20 years of the Republic of China

Chapter 824 Meeting an opponent in chess

Dong-mun Commercial School, attached to the Nanchang Railway Bureau.

As night deepened and the fine snow fell in a hazy mist, a few windows of a four-story apartment building not far from the school were dimly lit.

The Jiang family's car was parked diagonally opposite the apartment, with the engine off and the lights off; quite some time had passed.

Zhao Guoyan rolled down the car window halfway and silently watched the lights in the apartment building go out one by one. After a moment of silence, he suddenly asked, "The fourth window from the right on the third floor, right?"

Chuang Hu nodded from the back seat and said hurriedly, "Don't worry, I've been with him for two days, he can't be wrong."

Where has he been lately?

"Hmm, it's nothing much. He either goes to the Japanese police station or meets with the maintenance committee. He lives a pretty boring life, going back and forth between three places and hardly having any social interactions."

"During this period, he never met with Qin Huaimeng?"

"No, not even once!"

Chuang Hu answered readily, but after thinking for a moment, he quickly added, "Unless Qin Huaimeng also lives in this apartment building, I have never seen him."

"Uncle Zhao, could it be that they contacted each other by phone?" Hai Xinnian asked from the side.

"Hmm, anything is possible!" Zhao Guoyan glanced at the rearview mirror, then asked, "Brother Tiger, do you know who lives in this apartment building?"

Chuang Hu scratched his head and said cautiously, "It's impossible for me to remember all the residents in such a big apartment building! However, based on what I've seen with my own eyes, there are quite a few Japanese expatriates living there, as well as teachers and students from Tongwen School. When you're about to make your move, you'd better be careful, or things will get out of hand."

Zhao Guoyan and Hai Xinnian didn't say anything, but turned around and stared at him.

"What's wrong?"

Chuang Hu, not understanding his meaning, quickly reminded him, "There are Japanese patrol posts nearby, they can arrive in as little as five minutes. Can't you be a little more careful?"

Zhao Guoyan handed him a snake-brand pistol and said, "You're coming with me!"

"What the hell?" Chuang Hu shook his head like a rattle drum. "Don't joke around, how could I possibly understand kidnapping?"

"Didn't you just say that most of the people living here are expatriates? If we make a big fuss, it'll be difficult to handle. You're the Buddha, so just come with me and sneak in to pick a lock."

"No, no, no, Brother Zhao, you've probably misunderstood!"

Chuang Hu hurriedly explained, "There's a sequence to learning, and everyone has their own expertise. I'm just a novice at picking locks and entering doors; my skills are only rudimentary, not proficient. The boss is better at this kind of work than I am; he should be the one to do it..."

As he spoke, even he himself realized something was amiss. He suddenly gave a slightly embarrassed laugh and said, looking down, "Kidnapping... it doesn't seem quite right for the boss to make the trip himself!"

Zhao Guoyan nodded and said, "When we go in later, it would be best if we could pry the door open. If we really can't, we'll force our way in. In short, we need to be quick and minimize the impact."

After speaking, he whistled out the car window again.

Before long, two figures came running from the sound and nodded to the driver: "Brother Yan!"

"Get in and drive, don't turn off the engine, wait for my message!" Zhao Guoyan quickly ordered. "Go to the intersection on the east side. If anything happens later, fire a few shots into the air to try and attract the attention of the Japanese police station. Drive as you run, no need to wait for us to meet up!"

Both men were elites of the Jiang family, skilled and obedient, so they were sent in advance to scout and keep watch.

Upon hearing the cannon commander's instructions, they immediately proceeded step by step and began to act.

Zhao Guoyan opened the car door, handed the keys to one of the brothers, looked up at the apartment building in front of him, and saw that there was another iron spare staircase on the west side of the building. He patted Hai Xinnian on the shoulder and said, "Your Uncle Chuang and I will go through the main entrance. You go up through the spare staircase and wait for help at the side entrance on the third floor!"

"it is good!"

Hai Xinnian responded and immediately strode towards the west side of the apartment.

Zhao Guoyan took out his pistol, removed the magazine, reloaded it, and pulled the bolt a few times. There was nothing wrong with it. He waited for the brother from earlier to run to the east intersection. Once everything was ready, he waved and said, "Let's go!"

He took two steps, looked back, and saw that Chuang Hu hadn't followed.

But the boy was still lingering in the back seat of the car, sticking his head out and asking reluctantly, "Um... do I still need to come with you?"

"nonsense!"

Zhao Guoyan rushed over, grabbed Chuang Hu from the carriage, and led him quickly toward the apartment building.

……

At this time of day, the apartment security guards were also drowsy. The two men were quick-witted and agile, and without encountering any obstacles, they successfully slipped through the security checkpoint.

Stepping into the apartment, a cold and stale atmosphere immediately hits you.

The building was dimly lit, with only a single lamp lit at the entrance of each floor, but the bulb was covered in dust, making the corridors even darker.

The green-painted handrail was somewhat mottled. Zhao Guoyan and Chuang Hu held their breath and tiptoed up to the third floor, making almost no sound.

Turning into the corridor, I looked to the right and found the corresponding apartment. There was a brown wooden door with a brass handle and an embedded lock. It didn't look fancy, but it was common and practical.

Zhao Guoyan lowered the muzzle of his gun, glanced at the door lock, and ordered in a low voice, "Try it first! If it really doesn't work, I'll shoot and force my way in!"

Chuang Hu nodded, then pulled out two copper wires from somewhere. He straightened one of them and bent the other into a wavy shape, crossing them over each other to resemble a pair of small tweezers. Finally, he inserted them into the keyhole at the same time, rolling his eyes as he busied himself with the task. Occasionally, his eyes would twitch. Anyone who didn't know better would think he was picking his ears!
After fiddling with it for a while, I could hear a series of soft "click-clack" sounds coming from the keyhole, but I couldn't see the latch move.

Zhao Guoyan was getting a little impatient, and finally lowered his voice and said, "Fine, if you can't do it, then just let me do it!"

"Shh-"

Chuang Hu suddenly made a shushing gesture.

I thought he was almost done, but then I saw him suddenly stop what he was doing, press his face against the door, and dart his eyes around.

Upon seeing this, Zhao Guoyan immediately turned to the side, leaned against the wall, and raised his gun with one hand, ready to strike first if anyone inside opened the door.

Chuang Hu raised his hand to signal not to make any rash moves—perhaps the person inside had simply gotten up in the middle of the night.

He kept his face pressed against the door, his eyes slightly closed, trying to make out what was coming: "Someone's coming this way... old cotton boots, a slight limp... big strides, not short... turned a corner, looks like they're going to the toilet..."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a rumbling sound came from inside the room, undoubtedly from the flushing toilet.

Chuang Hu breathed a sigh of relief and was about to say "It's alright" when he heard a "thump" from the inside of the door. The sound was not loud, as if something was pressing against the door.

"Ok?"

"Oh no!" Zhao Guoyan shouted sharply.

Chuang Hu was slightly taken aback. Before he could react, he heard a loud "bang" from above—a bullet pierced through the door!
This shot was aimed almost entirely by feel, but because the two sides were so close, separated only by a door, high precision wasn't necessary. A rough estimate was enough to easily hit the target. And that's exactly what happened.

If it were someone else standing outside the door, even if this shot didn't hit their head, it would at least hit their chest, and they would certainly die.

But he was a tiger, born much shorter than others, so bullets only flew over his head, and he was lucky enough to escape with his life.

However, Chuang Hu was no pushover after all, and when he suddenly heard the gunshot, he was momentarily stunned.

Fortunately, Zhao Guoyan reacted quickly and immediately kicked Chuang Hu right in the hip, forcefully pushing him away from the vicinity of the door.

Chuang Hu swayed and rolled away like a ball.

Immediately afterwards, the door panel was riddled with bullet holes as if by a sudden storm, and a fierce barrage of gunfire erupted.

"Bang bang bang!"

"Bang bang bang!"

Gunfire was intense and fierce, bullets whistled through the corridor, and even the doors across the hall were not spared.

This is definitely not a normal person's self-defense!
Zhao Guoyan suddenly realized—the Qin family's translator was very likely just bait!

While everyone was still in shock, the gunfire inside the house suddenly stopped, followed by the terrified screams of the other residents!
"Damn it, an ambush!" Zhao Guoyan dared not rush through the doorway, so he shouted, "Brother Tiger, run! Split up!"

Chuanghu scrambled to his feet in a panic and hurriedly turned and ran a few steps away.

Looking back, they saw seven or eight burly men suddenly rush out of Hou Chuanyan's room, splitting into two groups: one group went to capture Zhao Guoyan, and the other group headed towards them.

The leader's face was blurred, but he roared arrogantly, "Insert them all! Leave no one alive!"

The brothers, as if released from their cages, responded loudly and then split up to give chase.

"Fuck you! We've been waiting for you for days, stop right there!"

"Bang-bang!"

Gunfire erupted again, bullets sweeping across the corridor.

Chuang Hu hurriedly dodged to the corner of the stairs, then leaped into the air, landing on the green-painted handrail, and slid down. Two bullets sparked against the railing behind him.

The Qin brothers pursued relentlessly, rushing into the stairwell. They grabbed the stair railing with one hand and leaped down the dozen or so steps. Although not as agile as Chuang Hu, their speed was no less. Every now and then, they would bend down and fire several shots downstairs.

Seeing the continuous gunfire overhead, Chuang Hu dared not slide down the handrail any further. Suddenly, he remembered that he also had a gun in his arms, so he hurriedly reached in to feel around.

Unexpectedly, the gun felt like a hot iron in his hands; he couldn't hold it and it hopped around like a sparrow!

Chuang Hu had no idea how to use a gun. In his moment of panic, his hand trembled, and with a "thud," the Snake Brand pistol fell to the ground.

Just as I bent down to pick it up, gunshots rang out from upstairs.

"Bang bang bang!"

The bullet struck the railing, then ricocheted, flying right past Chuang Hu. Terrified, he forgot about his pistol on the ground and frantically ran away, covering his head and crying as he went:
"My goodness! I told you long ago, I don't know how to do this job!"

"You little brat, where do you think you're going!"

As the pursuers closed in from upstairs, a burly, headstrong man bent down and fired several shots at the bottom of the stairs. When he realized he had missed Chuang Hu, he quickly grabbed the handrail, jumped with all his might, and leaped down the entire staircase.

As luck would have it, his jump landed squarely on the spear that Chuang Hu had dropped. He slipped, fell backward, and with a loud crash, the back of his head slammed into the steps. He was dead!
"Oh no! An Qingzi!"

The brothers behind them suddenly paused, and a busybody warned them with certainty: "Watch your step! I've heard of a kind of hidden weapon sect that carries three-headed iron nails. When someone is chasing them, they throw down a handful of nails. The nail heads are poisoned and extremely sharp. If you step on one, it will swell up in three days and ulcerate in seven days. In less than half a month, if you don't have your limbs amputated, you will surely die!"

Upon hearing this, everyone dared not take it lightly and hurriedly widened their eyes to look around.

However, after searching left and right, they couldn't find any three-headed nails. Instead, they found a perfectly intact snake-shaped pistol next to the brother who had just died.

Only then did I realize that I had been thinking too much.

However, that brief moment of hesitation was enough for Chuang Hu to escape. Trying to chase after him would be futile and would only be a show.

……

On the other side, Hai Xinnian was originally standing on the outer staircase of the apartment building, guarding the side door on the third floor, waiting to help him kidnap and carry him downstairs, occasionally checking the surrounding situation.

For the first few minutes, he didn't notice anything unusual. He only felt that the snow was falling heavily and the stairs were too slippery, so he was stuck at the door and couldn't move.

Immediately afterwards, gunshots rang out, and the firepower was exceptionally fierce.

Hai Xinnian felt a chill run down his spine and hurriedly tried to rush in to help, but in order to ensure the safety of the residents, the side door of the outer staircase of the apartment building could only be pushed open from the inside, and people outside could not push the door open to enter.

Just as they were getting anxious, they heard Zhao Guoyan shout loudly through the door: "Damn it, there's an ambush! Tiger, run! Split up!"

Hai Xinnian immediately drew his sidearm, but upon looking around, he realized that the outer staircase was narrow and slippery. If someone rushed out, who knew what kind of chaos it would cause? So he quickly did the opposite, instead of turning back downstairs, he went upstairs, found cover diagonally above, and steadily set up his gun. He then imitated his father when he went hunting in the mountains, holding his breath and waiting for the right moment to fire.

Soon, the side door of the apartment was kicked open with a loud bang.

Zhao Guoyan rushed out of the corridor and almost slipped and fell.

Hai Xinnian, however, knelt on one knee like an old hunter, his left arm across his chest, his right hand holding a gun and aiming, and said calmly and clearly, "Uncle Zhao, come downstairs quickly!"

Zhao Guoyan turned around and immediately understood Hai Xinnian's plan. He then quickly slid down a flight of stairs, turned his gun around, and prepared to counterattack.

Almost simultaneously, a gunshot rang out. The Qin brothers arrived close behind, glanced downstairs, and hurriedly shouted, "Brothers, follow me!"

"boom!"

No sooner had the leader finished speaking than his head lolled to the side, and he crashed straight into the fence, then tumbled down.

Upon seeing this, the brothers who arrived quickly retreated, stood sideways in the corridor, and shouted loudly, "They're upstairs, so be careful!"

"boom!"

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Zhao Guoyan, who was downstairs and could see what was happening in the corridor, immediately fired a shot.

The uncle and nephew worked together seamlessly, and the Qin brothers were killed instantly in a single encounter.

However, the sirens of police officers on the street began to sound again, as if on cue...

(End of this chapter)