Chapter Twenty-Six: A Brave Heart (Part One)

"Welcome to the House of Terror!" This time, the voice was nothing like before—imbued with the sternness of a hardened soldier, it roused the spirit rather than inspiring fear.

The opening itself was vastly different from previous experiences. The viewpoint soared high, God's eye surveying a world map. Especially striking were the Japanese flags planted all over the map of China, and a few spots marked with flames, denoting battlegrounds.

As the map was presented, the narration finally began, heavy with sorrow.

It was the autumn of 1941. The Japanese army was urgently expanding its navy, striving to establish the so-called "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere." A major conflict in the Pacific was imminent, and a world war centered on the Pacific was quietly brewing.

Following the narration, the view shifted to South and Southeast Asia, tracing the routes of the Japanese army.

Japan intended to seize control of South and Southeast Asia in one sweeping move. To establish dominion over the Pacific, their prerequisite was to extricate themselves from the Chinese theater. But to force the Nationalist government, now entrenched in the mountain city of Chongqing, into submission, an eastern offensive had become all but impossible.

The perspective shifted again. A vivid red road linked China and Burma, bearing the bold inscription: Burma Road. The narration's tone changed once more—no longer only desolate, but brimming with courage and fervor.

Completed as early as 1938, the Burma Road had become China's sole land corridor for Western aid. Month after month, tens of thousands of tons of war supplies traveled along this road built at the cost of countless lives, enabling China to pin down 80 percent of Japan's army on its own soil.

To escape the Chinese front, the Japanese had begun tightening their blockade and sabotage of the Burma Road from 1940 onward. Now, with Japanese victories mounting in India, the Burma Road teetered on the brink.

A gust of wind swept by, shattering the map into drifting pieces. Luo Hanya blinked, suddenly finding himself standing near a recruitment center outside a military camp. The area was packed with people, yet they formed an orderly line stretching far into the distance, all seemingly there to enlist.

The resounding voice rang out once more.

To safeguard the Burma Road—the vital artery of support to China—General Dai Anlan and his 200th Division of the National Revolutionary Army had already stationed themselves in Guizhou at the start of '41, expanding and drilling their troops, ready at any moment to march into Burma and defend the road.

You are a university student. Aware of your country's dire straits, you have resolved to risk your life for your nation. Upon hearing that General Dai Anlan may lead the 200th Division as the vanguard into Burma, you have journeyed a thousand miles to Anshun, a city famed for the majestic Huangguoshu Waterfall. On the way, you meet four like-minded companions.

After a few thunderous blasts of artillery, someone shouted out boldly, "Fully equipped, awaiting the call of fate—when the hour comes, the Tiger-Wolf Division will enter Burma!"

With that, the transition ended. The once-motionless crowd stirred to life, the silence replaced by a cacophony of voices.

Luo Hanya was still immersed in the opening sequence, unable to shake its lingering influence. Although it was already 2063 and China still faced threats at its borders, sadly, as the old generation passed away, much of the nation seemed to have forgotten the epic, tragic history of a century ago. Most people now knew only the melodramatic anti-Japanese TV dramas, ignorant of the true past.

Once, Luo Hanya had raged online against ignorant compatriots who spouted nonsense. But today, he was finally able to take part in this great war himself, stepping into one of the most perilous yet glorious chapters of his nation's history.

He looked at his four companions, noticing the same fiery zeal in their eyes. With a knowing smile, he said, "Well? Since fortune has brought us to this passionate era, why not do something big while we're here?"

"Hmph! I've wanted to kill those devils for a long time. If I don't take out at least a hundred this time, I'll treat you all to dinner when we get back!" Bombshell said, his face stern, striking a pose like a professional soldier. But paired with his rotund frame, the effect was more comical than intimidating.

Trying to spare Bombshell's dignity, Luo Hanya fought to keep his expression neutral, muscles twitching as he struggled not to burst out laughing. But Bighead, Spinach, and Xia Wenhua couldn't hold back; they clutched their stomachs and roared with laughter.

"Hey! You lot over there, quiet down!" A soldier maintaining order nearby came over, his expression severe. "Are you here to enlist? If so, join the queue over there and stop making a scene."

As the soldier approached, a system notification chimed in:

Main quest triggered: Join the 200th Division.

Seeing the prompt, Luo Hanya signaled his friends to keep quiet, then smiled broadly. "Yes, we're all here to join the 200th Division. We came from far away. We just got a little overexcited seeing the division, that's why my friends laughed. Sorry about that."

"Alright, alright, just get in line and mind your manners. If you want to join the 200th Division, first you need to learn to follow orders." The soldier didn't make things difficult for them. After all, no cowards would come here. He even offered them a friendly reminder.

"Yes, sir! We won't disturb the order here!" Luo Hanya gave a crisp salute and called his friends to join him.

The five of them lined up at the end of the queue. Seeing the line stretch on for hundreds of meters, Xia Wenhua asked curiously, "What's so special about the 200th Division? Why are so many people trying to join?"

"You don't even know the 200th Division?" Bombshell stared at Xia Wenhua in disbelief, while Luo Hanya, Spinach, and Bighead all looked equally astonished, as if she were some kind of anomaly.

Xia Wenhua shrank back, unnerved by their strange looks, then grumbled through clenched teeth, "So what if I don't know about war? I'm a girl! Which of you boys knows anything about makeup?"

The others froze, then smiled wryly—they clearly knew nothing at all about cosmetics.

"The 200th Division was the first mechanized unit the Nationalists built, fully modeled after the German army. It was the world's fourth armored division, equipped entirely with foreign gear. Their tanks were Soviet T-26s, armored vehicles were Italian CV33s, personnel carriers were German Horch models, plus American Ford four-cylinder trucks and Harley motorcycles—the most advanced mechanized force China had at the time," Spinach rattled off a string of technical details, leaving Xia Wenhua completely lost, though she could tell it all sounded quite impressive.

"Alright, alright, I get it, they're amazing," Xia Wenhua waved her hand, signaling she couldn't take in any more, and Spinach, knowing she wasn't interested, wisely fell silent.

"By the way, have you all figured out how to get into the 200th Division?" Luo Hanya asked quietly.

"Of course! The system gave me an identity as a postgraduate from the Royal College of Surgeons in England, so I'll join as a military doctor," Xia Wenhua said smugly, seeing Spinach and Bighead remain silent.

"Uh, I actually have a letter of recommendation from the Central Military Academy, saying I'm a top artillery talent, recommended to come here as an artillery officer," Bombshell scratched his head, looking awkward.

"What? Why don't I have anything?" Spinach and Bighead looked constipated with confusion.

"It's probably just the system's auto-allocation," Luo Hanya guessed with a smile. "Maybe because Xia Wenhua and Bombshell unlocked some knowledge modules that happen to be useful. I didn't get anything either."

"Uh, I did unlock medicine," Xia Wenhua admitted.

"And I unlocked applied mathematics," Bombshell added.

"There you go. As long as we all make it into the army, who cares about the details?" Luo Hanya waved it off, unconcerned.

"But it's still a bit galling."

"Yeah, even Bombshell gets to be an officer now."

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?"

After a long wait, the five finally reached the front of the line. Watching people leave one after another, disappointment etched on their faces, Luo Hanya couldn't help but be amazed at the 200th Division's strict recruitment standards, and at how seriously they took the process—a colonel regimental commander was in charge of recruitment.

"No! We don't take university students who are still in school," an athletic young man, clearly a student himself, was politely but firmly refused by the captain overseeing new recruits. He glared at the recruitment notice written in bold red characters.

Finally, he lost his temper. "What's so special about the 200th Division? It's just recruiting soldiers, but you're stricter than an election for president! I'm in great shape—why won't you let me enlist just because I'm still a student? Even if you gave me nothing but a knife, if the devils forced me, I'd take at least one of them down!"

His outburst echoed the feelings of everyone present, especially those already rejected, who began to shout from the sidelines, "Yeah! Why all these restrictions? Won't even let us fight the devils!"

"My arms and legs work just fine. So what if I'm missing a finger? I don't accept this!"

"Hey, you! Just because I'm old doesn't mean I can't kill devils, right?"

"Quiet, all of you!" The colonel, who had been sitting at the back, had somehow moved to the front. With a thunderous shout, he silenced the crowd.

Apparently satisfied with the result, the colonel nodded, then addressed the assembly in a booming voice, "Gentlemen, the Japanese devils are about to ride roughshod over us. You all know our 200th Division is heading to Burma to deal with those sons of bitches, and you've all come to enlist. For that, I thank you."

"But our division only has a set number of men, and only so many weapons. We can't take you all, hand you nothing but empty hands, and send you to the front to die. The 200th Division isn't in the business of sending young men to their deaths with nothing to fight with!" At his unpolished yet heartfelt words, the crowd fell silent.