"Why are we stopping here?" asked Lin Tai, who was sitting in the front passenger seat. Lin Tai, at twenty-one, was a year younger than Kang Guowei. As a Shandong native, he was tall, muscular, and his tanned skin radiated health.
Back home in Shandong, he had attended junior high school. After the Japanese occupied Shandong, he fled to the rear areas under the leadership of his principal, traveling from Shandong to Hubei, then from Hubei to Sichuan. He was only thirteen at the time. After joining the army last year, he had expected to fight the Japanese, but instead found himself in Europe. He had known Kang Guowei since basic training back home, and after arriving in India, they ended up in the same company. Now, one was the squad leader, the other his deputy.
Kang Guowei put down the newspaper and leaned back in his seat.
"The town up ahead hasn't been taken by the Allies yet. The Germans may have planted mines on the road or set up an ambush. Let's wait a bit longer."
