Chapter 8: Is This The Thirteen Heroines Of Nanjing?
Su Yaoyang observed the surroundings while casually saying, “My name is Su Yaoyang. You can call me Big Brother Su or Brother Yaoyang. We’re all Chinese, so we should help each other.”
At this time, the streets of Nanjing City were full of bombed-out buildings everywhere. The three talked while walking unsteadily through the streets littered with broken bricks and tiles.
“It’s chaotic with war now. Why are you still running around everywhere? Don’t you know Japanese devils are everywhere?” Su Yaoyang turned his head to ask.
“We… we don’t know either.”
Shujuan lowered her head and said softly, “We are all students from St. Paul’s Church. Our priest was killed by the Japanese bomb yesterday.”
“There are Japanese soldiers everywhere, so George Chen took us out of the church and wanted to escape to the safe zone. But we ran into Japanese soldiers halfway… We… we got separated from them, and now we don’t know where to go?”
After saying that, she started sobbing.
“George Chen… Japanese… St. Paul’s Church…”
Su Yaoyang felt it sounded more and more familiar as he listened. A fragment suddenly flashed in his mind. After being stunned for a moment, he blurted out, “Is your priest called Ingman?”
“Yes.”
Shujuan was slightly stunned and asked hesitantly, “Do you know Father Ingman?”
“The young man who led you out, George Chen, is he fifteen or sixteen years old and wearing glasses?”
“Big Brother Su, how did you know?” The three girls were truly surprised this time. They even slowed their steps and looked at him in astonishment.
“Damn…” Su Yaoyang’s expression changed immediately.
He understood now. These were clearly characters from that movie he had watched called 《The Flowers of War》. He had been sent into this movie by that fat-headed kid.
“Big Brother Su, what’s wrong?” Seeing Su Yaoyang’s face darken, Shujuan and the other two girls’ hearts skipped a beat. This quite handsome, fair-skinned boy in front of them was their only hope now. If something happened to him, they would really be out of luck.
“It’s nothing. This doesn’t concern you.”
Su Yaoyang casually comforted them, while his mind raced.
According to the movie, if they hadn’t met him, only one of these three girls separated from their companions would escape back to St. Paul’s Church, and the other two would be bayoneted to death by the Japanese army.
Now, because they met him, the fate of the three had changed, but it was only temporary. No one could predict what would happen next.
Thinking of this, Su Yaoyang said to the three, “I advise you not to run around anymore. It’s too dangerous outside. Go back to the church and hide first.”
“I…”
The three girls exchanged glances. Shujuan hesitated and said, “Big Brother Su, can we follow you?”
“Follow me? Aren’t you afraid I’m a bad guy?”
Su Yaoyang was astonished. He had never met them before. How could they think of following him? Weren’t they afraid he would harm them?
“Yeah, Big Brother Su.” Another girl wearing glasses gritted her teeth and said softly, “Big Brother Su, if you hadn’t saved us just now, the three of us would have been… captured or killed by the little devils long ago.”
“You are our savior. Even if you mean us harm, we’ll accept it.”
“I…”
Su Yaoyang was somewhat amused and exasperated. Were girls from this era all so innocent?
But after thinking about it, he slowly shook his head. “I’m very grateful for your trust, but I still can’t take you with me.”
“Big Brother Su…” The three girls’ expressions changed. They were about to speak when Su Yaoyang raised his hand to stop them.
“Listen to me first. I have my reasons for not taking you.”
“Not to mention that the ferry pier out of the city is now blocked by the National Army, so you can’t get out at all. Besides, I have companions waiting for me at the inn.”
“How about this: You go back to the church first. After I find my companions, I’ll take them to St. Paul’s Church to find you. Does that work?”
“We…”
The three girls hesitated, exchanged glances, and finally nodded slowly.
“Big Brother Su, we trust you.”
“Don’t worry. After I find my companions, I’ll go to the church to find you. I guarantee it.” Su Yaoyang raised his hand in a swearing gesture and made a funny face, making the three girls burst into laughter through their tears.
“Big Brother Su, we’ll head back to the church first then.”
The three girls knew that continuing to follow Su Yaoyang wouldn’t help but would only burden him. They could only support each other and slowly walk back the way they came.
Watching the three girls who kept looking back, Su Yaoyang felt both moved and a bit amused. He suddenly thought of something and called out to them.
“By the way, wait a minute.”
Su Yaoyang quickly stepped forward, pulled out the M1911A1 pistol and two magazines from his waist, handed them to Shujuan, and gave a cloth bag to the girl with glasses.
“You’re Wang Xiaozhen, right? There are six little devil grenades and two rifles here for your self-defense, but you have to be careful using them…”
After briefly explaining how to use the grenades and rifles to the two, and asking about the location of St. Paul’s Church, Su Yaoyang watched the reluctant three girls head back the way they came.
After seeing the three girls off, Su Yaoyang relied on his memory, held the remaining Type 38 rifle, and walked toward the inn. But after just two steps, he heard a harsh metal friction sound from ahead, mixed with bursts of explosions.
“That’s… that’s… that’s a tank…”
Su Yaoyang hesitated for a moment, then his expression changed. Although he had never seen the real thing in real life, as a young man who grew up in the 21st century, watched countless movies and TV shows, and browsed endless military videos, how could he not recognize it?
He looked into the distance, then at the Type 38 rifle in his hand, and slapped his forehead. “Damn… I’m a guy with cheats. Why am I still using this junk?”
“I can’t produce too advanced weapons due to mental power limitations now, but making a better light weapon for self-defense should be no problem, right?”
With that thought, he looked around, hid in a house half-collapsed by bombs, tinkered for a while, and when he came out again, he had a big guy hanging on his chest and an even taller one on his back.
If anyone familiar saw Su Yaoyang’s equipment, they would exclaim, “Chicago Typewriter!”
That’s right. The weapons Su Yaoyang had just materialized were the famous World War II Thompson submachine gun and the Soviet PTRD-41 anti-tank rifle.
As for the captured Type 38 rifle, it had long been tossed into some corner.
Not only that, Su Yaoyang had also hung more than ten M24 stick grenades on his chest and back, along with two bulging magazine pouches.
Normally, the weight of just these two guns was twenty-seven kilograms, and with the grenades and ammo belts, the total load on Su Yaoyang’s body was at least fifty kilograms.
An ordinary person carrying such heavy gear wouldn’t be able to march or fight; they’d probably collapse after a few steps. But since his mental power surged, Su Yaoyang’s physical fitness had improved greatly. Carrying these things was no burden at all, and he still moved swiftly.
