Chapter 124: Feels Great!

Hu Hao drove Mu Qian’s car toward Bopa City.

Meanwhile, at the Central Combat Zone High Command, Commander Mu Zhifu was standing in his office, fuming with rage. As a high-ranking commander, he had actually been threatened by a mere Colonel. Worse, his youngest son had been shot twice by that man. To him, this was an unforgivable insult!

“Commander, we’ve retrieved Hu Hao’s file. He’s a Colonel and the Division Commander of the 87th Division!” A staff officer handed a printed document to Mu Zhifu.

“What? A Colonel as a Division Commander? What is Jiang Kai thinking, appointing a Colonel to lead a division?” Mu Zhifu looked at the staff officer in surprise.

“Yes, sir. He is indeed the Commander of the 87th Division,” the officer confirmed with a nod.

“The 87th Division… that’s a unit belonging to the Li family, isn’t it? I recall the commander was Li Tianyuan’s son. Did he die?” Mu Zhifu asked after a moment of thought.

“No, sir. According to the records, it seems Li Tianyuan’s son, Li Jingsong, is the Chief of Staff of the 87th Division. He voluntarily took a half-step demotion,” the officer explained quickly.

“Hiss—” Mu Zhifu stood there, lost in thought.

“Commander, you could call Jiang Kai and inform him of this. Let him deal with Hu Hao. We don’t have the authority to handle him directly,” a Major General standing nearby suggested. He was a senior staff officer at the headquarters.

“And make myself look like even more of a fool?” Mu Zhifu snapped at the Major General.

“Understood, sir,” the Major General replied and fell silent.

“Investigate this Hu Hao. Find out which family he belongs to. It’s strange; among our Full Generals, no one is named Hu. The two Lieutenant Generals named Hu are both in the Northwest Combat Zone. Their reach shouldn’t be this long. Just what is this Hu Hao’s background?” Mu Zhifu pressed.

“I will look into him immediately,” the Major General promised. Mu Zhifu nodded.

“Then, Commander, are we just going to leave it at this? No retaliation?” another Major General asked.

“Retaliate? Against whom? A Colonel? Dammit. Right now, many of our generals are already being killed, shot in the back by their own men. Besides, most of our family’s core units are currently in the south.

If I move against him, I’m worried he’ll strike at us first. Furthermore, the 87th Division is defending Bopa City. If I retaliate and he decides to abandon his post, what then? My family’s properties in that area would be wiped out! That bastard has me right where it hurts!” Mu Zhifu sat down, visibly agitated.

“But he’s being far too arrogant!” the Major General noted.

“Arrogant? They know they are already dead men; what do they have left to fear? Sigh, I actually hope he can hold Bopa City. That way, our family assets can be preserved. If he fails, our losses will be even greater. That bastard knows this, which is why he dared to threaten me!”

Mu Zhifu spoke, but he had another worry he didn’t voice: Hu Hao’s threat to send men to the southern units to take out his family members. That was his greatest fear. His family had already lost several scions; he couldn’t afford to lose more.

Therefore, he didn’t dare move against Hu Hao unless he was absolutely certain he could kill him. If he failed to finish the job, the consequences would be endless.

“Alright, get back to work. And tell Mu Qian not to cut their power. If the power goes out, God knows what those people will do. We can’t have our troops fighting each other; even if we won, we’d still lose. If the Emperor found out, he would surely purge our family!” Mu Zhifu instructed.

“Understood. I’ll head to Late City shortly to check on the Young Master,” the Major General replied, and Mu Zhifu nodded.

…

Back in Bopa City, Hu Hao and his men arrived quickly. He sent the soldiers to purchase batteries and wiring, and to check if the air conditioners at the mall were ready.

What he didn’t know was that word of him shooting Mu Qian at the power plant had already spread through the upper circles of Late City. Everyone now knew that the Colonel commanding the 87th Division was a reckless hothead who would do anything. Many elites warned their subordinates not to provoke Hu Hao—if he wanted something, just give it to him. It was better than having him show up with a gun!

After handling those arrangements, Hu Hao drove back to his unit alone. When he arrived, many staff officers came out to admire his new car. Mo Qin and the others even took the keys and started driving it around the rear of the positions. Hu Hao, meanwhile, headed into the command post, which was still sweltering.

“It didn’t work, did it? I knew it wouldn’t!” Xiao Quan said with a laugh as Hu Hao entered.

“What do you mean ‘didn’t work’? It’s settled. We’re installing them tonight. Without them, we can’t sleep in this place, and the men will get heatstroke. Fighting in this weather—the Allied forces must be insane!” Hu Hao cursed.

“What? You settled it? How? Did they actually agree to give us free electricity?” Xiao Quan asked in astonishment.

“Mhm. Free. As long as our unit is here, it’s free. Dammit, my men are here defending his property; why the hell should we pay for power?”

Hu Hao stripped off his shirt and walked outside. It was slightly better there, but there was still no breeze. He stood by the observation post, looking toward the opposite bank. Xiao Quan followed him out.

“I say… did you really fix it?” Xiao Quan asked, still skeptical.

“Of course. Why would I lie about that? Just relax!”

Hu Hao nodded and picked up a periscope to scan the opposite bank for any activity.

“Those few people over there are definitely Allied scouts. You can tell by their skin tone!” Hu Hao remarked. Xiao Quan immediately took the periscope to look.

“Where?”

“Look at that village in the distance. The window on the roof. The one with the binoculars!”

“I see them. There are several! They’re already scouting? That means they’ll be crossing tomorrow!” Xiao Quan said.

“They’ll definitely come. Order our men to detonate the charges under the bridges. Blow them all up!”

“Now?” Xiao Quan asked, looking at Hu Hao.

“Now. I’m worried the Allied forces might try to cross under the cover of night. If they’re gone, I can rest easy. Blow every single bridge!”

“Understood!”

Xiao Quan hurried back into the command post and contacted the engineers to carry out the demolitions. Less than five minutes later, a series of booming explosions echoed across the area. Hu Hao looked toward the river and saw that the bridges had completely collapsed.

“Sigh.”

Hu Hao set down his binoculars and returned to the command post. He left the bomb shelter and walked into the trenches. Many soldiers had covered the trenches with branches to create shade, making the heat a bit more bearable. Some were hauling water from the river to pour over the shelters, hoping to cool them down, though it did little against such extreme temperatures.

Hu Hao watched for a while as the sun began to set. He sat on the edge of the trench, staring at the opposite bank.

“Hao-ge, the air conditioners are here! We got the batteries too! They’ve been sent to our old command post to charge!” Huan Xingtao jumped down into the trench and reported.

“They’re here? Install them immediately! And distribute them to the other units—send them out now!” Hu Hao jumped to the other side of the trench.

“It’s only about 1,000 units. The manager said they didn’t have any more in stock. They’ve ordered more from elsewhere, and they’ll arrive tomorrow morning!”

“Good. Divide them equally among the regiments. And make sure the artillery units get them—one for every trench. Get it done!”

“Did you really get them?” Xiao Quan asked as he emerged from the command post.

“Got ’em. Go help distribute them; every unit needs to have some. We only have 1,000 for now, so the men will have to make do. Pack more people into each shelter for tonight; things will be better tomorrow!”

“Alright, I’m on it!”

Xiao Quan climbed out of the trench to oversee the distribution. The soldiers were overjoyed to see the AC units arrive. They began hauling them into the shelters. Hu Hao instructed them to dig specialized holes for the external units so they would be protected during shellings.

The other soldiers watched and learned how to install the units. By 8 PM, the batteries were delivered. The men were ecstatic. Once the inverters were set up and connected, cool air began to flow.

“Oh, holy shit! This feels so great!” Hu Hao stood by an air conditioner, basking in the cold air.

“Haha! Alright, Hao-ge. You can get a good night’s sleep tonight. I expect from tomorrow onward, you won’t be sleeping much again!” Xiao Quan said.

“Hehe, that’s exactly what I was thinking. Dammit, who could sleep in this weather without AC? Say, what are the Allied forces going to do? They don’t have power over there. Will they use vehicle generators?” Hu Hao asked.

“Don’t worry about them. You should be thinking about when they’re going to attack!” Xiao Quan laughed.

“They’ll definitely come tomorrow morning. They won’t attack in the afternoon; fighting in this heat is pure torture,” Hu Hao predicted.

“Yeah. The big battle starts tomorrow!”

“There won’t be a major battle tomorrow. The Allied forces will launch probing attacks; they won’t dare commit to a full assault. They’ll be cautious after losing those three divisions. Tomorrow, they’ll probe our lines to test our firepower. When they do… have our artillery units use thirty guns to blast them!” Hu Hao said with a grin.

(End of Chapter)