Spy Wars: Red Shopkeeper

Chapter 172 Assassination
"You can't find out anything about his or her identity."

Gu Yansheng scoffed and glanced at him mockingly, "Fu Xiao'an's nickname is 'Unbreakable Doll,' which means he's famously shrewd. From the Qing Dynasty to now, through countless power reshuffles, everyone else has fallen over, but he hasn't. It's certain that he has connections with people from all walks of life."

But you can't get past the Nanjing Command Headquarters alone.

If you investigate too many things, it will cause a lot of trouble.

I think if you really want to investigate this, you should start with the Japanese.

Find out who sold the gun, find that person, and follow the clues. If you really trace it back to Fu Xiao'an, then you'll have more leverage with the Japanese. That's the key point.

Otherwise, if you investigate him now, you won't even have a clue.

Li Shiqun frowned slightly, thought about the matter, and put it out of his mind for the time being. He looked at Gu Yansheng and said with a smile, "This is strange. I remember you and Fu Xiao'an didn't get along, did you? I want to investigate him. Shouldn't you be encouraging me to continue the investigation? Why are you speaking up for him?"

There'll be plenty of fun investigating Japanese soldiers. As long as you, Li Shiqun, dare to keep investigating, you'll eventually uncover the fact that Japanese soldiers were selling guns. Gu Yansheng is waiting to see the fun.

Gu Yansheng scoffed and said, "I'm just stating the facts for your own good. If you investigate him, he will definitely retaliate, and the Nanjing Military Police Command might also target you. You have no evidence, so your position is unstable."

But investigating the Japanese is different. The Shanghai Military Police Headquarters gave you permission to investigate; you have a legitimate reason, and there's no risk for you. Isn't it simple to choose between these two options?

"Is it really that simple?" Li Shiqun smiled.

Gu Yansheng nodded, "It's that simple. Of course, if you ask whether I have any connection with Fu Xiao'an, yes, I do."

Li Shiqun laughed even louder, "I told you it wasn't that simple, can you tell me what happened?"

“There’s nothing I can’t say. Let’s do some business.” Gu Yansheng approached and said, “I plan to make a big splash in the cotton yarn business this year. I’ve got my eye on the cotton yarn factory owned by Fu Xiao’an and want to take it over. I need to spend some time planning and operating it.”

I really don't want anything to happen to him. If something does happen to him and he gets arrested, the factory will undoubtedly fall into the hands of the Japanese, and all my efforts will have been for nothing.

Li Shiqun raised an eyebrow. Gu Yansheng was ruthless in his attempt to seize Fu Xiao'an's cotton mill.

But he didn't understand, "Wasn't the cotton yarn factory doing poorly? How come it's making money now?"

Gu Yansheng scoffed, "It's not like I can't make money just because others can't."

Li Shiqun smiled. That's true. Gu Yansheng's earning power is undeniable. So now, the man his wife talks about the most is Gu Yansheng.

Ding-ling-ling. Ding-ling-ling.

"Hello." Li Shiqun picked up the phone, listened for a moment, and his expression turned serious. "Okay, I'll be right there."

Li Shiqun put down the phone and said to Gu Yansheng as he walked, "The Military Intelligence Bureau has made its move. He Xingjian was attacked at the entrance of the Xianles Ballroom."

Gu Yansheng's expression also turned serious. "How is he?"

"It should be fine."

Gu Yansheng breathed a sigh of relief, "That's good. The Military Intelligence Bureau people are too audacious. I remember He Xingjian always had his men protecting him. How dare they do this?"

"So what if someone is involved? Which of the murdered officials didn't have protection around them?"

Li Shiqun and Gu Yansheng got into the car while talking, and led a group of men to the French Concession.

At the entrance of the Cinque Terrell, several corpses lay on the ground, both here and in the aisle opposite. Guns and bullets were scattered on the ground, and blood was everywhere.

The area had been cordoned off by the French Concession police. Since it was the entrance to a dance hall, a lively place, there were quite a few onlookers.

Li Shiqun instinctively disliked crowded places. Without even getting out of the car, he said to his men who were approaching through the window, "Clear the area."

"Yes."

The men began to roughly clear out the crowd of onlookers, and many people shouted in dissatisfaction that this was the French Concession. There were even foreigners and reporters protesting.

But the people from No. 76 didn't care about any of that. They negotiated with the police station with a very tough attitude, threatening that if they didn't clear the area, the officers would regret it.

The attack on the 76th Division in the French Concession, which resulted in the deaths of its members, was clearly a struggle between the Military Intelligence Bureau and the 76th Division. The French police officers who arrived did not want to get involved, but after thinking about it, they reluctantly agreed and helped the 76th Division clear the area.

The onlookers were all separated, with the members of number 76 standing a few meters apart, forming a circle to block them. Only then did Li Shiqun call Gu Yansheng to get off the car together.

Gu Yansheng looked at the dead people on the ground; Chen Mo was not among them.

Whether he wasn't notified before the operation was because he was out and didn't receive a call, or because these people were from the Shanghai branch of the Military Intelligence Bureau, Gu Yansheng couldn't tell at the moment.

"Chief." The sentry who was lying in wait stepped forward.

Li Shiqun nodded and was about to speak when He Xingjian also came out of the dance hall.

"Commander He, are you alright?" Li Shiqun asked, looking him over.

"I'm fine, but a few of my men died. My luck was just so-so." The four corpses lying at the entrance of the Cinque Terrell were all He Xingjian's men.

"Director Gu, you're here too?" He Xingjian greeted Gu Yansheng.

"Yes, I was talking to Director Li when I heard that something happened to you. How could I not come and see you?" Gu Yansheng frowned. "This situation looks really dangerous. You're lucky to be alive."

He Xingjian smiled and said, "As expected, we've got this in the bag, haven't we, Director Li?"

Li Shiqun nodded and asked, "What happened at the time?"

He Xingjian said, "According to your plan, I would go fishing around the same time every day. At that time, my subordinates informed me that the decorations around the dance hall were ready and the staff were in place, so I left home to go to the dance hall."

The car pulled up to the entrance of the dance hall; this is it.

He Xingjian pointed to a car five meters away and said, "My men got out of the car first, and then I got out. Just as I got out of the car, after walking only a few steps, eight gunmen rushed out from both sides of the road right where I am standing now."

Eight pistols, and two cars drove up, with two Czech light machine guns in the cars. They started shooting at me from inside the cars.

The bullets were all eaten by his men. If it had only been a pistol, as long as they weren't shot in the head, not so many people would have died, since there were steel plates in their clothes.

Who knew they'd bring machine guns? Look, even the steel plates inside my clothes have been pierced. The Japanese bulletproof vests aren't very good quality either.

He Xingjian squatted down, rummaged through his subordinate's clothes, revealing a Japanese-style bulletproof vest underneath. Sure enough, the subordinate was wearing it. "These things only look good; they can't stop machine gun bullets at all."

"There's nothing I can do about it. As long as you're alright, that's all that matters." Subordinates are meant to mitigate risks, especially close bodyguards like these.

"Hey, I don't understand. From what you're saying, you knew all along that the Military Intelligence Bureau would come to assassinate them, so you dug a pit for them to fall into?" Gu Yansheng interjected.

He Xingjian smiled and said, "Of course I expected it. I know what kind of person Boss Dai is. When I came to Shanghai, he definitely wanted to execute me."

Brother Shiqun and I discussed it, and instead of living in constant fear, wondering when they would strike, we decided to take the initiative, lure them out, and wipe them all out in one fell swoop. Here, I'll be the bait.”

Gu Yansheng nodded in sudden realization, "Commander He, I admire you. You did something so dangerous. Your courage is truly extraordinary. I wouldn't dare to be the bait. It's too dangerous."

"Hahahaha." He Xingjian laughed loudly, "With this little bit of guns and ammunition, it doesn't even qualify as the lowest intensity of war. I survived on the battlefield, so what's this little danger? It's nothing."

Moreover, it's not actually that dangerous.

Have you noticed the recent turmoil in Shanghai—assassinations, bombings, all sorts of bizarre things? It seems puzzling, doesn't it? Why is the Military Intelligence Bureau suddenly so active?
Actually, I had only one goal: to disrupt the entire city of Shanghai and get the people from No. 76 away from me.

The Military Intelligence Bureau could also guess that I had people from the 76th Division around me, and they deliberately sabotaged me for this very reason.

So Shiqun and I decided to play along and pretended that only a few of us were left, while everyone from No. 76 had left.

Actually, we quietly blended into the surrounding crowd. Our people were everywhere—on the street and inside the dance hall. Once they arrived, we'd have them trapped like turtles in a jar.

"Brilliant." Gu Yansheng nodded thoughtfully, "But it's still dangerous; we should do this kind of thing less often."

He Xingjian smiled and said, "Actually, as long as it's a pistol, there's really no danger. We specially brought a batch of bulletproof steel plates, and they're all wearing them. The fact that they could pull out a Czech light machine gun to assassinate us was indeed a bit beyond our expectations."

“It’s rare for the Military Intelligence Bureau to use machine guns for assassinations. I guess it’s because you’re Director Dai’s favorite that you receive such special treatment,” Li Shiqun said, trying to comfort him.

This wasn't comforting; it was like stabbing him in the lungs. But He Xingjian just laughed it off, completely unrestrained. Since he dared to do something rebellious, he must have expected this assassination attempt.

Li Shiqun looked at the three corpses lying opposite him. Needless to say, they were all members of the Military Intelligence Bureau.

"Five more people escaped?"

He Xingjian nodded. "They escaped. I rushed into the dance hall without hesitation. The people you had ambushed came out when they heard the gunshots. When the Kuomintang agents saw that there was no chance, the two cars picked up the people and ran away."

"It's a bit of a pity. After setting up this for so many days, we haven't left a single survivor." Li Shiqun sighed, glancing at the chest of a Kuomintang agent lying on the ground, who seemed to have moved slightly.

He immediately ran over, touched the neck, and turned to shout, "How did you check? You're still breathing! Get you to the hospital right now!"

"Yes."

His men busied themselves getting the person into the car and driving directly to the hospital in the concession.

"Well, at least one survived." He Xingjian was in a good mood and laughed heartily. "Director Li, hopefully this person knows more information."

"How would we know? The man is long dead. But with so many onlookers and reporters around, even without the Kuomintang's intelligence agents, the news will spread. Let's see if they come to rescue him. If this man isn't completely dead, the five who escaped will be living in fear."

Li Shiqun spoke casually, but He Xingjian's smile almost froze. He Xingjian never expected that Li Shiqun would dig a pit right under his nose.

"Alright then, it's still a glimmer of hope. Brother Shiqun, no wonder you can do this job, you're so quick-witted, Brother Gu, isn't that right?"

"Yes." Gu Yansheng's expression changed along with Li Shiqun's words. Like He Xingjian, he was stunned by what he was said. Finally, he exclaimed in admiration, "That's really amazing. Anyone who saw this would think that this person is alive. Director Li's plan is indeed brilliant."

Li Shiqun smiled faintly, "Don't have too high hopes. We've arrested some Military Intelligence Bureau agents recently. According to the confessions I got, the organizational structure of the Military Intelligence Bureau's Shanghai branch has been redesigned. The action group and the intelligence group are completely separated, and the action personnel and the command level of the Shanghai branch never meet."

Before each operation, they were prepared to die; all communication was cut off, making the search extremely difficult.

"Little by little, we'll eventually find them by piecing together clues."

"Hey, this vest can't stop machine guns, but it can stop pistols?" Gu Yansheng was genuinely interested in the bulletproof vest and squatted down to take a look.

"It can provide some protection, but it's not practical," He Xingjian explained. "This kind of clothing is useless on the battlefield. It can't stop rifle bullets at all, let alone artillery shells. It's just garbage in the face of artillery shells."

It's somewhat useful in urban warfare, but wearing it is too physically demanding and incredibly heavy, so nobody wants to carry it.

It's okay for us to use it occasionally, since we're in a car. But if we had to walk, we'd be exhausted after an hour.

He Xingjian was speaking.

With a bang, a long-range bullet struck He Xingjian in the head.

His voice stopped abruptly, his expression stiffened, the light in his eyes slowly faded and dimmed, and his body fell backward, which surprised Gu Yansheng.

Suddenly!
I wonder if He Xingjian feels this is sudden.

"what!"

He Xingjian's death triggered screams from the onlookers, and the scene instantly descended into chaos.

"Sniper! Crouch down!"

Li Shiqun's expression changed drastically as he shouted at Gu Yansheng.

Gu Yansheng didn't need him to say that he was a professional traitor and experienced in being assassinated. He immediately lowered his body and jogged to find a tall person to cover himself.

Bang! Another shot, still aimed at He Xingjian's corpse. This time it hit his chest. Because the body was falling downwards, the shot was slightly off-target, but it still hit.

The fact that they didn't kill Gu Yansheng and Li Shiqun, but instead had to finish him off with that shot to ensure He Xingjian's death, shows just how much the Military Intelligence Bureau hated He Xingjian!

No, it should be said that Mr. Dai hated He Xingjian so much!
Everyone else can live, but He Xingjian cannot.

Li Shiqun turned his head to look at the direction of the bullet, and his gaze immediately locked onto a suspicious target: a clock tower in the distance.

He pointed and shouted, "There they are! Quick, go and catch them!"

(End of this chapter)