Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 205: Action Group 204 Unexpectedly Joins the Anti-Japanese Alliance; A Survivor's Account from Zhongmabao

Go back to two days ago.

After successfully landing, the Taishan Airlines special operation buried their flight suits and parachutes on the spot. Wearing patched and tattered cotton-padded coats, they each carried their bundles and headed towards Harbin.

This outfit was specially designed to blend in with the local atmosphere.

The suggestions were made by Sun Debiao and Manager Liu, who also specifically designed the action team members to be refugees.

Even during the Japanese occupation, this place remained a paradise for the poor in the interior of China, and every year many people still risked their lives to venture into the Northeast.

Therefore, such groups of people fleeing famine are very common, and it is actually easier for them to conceal their identities.

Under the cover of night, they arrived at the banks of the Lalin River, where a small river joined it. This river was not marked on the map, and their exact location could not be determined.

"Rest here for thirty minutes," Wu Yingzong, carrying a radio on his back, ordered as the team leader.

The 11 people rested and chatted on the spot.

"Once we cross the Lalin River, we'll reach the shantytown area. The situation there is complicated; all sorts of people are there. Everyone needs to be careful," Wu Yingzong said.

"The higher-ups are saying we need to find work first, and settle down as the priority. What are everyone's plans?" Zhang Yunfei asked.

"Let's just do what we're good at. My dad taught me a recipe for a kind of plaster, which will come in handy here," Zhao Wanping replied. She was tall and had androgynous features. This time, she had her hair cut off and was dressed as a man, so outsiders couldn't tell that she was a woman.

When it comes to their specialties, these people really do have their own ways of making a living in the world, all passed down from their fathers.

After discussing it for a while, they each decided on their own destinations.

Li Tiezhu and Zhang Yunfei teamed up to perform on the streets, breaking large stones on their chests and locking their throats with golden spears.

Zhao Wanping disguised herself as a traveling doctor, mainly selling dog-skin plasters.

Chen Suoxin, Liu Yingshou, Qian Yinxing, Zhou Pomen, and Wu Yingzong naturally went back to their old ways, but their targets were mainly Japanese.

The three brothers, Liu Jinrui, Liu Yubao, and Liu Yinfeng, were not only skilled in tomb raiding, but also in making fake antiques, targeting Japanese and Russian victims in Harbin.

They come from humble backgrounds and are now like fish released back into the river, with no worries about making a living.

The 11 people discussed and agreed on their pseudonyms, and their 30-minute break was over.

Immediately, the 11 people took out cowhide water bags from their respective bundles, emptied the water inside, then inflated and sealed them, tying the inflated water bags together.

This thing contains telegraph machines, weapons, ammunition, and other supplies. Everyone puts their equipment and clothing on it and then swims across the river in their bare arms.

Zhao Wanping said shyly, "How annoying! Don't you consider that I'm a woman?"

The others pretended not to hear and hurriedly swam to the other side of the river, afraid of seeing something they shouldn't have.

Zhao Wanping stomped her foot and ran to the other side.

The group crossed the river, put on their clothes, and continued their journey.

Across the way are large shantytowns.

They were all small houses, about the height of a person, built with wooden planks. Some were covered with a layer of thatch and mud to prevent leaks, while others were left completely bare.

This is the northernmost province of China. Besides the harsh cold, it also has fertile land, but the gap between the rich and the poor is enormous. After the Japanese occupation, the lives of the lower classes became difficult.

Wu Yingzong explained to his teammates in a low voice: "The Japanese want to relocate a million households in Heilongjiang. Those people came from Japan and seized the land of the locals. Except for a few who colluded with the Japanese, the others are having a hard time."

"Bah! It would have been better to give it to us migrants to Northeast China. It's just a waste of money for the Japanese. What kind of nonsense is this?" Li Tiezhu said indignantly, fully embracing the role of a refugee.

"Keep your voice down." Wu Yingzong stopped in a corner of the shantytown. "You all remember the code, right? I'll leave a code around here every day. If you have any information to report, come find me here. Remember, the settlement operation will last for 15 days. After 15 days, we'll meet to discuss the next steps."

Everyone nodded and went their separate ways.

Only Wu Yingzong and Zhao Wanping remained.

"Why don't you leave?"

"I need to make medicine; how can a traveling doctor do without medicine? For now, I'll team up with you. Let's go."

The burly Zhao Wanping dragged the reluctant Wu Yingzong through the shantytown.

She needed to find a pharmacy; even in the shantytown, there was a need for medical treatment, and a cheap and affordable traditional Chinese medicine shop was essential.

The two quickly found a traditional Chinese medicine shop and went straight inside.

"Boss, I need to buy medicine," Zhao Wanping said in a loud voice.

Besides the owner, there were five other people in the shop, discussing something with him.

has a problem!
These people stand in a seemingly relaxed posture, yet they maintain a state of readiness to unleash their power.

Both being trained martial artists, Zhao Wanping, whose family had passed down their martial arts skills, immediately became wary and instinctively protected Wu Yingzong.

Meanwhile, the other party also reached the same conclusion.

The two quickly walked to the wooden door, blocking their retreat, and the three spread out, forming a pincer movement.

"Don't use guns." Wu Yingzong and the other party spoke at the same time. After a moment of hesitation, they started fighting.

Zhao Wanping spread her arms and directly clamped the heads of the two attackers, then used the momentum to leap into the air and kick the third one.

Wu Yingzong was slightly less skilled, but he was talented enough. He dodged his opponent's attack and circled behind him, pressing a blade against his opponent's vein.

"Stop it, everyone. We must have misunderstood."

The only one who hadn't made a move spoke up: "Stop."

Zhao Wanping released her arms and pushed the two opponents back.

Wu Yingzong also released the people he had been controlling.

He said, "Just now I shouted not to use guns, and you did the same, which shows that we are both afraid of alerting the Japanese."

“You two are quite young, yet you’re so skilled. I know all the top fighters in Harbin. You’re not from around here. Tell me, where did you come from?” the other party replied.

Wu Yingzong smiled and said, "Don't try to fool me. We're not some bunch of idiots. If you can't even speak properly in this area, you're not a local either, are you?"

The two were at loggerheads, but after testing each other, they realized neither of them were locals, and they couldn't help but smile at each other.

The man extended his hand: "Li Shanhe, we are from the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army."

Regardless of whether the other party was from the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army or not, once this attitude was expressed, they had to pretend to accept it. After their training, Wu Yingzong and Zhao Wanping kept in mind the general manager's words: "Don't let your emotions control you; adaptability is the way."

When carrying out a mission, treat it like acting; never be yourself.

Wu Yingzong returned the smile and shook hands with him: "My name is Li Jiasheng, and this is my brother Li Jiaming. We came from Shandong. We couldn't make a living back home, so we came here to make a living, but we never expected that it would be even more difficult here than in the interior."

“Yes,” Li Shanhe said with emotion, “You may be the last batch of people to venture into Northeast China. Now, all the land in Northeast China is reserved for the Japanese reclamation groups. Although they say it’s for reclamation, they have taken over a lot of fertile land. Compared with the year before last, there are 30% more shantytowns.”

Li Shanhe wasn't just impressed; he was also very interested in these two skilled young men.

He then added, "Our Anti-Japanese Alliance is dedicated to fighting the Japanese. We will not rest until we drive the Japanese out of Northeast China. You two brothers are quite skilled, why don't you join the Anti-Japanese Alliance and work together?"

"Join the Anti-Japanese United Army?" Wu Yingzong, using the alias Li Jiasheng, feigned surprise and looked at Zhao Wanping: "Jiaming, you can't make a living like this anymore. Why don't you join them?"

"Will we be able to get enough to eat?" Zhao Wanping asked rhetorically.

Li Shanhe smiled and said, "Yes."

And so, inexplicably, because of their good skills, the two members of the action team became members of the Anti-Japanese Alliance.

The two then followed Li Shanhe to their hiding place, which was also in a shantytown. Several houses in a row were occupied by their people, and there were quite a few of them.

Upon entering a shantytown, Li Shanhe had someone bring out a statue of Guan Yu.

He lit incense, then turned and said:

"Whether you two are truly sincere in joining the Anti-Japanese Alliance is only for God to judge. Come, offer incense and kowtow to Guan Mafa, and that will count as your joining."

Wu Yingzong and Zhao Wanping felt no guilt, so they burned incense and swore an oath, thus officially joining the group.

This left Li Shanhe with no more doubts. He took out a photograph and sighed.

"See this? In 19, our Fifth Brigade of the First Army of Northeast China entered Beiping City with Green Dragon Crescent Blades. A few of us were among them. Later, we were transferred back to Shenyang, but we didn't fire a single shot and let the Japanese occupy it. So we simply stole guns and went up the mountain to become bandits instead of serving the Japanese."

From this person's words, one can discern the complexity of the team members involved in this operation.

Besides the bandits, the other people in the house, according to Li Shanhe, included members of the Volunteer Army, police officers and soldiers from the Northeast Army period, and local armed forces.

Wu Yingzong was surprised. What were all these people doing gathered here?!
He asked, "Brother, now that we've joined, you need to tell us what we're supposed to do, right?"

"I'm sure you'd be willing to do it. We're here to take Zhongmabao."

Zhongmabao made Wu Yingzong's heart pound. Their action team had also come for Zhongmabao, but they hadn't expected to run into another group of people.

"You too..." Zhao Wanping almost let slip, but luckily Wu Yingzong pulled her back in time.

"What kind of place is Zhongmabao that you want to attack? Is it a granary?" Wu Yingzong asked.

"Hey, I'll take you to see someone." Li Shanhe led the two out of the house and to the shantytown next door.

There, he introduced a thin man.

“This is Old Li. I can’t say his full name. The Japanese are looking for him everywhere. Let him tell you what happened in Zhongmabao. Old Li, this is one of our newly recruited operatives. He’s very skilled, but he’s not aware of the atrocities committed by the Japanese. You’ll have to give them a lesson.”

The thin man nodded.

“Last year, I was working in Harbin. One day after work, my coworkers and I were walking on the street when suddenly the street was blocked off. A group of Japanese soldiers and police officers drove everyone on the street to the side and only took away the young and strong. We thought they were arresting laborers, so we didn’t dare to resist and were taken away by them on a truck.”

The man looked regretful as he said this.

“If we had known what would happen next, we would never have gone with them, even if it meant our lives. They blindfolded us in the car and drove us for who knows how far before taking us to a large courtyard. It was surrounded by buildings and guarded by many Japanese soldiers.”

Upon hearing this, Wu Yingzong suddenly interrupted, "Could I write these things down so that more people can know about this?"

“Sure!” Li Shanhe and the man agreed.

After Wu Yingzong was given paper and pen to write down his story, the man continued his narration.

“We were locked up in prison, handcuffed and shackled, but we weren’t short of food. We had rice, flour, and occasionally meat. At the time, we were happy about that, because we could eat our fill without having to work. But later, we discovered a problem. Every now and then, people would be taken away and never come back. When there were fewer people, new people would come in to replace them.”

"This frightened us, so we asked the guards. They said those people were seriously ill and had been sent to the hospital for treatment. Then one day, the Japanese were celebrating a festival and drank a lot of alcohol. They brought back the three people they had taken out. These three people had no external injuries, but they were on the verge of death. They couldn't even move and were practically dead. I knew one of them well, so I went to take care of him. He suddenly regained consciousness and told me some things on his deathbed."

As he spoke, the man's shoulders trembled with overwhelming sorrow and fear.

Li Shanhe sighed and poured a glass of water for the man.

After drinking the water, the man calmed down and continued.

"He said that they were taken to a place that resembled a torture chamber, tied to an iron-framed bed, and Japanese men in white clothes used large syringes, as thick as a child's arm, to draw blood. They drew a lot of blood. Those who were weak were rendered useless after the blood draw and were taken away for disposal. The others were sent to another room and injected with different drugs. Some developed fevers and rashes, some developed pustules all over their bodies, and some died on the spot. In short, they were unable to die and had no way to live."

“We were terrified when we heard that, and we discussed that we had to escape from that horrible place. On the Mid-Autumn Festival, the Japanese were also celebrating, and they were drinking in groups, but they forgot to send us food. It wasn't until midnight that a guard came with food. While he was delivering the food, we grabbed a beer bottle, smashed it against him to knock him unconscious, took the key from him, opened several cell doors, and escaped together.”

Wu Yingzong meticulously recorded the man's experiences, which continued.

They climbed over the wall using a human ladder, but were discovered. The inmate who hadn't yet made it over the wall rushed at the guards and was shot dead.

The remaining men jumped over the trench and fled eastward, while Japanese soldiers opened fire on them with machine guns.

Two of these people escaped to Bajiazi Village, 15 miles away from Zhongmabao, but were captured by Wu Shengsan, the commander of the puppet army's self-defense corps. One was executed on the spot, and the other was sent back to that hellish prison.

The remaining 12 people escaped, including the man who recounted the story; he resolutely joined the Anti-Japanese United Army.

After all the information was recorded, Wu Yingzong, though excited, made no comment.

He kept his identity in mind and never revealed his true identity under any circumstances.

However, reporting to the general manager is mandatory.

He didn't get a chance on the first day.

There was nothing the next day either.

On the third day, the Anti-Japanese Alliance prepared a few more rooms to accommodate the new recruits, and he and Zhao Wanping were assigned a room to be alone.

This gave them the opportunity to send a telegram south.

After his first report, he was ordered to stop the Anti-Japanese United Army's actions.

This is no easy task. How can two newly recruited members stop the Anti-Japanese Alliance from doing its work?

After their unsuccessful attempt, they called back on the fourth day to report back.

(End of this chapter)