Chapter Thirty-Four: Braveheart (IX)

"Do you have any particularly powerful gadgets?" Wang Yibo licked his lips, his face alight with excitement. "Wouldn't it be enough to just make a big scene?"

"That's logical," Li Song said, hesitating for a moment before pulling a Santa Claus-shaped bomb from his pack. "I've got a Christmas Blast Bomb here. It should make quite a racket, but..."

"Isn't that just a balloon?" Luo Hanya stared at Li Song in confusion, watching as he held onto a thin string tethered to a Santa balloon.

"Hey, see for yourself," Li Song shrugged, looking helpless.

Name: Christmas Blast Bomb
Type: Single-use consumable
Quality: Excellent
Effect: Explodes with a deafening bang!
Note: The loudest blast bomb of Christmas! No one has ever dared test its full power!

"Tsk, tsk, this thing is actually kind of interesting," Wang Yibo said, pulling a comically exaggerated expression as he examined the Christmas Blast Bomb in wonder.

"This idiotic game really does have a bunch of purely silly items," Luo Hanya muttered, the corner of her mouth twitching as she added her complaint.

"But the real question is, does this thing actually do what it claims? Or is it just a balloon with a bigger pop?" Wang Yibo circled the bizarre balloon twice, suspicion growing, hitting right at the heart of the matter.

"Allow me to quote something Luo said not long ago: 'Desperate times call for desperate measures.'" Li Song was clearly prepared, winking and making faces at Luo Hanya.

"Can you two be serious, for once? Good grief, going through this scenario with you two is like acting in a comedy sketch," Luo Hanya said, deliberately putting on a stern face as she looked at the two jokers in front of her.

"Hey now, young man, you got this!" Li Song turned his head, suddenly adopting a cool demeanor, pointing a finger at Luo Hanya with an approving look.

"Young man, I'm rooting for you—the future is yours!" Wang Yibo rasped, deliberately lowering his voice and pretending to be a world-weary old man.

"Damn idiots!" Luo Hanya pressed her right hand to her forehead, sighing helplessly, feeling her intelligence was being thoroughly insulted by these two.

"Ahem! All right, all right, let's get serious! Here's the plan—first option, Christmas Blast Bomb operation, let's get to it!" Li Song, sensing the joke had run its course, changed his expression in an instant, transforming from playful to deadly serious—a masterful switch!

"Mm-hmm? Then let's get moving," Wang Yibo quirked an eyebrow, his eyes half-lidded, looking every bit the scheming strategist. "Why don't we head toward Laxu City and set it off near there to give the city garrison a real scare?"

Watching these two brothers display their unparalleled face-changing skills, Luo Hanya could only manage a stiff, exasperated smile. "That won't work. We're definitely slower than the 56th Division. We don't have a map, a guide, or any jungle experience. We're basically a textbook case of the 'three nothings.' How could we outrun the world's best jungle division?"

"So by your logic, our only option is to close in on the 56th Division and make them think they've been exposed," Wang Yibo said slowly, stroking his chin.

"Exactly. We have no other choice," Luo Hanya nodded gravely.

"Well then, let's do it and make it count!" Li Song's face lit up with anticipation as he declared loudly.

"What are we waiting for?" Wang Yibo grinned.

Luo Hanya stretched out a hand, and Wang Yibo and Li Song placed theirs on top. The three exchanged a smile and, pausing for a second like athletes before a big match, shouted, "Let's do it! Let's do it! Let's do it!"

"Haha, let's give the 56th Division something to remember us by!" Wang Yibo laughed heartily.

"Today's performance is called 'Three Heroes Slay the Evil Dragon,'" Li Song joked, keeping the mood light.

"Move out, move out! Enough talk—today, we're going to bring down the world's top jungle division right here in the forest! One word: payback!"

Though the three of them lacked real jungle combat experience, as the saying goes, "Even if you've never eaten pork, you've seen pigs run." Who hasn't watched at least a few movies or shows about jungle warfare?

Not caring whether television portrayed it accurately or not, the three of them grabbed a handful of harmless-looking leaves and smeared them on their faces. Then, they stuck a few branches in their hair and on their clothes. After some haphazard camouflage, their motley appearance gave off a vaguely convincing "jungle commando" vibe.

Looking at each other's ridiculous get-ups, the three shared a knowing smile—none of them pointed it out, but inwardly they were all rolling their eyes in exasperation.

"We were teleported to a spot ten kilometers north of the 56th Division, and they're heading northwest at speed. Since we've already lost some time, we should just head west—we ought to run into them that way," Luo Hanya said confidently.

Wang Yibo and Li Song agreed without complaint, and the three, decked out in their makeshift camouflage, quickly set off westward.

After about ten minutes of brisk travel, Wang Yibo and Li Song were already a bit out of breath when they finally glimpsed traces of the 56th Division.

About seven or eight hundred meters to their northwest, a large force of infantry and armored vehicles was on the move. The trio crouched low, exchanged glances, and resolved to put their first plan into action.

Li Song took out the Christmas Blast Bomb again and let go of the string. The Santa balloon floated gently, carried by the April breeze toward the 56th Division.

"One hundred meters, two hundred, three hundred..." Luo Hanya watched the balloon intently, counting the distance it drifted. "Now!" When the balloon had floated nearly four hundred meters—right at the edge of the range of Luo Hanya's old rifle—her eyes sharpened, and with a crack of gunfire, the Christmas Blast Bomb exploded.

With a deafening, world-shaking bang, everything fell silent—nothing could be heard but that one thunderous sound. The shockwave seemed almost tangible, rippling outward in waves. Within a kilometer, countless insects dropped from the air and treetops in droves; leaves fell in sheets; and many jungle natives would never see another sunrise.

No one knew how many soldiers of the 56th Division were rendered permanently deaf by the blast—some collapsed, bleeding from every orifice, felled by the shockwave. The glass in airplanes shattered into a thousand shards, raining down in a sparkling storm.