20 years of the Republic of China

Chapter 811 Warehouse No. 7
Northwest of Fengtian, South Railway Freight Terminal, Warehouse No. 7.

The cold moon hung high in the sky. Not far from the warehouse door, a bonfire was burning in an iron barrel. A dozen people huddled around the fire, hissing and shivering from the cold, tears streaming down their faces. They covered their sleeves, stamping their feet to warm themselves by the fire while whispering among themselves.

"Damn it, that scared me half to death! Who would have thought there would be a cage in that basement, just like the old-fashioned prison, and there was even a woman inside, acting crazy, you couldn't even tell what she looked like!"

The speaker was naturally Old Wu, one of Whistle Li's subordinates.

In just one day, he had already talked about this trivial matter countless times.

The news spread like wildfire, and once it got out, it was hard to contain.

People had nothing better to do, so they were happy to listen to his ramblings and would occasionally chime in with a few words of support.

"Sigh, I guess it's just the young wife in the family who offended the eldest son and got locked up! What's so surprising about that?"

"You know what, I thought so at first too, but then I realized something was wrong. When I was about to make a move, she said she wasn't a member of the Jiang family."

"She's scared!"

"If you say she was scared, then at that moment, that crazy, silly old woman of hers could make up a lie with such conviction that I just don't believe it!"

"What exactly did she say to you?" everyone pressed.

Old Wu thought for a moment, then muttered to himself, "She said she was from the He family... something like... the He family of Changfeng?"

Everyone was taken aback, looked at each other, and realized that none of them had ever heard of the He family of Changfeng.

Someone, slightly impatient, waved his hand and said, "Who cares who she is? Just tell me what the Jiang family's treasury looks like and whether it can be pried open."

Old Wu rolled his eyes at him and curled his lip, saying, "You're always spouting nonsense. Is there any lock in this world that can't be picked? The problem is, where would you find the time? That big iron gate, even if you strapped on several pounds of explosives, you might not be able to blow it open. With that kind of time, you might as well dig a tunnel in the backyard to get in!"

"Damn it, this kiln raid was a total disaster. We didn't make much money, but a lot of our brothers were killed."

"Stop pretending to be poor. I saw you sneak into the main room and steal some jewelry last night. What are you pretending to be, you little punk!"

"This kind of thing can't be measured by whether it's a loss or not, it's all about taking a beating!" someone else said. "Opportunity knocks but once, and we need to teach the Jiang family a lesson. Otherwise, it'll just be a slow, painful process, and we'll still have to put up with their humiliation in the future. We should just fight them, I've been wanting to fight them for ages!"

"What's the use of just knowing the pain? You have to strike while the iron is hot! And what happened? We guys messed up!"

"Who can say for sure?"

"Yes, there's no such thing as a foolproof deal in this world. If you don't mess things up, the Jiang family will always be there. We have to give it a try!"

As night deepened, the conversation between the group rose and fell.

Suddenly, footsteps approached.

The crowd looked in the direction of the sound and saw more than a dozen people walking out of the gatehouse. The two leading the way were Whistle Li and Old Dou, the basket weaver.

The two brothers, looking worried and suspicious, walked over and asked, "Hasn't Old Ghost Huo arrived yet?"

Everyone shook their heads, saying, "We've been waiting all day, and we still haven't seen a single person!"

"I don't think he's coming," Whistle Li said with concern, then turned to Old Dou, "Could something have gone wrong in the south of the city? Maybe he's a bit too unsophisticated?"

Old Dou snorted coldly, but said, "Serves her right! That brat is trying to steal my man, what a piece of trash, she'd be better off dead!"

"I'm worried he'll get captured alive and then betray us, which would be troublesome." Whistle Li looked a bit conflicted, then asked the brothers outside the door, "By the way, haven't Master Qin and the others made any moves?"

Everyone shook their heads, saying, "We've all been watching here. That kid Hou Er has been gone all day and hasn't come back yet."

The Hou Er they were talking about was actually named Hou Chuanyan. He graduated from Tongwen Commercial School and was Qin Huaimeng's translator, specifically responsible for contacting the Japanese.

Last night, it was Hou Chuanyan who met them here and helped them pretend to be Chinese employees at the South Rail warehouse, which allowed everyone to settle down.

However, Hou Chuanyan left last night, saying he needed to go back and ask for instructions on the next steps, but there has been no response since.

Old Dou grimaced, looking quite dissatisfied, and muttered, "Damn it, what kind of situation is this? We've already pledged our allegiance, and they're just leaving us here to wait like idiots. Qin Huaimeng hasn't shown up, and we haven't seen any Japanese either. Aren't they just playing us for fools!"

Whistleman Li hurriedly said, "Brother, don't worry, let's wait a bit longer. They've already given us the guns, how could things go wrong?"

"How can I not be worried?" Old Dou sighed. "Brother, you don't know, one of my half-wits underlings caused trouble at Nanji Grain and Oil Store a few days ago. That's Wang Zhengnan's territory. The news got to Jiang Lianheng, and he summoned me. You know how ruthless Jiang Lianheng is. He said this matter was over, but can I believe him? I've been on tenterhooks for days, afraid he'll settle scores later. What can I do? I have to strike first!"

Whistleman Li nodded repeatedly and said, "I understand, but things are already like this. Jiang Lianheng got lucky and didn't die, so there's nothing we can do but wait!"

Rough words are not rough.

If someone in the martial arts world wants to join the sect of Guazhu, they must submit a pledge of loyalty, but how to submit that pledge is up to others.

In short, if you're told to attack the east, you can't attack the west; if you're told to kill Zhang San, you can't kill Li Si.

What if someone becomes suspicious and says that I've pledged my allegiance only to be tricked and used as a pawn?
If that's the kind of thinking you're going to have, then you should probably stop spending time online as soon as possible.

Because this order cannot be reversed—you have to get blood on your hands before you can become brothers.

After completing their assigned tasks, Whistle Li and Old Dou had no choice but to continue waiting.

At this time of year, the north wind howls, whipping up gusts of snow that sting like nails on the face, making people shrink back and shiver uncontrollably.

The group looked around and saw that there were also many people moving about near a dozen warehouses in the distance.

Due to the war in western Liaoning, the Beijing-Fengtian Railway has been completely shut down, and many goods have been forced to remain in Fengtian.

Although the Independent Garrison and the Japanese Police Department assigned special personnel to guard the warehouses, it was a special period with limited manpower. Apart from a few important warehouses that were guarded entirely by Japanese, the vast majority of the other warehouses still required Chinese laborers to be hired to keep watch at night.

With such a small number of members, effective management of the Little East Asia organization ultimately depends on the support of the Chinese community.

As the campfire inside the iron barrel gradually turned dark red, there was finally some movement in the distance.

Old Wu, with his sharp eyes, was the first to react and hurriedly said, "Brother, do you think that kid is Hou Er?"

Whistle Li narrowed his eyes, stared for a while, smacked his lips, and said, "Hey, you know what, it seems to be true."

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw three figures slowly approaching in the distance. They gradually recognized them and breathed a sigh of relief.

The person who came was indeed Hou Chuanyan, but he was just following beside him. On the other side was Yamazaki Yuta, a Japanese police officer, and the one walking in the middle was naturally Saito Rokuro.

Old Dou quickly stepped forward to greet him, bowing and scraping with a fawning smile, "Koniqiwa! Sir, Koniqiwa!"

Saito Rokuro stopped in front of the warehouse, glanced at Lao Dou, but did not respond.

His Chinese was already mediocre, and now that there was a translator present, he simply asked Hou Chuanyan, who was next to him, in Japanese: "Who is this person?"

Hou Chuanyan was very young, in his early twenties, and had a scholarly air about him. As a top student at Tongwen Commercial School, he was somewhat arrogant, but he never dared to use his arrogance on Japanese people. Instead, he always found fault with his own compatriots and was impatient with them.

Times have changed. It's not that hooligans are cultured, but rather that cultured people are also becoming hooligans.

After the two sides introduced themselves, that was considered a formal introduction.

Old Dou was very enthusiastic, readily agreeing to everything, feeling that he had finally found a powerful backer.

In contrast, Whistle Li seemed a bit timid, often stepping back from the crowd like a shy young woman, as if she were ashamed to be seen.

Hou Chuanyan frowned and immediately raised his hand to call out, "Whistleman Li, move forward. Why are you always hiding in the back? Officer Saito has something to tell you!"

Before he could finish speaking, Old Wu was displeased and said, "Hou Er, how old are you? You keep calling me 'Shutter Li,' don't you know how to call me 'brother'?"

Unexpectedly, Hou Chuanyan's expression changed, and he immediately snorted coldly, "I'm handling business now and don't have time to argue with you about seniority. If you can't stand it, you can leave now. I won't stop you. If you want to be the boss, then don't follow Boss Qin."

"Hey, what kind of talk is that?" Old Wu wasn't exactly furious, but he was still somewhat displeased. "I see you're a bookworm, you haven't seen much of the world, so I'm just giving you a friendly reminder so you won't suffer later, you know?"

He was right. Hou Chuanyan had graduated less than two years ago and was all talk and no action, lacking any real experience. But Hou Chuanyan didn't appreciate it. He glanced at him and muttered coldly, "You don't even know how to read, yet you want to teach me about the world. You're just making a fool of yourself."

"Hey, wait, what are you doing—"

Old Wu wanted to go forward and argue a bit more, but Whistleman Li stopped him.

"Alright, alright, titles are meant to be used, let's get down to business!"

Hou Chuanyan muttered something again before turning to Saito Rokuro and respectfully asking in Japanese, "Officer Saito, they are all ready."

Saito Rokuro nodded, his hands on his belt, and paced back and forth in front of the crowd, relaying the various demands made by the Toyo Police Department.

Hou Chuanyan stood to the side, naturally providing real-time translation:

“I’ve heard about what happened last night. You did a good job, Mr. Qin is very satisfied, and so am I. But your mission isn’t over yet. The police department urgently needs to investigate the weaponry and equipment of the Fengtian Police and Civilian Corps. You should know these grassroots armed forces better than the government. Starting tomorrow, you will cooperate with me in the investigation…”

Before he could finish speaking, Lao Dou couldn't help but interject.

"Um... Saito-kun, why do we still have a mission? Shouldn't the most important mission be to eliminate Jiang Lianheng?"

"Baka!" Saito Rokuro shouted angrily, "Jiang Lianheng's matter can be handled at any time. The most important thing now is to help the police department obtain relevant intelligence, not some personal grudge!"

Old Dou looked troubled and hurriedly said, "Sir, listen to me. I know Jiang Lianheng well. We didn't kill him this time. Once he catches his breath, he will definitely retaliate. You...you have to protect me!"

Upon hearing this, Hou Chuanyan immediately pointed and berated, "Old Dou, you're really stupid. Don't you think about it? You're working for Officer Saito, so who in the entire Fengtian City would dare to touch you? Besides, this isn't just Officer Saito's personal matter; it's a mission issued by the Japanese Police Department. With such a powerful backer, what are you afraid of?"

Everyone frowned, thinking to themselves, "You pedantic scholar, you really have no dealings with the Jiang family, do you? You're just standing here talking without any real experience!"
However, Hou Chuanyan also had his own explanation:
"The Jiang family's power stems from two things: first, they have a lot of guns, and you all have quite a few now; second, they have connections with the government. Starting tomorrow, the Independent Garrison will officially be stationed in the provincial capital, and the Japanese Police Department will also assist in maintaining order. In other words, by then, both the military and police in the city will be under the control of the Imperial Army. The Jiang family's advantages will be completely ineffective. If they can do it, why can't we?"

Old Dou blinked and muttered to himself, "You mean... even if I fire a gun in the street, I won't get into trouble?"

Hou Chuanyan relayed these words to Saito Rokuro.

Saito Rokuro nodded and said, "As long as you serve the Great Eastern Empire, this little thing is no problem at all. What I need is intelligence. As for the methods, you can use them however you like. I will personally patrol the city tomorrow. You two can come with me and help me find the various militia and local security forces."

As he spoke, he turned to Yamazaki Yuta and whispered a few words to him, then took two pieces of white cloth from his hand and handed them to Whistle Li and Old Dou.

Whistleman Li took it and saw it was an armband with a line of Japanese characters written on it. He read it aloud with difficulty, "Fengtian... safety..."

“Fengtian Security Maintenance Association,” Hou Chuanyan explained first, “is a temporary organization used to ensure the city’s security. If you take it out on the street, it means you are a temporary employee of the Dongyang Police Department, and at least those government officials will not dare to make things difficult for you.”

Upon hearing this, Old Dou felt as if he had received a sacred certificate, and hurriedly put it on his arm.

Whistle Li hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Do we really have to bring this?"

"What?" Hou Chuanyan frowned. "Wearing this armband will give you many benefits. It means you are a friend of the Japanese. What else do you have to worry about?"

Whistle Li whispered, "I don't know how convenient it will be, but if I carry this thing with me, won't I become a sitting duck? If the neighbors see it... how will I ever face them again?"

Saito Rokuro didn't fully understand what was said, but judging from the other person's expression, he could guess the gist of it. His face immediately turned cold, and he said in broken Chinese, word by word, "You should feel honored!"

Whistle Li had nothing to say.

As the saying goes: It's easy to get on a pirate ship, but hard to get off.

If he had successfully assassinated Jiang Lianheng last night, he wouldn't have had to listen to Xiao Dongyang's arrangements here.

Old Dou, however, remained unfazed. He patted Whistleman Li on the shoulder and whispered reassuringly, "Brother, don't overthink it. It's been so many years, have the Japanese ever lost? Following them is definitely the right thing to do!"

Whistle Li didn't respond, then asked Hou Chuanyan, "Wait, isn't Master Qin involved in this?"

"Of course we'll participate," Hou Chuanyan said. "Master Qin has also selected more than a dozen brothers to cooperate with Inspector Saito tomorrow, but he himself won't show up."

"So where is he now?"

"You don't need to ask that. Anyway, Master Qin won't be showing his face for a while. I don't know where he is either, but he's in Fengtian."

It seems that from today onwards, Whistle Li and Lao Dou have been humbled, going from calling themselves a faction to becoming a branch of the Qin family.

Although the Qin family was already stronger than the two of them, they still felt a bit lost in the face of this change in status.

Old Dou didn't mind; he was trying to save his life and was afraid of retaliation from the Jiang family, so he decided to strike first.

Whistle Li initially wanted to avenge the flagpole, and since he wasn't driven to the brink, his resolve gradually wavered.

But on one point, the two men were completely in agreement—now that things had come to this, they had no choice but to fight the Jiang family to the bitter end!
Saito Rokuro had no time to concern himself with their initial intentions. After handing over his tasks, he called Yamazaki Yuta to prepare for departure. As he was about to leave, he turned back and gave him a final word of advice:
“Although you came here posing as employees, now that you’re here and are under our protection, you can’t just sit idly by. Keep an eye on the warehouse. If anything goes missing, I’ll hold you accountable.”

After saying that, he turned around and left.

Hou Chuanyan tossed out a "Don't be ambiguous" and then followed along eagerly.

Whistle Li and Old Dou exchanged a glance, shook their heads and smiled bitterly, "Well, this time we're not only the Qin family's entourage, but also the watchmen of the Japanese."

Old Dou said, "Brother, don't just look at the present. When we get back to the city tomorrow, we'll be big shots. Who will dare to boss us around then?"

"Hey, we'll see when the time comes!" Whistle Li was too lazy to argue, and waved his hand, saying, "Old Wu, take a few men and go around the area. Just in case something is really lost, it would be a laughing stock if it ended up in the hands of the Japanese before it even reached Jiang Lianheng!"

Upon hearing this, the brothers, though reluctant, had no choice but to disperse and patrol around Warehouse Number Seven.

It would have been better if we hadn't looked, because when we went around to the back of the warehouse, we actually found two sets of footprints in the snow.

The footprints only went to the base of the wall, and the two sets of footprints were clearly from the same person, but they did not go around to the main gate. They stopped here and then turned back.

"What does this mean? Did you come here to relieve yourself?"

"There's no pee on the wall!"

"I don't think the shoe print is very big, it's probably a child's."

"Bullshit, whose kid would sneak out here in the middle of the night?"

Old Wu took two steps back from the base of the wall, looked up, and suddenly said, "Whoever has good stamina, go up to the roof and take a look!"

Immediately, someone volunteered, crouched down to gather strength, jumped up, stomped twice on the brick wall, grabbed the air vent, steadied himself, and then tried to reach the eaves. He accidentally fell, hurriedly scrambling to his feet, saying, "Oops, oops! Just trying to liven things up for us guys, this time it's for real!"

After saying that, he tried twice more before finally climbing onto the roof.

He then immediately peered back over his shoulder and shouted to the brothers below, "Hey, there are footprints on the roof, and there's a human figure crawling out from the doorway!"

The news quickly reached Whistleman Li and Old Dou.

The two men rushed over, glanced at the top of the wall, and heard that their brother had tried three times before barely managing to climb onto the roof. They couldn't help but sigh in a low voice, "That's a skillful technique, truly impressive agility!"

Who could it be?

It's rare to find an old man with such abilities in Fengtian City.

Whistleman Li panicked immediately and said, "It's over, it's over! Old Ghost Huo must have been captured alive and sent his spies to keep an eye on us!"

Old Dou also looked a little flustered, but after glancing at the armband on his arm, he inexplicably calmed down and whispered reassuringly, "Brother, we don't need to be afraid!"

"Aren't you afraid? This guy was able to climb onto the roof so quietly. If he had a gun, he might have killed us both just now!"

"Yes, but why didn't he fire?"

"Just here to check things out, huh?"

"If Old Ghost Huo had been captured alive, Jiang Lianheng would have had enough time to send people to investigate. But he hasn't made a move yet, which means that, at least in the South China Sea Concession, the Jiang family is still wary of the Japanese! Brother, we have a backer now!"

(End of this chapter)