The Bravest

Liu Yang's assistant Xiao Zhou entered the grocery store and was immediately discovered by a Japanese spy who was observing with a telescope on the third floor of a hotel diagonally opposite.

"Someone entered, three people, with a cart of goods." The spy in charge of observation was dizzy and his eyes were still fixed on the grocery store while he spoke. From this position, he couldn't actually see much of what was going on inside the house, but if someone wanted to climb over the wall to leave, they would still be discovered, because the grocery store was only a one-story building, and the backyard and the wall were in full view.

"Observation Post No. 1 has discovered the situation. Three people have entered with a cart of goods." Another spy in the observation post immediately reported to Yamamoto's command post by phone.

"Got it. Continue to observe closely." This group of Japanese spies was truly unusual. Even their internal communications were conducted in fluent Chinese, with some Shanghai dialect.

A Japanese restaurant 200 meters away from the grocery store had been booked by Yamamoto and became the headquarters for this operation. Zhang Wu and his men dared to set up a base near a Japanese restaurant frequented by Japanese and traitors. Originally, it was a bit of a dark place under the lamp, but unexpectedly, it became the best cover for the Japanese to use it as the headquarters.

"Team leader, observation post No. 1 reports that someone has arrived, three people, more than an hour earlier than expected. In addition, No. 2 and No. 3 responded that they did not find any abnormalities." Deputy team leader Michiko reported the summary of the situation to Yamamoto.

"It's early. This is a mystery they deliberately set up. Since they are still using conventional means, they should not have discovered our existence. So there is no need to rush. I will just wait for them to evacuate. Is there any problem with the military dogs? They are the key to success or failure." Yamamoto drank his tea slowly. Everything was under his control.

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"Xiao Zhou, take a break first." After seeing Xiao Zhou, Zhang Wu did not anxiously ask about the new situation, but comforted Xiao Zhou who was about to report immediately. Only when people are completely calm can they organize their words accurately. Due to impatience, it is easy to miss some insignificant details.

Most people actually understand the truth, but many people cannot keep calm at the critical moment. Xiao Zhou drank three cups of tea, calmed down, and began to report to Zhang Wu slowly.

"Stationmaster, deputy stationmaster, after inquiring from many sources, believe that there is a great possibility that our operation this time has fallen into the trap of the Japanese. From the very beginning of the operation, all participants have been under Japanese surveillance and tracking. The reason why the stationmaster did not find any problems is, firstly, that the Japanese were well prepared this time and may have tracked us in batches and in turns, and those who were dispatched were experts in this field. On the other hand, the Japanese may have dispatched military dogs and did not conduct close surveillance, so we would not have discovered them at all. The Japanese did not make any arrests, and the deputy stationmaster judged that the Japanese wanted to wait until the stationmaster returned to his lair before taking action, hoping to catch us all in one fell swoop." Xiao Zhou stopped here and gave Zhang Wu time to think.

"Well, Lao Liu's judgment is correct. I'm afraid we have been fooled by the Japanese this time. So what plans does the deputy station chief have?" Zhang Wu generously admitted that he had fallen into a trap. There was nothing to say about it. The important thing now was how to resolve the problem.

"This time, the deputy station chief asked me to bring a lot of pepper, Sichuan pepper powder, and other materials with strong odors, which are used to deal with military dogs. The deputy station chief said that since the Japanese want to follow the clues, it is not advisable for us to kill the military dogs when we just start to evacuate, and we don't need to use these things right away. In order to avoid being noticed by the Japanese, we should wait until we retreat to the first rendezvous point, which is this location, and then observe the situation." Xiao Zhou pointed to the route drawn on the simple map he brought and explained to Zhang Wu.

"Well, go on." Zhang Wu stared at the thick line on the map and listened carefully.

"After arriving at the first point, we cannot stop. We have to scatter pepper powder and other things every few steps, but we can't scatter them all over the place, otherwise the dog's nose will not work well, and the spies can follow us by smell. We do this just to increase the distance, and then turn here, quickly approach the second rendezvous point, get in the car and bypass this area of ​​buildings to the river. There will be a boat to pick us up here, and then we will go ashore after a while. Every person who meets will block the tracking spies. They use sulfur to cover the smell, so we just need to block them slightly and then retreat to a nearby place to hide."

"Well, there should be no problem. Let's carry out the plan. It's still early now. Let's eat first and then rest. We will evacuate on time at 5:30. This time is just right. I think the Japanese probably haven't eaten yet." Zhang Wu laughed heartily.

At 5:30 pm, Xiao Zhou led the two coolies out of the grocery store. The cart was empty except for some messy things. The three of them walked slowly on the road, and the Japanese observation post immediately reported the situation to the headquarters.

In less than ten minutes, Zhang Wu and his assistant changed their makeup, left the grocery store, and walked in another direction. Finally, the shopkeeper came out in a carriage with a clerk and chased in the direction of Zhang Wu.

"Report, three groups of people have set off, but in two directions." Michiko reported to Yamamoto.

"Haha, it looks like it's time. Notify all teams to bring their equipment and keep watch from a distance along the way. Send out all the military dogs."

"Hi" Michiko was a little excited. She could finally close the net. As the deputy team leader, she would certainly make a lot of contributions. Half an hour later, the shopkeeper and Zhang Wu separated again. The Japanese tracking team could only report to Yamamoto.

"Command center, command center. I'm in Group 1. The targets are separated. I'm doing my best to track Number One." The team leader called into a walkie-talkie. Damn it, the Japanese spies even used the Germans' individual walkie-talkies, making Zhang Wu's troop division plan ineffective. He was an important target of the Japanese. No matter how he disguised himself, it would be useless in front of someone with ulterior motives.

"Very good, keep an eye on them and report any situation at any time. The headquarters will move forward soon." The communication range of walkie-talkies in this era was not very far. If Yamamoto wanted to keep the communication open at all times, the headquarters had to move forward.

Zhang Wu took Xiaokang and walked around, stopping and starting, until they arrived at the checkpoint. He walked over with a swagger and showed his forged identity card. The agent saw that the two of them looked poor and had a strange smell on them, so he cursed them and let them go. Anyway, the boss had told them to strictly check the vehicles.

At another intersection, the carriage of the shopkeeper who had already reunited with Xiao Zhou was stopped for inspection, but after paying a tribute of money, they were let go after a few casual flips. The shopkeeper who successfully passed the checkpoint breathed a sigh of relief, as all their weapons were in the secret compartment of the carriage. After passing the checkpoint and reuniting with Zhang Wu, the real evacuation plan began. What we did before were all routine practices, but they were not redundant. If we walked out directly without fear, it would be obvious to the Japanese that I knew you would not catch me now, so I was too lazy to do the redundant actions.

Zhang Wu and his men quickly met up in a secluded place. After a brief contact, they immediately distanced themselves after taking out their weapons. With seven people in total, they were too conspicuous. As they approached the first reconnaissance point, the Japanese tracking team also began to split up into small groups, with those on foot taking turns tracking in front, and the car with a walkie-talkie following far behind.

The first rendezvous point was a crossroads. When the shopkeeper arrived in his horse-drawn carriage, a rickshaw suddenly rushed out, frightening the horse pulling the carriage. The horse broke free from the harness and galloped away. Although there were not many vehicles and pedestrians on the road in the evening, there was chaos for a while. The carriage overturned on the ground. The shopkeeper and his waiter got up from the ground and had an argument with the rickshaw driver and passengers. Zhang Wu and his companions, who had followed, mixed into the crowd of onlookers and left quietly. The Japanese spies who arrived later were blocked for more than ten seconds by someone, intentionally or unintentionally. When they squeezed out of the crowd, Zhang Wu and his companions had already entered the alley.

Two cars behind them noticed something was wrong and rushed over quickly. The crowd and the two parties had already dispersed. The team leader called the walkie-talkie, "Command center, there is an emergency at the command center. The target has disappeared. We are searching with military dogs. Request reinforcement from the nearby military police." Two black-backed military dogs had already gotten off another car. The trainers were leading them at the intersection, sniffing Zhang Wu's scent. Unfortunately, not only the intersection, but also the nearby alleys were filled with all kinds of pungent smells. The military dogs wandered around for a few minutes and finally confirmed that Zhang Wu had entered from the alley.

Realizing that their whereabouts had been discovered, the team leader immediately ordered some of the agents to follow the military dogs without hiding. At the same time, after gesturing on the map, he pointed out two locations and ordered: "Three people in a group, drive here quickly, and make sure to hold them back. Except for target number one, the others can be shot dead. Let's go."

On the rooftop of a building a hundred meters away from the intersection where the incident occurred, Liu Yang, who was observing with a telescope, discovered that the Japanese were talking to the guy with thick calves. He was so angry that his teeth were itching and he cursed in his heart, "Fuck, the Japanese have spent a lot of money and actually used a walkie-talkie." Liu Yang had only seen this kind of thing in the information room. This was the first time he saw it in the real thing.

There was nothing he could do, so Liu Yang quickly went downstairs and disappeared into the alley. The second one was commanded by Inspector Liu. The second point was actually not far away, just crossing two alleys and getting in the car. The reason why Liu Yang did not arrange to directly use the car to meet in the chaos was that he was afraid that the target would be too obvious, so he let Zhang Wu and his party cross two alleys before getting in the car and rushing to the third location, which was the riverside to get on the boat and go by water.

Zhang Wu and his group of seven entered the designated alley and arrived at the second pick-up point in less than three minutes. There was a truck with a tarpaulin parked on the side of the road for repairs. Zhang Wu glanced at the license plate and whispered, "Get in quickly." He climbed into the back of the truck first. After the seven people got on the car, Zhang Wu put down the tarpaulin at the back, and after the car started, he began to sprinkle the mixed spice powder from the package he brought with him.

There was just a few minutes' time difference. When the car intercepted by the Japanese spies and the spies led by the military dogs arrived at the exit of the alley, they found no trace of Zhang Wu at all. There was a pungent smell of spices lingering on a section of the road, but there was nothing when they followed the trail to the next intersection. The military dogs also did not smell the scent of Zhang Wu and the others, so they concluded that there was a car to pick them up.

"Command center, the military dog ​​has lost track again. The location is No. 13 Huainan Street. We believe a car with more than seven seats is coming to pick us up. Please wait for directions here." The team leader said according to experience. Without a target direction, it is better to wait here. The units cooperating with the search outside have already blocked the perimeter, and information can be sent at any time.

"We agree to wait here and investigate the scene at the same time." The voice coming from the walkie-talkie was no longer Michiko's. Instead, Yamamoto had taken over personally, indicating that he was no longer sitting back and relaxing. Although his tone was still calm, it was only the basic quality of a qualified agent.

At this time, the truck had already dropped off Zhang Wu and his seven companions, less than a hundred meters from the meeting point by the river. In order to continue to disrupt the Japanese's sight, the truck continued to move forward, passing through some factory areas where many trucks were coming in and out. The driver parked the car next to the wall of a Japanese warehouse and set a booby trap at the door. Then he left quietly, because the truck was originally stolen from another Japanese cargo yard.

"A suspicious truck was found at No. 30 Suzhou River Factory Area. Go there immediately." The tracking team that was waiting at the spot finally received Yamamoto's instructions after more than ten minutes, and immediately split into two cars and went there.

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"Report, these two trucks originally belonged to another Riqiao company. They were lost this morning and suddenly appeared here. So when the people in the warehouse found out about the abnormality, the manager called the police station. Because we have received a notice from above, we are only maintaining the scene, so there has been no inspection yet." A policeman reported the situation to the team leader who showed his credentials.

“When was the vehicle discovered?”

"According to the warehouse manager, his workers discovered it fifteen minutes ago and called the police immediately."

"Very good, thank you very much. We have taken over this place now, you can go back." The team leader sent the police away and arranged for a military dog ​​to go up and confirm whether Zhang Wu and others had been in this truck.

Unexpectedly, the dog trainer got impatient and opened the door himself before the dog started working. With a loud bang, the trainer and the black-backed dog were blown away. The explosion also ignited the gunpowder deliberately left in the back car, and the whole truck caught fire. The spies nearby were stunned and soon burned to a bare shell.

Meanwhile, Zhang Wu and his team, who had participated in the assassination of Lin Jie, had already landed on the other side of Suzhou River and quickly disappeared into the night.