The Bravest

At five o'clock in the morning of December 12th, US time, when beautiful Hawaii is about to welcome the first rays of dawn, American soldiers are still sleeping soundly. Today will be a good day. They can get enough rest to go on a date with beautiful girls. Just like usual, it will be a happy Sunday.

Less than three hundred nautical miles away from Hawaii, a large Japanese naval fleet has arrived at the designated waters.

"Commander, the radio communication has been restored, please give the order." The staff officer's eyes were full of excitement and madness. The Imperial Japanese Navy was about to completely destroy the US Pacific Fleet in one fell swoop. It was expected that the United States would no longer be able to threaten Japan in more than a year, which would buy enough strategic time for Japan to advance southward into Southeast Asia.

"Get ready, it'll start in an hour." At this point, there is nothing to hesitate about, and all the worries before will end today.

At 6 o'clock, the US military duty room received an alarm from the radar observation point, and found that a large number of planes were flying towards Hawaii. The duty officer responded arrogantly, "Those are American planes. The Japanese don't have the courage to challenge the United States!" It was this confidence and arrogance given by the first industrial country that made the US Pacific Fleet lose the last chance to fight back. Two hours later, the entire US Pacific Fleet and Hawaii Island turned into a sea of ​​fire.

Lin Jie, who was far away in Shanghai, was still in Kenji Doihara's office, trying to resist sleepiness and dealing with Kenji Doihara and Kagesa Makoto, responding to the two enthusiastic old devils' topics in a disjointed manner. I don't know what the old devil is doing, he still hasn't gone to bed when it's almost dawn.

Ye Wulian and Sun Yuelan didn't know what was going on. Although Lin Jie was very worried, he had to accompany them absent-mindedly without Doihara Kenji's order. Fortunately, there was still Gangcun who could share some of the Japanese's attention.

Just when Lin Jie was feeling uneasy, waves of cheers came from outside the office, "Long live the Empire of Japan, long live the Emperor." The cheers in Japanese became louder and louder.

The old devil Ying Zuo Zhenzhu suddenly stood up and shouted excitedly, "Success!"

Doihara Kenji was calm and said with a smile, "Lin Jie, I see you can't sit still either. Don't worry about your wife. They are next door. You can take them home now."

"Thank you for your hospitality, teacher. I am a little worried. If you don't have anything else for me to do, I will take my leave."

Kenji Doihara waved at Lin Jie, indicating that he could leave.

After leaving this luxurious office, Kenji Doihara's confidential secretary waved to Lin Jie, "Mr. Lin, the general has said that your wife is resting next door. I will ask someone to take you there now."

"Okay, thank you, you've worked hard!" Lin Jie thanked politely.

It was said to be next door. Lin Jie followed a guard for five minutes and entered a small conference room, where he saw Ye Wulian and Sun Yuelan who were dozing on the conference table.

Lin Jie saw that the guards had not left, and knew that they were about to be escorted out of the Military Police Headquarters. They would not allow the Chinese to walk around freely inside.

Lin Jie said to Ye Wulian and Sun Yuelan who had already woken up, "Let's go, let's talk outside." The two nodded, said nothing, and silently followed Lin Jie out of the gate of the gendarmerie headquarters.

Unexpectedly, Gangcun was already waiting outside the door. "Lin-san, today is special. Please drive my car back. There is a pass on it. It will be more convenient this way."

"Thank you, Mr. Gangcun. By the way, can you lend me a camera? I want to take some photos as souvenirs." Lin Jie suddenly had the idea of ​​leaving some records.

"No need to borrow it, it's in the car, and the film has just been loaded. I wanted to go out and take some photos, but now I'm lending you the car, so I won't go. When the time comes, just develop a few more photos and give me a copy. You'll go, right? It took us an entire night, but luckily nothing happened."

……

Lin Jie was suddenly taken away by Shibuya, and the car was still left at No. 76, so Lin Jie borrowed a car from Gangcun, picked up Ye Wulian and Sun Yuelan and left the headquarters first.

Lin Jie knew that history could not be changed, but he still wanted to witness the darkest day in Shanghai. The car slowly drove towards the International Settlement. A large number of Japanese marines were also heading in the same direction on the street. There were also gunshots in the distance. Lin Jie knew that the Japanese army was taking over the British and American warships on the Huangpu River. If they resisted, they would be sunk directly. Lin Jie's car was checked several times along the way. Fortunately, Gangcun's car had a pass from the military police.

Entering the International Settlement, there were Japanese soldiers standing guard at all intersections and important buildings. Lin Jie took out the camera he had temporarily borrowed from Gangcun and took pictures to record the moment when darkness fell.

"Go back and see the kids." Ye Wulian saw that Lin Jie was in a bad mood and tried to divert his attention. Sun Yuelan, who was also sitting in the back seat, looked at the scene on the street with a blank expression, and no one knew what she was thinking.

Lin Jie drove forward, found an intersection and turned onto another road to leave.

The car was stopped by a barricade 50 meters away from the gate of the welfare home. From a distance, there were simple fortifications on both sides of the gate, and a machine gun was mounted on one side. It seemed that the people in the welfare home already knew that Lin Jie was missing. Uncle Liu would not show up, and no one knew who was in charge.

Lin Jie rolled down the window, honked the horn twice, and then stuck his head out of the window.

"The dean is back, the dean is back." A burst of cheers rang out, and among the cheers there was a voice that was clearly coming from Liu Sheng.

"Sister-in-law, sister-in-law, brother is back." The voice was gradually fading away, Lin Jie smiled helplessly, it was actually Liu Haitang who was hosting. But it was not too surprising, that group of little ghosts Lin Jie and Ye Wulian were not there, and only Liu Haitang, the so-called sister-in-law, could command them.

Liu Yidao came running over with his two children, and hurriedly moved the barricades with barbed wire aside to let Lin Jie drive the car in, and then moved them back to block the road.

……

"Dean, where have you been? Liu Sheng and Yidao said you were captured by the Japanese. I'm so scared." As soon as Lin Jie got out of the car, a beautiful figure rushed over and hugged him and started crying. It was Liu Haitang, whom he had seen yesterday morning. When Liu Sheng, who was following behind, saw this, he stopped and stood there grinning.

"Ahem, what are you doing? Teacher Liu, this is my husband." Sun Yuelan got out of the car and saw this scene that made her very angry. Of course, she was not polite and started to criticize directly:

"Teacher Liu, if you really like our Lin Jie, then you have to call me sister."

"Hello, sister." Liu Haitang's call of sister not only blocked Sun Yuelan's mouth, but also called Ye Wulian, who had just got off the car and was standing behind Lin Jie, a fool. When did it happen? She and Sun Yuelan followed so closely, but someone still took advantage of them!

"Ahem, Haitang, let's go in first. I'll find out the situation first." After Lin Jie finished speaking, he didn't dare to look back at Ye Wulian. As for Sun Yuelan, there was no need to worry. Although the two of them would often stick together during this period, there was no need to worry about her sadness given her personality. After all, she was an agent trained in Japan, and she would tend to listen to men regarding the idea of ​​male superiority and female inferiority. At most, she would just be jealous.

Liu Qingshan, who was upstairs, watched his daughter run into a man's arms. He felt sad. The little girl he had raised for nearly 20 years was stolen away by a philandering man. What else could he do? He would help if he could.

In the small conference room on the second floor, Lin Jie, the three women, Liu Sheng, Liu Yidao, and Chen Kai, a total of seven people, were having a meeting.

"Haitang, can you tell me what's going on in the welfare home?"

"Oh, the children and teachers are fine. It was just that we heard artillery fire early this morning. When I came to work, I saw Japanese soldiers everywhere on the street. I was a little scared. Then I called everywhere but couldn't find you, so I told Liu Sheng to take them to guard the welfare home. Ma Laosan received my call and said he would come back. I told him to stay at No. 76 and wait for news."

"Haitang is amazing." Lin Jie praised.

"Yidao, have you asked someone to remove the machine gun at the door? It's not a big deal. Just take two rifles and put the machine gun on the roof. Don't make it too conspicuous. And Chen Kai, keep an eye on the warehouse, especially fire prevention. The food is our lifeblood. Wulian, call your dad right away to let him know you're safe. Also, tell him if you need anything."

"By the way, Haitang, tell your dad later. Otherwise, you can stay in the welfare home for two days. It will be safer this way."

Lin Jie arranged the matter in a few words. When he was about to say something else, Sun Yuelan said, "Dean, you haven't arranged anything for me yet?"

"Go and have a rest. You've been worried all night. I'll go to the office and take a nap." Lin Jie didn't care about her. Originally, there was nothing wrong with the welfare home. It was just that they were so nervous because Lin Jie couldn't be contacted. Now that Lin Jie was back, everything would be back to normal.

······

At noon, Ma Laosan came over and brought the news that Lin Jie wanted.

"Number 76 is very quiet. Shibuya has issued a strict order that people from Number 76 are not allowed to enter the International Settlement to cause trouble. Even if there are clues about the Military Control Commission, they must be investigated quietly by Japanese spies. When I came here, I walked around the street a few times. Most of the grain stores had long queues. The price of grain had risen by almost 10% at 10 o'clock in the morning. Some of them had sold out or were simply closed. I'm afraid someone has started to hoard grain."

"Oh, there will be trouble in the future. I have to feed my little three hundred people. I'm afraid I won't be able to buy food even if I have money." Lin Jie sighed.

"Then rob them. We will rob whoever hoards grain and sells it at a high price." Ma Laosan's words did not match his identity at all. Ma Laosan did not come to the welfare home often, but Chen Kai said a lot.

……

The Japanese occupation of the concession has a long-term impact on Lin Jie. Lin Jie's biggest headache at the moment is his New Year's Day marriage with Sun Yuelan. Sun Yuelan, who hasn't even entered the house yet, has often stuck to him. Lin Jie and Ye Wulian haven't thought of any good way to deal with it. Now Liu Haitang is added to the mix. Lin Jie, who is caught in the middle, doesn't know what to do for a moment.

As for rejecting Liu Haitang directly, Lin Jie would definitely not be willing to do so. It was rare for him to have a girl he liked who also liked him and who shared the same beliefs with him. How could he possibly reject her? Even though Lin Jie had different ideas about joining the organization, he was definitely willing to work for it.

This is also the reason why Lin Jie feels differently about Liu Haitang and Ye Wulian. Ye Wulian has become Lin Jie's responsibility and he will not abandon her, while Liu Haitang is just a pursuit of Lin Jie. Of course, maybe it's true, as others say, that men are always greedy for new things and dislike the old.

While Lin Jie was worried, he didn't know that a big event was about to happen and might affect Lin Jie's wedding date.