Chapter 25: Meeting Wang Hong
In the evening, Zhou Lin went to the officer's canteen for dinner.
The officer's canteen only had one floor. The second floor was for the staff officers. The Seventh Division had only one general, the division commander.
He had his small canteen, where he preferred to eat.
Entering the first floor, Zhou Lin noticed a long queue and went to the window to take a look.
The food wasn't great, bland with little oil. There was only one meat dish, a stew of meat and potatoes, with visible chunks of fat.
As someone from the modern era, Zhou Lin valued health and wouldn't eat fatty meat.
A person nearby chuckled, "Aren't you staying in the officers' dormitory? You can go to the second floor."
Zhou Lin thought, why not use this opportunity to meet Wang Hong?
Indeed, it was a chance.
The guy continued, "If you're so capable, go eat at the small canteen!"
Without replying, Zhou Lin clenched his fist and threw a punch, lightly hitting the guy's face.
Though it was a punch with only five percent strength, Zhou Lin's five percent was quite substantial, weighing around 500 kilograms.
The guy was knocked down.
Amidst the onlookers, Zhou Lin continued towards him, "You didn't finish what you were saying. Go on."
The guy mumbled, "I... your grandmother!"
He got up and charged at Zhou Lin, throwing a powerful punch.
Zhou Lin, with enhanced agility, gauged the force and found the vulnerability.
Sidestepping, he seized the fist and swiftly countered. The guy ended up on the ground, groaning.
"Still have energy?" Zhou Lin looked at the guy on the ground.
The guy shrunk his neck, not daring to speak.
At that moment, a tall figure nearby spoke, "You rely on bullying. What kind of hero are you?"
Zhou Lin addressed him, "What, you want to step in? Come on! I don't bully, just relying on my fists, I can make you kneel and sing 'Conquer.'"
The man, a captain, took a step forward but quickly retreated, turned around, and left the canteen.
Zhou Lin to the guy on the ground, "Avoid me in the future."
Suddenly, a few people rushed into the canteen.
Zhou Lin saw it was the members of the Twenty Squad, led by Wang Xi.
Wang Xi approached, asking, "What's going on?"
The guy on the ground quickly reported, "Reporting, this person assaulted someone in a public place."
Wang Xi asked, "Is he new here? Why did you get into a fight?"
Zhou Lin said, "His mouth was foul. Deserved a punch."
The guy on the ground explained, "I just suggested he go to the second floor since he seemed unhappy with the first-floor food."
Wang Xi sneered, "You asked for it! He's a junior officer, and you told him to go to the second floor. Weren't you asking to be punched?"
Everyone laughed.
Zhou Lin joined in the laughter.
Wang Xi turned to Zhou Lin, "Impressive! First day here, not even sure where the bathroom is, and already picking fights. Come with me."
Zhou Lin asked, "Go where?"
"To our political office."
Zhou Lin inquired, "Can I not go?"
"No! You violated regulations and assaulted a superior. According to the rules, you must accept punishment."
Zhou Lin said, "Alright, let's go to your place then. You'll have to provide meals."
After that, Zhou Lin turned and followed the political office personnel out of the canteen.
The political office was in a secluded corner of the military camp, likely for work-related reasons.
After entering, Zhou Lin was confined to a detention room.
After more than an hour, it started getting dark.
At that moment, Zhou Lin smelled the aroma of beef.
As expected, the door to the detention room opened.
Wang Hong walked in. The platoon leader also came in. Following them were Wang Xi and Lao Xiang.
They embraced Zhou Lin and left afterward, guarding outside the detention room.
Zhou Lin heard that there were people outside, probably members of the Twenty Squad.
The platoon leader shook Zhou Lin's hand, "You went all out. The guy is injured."
Zhou Lin smiled, "If I didn't, I wouldn't end up in the political office and wouldn't see you guys."
Wang Hong sat down, pointing to the tea and wine he brought, "When I heard you were here today, I went to buy these."
The platoon leader said, "Captain, this is what I bought. How did it become yours?"
"It's the same! It's the same!"
Ignoring that, Zhou Lin began eating and drinking.
He skipped the alcohol since he needed to return to the dormitory. Others might get suspicious of smelling alcohol on him.
What? Going to the political office to drink?
In just fifteen minutes, Zhou Lin finished the meal.
The platoon leader quickly cleared the bowls and chopsticks and left the detention room.
Zhou Lin and Wang Hong sat face to face.
Zhou Lin asked, "How's the situation?"
Wang Hong shook his head, "No leads. I'm now just a regular deputy director at the political office, managing about a hundred subordinates."
Zhou Lin asked, "What happened to the previous director?"
"Transferred. I came in after he left."
Zhou Lin took out a cigarette, offered one to Wang Hong, and lit one for himself.
Both smoked in silence, unable to find a breakthrough.
Wang Hong said, "With over five thousand people, how do we find them? Unless they're all dead... Damn, I'm jinxing it."
His words sparked a chain reaction like a firecracker exploding.
At that moment, Zhou Lin remembered something.
In his previous life, he loved reading military novels, stories, data, and history.
Especially the combat situations of the Chinese army in the Battle of Shanghai.
In his memory, there was a piece of information.
The Seventh Division had a tragic outcome in the Battle of Shanghai.
Deployed to Shanghai for less than half a year, their final battle was to raid a Japanese ammunition depot.
Initially, no more than a thousand Japanese were guarding the depot. For the five thousand officers and soldiers of the Seventh Division, engaging them and reaching the ammunition depot seemed achievable. At worst, the entire division would be wiped out, but the depot could be destroyed, eliminating Japanese firearms and ammunition, and relieving the burden on the main force.
However, when the Seventh Division attacked, they discovered that there weren't just a thousand Japanese around the depot. There was an entire regiment.
Facing a regiment with five thousand Chinese soldiers, the result was the complete annihilation of the division.
In that battle, out of the five thousand officers and soldiers of the Seventh Division, only about ten survived.
With a determination to die, the entire division engaged in battle.
Even cooks and stablemen participated, leaving only ten people to guard the camp.
Among the survivors, there were these ten guards.
In addition to these ten, another seven survived because they didn't participate in the battle.
Now, Zhou Lin recalled that the problem might lie with these ten or so people.
Think about it. If there was a traitor leaking information, they certainly wouldn't go down with the division. Instead, they'd find an opportunity to avoid the operation.
As long as they didn't join the fight, they wouldn't die.
(End of the chapter)