36: A "gift package" for the Japanese devils

Inside the headquarters, the air was so heavy it could be wrung out like water.

A faint, sweet, metallic scent of chlorine still stubbornly clung to everyone's nostrils, reminding them of the hellish tragedy that had just occurred.

Xie Jinyuan stood before the map, silent.

His uniform was still crisp, but his furrowed brows and the bloodshot eyes behind his glasses betrayed the inner turmoil.

Taking a beating passively.

Since the start of the war, they had been taking a beating passively.

In the defenders' dictionary, there seemed to be only "defense," "resistance," and "sacrifice."

This sense of helplessness was like a rope, tightening around everyone's throat.

"Regimental Commander."

A calm voice broke the silence.

It was Chen Xi.

He walked in, the futuristic black mask already removed, but the coldness in his eyes was more chilling than the mask itself.

"We can't keep waiting like this."

Xie Jinyuan slowly turned his head and looked at him.

"What do you mean?"

"Defense alone won't hold." Chen Xi walked to the map, tapping heavily on the Japanese Army's positions. "They have poison gas, they have heavy artillery, we have nothing. If we keep dragging this out, we're just rats in a cage, sooner or later toyed to death by them."

Shangguan Zhibiao, standing aside, frowned as he listened.

The words were harsh, but they were the truth.

"So, we must take the initiative to attack," Chen Xi said, emphasizing every word.

"Attack?" Shangguan Zhibiao couldn't help but interject. "How? Charge out? It's all enemy firepoints out there!"

"Who said anything about charging out?"

Chen Xi grinned, a smile containing a hint of madness that made Shangguan Zhibiao's scalp tingle.

"We're going to send them a 'big gift'."

As he spoke, under the puzzled gazes of Xie Jinyuan and Shangguan Zhibiao, he once again opened the system mall, shimmering with blue light, visible only to him.

He had about 200,000 emotion points left, which had just increased.

He didn't even look at the expensive weapons, going straight to the miscellaneous category to find two "leisure items" that weren't pricey but were incredibly lethal at this moment.

[Industrial Grade Herbicide (Concentrated Powder Version)]

[Disguised Form: Lime Powder]

[Exchange Cost: 50,000 emotion points]

[Meteorological Detection Balloon (with Power Module)]

[Disguised Form: Large Special Kite]

[Exchange Cost: 100,000 emotion points]

"Exchange."

Chen Xi muttered in his heart.

The next second, two items appeared out of thin air in the middle of the headquarters.

One was a bulging burlap sack, appearing to contain lime powder used on construction sites.

The other was a large object wrapped in tarpaulin, its specific shape indiscernible.

Xie Jinyuan and Shangguan Zhibiao watched these two things appear out of thin air, their eyes twitching in unison.

Although it wasn't the first time they'd seen it, this completely illogical way of appearing still felt absurd to them.

Chen Xi stepped forward and unwrapped the tarpaulin.

Inside was a neatly folded, incredibly massive "kite."

The kite had a strange design, like a giant bat; its frame was made of some unknown black metal shimmering with a dark light. The skin material was neither paper nor cloth, feeling smooth and tough to the touch.

"This is..." Xie Jinyuan looked at the monster, hesitating.

"A kite," Chen Xi answered as if it were obvious.

Shangguan Zhibiao's mouth slowly drifted open.

A kite?

You fucking want to fly a kite on the battlefield?

In the livestream, the viewers were also completely baffled.

[Holy shit? A kite? Is Master Xi tired of fighting and planning some team-building activity?]

[Stop joking. If it's from Master Xi, it must be top-tier. I bet this kite can transform into a fighter jet!]

[What kite? This is clearly Batman's wings! Master Xi is going to take to the skies!]

[Wait! Look at that bag of lime powder! I get it! Master Xi is going to replicate our ancestors' classic tactic—throwing lime!]

Chen Xi ignored the reactions and pointed at the bag of "lime powder," explaining to Xie Jinyuan.

"Commander, remember the Japs' poison gas?"

Xie Jinyuan's gaze instantly turned cold.

"Of course I remember."

"This bag of 'lime powder' is a special chemical substance," Chen Xi explained in a way they could understand. "It can 'neutralize' the poison gas in the air. As long as we release it upwind, if the Japs release gas again, it'll be no different from a fart."

"Not only that," Chen Xi's smile became more dangerous, "this stuff is highly concentrated. If inhaled directly... while not lethal, it will definitely give them the experience of ground-glass opacity in their lungs."

Hearing this explanation, Xie Jinyuan and Shangguan Zhibiao's eyes lit up simultaneously.

Using their own medicine against them!

This is so fucking satisfying!

"You mean..." Xie Jinyuan pointed at the giant kite, "use this to transport the lime powder over?"

"Exactly." Chen Xi snapped his fingers. "It's a northwest wind right now; we're perfectly upwind of them. Just fly this kite over their heads and drop this powder; that'll be enough for them to handle."

The plan sounded wild, but logically, it seemed... entirely feasible.

Shangguan Zhibiao looked at Chen Xi, his eyes filled with complexity.

He felt like his brain couldn't keep up with this young man's train of thought at all.

"But just scattering powder will only annoy them; it won't solve the fundamental problem," Xie Jinyuan pointed out the key issue sharply.

"Of course."

Chen Xi grinned, revealing a row of white teeth.

"So, I've also prepared a 'grand opening' for them on the kite."

As he spoke, he pulled something else out of the system space.

A Miniature remote-controlled explosive.

It looked like a black lump of iron, only the size of a palm, completely unremarkable.

But the moment Xie Jinyuan and Shangguan Zhibiao saw it, their hearts tightened.

They had seen with their own eyes Chen Xi's drone use this thing to blow the Japanese Army's headquarters sky-high!

"You... you're going to hang it on the kite?" Shangguan Zhibiao's voice stuttered.

"What else?" Chen Xi toyed with the explosive in his hand like a walnut. "The kite flies over their headquarters, and we drop this thing."

"Boom."

"And the world becomes quiet."

...The headquarters fell into a long silence.

Xie Jinyuan and Shangguan Zhibiao just stared blankly at Chen Xi, at the giant "kite" in his hand, the ordinary-looking "lime powder," and the black iron lump radiating the aura of death.

An insane, beyond-imagination, and mischievous air raid plan had taken shape before them.

The livestream's bullet chat went completely wild at this moment.

[I declare Master Xi a contemporary terror... wait, a contemporary military artist!]

[Flying kites, scattering toxic powder, and then a high-altitude precision strike! Holy crap, who can withstand this combo?!]

[The Japs: I'm fighting the Battle of Shanghai, not some goddamn cyberpunk war!]

[When it comes to being underhanded, it has to be Master Xi! I'd call this the ultimate version of high-quality human warfare!]

[Please! Start already! I can't wait to see the Japs' faces like they've seen a ghost!]

After a long time.

Xie Jinyuan took a deep breath, looking at Chen Xi with unconcealable amazement and... a hint of being between laughter and tears.

He slowly uttered two words.

"Approved."

He turned to Shangguan Zhibiao behind him and issued the order.

"Shangguan, pick a few of the smartest brothers to fully cooperate with Mr. Chen!"

"Yes, sir!"

Shangguan Zhibiao stood at attention and saluted, his voice thundering.

His face turned a deep red from extreme excitement... On the rooftop of the warehouse.

Chen Xi brought Shangguan Zhibiao and several Soldiers, carrying the giant "kite" up.

When the kite was fully unfolded, everyone was stunned by its size.

With a wingspan of over five meters, the giant black bat-wing structure looked like a monster from another world under the gray sky.

"Mr... Mr. Chen, can this thing... really fly?" a young Soldier asked stutteringly.

"Nonsense."

Chen Xi said without looking back while adjusting the miniature power propellers on the kite, "Not only can it fly, it can fly higher than a bird."

He firmly fixed the bag of "lime powder" to an automatic release device under the kite's belly and mounted the miniature explosive on an independent latch.

Everything was ready.

The northwest wind howled across the rooftop, making clothes flap loudly.

Chen Xi stood up, squinting, feeling the wind speed and direction.

He looked back at the Soldiers, whose faces were filled with anticipation and nervousness.

He smiled.

"Everyone stand back, get ready for the show."

He held up a virtual controller that only he could see, looking like a game controller.

Facing the Japanese Army's positions, he whispered softly, as if reciting an ancient incantation.

"Express delivery, shipping out."