"Understood!" the student soldiers replied in unison.
Ning Zhiheng himself was not idle either. He also found a student uniform to wear, adjusted his disguise, and followed Zuo Rou's instructions to soften his facial features. He also processed his figure and voice. With every move, his temperament changed completely.
It's a pity Zuo Rou isn't around. If she put on a little makeup, she would look almost exactly like a student.
Ning Zhiheng also selected a student soldier named Dai Junlun. He was one of the more outstanding students and had some prestige among them. Ning Zhiheng also thought he was clever, so he took him under his wing.
The selected student soldiers all left the garrison and departed according to Ning Zhiheng's arrangements.
Ning Zhiheng led several groups of student soldiers on a brisk march, and soon arrived at Qingjiang Town, the closest town to their base. It was the largest town in the vicinity and the most densely populated area, making it the best hiding place for the plainclothes team.
Upon entering Qingjiang Town, Ning Zhiheng and the others agreed to meet at the town gate in the evening, after which the groups would split up to conduct reconnaissance.
He then led Dai Junlun slowly toward the town. There were many pedestrians on the roadside, indicating that there was indeed a large population here. Ning Zhiheng and the other person walked along the street, looking around curiously. They seemed to be two students who had just arrived.
Qingjiang Town is quite large, with streets crisscrossing the area. Ning Zhiheng and his companion arrived at a shop and politely inquired about the patriotic groups in Qingjiang Town. However, the shopkeeper knew nothing about them, only saying that he had seen someone giving a speech and raising funds on the street, and that he had donated quite a bit of money.
Ning Zhiheng couldn't grasp the point, so he asked several more pedestrians, but still no one knew exactly how many patriotic groups there were or where they lived.
Seeing Dai Junlun's somewhat anxious expression, Ning Zhiheng smiled slightly, realizing he was still too naive, and began to chat with him as they walked, asking in a low voice, "Junlun, how old are you this year? Where are you from?"
Dai Junlun glanced at Ning Zhiheng and realized that, in close proximity, his superior wasn't as stern as everyone said. He replied in a low voice, "I'm twenty years old this year, and I'm from Jinhua, Zhejiang."
"Jinhua native? Then how did you come to Shanghai to join the Special Operations Team?" Ning Zhiheng asked.
Dai Junlun quickly replied, "I was studying in Shanghai. At the beginning of the war, our school was bombed by Japanese planes. Many students signed up to join the army, but the regular army wouldn't accept us. They thought we were a burden. We had no school to attend and no hope of joining the army. We were all planning to return to our hometowns. But when we heard that the Special Operations Team was recruiting students to fight against the Japanese, we discussed it with our classmates and then all came to join the Special Operations Team."
Upon hearing this, Ning Zhiheng was relieved and couldn't help but laugh, saying, "Jinhua, Zhejiang! We're from the same hometown! I'm from Hangzhou! I thought your accent sounded similar, but I noticed a bit of a Shanghai accent in it, so I wasn't quite sure."
Dai Junlun was also very happy that the brigade leader was his fellow townsman. He chuckled and said, "Hehe, I've been studying in Shanghai for two years now. Sometimes I mix Shanghainese and my hometown dialect, and it sounds a bit awkward."
"Yeah, I'm just like you. I came from Hangzhou to Nanjing to study and went to military school for two years. As a result, I started speaking a mix of Hangzhou dialect and Nanjing dialect, and that's how I ended up speaking like this, haha!"
The two smiled at each other, their relationship becoming much closer. Ning Zhiheng deliberately toned down his sharp edge today, and Dai Junlun also felt that the new captain was much more amiable. At this moment, he suddenly mustered up his courage and said, "Captain, many veteran members call you Ning Yama, but you don't look like that at all. You seem more like my senior, without any airs."
Hearing this, Ning Zhiheng was taken aback. This was clearly a discussion among the veteran soldiers below, which the student soldiers had overheard.
He didn't want to explain further, so he waved his hand and changed the subject, asking, "Are there many classmates in the special operations team with you?"
“Many, many of them are from our school.” Dai Junlun nodded and said, but his face quickly darkened. “They all say they’re going to abandon their studies to join the army and defend their country, but a few days ago, as soon as we went to the battlefield on the north bank, many of our classmates died. They didn’t even have time to fire a single shot.”
Ning Zhiheng's heart sank upon hearing this. Neither of them said anything more, nor did they want to bring up the topic again.
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