81: Chapter 81 The Last Rearguard

"Go!"

Following Chen Xi's command, the last group—a "human chain" formed by five Soldiers—hooked themselves onto that steel cable soaked in sweat and hope.

They were the final force responsible for stabilizing the Zipline.

Now, their mission was complete.

It was time to go home.

Inside the warehouse, fewer than twenty people remained.

Chen Xi.

Xie Jinyuan.

Shangguan Zhibiao.

And a dozen or so of the most elite rearguard troops who had volunteered to stay behind.

The gunfire, without realizing it, had become sparse.

This sparseness was like a blunt knife cutting into the hearts of every survivor.

Yet it was also like a needle, pricking awake the devils on the opposite bank.

A Japanese Army Officer, holding binoculars, had his brow furrowed deeply.

Something was wrong.

Something was very wrong.

The firepower from the Sihang Warehouse had weakened by at least seventy percent.

This didn't look like resistance.

It looked more like... cover fire before a retreat.

"Illumination flare!"

He roared out the command.

"Whoosh—!"

A pale illumination flare, trailing a long tail of flame, rose into the night sky.

In an instant, both banks of the Suzhou Creek were lit up as bright as day.

It also illuminated that steel cable, still swaying slightly in mid-air.

And on the cable, that last "human chain" currently sliding across.

The Japanese Army Officer's pupils instantly dilated to their limit.

He finally understood how these damned Chinese rats had slipped away right from under his nose.

"Baka!"

Humiliation and rage erupted in his chest like a volcano.

"Attack! General offensive for the whole army!"

"Charge in! Capture Xie Jinyuan alive!"

"Kill them! Leave none alive!"

The shrill sound of the charge bugle pierced the final silence before dawn.

The Japanese Army positions, which had been quiet for a long time, completely came to life at this moment.

Countless Japanese Soldiers, rifles in hand and roaring, surged frantically toward that lonely warehouse like a black tide from all directions.

"Damn it!"

Shangguan Zhibiao spat out a mouthful of bloody phlegm, grabbed the machine gun beside him, and fired frantically outside.

"Coming at the right time! I'll fight you bastards to the death!"

The rearguard squad showed no sign of panic.

They each found their positions and poured their remaining ammunition into the tide of enemies.

At this moment, the battle entered its most primitive and tragic stage.

A grenade exploded next to the cover where the rearguard squad was hiding.

The massive shockwave sent a young Soldier flying.

Half of his body was torn apart by shrapnel, a bloody mess.

But he didn't let out a single scream.

He simply used his last bit of strength to pull a grenade from his chest, pulled the pin, and then used all his remaining strength to roll toward the crowd of Japanese Army Soldiers who had already charged into the warehouse.

"Boom—!"

A loud explosion.

Flesh and blood flew everywhere.

But more Japanese Army Soldiers stepped over their comrades' corpses and continued forward.

Chen Xi leaned against the wall, his face as pale as a sheet of paper.

The wound on his back had split open again during the violent movements, and blood stained his entire back red.

The slingshot in his hand had long since lost its use.

At this distance, in this kind of chaotic melee, any long-range weapon lost its meaning.

He took a deep breath and, from the system space, once again gripped that High-frequency Vibration Particle Combat Blade disguised as a weeding sickle.

The cold, familiar sensation traveled from his palm.

He looked at the bloodthirsty, distorted, and frantic faces before him.

His gaze became calm.

A death-like calm.

A Japanese Soldier, shrieking, charged at him with a bayonet.

Chen Xi didn't dodge.

He simply turned sideways and flicked his wrist.

That rusty-looking sickle traced a black arc that was almost invisible to the naked eye.

"Puchi."

A soft sound.

The Japanese Soldier's movement froze.

His upper body and lower body separated cleanly at the waist.

Organs and blood spilled all over the floor.

Chen Xi didn't look at him.

He took a step forward, stepping over the still-twitching corpse, and like a tiger entering a flock of sheep, he charged into the enemy ranks.

Every swing of the blade took a life.

Every turn left behind a floor of severed limbs.

He was like a tireless, cold killing machine.

Blood splattered on his face and body.

But he didn't care at all.

He only knew one thing: kill.

Kill everyone in front of him.

Xie Jinyuan's eyes had also turned red with bloodlust.

This elegant, glasses-wearing Regiment Commander was now like an enraged lion.

He threw away the Mauser Pistol that had run out of bullets and snatched a Czech ZB-26 light machine gun from a fallen Soldier, propped it on the cover, and fired frantically outside.

"Come on!"

"You animals!"

"Come and taste your Grandpa Xie's bullets!"

His glasses were already blurred by splattered blood and filth.

But he didn't care.

He only knew how to fire.

To fire without stopping.

However, they had too few people.

The enemy's numbers were dozens, even hundreds of times their own.

The rearguard squad fell one by one.

Shangguan Zhibiao was hit in the chest by a bullet, sent flying backward, and slammed heavily onto the ground.

Xie Jinyuan's machine gun also fired its last round of bullets.

A dozen Japanese Soldiers, rifles at the ready, surrounded the last few of them from three directions.

The encirclement was constantly shrinking.

Ten meters.

Five meters.

Three meters.

Chen Xi's body now had several more deep wounds that exposed the bone.

His physical strength was also reaching its limit.

He leaned his back against Xie Jinyuan, panting heavily.

He looked at the dark muzzles of the guns drawing closer.

And those ugly faces filled with cruel sneers.

He pulled back his lips and smiled.

The smile carried a hint of madness and a hint of disdain.

He spoke to the Japanese Army Officer, who appeared to be the leader, in broken Japanese, word by word.

"Are you all... ready... to go to hell?"