163: Chapter 163 Assassination Attack! Shen Wang is in Danger!
Meanwhile, let us turn our attention elsewhere.
At the same time as the aerial battle, deep within City Name, in a seemingly ordinary residence, another silent conspiracy was unfolding.
This was the most important undercover node for the North China Area Army's Tokkō in Southeast Shanxi.
City Name had just been reclaimed; everything was waiting to be rebuilt, the flow of people was complex, the original underground order had been broken, and the new screening system was not yet perfect.
It was the period when undercover spy activities were most rampant and dangerous.
Inside the dim room, the windows were tightly covered with thick cloth. Only a few oil lamps flickered with dim yellow light, illuminating dozens of grim faces.
These people varied in age and dress; some wore the coarse cloth clothes of ordinary civilians, some were disguised as peddlers and footmen, and there were even two wearing old Eighth Route Army uniforms obtained from who knows where, trying to pass off as the real thing.
They were the elites of the Tokkō action group!
A full fifty or sixty people!
Such a large-scale gathering of armed spies at once was rare even in the history of North China's Tokkō.
After all, the Eighth Route Army used to be in the mountains. Imagine if fifty or sixty strange young men suddenly appeared in a village; that wouldn't be undercover, it would be an attack.
Only in a densely populated and complex city like City Name could they temporarily hide like drops of water merging into a river.
The atmosphere in the room was heavy yet excited.
The person in charge of this "decapitation" operation was the senior action group leader of the Tokkō, Morita Ichiro, using the alias "Old Qiu."
He had just finished a secret telegraph communication with his superiors.
"Gentlemen,"
"His Excellency Commander Okamura has personally ordered it—the target has been confirmed to be in City Name! The Imperial Aviation Corps is creating chaos and opportunity for us in the sky. Our mission is only one—"
"Find him, lock onto him, and then... completely erase him! At any cost!"
"Hai!" Low responses echoed in the room.
"According to the latest intelligence and our analysis, the target \"Mr. Shen\" is highly likely to appear at the suburban airport or related headquarters areas."
"But we need more precise guidance, and even more, an opportunity to make him lower his guard and get close enough for a one-hit kill."
Morita said, his gaze turning to a trembling figure tied up in the shadows of the corner.
That person wore an Eighth Route Army uniform, the collar was torn, his face had fresh bruises and bloodstains, and his eyes were unfocused and filled with fear.
It was none other than the Security Section officer of the Independent Regiment, Zhu Ziming.
"Mr. Zhu,"
Morita walked up to him, looking down with undisguised contempt.
"I think you should be clearer now which path is more beneficial for you and your family: cooperation or resistance?"
A nearby spy with a face full of scars kicked Zhu Ziming hard: "baka! Answer quickly! The Dearest is asking you a question!"
"Ah!"
Zhu Ziming cried out in pain, tears and snot flowing, and hurriedly nodded like a chicken pecking at grain.
"Cooperation! I'll cooperate! I'll tell you whatever you want to know! Just... just spare my life..."
The Tokkō originally just wanted to catch a source to understand the Eighth Route Army's defenses and organizational structure after entering the city. They didn't expect that before the torture really intensified—just a few whip lashes and threats—this security officer, who had some anti-espionage training, would completely break down.
Like beans pouring out of a bamboo tube, he told them everything he knew and even everything he guessed.
Zhu Ziming's spinelessness and rapid surrender even surprised and disgusted the torturing spies.
"Chinamen are indeed all spineless cowards," one spy sneered.
"This is good; it saves us a lot of trouble."
Morita waved his hand coldly, stopping his subordinates' further humiliation; he only needed intelligence now.
"Then, Mr. Zhu, tell us, where is this \"Mr. Shen\", he is most likely to appear, and... who usually accompanies him? What is the route?"
Zhu Ziming endured the pain and fear, stammering, "Shen... Mr. Shen... he, he must be at the airport!"
"There's a big event today. The Brigade Commander, Colonel Li, and Political Commissar Zhao must all be with him!"
"Coming back from the airport, they will likely pass through... through Victory Street in the east of the city. It's wider there and close to the headquarters... Usually... they often take that road..."
To save his life, Zhu Ziming desperately recalled every detail, including the habits of the Brigade Commander and others, and the level of protection Shen Wang might receive.
Morita questioned him carefully, and combined with fragments of information from other channels, he quickly sketched an action plan in his mind.
"Victory Street... one of the necessary paths from the airport back to the headquarters... Good!"
A murderous glint flashed in Morita's eyes.
"Set the ambush there!"
"Action Group Teams One and Two, take the high ground and advantageous sniper positions on both sides of the street; Teams Three and Four, blend into the crowd on the street for a close-range surprise attack; Team Five is responsible for creating chaos and cutting off any possible reinforcement routes."
"Mr. Zhu," he looked at the slumped Zhu Ziming, "you come with us to point out the target!"
"As long as you confirm it is \"Mr. Shen\", kill without mercy!"
"Prioritize using rifles for sniping, while also preparing grenades and explosives to ensure a one-hit kill!"
"Remember, the target's priority is above everything else! Even if we all die in honor, as long as we confirm \"Mr. Shen\" is dead, it is a victory!"
"tenno heika, long live!"
"long live!!!"
Soon, these fifty or sixty armed spies blended into the streets and alleys of City Name like ghosts.
The Japanese bombers' strike had, after all, caused some chaos in City Name.
Who knew if the Eighth Route Army could stop those planes? What if?
And this chaos was the best cover.
Morita personally took Zhu Ziming and a capable small group to hide on the second floor of a restaurant in the middle of the street, which offered an excellent view.
Zhu Ziming was gagged and tied in a corner, his whole body shaking like a leaf.
Watching the familiar Eighth Route Army figures gradually appearing and getting closer below, his eyes were filled with despair and a twisted complexity of emotions.
On the street.
The Brigade Commander, Li Yunlong, Zhao Gang, Shen Wang, and others were being surrounded by a large group of cheerful cadres and soldiers, walking from the direction of the airport.
The ecstasy of the great victory in the air battle still permeated everyone's hearts, and the atmosphere was warm.
"...So, there's really no trick to it,"
Gao Zilong was surrounded in the middle, his face slightly flushed, still trying to explain that dreamlike air battle to the Brigade Commander and the others.
"It's just flying higher than them and running faster than them!"
"We dove down, and they couldn't react at all. By the time they wanted to chase, we had already pulled up and were back over their heads!"
"It's like an eagle catching a chick—no, simpler than that. A chick can still flap its wings a bit; they didn't even have the chance to flap."
"Hahaha!" Li Yunlong slapped his thigh and laughed wildly. "Listen to that! An eagle catching a chick! Satisfying! So damn satisfying!"
The group talked and laughed as they walked along Victory Street.
No one noticed that behind the shadows of some roofs, in some half-open windows, and among some passers-by who seemed to be squatting by the roadside to rest,
Cold and murderous gazes had firmly locked onto the young man in the center, whose clothes were slightly different from those of ordinary Eighth Route Army soldiers.
Morita, on the second floor of the restaurant, stared fixedly at Shen Wang through binoculars.
"Target confirmed, it's that young man in the center... Prepare..."
"Bang!!!"
A crisp and abrupt gunshot suddenly shattered the joyful atmosphere of Victory Street!
A hot bullet tore through the air, racing towards Shen Wang's chest!