cicada

Chapter 1494 Mutation
The next day, the rain cleared in the Kwantung region, and the sky was a clear, bright blue, as if it had been washed.

Hase Ryosuke lay in bed, still a little groggy from a hangover. The warm sea breeze occasionally lifted the white curtains, making him feel drowsy.

After humming for a while, he seemed to have thought of something, and suddenly opened his eyes, stood up, and looked to the side.

Fortunately, his worst fears were unfounded; there was no one around.

Relieved, Hase lay back down. After a moment, he forced himself to get out of bed, washed his face, and went out to call his men to inquire about the latest situation.

"How long until the transport ships from Shanghai and Tianjin arrive?"

"Reporting to the Chief of Staff, three days," the Japanese agent replied respectfully.

In order to ensure that cargo ships from Tianjin and Shanghai arrived in Kwantung State at the same time, when Hasegawa went to Tianjin, the cargo ships from Shanghai had already set off in advance.

After listening to his subordinate's report, Hasegawa waved for him to leave, then crossed his arms and began to think.

It goes without saying that the operatives involved in Project Golden Lily will definitely be monitored, and there might even be someone watching them outside the hotel right now.

Therefore, to avoid suspicion, he should stay home as much as possible for the next three days. Under these circumstances, even if the Golden Lily Project goes wrong, Tokyo will not suspect him.

Having figured this out, Hasegawa declined all visits and stayed in his room, even when Shirata came to visit.

As Hasegawa had suspected, their every move was being watched and reported to headquarters.

Having learned from past mistakes, the Japanese were exceptionally cautious this time, not only keeping it secret from outsiders but also implementing strict screening measures internally.

For example, the General Staff conducted a survey of each guest who attended the welcome dinner.

Upon learning that Hase was staying indoors, the bigwigs in Tokyo were very pleased, considering such a cautious intelligence officer a treasure to the empire.

Time passed day by day, and three days flew by in the blink of an eye.

On the morning of the fourth day, just as Hase finished packing his luggage, Shirata knocked on the door and came in.

"Hase-kun, the cargo ship has docked."

"Yoshi, Shirata-kun, I'm heading back to Shanghai today. Thank you for your hospitality."

Hasegawa handed his luggage to his subordinate, bowed slightly to Shirata, said "Sang Yuna," and made an appointment to meet again next time.

Bai Tian tried to persuade him to stay a couple of times, but seeing his resolute attitude, he stopped trying to persuade him. The two smiled and got into the car to go to the military dock for the final handover.

At the naval port berth, three cargo ships were moored side by side, with people constantly unloading supplies onto the ships.

As for transferring the valuables, this can only begin if personnel from Hase, Shirata, and the Navy are all present.

A Japanese naval officer stood beside the mooring bollard, his gaze sweeping over the passing porters with an unusually stern expression.

Suddenly, he took two steps forward, grabbed a porter, and sternly questioned him.

"What's your name?"

The porter was so frightened that his legs trembled, and he stammered out his name, but the officer did not let him go.

“Someone come here. This man from the Republic of China era has suspicious eyes. Send him to work for the military police.”

After the officer finished speaking, the soldiers next to him immediately dragged the porter away, and his pleas for mercy carried far on the sea breeze.

"Sir! I am loyal to the Great Japanese Empire! Please don't kill me!"

The porters working nearby lowered their heads deeply, fearing they would incur the wrath of the Japanese soldiers.

The officer witnessed this scene. He snorted and was about to make a sarcastic remark when he noticed several cars driving towards them out of the corner of his eye.

The car slowly came to a stop. Just as Hasegawa put his hand on the door handle, the door opened from the outside, startling him.

"Lord Hase, you've worked hard."

The naval officer, bowing and beaming with smiles, respectfully opened the car door for Ryosuke Hase.

The salaries of the Japanese navy were indeed not low, but people's hearts are never satisfied. Hase's smuggling business provided better living conditions for the naval officers and soldiers and their families.

Upon seeing the arrival of the patron, the officer was naturally enthusiastic. If it weren't for the inappropriate occasion, he would have loved to kneel down and give Hasegawa a deep bow.

Hasegawa was a little confused and it took him a long time to remember who the other person was. So he exchanged a few perfunctory pleasantries, since nice words don't cost anything.

While they were talking, the porters on the other side were still begging for mercy. Shirata asked what was going on.

The officer explained the situation, then looked around and, seeing that the porters were all in the distance, spoke in a low voice.

"The headquarters ordered that all porters be killed after the cargo loading was completed."

“These people are all vetted citizens of Mite Continent, absolutely reliable, and it is their honor to sacrifice for the Empire.”

Upon hearing that the porter was a member of the puppet Manchukuo regime, Ryosuke Hasegawa's expression hardened, and he immediately uttered a harsh remark.

"Yoshi, the Golden Lily Plan must be foolproof. After each execution, we must finish them off with a shot. We must not allow any information to leak out."

The naval officer replied "Hai," and together with Hasegawa and Shirata boarded two cargo ships that had come from Shanghai and Tianjin to check if the seals were intact.

Both cargo ships were protected or monitored by land-based air force and small naval gunboats along the way, and no abnormalities occurred during the journey, so the seals were also intact.

The three then boarded the cargo ship, which was about to be loaded with goods containing fake mites, via the gangway. The naval officer walked at the front and talked as he went.

"Lord Hase, these three ships are high-speed freighters imported from Britain by the Shimizu Trading Company, with a displacement of 6000 tons."

“When the sea conditions are good, they can reach Tokyo Port in just three to four days.”

"Each ship has about thirty crew members, all of whom are citizens of the Empire. Mr. Shimizu has already handed over the files to us."

The naval officer gave a brief introduction to the cargo ship, and Hase nodded from time to time, looking quite satisfied.

However, he also raised a question: "Why didn't I see any escort ships? The cargo ship needs protection."

Due to the war, the southern shipping routes near the Ryukyu Islands have been suspended, leaving only two routes from the Kwantung Islands to Tokyo: the northern and central routes.

The first route goes through Shimonoseki, traversing the inland sea and coastline to reach Tokyo, which is a shorter journey. The other route crosses the Sea of ​​Japan directly, circumnavigating Honshu via the Karuzu Strait into Tokyo Bay, which is a slightly longer journey.

But no matter which route it is, it is not safe now. Ships are always at risk of being attacked by US submarines, which is why cargo ships need escorts.

Upon hearing Hase express his dissatisfaction, the naval officer kept talking about private matters, bending over at a ninety-degree angle, and offered an explanation.

"The Xuefeng was previously undergoing maintenance in Tokyo and is now sailing at full speed towards the Kanto region. It will not affect the mission at all."

Seeing that Lu Junma Fen was not speaking to him, Shirata was displeased and made sarcastic remarks from the side.

"The Empire spent so much money, and yet for such an important mission, the Navy only sent one destroyer. This is extremely disrespectful."

The naval officer's expression changed. It was proper to be polite to a wealthy patron, but who was Bai Tian? He immediately retaliated.

"With the Yamato about to be deployed, the Navy cannot spare more ships for escort. If the Army is dissatisfied, it can report to Tokyo. After all, you guys love doing this kind of despicable thing."

Noticing that the two were about to start arguing, Ryosuke Hasegawa quickly jotted down the information that the Yamato was about to be deployed, then tapped the pipe on his head to change the subject.

"What is this? Is it an oil pipeline for transporting fuel?"

The naval officer glared at Shirata, then turned and smiled, patiently explaining the ship's structure to Hase.

"What you see is the air supply duct. The interior of the cabin is quite stuffy and not conducive to the storage of calligraphy and paintings, so air must be supplied through the duct."

"Ordinary cargo ships are not equipped with this special equipment, so His Excellency Shimizu specially allocated a new type of cargo ship to ensure the safety of the cargo."

While explaining, he didn't forget to speak well of Shimizu Trading Company, saying that there's no such thing as money wasted.

"Sadoss~" Hase suddenly realized, then turned to ask Shirata how many soldiers the army would send to guard the ship.

Shirata held up one finger: "As per the Commander's orders, each ship will be assigned a squad of soldiers to protect the cargo hold."

Hasegawa pondered for a moment and nodded: "Yes, cargo ships have limited space, so even if we have a lot of troops, we can't deploy them all. A small squad is just right."

At this point, the three of them arrived outside the warehouse, where a heavy steel door completely separated the warehouse from the corridor.

"Please rest assured, the loading hatch at the top of the warehouse has been welded shut. You can only enter and exit through this small door. Once the goods are loaded, the steel door will be sealed to prevent anyone from entering or leaving. The guards will only be responsible for watching the door from the outside."

"Moreover, the security lock on this door uses the Empire's latest technology. Without the correct password, it can never be opened unless explosives are used."

The naval officer patted the door with a smug look on his face, and Shirata's expression also improved considerably; as long as the goods were safe, that was all that mattered.

Hasegawa didn't seem to care. He knew about these things back in Shanghai, but he just hadn't personally gone aboard to check. But how was Fat Tiger going to steal the valuables?
To empty these three cargo ships would require at least several hundred people working for a whole day. With such a long time and such a large commotion, Tokyo couldn't possibly miss it, and the accompanying Kwantung Army wasn't made of wood.

The three of them then disembarked. Looking at the bow of the cargo ship that had departed from Tianjin, Hasegawa couldn't help but sigh.

"【Yamato Maru】, hoping that the empire can be as prosperous in shipping and as enduring in national fortune as the ship's name implies."

After cosplaying as a loyal minister, he was about to order the goods to be loaded onto the ship.

But Shirata suddenly spoke up: "Wait a minute, Hase-kun, there are new orders to be carried out in Tokyo."

Hasegawa was startled, but on the surface he smiled and waved his hand to indicate that he had no objection.

Without wasting words, Shirata summoned a group of Japanese soldiers to his side and coldly announced the order.

"Assemble all crew members immediately. I mean all of them. No one can be spared, including the captain."

These words struck Haseya like a thunderbolt, causing him to hold his breath for several seconds.

Although the specifics of Fat Tiger's plan are unclear, it is very likely that the Kuomintang agents are either in the Kwantung region or on a ship; otherwise, Zuo Zhong would not have needed to have him send out coded messages at the dock.

If a Nationalist government intelligence officer were arrested, he would also be in danger, because no one could guarantee that the other party would not know his true identity.

Hasegawa, being an experienced intelligence officer, quickly regained his composure after the initial panic and began to devise a plan to escape.

While the soldiers were on board looking for someone, Shirata quietly explained his actions to Hase, so as not to upset his partner.

"The headquarters suspected that there were anti-Japanese elements among the crew members and demanded that we conduct a special inspection before loading the cargo to ensure its safety."

After hearing this, Hasegawa really wanted to jump into the sea and swim back to Yamashiro, but considering that the seawater was a bit cold, he gave up the idea.

As the crew members were being driven off the cargo ship one by one, Hasegawa regained his composure and chatted and laughed with the naval officers, showing no sign of fear.

More than 90 crew members lined up on the dock. Shirata walked to the front of the line with a stack of files in his hand, his sharp eyes scanning the face of each crew member.

“Your files are in my hands. Please note that these are not files of the Shimizu Trading Company, but household registration files of the police station.”

"If there are any rebels among you, I can give them a chance to surrender and forgive their past transgressions."

Shirata's words reached the crew members' ears. Some whispered among themselves, some looked on with trepidation, and some lowered their heads.

After waiting for a while and seeing that no one stepped forward, Shirata clapped his hands, and Japanese soldiers led a group of women and children out.

He said in a chilling tone, "Since you don't cherish this opportunity, don't blame me. Raise your heads! Look who they are!"

The crew members instinctively looked up, and some immediately recognized their family members in the crowd, prompting shouts of excitement.

"Taro!"

"Mieko!"

Japanese soldiers formed a human wall to separate the two sides, turning a screening operation into a family reunion, and the dock became extremely chaotic.

Ryosuke Hasegawa hadn't expected that Tokyo would send the crew's relatives to the Kanto region, making it impossible for him to impersonate them.

Shirata was also carefully observing the reactions of each crew member, focusing on those suspicious individuals who had not been able to find their families.

While records can be forged, interpersonal relationships are difficult to fake, especially when one has multiple relatives.

Amidst the chaotic cries and screams, he slowly identified a few people who were hiding behind the others, unaware that their actions were tantamount to burying their heads in the sand.

As Shirata waved his hand, the ferocious Japanese soldiers rushed into the crowd and pointed their guns at the suspect.