Why don't you just work for me?

Li Yunlong surveyed the entire situation through his binoculars, a wide grin spreading across his face. "Ha! Zhuzi, open fire! Three rounds, rapid-fire!"

"Thud! Thud! Thud!"

Just as Huang Tianning and his four men were preparing to make a desperate last stand, three shells shrieked through the air and landed with pinpoint accuracy right on top of the little Japanese devils.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Amidst the blinding flashes of fire and billowing dust, a dozen or so little Japanese devils were practically wiped out in one sweep.

Before the remaining few little Japanese devils and the nearby puppet soldiers could even react, they were caught in the crossfire of the two machine guns from the Fourth Platoon stationed behind them, riddling their bodies with bloody holes.

"Charge!" Led by Zhang Dabiao, the soldiers of the Fourth Platoon opened fire and surged forward in a fierce charge.

Watching their comrades fall around them with blood spurting from their bodies, the remaining puppet soldiers had their courage shattered by this overwhelming firepower and scrambled to hit the dirt in panic.

Hearing the endless whistle of bullets tearing through the air, the puppet soldiers assumed they had run into a main force of the Nationalist Army. Closing their eyes, they shouted at the top of their lungs, "Grandpas of the Nationalist Army, spare our lives! We surrender!"

Not just them—even Huang Tianning and his four men, upon hearing that ferocious firepower initially, had thought their own troops had arrived.

"Brothers, we're saved! It's our reinforcements!"

Yet when they poked their heads out to look, they found the reality was somewhat different from what they had imagined.

The opposing troops wore brand-new, dark gray uniforms—clearly, they were the Eighth Route Army!

"Let's go. After all, they saved our lives, and we're friendly forces anyway. We should thank them for not standing by and watching us die."

Once Zhang Dabiao led the Fourth Platoon to secure the area and take all the puppet soldiers prisoner, Huang Tianning and his four men stumbled out slowly on unsteady legs.

Zhang Dabiao was currently directing his soldiers in rounding up the captives. "All of you, behave yourselves! Squad Leader One, keep a close eye on them. If anyone tries any funny business, put a bullet in him and send him on his way!"

"Company Commander, they're coming over!" A soldier pointed behind Zhang Dabiao.

Zhang Dabiao stepped forward warmly to greet them. "Are you brothers hurt? Must be starving, right? Xiao Wu, fetch some food for our brothers!"

It wasn't just Li Yunlong who had set his sights on them; Zhang Dabiao also wanted to recruit these men into his ranks.

Huang Tianning and his companions were somewhat baffled. Although the Nationalists and Communists were cooperating, this Eighth Route Army officer seemed a bit too good to them!

Huang Tianning hurriedly waved his hands. "Officer, we're fine, just completely exhausted!"

However, when Xiao Wu came running over carrying a bundle of corn bread and a canteen, the eyes of the men behind Huang Tianning involuntarily locked onto what Xiao Wu was holding, their mouths watering continuously as their stomachs let out loud, rumbling growls.

Zhang Dabiao laughed heartily. "You fellows fill your stomachs first. Our commander will be over shortly, and we can talk about anything else then!"

"Many thanks, Officer!" Huang Tianning did not refuse Zhang Dabiao's kindness; they hadn't eaten anything in two days.

Zhang Dabiao instructed Xiao Wu to leave the food and water before stepping away to give them some privacy.

"Everyone, eat!" At Huang Tianning's nod, the men eagerly snatched up pieces of corn bread and began devouring them voraciously.

"Cough, cough... gulp... gulp... ah... I've finally come back to life!"

One of the Nationalist soldiers chugged a large mouthful of water, and feeling his stomach and belly finally filled, he let out a long, satisfied sigh of relief.

Once all five men had eaten their fill and felt their strength gradually returning, they began to murmur among themselves in low voices.

"Platoon Leader, this bunch of Eighth Route soldiers is really strange!"

The soldier looked cautiously to the left and right. "Did you guys notice? Not only are their uniforms brand-new, but even the weapons in their hands are brand-new too!"

Another soldier chimed in, "And that's not all! There's only about a platoon of them here, but I roughly counted—they actually have a dozen submachine guns! And they're models I've never seen before!" He looked aside. "Old Liu, you're well-traveled. Have you ever seen weapons like these?"

Old Liu, the oldest of the group, shook his head. "I haven't either. But their machine gun looks sort of familiar. Xiao Yi, did you notice anything?"

While eating just moments before, Xiao Yi's eyes had been glued to the machine guns slung over the shoulders of the Fourth Platoon soldiers who had rushed up.

Huang Tianning and the others looked at Xiao Yi. "It's based on the same design lineage as the MG-38 machine gun from Germany. It must be a variant!"

The men were startled upon hearing this. "Good grief, even imported goods! Since when did the Eighth Route Army get so wealthy?"

"Platoon Leader, do you think this could be the security force for the Eighth Route Army Headquarters?"

Huang Tianning cut short their wild speculations. "All right, stop guessing wildly. If they really were high-ranking officers from the Eighth Route Army Headquarters, they wouldn't give us regular foot soldiers a hard time! When their commander gets here in a moment, stay sharp. Salute when you're supposed to, and don't talk nonsense. Let's not meddle in matters above our pay grade. Understood?"

The rest of the men repeatedly nodded in assurance. "Don't worry, Platoon Leader, we know what we're doing!"

Within moments, Li Yunlong arrived with Wang Chengzhu and the others, heading straight for Zhang Dabiao. "Dabiao, where are the men?"

"They're eating over there," Zhang Dabiao pointed not far away. Realizing they were almost finished eating, Li Yunlong walked directly toward them.

Following closely behind Li Yunlong, Zhang Dabiao voiced his observations, "Battalion Commander, judging by their condition, they don't look like defeated troops fleeing a battlefield; they look more like men who broke out of a prisoner of war camp."

"Mm, I know," Li Yunlong nodded, feeling even more pleased. Being captured wasn't shameful; the fact that they hadn't turned traitor to become puppet soldiers, and had instead broken out to fight the little Japanese devils to the death, showed they were men of true backbone and grit.

Seeing a smiling Li Yunlong approaching with Zhang Dabiao, Huang Tianning and his four men hurriedly stood up, straightened their posture, and saluted.

Li Yunlong returned the salute and asked cordially, "What is your name, Brother? Which unit are you with? How did you end up cornered here by the little Japanese devils?"

With a hint of pride, Huang Tianning stated his unit's designation. "Reporting to the officer, I am Huang Tianning, a captain and platoon leader of the 17th Division, 38th Army of the National Revolutionary Army. These men are all my subordinates."

"The 38th Army?!" Li Yunlong was pleasantly surprised. He hadn't expected these men to belong to the 38th Army.

"Ha! Your 38th Army are all fine soldiers! You put up a good fight at Niangniang Pass and Zhongtiao Mountain!"

One good turn deserves another, and Li Yunlong started off with a round of sincere praise.

Mentioning the Battle of Niangniang Pass made the eyes of Huang Tianning and his four men turn slightly red, as so many of their comrades-in-arms had perished there. "Thank you for the praise, Officer!"

Deep down, they couldn't help developing a shred of favorable feeling toward Li Yunlong.

Li Yunlong waved his hand. "That's only what you deserved. Tell me, what happened?"

Huang Tianning's tone turned somewhat heavy. "We were captured during the retreat from Niangniang Pass and later imprisoned in a POW camp in Jinzhong. Recently, for reasons unknown, the little Japanese suddenly transferred us from the Jinzhong POW camp to the vicinity of Jiexiu. During the transfer, we seized the opportunity to kill a Japanese officer, grabbed his sidearm, and staged an uprising, breaking out right then and there! We seized some weapons from the little Japanese, and while being pursued by them, we fought and fled for two days until we were finally cornered here with nowhere left to run!"

Listening to Huang Tianning's intelligence, an idea suddenly sparked in Li Yunlong's mind.

However, he would secure these men in front of him first. Without beating around the bush, Li Yunlong declared, "You're all fine men! Where do you plan to go next? How about coming to work for me?!"

Hearing this Eighth Route Army officer attempt to recruit them, Huang Tianning wanted to refuse, but after all, these people had saved their lives, and a blunt refusal wouldn't be appropriate.

Naturally, their first choice was to return to their original unit, so Huang Tianning had to bite the bullet and ask a question to express his stance indirectly, "May I ask where the 38th Army is currently stationed, Officer?"