Chapter 185 I Went Mad During the Republic of China Era
As the white light faded, Zhou Jue found himself in a mountain forest, surrounded by rolling green hills.
[Ding! Host detected has entered a new world: the Republic of China era]
[Current World Historical Juncture: July 1st, 1937 (Republic of China Year 26), Hebei North Mountain Area.]
Main Quest: Survive for 180 days
[Side Quest: Pending Trigger]
System scan initiated...
[Life Signal Scan: Human life signals detected in a mountain valley 1.5 kilometers southwest of the center, totaling 37 people. Their vital signs are generally weak, and the life signal of one person is rapidly fading.]
[A small group of twelve armed individuals has been spotted three kilometers to the northeast. They are in good health and well-equipped, and are conducting a sweeping search towards the southwest. Based on their language and equipment, they are identified as a Japanese army squad.]
July 1st.
Zhou Jue's heart sank. There was less than a week left until the night when Japan would pick a fight and launch a full-scale invasion.
She had no time to feel sentimental, nor did she have time to adapt.
"Save them first." Without the slightest hesitation, Zhou Jue concealed his aura and stealthily headed towards the southwest direction marked by the system.
The mountain path was rugged and might be difficult for ordinary people, but for Zhou Jue, she quickly approached the ravine. A faint smell of blood and sweat wafted into her nose.
She didn't rush in rashly, but instead found a secluded corner and carefully put the Listening Pearl and the Sea Listening Beast's baby teeth close to her body. Baby teeth are very useful in this world.
To prevent her from accidentally killing someone!
Instantly, countless whispered voices flooded her mind.
"Water...I really want to drink water..." This was a child's weak murmur.
"Damn Japanese devils, why aren't they leaving yet! We're almost out of food!" A middle-aged man cursed, suppressing his anger.
[Shuanzi...Shuanzi, you must hold on! This is my only child...] A woman sobbed silently.
Zhou Jue subtly attached his mental energy to the source of the faintest life signal.
It was a young man lying on a haystack, his lips cracked, his face pale with an unnatural flush, his chest wrapped in a tattered cloth soaked with dark red blood, and each breath he took was accompanied by painful spasms.
An old man with gray hair and a face full of wrinkles like old tree bark was trembling as he fed a young man dark herbal juice with a broken bowl, but most of the juice dripped down the corners of the young man's mouth.
"Village chief... stop feeding him... it's no use... cough cough..." The young man spoke weakly, which triggered a violent coughing fit, and more blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.
"Don't speak! Swallow it!" The old village chief's eyes were red and his voice was hoarse: "This is a life-saving remedy. Your father survived back then thanks to it!"
Zhou Jue glanced at it; it was a gunshot wound. The bullet was lodged in his body, and the wound was severely infected. He also had a persistent high fever. If this continued, there would be no way to save him, not even a miracle cure.
Without further hesitation, she stepped out of her hiding place, her footsteps light enough to instantly alert the flock of frightened birds.
"who?!"
"Who goes there!"
In the mountain valley, a dozen men wielding kitchen knives and hoes immediately stood up, shielding the women, children, and wounded behind them. Each of them wore a wary expression, their eyes filled with desperate ferocity.
Zhou Jue stood at the entrance of the mountain valley. She was wearing a gray, coarse cloth dress, which she had changed into before setting off. She looked like a girl from a neighboring village who had fled from disaster.
She ignored the hostile stares and looked directly at the old village chief, getting straight to the point: "The injured person won't last much longer."
One sentence left everyone stunned.
The old village chief's cloudy eyes narrowed sharply as he stared intently at Zhou Jue: "You...who are you? How do you know?"
Who I am is not important.
Zhou Jue spoke calmly, taking out a small white porcelain bottle and a roll of clean gauze from her cloth bag: "The important thing is that I can save him."
She shook the porcelain bottle in her hand: "This contains anti-inflammatory powder, but there's something inside his body that needs to be removed first, otherwise any medicine will be useless."
Everyone present wasn't stupid; they knew Zhou Jue was telling the truth. But why should a girl of unknown origin help them?
"Who exactly are you? Are you a spy sent by the Kingdom of Sakura?" A young man asked, his eyes red, as he gripped his hoe tightly.
Zhou Jue wasn't angry; she understood their fear and doubt. She simply looked at the old village chief quietly and said, word by word, "If I were Sakura herself, those surrounding this place wouldn't be an unarmed girl like me, but Japanese soldiers with Type 38 rifles. Whether you save him or not is your decision, but he has at most half an hour left."
After she finished speaking, she fell silent, waiting for them to make a decision. Only the heavy breathing of the injured man and the tense heartbeats of the others could be heard in the valley.
The old village chief's weathered eyes stared at Zhou Jue's clear, unwavering gaze for a long, long time. Finally, as if he had made up his mind, he slowly straightened his hunched back and bowed deeply to Zhou Jue.
"Girl...please, save Shuanzi!"
His bow seemed to break the taut string in everyone's hearts. Shuanzi's mother knelt down with a "plop" and kept kowtowing to Zhou Jue. The other villagers also put down their weapons, their eyes filled with pleading and hope.
"Get up, all of you." Zhou Jue stepped aside to avoid their deep bow. "Save the people first."
She walked over to the injured person, knelt down without any disgust, and deftly cut open the blood-stained rag.
It was a gruesome gunshot wound; the surrounding flesh had begun to turn black, ooze pus, and emit a foul stench.
She didn't expect the villagers who were fleeing to help her boil water; she simply took out surgical instruments, anesthetics, sterilization tools, and other supplies from her small bag.
Zhou Jue quickly disinfected his hands and tools, injected anesthetic into the scalpel, and then, without hesitation, used the scalpel in his hand to cut open the necrotic flesh with steady, accurate, and ruthless precision.
Zhou Jue's expression remained unchanged. He steadied his hands, inserted the tweezers into the wound, and searched precisely amidst the blood and gore.
A soft "ding" sounded.
Found it.
With a slight twist of her wrist, she pulled out a bullet already stained with blood and tossed it into the broken bowl beside her.
The villagers let out a suppressed gasp.
Without stopping, Zhou Jue immediately sprinkled the white powder from the porcelain bottle evenly onto the wound, then skillfully bandaged it with gauze. He then took out a few fever-reducing capsules from the cloth bag, pried open the suppository's mouth, and fed them to him with the spiritual spring water.
After doing all this, she stood up and wiped the sweat from her forehead.
"Alright, the bullet has been removed and the medicine has been applied. As long as you don't get a fever and take good care of yourself, your life will be saved."
The old village chief watched as Shuanzi's breathing gradually calmed down and his forehead, which was no longer so hot, and he was so moved that tears streamed down his face. He walked up to Zhou Jue and was about to kneel down again.
Zhou Jue quickly helped him up, saying, "Old man, you mustn't do that."
"Yes, yes! Young lady, you are the savior of our entire village!" The old village chief choked up, "We...we have nothing to repay you with, please...please take these..."
As he spoke, he instructed the villagers to bring out the last bit of dry food they had hidden away.
Looking at those dark, tooth-grinding cornbreads, Zhou Jue felt a pang of sadness. She waved her hand, took out a few oil paper packets from her cloth bag, and handed them over.
"Take these to tide you over."
The oil paper package was opened, revealing large, white steamed buns inside, still slightly warm.
The children's eyes lit up instantly, staring intently at the steamed buns, swallowing hard.
"Girl, this... how can this be..." The old village chief's hands trembled as he looked at the precious white steamed buns.
“There’s nothing wrong with it.” Zhou Jue stuffed the steamed bun into his hand: “You guys stay here and don’t move. There’s still a group of Japanese soldiers searching outside. I’ll go take care of them and come back.”
"What?!" The old village chief's face changed drastically: "Young lady, are you talking about those Japanese devils? That's unacceptable! They have guns! You're just a young girl..."
"Yes! Girl! You must come and hide with us! Don't go and get yourself killed!"
"Let's fight them!" Several young men grabbed their weapons again, their faces filled with grief and indignation. "It's better to fight these beasts than to starve or die of disease here!"
Seeing their indignant yet resolute expressions, Zhou Jue felt a lump in his throat.
She smiled reassuringly and said, "Don't worry."
She looked at everyone and said softly, "I am not fighting alone."
These words are like a reassuring pill.
The villagers were stunned. They looked at the girl who seemed to have fallen from the sky, at her calm and confident eyes, and a thought popped into their minds at the same time.
The team... it's our own team!
The old village chief's eyes lit up instantly, and he excitedly grabbed Zhou Jue's hand: "Girl, you...you are..."
Zhou Jue didn't answer, but patted the back of his hand: "Old man, take good care of everyone. I'll be right back."
After saying that, she didn't linger and turned to walk towards the northeast.
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