When a Lieutenant General noticed Jiang Kai and Li Tianyuan discussing Hu Hao, he immediately asked what was going on. Who was this Hu Hao, and why did he act so incredibly arrogant?
“Arrogant? I’ll tell every single one of you right now: that man is your savior! So what if he’s arrogant? Dammit, I had to use every trick in the book to beg him for help—even the most despicable methods! If any of you offend him, you’re on your own!” Jiang Kai snapped at the Corps Commanders.
The Generals stared at him in utter shock.
“Sigh… motherfucker. I don’t even know what I was thinking, using a threat like that,” Jiang Kai muttered, shaking his head in deep regret.
“Report! The drone is ready and is currently tracking Hu Hao!” a staff officer announced.
“Put it on the main screen!” Jiang Kai ordered immediately.
“Yes, sir!”
Seconds later, Hu Hao appeared on the massive monitor in the bunker. The image was grainy; it was night, and if it weren’t for the distant glow of fires, it would have been impossible to see him clearly.
On the screen, Hu Hao heard the faint hum of the drone. He turned his head, glanced up at it for a moment, then ignored it. Without moving from his spot, he lit a cigarette and stared out at the distant, agonizing cries of the wounded soldiers.
“Hao-ge!” Li Jingsong jogged up behind him.
“Order the men to prep several dozen loaded magazines for me. I also need more grenades. Additionally, get me two flare guns, loaded and ready. Inspect them personally,” Hu Hao instructed without turning around.
“Yes, I’m on it!” Li Jingsong replied.
“And tell your troops to prepare for an amphibious assault. Stand by to board the boats. Sigh… dammit all,” Hu Hao cursed softly. The drone captured the entire exchange flawlessly.
“Hao-ge… does that mean you’re going in alone?” a Division Commander asked hesitantly.
“Mmh. I’m going alone. If I take the brothers with me, the casualties will be too high,” Hu Hao nodded.
“Hao-ge, you can’t do that! There’s a massive enemy force entrenched over there! If you go alone, you can’t possibly win!” the Division Commander urged.
“I have to try. Unless you have a better idea? The Zone Commander already tried organizing a conventional breakout. If we do it their way, our brothers will be slaughtered. We don’t have many veterans left who survived this far. We really don’t,” Hu Hao sighed heavily.
“Sigh.” The Division Commanders lowered their heads in defeat.
“Motherfucker. What kind of war is this? Just a few days, retreating again and again, and now we’re trapped. I can’t believe this bullshit!” Hu Hao cursed. Gripping his cigarette in his teeth, he began walking toward the staging area.
The remnants of the two corps—roughly ten thousand men—were fully assembled. They sat on the ground in the dark, quietly checking their weapons. The moment they saw Hu Hao approaching, every single soldier stood up in unison.
“Brothers, we have to go back in. I’m sorry. I originally wanted to keep you safe and lead you out of here alive. But… ha… the Zone Commander locked onto us. It’s likely my fault that this trouble found you. I am truly sorry!” Hu Hao said loudly. He then bowed deeply to the assembled soldiers.
“Hao-ge, don’t say that!”
“Yeah, Hao-ge! We aren’t stupid; we know you were forced into this! Following you is the only reason we’re still alive! If we had stayed with the Zone Commander’s main force, we’d probably be dead by now!”
“Hao-ge, don’t blame yourself! None of the brothers blame you!”
The soldiers immediately began calling out, offering their absolute support.
In the command bunker, Jiang Kai pointed at the screen. “Do any of you command that kind of respect among the enlisted men? Do you? Look at them. They belong to different divisions, different corps… but they only obey their ‘Hao-ge.’ Could any of you inspire that? Most of you can’t even command your own direct subordinates, let alone earn their absolute loyalty.”
The Generals in the room bowed their heads in shame.
“Listen up!” Hu Hao called out to the men. “I’m going across the river alone. I am going to tear a hole in their line. The moment you see my signal flare, you launch the assault! The 27th Army pushes left, the 28th Army pushes right. I’ll link up with the 27th and widen the breach as much as possible.
Once you secure the beachhead, get the pontoon bridges up immediately so the wounded can evacuate. Brothers… I really didn’t want to fight this war. I’ve thought about deserting more times than I can count. I think we all have.
But seeing so many wounded boys lying here… I couldn’t stomach it. That’s why I didn’t run. And I hope none of you run tonight, either. If we leave, these wounded kids are dead. Sigh.”
The entire staging area was dead silent. Every soldier’s eyes were locked onto him.
“Hao-ge, it’s ready. Everything you asked for is here!” Li Jingsong hurried over, carrying a heavy tactical backpack and a large canvas sack. The backpack was stuffed with loaded magazines, and the sack was filled with grenades.
“Alright. Let’s go, brothers,” Hu Hao said. He slung the heavy backpack over his shoulders and grabbed the sack of grenades. Li Jingsong quickly holstered two loaded flare guns at Hu Hao’s waist and shoved several spare flares into his chest rig.
“Hao-ge… did you just say you’re going alone?” Li Jingsong asked, pausing as he loaded the gear.
“Mmh,” Hu Hao nodded.
Li Jingsong froze, staring at him.
“Are you done?” Hu Hao asked.
“Are you out of your damn mind?! You’re going alone?! God knows how many enemy troops are entrenched on that bank! And you’re going to tear open their line by yourself?!” Li Jingsong screamed at him.
“Hao-ge! Take us with you!” Huan Xingtao stepped forward instantly.
“Me too!” Sima Xuankong stepped up.
“I’m going!”
“Count me in!”
“Me too!”
Dozens, then hundreds of veterans stepped forward, volunteering to march into the meat grinder with him. Seeing this, a warm smile spread across Hu Hao’s face. He felt a deep sense of pride.
“Hao-ge, take us! If we die, we won’t blame you! If we fight like this, we’re all going to die sooner or later anyway! Let us go with you!” Zhao Haibin pleaded.
“Go with me for what? To throw your lives away?” Hu Hao chuckled softly.
“If you’re going to die, Hao-ge, we’re going with you! At least we’ll have each other’s backs on the road to hell!” He Jizhong declared firmly.
“Exactly! We’ll watch each other’s backs! We’ll go down to the underworld and keep fighting them together!” the other soldiers roared.
“Ha! Stop, stop! Hold on!” Hu Hao laughed, raising his hands and pressing them downward in a calming motion.
Seeing his gesture, the roaring crowd instantly fell silent.
Back in the command bunker, the Generals were utterly astounded. They couldn’t believe their eyes. These soldiers were actively volunteering to follow Hu Hao into certain death. Even knowing it was likely a suicide mission, they were begging to go with him.
“As long as Hu Hao survives this, I swear I will make him a General! I swear it!” Jiang Kai said, his voice trembling with emotion as he watched the monitor.
“Commander, count me in. I have some connections in the capital; I will use them for him,” Li Tianyuan stated firmly.
“Add my family to that list! The Lü family will back him entirely!” Lü Liqian declared.
“Good,” Jiang Kai nodded solemnly.
“Brothers, I’m not taking you to die. And honestly, bringing you would ruin the plan. If we go in force, the enemy will spot us immediately. I am going in for a stealth assault. I cannot take you with me right now.
Wait until you see the signal flare, then load the boats and charge! Alright? It won’t take long. I will tear a hole open as fast as humanly possible to cover your crossing!
I’m heading out now. You cannot move to the riverbank yet. If you mass on the shore, the enemy will realize a breakout is imminent. I’ll go first. When you see my flare… remember to come save me!” Hu Hao joked with a grin.
“Don’t worry, Hao-ge! If anyone tries to stop us from reaching you, we’ll slaughter them! I don’t care who they are!” a soldier screamed fiercely.
“Yeah! Hao-ge, we swear it! The moment we see that flare, anyone who stands between us and the river dies!” the massive crowd roared in unison.
“Good! I’ll remember this favor, brothers!” Hu Hao smiled and nodded.
Soldiers from other units stationed nearby stared at the assembly in bewilderment. They couldn’t understand what was happening. Why wasn’t a General giving the pre-battle speech? Why was a mere Major commanding this massive force? And why did this Major have such terrifying prestige that thousands of men were screaming their willingness to die to save him?
Hu Hao didn’t say anything more. He turned and walked toward the river. Climbing over the flood embankment, he stood at the top and looked back at his men. The embankment shielded the staging area from the enemy across the river, hiding the massive troop concentration. Down below, near the water, soldiers from other corps were huddled in the mud, confused by the sudden arrival of Hu Hao and his veterans.
“I’m going in!” Hu Hao called out. Adjusting his heavy pack, he walked down the sandy bank toward the water.
The soldiers watched as Hu Hao waded in until the dark water swallowed him whole.
He was towing a large plastic washbasin behind him, using it as a makeshift raft for his sack of grenades and spare ammo, pulling it along with a rope tied to his waist. As he moved into the deeper water, Hu Hao vanished from sight. Only the faint silhouette of the washbasin could be seen slowly drifting toward the center of the river.
“Is he… swimming across?” Jiang Kai asked, staring at the screen in disbelief.
“The river is over a hundred meters wide. And it doesn’t look like he’s swimming on the surface… he’s diving! He’s crossing underwater! Over a hundred meters?! Can a human actually hold their breath and swim that far underwater?!” The Generals were absolutely stunned.
They had never seen anything like it. A man swimming over a hundred meters completely submerged, dragging a heavy load of weapons behind him. The drone operator couldn’t track Hu Hao through the dark water; they could only zoom in on the washbasin as it steadily crept across the surface.
“He’s almost there! He’s almost there! Less than twenty meters left! My god, he actually made it across!” a Lieutenant General shouted in pure excitement, his eyes glued to the massive screen.