141: Chapter 141 Hello, Comrade

That single phrase, "Hello, Comrade," seemed to carry a strange magic.

Like a warm electric current, it instantly surged through Chen Xi's frozen limbs and bones, dispelling the chill that had seeped into his very marrow.

His body had become so numb from prolonged combat and blood loss that he had almost lost all sensation.

But the warmth coming from the other person's palm was so real.

Coarse.

Powerful.

It carried a long-lost warmth that belonged to one's own kind.

Chen Xi raised his head and looked at the young, sincere face before him. His lips moved, but he couldn't make a sound.

He wanted to return a smile, but found that his facial muscles had long since stiffened.

The young officer seemed to see his weakness and said no more.

He released his hand and turned to give orders to those behind him in a concise, powerful tone that Chen Xi had never heard before.

"First Squad, assist the wounded and the civilians! Second Squad, check the state of the boats and take all usable supplies! Third Squad, on guard!"

"Yes!"

The response from over a dozen Soldiers was uniform, carrying a spirited sharpness.

They immediately sprang into action.

There was no hesitation, nor any unnecessary questioning or scrutiny.

Several Soldiers jumped onto the sampans where the survivors were, beginning to carefully support the elderly and the women who had been scared out of their wits long ago.

Their movements were gentle, and their words were kind.

A young Soldier who looked no more than sixteen or seventeen saw a little girl shivering from the cold. Without hesitation, he took off his own cotton coat, which was covered in several patches, and wrapped it around her.

Another Soldier handed his canteen to an old professor with cracked lips.

The old professor took it subconsciously and took a sip, only to find it was piping hot water.

He looked up, his clouded eyes filled with disbelief.

During those hellish days in Nanjing, they had seen too much indifference, greed, and betrayal.

This army before them, this group of Soldiers, was different from any army they had ever seen.

They were poor—so poor that their cotton coats were covered in patches.

But their eyes were as clean as a mountain spring.

There was a reassuring strength about them.

The young officer leading them was named Li Zhen.

He was the company commander of the First Company of the New Fourth Army River Defense Guerrilla Detachment.

After confirming Chen Xi and the others' identities, he walked over to Chen Xi's side, wanting to give him a hand.

Chen Xi waved his hand, indicating he could still stand on his own.

He looked at Li Zhen and spoke hoarsely.

"How... how did you get here?"

Li Zhen smiled, revealing a row of white teeth.

"We have always been here."

He pointed to the endless reed marshes behind him.

"This place is our battlefield."

He glanced at the rescued scholars behind Chen Xi, a flash of heartfelt admiration in his eyes.

"We received orders from our superiors long ago saying that a righteous man returning from overseas would be bringing a group of people vital to the nation to break out from the Yangtze River. We were told we must meet you here."

Li Zhen paused, his tone becoming somewhat emotional.

"To be honest, we didn't dare believe it at first. Nanjing... has become like that; how could anyone possibly get out?"

"We waited here for three nights. Just as we thought the intelligence was wrong and were preparing to withdraw, we saw your boats and that... that massive explosion."

He looked at Chen Xi, his gaze becoming incredibly solemn.

"Comrade Chen Xi, thank you for your hard work."

Chen Xi fell silent.

He didn't know what to say.

A righteous man returning from overseas?

He was just an unlucky guy trapped in a game.

But looking into Li Zhen's sincere eyes, he suddenly felt that these explanations no longer seemed important.

"The wounded and the civilians have all been transferred!" a Soldier came to report.

Li Zhen nodded and said to Chen Xi, "Comrade Chen Xi, we shouldn't stay here long. We must return to our base as soon as possible. The Japanese patrol could come by at any time."

Chen Xi nodded.

He was helped onto a small Wupeng boat.

The cabin was narrow, but it was cleaned very thoroughly.

A delicate-looking female Soldier handed him a bowl of steaming ginger soup and a piece of hard, dry flatbread.

"Drink up quickly to warm your body."

Chen Xi took the ginger soup and drained it in one gulp.

The spicy warmth flowed from his throat all the way into his stomach, finally making his nearly frozen body feel a spark of life again.

He looked at the flatbread in his hand but didn't take a bite for a long time.

He thought of that young Soldier at Sihang Warehouse named Chen Shusheng, and the shy yet hopeful look in his eyes when he handed him half a piece of flatbread.

(Little Chen... do you see this?)

(In the future China, there really... is a group of people like this.)

His eyes suddenly felt a bit hot.

The boat fleet silently rowed into the depths of the reed marshes, following a hidden waterway toward the interior of the north bank.

Chen Xi leaned against the side of the cabin, watching the busy yet orderly Soldiers outside.

Their equipment was crude; many held old Hanyang-made rifles, or even broadswords and spears.

But there wasn't a trace of fear or dejection on their faces.

They would laugh heartily at a joke, and they would argue until they were red in the face when discussing tactics.

There was no rigid hierarchy between officers and Soldiers; they were more like teachers and brothers.

This was a brand new aura, full of vigorous vitality.

(Holy shit...)

Chen Xi couldn't help but curse in his mind again.

(This... this is what an army should fucking look like!)

He suddenly understood.

Why this army—which in history lacked food and clothing and was pursued and blocked—could eventually spread like a prairie fire and sweep across the entire land of China.

Because in their bones, there was something different.

That thing was called faith.

Just then, Li Zhen walked to his side and handed him a cigarette.

It was the lowest quality local tobacco, the kind that was so pungent it made one's eyes water.

Chen Xi took it, lit it, and took a deep drag.

"Have you... always been like this?" he asked.

Li Zhen was stunned for a moment, then immediately understood what he was asking.

He smiled.

"Yeah, we've always been like this."

He looked at the Soldiers in the distance who were wiping their weapons, his eyes full of pride.

"Our army is the people's army. We fight for ourselves, for our parents and brothers, and for our future generations."

"So, we aren't afraid to die."

Chen Xi fell silent.

Looking at Li Zhen's face flickering in the smoke, he suddenly felt that everything he had experienced before—the defense of Sihang Warehouse, the slaughter in Nanjing—seemed to find its ultimate meaning at this moment.

He wasn't just playing a game.

He was protecting a group of people worth protecting.

He was serving as a humble witness to a period of history that should not be forgotten.

"Welcome home."

Li Zhen repeated the phrase again. This time, his voice was soft, but every word was like a hammer, striking hard against Chen Xi's heart.

Home.

Yes.

He was home.

Chen Xi's body could no longer hold out.

The string that had been pulled tight for too long finally snapped completely at this moment.

Endless exhaustion submerged him like a tide.

His head slumped against the cabin as he completely lost consciousness.

In the final second before he sank into darkness, he seemed to see warm lights in the villages on the north bank, lighting up in the mist before dawn.

That light was so warm, so... reassuring.