Hu Youming was incredibly shocked to see Lin Feng emerging from the mountains all by himself!
In all his years as a soldier, he had seen his fair share of marksmen, but he had never encountered anything like this. The idea that a single person would dare to charge headlong into a reinforced squad of Japanese troops was simply unthinkable.
Lin Feng walked with a brisk pace, and before long, he reached Hu Youming’s unit. Lin Feng wore a military uniform, but with wool trousers underneath; he looked disheveled and rather odd. However, the gleaming rank insignia of a Major on his collar and chest left no doubt in anyone's mind.
"Reporting, sir! Lieutenant Hu Youming, commander of a company in the 804th Regiment, 134th Division! Greetings!"
As Lin Feng approached, Hu Youming immediately stood up and delivered a crisp, standard military salute. If it had been any other unit, it might have been different, but the 88th Division badge on Lin Feng’s chest marked him as part of the Nationalist Army’s primary elite force. The 264th Brigade, in particular, had been among the first to face the Japanese head-on; rumor had it that even their Brigade Commander had been killed in action.
Lin Feng returned a simple salute.
"Major, sir, what are you doing hiding out on this mountainside? Hey, I have to say, that marksmanship of yours—it was divine!"
Hu Youming gave a sheepish smile. He had seen the bodies of the Japanese soldiers lying ahead; every single one of them had been shot in the head or the chest, cold and dead.
"What is the current situation with the 20th Army? Why are a hundred of your men being chased by a dozen Japanese soldiers?"
Lin Feng’s expression was grave. The Songhu Battlefield was like a giant meat grinder. Even elite divisions were being chewed up in a matter of days. Some of the lesser-equipped units didn't even get a chance to engage the Japanese infantry; they were targeted by the Japanese Air Corps and naval artillery and wiped out in a single day.
Japan had even boasted that they would conquer the Gan Country within three months. They had launched simultaneous offensives at Songhu and Taiyuan in the north, committing their Tier-1 divisions—their elite of the elite. Their ambition to subjugate the Gan Country was clear for all to see.
"Sir, the Japanese naval artillery and aerial bombs were just too intense. Our regiment held out for only one day before being decimated. These men are just withdrawing to regroup," Hu Youming said, his voice sinking lower. As he spoke, the images of his fallen brothers seemed to play out before his eyes. The nearby soldiers, faces caked in dust and grime, lowered their heads. The joy of having just eliminated a dozen Japanese soldiers was instantly washed away.
"Sir, we ran out of ammunition. We were left with nothing but iron sticks, while the Japanese had big guns," a short soldier holding a Type 11 Light Machine Gun blurted out, trying to explain as he sensed the somber mood.
"Understood! But you had the guts to charge back with nothing but those iron sticks. Based on that courage alone, you are all good men!"
A sense of tragic heroism filled the air. Lin Feng felt, in a visceral way, the helplessness of an agricultural nation being invaded by an industrial power—the shortage of supplies, the enemy’s dominance in the air and at sea. He looked at the thin uniforms of the soldiers and the straw sandals on their feet as autumn approached. Yet, this ragtag force had marched thousands of miles to this meat grinder of a battlefield, without regard for their own lives.
"Lieutenant Hu Youming! As a Major of the 88th Division, I am officially incorporating your unit. The situation is dire; from this moment on, everyone is under my command!"
Lin Feng shouted firmly. Since he was here, and he had the Simulator to aid him, he was determined to change the tragedies and regrets he remembered.
Hu Youming and his men, still immersed in their grief, were momentarily stunned by Lin Feng’s outburst.
"Do you understand?" Lin Feng barked again when he saw they were unresponsive. His voice echoed across the muddy slope.
Hu Youming slammed his heels together, raised his hand to his temple, and gave a standard salute. "Understood!"
From the initial questioning to this sudden incorporation, Hu Youming felt his head spinning. Their 20th Army was notorious for its poor equipment and varying levels of discipline; they relied entirely on raw courage. He had been terrified when Lin Feng asked about their status, not knowing how to explain, yet the sudden absorption into the 88th Division—the pride of the Gan Country’s army, the elite German-equipped Division, the successor to the Teaching Regiment—was beyond his wildest dreams.
"Hu Youming, how many men do we have in total, and what is the state of the unit?" Lin Feng asked after the merger was settled. Based on Hu Youming’s account of the naval and aerial bombardment, he surmised that they were likely in the early to mid-stages of the Battle of Songhu. It meant that the 88th and 87th Divisions' plan to drive the Japanese out of Shanghai had failed. Japan had abandoned its policy of limiting the conflict and instead organized the Songhu Expeditionary Army and the 3rd Fleet, attempting a swift victory. The conflict had devolved from an offensive campaign into the "meat grinder" of defensive trench warfare.
"Major Lin, we have ninety-eight men in total, with dozens of wounded. Please, give your orders!" Hu Youming reported honestly. Despite being a ragtag unit, as a company commander, he knew the state of his men perfectly. There was even a hint of excitement in his tone. Beyond Lin Feng’s status as an 88th Division officer, the sheer skill and courage he had shown in single-handedly taking on a reinforced squad of Japanese soldiers made him a natural leader. In the army, there was a primal reverence for the strong. Hu Youming was more than willing to follow a real man like him.
"Alright! From now on, you are incorporated into the 1st Company of the Special Operations Battalion. You will remain the company commander! Your top priority is to transport the wounded to the field hospital."
Since he had incorporated them, he needed a name for the unit to keep them organized. Lin Feng silently thanked the original owner of the uniform he wore. On the current Songhu Battlefield, the main Japanese forces remained the 3rd Division and the 11th Division—both Tier-1 units. If he didn't build a combat-capable force quickly, he would be powerless to change anything.
Lin Feng felt confident. Being here with the Simulator, he held the advantage! As he continued to think about shooting down the Japanese soldiers, the Simulator in his mind stirred once more.
[Ding! Congratulations to the host for gaining Killing Value!]
[Current Killing Value: 13]
[Killing Value can be exchanged for simulation attempts: White Tier*10, Gray Tier*100, Blue Tier*1,000, Gold-tier*10,000, Color Tier*100 million.]
Lin Feng was stunned. The Simulator actually relied on killing to earn attempts! The Color Tier, with its endless trail of zeros, made his eyes swim. He was even more surprised that the Sharpshooter proficiency he had gained from his first simulation was just the result of a White Tier attempt. If he could become powerful enough to run a Color Tier simulation, wouldn't he be able to crush Japan entirely?