back, raised his rifle once more, and aimed it at Lai Xiaozhong. Despair utterly consumed Lai Xiaozhong's soul!
"Don't move, neither of you! I'm talking to you!" That was Yang Zixun's voice.
"You bastards heard what the Eighth Route said too. Let me tell you, every single one of you has blood on your hands! Don't you dare forget that!" Liu Xiaoxian roared hoarsely.
"Thump-thump-thump-thump! Thump-thump-thump! Thump-thump-thump-thump!"
Even though the third-floor firing slit remained silent this time, the two 7.7mm machine guns at the front of the armored car showed no mercy, unleashing another relentless burst toward the third-floor aperture!
"Ah!"
A miserable scream suddenly echoed from the second floor!
"Bang!" Lai Xiaozhong suddenly opened fire on the Japanese corporal directly opposite him, simultaneously using his arm to shove aside the Japanese soldier's rifle barrel that had been pressed against his chest!
"Ahhhhhhhh!" Believing he had lost his mind, Lai Xiaozhong shrieked, his face twisted in horror as he fired wildly at the remaining Japanese soldiers who were pressing their backs against the walls on either side of the firing slit to dodge bullets!
The two puppet artillery observation scouts scrambled and fled in panic down from the third floor...
"Brothers on the second floor! Stop what you're doing, all of you! Brothers with clean hands, just walk out with a white flag and leave me a way out!" Lai Xiaozhong screamed at the top of his lungs.
"I've killed those devils upstairs myself—consider that your ticket to surrender! Liu Xiaoxian, Yang Zixun, you two brothers follow me, strip off your uniforms, and escape through the back mountain! Brothers, leave your old commander a way out! In return for how well I've treated you..." With bloodshot eyes, holding a pistol in one hand and two grenades in the other, covered in blood and filth, Lai Xiaozhong marched down from the second floor, radiating a murderous aura...

(III)
"The Eighth Route is coming up..." a puppet soldier shrieked in a shrill voice...
Through the observation port, the armored car could be seen starting to climb the slope!
Atop two dozen-meter-long wooden poles lashed together, explosive packages were suspended. Their fuses were lightly secured with string, alongside a very long, thick hemp rope...
Welcome to bookmark, thank you for the recommendations!
(End of chapter)
(3/3)