ChengXiao actually felt he could trust Heng’s assurance. For some reason, a valiant aura emerged from Heng after he rid himself of the cowardice mentality. Even though he would eventually become a henpecked guy, he was still trustworthy as a comrade. This kind of people would never abandon a comrade and run away.
(It’s still strange to think that he defeated an army with a bow and arrows. Do you consider this as cold weapons winning over firearms?) ChengXiao thought whiling looking out the window in a car.
He landed in the middle of a busy city that had a large harbor from the Sky Stick. Dongbei had fallen. The Japanese army was rebuilding the city and siphoning every bit of its resources. After all, Japan had neither the resource nor manpower of its own to support such a gigantic army they amassed. Therefore, Dongbei became an important part of their sustain in the remaining war; it had countless factories and workshops already in place. The city was extremely busy.
(Yet… the people they are siphoning from are all Chinese.) ChengXiao appeared calm but he was boiling within. He was well aware he was a stereotypical nationalistic youth since long ago. He followed his feelings a lot of times unlike Xuan, who followed logical reasonings. ChengXiao was nothing more than a regular person, the same as most members in team China.
Due to the arrogance displayed from ChengXiao’s landing and the time he stayed in place, a squad of patrolling soldiers surrounded him within several minutes. The soldiers rode on motorcycles with attached seats so they were a somewhat mechanized squad. They drove the crowd away as soon as they arrived then pointed the machine guns mounted on the motorcycles at ChengXiao. The scene looked as though the soldiers were battling a powerful enemy. They did not show the ease from outnumbering the enemy.
In fact, the Japanese army shrunk their defense after Heng defeated a division and dozens of aircrafts by himself. They even abandoned some less important strategic spots on the front line. Too many changes happened in the past few days. It was like a nightmare to the Japanese army. The changes all began when the army lost contact with their troops occupying Shanghai. Rumors said an unknown force attacked the city. Subsequently, a fleet sent to Shanghai was eliminated and a whole division along with dozens of aircrafts were defeated by a single person. Logic, science, and modernized warfare were challenged in the past few days.
Japan had sent its spies into China long before their invasion. This was the reason the Japanese army could send a fleet to blockade Shanghai’s harbor within such a short period of time. After losing the division, the army utilized its numerous spies and gathered most of the important information, which included the Cultivator identities of team China, the Buddha statue they were looking for, the inconceivable powers they possessed, and the flying swords. The last piece of information was the cause of the cautiousness displayed by the squad.
Even though ChengXiao did not have the documentations of an envoy, the Sky Stick that he rode on when he landed was reason enough for the Japanese army to act polite to him. Within a quarter of an hour, several colonel ranked officers kindly invited ChengXiao into a black sedan. Hundreds of soldiers on motorcycles escorted the sedan to a military occupied building outside the city.
These Japanese officers spoke fluent Chinese and one even spoke in native Chinese accent. ChengXiao almost thought they were traitors. However, their postures and movements all pointed them to being Japanese.
The conversation that took place during the ride were nothing but compliments. It did not pique ChengXiao’s interest to talk. Being called a god felt like being cursed to die.
The Japanese officers had their difficulties also. They received an order to abstain from offending the Chinese god at all cost and to sooth any anger he might have. They would have a bright future if they could draw the god to Japan’s side. Similarly, the court martial or even death would await them if the Japanese army suffered as a result of them offending the god.
“May I ask for the reason that brought you here?” Seeing ChengXiao hadn’t spoken a word, an officer carefully asked.
ChengXiao looked to the officers and said, “Our goal is the Buddha statue. I also come for the Buddha statue. You are probably prepared since you came to meet me so soon after my arrival. It isn’t difficult for you to find out who we are, what kind of power we possess and what our goal is with the number of spies you have in China… So the Buddha statue and all the pieces that you have are what I am here for!”
The officers met eyes with each other then one spoke, “Yes. We indeed obtained a statue piece from the warlord Yan Xishan in Shanxi. However, we do not have the details as it is top classified information in the army. Why don’t you meet our superiors face to face. I believe they will give you a satisfying answer.”
ChengXiao nodded. You wouldn’t slap someone when they give you a smile. These officers were extremely respectful toward him. There was not the arrogance that he saw from movies and dramas. He realized he was childish for wanting to find a reason to teach these people a lesson. The relationship between two countries was more than black and white. What appeared on the surface was usually the result of multiple causes. China had been going downhill since the Manchu conquest. Even without Japan, another country would have invaded. China had suffered indescribable humiliation before this invasion. Japan merely the most painful memory to the China of this era, adding pain to a country already in hell.
ChengXiao sighed. He kind of understood what Xuan was saying. If the China of this era would rise up after he killed some Japanese out of anger, he would without a doubt do it. Yet, it was impossible. China was invaded because of itself. It had been losing wars after wars since the Opium War. You could blame the first loss to other people but every subsequent loss was due to its own weakness. ChengXiao knew it. He just couldn’t let the fact sink in. Understanding and doing were separate things.
(Forget it. I am not going to vent on some Japanese officers. If I am going to do it, I will do it to someone in a bigger role… Find a chance to make them start. I have Heng waiting outside. Plus, I want to test my limit. Xuan only ordered me not to start a fight but he won’t be able to say anything if I wait for them to start.) ChengXiao chuckled.
He looked at the officers and said, “I am not going to say much else. I will get the Buddha statue no matter what you are thinking. You must either hand it to me or tell me its location within today. Or else, I don’t mind seizing it with force. I believe your emperor is living inside the palace in Tokyo. Is he a valuable enough chip to trade for the Buddha statue? Oh, I forgot to tell you one of my peer is heading for the U.S. navy fleet on the Pacific Ocean because they took a piece of the statue. Looking at the time, they should have met by now. Do you want to know the outcome? Haha…”
WangXia had indeed caught up to the U.S. fleet on the Pacific Ocean. It was in no way comparable to the most powerful fleet in the world several decades later. Before the event of the Pearl Harbor, the U.S. sent the majority of its fleets from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean, which gave Japan a false understanding and led to the tragedy.
Regardless, a complete fleet was on a different level from the several small ships team China encountered at Shanghai’s harbor. There were torpedo ships, frigates, destroyers, battleships, carriers and all the ship types that composed a fleet. To the people of this world, destroying this fleet was nothing more than dream talk. Even WangXia’s heart clenched as he felt he was a maniac looking to die.
It was the darkest time of a day before dawn on the Pacific Ocean. WangXia finally caught up to the U.S. navy fleet by himself.
