The War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression Begins in Songhu

Chapter 292 Appearance (Part 4) [Two-in-One Chapter]

Quite coincidentally, late at night on September 7, when Hu Biao and the other time travelers in Pingding County were attacking the Japanese soldiers in Fanjiazhang Village.

Almost at the same time, Annie and AT, who were in Taiyuan, also began their own operation.

As for how it happened, let's talk about it from the perspective of a bystander...

Fuxi Street was originally just a night market in the city where antiques were sold spontaneously, but after Taiyuan fell, it became the largest black market in the area.

During the day, this place is deserted and hardly any ghosts appear.

Once night falls, many more people start operating, selling almost all kinds of goods that cannot be exposed to the light of day or that the Japanese do not allow to circulate.

Throughout the process, both merchants and buyers wore masks, and only a very small number of samples were displayed on the stalls.

When the two parties talked, they either kept their voices extremely low or shook hands in their sleeves and communicated through some secret gestures, which made them seem quite mysterious.

Even so, many of these businesses are just barely making ends meet and don't earn much money at all.

For example, there's this unlucky guy, Shao Laoliu.

"Damn it! Ever since those Japanese devils entered the city, life has become harder and harder every day; Yan Xishan is also a good-for-nothing (Taiyuan dialect, used to describe someone who is useless)."

"With so many men and so many guns in my Jin-Sui Army, we still can't defeat these little Japanese devils."

In the night wind, which seemed colder than in previous years, Shao Laoliu tightened his homespun long gown and muttered a curse in a voice only he could hear.

There was an indescribable resentment in his tone.

There are understandable reasons why Shao Lao Liu was in such a mood.

Before the Japanese invaded, he was a tung oil merchant in Taiyuan. Although his business was not very large, he lived a comfortable life.

The family had no worries about food and drink, their two boys had money to go to school, and they could occasionally go out to restaurants for a drink or to teahouses.

But ever since the Japanese invaded Taiyuan on November 8th of last year, his life has taken a sharp turn for the worse.

No other reason than that the Japanese designated tung oil as a strategic resource, and they not only seized his entire fortune of tung oil, but also robbed him of it all.

Private businesses were not allowed to operate or sell tung oil; only Japanese merchants and a few connected merchants could obtain franchise rights.

As a result, Shao Laoliu, who had spent most of his life in the tung oil business, had no other skills to make a living.

Forget about going bankrupt in a short time; even making a living became a problem.

What to do? Since the Japanese have officially banned the tung oil business, the only option is to risk selling it secretly in the black market of Taiyuan. After all, a family still needs to eat.

So, starting from the beginning of this year, he secretly started doing business on the black market.

They slept during the day and risked their lives to secretly sell their wares at night, but even so, business was still terrible, and they often went several days without making a single sale.

There was no other way! Ever since the Japanese invaded the city, it wasn't just these tung oil merchants who had a hard time.

These days, Japanese businessmen have gotten involved in almost every profitable business, making it difficult for other businesses to operate.

Therefore, if there are any people living well in such a large black market, it would be Xie Da Kua Zi's group.

Originally, this guy was just a hot-tempered rascal in the city.

However, at the beginning of the year, they somehow obtained a batch of military supplies abandoned by the Jin-Sui Army when they withdrew, and made a fortune by selling these.

Now he has gathered a large group of scoundrels and ruffians under his command, and they are involved in almost all kinds of shady businesses.

Every night, many big-spending customers would come to him to buy things.

Sure enough! Just as Old Liu was anxiously waiting for business to come his way, he saw two tall men in overcoats, each carrying a small leather suitcase, walk in from the entrance of the black market.

Like other buyers who frequent the black market, the two were wearing hats and their faces were covered with black cloths, making it impossible to see their appearances.

Even so, the two of them were more than half a head taller than him.

The key was the unhurried demeanor they exuded as they walked, which made Shao Laoliu realize that these two were rare big buyers, and their suitcases probably contained a lot of money.

Unfortunately, this big buyer didn't stop at Shao Laoliu's stall at all, but instead went to a small building that was still wide open and lit up at this time.

This small building was also where Xie Da Kua Zi and his group sold their supplies.

"Ah! What a pity." Watching the two figures disappear into the distance, Shao Laoliu couldn't help but mutter to himself.

Firstly, he felt very sorry that he hadn't been able to do a large amount of business.

Secondly, it's a pity for the two people mentioned above, because they clearly aren't from Taiyuan. Xie Da Kua Zi and his ilk don't follow the rules in business, and they especially like to bully outsiders.

If these two are forced into a sale later, losing a large sum of money would be a good thing.

He might get double-crossed and lose his life, just like the protagonist in some of the rumors he heard.

However, what happened next completely exceeded Shao Laoliu's expectations.

Even long afterward, when he recounted the incident, he was still spitting and extremely excited...

******
The two people Shao Laoliu saw were actually AT and Annie, who was dressed as a man.

The two men came to the black market today, naturally to buy a radio from Xie Da Kua Zi and establish contact with Hu Biao and his group.

So after they arrived at the black market, the two of them didn't bother to wander around.

He walked straight toward Xie Da Kuizi's small building; but was stopped at the door.

A thug with a training belt about the width of a palm tied around his waist, from which a gleaming little axe was stuck, asked the two men:
"Whether you're buying or selling, you know the rules, right?"

Because he was worried that Annie's words would reveal her true identity as a woman disguised as a man, AT deliberately spoke in a rough voice, as agreed:

“Sell first, then buy. This is a big deal. Let Xie Da Kua Zi come see me.”

As he spoke, as if to prove his point and his abilities, he opened one of the leather suitcases in his hand, briefly showed the contents, and then quickly closed it again.

Even this slight flash of light immediately changed the thug's attitude.

Besides the two large yellow croakers, there were also two medicine bottles. The small tablets in the bottles were probably sulfonamides, a hard currency on the black market, and there were probably hundreds of them.

I don't know if it's because these sulfonamides are so valuable, or if they think that just two people can't cause any trouble.

The thug immediately put on a smiling face and enthusiastically led the two to a room on the second floor, where he had hot tea and snacks served, saying he would go and invite his boss over right away.

After waiting for about seven or eight minutes, Xie Da Kuaizi appeared.

The man was about thirty years old, wearing a fine silk shirt that was loosely draped over his body, and there was a clear red lipstick mark on his neck, indicating that he had just been woken up from bed.

After entering, this guy started spouting nonsense.

He said that in Taiyuan City, there was nothing Xie Da Kua Zi couldn't handle; that no matter what happened in the future, people could come to him for help, and so on, displaying a very generous and all-encompassing demeanor.

However, upon seeing Xie Da Kua Zi, Annie remained outwardly calm, but her heart skipped a beat.

The reason is simple: based on her experience of working in Japan multiple times in the modern world and dealing with the Japanese.

Although Xie Da Kua Zi's behavior perfectly embodied the image of a scoundrel, Annie had an inexplicable intuition that allowed her to discern something at first glance:
This is a Japanese soldier, a Japanese soldier who has been lurking on Chinese soil for many years.

No wonder the Japanese in Taiyuan allowed such a black market to exist, even selling things like radios; they were playing the long game to catch bigger fish.

It's likely that the room is now surrounded by the other side's men.

Xie Da Kua Zi is currently trying to get information out of them. If he can't get any useful information out of them, he'll probably take them down.

Then the torture began, with the scene of asking "Will you talk or not?" unfolding.

After reaching this conclusion, Anne subtly nudged AT with her toe; AT, though outwardly showing no unusual reaction, was inwardly prepared.

He stopped his aimless small talk and said:
"Thank you, sir. We not only have scarce drugs like sulfonamides and aspirin, but we can even get our hands on the legendary penicillin."

However, this business is too big, provided you have enough strength to handle it.

We'd like a radio now, preferably one with high power. I wonder if you can provide one? If you can, then we can discuss other things.

To be honest, Annie's intuition is truly amazing, even if it's unscientific. Eight years ago, in 1920, Xie Da Kua Zi, under the arrangement of the Japanese Mei Agency, infiltrated Taiyuan City to prepare for their occupation of Shanxi Province.

The existence of this black market is a tactic employed by the Japanese to lure in various forces over a long period of time.

According to the rumors that Shao Laoliu heard, those unlucky guys who were double-crossed by Xie Da Kua Zi were not actually killed by them in secret.

Instead, he was secretly sent to the dungeon of the Japanese military police, where he was subjected to severe torture and forced to confess.

Upon hearing that these people were able to obtain the legendary penicillin, Xie Da Kua Zi was suddenly filled with intense excitement after a moment's thought.

He immediately shouted outside, "Someone, bring me the best radio!"

Before long, a radio that looked about 80% new appeared on Annie and AT's table.

After some inspection, based on some knowledge she had crammed in the modern world, Annie recognized the model of the device as the Japanese Type 94 No. 6 radio.

Before the full outbreak of the War of Resistance against Japan, Yan Xishan had purchased a lot of equipment from the Japanese, so it seems quite reasonable that this type of radio would appear now.

This radio set is now housed in a not-too-large metal box, and all the accessories are quite complete and functional.

Seeing the satisfied look on Annie's face after her examination, Xie Da Kua Zi began to probe for information:

"Are you two satisfied with this radio station? I'm not bragging, but in this huge city of Taiyuan, besides me, no one else can produce something like this."

Now, can everyone talk about the penicillin business? I...

Xie Da Kuzi didn't finish his sentence because he was thinking that once he got the goods, Annie had no intention of wasting time talking to this lurking Japanese devil.

He grabbed the small leather suitcase beside him with one hand and shouted "Let's do it!"

It should be noted that the small leather suitcases they were carrying were not ordinary.

More accurately, they were inspired by the 'suitcase-style submachine guns' used by agents in modern dimensions when they went on missions, and modified the originally ordinary small leather suitcase.

This involves sawing off the stock of the MP28 submachine gun and slightly shortening the barrel; then cleverly installing it in a leather case, leaving a concealed muzzle.

When firing, they only need to press a small switch on the handle to pull the trigger by pulling the rope.

This brought about the invention of this box-style submachine gun several decades ahead of schedule.

In addition, they cleverly made a hidden compartment in the box to conceal the MP28 submachine gun; if you open it slightly and let the other side take a look, it would be very difficult to discover the existence of this fierce firepower.

In short, after Annie pressed the switch, a flame lit up from one end of the small suitcase.

In an instant, Xie Da Kua Zi, a Japanese soldier whose real name was unknown, had three or four spurts of blood erupt from his chest and abdomen, and was killed on the spot.

Sure enough, Xie Da Kua Zi had ambushed quite a few people around this house.

The moment the gunshot rang out, several thugs in black burst through the door.

Except for the leader, who was carrying a Mauser pistol, the rest of them were all armed with daggers, small axes, and other melee weapons.

These people were probably just some hooligans and ruffians recruited by Xie Da Kuaizi in Taiyuan City.

They rushed in and before they could even get a good look at the room, they were shot dead by ATs carrying a small leather suitcase.

For the rest of the time, Annie carried the suitcase and led the way.

AT followed behind, carrying a leather suitcase in one hand and a metal box containing the radio in the other.

Under the fierce firepower, even though Xie Da Kuzi, that Japanese soldier, had arranged more than twenty men in this house, they couldn't even slow down the two men's steps.

After killing or wounding about ten people, the rest hid, letting the two men fight their way out of the building...

The moment the gunshot rang out, Shao Laoliu, who was not far from the small building, felt a jolt of fear. He didn't even care about the tung oil sample on his stall; he was ready to run away as fast as he could to escape this dangerous place.

Unfortunately, his legs had gone numb from standing, and his legs went weak, causing him to collapse after only a step or two.

Before he could get up and continue running, he was surprised to find that the two people he thought were dead rushed out of the small building where Xie Da Kua Zi and the others were operating.

He hadn't expected to misjudge them; these two were ruthless individuals who managed to escape from Xie Da Kua Zi's clutches.

But soon after, Shao Laoliu realized how seriously he had misjudged them; these two were not ruthless people at all, but rather legendary outcasts. Xie Da Kuazi had simply courted death by getting involved with them.

The two men had only run five or six steps toward the black market exit when they heard footsteps behind them.

Following the sound of the script, Shao Laoliu saw at least twenty or thirty figures rushing out of an alley not far behind him.

Not only were there about ten men among them, armed with various long and short guns; the leader, Sun Mazi, a confidant of Xie Da Kuaizi, was also carrying a Shanxi-made Thompson submachine gun.

After rushing out of the alley, Sun Mazi pulled the trigger on the two men.

The two men reacted incredibly quickly, dodging all the bullets with a single roll.

It was because of this rolling motion that one of the people's hats fell to the ground, and then a head of long hair flew up in the night wind, revealing that it was a woman.

Then, the two of them, like tigers whose whiskers had been provoked, immediately flew into a rage.

Instead of fleeing, he brandished a leather suitcase that could shoot bullets and turned on Sun Mazi and his men, killing Sun Mazi on the spot in the blink of an eye. He was incredibly fierce and powerful.

Especially that woman who was more than half a head taller than him.

She had probably emptied her suitcase and then promptly discarded it; her right hand, pulled from under her coat, revealed a large, short-barreled pistol.

With a flick of her slender wrist, the large gun twirled beautifully in her hand.

Then, after pulling the trigger, a huge burst of fire shot out from the thick muzzle, knocking two or three people to the ground, and even sending the person in front flying backward.

Then she flicked her wrist again and fired another shot.

In a short time, in the chilly night wind, the woman fired her gun and kept moving forward. With the help of another person, she killed more than a dozen people who rushed out with Sun Mazi.

The process of killing someone was as easy as killing a chick.

Despite Xie Da Kuazi still having a dozen or so men left, nearly half of whom were armed, they retreated into the alley and fired wildly, not daring to continue the pursuit.

Even so, the woman still seemed unwilling to give up.

After reaching into his coat with his right hand, he now held a small melon grenade. He pulled the safety off, tapped it against his rifle, and threw it forcefully.

The grenade first hit the wall at the entrance of the alley, then bounced and bounced into the alley.

After the massive explosion, she charged in like a mother leopard, and gunfire erupted once more.

After she came out, although Shao Laoliu could not see what was happening in the alley, he was absolutely certain of one thing: none of the people in the alley were alive.

As if she had done something insignificant, the woman turned around and picked up the suitcase from the ground.

Another man picked up an iron box that had been thrown to the ground during the earlier fight.

The two then traveled together towards the exit of the black market; however, this time, even though there were still some survivors in the building, they dared not chase after them.

As Shao Laoliu passed by, the woman turned her head and glanced at him.

Although her face was covered by a black cloth, making it impossible to see what the woman looked like, just by looking at her pair of almond-shaped eyes, Shao Laoliu knew that this woman must be extremely beautiful.

Only after the two men had completely disappeared did Shao Laoliu feel some strength return to his legs.

Before the Japanese soldiers arrived, he grabbed a jar of tung oil and hurriedly left through the alley.

Throughout the entire process, the image of that woman's fierce appearance during the battle and her bright, expressive eyes kept involuntarily flashing through my mind.

In the end, I couldn't help but give it a somewhat vulgar nickname in my mind: Jade-faced Rakshasa.

And this nickname spread rapidly throughout Taiyuan City as Shao Laoliu, after calming down, repeatedly recounted the scene to outsiders with spittle flying everywhere.

As for the other participant, AT, there are also conflicting accounts.

Oh, right! It was a man, alive and well, quite skilled. He took off his hat when he left, so his hair looked a bit thin, and then that was it…

(End of this chapter)