DDT - Chapter 101

Chapter 101: Tycoon’s Daughter (9)

After breakfast, it was time for morning classes at Huaping Academy. The academy was a fair distance from the Yi family mansion. Walking, like they did yesterday, would make for a tight morning schedule, so Mother Yi instructed their driver to take the two children to the school gate.

Before Chi Junluo’s home was ransacked, trampled, burned, and looted by the Japanese army, she too had her own car and driver. But ever since coming to Huaping City, aside from professional training during special courses, she had never again had the chance to sit so peacefully in a car driven by a dedicated chauffeur.

So this was what it felt like to enjoy a car from this era.

The vehicle moved through the streets at a steady pace. The roads were mostly filled with rickshaws pulled by men on foot and bicycles powered by two pedaling feet.

In the early morning, the faces of Huaping City’s common folk, who rose early to make a living, were full of vigor and brimming with confidence in life.

Everyone was full of energy, as if the Japanese army stationed outside the city had no effect on them at all.

Chi Junluo suddenly recalled the distant 21st century, the world she originally lived in. There was a very popular man whose face was also full of confidence. He spoke eloquently, always concluding with the phrase, “Full of positive energy!”

His positive energy infected countless people. At first, it just seemed comical or like a publicity stunt, but gradually, what that vibrant middle-aged man brought was precisely the happiness and positive energy that society needed at the time.

The New Government of the Dragon Kingdom had already lost its ability to inspire trust. The fall or abandonment of multiple cities… it is said that one can forgive a mistake once or twice, but not a third time. How many times had the New Government’s weakness and retreat exceeded three?

Huaping City was the Dragon Kingdom’s last line of defense. Once Huaping fell, the nation would lose its final sanctuary. All of the New Government’s military forces were behind Huaping City. If the city was lost, further south lay nothing but barren mountains and treacherous waters. Without sufficient supplies, without sturdy fortresses, without more developed cities, the New Government’s army could only scatter. Perhaps they would cover the escape of the New Government’s leaders, but the people of the Dragon Kingdom would be plunged into misery. They might become refugees, spending their entire lives fleeing a broken country and shattered homes, dying of illness or starvation.

Or perhaps, like the ruined cities before, they would be trampled under the feet of the Japanese army, suffering plunder, rape, and murder, becoming vengeful souls under the invaders’ blades and guns, forever wailing on the lost battlefields.

The New Government had blocked all news, but as the successor of the Secret Party, the original host had access to a great deal of information from outside the city. Every piece of news was delivered to Huaping City by comrades from the Secret Party who had risked their lives. During the Japanese army’s rampage, the Secret Party had also sacrificed many of its members.

The original host’s once-happy family had been torn apart by the Japanese invasion. She had lost all her relatives; the old butler was her last remaining family. The original host despised the Japanese army. In every special training class, she imagined she was fighting them to the death. Because of this, she had indeed become one of the top students in the Secret Party’s special training program.

What sustained the original host, motivating her to live, study hard, train, and strengthen herself, was her hatred for Japan and the Japanese army. If she could, she would tear every last Japanese soldier to shreds with her own hands, avenging her family and the tragically killed people of the Dragon Kingdom!

In this era, repelling the Japanese army, defeating Japan, reclaiming the cities of the Dragon Kingdom, and avenging the nation’s fallen martyrs and citizens—this was the “full positive energy” of all the passionate youth of the Dragon Kingdom!

The people of Huaping City were now living in the moment, vibrant and full of hope for the future. This was not due to the New Government’s news blockade and appeasement, its constant retreats. In reality, even with the blockade, there was no wall in the world that could completely block the wind. The conviction that truly supported the lives of the Dragon Kingdom’s people had long since become the Secret Party, which worked silently in the shadows, quietly protecting them.

The New Government’s Nanhua Military Academy in Huaping City had long since degenerated into a decadent, empty shell. The soldiers of the New Government, devoid of any fighting spirit, had been hollowed out by wine and women. They spent their days in places like the Wanxing Restaurant, indulging in debauchery and extravagance. In their constant fleeing and retreating, they had become true deserters of this era of war.

In short, this group of soldiers, rotten from the top down, had lost the faith and character of true military men. They were useless.

The New Government was actually in a state of panic. The so-called commander-in-chief of the New Government, its sole supreme leader, had his past actions meticulously recorded by an informant the Secret Party had planted by his side. The evidence collected was shocking.

Who would have thought that the New Government’s publicly declared “non-resistance” policy was actually orchestrated by the commander-in-chief himself? Under the coercion and enticement of Japan and J Country, the commander-in-chief had secretly signed a treaty on behalf of the entire New Government to cede territory. The Dragon Kingdom would give up twenty cities in exchange for J Country’s vehicles, horses, soldiers, and cannons, and a ten-year non-aggression pact with Japan.

At that time, the so-called twenty cities were equivalent to colonies. The commander-in-chief naively believed he was only leasing these unimportant territories. He thought that after ten years of biding his time and building strength with the New Government’s army, he could surely win them back. As for the sacrifice of a small portion of the Dragon Kingdom’s people, the commander-in-chief was not concerned. War always involved sacrifice. In this era, human life was as worthless as grass; to die was simply fate.

But Japan was insatiably greedy. How could it be satisfied with small, unprofitable cities? The so-called lease and cession treaty was merely a small trick in Japan’s scheme to invade the Dragon Kingdom’s territory.

And so, starting from the twenty-odd small cities from which the New Government had secretly withdrawn its troops, Japan advanced step by step. They had no intention of supporting the refugees abandoned by their own country on Dragon Kingdom soil. The Japanese army plundered all available resources. Then, finding their march lacking in amusement, they launched inhuman city-slaughtering competitions. The generals or soldiers who won the top prize could even receive rewards from the Japanese Emperor and a large number of women.

It began many years ago, from the moment the commander-in-chief signed the treaty, from the start of the Japanese army’s slaughtering competitions. As the Japanese army invaded the Dragon Kingdom, they swept through like a tide of blood-locusts, leaving a trail of wailing and rivers of blood.

The New Government, which had once been able to stand against the Japanese army, was now beaten into a cowering turtle. The commander-in-chief had made one wrong step, and then every step was wrong. The promised munitions from J Country were repeatedly delayed, and eventually, the commander-in-chief even lost all means of contacting them.

It was only because of Huaping City’s unique terrain, which made it difficult for the Japanese army to attack, that the New Government was able to catch a few breaths.

The commander-in-chief had already begun to plan his own escape route. Although the lands further south were barren and treacherous, they were not entirely uninhabitable. At this desperate moment, the commander-in-chief could only console himself with the old saying, “As long as the green mountains are there, one need not worry about firewood.”

The new generation of the Dragon Kingdom had long seen the New Government’s decline. The students of the great academies had already united through countless gatherings and protests. Advanced Marxist ideas had brought them great enlightenment. The youth of the new generation gradually developed their own thoughts, their own beliefs, their own struggle for the rise of the Dragon Kingdom. The brainless leadership of the New Government had long since made the students lose any desire to follow them. In contrast, the Secret Party, which had always operated in the so-called “underground,” was the organization they truly wanted to follow. The ideas of the Secret Party’s leader coincided with their own, and the party’s strong leadership and military power gave this group of passionate Dragon Kingdom youths hope for restoring their nation’s glory.

After several more meetings and lectures, the young people of the Dragon Kingdom decided to follow the Secret Party to the death. They firmly believed that under the leadership of the Secret Party, they could certainly walk towards hope.

The Secret Party was the one truly biding its time. The actions of the Secret Party were the Dragon Kingdom’s true source of positive energy.

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The two in the car were silent the entire way. Both turned to quietly watch the scenery outside their respective windows, each lost in their own thoughts.

Although many things remained unspoken, they both roughly understood each other’s intentions. One wanted to use, the other was willing to give. It seemed the choices that followed would come naturally.

The large, black car slowly came to a stop on the side of the road not far from the academy’s main gate. Chi Junluo and Yi Shuhan got out. After a polite farewell, the driver started the car and left the academy road.

The main gate of Huaping Academy had a strong, traditional Dragon Kingdom style—magnificent, grand, simple, and elegant. The four characters for “Huaping Academy” had been inscribed by the old city lord from the previous dynasty, who had unfortunately since passed away. The scenery remained, but the people had changed.

Dynasties changed, but the youth were forever passionate. With every shift in history, countless passionate young people sacrificed themselves—not like moths to a flame, but because each of their sacrifices became a solid cornerstone for the eventual peace and prosperity of the nation.

Chi Junluo walked through the school gate side-by-side with the heroine. When they had gotten out of the car earlier, the luxurious vehicle had indeed attracted many curious glances, but once inside the academy gates, not many people paid them any more attention.

Chi Junluo had already made up her mind to drag Yi Shuhan into the cruel war once more. Only the bonds forged between life and death were often the most profound and the hardest to break.

Don’t blame her for her cruel decision. Born in this era of raging war, no one could remain a bystander.

Yi Shuhan was never going to be able to escape the vortex of fate in this chaotic era anyway.

Now, with Chi Junluo by her side, she could at least ensure her life was not in danger. And after being baptized by the cruelty of war, she would be able to face this world full of smoke and fire with greater strength.

Seeing the teaching building just ahead, Chi Junluo turned her head slightly and reintroduced herself to Yi Shuhan in the manner of the Secret Party. “Comrade, I am North Goose, a member of the Secret Party.”

Yi Shuhan froze when she heard this, turning to look directly into Chi Junluo’s eyes. In those bright, clear, light brown eyes, Yi Shuhan saw unwavering conviction. She heard the person before her make a very serious invitation. “I am now, in my capacity as the military section chief of the Secret Party in Huaping City, exercising my authority to formally invite Miss Yi Shuhan to join our Secret Party. We have reached a critical time. The coming winter may become the key turning point to end the war. The Secret Party sincerely hopes that outstanding new blood like Miss Yi Shuhan will be injected into our organization. We will ultimately become the swords and cannons of the New Dragon Kingdom. The flames of the Dragon Kingdom’s rebirth will be lit by you and me together!”

Yi Shuhan was astonished that the young upperclassman before her was already a section chief in the Secret Party. Hearing Chi Junluo’s sincere invitation, the patriotic blood of a Dragon Kingdom citizen flowing through her veins began to boil once more.

Never mind swords and cannons, even if she were asked to use her own body to block the enemy’s guns, she would do it without a moment’s hesitation!

After months of following and observing, this was the day she had been waiting for! The academy students could ultimately only stage marches and protests, but she—what she truly craved deep down was to rush to the battlefield!

Perhaps, on that battlefield of invisible blades and stray bullets, she could find the general from her dreams.

She nodded without hesitation. The person opposite her was not at all surprised. “From today on, you are Xiao Sun. You were brought into the organization personally by me, the military section chief. From now on, I will personally lead you in your studies and missions.”

An inexplicable light flickered in the depths of Yi Shuhan’s eyes.

Chi Junluo turned her head back and continued forward. Yi Shuhan hurried to follow.

You are Xiao Sun. You don’t need to be sacrificed. You just need to illuminate the path to North Goose’s faith. That is enough.

The two entered the classroom one after the other and took their seats in a corner.

Xiao Sun was the codename personally chosen by the original host—the real North Goose. The original host had thought of using Yi Shuhan, but she had never wanted this quirky girl, as hot and dazzling as the sun, to die. Xiao Sun only needed to illuminate the original host’s faith, to bring her a little warmth that smelled of sunshine. That was enough.

North Goose would eventually perish in an endless “migration,” but more “geese” would press forward fearlessly. Life was a cycle, but the sun in the sky was eternal, each perpetuating the other endlessly.

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