Chapter 51: The Deputy Commander's Lament: If Only We Could Find Li Yunlong! A Chance Encounter with Gao Han

The Eighth Route Army Front-line General Headquarters.

After a thorough discussion among the Deputy Commander and other leaders, the Deputy Commander finally spoke up: "Let's do this. First, send Ding Wei to take command of the Independent Regiment and resolve the current low morale among the troops."

"As for Kong Jie, send him to the logistics department to spend a few days brushing horses as punishment."

Hearing the Deputy Commander's decision, the others raised no objections.

According to the original plot of *Drawing Sword*, it should have been Li Yunlong who assumed command of the Independent Regiment. Meanwhile, Ding Wei, due to Li Yunlong's insubordination, should have taken over the New 1st Regiment that Li Yunlong had single-handedly built.

However, right now, Li Yunlong and the New 1st Regiment remained completely untraceable in the eyes of the Deputy Commander and the others.

Therefore, the Deputy Commander had no choice but to summon Ding Wei back from his studies in Yan'an to serve as the commander of the Independent Regiment.

In this parallel world, Li Yunlong had led the New 1st Regiment to develop independently outside, altering the original course of the plot and triggering a corresponding butterfly effect.

Once the Deputy Commander and the others had finalized Kong Jie's punishment and the candidate for the new commander of the Independent Regiment, the Brigade Commander took his leave.

"Deputy Commander, if there's nothing else, I should be heading back," the Brigade Commander said. "I need to return and issue the order for the Independent Regiment's new commander."

"Alright, go ahead," the Deputy Commander waved his hand without stopping him.

After the Brigade Commander left, the Deputy Commander and the Deputy Chief of Staff began talking about Li Yunlong again.

"Sigh... Even though that fellow Li Yunlong is a troublemaker, he is undeniably a master at fighting battles," the Deputy Commander sighed helplessly. "If Li Yunlong were leading the Independent Regiment, no matter how strong those Japanese devils were... that rascal would always find some unorthodox way to outmaneuver them."

"At the very least, the Independent Regiment's casualties wouldn't have been this severe, and they certainly wouldn't have failed to leave a single one of those Japanese special forces alive."

"It's just a pity that there is still not a single trace of Li Yunlong and the New 1st Regiment."

"You know, you're quite right," the Deputy Chief of Staff raised an eyebrow, expressing a sense of lingering emotion. "Back when Li Yunlong was around, that kid drove us crazy every single day. Now that there's no news of him, we actually miss him quite a bit."

"I just wonder where on earth that kid is right now, and how he's holding up."

"That brat..." the Deputy Commander cursed involuntarily. "I'd better not let me catch him. When I do get my hands on him, I'll skin him alive! Not only did he disobey orders on the battlefield, but he also went missing for no good reason. It infuriates me!"

Seeing this, the Deputy Chief of Staff shook his head.

How could the Deputy Chief of Staff fail to see that the Deputy Commander was all bark and bite? Though his words sounded harsh, his heart was filled with worry.

*Li Yunlong, oh Li Yunlong, just where on earth have you gone?* the Deputy Chief of Staff thought to himself.

Yet, neither the Deputy Commander nor the Deputy Chief of Staff knew that the very person who had inflicted such a heavy blow upon Yamamoto's Special Forces was none other than Li Yunlong.

***

Meanwhile.

Li Yunlong was leading the fighters of the New 1st Regiment's Snow Leopard Special Operations Team back toward Jin sui Town.

Though they were not marching at a forced pace, their traveling speed was quite brisk.

As Li Yunlong and his party approached a small path near a village, a figure was suddenly seen sprawled by the roadside ahead. Judging by the silhouette, it was clearly a woman, and there were bloodstains on her body, indicating she was undoubtedly injured.

"Commander, there's someone lying by the road up ahead," Wei Dayong rubbed his eyes and said to Li Yunlong.

"I'm not blind," Li Yunlong shot Wei Dayong a sidelong glance, then ordered, "Let's go, take a look and see what's going on."

"Judging by this woman's attire, she's certainly no ordinary civilian."

With that, Li Yunlong led Wei Dayong and the others closer.

As they drew near, Li Yunlong finally managed to clearly make out the woman's features.

"Huh?" Li Yunlong's eyes widened in astonishment as he stared at the familiar face before him. "Isn't this Gao Han from *Special Agent Team No. 5*? What a coincidence!"

At this moment, Gao Han had not lost consciousness; she was simply too severely injured and too weak to stand up.

Hearing the footsteps of Li Yunlong and his men, Gao Han assumed they were enemies and prepared to fight to the death.

However, when Gao Han saw Li Yunlong and the others, she realized to her surprise that they were Eighth Route Army soldiers.

After all, Li Yunlong and his men were all wearing the uniforms of the Eighth Route Army.

"Hello, I am Li Yunlong, commander of the Eighth Route Army's New 1st Regiment," Li Yunlong introduced himself directly. "I see you have a gunshot wound. Can you tell me what happened?"

Gao Han, as if grabbing at a lifeline, quickly replied, "Hello, Commander Li. We are also an anti-Japanese force."

"However, my unit is currently being pursued by the Japanese devils, and I managed to escape here by sheer luck."

"I implore Commander Li to extend a helping hand and save my comrades."

Naturally, Li Yunlong knew Gao Han was lying; Gao Han was clearly a member of the underground party, yet she merely claimed to be an anti-Japanese force.

This was only normal, however. After all, it was the first time Gao Han and Li Yunlong were meeting, and being on guard was entirely expected.

Without any hesitation, Li Yunlong immediately agreed, "Where are they? We'll go provide reinforcement right now!"

"Before that, though, I need to have someone bandage your wound and stop the bleeding, or you'll bleed to death."

With that, Li Yunlong turned to Zhou Weiguo and instructed, "Have a combat medic come over and dress her wounds."

"Yes!" Zhou Weiguo immediately acknowledged the order.

The Snow Leopard Special Operations Team was packed with talents in every field, and combat medics were naturally no exception.

Soon, under the care of a combat medic, the bleeding from Gao Han's wound was finally stemmed.

"Lead the way," Li Yunlong commanded immediately.

"Alright," Gao Han nodded hastily, then stepped forward to guide them in a certain direction.

***

Half an hour later.

Li Yunlong and his men finally arrived at a mountain trail.

At that moment, the sound of gunfire echoed continuously through the gorge.

Li Yunlong and his troops quickly looked toward the source of the gunfire.

Before long, Li Yunlong caught sight of the battlefield in the distance.

The other four members of Special Agent Team No. 5 were being hunted down by over a hundred Japanese soldiers, and their situation was extremely critical.

More than a hundred Japanese troops advanced with their rifles raised, firing incessantly.

*Bang, bang, bang, bang...*

Gunfire crackled across the battlefield.

Fortunately, the four members of Special Agent Team No. 5 were positioned deep within the mountain trail, surrounded by numerous boulders and a complex terrain.

Weaving constantly through the crevices of the rocks, the four agents managed to ensure that the Japanese gunfire continually missed its mark.

Even so, all four members of Special Agent Team No. 5 had sustained injuries of varying severity.

Under the relentless pursuit of the Japanese, the four of them were forced to keep retreating forward.

In just a few hundred meters, they would be driven out of the mountain trail, and the terrain beyond would open up into a vast plain.

In an open plain, four people fighting against more than a hundred Japanese soldiers would undoubtedly mean certain death.

Clearly, the four members of Special Agent Team No. 5 were well aware of this predicament, so they kept turning back to fire at the Japanese, attempting to slow down their pursuers and drain their combat strength.

Wielding their rifles, the four agents continuously fired at the distant Japanese soldiers.

To their credit, their marksmanship was indeed impressive.

Yet, relying solely on the four of them, it was utterly impossible to wipe out the more than a hundred devils at their backs under such circumstances.

Once the Japanese caught up with them, death would be inevitable...