189: What is real can be made to appear unreal, and what is unreal can be made to appear real.

On the outskirts of the Shanghai, Liuhe Dyeing Factory.

As the first light of dawn broke, the factory was already bustling with life.

After several days of rest and treatment with the modern medicines Lu Fan had brought...

The recovery of the wounded had far exceeded expectations; over ninety percent of the troops had basically regained their combat effectiveness.

Inside the General Manager's office, Lu Fan was installing a system-rewarded External Mechanical Arm for Bai Jinbiao.

Although called an External Mechanical Arm, in Lu Fan's eyes, it was actually a simplified version of a hand component from an Iron Man suit.

The palm portion of this mechanical arm offered full coverage, completely enveloping the injured hand and extending to the elbow.

It perfectly compensated for the defect of losing three fingers due to severe injury and his palm's near-total loss of function.

“How does it feel?” Lu Fan asked, adjusting the final locking buckle.

Bai Jinbiao tried to move it.

The five fingers of the mechanical palm opened and clenched flexibly; it felt powerful yet exceptionally precise.

He picked up an egg from the table and gripped it gently; the shell didn't show a single crack.

Then he picked up the ashtray on the table, and with a slight application of force, it shattered instantly.

“This is... too amazing!” Bai Jinbiao looked at his 'new' hand, his face filled with excitement and disbelief.

“It feels... it feels even better than my original hand. The power, the control... perfect!”

Li Zhenshan, who had been watching from the side, had long been itching to try it. Rubbing his hands together, he said, “Old Bai, come on, let's spar.

Let me see just how powerful this iron lump really is!”

Bai Jinbiao smiled and took a stance.

Li Zhenshan gave a low roar and threw a swift, heavy straight punch aimed directly at Bai Jinbiao's face.

However, at the very moment the punch was about to land...

Bai Jinbiao's mechanical arm struck second but arrived first, moving so fast it left only an afterimage.

A soft 'clap' was heard.

The mechanical palm had accurately and firmly seized Li Zhenshan's wrist.

A massive, irresistible force surged through, instantly bringing Li Zhenshan's forward momentum to a dead stop.

As Bai Jinbiao followed through with a twist and a press...

Li Zhenshan felt a wave of numbness spread from his wrist through his entire body.

His massive frame completely lost control, thrown off balance by a clever application of force.

“Thud!”

Suppressed by the joint lock, Li Zhenshan fell directly onto one knee, unable to move.

The entire process took less than a second!

Li Zhenshan hadn't even seen clearly how the other man had moved.

“I... what the fuck.”

Li Zhenshan’s face turned red, and it took him a while to blurt out a curse, his expression written with shock and incredulity.

The power, the speed, the technique—he had been completely crushed in every aspect.

No, it wasn't even a matter of being crushed; it was already far beyond the limits of a human being.

“Old Bai, you... this... is just too perverted!”

He jumped up, disregarding any loss of face, and cradled Bai Jinbiao's new arm. “Old Bai, what other functions does it have? Show me, hurry! Motherfucker, if I ever lose a hand, I'll definitely have the Boss get me one of these.”

Li Zhenshan stroked the External Mechanical Arm, his eyes glued to it, his mouth babbling nonsense.

While the two were immersed in the shock of the new gadget...

Tang Jifeng walked into the office with hurried steps, his expression solemn.

“Brother Fan, something big has happened!” Skipping the pleasantries, he spoke directly. “I just got definite news from my brother's side.

The japanese's desire to destroy us has not died. They are currently massing on a large scale in the direction of the Zhoushan Archipelago.

It looks like they're planning a comeback, launching a second landing offensive against the Shanghai!”

The atmosphere in the office instantly turned heavy.

Lu Fan silently lit a cigarette, took a deep breath, and asked, “Is there more detailed information?”

Tang Jifeng took out a piece of paper and read from it: “The Commander-in-Chief is still that Matsui Iwane.

On the Army side, we've identified the 3rd, 9th, and 11th main divisions, plus two independent heavy artillery brigades.

Total troop strength is currently estimated at over a hundred thousand, plus those departing from the japanese home islands that we're not sure about yet.

The Navy's lineup is even more terrifying; almost the entire main force of the Third and Fourth Fleets is here.

Over thirty vessels of various sizes, including four aircraft carriers, so their Air Force strength is also not to be underestimated.

This scale far exceeds the first offensive. They've clearly saved up all their strength for revenge.”

“What about the Jinling side?” Lu Fan asked in a low voice.

“The Old Man is really panicked this time. He's personally taking over as Commander-in-Chief of the Third War Zone and is mobilizing troops from all over the country!”

Tang Jifeng showed a rare solemn expression. Taking a puff of his cigarette, he said seriously, “The Sichuan Army, Xiang Army, Guangdong Army, Guangxi Army... troops from all paths are rushing here. About twenty divisions, roughly over two hundred thousand men, have already arrived at the assembly point.”

Listening to Tang Jifeng's account, Lu Fan lowered his head in thought.

The japanese reinforcements were more numerous than what was stated in the records he had seen, which wasn't surprising.

After all, due to his existence, the course of history had already undergone subtle changes.

However, the fact that the japanese didn't launch a landing operation immediately but were instead quietly massing was something he couldn't quite figure out.

Given their troop configuration and total superiority in land, sea, and air, why hadn't these japanese struck first?

Suddenly, an ominous premonition rose in his heart. Could it be... could the little bastards have changed their strategy?

According to the original historical trajectory, the second japanese reinforcement wave would land at the Yangtze River Estuary in the Baoshan and Luodian areas.

Subsequently, both sides would engage in a bloody battle on that land that ranks among the most significant in human history.

It was the most tragic battle in modern history—note, bar none.

As the saying goes: 'Every inch of the mountains and rivers is an inch of blood; a hundred thousand youths make a hundred thousand soldiers.'

In this battle, regardless of north or south, young or old, the nation's youth donned military uniforms to fight a life-and-death struggle against the invading enemy.

Although the sons of Huaxia suffered tragic casualties in this battle, the japanese didn't have it easy either.

It could be considered a stalemate.

What caused the scales of the Battle of Shanghai to tilt violently was the japanese landing at Jinshanwei.

Judging by the current japanese movements, they seemed to have moved up their plan, adopting a strategy from later history in advance.

Their second phase of operations might involve abandoning the landing at the Yangtze River Estuary altogether.

They wouldn't engage us in a slaughter in the Baoshan and Luodian areas.

Instead, they would choose to land at Jinshanwei and attack from south to north.

If that was the case, things would go south. Right now, the Jinling side had deployed its key forces around the Baoshan area.

Once the japanese landed at Jinshanwei, without an immediate counter-ambush, they would certainly drive into the Shanghai like a hot knife through butter.

Thinking of this, Lu Fan's heart suddenly tightened.

He immediately turned to Tang Jifeng and said seriously, “Old Fourth, hurry and send a telegram to your dear Principal.

Make sure he pays close attention to the situation at Jinshanwei, because the japanese are very likely to land from there.”

Tang Jifeng showed a look of suspicion upon hearing this, then waved his hand in dismissal. “That won't happen. The water is shallow at Jinshanwei and the tidal flats are extensive.

My brother and the others went on a special inspection there a few years ago, and they unanimously agreed that it's not suitable for landing operations.”

Lu Fan frowned and explained patiently, “Old Fourth, don't forget that the art of war says: the real is false, and the false is real.

The enemy is very likely to deliberately exploit our habitual thinking to catch us off guard.

Therefore, we absolutely cannot take this possibility lightly!”

After hearing Lu Fan's analysis, Tang Jifeng felt it made some sense, so he nodded. “I'll go make a call now.

It's more appropriate for my brother to tell the Principal about this situation.”