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墨書 Inktalez
"That can't be true," I muttered, both aloud and in my mind, unsure if it was possible that these instructors were truly that twisted.
"Liang, Fatty Hua, Old Jia, you guys go check with the classes and see if there's any truth to this. Also, ask how far they usually go out," I instructed.
"The rest of you brothers, get some rest. We'll wake up at six-thirty for a meal, then rest a bit more before we gear up and head out at eleven-fifty sharp!"
I turned to Ayu. "It doesn't matter if we're in a graveyard; we just need to clock in and leave. Let's be quick and precise so we can finish early and get some sleep."
Ayu shook his head. "I'm from Nanning, Hakka. Some things aren't as simple as you think." He lowered his voice. "Back in the day when we fought the Japanese here, there were major battles, and many people died. A lot of the wild graves are from those times; only a small portion belong to local residents. There have always been rumors about this place; it's considered somewhat eerie."
I stared at him in shock. "You're studying medicine; do you really believe in that?"
Ayu looked down at the map, fiddling with it. "Not really, but I always have a bad feeling about things."
"That's nonsense. We're just looking for something, not going into battle. There's nothing supernatural about it. Don't scare Fatty Hua; he might freak out. Just do your part; I've got the rest covered," I said, trying to sound calm.
Just then, the brothers I had sent out for information returned one by one. They reported that no class had been sent to the graveyard yet; most were heading to the hillside nearby where we usually trained during the day. It was close enough for a round trip.
Hearing this eased my mind a bit. I glanced at my watch—it was already one o'clock—so I quickly urged everyone to get some sleep to recharge for our evening mission.
I slept soundly until six o'clock that evening. When the alarm went off, I woke each of my brothers and led them to the mess hall for food. The mess hall was essentially a temporary cooking area stocked mostly with canned goods, military rations, bottled water, and occasionally some porridge and steamed buns for everyone. As for stir-fried dishes? Forget about it. The townsfolk would allow us to pay for meals at their homes, but it was ridiculously expensive—fine for an occasional treat but not sustainable.
Dinner consisted of porridge with pickles and buns; at least we got some meat in there. We sat on the ground eating while discussing our plans for the night.
Fatty Hua suggested that Ayu and I go clock in while the others find a place to hide until we return.
Old Jia, the oldest comrade in our class and a doctoral student who had been specially recruited into service, felt it would be better to act as a group. He reasoned that it would prevent any unforeseen incidents and reminded us that the instructors weren't fools—there were over ten of them around; wouldn't they be patrolling? If we got caught, failing the assessment wouldn't be worth it.
Before long, opinions in the class split into two factions. One side insisted on going together, while the other believed that just a few individuals could complete the task. The debate became heated.
After considering for a moment, I spoke up, "Actually, there's no need to divide so clearly right now. After we head out tonight, we'll assess the situation. If no one is following us or if we don't see the instructor wandering around outside, then we can send a small group to carry out the task while the majority waits in one place. Once it's done, we'll all return together. However, if the situation changes, everyone must act together. Remember, we are one class; completing this task is everyone's responsibility, not just one or two individuals." I shot a glare at Fatty Hua, who immediately lowered his head and avoided my gaze.
I turned to Ayu, who quickly responded, "I also support the class leader's opinion. If something happens, we must act as a whole class. After all, we haven't been outside the town before; we don't know what might happen. It's better to have more people."
Seeing that both the class leader and deputy leader had reached an agreement, the other members of the class ceased their objections. I quickly finished my porridge and munched on a bun before heading back to check the equipment we would need for the night.
After dinner and tidying up, I glanced at my watch; it was nearly 7:30. I hurriedly called everyone to lie down and take advantage of some time to rest.
With no sleepiness coming over me for a while, I quietly asked Ayu, "Hey, what do you mean by 'big battles'? Was this place once a major battlefield?"
Ayu nodded. "I found out about it when I was researching local history in college. On October 8, 1944, over a hundred thousand troops from the Japanese Army launched a massive attack on Guilin, marking the beginning of the Guilin Defense Battle. Under cover of aircraft and artillery, they attacked four strongholds outside Guilin—Pine Wind Mountain and Cat Mountain among them. The Guangxi Army stationed here held out with over 700 soldiers until November 4. On that day, Pine Wind Mountain and Cat Mountain fell, and the Japanese Army began a direct assault on Guilin city itself. They even sent landing boats in an attempt to attack Guilin via water routes. The defenders put up an exceptionally fierce resistance; the Japanese Army attempted to storm into downtown Guilin seven times but suffered heavy losses in urban warfare and had to withdraw. They even tried flanking Guilin via the Li River but were met with accurate fire from the Guangxi Army that inflicted significant casualties. Local militia suicide squads even strapped grenades to themselves and used bamboo rafts to destroy Japanese landing boats. The Japanese Army suffered over 7,000 casualties just on the Li River alone. After the Guilin Campaign, many elders from Guangxi recounted how nearly five kilometers of river surface on the beautiful Li River were littered with corpses from both Chinese and Japanese forces; it was a scene of utter devastation in the fields as well. I suspect this area was part of that outer battlefield back then."
As I chatted with Ayu like this, I lost track of time until it was almost time to set off. When the alarm rang, I went around waking everyone up and led them to line up in the courtyard while reminding them to double-check their gear. Once everything was ready, we arrived at the base entrance.
The instructor was already waiting under a dim electric light on the left side inside the camp gate with an assistant. When he saw us come out, he called out softly, "Twelfth Class?"
I stood at attention and replied, "Yes, I am Class Leader Wang Wei."
The instructor gestured for me to step forward. I quickly ran up to him; he pulled out a red pen and made a gesture towards me. I promptly took out the map, uncovered its waterproof layer, and handed it to him. He took it and casually circled a few areas before handing it back while saying, "After exiting the camp gate, head east towards town. Once you leave town, turn north; that's where your target points are located—there are three in total. Find them to pass this task. It's currently 9:58 PM; if you're not back before 1 AM when the next team departs, then everyone fails this task. Do you understand?"
"Understood!" I replied sharply while raising my right hand in salute. The instructor returned my salute and commanded, "Set off!"
"Yes!" I turned back and waved my hand; the other ten brothers lined up in two rows behind me as we exited through my right side. The instructor nodded in satisfaction at our orderly formation.
I quickly fell in line, keeping to the middle of the left side, leading the group out of the Camp entrance. Two sentinels saluted us as we passed, and I returned the gesture solemnly. These were the personnel stationed here by the school to manage the camp, a small group of less than two classes. They lived far from the city under harsh conditions, and from the moment I arrived, I felt a deep respect for them.
Once outside, I gave the command to turn right and looked up. The night sky was quite nice, dotted with stars that shone brighter than those visible in the city. The moon was also much brighter than what we usually saw in City. The streets of the town were dimly lit; most households had already turned off their lights and gone to sleep, leaving the town quiet and dark, with only the sounds of insects chirping indicating the vibrant life of the rural wilderness.
Not long after leaving Camp, a few brothers in the team could no longer contain themselves and began chatting. I snapped, "No talking until we leave town." Everyone immediately stopped their chatter and silently followed my orders.
Following the instructor's directions, we moved eastward through the town. Just as we were about to exit, two figures emerged ahead and shouted at us, "Which class are you from?"
"Twelfth Class," I replied. Thanks to some light still present in the town, I could clearly see that they were two Instructors hiding behind a tree. I raised my right fist in salute, and our entire class came to a halt.
The Instructors approached us, first counting our numbers. Then one of them pulled out a walkie-talkie from somewhere and said, "Eagle Eagle, this is Eagle reporting. Twelfth Class has arrived at Point A, full attendance. Over."
"Received. You are cleared to proceed. Over."
I glanced at Fatty Hua; it was clear that the instructors had plans in place. They wouldn't send just one or two people to complete an assignment; a large group was stationed nearby. It seemed there were not only Point A but also Point B involved this time—our entire class was indeed mobilized.
The Instructor with the walkie-talkie waved us on, and I quickly urged everyone to pick up the pace as we exited the town.
After walking a distance away from the town, I felt that the night was growing heavier. Looking back, I could barely make out the town behind us, its lights flickering faintly. I called for everyone to stop and gathered them around to make arrangements.
Once everyone formed a circle, I bit down on my flashlight to free my hands and unfolded the map using its light. Ayu immediately grabbed one side of it as I held up my flashlight to illuminate it. "From what we can see so far," I said, "the school has taken precautions against individuals trying to find points on their own without involving the larger group; there are watchful eyes along our route. Therefore, we must move together as one unit. Ayu and I will handle navigation; Xu Aliang will bring up the rear while everyone else stays in between. We don't need to maintain formation—just keep up with each other. Remember to use your flashlights both front and back; one flashlight in the middle is enough—let's rotate them to conserve battery."
I paused for a moment before continuing, "Now I'll give everyone five minutes to rest and hydrate. Ayu and I will study the map first to clarify our direction before we set off. Is that understood?!"
"Understood!"
"Received!"
"Okay."
Everyone chimed in, then scattered to rest in their own spots.
I turned to Ayu, who was studying the map with a flashlight. Noticing he was silent, I couldn't help but ask, "What do you think?"
"Take a look for yourself," Ayu replied quietly.
Using the flashlight's beam, I examined the map. The instructor had marked three red circles. The first one was just east of the town, not far ahead of us. The second was along the road heading north, seemingly on a hilltop—no issues there.
Just as I was about to say something, I noticed Ayu pointing at the third red circle. It marked our final destination, and as I looked closely, I gasped!
The last point was located among a cluster of tombstones!
(To be continued, more exciting developments tomorrow!)
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