"Waaah..."
A young soldier could no longer hold back. He scrubbed at the tears on his face with the back of his hand, stifled sobs escaping him.
His crying seemed to flip a switch.
Soon came a second, then a third...
The more than two hundred hardened men who had shed blood but never tears on the battlefield were all crying like children.
They were not crying from grief.
They were crying because they were moved. Because they were shaken to the core!
The girl's strength and understanding had melted their iron-hard hearts.
Yue Xiaofei looked at Chen Nian, at the light still shining in her tear-filled eyes. Something struck him hard in the chest.
He stepped forward, took off his uniform jacket, and draped it over Chen Nian's thin shoulders.
"Well said."
Yue Xiaofei's voice was hoarse, but full of strength.
"Your brother was a hero."
"And we're your heroes too."
He turned to face the more than two hundred soldiers of the 800th Company, all still weeping, and raised his voice like a thunderclap!
"Swallow those damn tears!"
"We're soldiers! Soldiers of the 800th Company!"
"Soldiers of the 800th Company shed blood, not tears!"
The soldiers jolted at his roar. They straightened instinctively and wiped their faces with their sleeves.
Yue Xiaofei's gaze swept over every face like a blade.
"Listen to me, all of you!"
"From today on, Chen Nian is a little sister to every one of us!"
"We'll shoulder the responsibilities Chen Ze didn't get to fulfill!"
"We'll care for his mother the way he no longer can!"
"And if anyone ever dares bully her or Aunt Liu again—"
Yue Xiaofei paused. Each word that followed came through clenched teeth, carrying a bloodthirsty menace!
"I'll tear his head off myself! Do you understand?!"
"YES,