Chapter 730: Thirteen Demons, The Warlords

The young man who stole the seal was a fast runner.

He seemed to be very familiar with the terrain of the concession. His route choices were very strange.

Almost all of them were unexpected routes.

Some of the routes required him to climb over walls. Or he had to climb over rooftops to get past.

There was no path there. But the young man jumped and leapt, and a path appeared. For a moment, Zhang Yong thought the other person was doing parkour.

No wonder he was able to avoid being followed by Li Yuanqing.

Before, Zhu Yuan said that Li Yuanqing's professional skills were very strong, and he was not exaggerating. After all, Li Yuanqing was the closing disciple of the Thief King. His level was definitely there. However, the young man in front of him seemed to have a level above Li Yuanqing. Not only did he shake off Li Yuanqing's tailing, he even quietly returned.

That's impressive.

Zhang Yong could have done the same. Because he had a map.

Without it, he would have been lost long ago. Or he would have run headlong into a dead end.

Zhang Yong couldn't help but feel curious.

Who was this young man? He wasn't a member of the Red Gang. Then it could be the Gang.

Which Gang?

Why did they steal the seal of the Ministry of Works?

Actually, strictly speaking, this was a very uneconomical act. It was even foolish.

If you're going to steal it, you might as well carve your own.

From a cost perspective, the latter is cheaper. It's not technically difficult either.

Seals from these days don't have that much anti-counterfeiting technology. To put it bluntly, you could carve one out of a radish. Just carve it carefully.

Most likely, there was some special reason for this.

Silent surveillance of the map.

The young man obviously didn't expect that the mantis was catching the cicada, and the bird was watching the whole thing.

Finding the right opportunity, Zhang Yong suddenly appeared in front of the young man.

The young man was very alert and kept his head down as he hurried along. Suddenly, he noticed someone in front of him. He turned around immediately.

However, there was someone behind him as well.

He immediately realised that he was surrounded. The other person also had a gun.

His face immediately changed.

There were a lot of people. There were also a lot of guns. They didn't look very kind either.

Especially the group of bald men. Their heads were shiny, but they were wearing Zhongshan suits. They were holding guns in their hands. It looked wrong no matter how you looked at it. He couldn't help but grumble inwardly.

Which gang is this? He doesn't know them at all!

'You stole the seal of the concession's Ministry of Public Works?' Zhang Yong said slowly, 'What did you steal it for?'

'You're not from our gang. It's got nothing to do with you,' the young man frowned.

'Your gang. Is it the Empty Door?'

'That's right. This is an internal matter for our Empty Door. If you're an outsider, it's got nothing to do with you.'

'So, you stole the seal of the Ministry of Public Works just to prove your worth?'

'If you know, why do you ask?'

'Give me the seal, let me see what it looks like. I'll give it back after I've seen it.'

'Don't even think about it...'

'Take back what you said. Otherwise, I'll beat you up.'

'You...'

The young man gritted his teeth.

He looked around. He found that he had nowhere to escape.

Although, he was a thief. He was a rising star. He was agile. But he knew very well that no matter how fast he was, he could not outrun a bullet.

The place the other person had chosen was a good restriction on his technique.

The terrain is relatively open. There is no room to hide. Once he moves, he will be covered by bullets.

The opponent has a lot of powerful submachine guns. He will die if he moves.

There is nothing he can do but reluctantly take out the seal.

Zhang Yong reaches out and takes it.

The seal is wrapped in red silk and tied tightly with a red string.

He is not used to this. There is not even a rubber band. Later, he remembered that in those days, rubber was still rare.

Zhang Yong wasn't sure if rubber bands were available. But the White-Haired Girl used red strings. In other words, even if rubber bands were available, they weren't common. Rubber and plastic products were only gradually introduced after the end of World War II.

Unravel the string. Lift the red silk cloth.

Inside is a round seal of the Public Works Department. Carved from wood.

Not just any wood. Perhaps yellow rosewood? Not sure.

Looking left and right, I don't see anything special.

It doesn't seem to be any kind of security measure.

Not interested. Throw it back to the young man.

He never wants anything of value.

Since it's something Kurimoto Aoi wants to investigate, let Kurimoto Aoi investigate it.

'What's your name?'

'...'

'Tell the truth. Otherwise...'

Zhang Yong releases the 30 kg hammer. The young man suddenly turns pale.

So scary.

Such a big hammer.

Is he going to hammer a cow to death? This pervert...

Who carries a hammer around with them!

Hurry up and answer honestly: 'My name is Thirteen Demons...'

Zhang Yong: "What?'

The young man looked at him with a bad expression in his eyes and hurriedly said, "Really, really, I don't have a book name, only a nickname. It's just Thirteen Demons. Demon of demons. Some people also call me Little Demon.'

'Thirteen Demons,' Zhang Yong nodded thoughtfully.

Not bad. This name is easy to remember.

Other people are called Aunt Thirteen. You are called Thirteen Demons. Little Demon.

Judging from the movements he just made, he does look like a little demon. He jumped and leaped very nimbly.

'Sir...'

'Don't move. I need to talk to you.'

Zhang Yong suddenly had a bold idea. This guy seems to be pretty good at stealing, right?

If so, wouldn't it be a piece of cake if I asked him to steal from the Japanese invaders? It may not be useful now. But it will be very useful in the future.

It seems that people from all walks of life, like Xiaoyao, have no sense of right and wrong. Survival of the fittest. Anyone who has milk is a mother. For the sake of profit, he might even side with the Japanese. Since he has met me, I will put a curse on him. I will make him afraid to side with the Japanese in the future.

'Sir, I...'

'I will spare your life. You will steal something for me.'

'Sir, I...'

'If you want to live, you must do as I say. You choose.'

Zhang Yong swung the hammer on the ground.

The little demon's face turned pale.

He trembled all over. He begged Zhang Yong to have mercy.

Unfortunately, Zhang Yong was unmoved. He only gave the other party 30 seconds to think about it.

There was nothing he could do, so the little demon had to agree.

'What do I steal?'

'Go to the Japanese Consulate General in Shanghai and steal something.'

'What exactly?'

'You choose. As long as you can prove that you stole it from the consulate.'

'This...'

The fox demon was suspicious. He didn't know what Zhang Yong was going to do.

However, he soon discovered the opportunity within. Since no specific item was specified, the difficulty would be minimal.

If a specific item was specified, the difficulty would increase instead. So, he agreed.

'Okay. You can go!' Zhang Yong waved his hand, letting the fox demon go.

What exactly to steal, the fox demon would figure it out.

The main thing is to have a confession.

As long as he has stolen something from the Japanese, that's fine.

With this confession, if he wants to surrender to the Japanese invaders in the future, he will have to think twice. He is worried that the Japanese invaders will dig up the past.

Zhang Yong looks around and sees that there is nothing going on. He tidies up a bit. He goes back to find Yang Lichu.

Yang Lichu is still in a bad mood. He doesn't want to talk. He is sulking alone.

Zhang Yong then called back to the 026 logistics base to see if there was anything else. Maybe someone else was looking for him.

Tian Qi answered the phone. Zhang Yong asked if Shi Bingdao had returned, and Tian Qi replied that he hadn't. Tian Qi also reported that someone from the garrison headquarters was looking for Zhang Yong. It was Zhou Yang. Commander Qian's deputy. He was asked to call the garrison headquarters as soon as possible after hearing the news.

'Zhou Yang?'

'What's the matter?'

Zhang Yong wondered.

Could it be that something else has happened?

Alas, the traitor in the Garrison Command has not yet been uncovered.

I've been so busy lately...

One thing after another, I've been so busy.

I've been so busy that I've forgotten to investigate the traitor in the Security Command Headquarters. I still have to flatter Commander Qian when I have time.

In the next few years, Commander Qian will be Madam's white glove. He will help Madam get on the stage. Commander Qian is relatively honest. Unlike Boss Dai, he doesn't like to burn his bridges. With Commander Qian, safety is still guaranteed. Not to mention Madam behind him. This relationship must be maintained.

On the other hand, Boss Dai is secretly trying to undermine him. If Boss Dai doesn't back down, he'll gradually fade out. After all, even if the military intelligence becomes even stronger in the future, they won't dare to get involved with the air force. Commander Qian is always Boss Dai's superior. He can completely ignore Boss Dai's orders.

He's just that arrogant.

Unless Boss Dai uses his interests to lure him back to the Special Services Department of the Restoration Society...

He called back to the Garrison Command. He asked for Zhou Yang.

Soon, Zhou Yang answered the phone.

'Lieutenant Zhou, what can I do for you?'

'Shaolong, there's something...'

'Lieutenant Zhou, please go on.'

'It's kind of official business. I want to ask you a favour.'

'Lieutenant Zhou, you're too polite.'

'It's still Sun Dingyuan's mess. It's about those people you met earlier who jumped off the train...'

'What happened to them?'

'Never mind. I'll get straight to the point. It's Wei Fangquan and the others. After Sun Dingyuan defected, the Commander-in-Chief ordered that the 47th Division be disbanded. The remaining officers and soldiers were screened and assigned to the 58th Division. The rest were all discharged and returned to their hometowns. However, Commander Qian doesn't want Wei Fangquan and the others to go to the 58th Division, nor does he want them to be discharged and return to their hometowns. So he asked me to ask you...'

'Come to our secret investigation team?'

'Yes. Commander Qian wants to hear your opinion. It's just a casual question. Don't be under any psychological pressure.'

'Actually, it's quite good. Wei Fangquan and the others hate the Japanese invaders very much. Their combat skills are also quite good. The secret investigation team happens to need people like this.'

'So I'll reply to Commander Qian like this?'

'Yes. Just say it straight. What I need are members who hate the Japanese invaders. Wei Fangquan and the others are just right.'

'Good. I'll tell Commander Qian. I'll have Wei Fangquan and the others come to see you.'

'No need. I'll go to the garrison headquarters to pick them up myself. It'll be more impressive that way.'

'That's fine. Just give me a call before you arrive.'

'Okay. Goodbye.'

'Goodbye.'

Zhang Yong hung up the phone.

So that's what it's all about. It's actually a good thing.

He had always admired Wei Fangquan and the others. Recruiting them into the Secret Investigation Unit would be a boost.

What he had just said wasn't entirely flattery of the Commander.

In fact, after this incident, Wei Fangquan and the others would never surrender to the Japanese. They would only work harder to kill the Japanese.

This was very important.

His map is not infallible. In fact, it is impossible to tell the traitors from the others.

In other words, if someone secretly sides with the Japanese invaders, he may not necessarily know about it. Therefore, when selecting people, one must focus on certain aspects.

Otherwise, one day, they may be betrayed by a traitor. That would be tragic.

In fact, the requirement is one: they must hate the Japanese invaders. They must have a blood feud with the Japanese invaders.

The Japanese invaders will not try to lure them to surrender. And they are unlikely to surrender to the Japanese invaders. In this way, the possibility of becoming a traitor can be eliminated to the greatest extent.

As for who is behind them, whether it is Commander Qian's people, his wife's people, or someone else, it doesn't matter. Anyway, as long as they are not traitors, he will accept them. As long as they are willing to fight the Japanese invaders, they are all his teammates.

Suddenly, I feel a little sleepy.

Oh, it is indeed a bit tiring to work around the clock.

Mainly because I talked with Shigeaki Akiyama late into the night on the phone, and I didn't sleep well all night.

Although I ended up making a lot of money, I am indeed sleepy.

I am going to find a place to take a nap...

'Team leader,'

suddenly, Dou Wanjiang came.

He also brought Feng Yunshan. He was already able to walk normally.

In an era without drug resistance, amoxicillin was still very effective. In three days, the pneumonia was suppressed.

'Something the matter?'

'He said he knows some secrets about Dou Yishan.'

'Oh?'

Zhang Yong's eyes lit up.

Secrets? Is it money?

Speaking of which, I'm not sleepy anymore!