37: Kite bombing

The wind on the rooftop was very strong.

It made the corners of one's clothes snap and flutter loudly.

Chen Xi ignored the complex gazes behind him from Shangguan Zhibiao and several Soldiers—a mix of anticipation, tension, and sheer disbelief.

He simply held up a Virtual Controller, visible only to him, that looked like a gamepad.

He pressed the start button.

"Bzzz—"

A very faint, low hum, like the buzzing of a bee.

The massive "kite" with a wingspan of over five meters, which everyone had carried up, slowly and vertically lifted off without any sort of running start.

Its massive black bat-wing structure looked like a prehistoric monster from another world as it broke free from gravity under the grey sky.

"It's... it's flying..."

A young Soldier stammered, his voice filled with disbelief.

This thing wasn't a kite at all!

What kind of kite can fly on its own without any wind!

Chen Xi's expression was focused as his fingers lightly flicked the virtual joysticks.

The giant "kite" traced a smooth arc in the air, adjusted its posture, and then shot off like an arrow toward the Japanese Army positions on the other side of Suzhou Creek.

Its speed was incredibly fast, yet its flight was eerily stable, without the slightest wobble.

Beneath the clouds, the black metal frame reflected a cold luster that didn't belong to this era.

[Holy shit? It took off? It's really just flying like that?]

[Is this a fucking kite? This is clearly a Drone! Stop pretending, Master Xi!]

[Quiet down, you lot. This is called a weather balloon. Can you really call it a Drone when an intellectual is involved?]

[Hahaha, I just want to see the look on those Japs' faces when they see a giant kite floating in the sky.]

[Japs: Nani? Are the Chinese tired of fighting and starting a team-building exercise?]

The Japanese Army's front-line positions.

After the series of strange attacks earlier, the atmosphere was somewhat oppressive.

Soldiers were reinforcing fortifications and moving ammunition, preparing for the next assault.

A Japanese Soldier on lookout duty was the first to notice the anomaly in the sky.

"What is that?"

He raised his binoculars in confusion.

Through the lenses, a massive, strangely shaped black object was rapidly approaching.

It flew very high, gliding silently beneath the clouds like a giant bat.

"An enemy plane?"

His companion beside him also raised his binoculars, watched for a long time, and then shook his head.

"No, there's no sound... and an airplane's wings don't look like that..."

"Is it... a kite?"

This guess seemed absurd to both of them.

But they couldn't think of any other explanation.

Soon, more and more Japanese Soldiers discovered this strange "visitor from beyond."

They stopped their work one after another, pointing at the sky and buzzing with discussion; a small commotion broke out across the position.

Chen Xi watched everything coldly through the real-time feed transmitted by the Drone.

He saw the layout of the Japanese Army's position and the makeshift command tent where people were constantly entering and exiting.

He saw the several type 92 infantry guns that had just been roaring.

His finger tapped lightly on the controller.

A red virtual button turned green.

"Deploying Payload One."

A payload bay on the kite's belly, disguised as an ornament, opened silently.

The packet of industrial-grade herbicide, disguised as "lime powder," poured down from hundreds of meters high like scattered flower petals.

The white powder dispersed quickly in the wind, forming a massive, blizzard-like cloud that drifted slowly toward the Japanese Army positions below.

"Is it snowing?"

A Japanese Soldier reached out, caught some of the white powder, and sniffed it; it had a pungent smell of lime.

But in the next second, his expression changed.

"Cough... cough cough..."

Although the powder wasn't lethal, its concentration was extremely high; once inhaled into the respiratory tract, it immediately caused violent coughing and discomfort.

Panic began to spread.

"It's poison gas! It's a Chinese chemical weapon!"

It was unknown who first screamed it at the top of their lungs.

This cry was like a spark dropped into a vat of oil, instantly igniting the entire position.

After all, they had just used gas shells against the warehouse.

Retribution had come so quickly!

The entire Japanese Army position instantly devolved into total chaos.

Soldiers threw down their weapons, covered their mouths and noses, and scurried around like headless flies, trying to find cover.

The barking orders of officers mingled with the coughing and screaming of Soldiers; the previous order vanished completely within a mere dozen seconds.

[Holy shit! Cutting the ground from under them! No, wait, it's justice from above!]

[This move is so fucking wicked! Hahaha, the Japs thought it was poison gas and nearly pissed themselves!]

[Master Xi: I heard you guys like playing with poison gas? Here, try my enhanced version!]

[This isn't herbicide, it's clearly a Confusion Potion!]

[Mental warfare at its finest! Master Xi is awesome (voice cracks)!]

Looking at the chaotic scene below, there wasn't a hint of a smile on Chen Xi's face.

Only coldness.

His finger slid across the controller again, locking onto the second target.

The Japanese Army's temporary command post, where officers were constantly entering and exiting.

"Deploying Payload Two."

Another independent latch on the kite's belly released silently.

That palm-sized, unremarkable-looking black iron lump detached from its mount and began its freefall.

It fell extremely fast, making almost no sound in the air.

On the rooftop, Shangguan Zhibiao was holding his binoculars, watching in stunned silence.

He saw the "white ash" falling from the sky and the chaos at the Japanese Army position. He was just about to shout "Brilliant plan!" when he saw another black dot drop from the giant kite.

"What's that now?"

He muttered to himself subconsciously.

The next second.

"Boom—!"

A dull but highly piercing explosion came from the direction of the Japanese Army command post.

The fire from the explosion was like a red flower of death blooming in an instant.

The command tent, constructed of heavy canvas and steel frames, was torn apart from the inside as if by an invisible giant hand, instantly disintegrating!

Fragments of the tent, mixed with documents, maps, and human remains, were thrown into the air by the powerful shockwave before falling like a rain of blood.

The sound of the explosion wasn't world-shaking, but the visual impact made everyone feel a shudder in the depths of their souls.

The binoculars in Shangguan Zhibiao's hand fell to the ground with a "clatter," but he didn't even notice.

He just stood there with his mouth agape, eyes wide as bells, staring fixedly at the rising black smoke in the distance. A strange "gurgling" sound came from his throat, and he couldn't utter a single word.

The Soldiers behind him slumped directly to the ground, their faces pale, lips trembling as they muttered to themselves.

"Heavenly... Heavenly punishment..."

"It's not over yet."

Chen Xi's calm voice woke them from their petrified state.

He maneuvered the kite with a beautiful tail-flick, aiming it at those infantry guns that had been left unattended due to the chaos.

Third, fourth, and fifth payloads.

Precision deployment.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

A series of explosions rang out.

Those engines of war that had been wreaking havoc just moments ago were blown into twisted parts; their barrels pointed skyward like desperate fingers reaching for the heavens.

[666666666666666!]

[I declare! Master Xi is a modern-day terror... no, a modern-day military artist!]

[Flying a kite, scattering toxic powder, and throwing in a high-altitude surgical strike for good measure! Holy crap, who could withstand this combo?!]

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

[Airstrike! This is an airstrike! A kite airstrike from 1937!]

[Master Xi, where did you buy that kite? Give us a link! I'll buy one to burn for my ancestors during the Qingming Festival so the old man can walk tall in the afterlife!]

The Japanese Army's position had fallen into complete paralysis.

The command system had been wiped out, heavy fire points were surgically eliminated, and the Soldiers had completely lost their will to fight in their fear of the "unknown chemical weapon."

The so-called gas attack naturally came to nothing.

The rooftop.

Chen Xi slowly withdrew the controller.

The giant black kite circled once in the air and began its automatic return.

He looked back at the group of Soldiers behind him, who stood like wooden statues, and at Shangguan Zhibiao, who was looking at him as if he were a god.

He didn't say a word.

He simply walked silently over to Xie Jinyuan.

Xie Jinyuan also lowered his binoculars.

This iron-blooded scholar-general, who hadn't flinched regardless of the desperate situations faced since the start of the war, now had hands that were visibly trembling violently as they gripped the binoculars.

He looked at Chen Xi, his lips twitching as if he wanted to say something, but he didn't know where to begin.

After a long time.

Only then did he squeeze out a dry sentence from his throat.

"Mr. Chen... is this... also 'leisure'?"

Chen Xi grinned, revealing a row of white teeth.

"No."

"This is called a surgical strike."