130: Let's try one first.

Outside Harbin, Lianjia Village.

Lu Fan changed into an inconspicuous gray short jacket, adjusted his multifunctional glasses, and entered the village.

Lianjia Village was lifeless, with most of the low adobe houses dilapidated. Few pedestrians were on the road, all with heads bowed and hurried steps.

Several children in tattered cotton-padded jackets were playing in the mud.

Seeing Lu Fan, an unfamiliar face, they immediately hid back in their houses like startled rabbits.

The Japanese flag hanging at the village entrance fluttered weakly in the wind, like a giant scar.

Lu Fan walked to a relatively tidy courtyard at the end of the village and knocked on the wooden gate.

The door was opened by an elderly woman with graying hair and a sorrowful face.

"Auntie, may I have some water and rest for a bit?" Lu Fan spoke in an authentic Northeastern accent.

The auntie scrutinized him warily for a moment before finally stepping aside. "Come in, young man."

The small courtyard was desolate.

Drinking the cold water poured by the auntie, Lu Fan asked casually, "What should I call you, Auntie? Why is the village so quiet?"

"My surname is Li." After briefly introducing herself, the auntie sighed heavily.

She wiped the already clean stove with her apron, her eyes vacant. "This isn't quiet; it's lifeless!"

"Since the devils came, where is there any vitality? Heavy taxes, conscription, and regular village sweeps... My eldest and second sons were both soldiers, fighting the devils... and both have lost contact..."

Her voice choked up, her turbid eyes tearless, filled only with bottomless despair.

"I want to go into the city to take a look," Lu Fan probed.

"Into the city?" Auntie Li shook her head repeatedly. "It's very difficult! The city gates are guarded by Japanese soldiers and their lackeys, and they check for civilian permits."

"Without a permit, at best you'll be captured to dig coal or build roads; at worst, you'll be shot as an 'Anti-Japanese United Army' spy."

"Young man, listen to this old woman's advice: don't go into the city. This is not a good place..."

Lu Fan listened silently, understanding clearly in his heart.

Forcing through the checkpoint was possible, but it would alert the enemy and affect the subsequent assassination mission.

"Thank you for the advice, Auntie. I'll think about it." He took out two silver dollars and placed them on the stove. "Sorry for the trouble. Please take this money."

Auntie Li looked at the silver dollars, her lips trembling slightly, but in the end, she did not refuse.

She only whispered, "You can rest in the woodshed in the backyard. Just don't make any noise."

Lu Fan rested in the woodshed for a day, replenishing his energy and checking his equipment.

As night fell, the entire Lianjia Village sank into complete silence.

He strapped on his Flight Backpack, gently pushed off the ground, and his body rose silently into the air like a night owl.

Soaring over the low village houses, he flew toward the dark silhouette of Harbin city in the distance.

Inside Harbin city, Daowai District.

Lu Fan landed in a dim alley and stowed his backpack.

The oppressive feeling inside the city was even stronger than outside. Japanese soldiers patrolled the streets frequently, their leather boots making harsh sounds on the stone pavement.

Occasionally, drunken Japanese officers were supported by geishas into "restaurants" adorned with red lanterns.

As soon as he stepped out of the alley, a small, thin figure bumped into him.

"Ouch! Sorry, sir!"

A boy of about fifteen or sixteen, wearing a tattered cotton-padded jacket, quickly apologized.

But one of his hands swiftly reached toward Lu Fan's trouser pocket.

Just as he was about to succeed, a hand like an iron clamp seized the boy's wrist.

"Ah! It hurts, it hurts!" The boy grimaced in pain, trying to break free but finding himself powerless to resist.

"Little brat, your skills are a bit rusty," Lu Fan said coldly in a standard Northeastern accent.

The boy was startled, then stiffened his neck. "You... let me go! Do you know who I am?"

"I'm Little Northeast, and my brother-in-law is Major Eikō Junichirō of the Kwantung Army Headquarters."

"If you dare touch me, I'll have him skin you alive!"

"Eikō Junichirō, Major?" Lu Fan's heart stirred. Truly, he had found what he was searching for without even looking.

He loosened his grip slightly, feigning surprise. "Major? Really? Don't you dare lie, kid!"

"Lie?" Seeing that the other seemed intimidated, Little Northeast immediately became spirited. "My brother-in-law is right there in the Songhe Tower ahead!"

"He just went in. Even the soldiers guarding the entrance know me. Do you dare..."

He pointed to a brightly lit three-story restaurant not far away, with two Japanese soldiers standing guard at the entrance.

"Songhe Tower..." Lu Fan noted it silently, then swung his other hand sharply.

"Ugh..." Little Northeast felt a chill on the back of his neck, his vision went dark, and he slumped limply to the ground.

He was then dragged by Lu Fan into a nearby dark corner.

Quietly sneaking into Songhe Tower.

The thermal imaging mode of the multifunctional glasses clearly showed the scene inside a private room on the third floor.

A middle-aged man in a Japanese Army Major's uniform, with parted hair and clearly drunk, was hugging a geisha and flirting.

Judging by the rank, undoubtedly a Major.

Whether he was Eikō Junichirō or not, he was definitely going to die.

Target confirmed, Lu Fan silently pried open the window at the end of the corridor and slipped in.

Entering the room, a strong smell of alcohol and powder hit him.

Eikō Junichirō had his back to the door, fondling the geisha.

Lu Fan flicked his fingers, and a Tranquilizer Dart silently hit the geisha. After a few breaths, she went limp.

Feeling the person in his arms go soft, Eikō Junichirō turned around discontentedly, mumbling, "Darling, how come you..."

His drunken eyes vaguely saw a dark figure standing at the door, startling him and sobering him up considerably.

Lu Fan gave him no chance to draw his gun or call for help. In one swift step forward, his left hand clamped over Eikō Junichirō's mouth and nose like an iron hoop.

At the same time, his right hand, already prepared with a syringe, plunged into Eikō Junichirō's neck.

"Mmph! Mmph!" Eikō Junichirō struggled desperately, but it was too late.

The high-purity Potassium Cyanide liquid took effect rapidly.

Eikō Junichirō's body convulsed violently, his eyes bulging, his face turning from red to bluish-purple.

In just over ten seconds, he slumped like a pile of mud in Lu Fan's arms, completely lifeless.

Lu Fan expressionlessly laid the corpse gently on the tatami.

Then, he arranged the unconscious geisha in a position lying on top of Eikō, creating the illusion of a sudden death after drinking.

He quickly checked the scene, erasing all traces he might have left.

Then, just as he had come, he silently disappeared into the night outside the window.

With modern weapons, even futuristic high-tech weapons, Lu Fan could easily have killed a Major.

But he went to such great lengths. This wasn't because he was foolish or making things difficult for himself.

Rather, he was playing a big game.

As a businessman, return on investment was something ingrained in Lu Fan's bones.

Otherwise, traveling all the way to Harbin just to kill a few Majors would be a terrible deal!

Since he was here, he had to make a huge profit.

Killing this first Major was just an appetizer, a first taste to see how it goes.

It was also a small way to stir up the enemy, to provoke the devils a bit.

The real show had just begun, and the curtain had just risen.

The real big fish was still to come!