cicada

Chapter 1449 Tombstone
At the X Division's garrison in Yancheng, Lan Hongchang paced anxiously around the room, a cigarette dangling from his mouth, as if his rear end was on fire.

Lai Chuan, the deputy commander of the X Division, and Yang Xiangwen, the chief of staff, were dazzled by what they saw, and Lai Chuan couldn't help but speak up to offer some advice.

"Commander, please don't leave. The most urgent task is to find the three men surnamed Zheng."

Lan Hongchang turned around and shouted angrily: "The problem is, did you even find them?! Three perfectly healthy people, and they just slipped away right under your noses! You're utterly useless!"

Lai Chuan's face turned ashen from the scolding, and Yang Xiangwen quickly changed the subject to avoid internal strife.

"Alright, alright, Division Commander, Deputy Division Commander Lai, the most urgent task is to figure out how to deceive the Military Intelligence Bureau."

"If Zheng Tingbing and his men don't send a telegram back to Shancheng, the Military Intelligence Bureau will definitely send people to Luocheng again, and then it will be troublesome."

It would have been better if this matter hadn't been brought up; the more it was mentioned, the more agitated Lan Hongchang became, and his cursing intensified.

"Damn it, I spent so much money, and all those bastards at the Luocheng Station dared to do was send a telegram to Shancheng saying that Zheng Tingbing would be back soon, but they were unwilling to personally arrest him. They're like dogs that can't be tamed."

“If they had also participated in the manhunt, Zheng Tingbing and his two companions would have been caught long ago. Things wouldn’t have escalated to this point.”

Lai Chuan and Yang Xiangwen also looked indignant. They were the most enthusiastic about collecting money at Luocheng Station, but when it came to a real problem, they acted like cowards.

The three immediately started cursing and swearing. Just then, a messenger walked in from outside.

"Commander, General Wei will inform the theater command that a field observation team will arrive in Los Angeles tomorrow to inspect the frontline combat readiness."

Lan Hongchang was suspicious and hurriedly asked the messengers if the war zone command had ordered them to go to Luocheng to welcome them.

"Reporting to the commander, no." The messenger shook his head.

The three people present immediately breathed a sigh of relief. That's good. It seems that the observation group was not a trap for them.

"Alright, reply to headquarters and tell them that our department will make preparations in advance to welcome the delegation and await their arrival."

Lan Hongchang casually dismissed the messenger, then plopped down in a chair and began to analyze in a low voice.

"It's a good thing that the observation group came to Luocheng. It can give us a few more days. We can take advantage of these few days to find Zheng Tingbing and the others."

Lai Chuan and Yang Xiangwen nodded. With the arrival of the observation group, military and political organs in various places will definitely be busy for a while, which is indeed a good thing.

"Alright, everyone, go back and rest now."

Lan Hongchang yawned, ending the conversation, and the three of them went back to their dormitories separately.

At this moment, ten kilometers south of Yancheng, Gui Youguang, holding a submachine gun, half-squatted in the grass, looked at his watch, and said something to his team members.

"Identify the target photo again, and take action promptly at four in the morning."

Upon hearing this, many agents circulated several photos, which showed Lan Hongchang, Lai Chuan, Yang Xiangwen, and other high-ranking members of the X Division.

These people have two things in common: first, they are not graduates of the Whampoa Military Academy or Army Academy; second, they have a poor reputation.

After the agents had seen the photos, Gui Youguang looked around and gave a stern speech.

"From now on, we are no longer members of the Military Intelligence Bureau. If we are arrested, we will have to admit that we are Japanese. Do you understand?"

"Yes!"

The junior agents all had serious expressions, understanding that this was a secret operation, and that no record would be kept regardless of whether the operation succeeded or failed.

Time passed by, and at two o'clock in the morning, Gui Youguang led his men to stealthily move towards the X Division's base.

Along the way, the operatives encountered several patrol teams, who seemed to be in a hurry and did not notice the spies nearby.

At 3:30 a.m., Gui Youguang could already clearly see the faces of the sentries in front of the X Division's garrison.

He made a gesture, and some of the operatives followed him around the perimeter wall of the base, while others stayed behind to provide support.

At 3:55, Gui Youguang cut through the electric fence on the wall, climbed over the wall, and landed gently on the ground. All around was quiet.

One by one, the operatives entered the courtyard and, following the directions provided by Zheng Tingbing, headed straight for the residences of all the targets.

At four o'clock sharp, as the night deepened, Lan Hongchang's guards lowered their heads and began to doze off. In the darkness, a pair of hands slowly approached his neck.

With a click, the guard's neck was broken and he was dragged to the corner. Gui Youguang stuffed the dagger into the crack of the door and shook it from side to side, and the bolt slowly came off the bolt hole.

Inside the room, Lan Hongchang, who was fast asleep, turned over and mumbled in his sleep.

Gui Youguang carefully pushed open the door and walked to the bedside with two other agents. Using the moonlight, they confirmed that the person on the bed was their target.

Without any hesitation, the three immediately took action. Gui Youguang covered Lan Hongchang's mouth, while the two junior agents held down his hands and feet.

Lan Hongchang was startled awake from his sleep and found someone had entered his room. He immediately struggled desperately.

As a fierce warrior, Lan Hongchang was no weak fighter, but Gui Youguang and the other two pinned him firmly to the bed.

In Lan Hongchang's despairing gaze, the dagger gently sliced ​​across his neck, blood splattering onto the mosquito net and leaving a bright red mark.

This traitor who betrayed his compatriots gradually fell silent, and until his last breath, he still didn't know who wanted to kill him.

Gui Youguang coldly watched as Lan Hongchang stopped breathing, then stabbed him several more times to ensure his target was completely dead.

When Lan Hongchang died, Lai Chuan, Yang Xiangwen, and several other officers of the X Division also died in bed.

All the high-ranking officers of the X Division, except for Fu Han who was being hunted down and a few newly transferred personnel, were beheaded to atone for their sins.

At the same time, high-ranking officers from four other military units that had been involved in unusual troop movements were also secretly executed.

Upon receiving instructions to keep the situation to a minimum, Zuo Zhong quickly devised a plan—to secretly punish those involved and shift the blame onto the Japanese.

Anyway, the Japanese loved assassinations, so it was normal for them to do something like this, and no one outside would suspect anything.

The operation was divided into five groups, which acted at the same time. After the target was cleared, the "observation group" would immediately move into the aforementioned troops.

Gui Youguang and his men left behind a few Japanese-made bullets and quietly withdrew from the X Division's base, but their work was not yet over.

A gunshot shattered the silence of the X Division in the morning. Half an hour later, the report of the deaths of Lan Hongchang and others was delivered to the First War Zone Command. At nine o'clock in the morning, several transport planes from the First Air Force Transport Group made an emergency landing at Los Angeles Airport.

Before the guards could react, more than a dozen agents jumped off the plane, took over the control tower, and cut off the airport's external communications.

After taking control of the airport, another group of agents took airport vehicles to the Military Intelligence Bureau's Los Angeles station, led by the stern-faced Zuo Zhong.

The key to this operation was speed; each step was interconnected, leaving no time for the Los Angeles station or certain individuals in the military to react.

As Zuo Zhong had predicted, when the station chief of Los Angeles and a group of high-ranking agents saw him, they were immediately terrified and collapsed to the ground, abandoning their attempts to argue.

"Hmph, look what you've done!"

Looking at these former meritorious officials, Zuo Chong shouted sternly, his cold tone revealing a chilling murderous intent.

The stationmaster and others at Los Angeles Station were speechless and obediently knelt on the ground to await their fate. They knew that begging for mercy was useless, and that admitting defeat might save their families' lives.

Zuo Zhong didn't say much, and directly ordered that each of these people be given a pistol. Compared to the rules of the Military Intelligence Bureau, allowing them to commit suicide was already a preferential treatment.

As he walked out of Los Angeles Station, a series of gunshots rang out behind him. Gu Qi, who was with him, asked how to deal with the suspect's family.

"Follow the rules."

Zuo Chong got into the car, and his cold, emotionless voice reached Gu Qi's ears through the car window.

Gu Qi was taken aback. According to the family rules, the suspect's property would be confiscated, and his family members would probably not live much longer.

However, this was their own doing; no one forced them to accept money from corrupt elements in the military. Gu Qi bowed and replied, "Yes," before watching the car drive away.

The car drove around the city for a while before finally entering the First War Zone Command, where the intelligence staff came to greet Zuo Zhong.

"Deputy Director Zuo, Commander-in-Chief Jiang is currently not in Luocheng. Deputy Commander-in-Chief Tang..."

Upon meeting, the intelligence officer quietly introduced the current situation of the headquarters, but hesitated a bit when talking about Deputy Commander-in-Chief Tang.

As they were talking, the two walked to the outside of an office, where a man with a Zhejiang accent was cursing the Military Intelligence Bureau.

"What Japanese assassination? It was clearly the Kuomintang's brutal killing of anti-Japanese heroes! How outrageous! How audacious!"

The roars shook the building. The intelligence officer gave an awkward smile, but Zuo Zhong remained calm, knocked on the door, and went inside.

The intelligence officer dared not offend Commander Tang, so he could only stand outside the door and wait, but he kept his ears open to the sounds inside, after all, he was an intelligence officer.

"Damn it, you surnamed Zuo, let me tell you, you have to hand over the murderer, or don't blame me for turning my back on you."

"Deputy Commander Tang, watch your mouth. Although you are a veteran, I, Zuo, am not someone to be trifled with."

"you you you"

"What do you mean, 'what do you mean'? Let's leave this at that and make sure we can all be dignified. Otherwise, you'll have to explain where your cousin's $300,000 deposit came from."

The sounds in the room grew fainter and fainter, and the intelligence officer secretly regretted it. Just then, footsteps sounded from inside the door, and the officer quickly stood at attention.

Zuo Zhong pushed the door open forcefully, and before leaving, he turned back and said indifferently, "There are some things I don't need to say. You should understand that many things are not something you or I can decide."

After these words were spoken, no further sound came from inside the house until Zuo Zhong left.

Meanwhile, Gui Youguang and his team, disguised as investigators, returned to the X Division's base and ran right into Fu Han, who was returning to report.

Upon learning that Lan Hongchang had been murdered by a Japanese spy, Fu Han turned pale. Gui Youguang, without saying a word, ordered his men to capture the man.

"Fuhan, your collusion with the Japanese invaders to murder Commander Lan and other officers, as well as your pursuit of Deputy Director Zheng, has been exposed. Come with us."

"Here comes the scapegoat," Gui Youguang waved his hand, and the junior agents swarmed forward to arrest him.

But Fu Han did not choose to surrender. He gritted his teeth and shouted, "You are persecuting loyal and good people! I will not accept this! Brothers, let's fight these damn spies!"

The X Division's guard battalion, already tainted by corruption, was stirring up trouble under his instigation, and a mutiny was on the verge of breaking out.

Just as the agents and the guard battalion were in a standoff, something unexpected happened: the soldiers of the X Division, and even the junior officers, all turned their guns on the guard battalion.

"Damn it! Put down your gun!"

"I'll beat you bastards to death!"

"Avenge Commander Shi!"

Amidst angry shouts, the patrol officer who had warned Zheng Tingbing and the other two kicked Fu Han to the ground.

Justice resides in the hearts of the people, and the things Shi Ming did for the officers and soldiers during his lifetime played a huge role at this moment.

Like a boneless dead dog, Fuhan was dragged away by the secret agents, awaiting only death, a process that would be extremely painful and lengthy.

As for the guard battalion, they were also disarmed. The suicide squad was short-handed, and they were just the right replacements.

Suddenly, someone outside the standoff shouted, "Light? It's me! It's me!"

Gui Youguang felt the voice sounded familiar, so he asked someone to let the person who had called out in. He saw a beggar tumbling and crawling towards him.

"Who are you?" Gui Youguang asked, frowning. The other person's smell was indeed a bit pungent.

The beggar quickly brushed aside his messy hair, revealing a familiar face. Gui Youguang stared in disbelief and pulled the man up.

"Old Song! What happened to you?"

Song Minghao almost burst into tears. That day, they split up to evacuate outside Yancheng. He thought that staying in the city might be safer than running away, so he returned to Yancheng and pretended to be a beggar.

To his utter surprise, the beggars of Yancheng were actually organized. He had been thoroughly tormented these past few days. If he weren't afraid of being exposed, he would have killed those bastards long ago.

Leaving aside the bald-headed man from Xixiangfeng and Song Minghao, a secret memorial service is being held in a cemetery in the Northwest base area.

Beneath the verdant pines and cypresses, a tombstone stands quietly on the yellow earth, with the words "Tomb of Martyr Shi Ming" clearly engraved on it.