The Bravest

The next day, early in the morning, Lin Jie was interrogated in the hospital ward by someone from the Military Police Headquarters.

"Chief Lin, according to what you said, you took the initiative to ask Captain Gangcun for help in the arrest operation. Then why didn't you ask your direct superior for reinforcements?"

"I applied to Director Tang Keming for more staff that afternoon, but the Intelligence Department was seriously short of staff. The director said that the operatives had been dispatched that day, and only civilian staff were left, so they couldn't send anyone to me. Then I asked Director Li for help. Because my clues were uncertain, no one could be sent. Finally, I asked Captain Gangcun for help. Captain Gangcun and I went to the same school, so I promised Captain Gangcun that if the intelligence was false, I would come back and treat the entire gendarmerie to a drink and apologize, so Captain Gangcun agreed."

"Oh, Mr. Lin is also Gangcunjun's schoolmate. Well, we will verify the situation you mentioned. Have a good rest." His tone became much better.

"Excuse me, is there something wrong? Where is Captain Gangcun? I want to apologize to him."

"Oh, it's just a small problem, but Okamura-kun is injured and is in the next ward."

"Can I go see Captain Gangcun? I'm really sorry that he got hurt."

"Okay, let's do it in the afternoon. Let Okamura-kun rest for a while. And since the matter is still under investigation, you can't leave the ward."

"OK, thanks."

Chen Kai, who was on the same floor, was also being questioned, but he was just a small soldier, so he was just asked about the process of the operation and that was it.

The other one who survived is still in a coma and was the one who was injured in the explosion.

Gangcun also told the investigators what happened, admitting that he was angry and ordered the disposal of the captured personnel. Li Shiqun and Tang Keming of No. 76 also requested to be questioned.

After Li Shiqun finished questioning him, Ye Wulian and the others went into Li Shiqun's office to inquire about Lin Jie.

"Brother-in-law, where is Xiaojie? Did something happen? Director Tang couldn't explain it clearly, so I had no choice but to come to you to find out if something really happened," he said, his eyes turning red.

"Don't worry, he's fine. He just got a minor injury. He's in the Army Hospital. But there was a mistake in the intelligence. We need to investigate. You can't visit him yet. Go home first and wait for my call."

……

In the afternoon, Lin Jie finally got permission and went to the next ward on crutches to visit Gangcun. He pushed open the door and felt like laughing when he saw Gangcun lying on the bed. He quickly calmed down and asked in a low voice, "Captain Gangcun, are you okay? I came to see you. I'm very sorry that you got hurt."

"Oh, Mr. Lin is here. They are just superficial wounds, no big deal." Gangcun endured the pain and maintained his pride as a soldier of the Empire of Japan.

"The intelligence was wrong. It's all my fault. I'm sorry for getting into trouble with Gangcun." Lin Jie imitated the hypocrisy of the Japanese and bowed to Gangcun. "Gangcun, can you tell me what happened next? I was knocked unconscious at the time. Why was Gangcun injured?"

"Mr. Lin, the intelligence was accurate, but the estimate of the number of enemies was inaccurate. You should learn from your mistakes next time." Gangcun Chenji showed his dignity as a senior. "As for the injury, I was leading the military police to control the situation. I was anxious to rescue you wounded. When searching for evidence, I was careless and fell into the trap of the Military Control Commission. It's just a minor injury, not worth mentioning."

"Mr. Gangcun, have you found any useful clues? Should we continue investigating?" Lin Jie wanted to get some information.

"We don't have to worry about it. Just focus on recovering. The next thing will be taken over by Ono Jiro, the one who will take over my position as captain of the gendarmerie." Okamura felt a little regretful. He felt that he had caught a fish and might get something if he continued to investigate. However, he got injured and had to let go of the opportunity.

"Then Mr. Gangcun, why would someone interrogate me? Even though we didn't catch any big fish, we did destroy a Military Control Commission stronghold. Even if we don't mention our contribution, you can't put us under house arrest, right?" Gangcun felt a little embarrassed by Lin Jie's grievance.

"Oh, don't worry about that, Mr. Lin. It's just a routine matter. The main reason is that I saw you injured and I fell into the trap of the Military Control Commission. I was angry and killed all the prisoners to avenge you. It's normal for the Special High Commission to send someone to understand the situation." Gangcun showed his shamelessness to the fullest to cover up the fact that he was too frightened and crazy.

"It's because of me that I made Gangcun-kun suffer. I'm sorry." Lin Jie bowed again, wondering if he should send Gangcun away again.

Since the man with glasses could not be rescued in the end and died at night, and the brief accounts of the events given by the several people who interrogated them matched each other, the Special High Section had no useful clues for the time being. The only clue was that the man with glasses was a relative of Wan Lilang, the director of the Political Security Bureau, and the owner of this trading company. Based on the radio station and the fragments of suspected code books left at the scene, it can be basically determined that this was a Military Control Commission stronghold, and a relatively important one at that. However, there was no way to prove that it was related to Wan Lilang. The Special High Section sent people to Nanjing to interrogate Wan Lilang, but got no results, so they had to turn to secretly investigating Wan Lilang. After all, the Japanese policy of using China to control China still required a large number of traitors to work for them, and it would be difficult to turn against them immediately without direct evidence.

On the third day, the Special High Section released Lin Jie and Chen Kai from house arrest, and Ye Wulian was finally able to take Lin Jie home to recuperate.

The moment she saw Lin Jie, Ye Wulian hugged her lover tightly and cried silently. After three days of not seeing him, Ye Wulian's insomnia, which had been relieved, recurred. Since the night when Lin Jie took action, she could not hide in Lin Jie's arms and could not fall asleep at all. She fell asleep only when she could not bear it anymore, but nightmares soon followed. Her dependence on Lin Jie made the symptoms worse when she lost him. For Ye Wulian, it was not clear whether it was good or bad.

After hugging for a while, Ye Wulian finally let go of Lin Jie's hand with Lin Jie's comfort. "Okay, let's go home." Ye Wulian smiled when she heard the word "home". In fact, Li Shiqun called her that night, just to ask questions, and the isolation was to prevent the news from leaking. But she couldn't avoid worrying. At this critical moment, she violated the rules and went to the cheongsam shop to meet Lao Zhou, and was severely criticized by Lao Zhou. Fortunately, the investigation of the Special High Section was focused on the man with glasses, and did not pay attention to Lin Jie's family, otherwise things would be troublesome.

The next half month was calm. Lin Jie also went to the hospital to visit Gangcun. Gangcun, who liked Chinese culture, thought Lin Jie was very loyal and could make friends. Although he thought Chinese people were not as good as Japanese people, Lin Jie had received higher education in Japan, which was different from other Chinese people. The Chinese culture that Japanese people liked was the culture of the Tang Dynasty. They believed that there was no China after the Yashan Dynasty and looked down on Chinese people after the Song Dynasty. The ambition to annex China may have started from that time.

Lin Jie returned to No. 76 and had only one soldier under him. At this time, Lin Jie was in Tang Keming's office, and the two were arguing, "Director, we really can't work without someone. We can't sit in the office every day. If that's the case, I don't mind, but if others gossip, it's not my fault."

"Hey, aren't you being a rogue? You know how many people there are in the Intelligence Department. We are all professional agents. Why don't you go to Captain Wu and ask for a few more people?" Tang Keming teased Lin Jie that he had lost the five people he had just asked for in one operation, so he still dared to go to Captain Wu?

"What should we do then?" Lin Jie spread his hands.

"I have no choice. Without the director's order, no one can give you their manpower. You dare not, right? Do you understand?"

Actually, Lin Jie knew about this, but he was just playing dumb. Lin Jie said helplessly, "Then I can only shamelessly ask the director for help."

Lin Jie went to talk to Li Shiqun for a long time, and got a sentence like "figure it out yourself. If the person is willing to give it to you, he has no objection. You can find someone else." Then he was kicked out in front of Sanpu. Sanpu even smiled and greeted Lin Jie. "The director is in a bad mood. He asked you to come back next time, but you didn't believe him. What did the director say?"

"Oh, don't mention it. Last time the director gave me five people, they were gone in just a few days. It's embarrassing. I'm leaving." Lin Jie shook his head and ran away with an embarrassed look on his face. Sanpu smiled meaningfully.

Lin Jie did not give up and went to the gendarmerie.

"Captain Ono, you are here. I want to talk to Gangcun-kun about something."

"Oh, Mr. Lin, I know you. When Gangcun left, he told me that your situation at No. 76 was awkward and he wanted me to look after you. It's the same if you tell me anything." Gangcun did say that during the handover, and he also said that winning over Lin Jie could divide the Chinese, which was what the Japanese liked to do the most.

"Oh, thank you, Ono-kun. The last time I went on a mission with Gangcun-kun, I lost all my men. Now I only have one man left. Director Li asked me to find a solution on my own. I originally wanted to find Gangcun-kun to help me, but it turned out that Gangcun-kun has been transferred. This is not going to work."

"Well, I just took over and I'm not familiar with it yet. Tell me what you think first."

"Okay, Ono-kun, the director has agreed that I can look for people outside. When the time comes to apply for weapons, it would be great if Ono-kun could say a word for me. Otherwise, it's easy to get junk. If my gun hadn't jammed last time, I wouldn't have been shot. Forgive me, Ono-kun." Lin Jie was talking nonsense to fool the newcomer Ono.

"No problem, bring me the application form and I'll sign it for you." Xiao Ye was very straightforward. Newcomers also need to build their own network. It's just a signature, and you don't have to pay for it yourself, so why not do it.

Lin Jie quickly picked a few hooligans from outside, all of them were fifteen or sixteen years old. Actually, Lin Jie used to hang out in the area where he used to live, doing odd jobs and often stealing. They were not bad, but they were not good either. It was not easy for honest people to live in this world. Lin Jie had been observing for a long time. In terms of character, these three people were really considered to have conscience in this environment. Knowing that Lin Jie was going to take them to No. 76 to make a living, they hesitated for a long time. However, it was really difficult for people of this age without parents to survive. They were all dark and thin. When Lin Jie promised not to let them do anything that was not in line with the code of conduct, they agreed. They were really kids, so naive that they were sold and helped count the money.

"We agreed that you are only a traitor in name only, not a real traitor, or I will kill you." The one who yelled the most fiercely was called Xiao Heizi, who had no name. He was picked up by Lin Jie with one hand and thrown aside, staring at Lin Jie like a wolf.

But when he saw Ye Wulian bring the big bowl of meat buns to the table, he, who had been hungry for most of the day, just called out "Sister-in-law" obediently and looked at them eagerly, not daring to take any.

"Eat, I didn't cook today because I was in a hurry, I'll make you something delicious next time," Ye Wulian also found it funny that Lin Jie brought back three children, but it didn't matter if there was a bite of food, so she just let him be. You can tell from looking at him that he is often hungry. She went to buy dozens of meat buns and brought them back, filling a large bowl and brought them over.

The other two guys nearby stretched out their hands to grab the food, but were immediately slapped in the face. “You’re impolite. Say thank you, sister-in-law.” Heizi’s words were quite effective. The other two guys followed suit and called her “sister-in-law,” but their eyes were still on the meat buns.

"Hahaha, eat, eat quickly," Ye Wulian laughed so hard that her body shook. The three children took the buns and stuffed them into their mouths like starving ghosts. Little Heizi swallowed while mumbling "Sister-in-law is so pretty." He was a flatterer. Ye Wulian laughed so hard that her stomach hurt.

Lin Jie was also unconvinced. "Little Blackie, how could you talk to me like that just now? You're being honest now. It's really pretty. You don't have to say that. I don't know, brother. Drink some water, don't choke to death."

"Hey, Xiaojie, really go to No. 76. They are so young, don't hurt them."

"Sister-in-law, don't look at us as young, we are capable. You feed me and I help my brother. The most important thing to do in this world is loyalty." The little kid always talks about loyalty. He would sneak into the teahouse to listen to the storyteller telling the Romance of the Three Kingdoms when he had nothing to do. He must have been addicted to it.

"Eat quickly. I'll take you to buy clothes later. It's embarrassing to look like a beggar." Lin Jie didn't care and picked up two and stuffed them into his mouth. He had spent most of the day looking for them and was hungry.

……

"Okay, you will live here from now on. You are familiar with this area. Familiarize yourself with the tunnels and secret doors inside. Come to my house at dawn tomorrow to find me. Come and think of a name for yourself. Don't be a scoundrel. Take this money first. You can buy some rice or something later. I'm leaving now." Lin Jie threw down a stack of French currency and went home.

After Lin Jie left, the three children gathered together to discuss

"Brother Heizi, now I recognize you as my big brother."

"Yeah, didn't you hate traitors the most before?"

"Call me Liu Sheng from now on.

Remember, I hate traitors. My parents and my sister were killed by traitors. But I still have to eat. It is getting harder and harder to find a job. The world is in chaos. You can't get by without being ruthless. You don't want to do anything that harms the world. What should I do? I will starve to death. I can only recognize my eldest brother. This man has lived here for a year. Have you heard anyone say bad things about him? There are good people and bad people everywhere. You have to know how to judge people. "

"How do you know he is a good person? What if he is pretending?" another one protested.

"I agreed to go to his house to get to know his family, just to see his family. Look at my sister-in-law. As soon as we met, she asked us if we were hungry. She also gave us towels to wash our faces and bought us meat buns. You can tell at a glance that he is a good person. He is also pretty, just like my sister." Xiao Heizi burst into tears while speaking. With a wave of his sleeve, his little face became firm. "I have decided to recognize him as my big brother. If he keeps his word and provides me with food and shelter, I will work hard for him. If he doesn't keep his word, I will let him go for my sister-in-law's sake. If he doesn't keep his word, I will run away. You guys decide for yourselves. Liushou, you decide."

"Don't call me Liushou. I'm a thief with ghost hands. I'm gifted. Do you understand? If you're ignorant, call me Liu Yishou. I don't know why I'm the same as you. Anyway, we're brothers. Also, my hands are normal, they're just more flexible."

"What about me? My last name is Li. Can you help me think of my name?" He was anxious.

"That still requires some thought, Li Jing, the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King," Liu Sheng said casually.

"Hey, that sounds pretty good. So I'll call myself Li Jing. Who calls me that? I'm better at fighting."

"Liu Sheng, today my elder brother asked us if we knew how to read. How could you lie to him? You read books when you were young, but Liu Yishou and I never learned anything. Are the things I learned from you when I was selling newspapers enough?" Li Jing was a little embarrassed. He would not lie.

"What's the big deal? Who are we going to be in the future? We're Agent No. 76. If you don't practice being thick-skinned, you'll be embarrassed by other people's gossip. Besides, a fake traitor has to be able to deceive others, even himself. Otherwise, how can he deceive the Japanese? In the future, talk less and watch more, and you'll learn. Big brother also said that a traitor has to act like a traitor. As for the rest, you should know it in your heart. Don't worry about what others say or think. Remember what big brother said."

The three kids didn't sleep all night, and as they talked, they seemed to have turned into Guan Yu, who was in Cao's camp but his heart was with Han, hahahahahahahahahaha…