Hu Hao had Wu Kexiao deliver 1,000 rifles to the civilian-organized armed group, stating that they needed to earn their trust!
"Hao-ge, giving them this much... won't it make these civilians difficult to manage later? If they have guns, they might act recklessly!" Wu Kexiao cautioned upon hearing this.
"Just deliver them first. We need to gain their trust. As for how their forces will be arranged later, I will discuss that with their leader. Oh, by the way, do you know their leader's name? Get me a copy of his profile!" Hu Hao instructed.
"Yes, Hao-ge, I have his profile here. I just had my men look into him. His name is Zhang Debiao, 26 years old, a farmer..."
"WHO?!" Upon hearing the name, Hu Hao instantly shouted at the top of his lungs.
"Ah?" Wu Kexiao had no idea why Hu Hao was shouting, and the others were equally bewildered by Hu Hao's sudden outburst. Furthermore, his emotional state seemed completely off!
"Ah, what is it?" Wu Kexiao asked, utterly confused.
"What... what... what did you just say that man's name was? What was it?!" Noticing so many staff officers staring at him, Hu Hao took a deep breath and asked.
"Zhang Debiao!" Wu Kexiao shouted back.
"You... you... you go see him personally! Go quickly! Then invite him here. Whatever he wants, agree to it. As long as he wants it!" Hu Hao ordered, standing there.
"Me? I should go now?" Wu Kexiao was still taken aback.
"Yes, go right now! And send me his profile immediately! Send it over at once!" Hu Hao yelled.
"Oh, right, I'll go now! I'll send it to you immediately!" Hearing Hu Hao's tone, Wu Kexiao nodded quickly and hung up the phone.
Meanwhile, Hu Hao stood there, a mixture of excitement and anxiety swirling in his heart. Zhang Debiao. He dreamed of hearing this name. His big brother—a brother closer than blood. Hu Hao paced back and forth in the command center, taking deep breaths every so often before resuming his pacing!
"Hao-ge, the profile has been transmitted!" A staff officer handed a freshly printed document to Hu Hao!
"Good, go back to your work!" Hu Hao took the document and began flipping through it.
"Zhang Debiao, 26 years old, farmer, single, high school graduate. Home address: No. 28, Xiagouzi Village, Bailong Town, Huangdian District, Tonglong City."
The rest of the file detailed his educational background. Studying had proven useless; he couldn't continue after high school, so he stayed home to farm. He had tried to enlist in the military but was rejected because he was the only son in his family!
Below the text was a photo of Zhang Debiao. Hu Hao didn't know when the picture was taken, but the man looked like he was in his thirties, his face covered in a thick, full beard.
Looking at Zhang Debiao's profile, Hu Hao realized he couldn't confirm anything. The photo didn't resemble the big brother he was familiar with. But since his own appearance had changed, Hu Hao hoped that perhaps Zhang Debiao's appearance had changed as well.
After finishing the file, Hu Hao sat in the command center for a moment, then, holding the document, walked outside and stared into the misty rain.
Over in Tonglong City, roughly twenty minutes later, Wu Kexiao descended into an underground air raid shelter. Inside, a middle-aged man with a full beard was distributing rifles to his subordinates!
"Corps Commander!" Spotting Wu Kexiao, a major general immediately called out.
"This is Zhang Debiao. I've tried reasoning with him every which way, but he simply refuses to hand the weapons over. I told him we would protect them, but they don't believe it. They said they don't trust our National Defense Force," the division commander explained, pointing at the bearded man handing out guns!
"I'll talk to him!" With his hands clasped behind his back, Wu Kexiao walked over to the bearded man, Zhang Debiao.
"Hello, I am Wu Kexiao, Commander of the 106th Corps. I have something to discuss with you," Wu Kexiao said, standing before Zhang Debiao as the latter continued distributing weapons.
"What's there to discuss? The guns are ours. You guys look down on these weapons anyway. We'll keep them, and we can fight the Allied forces too!" Zhang Debiao sneered, glancing dismissively at Wu Kexiao.
"I have another matter to discuss with you. Keep the guns if you want, but our Commander wishes to see you," Wu Kexiao stated.
"Not going. I'm just an ordinary civilian. I don't have the qualifications to meet a Commander!" Zhang Debiao waved his hand dismissively.
"Biao-ge, don't go. Not a single one of those Empire generals is any good. We'll just follow you. As long as we can kill Allied soldiers, that's enough!" a man behind Zhang Debiao chimed in.
"Stop trying to trick our Biao-ge into meeting whatever general of yours! Hmph. When the fighting started, you guys ran faster than anyone else. We civilians didn't even know what was happening, and Tonglong City was already lost! You guys screwed us civilians over completely!" another young man pointed at Wu Kexiao and accused!
"Our Commander said that whatever conditions you have, just name them, and we will definitely agree. Our Commander heard that you guys are resisting the Allied forces here and is extremely interested. Oh, right, I brought 1,000 rifles outside. They are all yours, as long as you agree to meet our Commander!" Wu Kexiao pointed toward the vehicles parked outside the air raid shelter.
Hearing this, Zhang Debiao looked at Wu Kexiao with suspicion. Wu Kexiao stared right back at him.
"Why does your Commander want to see me? I don't even know him. Besides, handing over 1,000 rifles right off the bat... my life isn't worth 1,000 rifles, is it?" Zhang Debiao asked, pointing at the vehicles outside.
"To be honest, I don't know why our Commander wants to see you either. But the moment he heard your name, he wanted to see you!" Wu Kexiao shrugged.
"Heard my name and wanted to see me? An acquaintance?" Hearing this, Zhang Debiao grew puzzled.
"I wouldn't know about that!" Wu Kexiao shook his head.
"What's your Commander's name?" Zhang Debiao asked after a moment of thought.
"Our Commander goes by Hao-ge. His name is Hu Hao!"
"What?! Hu Hao?! Er Lengzi?! Are you sure?! Are you sure his name is Hu Hao?!" The moment Zhang Debiao heard this, he dropped the rifle in his hands, grabbed Wu Kexiao tightly by both arms, and roared, his eyes wide.
"What are you trying to do?! Back off, or I'll shoot!" Wu Kexiao's guards immediately raised their weapons and aimed at Zhang Debiao!
"Put your guns down! All of you, put your guns down!" Wu Kexiao shouted loudly.
Judging by Zhang Debiao's expression, he likely knew Hu Hao. Recalling how emotional Hu Hao had been earlier, Wu Kexiao dared not offend Zhang Debiao. If anything happened to this man, Wu Kexiao would be in serious trouble.
"Where is he?! Where is he right now?!" Zhang Debiao roared.
"Well, you'll have to come with us for that. As you know, our Commander is the Commander-in-Chief of the First Army Group. The location of his command center absolutely cannot be exposed! And please calm down, could you let go of me?" Wu Kexiao reasoned.
"Huff... huff... huff... Is... is his marksmanship incredibly accurate? And is he amazing at throwing grenades?! Is he?! And... and is he a great fighter?! He's amazing at fighting wars too, isn't he?!" Zhang Debiao released Wu Kexiao's arms and immediately bombarded him with questions.
"Uh... yes. How did you know?" Wu Kexiao nodded, utterly bewildered.
"Er Lengzi! Er Lengzi! My little brother is here! It's my little brother! It's my little brother!" Zhang Debiao was so overwhelmed with excitement that he didn't know what to do, pacing in circles on the spot.
"Your little brother?" Wu Kexiao asked, astounded.
"Does he have a nickname? Is he called Er Lengzi?! Is he?!" Zhang Debiao pressed on.
"Well... none of us have ever called him that. However, when His Majesty called him yesterday, he shouted, 'Laozi is called Er Lengzi! Laozi's nickname is Er Lengzi!'" Wu Kexiao recalled Hu Hao's phone call from the day before.
"Hahahaha! Ah~~~ Haha! Allied forces, Laozi's little brother is here! Laozi is going to kill you all!" Zhang Debiao stood there, laughing maniacally.
He looked entirely like a madman, and with his thick, full beard, he truly gave off the impression of a lunatic having a fit.
Wu Kexiao and Zhang Debiao's subordinates stared at him, completely unsure of what had come over him. However, Wu Kexiao realized that the man standing before him might genuinely be very close to Hu Hao—he called him Er Lengzi and even referred to him as his little brother.
"Hurry! Take me to him! Take me to him right now! Hurry up! I want to see my little brother! I want to see my little brother!" Zhang Debiao suddenly grabbed Wu Kexiao and began dragging him toward the exit.
"Ah! Alright, let's go, let's go!" Not daring to dawdle, Wu Kexiao immediately followed.
"Right! Radio Hao-ge's side and tell him Zhang Debiao is willing to meet the Commander!" Wu Kexiao shouted to the staff officer beside him.
"Wait! A phone! Do you have a phone?! A satellite phone?!" Hearing this, Zhang Debiao stopped in his tracks.
"Uh, yes, we do!" Wu Kexiao replied, seeing him halt.
"Call Er Lengzi right now!" Zhang Debiao pointed at the staff officer and roared. The staff officer looked at Wu Kexiao hesitantly.
"I told you to call! What are you looking at?! Hurry up!" Zhang Debiao bellowed at the staff officer.
"Call him quickly!" Wu Kexiao immediately ordered.
"Hao-ge, a call from Corps Commander Wu Kexiao. He says a man named Zhang Debiao wants to speak with you!" A staff officer hurried over with a phone and reported to Hu Hao!
"Alright!" Hu Hao grabbed the phone and headed straight toward the conference room. Turning back to the others, he ordered, "No one is allowed in!"
With that, he shut the door, sat down, took a deep breath, and spoke into the receiver: "This is Hu Hao!"
"Er Lengzi?" Zhang Debiao called out tentatively over the line.
Hearing that voice, Hu Hao's tears instantly spilled over, unstoppable.
"Brother~" After uttering that single word, Hu Hao's throat choked up completely!
"Er Lengzi! Er Lengzi! Little brother! Ah~~~" Zhang Debiao could only repeat the name 'Er Lengzi' over and over.
He couldn't manage to say anything else. His mouth hung open as he bawled loudly, completely unsure of what to say. The moment he heard Hu Hao call him 'Brother,' he knew for certain it was Hu Hao—it was his little brother!
(End of Chapter)