Chapter 43: Prison Storm!

Rat-tat-tat-tat!

Accompanied by gunfire resembling popping beans, bullets rained down overwhelmingly, violently hammering against the machine gun fortifications atop the wall.

Those Japanese soldiers who had just popped their heads out to prepare to fire did not even get the chance to pull the trigger; under this torrential downpour of suppression fire, they were instantly riddled with holes and collapsed to the ground.

Inside the Japanese communications room in the courtyard, Captain Yuzo Saito, who was in charge of guarding the prisoner-of-war camp, completely lost his mind.

What the hell kind of noise is this!

Has the National Army sent an entire main division to attack my POW camp or what!

Using a butcher's cleaver to slaughter a chicken—they are giving me far too much credit!

And are our intelligence personnel raised on shit?

With so many people appearing near Pingyao County, you lot didn't even catch a whiff of a fart!

Baka Yaro!

If this keeps up, I'm going to go meet the Sun Goddess!

"Hayaku! Hayaku! Hayaku!!!"

"Immediately send a message to the Pingyao headquarters!"

"No!"

"Send one to the nearby Fourth Brigade as well!"

"Tell them the POW camp has been ambushed by two German-equipped divisions of the enemy, and request reinforcements!"

"Hri!"

The next second, the Japanese signalman made a face as mournful as if his mother had just died.

"Report to the Captain, all our telephone lines have been cut!"

"Nani?!"

"You idiot, use the radio!"

"Hayaku!"

......

Inside the POW camp dungeon.

Suddenly, a burst of intense gunfire and artillery echoed from outside, shattering the original tranquility of the courtyard.

Zhou Weiguo, who had been resting his eyes in his cell, jerked his head up, a bright light of pleasant surprise instantly blooming in his eyes.

It must be our people coming from outside!

Thinking of this, Zhou Weiguo made a prompt and decisive decision, no longer waiting for the originally scheduled operation time.

He immediately bent down, reaching into the sole of his shoe to pull out a thin piece of iron wire he had concealed in advance.

Immediately afterward, Zhou Weiguo very skillfully inserted the iron wire into the keyhole and began picking the lock with utmost care.

Xu Hu and the others nearby caught on immediately.

One by one, they quietly approached the edge of the iron bars, holding their breath and listening intently to every single movement of the Japanese soldiers inside the dungeon.

Barely three seconds later, with a soft "click," the heavy lock on the iron bars was opened by Zhou Weiguo.

He gently lifted off the lock and pushed open the cell door bit by bit.

None of them rushed out rashly; instead, they stayed in place, waiting for the next step of the action.

Zhou Weiguo and Xu Hu moved forward on tiptoe.

After walking about four or five meters, they stopped in front of the inner dungeon's iron door.

It was this very iron door that separated the interior of the dungeon from the guard area.

Zhou Weiguo pressed close to the gap in the iron door, narrowing his eyes to peer inside.

The group of Japanese soldiers originally assigned to watch them was now short of nearly four men, leaving only three.

Two of the Japanese soldiers were leaning closely against the outer side of the main door, their hands gripping Type 38 rifles equipped with bayonets, their eyes scanning outward unceasingly as if inspecting something.

The last Japanese soldier was stationed near the inner dungeon's iron door.

However, his demeanor was much like the other two; he was equally tense as he stared fixedly outside, showing no intention of turning back.

Having figured out the exact situation inside the dungeon, Zhou Weiguo turned his gaze to the tall and burly Lin Jason not far away, beckoning him to draw closer.

After briefly gesturing back and forth, Lin Jason understood Zhou Weiguo's intent and nodded to indicate there was no problem.

At this moment, the dense gunfire and artillery outside continued unabated.

Utilizing the gunfire as cover, Zhou Weiguo began picking the lock once more.

Two or three seconds later, the lock on the inner dungeon's iron door was also opened.

Then, Zhou Weiguo carefully gripped the door handle, slowly pulling the heavy inner iron door open little by little.

As soon as the iron door opened wide enough for a person to pass through, Lin Jason, who had been ready all along, flashed his figure and instantly slipped through the gap into the cell.

Once inside, Lin Jason crept stealthily toward the Japanese soldier stationed near the inner iron door.

The distance between them closed steadily.

Five meters... Four meters... Three meters... Two meters... One meter!

Finally, seizing the right moment, Lin Jason decisively stood up and lunged forward.

Too fast to describe, in the blink of an eye, Lin Jason had already rushed behind the Japanese soldier.

His left hand immediately clamped over the Japanese soldier's mouth, preventing him from making the slightest sound.

Concurrently, his right hand tightly gripped the Japanese soldier's neck.

Before the soldier could make any reaction, Lin Jason exerted explosive force with his arm and gave a sharp twist.

With a crisp "crunch" sound, this unfortunate Japanese soldier didn't even get a chance to struggle; his neck tilted sideways, and he stopped breathing.

However, although Lin Jason's movements were clean and efficient, because he was not far from the other two Japanese soldiers, the "crunch" of the neck breaking was still quite easily noticed in the narrow, confined space.

The very next second, one of the Japanese soldiers seemed to sense some sort of danger and turned around by reflex.

Yet before he could fully register what was happening before his eyes, Zhou Weiguo, who had been following closely behind Lin Jason, was already prepared.

He raised the Type 38 rifle he had just caught with his right hand and hurled it forward with all his might.

The gleaming bayonet shot through the air like a sharp arrow toward the Japanese soldier.

With a muffled "squelch," the razor-sharp bayonet effortlessly pierced right through the Japanese soldier's soft mouth.

The tremendous momentum carried the soldier flying backward, ultimately pinning him heavily against the wall behind him.

At this moment, the last Japanese soldier finally snapped to his senses.

But just as he turned around, he saw Xu Hu and Yi Nan, who had poured all their strength into a charge, hurtling toward him.

In the blink of an eye, the two parties closed the distance.

Yi Nan, running in the front, unleashed a flying kick straight at the Japanese soldier's groin.

Slap!

As if hearing the sound of cracking eggs, the Japanese soldier let out a miserable scream, dropped the Type 38 rifle in his hands, and clutched his crotch.

Following closely behind, Xu Hu delivered a forceful flying kick that struck the Japanese soldier square in the chest.

Suffering such a brutal blow, the Japanese soldier was kicked straight into the opposite wall like a broken doll before crashing heavily to the ground.

The fallen soldier squeezed his eyes shut, completely losing consciousness and passing out cold.

Yi Nan stepped forward and delivered a finishing blow, ending the Japanese soldier's life.

Having completely secured the dungeon, everyone present breathed a sigh of relief.

Yet before Zhou Weiguo and the others could catch their breath, the outer door of the dungeon was suddenly pushed open.

"Nakamura-kun, Inoue-kun, you guys hurry..."

A Japanese soldier poked his head in and started speaking, only to immediately retract his turtle-like head and hide outside the dungeon.