Why Did You Have to Ask So Many Questions?

Leaving his little present behind, Liu Ren leapt down from the roof ridge and darted swiftly into an alley, the Garand vanishing from his grasp. Not long after he departed, a squad of Japanese soldiers rushed to the scene and climbed up onto the roof. "Bakayarou! Where is he? Where did he go?!" the military police squad leader roared hysterically, looking around in fury. Yet right as he vented his impotent rage, he heard the soldiers behind him screaming in terror: "No, Captain...!" "Nani?" Suspicious, the squad leader turned around, but before he could react, he felt something crunch beneath his boot. The instant his eyes fell upon the smoking grenade, the faces of his family far away in his homeland flashed across his mind. Boom! A violent blast erupted, triggering the rest of the booby-trapped grenades around it. Listening to the roar echoing from the distance, Liu Ren could not help but click his tongue. "Brutal! That must have blown them into flying melon seeds!" Even so, a bright grin spread across his face. "Satisfying! Gotta do that again next time!" As a fish that had slipped through the net of nine-year compulsory education, Liu Ren might not have been a genius, but he had an endless supply of rotten tricks. After all, he had watched so many short videos in his past life! "Wait a minute... did the Japanese bastard who beat me to death get taken out? Crap! I forgot!" Realizing he had yet to avenge the death of his predecessor, Liu Ren skidded to a halt. He changed back into a set of ragged clothes and headed back. After all, how could he just leave when such a bitter debt of blood remained unpaid? Yet just as Liu Ren rounded the corner of the alley, a man plummeted from above and slammed heavily onto the ground before him. "Holy crap!" Startled, Liu Ren scrambled back and gripped a bayonet in his right hand, bracing for a fight. Then he blinked, realizing it was the very man who had just stayed behind to fight to the death. "Wait... how did he end up here?" Liu Ren fell silent. He had lured the military police away specifically to buy the man a chance to live, yet the guy had dragged his severely wounded body all the way back to save him. Wasn't that just throwing his life away? Crouching down, Liu Ren checked the man's breathing. Sensing only a faint pulse, he immediately knitted his brows. "No good, I have to move him right away!" Thinking of his unfinished vengeance, Liu Ren gritted his teeth, hoisted the man onto his shoulder, turned, and ran. Vengeance could wait. At worst, he could stake out the gates of the military police headquarters later. If he didn't save this man right now, though, he would be a goner! Later that night, in the cellar of a dilapidated courtyard that looked like a pile of ruins, the roughly bandaged man was chattering through trembling teeth: "Mother... I'm so cold... Mother, I'm so cold..." Looking at the man burning with high fever, Liu Ren muttered through clenched teeth, "This won't do. If this goes on, he won't survive the night! I have to find a way to get some medicine!" Tucking the clothes he had previously stripped from the thug over the man, Liu Ren's gaze turned fierce. Though he had used his Storage Space to extract the bullets from the man's body, the conditions here were abysmal. The wounds were too severe; without medicine, he would never pull through! Climbing back out of the cellar, Liu Ren surveyed the desolate surroundings and removed the splint from his left arm. Wincing through the pain, he clenched his fist, exhaled a heavy breath, and muttered, "Time for a gamble!" Disguised like a beggar, Liu Ren stepped out onto the dark streets once more. As he crept forward in the shadows, the sound of approaching footsteps reached his ears. "Halt right there, or we'll shoot!" A harsh shout cut through the dark. A patrol of Japanese military police marched forward, flanked by two puppet soldiers in black uniforms. "Officers, I'm a good citizen! A very good citizen!" Liu Ren yelled in terror, raising his hands timidly. A large hand grabbed his collar and dragged him into the light. The Japanese soldier glared at him viciously. "You! Who are you?" "A beggar, Officer, I'm just a beggar..." Liu Ren mimed begging for scraps, pulling his neck in with sheer terror plastered across his face. "Yoshi. Beggar. Have you seen anyone suspicious around here?" Looking at Liu Ren with disgust, the Japanese soldier stepped back and wiped his hand on the puppet soldier's uniform. "N-No, I haven't seen anyone, Officer! I swear I haven't!" Trembling, Liu Ren shook his head repeatedly, playing the part of a terrified coward to perfection. Hearing this, the soldier showed no suspicion. Just as they were about to turn away, however, the squad leader, who had remained silent the whole time, suddenly frowned. "You, a beggar? Then why are you so well-fed? Your face isn't sallow..." Under the light of the lantern, the squad leader peered at Liu Ren, his eyes turning cold. Hearing those words, the surrounding soldiers also realized what was wrong. In Sijiucheng, even the Japanese troops themselves couldn't eat well, yet this beggar before them showed not the slightest trace of emaciation or sallowness. Something was terribly off! During this period, ordinary folks survived on "mixed flour"—a concoction of chaff, crushed bean cake, and random debris. Eating white rice was out of the question for commoners, as it was reserved strictly for the Japanese. Yet this beggar looked nothing like a beggar... "Why did you have to ask so many questions?" A combat bayonet flashed into Liu Ren's hand, and in a single blur, he slashed across the throats of two military police. Clutching their throats in disbelief, the Japanese soldiers stumbled backward, staring at Liu Ren in horror. "Bakayarou!" His eyes bulging with rage, the squad leader barely had time to react before the blade expanded in his vision. Squelch! Thrusting out like a spear, Liu Ren drove the bayonet deep into his neck and yanked it sideways with ruthless force. Seeing three men drop in rapid succession, the remaining seven or eight Japanese soldiers scrambled to raise their rifles. Then came the nightmare. Liu Ren shot forward like an arrow, charging straight into their midst as two combat bayonets whirled in his hands. Striking men like walking down the street, killing them like cutting down weeds! Watching the twin bayonets dance as Liu Ren slaughtered the Japanese soldiers, the two puppet soldiers turned pale with terror, stumbling backward in fright. Was this person even human? Yanking his bayonet from the throat of the last Japanese soldier, Liu Ren turned around coldly. He flicked the blood from the blade and said with a look of utter helplessness, "I really didn't want to kill them. They forced my hand. You saw it, right?" Swallowing hard, the two puppet soldiers nodded furiously like chickens pecking at rice, though the sheer terror in their eyes refused to fade. Stepping toward them, Liu Ren glanced at the pair. "Aren't you going to draw your guns and shoot me?" "Hero, spare us! Spare our lives! I have a wife and children to feed at home! Please, don't kill me! Don't kill me!" Falling to his knees in terror, one of the puppet soldiers looked at Liu Ren pleadingly. How could he dare draw a weapon? A dozen Japanese soldiers had been cut down like leeks before Liu Ren; even if he fired, could he really kill this monster? "I'll give the two of you a chance to live. A choice between the two of you: whoever exposes the blood on the other's hands gets to walk..." The moment Liu Ren finished speaking, the two immediately began blurting out each other's heinous deeds. "I shouldn't have bothered asking!" Thirty seconds later, Liu Ren finished clearing the ground and walked away with a sigh of resignation. He had actually hoped to find a decent man among these black-uniformed scoundrels. What naive wishful thinking! "Still, this is a nice piece!" Looking at the broomhandle Mauser in his hand, Liu Ren broke into a smile. After he turned and departed, nothing remained on the ground save for a patch of dark crimson. Not a single trace of the Japanese military police or the puppet soldiers was left behind. Every last one of them was resting inside his Storage Space!