Chapter 42: Twenty Military Backbone Members

Officer Li, now our team is officially established. According to the rules, we must report to headquarters tonight! Tailor Zhao asked tentatively.
Alright! Handle it however you see fit!
After discussing a few other details, Li Haibo left first.
Little Wang and Tailor Zhao stared at each other. Little Wang said in a muffled voice, You are way worse than him!
Old Zhao rolled his eyes: You are way worse than him!
Old Zhao, do you use a blade? How about we spar again? At this moment, Little Wang's eyes flashed with a sharp light, completely losing his previous foolish demeanor.
Get lost! Old Zhao looked at the rolling pin Little Wang handed over, turned around and walked away. Damn it, not a single normal person here!
...
Li Haibo arrived at the small park. He quickly found a few fellows hiding in a corner loafing around. Brothers, come and taste these freshly pan-fried buns!
Hou Yong was the most gluttonous. The moment he heard the words pan-fried buns, his eyes lit up instantly. Like an arrow loosed from a string, he rushed forward swiftly and agilely snatched the bag of buns into his hands.
Seeing this, the others were not to be outdone. They swarmed around him, and for a moment, the group became a chaotic mess of shoving and snatching.
Stop fighting over them! Look at yourselves now, you look nothing like police officers! Li Haibo frowned and scolded.
Brother Bo! Where did these pan-fried buns come from? The taste is simply amazing! Yang Chun chewed on a bun while asking indistinctly.
Delicious, right? This shop is opened by a good brother of mine, right near my house. It is called Pan-Fried Bun Center, and it just opened today.
Didn't I tell you earlier that I was going out for a bit? That was to go show my support! Li Haibo lit a cigarette and explained with a smile.
Brother Bo, if you were going to support a brother, you should have told us earlier! Your brother is our brother. When a brother opens a new shop, we could have gone to join in the excitement and help boost the popularity! Xiong Kui said with a look of regret.
Better not! If so many of us go there in police uniforms, we might scare away all the customers in the shop! Li Haibo waved his hand.
As the men were chatting idly, Xiong Kui, who had the sharpest eyes, suddenly said, Brother Bo! Isn't that old Ma's son? Judging by his appearance, he must be here looking for you!
Upon hearing this, Li Haibo turned his head to look. Sure enough, Ma Quanyi was peeking from across the street, his gaze occasionally scanning in their direction.
Li Haibo immediately extinguished his cigarette butt, tossed it aside, and strode toward where Ma Quanyi was. Little Ma, looking for me?
Brother Bo! My old brothers want to see you!
Li Haibo was slightly startled, and immediately realized that the old brothers Ma Quanyi referred to were those Nationalist army prisoners redeemed with two thousand silver dollars.
What do they want to see me for? Since they got out safely, they should go home and live a good life!
Brother Bo! Ma Quanyi stepped forward, speaking with earnest sincerity, Our old unit was wiped out on the battlefield.
After the brothers were captured, we suffered all kinds of torture from the little Japanese along the way, so this blood feud is deep-seated.
Now the brothers have discussed that once they recover from their injuries, they will head west to find the Nationalists and continue fighting the Japanese on the front lines.
The brothers are all holding a determination to die on this trip, so before leaving, they especially want to see you, their savior!
Hearing this, Li Haibo let out a soft sigh and sighed with emotion: Ah! They are all men with iron bones!
But it's inconvenient for me right now. How about this, wait until I get off work.
By the way, you didn't tell them my name, did you?
No, Brother Bo. Ma Quanyi hurriedly shook his head. I knew Brother Bo you wouldn't want people to recognize you.
After discussing the meeting place in low voices, the two turned and left separately.
After work, dusk was approaching.
Li Haibo hurried home, changed into civilian clothes, put on a fedora, covered his nose and mouth tightly with a mask, and wrapped a scarf around his neck, bundling himself up completely.
After going out, he rendezvoused with Little Ma and followed him through a maze of intricate alleys. After twisting and turning through numerous corners, they finally arrived at a ruin.
Amidst these broken walls and ruined pillars, Li Haibo saw the twenty men.
He saw that every single one of these men bore injuries and looked extremely haggard. It was not hard to imagine that they must have suffered a great deal of hardship in the military police headquarters' cells.
Li Haibo's gaze slowly swept across the crowd, feeling a mixture of emotions in his heart.
These men, who had once fought for their country on the battlefield, were now in such a sorry state, and he could not help but let out a soft sigh.
Hiding in the shadows without stepping forward, Li Haibo simply said to Little Ma, I won't go out. Just have a representative come over to talk, and no one else should come near!
Ma Quanyi nodded, brought over a limping, burly man, and introduced him: Brother Bo! This is our brothers' eldest brother, Ding Dashan!
Hearing this, Ding Dashan gritted his teeth against his injuries, struggled hard to take a difficult step forward, and gave a military salute to Li Haibo, whose entire face except for his eyes was covered, saying, Hello, Brother Bo! Today I brought the brothers here specifically to sincerely thank you for saving our lives.
Such great kindness and virtue cannot possibly be fully expressed in words.
Li Haibo shook his head slightly and said with a calm expression: You don't need to thank me; you never owed me anything in the first place!
If we really must talk about being indebted, it is Ma Quanyi who owes me, and it has nothing to do with you brothers.
Now that you have all gotten out safely, you should hurry home, show proper filial piety to your parents, and live a stable life.
Hearing Li Haibo's words, Ding Dashan's eyes revealed a resolute determination: Brother Bo, we understand your good intentions, but we simply cannot swallow this humiliation!
We brothers are no cowards or weaklings.
Being captured by the Japanese this time was purely due to the incompetence of those officials. We feel deeply aggrieved!
Our old unit was destroyed, and the brothers suffered through untold hardships. How can we not avenge this blood feud?
The men in the distance also chimed in in low voices, Yes, we want revenge!
We will die with our eyes open only when the Japanese are driven out of China!
Ma Quanyi stepped forward and said, These old brothers of mine are not mediocre men.
Sun Laopao is an artilleryman like me, Daliezi and Guogai are sappers, Madai and Daniu are machine gunners. Every single one of them is an expert who has fought bloody battles against the Japanese on the battlefield!
All of them possess genuine skills. It would be a waste not to let them fight the Japanese!
Li Haibo hesitated. He knew very well that the men before him were all veteran soldiers tempered through showers of bullets, and their combat experience and courage were incomparably precious assets.
If they could be sent to the guerrilla forces, they might prove to be a considerable source of support in the future.
Li Haibo's gaze slowly swept over the group, and he asked in a gentle tone: How are the brothers' injuries?
Ding Dashan lowered his head slightly, patted his limping leg, and sighed helplessly: This leg of mine is practically crippled.
Those goddamn Japanese knew I was the leader of the brothers, so they used me to make an example to others. After beating my leg and injuring it, they refused to give me any medical treatment, dragging it out like this for so long that it can no longer recover.
However, Brother Bo, you can rest assured. My marksmanship is still quite accurate; even with a crippled leg, I can still go onto the battlefield to kill the enemy.
The injuries on the other brothers are just minor ones and will heal after a few days of recuperation.
Li Haibo nodded slightly. Are you truly dead set on fighting the Japanese?
Ding Dashan: To the death!
Li Haibo nodded and said: I completely understand your feelings. You are all fine men with backbone.
But have you ever thought about it? The current situation of the Nationalist army is complicated, and its internal ranks are corrupt and decadent.
Besides, with your injured bodies right now, once you get to the Nationalist side, how many chances will you have to go to the battlefield and kill the enemy?
Before you even get to fight the Japanese, you might overnight be handed over to the Japanese by some commanding officer again.
Hearing this, Ding Dashan showed hesitation on his face, gritted his teeth, and said: But besides returning to the unit, where else can we go?
Could we just watch helplessly as the Japanese commit atrocities on our land?