I never thought I would have to face this my entire life. A high tension scenario with a language barrier preventing any attempt to defuse the situation. I can't let them in or they will wreak havoc on my troops but I cannot have my troops firing on them for fear it will escalate. Pina will not be happy if this occurs.
Y/N: Keep an eye on them, if they use a bow, shoot their horses! Stay calm and keep the gate shut at all costs!
The best option is to hold the stalemate until Pina and Adonis get here. One of them, a girl with blonde hair shouted to us.
???: What are you bandits doing here?
We kept silent and I could see a few of my men were becoming more nervous.
???: Answer us!
Not long after, the whole group began shouting at us and grew more hostile as they raised their weapons. My troops were shaking in distress and could fire a shot in a panic. Without thinking I fired my M1911 in the air, shocking them all into silence. Seemed they got the message seeing how they lowered their weapons. At least Adonis arrived faster than usual.
Adonis: I heard shots, what happened?
Y/N: There was a commotion, I fired a shot to silence them. Now we take our leave.
Pina: What about my troops?
Adonis: Don't worry, no one died, just shocked into silence. We will leave as we agreed.
Pina: Wait, can I see your leader?
Adonis: That's not up to me or him to decide.
I turned to Pina to give her a stern warning. A warning that will prevent deaths and waste of bullets
Y/N: Do not follow us to our base. It is a death trap, like the thousands of your soldiers that marched to their deaths and never made it back alive.
Adonis: He said for your troops to not follow us back to our camp. If you do, it won't end well.
Y/N: Open the gate, let them in. We're leaving.
As I was overseeing my troops preparing to leave, the girls came back with a sack, peeking inside was... coins? Is this money? Where did they get all this? Come to think of it, I never saw them after the battle.
Y/N: What is hell this, money? Have they never heard of paper money?!
We loaded up our men and began our return to Nanjing Fortress. I took one last look at the people, saluted, and signaled all vehicles to move. She seemed to understand my warning as no one followed us back to the fortress. As usual, General Gu summoned me to his office.
Zhutong: So I see you are late once again. But I'll excuse this since you got attacked by bandits. Now, have you got intel as you were ordered to?
Y/N: Yes, more than we expected.
I took the envelope out of my helmet and handed it to him. General Gu opened it and began reading.
Zhutong: hmmm, what are these marks?
He stared at the crosses I marked. I shifted uncomfortably in my seat.
Y/N: Those are either unconfirmed or merely rumors. We're unable to confirm them at the time.
Zhutong: What are mages and this Pina with her "Rose Order of Knights?"
Y/N: Pina is the leader of the garrison of that city. Fortunately, we were able to defeat the bandits at the cost of over half the able-bodied men that made up the militia. The Rose Order of Knights are her troops, luckily for us, we never clashed with each other despite high tensions. I don't know what a mage is.
Zhutong: That's good, handling a high tension situation. What about this "Men in Blue?"
Y/N: That's us. We all wore blue uniforms leftover from the war against Japan.
He placed down the papers and looked straight up at me. I'm going to guess there is another task for me to handle.
Y/N: Another task, sir?
Zhutong: Nope, we did our orders from high command. We're all set for now, you can go now.
Y/N: Yes, sir!
Well that went smoother than I thought. I turned around and was about to leave when Zhutong called me.
Zhutong: Wait, before I forget. Tomorrow is your day of leave. You may go back to the mainland to your family or stay here.
Y/N: Thank you sir. But, what about the refugees?
Zhutong: I'll leave them under the care of your friends. The refugees seem to trust them more than the Military Police. Tell your platoon that they get to rest.
Y/N: Yes sir.
Timeskip
Nanjing, Republic of China 4:00 PM GMT
Home sweet home... Tired from walking from Nanjing street to home.
*Knock* *knock* *knock*
Y/N: Mom, Dad, I'm home!
The door opened to see my father, with bags under his eyes. Looks like he took an overnight shift at the factory.
Y/N: Another late shift at the factory?
Father: Yes, my son, come in and rest.
I took off my field cap and placed it on the table. I looked around, Xuehua and Liu are nowhere to be seen.
Y/N: Where are Xuehua and Liu? It's Saturday, they shouldn't have class.
Father: Liu is working at a construction site. Xuehua has been watching him since he cut himself on a brick.
Mother: How about I make your favorite noodles?
Y/N: Ma, I'll do that myself, you both should rest.
Mother: No need to make you work after your way home. You must be tired.
Y/N: Tired, yes, but you're more tired than me and deserve more rest. When is your next shift?
Mother: Y/N, please. It wouldn't be good to give you more work since you fought hard.
Y/N: You need to save your energy. I don't want you collapsing in the factory like last time.
After some back and forth with mother, I finally caved in. On the condition, I make the soup.
Y/N: Fine, I'll let you make the noodles, but only if you let me make the soup!
Mother: Ok Y/N, you may make the soup.
I filled a pot with water and added salt and vegetables. I then took out a can of American SPAM that I smuggled through the gate and added that to the broth after cutting it to cubes.
Mother: Where did you get that from?
Y/N: I got it from the mess hall, the cooks gave it to me and I took it over the gate. Don't tell anyone about this, or I'll get in trouble.
Mother: Ok, I won't tell anyone.
I sampled the soup to check its taste and when the flavor was just right, I motioned mother over.
Y/N: Ma, the soup is ready.
Mother, despite her frail appearance, hasn't lost touch with her cooking skills. Other than being employed at a factory, she also works at a local restaurant that gives food to factory workers and construction workers at reduced prices on days she doesn't work at the factory.
Y/N: Pa, the noodles are ready, come out to eat.
Father: I'll be there in a bit, just wait.
Father is in his 30's, but looks middle-aged due to the stress of fleeing the Japanese and Communists along with mass producing war materials and now works 8-12 hour shifts to aid in rebuilding the country starting with machinery for other factories and construction companies. He is also employed at the same factory as Mother but they both work different shifts.
Pa: How was the other world? Your letters describe it as the plains of Shandong, with the mountains of Hunan, with rivers flowing majestically of the Yangtze, and forests of Yunnan. All into one small land.
Y/N: Yes, but it's way larger than that but nowhere as big as the province of Zhejiang.
Ma: Any chance we could visit?
Y/N: Only press, military, and government officials are allowed in the other world.
Pa: The enemy, are they like the Devils?
Y/N: No, more like the ancient armies, using swords, spears, bow and arrows. Shields do nothing against guns and they still use outdated tactics. Look at us, we have guns, artillery, tanks, planes. They all just marched to their deaths without knowing what hit them.
Once we're done eating and talking, Mother and Father went to bed and I sat down on a chair cleaning my Type 24 rifle. Standardized designs and machinery made it easy to field strip and clean, especially in the middle of a battle, unlike other weapons. The door opened, with Liu and Xuehua walking inside chatting about their day.
Liu: We're home! Hey, Y/N is home!
Xuehua: How was your journey in the other world?
Y/N: Beautiful, and dangerous. The invaders charged endlessly at our lines with swords and shields. Not to mention a language barrier. We don't know anything about them. Reminds me of the damn communist bandits! Charging at our lines to deplete our ammunition...
Xuehua: You mentioned in your letters the beauty of the other world.
Y/N: Yes it is. I had a long journey, there are noodles in the pot if you want. I'm going to sleep. If you need anything, get me. I'll talk more when I get up.
Slowly creeping into bed, laying down on the soft mattress, and slowly drifting to sleep.
???: Corporal Y/N, WAKE UP! The Devils are here!
I woke up to find Sergeant Cai shaking me awake. I looked around, finding myself in the streets of Shanghai, clutching a Type 24 rifle inside a machine gun nest.
Sergeant Cai: The Devils that have wretched Dongbei from us are now here to take Shanghai! After Shanghai, they will continue to take our country and enslave our people! We won't let them take our country and families without a fight!
Chapter 7 END
A/N: College and work is big pain... Sorry for not uploading for... 5 months...