Chapter 33: A Walking Bank

Hu Hao had a gut feeling that the basement beneath the large building ahead was the enemy’s command post. He wanted to lead his squad in—if they managed to capture it, they would be rich.

Hu Hao took the point, with the rest of the squad trailing closely behind. They encountered Allied patrols along the way, but they managed to bypass them using the shadows and the cover of the ruins.

“Hao-ge, there aren’t many troops around here,” whispered a Platoon Leader named Zhao Haibin—the same soldier who had asked Hu Hao for a cigarette earlier. He had crept up beside Hu Hao. “Are we sure about this? If it’s a command post, it should be crawling with guards. But I hardly see any security.”

“Dammit, I think it’s weird too,” Hu Hao replied, keeping his eyes fixed on the building. “A command post shouldn’t be this lightly defended. But we clearly saw a Lieutenant Colonel and a Major go inside. What else would they be doing? If there wasn’t a VIP inside, why would they be here? Field-grade officers aren’t worth much—a Colonel is only 20,000 credits, a Lieutenant Colonel is 10,000, and a Major is just 5,000!”

They were now very close to the building; the straight-line distance was less than two hundred meters.

“Whatever it is, we’re already here. We have to push in and see what’s inside,” Hu Hao decided, staying low as he continued to creep forward.

Inside the bunker, a staff officer rushed up to the Commander of the Allied 71st Division.

“Report, General! Our troops have been pushed out again! The enemy assault is relentless. They have an overwhelming amount of rocket launchers and… those grenades. We don’t know who is throwing them, but our lines simply can’t hold. We’ve had to retreat. The enemy is now less than a kilometer from this command post, and they’re still advancing!”

“Dammit, this is absurd! Since when does the Eastern Spirit Empire have Generals who actually know how to fight?” Tie Xingtuo, the Commander of the 71st, cursed.

“Our casualties are catastrophic,” the 71st’s Chief of Staff added. “We haven’t finalized the numbers, but several regiments have been virtually wiped out. The enemy is pushing us hard. If we’re going to retreat, we need to move now, while we still have men to cover the rear!”

“What do you think?” Tie Xingtuo asked, turning to Mugeliqi, the Commander of the 73rd Division.

“I think we need to call for reinforcements,” Mugeliqi replied. “If we abandon this sector, our other axes of advance will be exposed. Tomorrow, our troops will have to charge back into this meat grinder, and the casualties will be even worse.

The enemy is using remnant units. I doubt they have many men left. Plus, they’ve been fighting all night—they have to be exhausted. It’s better if we ask High Command to send fresh troops here immediately.”

His own division had suffered heavily, but abandoning the sector entirely sat poorly with him.

“You’re right,” Tie Xingtuo sighed after a moment of thought. “If we give this up, we’ll just have to fight for it again tomorrow, and the butcher’s bill will be higher. Fine. Let’s get Command on the radio. Though I doubt they’ll be pleased with our performance.”

“Agreed,” Mugeliqi nodded.

Rat-tat-tat!

“What’s going on?” Suddenly, the heavy thud of a machine gun and the sharp cracks of rifle fire echoed down from the bunker entrance.

“Report! Run! The enemy is here!” a guard screamed as he stumbled into the command room.

“What? They’re here? How many?” Mugeliqi roared.

“We don’t know!” the guard yelled back.

“It can’t be many. Listen to the gunfire—it’s sparse,” Tie Xingtuo said with remarkable calm. “We still have a guard company up there; they can hold them off. Staff officers, grab your weapons. We’re evacuating. Prepare to relocate.”

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! Just then, a continuous string of grenade explosions rocked the tunnel entrance.

“CHARGE!”

It was Hu Hao and his squad. They had crept to within a hundred meters of the building before the lack of cover forced their hand. Stealth was no longer an option; they had to assault.

Hu Hao struck first, his initial volley of fire taking out several sentries. Then, he began hurling grenades toward the muzzle flashes of the enemy guards. After a deafening barrage of explosions, the Allied return fire dropped significantly.

“Go!” the soldiers shouted, rushing toward the bunker entrance where the Allied guards had been stationed.

Bang! Bang! Bang! After throwing his grenades, Hu Hao charged with his rifle raised, gunning down any enemy soldiers trying to emerge from the tunnel.

“There are big fish inside! Definitely big fish! The guys who just came out were junior officers and staff!” Hu Hao yelled over the din.

Hearing this, the soldiers surged into the bunker with renewed vigor.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

“Follow me!” Hu Hao quickly took the point. A sprint of a few dozen meters took only seconds. His grenades had already wiped out the initial defense, forcing the remaining guards to bottleneck at the entrance.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! Hu Hao reached the threshold and lobbed several more grenades deep into the tunnel. The blasts were followed by screams of agony.

“Push in!” Hu Hao charged into the bunker, rifle up.

Bang! Bang! Bang! As he entered the main chamber, he spotted several field-grade officers drawing their sidearms. Hu Hao fired a rapid burst, dropping them all.

Further back, he saw a group of over a dozen officers shielding several Generals, attempting to flee toward one of the bunker’s secondary exits.

“Dammit! So many officers! And Generals! Brothers, KILL THEM!” Hu Hao roared. He opened fire, dropping several of the escorting officers.

His suppressive fire halted their retreat. Unable to reach the exit, the VIPs scrambled for cover behind the bunker’s thick concrete pillars. Hu Hao ducked behind a pillar of his own, slapped in a fresh magazine, and continued firing, picking off any officer who tried to return fire.

By now, the rest of Hu Hao’s squad had poured into the bunker. Using the pillars for cover, they laid down a crossfire. Within minutes, the remaining Allied VIPs were completely surrounded.

“Surrender and live! Dammit, how do you say that in their language? Someone yell it!” Hu Hao shouted. He didn’t speak the Malaguo’s tongue and had no idea how to demand their surrender.

“I don’t know! None of us learned it!” Li Jingsong yelled back, taking cover behind another pillar with his rifle.

“Dammit! How are you a Division Commander and you didn’t bring a translator?” Hu Hao cursed in frustration.

“Hao-ge, there aren’t many left! Five or six at most!” a soldier called out after firing a burst.

“Dammit! Give me a grenade!” Hu Hao yelled.

“Are you crazy? You’re going to blow them up! Dead ones are only worth half!” Li Jingsong screamed in panic.

“Just watch!” Hu Hao grabbed a grenade, but instead of pulling the pin, he hurled the heavy metal casing directly at the group.

“GET DOWN!” Mugeliqi yelled as he saw the grenade bounce across the floor. The remaining Allied officers immediately threw themselves face-down. Hu Hao was less than twenty meters away.

“Hold your fire!” Hu Hao roared. He broke cover and sprinted across the gap.

Before the Allied officers realized the grenade was a dud, Hu Hao was on them. He kicked a pistol out of one officer’s hand. Another tried to raise his weapon, but Hu Hao delivered a savage kick, sending the gun flying. A Colonel attempted to stand, but Hu Hao planted a boot in his chest, sending him crashing backward.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Standing over them, Hu Hao fired point-blank into the hands of the remaining armed officers.

“AGGHHH!”

“Get over here!” Hu Hao yelled to his squad.

The soldiers, who had been frozen in shock at Hu Hao’s reckless charge, snapped out of it and swarmed the position. Because the bunker had emergency lighting, they had seen exactly what he did.

The Allied officers clutched their mangled hands, screaming in pain.

“Grab them! They’re money! They’re walking banks! Strip them of everything, especially weapons! Check them clean!” Hu Hao barked.

The soldiers piled onto the officers, pinning their arms behind their backs and hauling them up while others patted them down.

“Hao-ge! Two Major Generals, three Brigadier Generals! And one dead!” a soldier shouted in pure ecstasy.

“WE’RE RICH!” The squad erupted into cheers, literally jumping for joy. Ignoring the field-grade officers, just the Generals alone were worth 7.5 million credits. Split among the roughly forty men, that was nearly 200,000 credits each! It was more money than their families would receive in death benefits—a standard KIA payout was only 100,000 credits.

“Don’t let them bleed out! Li Jingsong, you and ten men stay here and guard them. Zhao Haibin, take twenty men and secure the other exit! Don’t let any enemy reinforcements through! The rest of you, with me! Dammit, we hit the jackpot!” Hu Hao laughed.

“YES, SIR!” The men roared, their adrenaline spiking. Even Li Jingsong was trembling with excitement.

Two Major Generals! These were the highest-ranking prisoners captured since the war began. For Li Jingsong, and by extension the Li family, this merit was astronomical.

Even if the monetary reward didn’t fully apply to him, the fact that a 27th Army unit had achieved this—with him actively participating—would give their Corps massive leverage when it came time to rebuild. His name would be cemented at High Command.

“Brothers, make sure they don’t die!” Hu Hao grabbed his rifle and sprinted off.

“Do NOT let them die! Dead ones are cheap! Brothers, I’m giving up my share of the bounty! You guys split it! My god… Major Generals! Major Generals!” Li Jingsong babbled, unable to hide his absolute thrill.

Hu Hao didn’t have time to celebrate. He had to secure the bunker entrance. They couldn’t let an Allied counter-attack trap them down here. If the area didn’t remain secure, they would have to run—this bunker wasn’t safe.

It wasn’t just unsafe for Hu Hao’s squad; it was incredibly dangerous for the captive Generals. The Allied forces would not want their top commanders paraded as prisoners of war. If Allied soldiers breached the bunker and saw the situation, there was a very real chance they would shoot their own Generals to prevent the capture.