Chapter 100

Dong Ku successfully returned to the first camp at Old Bald Mountain, met up with Hu Zi who was unharmed, and hurried to the place where the truck was parked. They began to quickly unload the supplies from the truck and transfer them in batches to several secret camps.

Hu Zi and his team found a semi-underground ammunition depot amidst the ruins and a supply depot that had not caught fire but had collapsed. The depot was filled to the brim, and if it weren't for the two Flying Tigers members not knowing how to drive, they would have disobeyed orders and stayed for half an hour longer to load six trucks.

After dousing the grain and bedding that couldn't be taken with oil and setting them on fire, Hu Zi and his team smoothly drove the trucks into the forest and erased the traces of their entry.

When Dong Ku and his team finished unloading the supplies and abandoned the truck in the forest about ten kilometers away, the reinforcements from Qitaihe, who had run on foot to provide support, appeared on the mountain road.

After resting for over an hour, although their strength had somewhat recovered, Dong Ku did not order them to fire. He let over a thousand exhausted Japanese soldiers pass by from the mountain road below until they disappeared from sight.

When the reinforcements from Qitaihe were still about 20 kilometers away from Baoqing, reinforcements from other directions also arrived. The reinforcements from Dayezhen encountered a dozen fleeing Japanese soldiers and the unconscious Shimayu Yumi on their way. As a result, these dozen Japanese soldiers were not punished and were even awarded commendations.

However, the reinforcements from Dayezhen only had a little over 500 men in two companies. Therefore, apart from holding a memorial service for Lieutenant Colonel Hebian Hushi and collecting the bodies along the way, they did not dare to advance any further when they were half an hour away from Baoqing. They only proceeded with a truckload of remains to Baoqing after reinforcements from other directions arrived.

The destruction of Hebian Hushi's unit enraged the slippery Nanzirou, who no longer played games and ordered Baoqing to be made a key strategic target. The 7th Transport Regiment was stationed in Baoqing, and the Ironclad Transport Brigade was mainly responsible for the route from Mishan to Baoqing, with the route from Shuangyashan to Baoqing as a secondary focus, to strictly prevent Soviet teams.

Dong Ku knew that retaliation would come soon. After the reinforcements passed, he led all the members straight to Honey Mountain to meet up with Sun Tao, six students, and Shui Linglong.

After more than a month of training, the six students had become quite proficient. Shui Linglong, who had trained hard after a setback in a competition, was now as skilled with a gun as the Flying Tigers members, though she was still a bit behind the Tiger Tooth members. However, her Swallow Hammer and Sky Piercing Kick were still unmatched by anyone except Dong Ku.

When Shui Linglong saw Dong Ku return, she pestered him to let her follow him instead of training. Dong Ku knew she could take care of herself and agreed, making Shui Linglong very excited.

After a brief chat, Dong Ku called everyone together and said, "We will leave Honey Mountain tonight. All Flying Tigers members will now head back to Black Mountain, contact all the hunters and young men willing to fight the Japanese. As long as they are familiar with the area and not too young or too old, bring them. We need to form a larger force."

Upon hearing that they would be recruiting, the hunters were excited. They had personally experienced fighting the Japanese and knew that the Japanese were powerless against them. In their hearts, they no longer feared the Japanese. If they had a large force, wouldn't it be easy to drive the Japanese away and eliminate them?

Thus, they quickly changed into their original clothes, each carrying a Mauser pistol and a dagger, forming pairs and agreeing on a meeting place before leaving Honey Mountain with all the Tiger Tooth members.

After everyone left, Dong Ku ordered, "Sun Tao, Qu Jun Gang, Li Rong Bin, Yu Ke, and Liu Hai Song, step forward!"

"Here!"

The five men stepped forward and loudly acknowledged the order.

"Pack your gear and set out for Tiger Mountain. Prepare the campsite at Camp 1. Sun Tao is in charge."

"Yes!"

The five men acknowledged and left to pack their gear.

Looking at Zhao Liqiang and Yu Lei, Dong Ku ordered, "Zhao Liqiang, Yu Lei, step forward!"

"Here!"

"Your task is to guard Camp 1 at Honey Mountain. Do not fire unless there is an emergency. One of you will stay to monitor, and the other will wait at Site 3."

"Yes!"

The two men straightened up and loudly acknowledged the order.

After making these arrangements, Dong Ku said, "Let's go. Follow me to recruit new members. I wonder how many we can get." He then put on his backpack, took his M4A1 and a Type 38 rifle, and waited for Shui Linglong to pack her belongings.

A short while later, Shui Linglong appeared in camouflage, carrying a backpack like the other members, a Mauser pistol, and a Type 38 rifle without a scope.

Dong Ku glanced at Shui Linglong, who looked even more beautiful in her new outfit. He secretly thought that military uniforms indeed looked good on women, and if she wore combat gear without the camouflage, it would look even better.

Seeing Dong Ku looking at her, Shui Linglong thought she might have dressed incorrectly. She looked down but found nothing wrong, so she raised her head and defiantly lifted her chin.

Dong Ku was taken aback and awkwardly smiled, saying, "We're not going on a mission, so you can't wear camouflage. Change into your regular clothes. The new recruits shouldn't know too much."

"Oh..."

Shui Linglong finally understood and hurriedly changed her clothes before following Dong Ku to Black Mountain.

By midnight, the Flying Tigers members had gathered at Black Mouth, where they met Dong Ku and Shui Linglong. To his surprise, the number of people they brought back far exceeded his expectations. Each group brought back at least five or six people, and some brought back as many as thirty.

Upon inquiry, it turned out that the Japanese and puppet troops were rounding up able-bodied men to build roads. These young men knew that those who were taken away never returned, and if they were caught, their fate would be dire. So, they hid. When the Flying Tigers members told them about fighting the Japanese and described how easy it was and the abundance of white flour and rice, these young men, ranging from fifteen to thirty years old, joined without hesitation.

After the last group brought back nearly forty people, Dong Ku arranged for everyone to have a full meal. He then led these nearly 300 people to Honey Mountain, where they met up with Zhao Liqiang and the others at Camp 1. They distributed the hidden food, weapons, and supplies to each person. Carrying sniper rifles, they set out in the early morning, escorting the new recruits through the forest to Tiger Mountain.

When Dong Ku and his team, fully armed, escorted the newly arrived recruits to Tiger Mountain, the two sections of the road that had collapsed were already crowded with Japanese soldiers and civilians repairing the road. The progress was such that the road would be fully operational in two days.

On the road, a long line of trucks and modified trucks, or tracked armored vehicles, stretched for over ten kilometers. Baoqing was under heavy military presence, and the Japanese, who had not captured many civilians, put down their weapons and began dismantling the civilian houses in Baoqing to transport the bricks and stones to the military camp to build new barracks. They were waiting for a large number of laborers to arrive to construct defensive works.

Nanzirou was now determined. The old man, after the Jiamusi gas incident and the destruction of the two regiments, realized that if this unknown Soviet team was not eliminated and the secret entry route was not blocked, their plans would be impossible to implement. Therefore, he designated this Soviet team as the top enemy of the Kwantung Army.

With the mobilization of troops, in addition to the two divisions and one armored transport brigade originally planned, two more divisions were added. During the road repairs, troops from Fengtian and Xinjing were continuously transported by train to Jixi, then by road to Mishan, Hulin, Qitaihe, Shuangyashan, Baoqing, and Dayezhen.

Laborers were also being captured in large numbers along the road to build watchtowers and military facilities. Although not every three steps had a guard and every five steps a sentry, there was a watchtower every three kilometers, equipped with two motorcycles, a radio, and a telephone.

While the Japanese were urgently building defensive measures along the road to trap the Soviet team in the mountains, Dong Ku and his team quietly arrived at Tiger Mountain and met up with Sun Tao and the others who had arrived earlier.

The camp was designed for 100 people, but now there were over 300, making accommodation a problem. Fortunately, most of them were hunters or mountain dwellers with experience in outdoor camping. Within two days, three semi-underground shelters were built in the camp, and the smoke exhaust system was buried in the ground using dead wood, with numerous outlets. The smoke from the fires, which burned for two days, solidified the smoke channels, and the smoke dispersed to dead trees or rock crevices hundreds or thousands of meters away, making it difficult for the Japanese to find any traces of the camp.

A suitable training ground was found in a valley about four to five kilometers from the camp, and the camp was now complete.

The new recruits were organized into squads, platoons, and companies, with a battalion commander. Although there were only 343 people in three companies, to facilitate command, a battalion commander was appointed, and Sun Tao naturally became the deputy battalion commander.

After careful consideration, Dong Ku left Dog Egg, Liu Hai, and the best-performing and most stable Flying Tigers member, Liu Kai, as the company commanders to assist Sun Tao. Liu Hai Song, Yu Ke, and Li Rong Bin were left as platoon leaders, and Qu Jun Gang followed Sun Tao. The squad leaders were temporarily appointed and would be adjusted after training.

After staying at Tiger Mountain for five days, the new recruits were all issued civilian certificates, and they were taught the basics of formation, obedience to orders, and the importance of training. Dong Ku also told Sun Tao that they could conduct live-fire training in the forest but not throw live grenades and to closely monitor the Japanese radio.

Dong Ku also instructed Sun Tao to be cautious of the bandit leader Zuo Shandiao. They should not let the bandits get close to the camp and should eliminate them immediately to prevent them from revealing the presence of the team in the forest.

After everything was settled, Dong Ku left Tiger Mountain with 32 Flying Tigers members.

Although he already knew that a large force had gathered in the Baoqing area, he had no choice but to use blood and fire to forge these future seeds into a force capable of confronting the Japanese.

PS: A bow of gratitude to Xianyun Yeguo 360 for the generous support. Thank you, thank you.

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