The Mysterious Soldier of the Anti-Japanese War

Chapter 375: The Enemy is Close: Ambush at the River Branches, Making a Feint to the East and Attack

Lei Tao's gaze was fixed on the rapidly approaching ships in the distance, his brow furrowed as a sense of foreboding welled up in his heart. The ships were moving at breakneck speed, clearly well prepared. He quickly turned around and called out to the group, "Everyone, pay attention! Another situation has occurred! Prepare your weapons and respond at any time!"

Everyone immediately became nervous and took out their weapons from their hiding places. Meng Xiaoyu tightly gripped the pistol in his hand and asked in a low voice, "Brother Lei, who do you think is coming this time?"

Lei Tao shook his head: "It's hard to say, but it's definitely not here to deliver morning tea. It could be an accomplice of the pirates, or it could be a Japanese agent. In short, we can't take it lightly."

Chen Lieguo's expression also turned serious. He whispered, "Comrade Lei, I just asked the boatman. There's a hidden river branch not far ahead. We can hide there temporarily. We'll think of a way after they pass by."

Lei Tao nodded: "Okay, let's take shelter first. Everyone, follow Lao Chen and move quickly!"

Everyone moved quickly, following Old Chen across the passenger ship's decks to the stern. The boatman, following Chen Lieguo's instructions, had already slowly steered the boat toward the river branch. Lei Tao stood at the stern, warily watching the approaching ships. He noticed that there seemed to be a number of figures swaying on the decks of those ships, clearly the other ships had also noticed them.

"They seem to have discovered us!" Chen Feiyang whispered with a hint of nervousness in his tone.

Lei Tao nodded: "Don't panic, let's hide in the river branch first. If they chase us, we will kill them here."

The passenger boat soon entered a river branch, lush with weeds and winding through the water, perfect for concealment. Lei Tao ordered everyone to disperse and seek cover. He himself hid behind a protruding rock, his M1911 pistol tightly gripped, ready to fire at any moment.

The ships didn't stop, but continued to move forward. Lei Tao breathed a sigh of relief, but he didn't let his guard down. He knew the enemy might just not have discovered their hiding place yet and could turn back at any time.

"Brother Lei, look over there!" Meng Xiaoyu suddenly pointed to the distance and said.

Lei Tao looked in the direction of her finger and saw a small boat coming from the other side of the river. The figure on the boat seemed to be looking around, obviously looking for their traces.

"It seems they have discovered our whereabouts." Lei Tao whispered, "Everyone get ready, they may come at any time."

Everyone quickly adjusted their positions to hide themselves better. Lei Tao knew that they had to fight quickly, otherwise if they were surrounded by the enemy, the consequences would be disastrous.

The boat was getting closer, and Lei Tao could already see the figures on it. They were wearing plain clothes, but they were carrying weapons, which clearly showed that they were an organized enemy. Lei Tao whispered to everyone, "Wait until they get close, then we'll strike first!"

The boat finally reached the river's mouth, and the people on board seemed to hesitate for a moment, but finally decided to come in and check. Lei Tao knew that this was his chance.

"Do it!" Lei Tao shouted in a low voice.

Lei Tao quickly pulled several stun grenades from the Bagua gyroscope's space, pulled the safety, and hurled them toward the boat. With a few loud booms, the stun grenades exploded on the boat, instantly producing a tremendous sound and bright light. The boat was shaken violently, and the people on board were dizzy and covered their ears and eyes, losing their fighting ability.

"Hurry! Let's rush over before they react!" Lei Tao said loudly.

Everyone quickly rushed out of their shelter. Brothers Li Shuiniu and Li Shuyang were the first to reach the riverbank and quickly jumped onto the boat. With the agility of a civet cat, they were aboard in a few leaps. Armed with throwing knives, they quickly subdued two enemies who attempted to resist.

At the same time, Liu Zishan and Chen Feiyang followed closely behind, rushed to the river bank, jumped, and landed steadily on the boat. They quickly took control of the situation and pointed their guns at the other enemies to prevent them from making any unusual movements.

Lei Tao, along with Meng Xiaoyu and Yi Guang, outflanked the enemy from the other side. He fired rapidly from his M1911 pistol, accurately hitting two enemies who were trying to escape. Yi Guang, using his agility, quickly subdued an enemy who tried to resist.

The battle ended quickly, and all the enemies on the boat were subdued. Lei Tao walked forward, pointed his gun at one of the enemies' head, and asked coldly, "Who are you?"

The enemy was trembling with fear and said quickly, "We are from the Shuili Gang. Someone hired us for a high price. They said someone was going to pass by here, so they asked us to get information."

Lei Tao nodded, already making up his mind. After knocking the pirate unconscious with his knife, he turned to the others and said, "It seems the Japanese agents have learned of our whereabouts. We must leave here as soon as possible and act according to the plan we just discussed, otherwise more enemies will come."

"Wait, we can't just let them go like this." Li Shuiniu said, "If we give them a chance to tip off, we'll be in trouble."

Lei Tao nodded and said after a moment's silence: "Okay, let's knock them all out and tie them up with ropes so that they can't move for a short time."

Everyone nodded and began to deal with the pirates. Brothers Li Shuiniu and Li Shuyang, with expert skill, quickly knocked each one unconscious. Then, using some ropes from the boat, they tied them up securely. Liu Zishan and Chen Feiyang were in charge of checking each pirate's restraints to ensure they couldn't break free.

After dealing with the water bandits, Lei Tao said to everyone again: "Okay, let's leave here now."

Chen Lieguo nodded: "I agree. Let's leave here first, and then find a way to contact our superiors to see if there are any new instructions."

Lei Tao nodded: "Okay, everyone follow Lao Chen, let's leave here as soon as possible."

Everyone quickly boarded the passenger boat, and the boatman, following Chen Lieguo's instructions, steered the boat to another river channel. Lei Tao stood at the bow, vigilantly observing his surroundings, secretly vowing in his heart that he would make the enemy pay the price.

The mountains in the distance were looming in the morning mist, as if hiding endless dangers. Lei Tao knew that this journey was destined to be turbulent, but he and his teammates were already prepared for the next plan of making a feint to the east and attacking in the west.