Chapter Seventeen: Harvesting Points

“Commander, what’s our plan now?”

Since they had decided to stay, Fang Xiaodong immediately assumed his role and hurriedly asked Chen Qingzhi, “Although we managed to repel the Japanese this time, our losses are heavy. And there’s no way the enemy will swallow this defeat—they’ll definitely attack again soon! With just our handful of men, there’s no way we can hold out!”

“I have my own solution to this.” Chen Qingzhi only smiled mysteriously at Fang Xiaodong’s concern and replied coolly, “For now, go and count our numbers—see how many men we still have who can carry a rifle.”

“Yes, sir!” Huzi and Fang Xiaodong both nodded and left to carry out the order.

At this moment, Chen Qingzhi silently invoked the Iron Blood Resistance System, and immediately a virtual three-dimensional light screen appeared before his eyes.

“System, I remember you said before that killing Japanese soldiers earns points, right? And I can use those points to exchange for weapons and equipment?” Chen Qingzhi inquired aloud.

His decision to stay was not reckless—on the contrary, it was because of the Iron Blood Resistance System that he intended to stand his ground here with his troops. Partly it was for revenge—to kill more Japanese and bring comfort to the souls of his fallen brothers. More importantly, he wanted to delay the Japanese advancing from Zhonghua Gate for as long as possible, thus giving Comrade Luo Cheng inside Nanjing more time, and allowing more civilians to escape. Although he knew that holding Zhonghua Gate alone would not save Nanjing, at least it could relieve some pressure within the city.

Another reason was that he did not want to lead his men back to Nanjing—returning now was tantamount to marching into death.

These three reasons, combined with the existence of the Iron Blood Resistance System, gave Chen Qingzhi the confidence to continue his stand at Zhonghua Gate, blocking the Japanese advance.

As soon as he finished speaking, the system’s unique metallic voice rang out, “Yes, host.”

“In that case, open my points panel,” said Chen Qingzhi.

Instantly, as his words fell, the light screen before him shifted, and a row of data appeared.

Host: Chen Qingzhi
Rank: Major
Points: 16,460

“Over ten thousand?” Chen Qingzhi was a little surprised at the amount. Although he had killed many Japanese soldiers, he hadn’t expected to accumulate so many points.

“How are the points calculated?” he asked.

“The Iron Blood Resistance System awards points according to the number of enemies you personally eliminate, the number of Japanese soldiers killed by the troops under your command, and their corresponding ranks. Each yields a specific number of points.”

“Killing an ordinary Japanese soldier earns 10 points. A lance corporal earns 20 points, a sergeant 30, a staff sergeant 40, a warrant officer 50, a second lieutenant 100, first lieutenant 500, captain 1,000, major 2,000, lieutenant colonel 5,000, colonel 10,000, brigadier general 50,000, major general 100,000, and general 200,000 points.”

“So that’s how it works. Understood.” Chen Qingzhi nodded.

He had thought that only his own kills would count for points, but to his surprise, all kills by his troops counted as well. That meant as long as he kept fighting the Japanese, points would keep coming.

But that was for later. Right now, he needed to use these points to exchange for weapons and equipment. The 527th Regiment was down to just a handful of men—without superior equipment and firepower, holding this position against the Japanese was a pipe dream.

With that thought, Chen Qingzhi asked, “What kinds of weapons and equipment can I exchange for with points?”

“You can exchange points for any military hardware available in the current world, as well as from your own era—but the further advanced from this era the technology is, the more expensive it becomes. The cost increases geometrically the further you go beyond the current level,” the system replied.

“Oh!” Chen Qingzhi was delighted at this answer and couldn’t help but say, “Can I see what kinds of hardware are available?”

“Of course—any weapon can be exchanged, provided you have enough points,” the system said, and the light screen before Chen Qingzhi changed again.

The entire interface now displayed rifles, with several categories listed at the top: rifles, machine guns, artillery, and military supplies.

“As the host’s current level is too low, only the four basic categories are available. To unlock higher levels, the host must continue to improve,” the emotionless system voice echoed in Chen Qingzhi’s mind.

Chen Qingzhi nodded, but quickly turned his attention to the screen. In the rifle category, each listed rifle had a corresponding image. The Hanyang rifle and the old bolt-action types were all there, and their exchange rates were very low—just fifteen points each.

The Chinese Type Zhongzheng rifle, a Mauser copy, and the Japanese Type 38 rifle were only thirty points each—quite cheap.

Chen Qingzhi kept scrolling, and finally saw his favorite weapon from his previous life: the Type 95 assault rifle. This was a new-generation assault rifle developed by the Republic, with impressive performance and a sterling reputation even at the time. Back in the army, it had been his weapon of choice. Since coming to the Republic era, he’d found the Zhongzheng rifle full of flaws and missed the Type 95 dearly.

Now, seeing it again, he longed to exchange for one immediately. But the price—a staggering five thousand points—doused his hopes like a bucket of cold water.

Though he yearned for the Type 95, it was simply too expensive. Right now, he needed to use points for equipping the troops; no matter how much he liked it, he had to put it aside for the time being.

He glanced longingly at the Type 95 one last time, then scrolled back. The system’s words had proven true: the further the weapon exceeded the era’s technological level, the higher the cost. The Type 95 was 5,000 points, while a Mauser 98K was only fifty!

The gap was a hundredfold.

After careful consideration, Chen Qingzhi found that for this era, the Mauser 98K offered the best value for points among rifles. But since each cost fifty points, he was unsure whether he had enough points for every soldier to have one.

What’s more, rifles alone wouldn’t suffice—he intended to redeem some artillery and machine guns as well. Only then could they have the firepower to stand a chance.

With that in mind, he realized that even over ten thousand points would fall far short.