The Mysterious Soldier of the Anti-Japanese War

Chapter 223 Crisis Breakout

At the bell tower, a Japanese squad, originally advancing toward it, halted in their tracks upon hearing a violent explosion from the direction of the headquarters. The squad leader's face darkened, and he clenched his sword tightly, shouting loudly, trying to calm the soldiers and regroup. However, the explosions and shouting were too loud, and his voice could not be heard, and the soldiers remained in panic.

After hesitating for a moment, the team leader weighed the pros and cons, waved his hand, and allocated half of the troops, shouting: "You guys, go back to the headquarters immediately and see what happened! You must protect the headquarters!" Although the selected soldiers showed fear on their faces, they still ran towards the headquarters after hearing the order.

At this time, Liu Zishan, who was hiding outside the bell tower, saw that the Japanese army was in disarray. He quickly picked up his whistle and blew three quick whistles to signal everyone in the bell tower. Lei Tao heard the whistle and said to Hu Hansi, "Hansi, lead everyone to leave quickly through the passage and ensure everyone's safety."

Hu Hansi asked worriedly, "What about you?"

"I'm going to pick up Liu Zishan. We can't leave him outside alone. Don't say anything more, just follow the orders! Let's go!" Lei Tao said in a firm tone.

Hu Hansi didn't ask any more questions and quickly led everyone into the passage. The team members, along with the female students, disappeared into the darkness one by one.

Lei Tao turned and ran quickly in the direction of Liu Zishan. The street was cluttered with debris, so he used it as cover, weaving in and out of the shadows. Along the way, he kept a constant eye on his surroundings, not missing anything unusual.

While running, Lei Tao suddenly stopped and pulled out two Scorpion submachine guns, more than a dozen loaded magazines, and an armed magazine from his chest pack. He inserted the magazines into the chest pack slots, put the chest pack on his back, adjusted the position, and then held a Scorpion submachine gun in each hand, fingers on the triggers, and continued running towards Liu Zishan.

Liu Zishan saw the Japanese troops split up and kept looking around anxiously. He heard familiar footsteps behind him and turned around to see that it was Lei Tao.

"Brother Lei, you're here!" Liu Zishan said excitedly.

"Take the gun." Lei Tao said, throwing the Scorpion submachine gun in his left hand to Liu Zishan, and handed him a few magazines.

Liu Zishan steadily caught the gun and magazine, quickly inserted the magazine into the gun body, and pulled the bolt to load the gun.

"Brother Lei, what should we do now?" Liu Zishan asked anxiously.

Lei Tao looked solemn, quickly glanced around, and said, "Let's find a more secluded place first. The Japanese army may discover us at any time."

The two men crouched down, using street debris for cover as they crept towards an abandoned house. On the way, a bullet grazed the corner of Lei Tao's clothes, making a sharp whistling sound.

"Be careful, there are enemies!" Lei Tao shouted and pulled Liu Zishan to hide behind a broken wall.

Through the cracks in the remaining wall, they saw a small group of Japanese soldiers, guns drawn, cautiously approaching them. The Japanese soldiers' faces were tense and vigilant, and their steps were slow and heavy.

"These devils are coming so quickly. We have to find a way to get rid of them." Lei Tao whispered.

Liu Zishan nodded, his forehead covered with sweat, "Brother Lei, I'll listen to you."

Lei Tao observed the Japanese army's movements and found that they were slowly forming an encirclement. He thought for a moment and decided to take the initiative to attack and disrupt the enemy's rhythm.

"Zishan, we can't just passively take the beating. I'll rush out first to attract their firepower, and you go around from the side and look for an opportunity to launch a surprise attack." Lei Tao said in a firm tone.

"But Brother Lei, this is too dangerous..." Liu Zishan was interrupted by Lei Tao before he could finish his words.

"Stop talking nonsense, there's no time. Do as I say!"

Lei Tao took a deep breath, suddenly stood up from behind the broken wall, and fired fiercely at the Japanese soldiers with his Scorpion submachine gun. The Japanese soldiers were caught off guard and fled for cover.

Taking advantage of the Japanese army's panic, Liu Zishan quickly made a detour from the side. He nimbly shuttled through the ruins, trying his best to avoid being discovered by the Japanese army.

Once he was near the Japanese flank, Liu Zishan found the perfect moment and pulled the trigger. The sound of the Scorpion submachine gun was remarkably loud in the quiet street, and several Japanese soldiers fell to the ground.

The Japanese squad leader was furious when he saw this and sent some of his troops to deal with Liu Zishan. Lei Tao took advantage of the Japanese army's distraction and kept changing positions to continue attacking the Japanese army.

The battle was at a stalemate, with both sides going back and forth. Suddenly, Lei Tao heard the sound of more Japanese footsteps in the distance, apparently the nearby Japanese soldiers came to support after hearing the gunfire.

"Zishan, the Japanese army is coming, we have to retreat quickly!" Lei Tao shouted.

The two men fought and retreated towards the underground tunnel. During the retreat, Liu Zishan's arm was grazed by a bullet and blood flowed out.

"I'm fine, Brother Lei, don't worry about me!" Liu Zishan said gritting his teeth.

At this moment, Lei Tao pulled out a high-explosive grenade and a smoke bomb, pulled the safety pin, and threw them with all his might toward the Japanese soldiers. The grenade and smoke bomb flew out, with the high-explosive grenade exploding among the Japanese soldiers. There was a loud bang, a flash of fire, and the blast knocked nearby Japanese soldiers to the ground, causing them to scream in pain. Simultaneously, the smoke bomb exploded, sending thick smoke rapidly spreading and obscuring the Japanese soldiers' vision.

"Hurry up!" Lei Tao shouted, pulling the injured Liu Zishan and quickening his pace towards the underground passage.

The two men ran desperately among the ruins and debris, and the shouts and gunshots of the Japanese soldiers continued to be heard behind them. Bullets flew past them, sparking sparks.

Liu Zishan endured the severe pain in his arm, sweat drenching his back, but he didn't slow down. He knew that his life was at stake and he couldn't let Lei Tao down because of him.

Just as they were about to reach the entrance of the underground passage, suddenly, a Japanese soldier rushed out from the smoke, holding a gun and charging towards the two men viciously.

Lei Tao reacted quickly and fired a volley of bullets. The Japanese soldier was unable to dodge and was hit by several bullets. His body fell backwards and fell heavily to the ground.

Finally, they ran to the entrance of the underground passage. Hu Hansi and several team members had been waiting anxiously at the entrance for a long time, and they all breathed a sigh of relief when they saw Lei Tao and Liu Zishan return.

"Come in quickly!" Hu Hansi shouted.

The two rushed into the passage, and the team members quickly pushed a huge rock at the entrance of the passage back to its original position, temporarily blocking the Japanese pursuit.

"Brother Lei, you are finally back! What happened to Zishan?" Hu Hansi asked hurriedly when he saw Liu Zishan was injured.

"Zishan's arm was scratched. Don't worry about it for now. Let's find a place to treat Zishan's wound." Lei Tao said while panting.