The Mysterious Soldier of the Anti-Japanese War

Chapter 194: Dark Night Detour

In the inky darkness of the jungle, lush branches and leaves cascaded layer upon layer, shrouding Lei Tao and his companions like a vast black curtain. The surroundings were eerily quiet, with only their hurried yet cautious footsteps echoing through the forest, a gentle rustling sound as they stepped on the thick fallen leaves. Everyone held their breath, their eyes scanning their surroundings warily, their nerves taut as a fully drawn bowstring, ever-ready for any danger that might strike from the shadows, as they hurried non-stop towards their designated destination.

Suddenly, a dull explosion sounded faintly from the direction of the temporary camp.

Lei Tao's eyes instantly became as sharp as an eagle's, and the corners of his mouth rose slightly, revealing a confident smile. He said to the team members beside him: "Brothers, did you hear that? This explosion is the opening gong sound of our plan. The show has begun! This time we have to be like morning glory and give these little devils a good walk to let them know how powerful we are."

When the team members heard this, the fire of fighting spirit ignited in their eyes and they nodded in agreement.

"Brother Lei, what should we do next?" the impatient Huang Hu asked anxiously.

Lei Tao looked calm, his eyes firmly scanning the crowd as he made arrangements in an orderly manner: "We will split into two groups. I will lead one group, and Hu Hansi will lead the other. Everyone will walk more than ten miles in the opposite direction of the destination, setting up more traps and mines along the way to catch the Japanese off guard. This is not enough. The most important thing is that we have to make some big noise in each direction. After arriving at the designated location, detonate a high-explosive incendiary grenade, and then use a signal gun to fire a signal flare into the sky. We must attract the attention of the Japanese and make them think that our main force is splitting up, thereby diverting the pursuing Japanese troops to the sides."

As he spoke, he casually took a flare gun from his belt, made a gun dance, and handed it to Hu Hansi. At the same time, he shook Hu Hansi's hand tightly, his eyes full of trust and expectation: "Brother, this mission is difficult. I hand over the western route to you. You must be careful and cautious. This flare gun can play a big role at a critical moment. You take it, and let's cooperate well and make the Japanese run around in circles."

Hu Hansi took the signal gun, examined it carefully, and nodded vigorously: "Brother Lei, don't worry! I will live up to your trust and lead my brothers to complete the mission."

Lei Tao continued, "Once we're sure we've successfully lured the Japanese in different directions, we'll quietly return to our true destination. Once there, we'll quickly lay incendiary minefields around them. Then, using the terrain to our advantage, we'll bombard their strongholds, catching them off guard. Once we've accomplished this, we'll quickly move before the Japanese can form a circle... While preserving our own strength, we won't let them have an easy time. We must do everything we can to hold the Japanese back and buy time for our main forces to deploy..."

Lei Tao nodded slightly, looked around again, and said in a steady and powerful voice: "Everyone listen up, we are not only doing this for our own safety, but also to buy more time and opportunities for the main force. This journey is full of dangers, but we have no way to retreat, we can only move forward bravely. Let's go!"

Everyone responded in unison, then quickly split into two teams, moving quickly in different directions, and their figures soon disappeared into the dense and deep jungle.

Hu Hansi led his team westward, his Lishui sheep and buffaloes following closely behind. Drawing on the unique skills honed from years of hunting in the mountains and forests, they keenly observed every blade of grass, every ravine, and every gully around them, taking advantage of every natural opportunity to set traps.

Li Shuiyang bent down to pick up a vine from the ground, expertly twisting it around a nearby branch. He then deftly secured it between two trees along the path, creating a hidden tripwire. Beneath the tripwire, he quickly dug several shallow pits with a small shovel, inserted sharp bamboo sticks diagonally into them, and then lightly covered them with leaves and dirt, leaving only a seemingly natural mound. Any Japanese soldier who hurried past and tripped over the tripwire would have fallen directly into the bamboo stick trap, inevitably injuring themselves.

Li Shuiniu focused on exploiting the surrounding terrain to create a more lethal trap. He found a gently sloping hillside and directed his team to pile loose rocks onto it. They then wove thin branches into a simple net to trap the rocks. A long rope was tied to one end of the net, which snaked down the hillside to their concealed firing position. When Japanese troops entered the trap, the rope was pulled, and the net, holding the rocks, would instantly collapse. The rocks would tumble down the hillside like a rain of stones, using the impact of the terrain to cause immense damage and confusion.

Throughout the entire process, the Li brothers worked in perfect harmony, methodically laying out a series of deadly defensive lines behind the team. Their movements were swift and effortless, making minimal noise to avoid revealing their whereabouts. The other team members, inspired by their actions, also helped to prepare various materials, creating numerous obstacles for the impending Japanese pursuit.