cicada

Chapter 1436 Talks and Unexpected Changes

Five minutes earlier, Yamamoto was aiming at the bald man in military uniform when the man stumbled and almost fell. When he looked up, he saw a stranger's face.

"Baka! It's a trap!"

Yamamoto holstered his gun and shouted, trying to retreat, but a burst of gunfire erupted behind him as several Thompson submachine guns emerged from the shadows and opened fire.

Bullets swept through the crowd, killing several Japanese special agents on the spot, but Yamamoto escaped unharmed.

As the founder of Japan's special operations forces, Yamamoto naturally possessed high tactical skills. While alerting his subordinates, he had already rolled into the nearest house.

Several stray bullets hit the corner of the wall, emitting smoke and dust. Yamamoto sat on the ground with his back against the wall, breathing heavily, his heart filled with lingering fear and relief.

Without time to think too much, he gestured to his men, who had also taken refuge in the house, ordering them to set up a defensive position.

Yamamoto now wanted to see the British more than anyone else, because surrendering to the British might give them a chance to live, while if they fell into the hands of the Military Intelligence Bureau, the operatives present would only face certain death.

As for suicide, Yamamoto, who had studied in the West, was not as rigid as his country bumpkin colleagues. In his mind, surrendering was not a shameful thing.

Gu Qi, standing outside the door, was extremely annoyed. He glared fiercely at the little spy pretending to be someone. If the other party hadn't given himself away, the assassins would have been captured long ago.

"Deputy Director, let me take some men and make a charge."

The junior agent, looking dejected, volunteered to Gu Qi, intending to redeem himself in this way.

Gu Qi shook his head, signaling his men to surround the assassins from both sides. The enemy was already trapped, and there was no need for them to launch a strong attack and increase casualties.

However, he also knew that he had to end the battle before the British arrived, otherwise he would not be able to annihilate the enemy.

White people have always been full of wickedness and depravity, spouting nothing but benevolence and morality. If they were to witness the Military Intelligence Bureau executing an assassin, it would surely cause trouble, which would be detrimental to both the Nationalist government and the Military Intelligence Bureau.

Looking around the house where the assassins were hiding, Gu Qi shouted, "Collect grenades, crush these rats in their hole, and hurry up!"

Yamamoto's heart sank. At that moment, he heard rustling sounds coming from inside the house. He raised his gun and gently lifted the curtain.

Meanwhile, the Kuomintang secret agents received orders and immediately tied the grenades together. Just as everyone was about to pull the fuse, they heard someone inside the door shouting in the Republic of China dialect.

"Sirs outside, if you don't want them to be beaten to death, let me and my men leave."

Accompanied by shouts, Yamamoto leaned out of the house with a pistol pointed at the head of a local man, with a woman beside him.

Gu Qi's expression remained unchanged. He gave the junior agent a wink, signaling him to continue the operation.

Putting aside the fact that the hostages were locals, even if they were ordinary citizens of the Republic of China, they would not let the assassin go at this point.

The junior agent fired several shots, and the hostage man collapsed to the ground, shot in the chest. Yamamoto and the other Japanese agents had no choice but to retreat.

Taking advantage of this opening, the agents pulled the fuse and threw the cluster grenade outside the house where the assassin was, while simultaneously opening fire to suppress the enemy.

Undeterred, the Japanese soldiers fired their guns outwards with all their might. Gu Qi groaned as the junior agent dragged him behind cover. A stray bullet grazed his left arm.

Upon learning that Deputy Director Gu of the Military Intelligence Bureau was injured, the Bureau immediately increased its firepower, with rifles and pistols firing simultaneously, the gunshots exploding like popping beans.

As he watched the fuse outside the door rapidly ignite, Yamamoto, his face filled with despair, roared and pulled the trigger on the woman, behaving like a coward.

Gunshots and explosions rang out simultaneously, and the mud-brick houses collapsed completely, burying the assassin and hostages underneath.

"Clean up the scene and finish off the enemy." Gu Qi instructed while receiving bandages.

Before long, the junior agents cleared out several bodies, all of them Asian, but the guns they used were German-made.

As Gu Qi stared blankly at the corpse, Zuo Chong and Gui Youguang walked over. Upon seeing Yamamoto's appearance, Zuo Chong raised an eyebrow and kicked the man.

"Is this the leader of the assassins?"

Gu Qi nodded and then gave a report on the firefight, especially the incident of the assassins taking hostages.

Zuo Zhong laughed. Sure enough, a leopard can't change its spots. A professional soldier who uses civilians as shields all the time—this is what they call a Japanese special operations expert? Bah!

At this moment, British support finally arrived. Several armored vehicles rushed to the scene, and a group of British soldiers wearing flying saucer helmets got out to guard the area.

Arguing with John Bull was a waste of time, so Zuo Zhong left Gu Qi to negotiate while he and Gui Youguang went to the Heliopolis Palace Hotel to meet someone.

Outside the hotel's luxury suite, the two encountered Wu Chunyang. Seeing Zuo Zhong covered in dust, Wu Chunyang quickly inquired about his condition.

"It's nothing. We encountered a group of assassins, probably Germans and Japanese. The Japanese are all dead, but some of the Germans escaped."

Zuo Zhong straightened his collar, and after replying, asked again, "Was your journey smooth?"

"It went very smoothly. The Chairman and I got off in an alley near the airport and then took a British military transport vehicle to the hotel. Everything was normal on the way."

Wu Chunyang explained the situation: as Skorzeny had suspected, the escort team on the surface was just bait.

The three of them whispered for a while, and then waited a bit longer. With an hour left before the British banquet, Zuo Zhong raised his hand and knocked on the door.

"come in."

Hearing someone's slightly tired voice, Zuo Chong pushed open the door and pulled the curtains halfway open, respectfully reminding the other person that they could leave. The person got out of bed but didn't get up immediately; instead, they sat quietly for a while, a habit they had maintained for many years.

Zuo Zhong was used to this. He picked up the thermos and mixed some cold water to make a cup of warm water, which was placed on the table. The temperature did not exceed 40 degrees Celsius, which was also someone's habit.

After doing all that, he prepared another pot of warm water, slightly warmer than the water in the cup, suitable for washing his face and rinsing his mouth.

Someone leisurely got out of bed, rinsed his mouth, and took the hot towel handed to him by Zuo Zhong. While washing his face, he inquired about the situation of the convoy.

"Shinji, did the Japanese really attack me just as you predicted?"

"Yes, Master, I have taken care of everything, however..."

"Nothing, just say what you want to say."

Zuo Zhong lowered his head, then raised his eyes slightly and said, "Besides the Japanese, there were also Germans among the assassins."

The person paused while wiping their face, then quickly resumed normal action as if nothing had happened, but Zuo Zhong clearly saw the other person's hand gripping the towel tighten suddenly.

The Nationalist government had complex feelings toward Germany. If it had not been for the German-equipped divisions formed before the war, the war situation in the Republic of China would probably have been even worse.

This led to a strange fondness and superstition among the top levels of the Nationalist government towards German equipment and even the German government.

Therefore, it's understandable that he was unsettled upon learning that Germany had also joined the assassination attempt. However, considering that Britain and the United States were equally powerful, he managed not to lose his composure on the spot.

Zuo Zhong was well aware of the other party's concerns but didn't say anything, continuing to silently serve the person as they changed.

Half an hour later, the Nationalist government motorcade stopped in front of a villa in Marham Palace, where a dinner and secret meeting between someone and Mr. Q officially began.

Because the meeting involved too many secrets, it was not made public, and no one knows what the two talked about, but one of them looked very unhappy when he came out.

On the way back to the hotel, someone kept cursing Mr. Q in a thick dialect, saying things like the British were no good. Zuo Zhong remained silent.

When a nation is weak, it is bullied; when people are poor, their ambitions are diminished. Even Japan and Germany only dared to assassinate certain individuals, but dared not target the heads of state of Britain and the United States.

Outside the car window, British colonial police and soldiers were driving a group of locals out of the city, where extensive fortifications needed to be built.

In the eyes of the British, the Republic of China might not even be as good as Egypt. At least the Egyptians could help the Allies dig traps, Zuo Zhong thought to himself with self-deprecation.

The next day arrived in the blink of an eye. Someone, Mr. Q, met with Roosevelt, and the three of them had a heated argument. Zuo Zhong, on the other hand, was able to enjoy some peace and quiet outside the door.

The conversation continued until noon when a U.S. Army colonel strode in. Hearing the argument inside, he hesitated for a moment and did not dare to knock.

He glanced sideways with his left eye and noticed that the insignia on the newcomer's uniform was a cross-shaped dagger and key design.

This symbol indicates that the other party is from the staff or intelligence department, and it is an informal insignia that is not often worn on the battlefield; it is a badge used by internal staff or in non-combat zones.

He glanced again at the document the U.S. Army colonel was holding, which bore the OSS logo and below it was a line of red text that read "Top Secret".

Regardless of the country, there are time and place restrictions for reporting important intelligence; at the very least, secrets cannot be discussed in front of foreign heads of state.

So why would a colonel from an intelligence agency appear at the meeting of the three leaders with top-secret documents?
The visitor lingered at the door for a while before finally knocking and going inside. Not long after, Zuo Zhong was also called into the room.

After coming out of the house, Zuo Zhong called Gu Qi, Wu Chunyang, and Gui Youguang over and informed them of a new development.

"Two days ago, U.S. OSS agents gathered intelligence in Tunisia that someone was plotting to assassinate the leaders of the three countries."

"But the agent who obtained this intelligence was killed after sending the telegram, which left us with no information about the assassins' background, number, or method of assassination."

As he finished speaking, Zuo Zhong's expression turned somewhat helpless. He had just complained that the Japanese and Germans dared not assassinate Mr. Q and Roosevelt, and then assassins appeared. These people were slapping him in the face, so his tone inevitably became a bit harsher.

"Given FIRC's outstanding performance in previous joint operations, the Americans hope we can join the security efforts at the venue. Everyone must remain vigilant and find the assassin as soon as possible to prevent the meeting from being disrupted!"

Gu Qi and the other two exchanged bewildered glances. Another assassination attempt? The intelligence was still so vague; how were they supposed to investigate?

After thinking for a while, Gui Youguang analyzed the situation from the perspective of action, which is his specialty.

"My lord, the British and American sides are stationed at Marham Palace, while we are at Heliopolis Palace. If anyone wants to target the leaders of the three countries, this venue is the best and only option."

"Because if the targets are scattered, and the assassin kills one, the remaining targets will definitely be more vigilant, making it difficult for them to have a second chance. Therefore, the assassin must make his move when all three targets are together."

"If I were carrying out an assassination mission, I would most likely use poison or bombs, as this is the only way to eliminate all targets at once."

Gu Qi and Wu Chunyang nodded in agreement; efficiency was key in attacks targeting multiple targets.

Zuo Chong pondered Gui Youguang's words repeatedly and felt that this was indeed the case, so the inspection of drinking water, food, and explosives at the meeting was of paramount importance.

On the other side, the British and American troops, upon receiving the news, took it very seriously. In order to ensure the safety of their heads of state, both countries did not hesitate to mobilize their elite field troops to provide support.

As night fell, the entire Malham Palace was brightly lit, and hundreds of soldiers surrounded the area around the hotel, with two American-made M2 ​​half-track vehicles even parked in the middle of the road as roadblocks.

Zuo Zhong and the head of British and American security walked into the venue side by side to conduct a final inspection, with Gui Youguang following behind them.

Gu Qi and Wu Chunyang were not present; they were at the hotel at the moment protecting someone to prevent the enemy from using a diversionary tactic.

I've always felt that Lao Li and Xiuqin were a perfect couple in terms of background, ideology, and beliefs, which is why they killed Yamamoto.