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Chapter 253 Return! Don't you remember my voice?

After everyone had finished reading the contents, Gu Ruzhang said, "In that case, the Japanese plan is obvious. Since Brother Wan is aware of it, it means that the National Government is also aware of it."

Xiong Hanshan asked, "What can we do?"

After a moment's thought, Chen Zhan realized that his plan to travel north alone was no longer feasible.

"Tomorrow, Brother Gu, Hanshan, and the others will travel north with me. We will split up and act separately. The Japanese have sent spies everywhere to cause trouble. Although the secret report did not specify the exact cities, it is nothing more than a few important cities in the north, among which Tianjin and Qingdao are the most important."

“I will go to Fengtian. You will split into two groups and investigate from Tianjin and Fengtian. If you find any Japanese spies, kill them on sight.”

"What if they hold an important position or are important figures?" Gu Ruzhang asked.

He was not a political idiot. The Japanese intentions were as clear as day. The spies they sent to infiltrate various places must have all sorts of legitimate identities, and may even have had high social status.

“We martial artists are here to assassinate the emperor. We only care about confirming identities, not about reason or cause,” Chen Zhan said calmly.

"Kill without mercy? Hehe, Old Bear likes it."

Having spent so much time with Chen Zhan, Xiong Hanshan's temper had improved considerably, and he no longer had the chance to lose his temper.

“This might arouse the Japanese’s sensitivity, giving them an excuse to take action,” Li Guangpu said.

The others nodded in agreement.

Chen Zhan got up, walked from the main seat to the window, and looked out of the Golden Pavilion. There were some lights in Foshan at night. Unlike the north, where no one lights lamps after nightfall, the people of Foshan are relatively wealthy and stable, so many people light lamps.

The lights, like starlight, adorn the city.

Chen Zhan turned his head and said, "Wouldn't it be better if the Japanese did it?"

"Has the continuous concessions made since the Qing Dynasty been effective?"

"Thirty years ago, when the Eight-Nation Alliance entered Beijing, who angered them?"

"Or is it that the Qing Dynasty didn't provide enough money?"

"Don't give any more examples. Just think about all these years. Greedy wolves and vicious tigers can never be satisfied."

"They'll make their move sooner or later. Let them mobilize their troops, infiltrate all sides, and then catch us off guard."

Many people understand this principle, but they just don't dare to gamble.

Don't the generals of the Northeast Army understand?
Of course they understand, but they dare not gamble. If they lose, they will be sinners for all time, ruining the entire situation in Northeast China and plunging tens of millions of people into misery.

Who dares to take this responsibility?
Therefore, we can only keep making concessions.

Having gone this far, and recalling what Chen Zhan had done, everyone naturally understood, so they stopped asking.

They didn't wait until the next day.

That night, the three groups of people split into three routes and headed north.

Ye Ningzhen was stationed in Foshan, maintaining constant contact with all parties.

For the other routes, it is best to travel in groups of three, except for Chen Zhan who went to Fengtian alone.

He didn't even take a train; he measured the land on foot, from Foshan to Fengtian, almost traversing the entire map of China.

It's much faster than a train. There are no direct trains from Foshan to Fengtian; you have to transfer in Beijing, which takes at least a week.

Chen Zhan traveled at night and rested during the day, and arrived in Fengtian in just four days.

Along the way, we passed through several provinces in the Central Plains and saw cities destroyed by war, where people were displaced and suffering unspeakably.

Even someone as hard-hearted as Chen Zhan couldn't remain unmoved.

Unfortunately, this kind of life will continue for more than ten years.
Just after leaving Shanhaiguan, Chen Zhan changed his appearance, becoming a middle-aged farmer. His clothes were worn out from the wind and rain, and his behavior was very much like that of a farmer who had traveled a long distance.

Now that they've entered the city from Fengtian, they're being interrogated by the Japanese.

Chen Zhan drove a horse-drawn cart loaded with vegetables. He collected the cart and vegetables along the way, and the vegetable farmer father and daughter were happy to return home early, instead of having to go to Fengtian, a place in dire straits.

"stop."

"Who are you? What are you doing in the city?" The Japanese soldier could barely understand his Chinese.

"Sir, selling vegetables, selling vegetables." Chen Zhan glanced at the two Japanese soldiers and answered meekly.

The two men stepped forward, lifted Chen Zhan's cart, and found it indeed filled with various vegetables. They then cheekily stabbed the vegetables a few times with their knives and said, "Go in."

Chen Zhan drove the carriage into the city and glanced back at the two of them.

Two Japanese soldiers had already begun to exploit a man when he suddenly felt a chill on his neck. He touched it, but there was nothing there.

In May, even in Northeast China, it's not very cold.

The two of them didn't take it seriously.

Chen Zhan entered the city and returned after a year. The streets of Fengtian had not changed much, and the areas affected by the explosion had been completely repaired.

The Japanese consular district is more bustling now, and there are many more Japanese people than before.

It even expanded to three streets, but the number of people in Fengtian decreased significantly, and those who remained were trapped in an eerie atmosphere.

The current situation is something that ordinary people can sense is not right.

But they had no way to resist, or even leave. This was true for the entire Northeast. There was no one to turn to if they went south, and in those chaotic times of war, they would probably die on the road.

Chen Zhan walked through several streets, from the north to the south of the city. Tian Jingjie's old courtyard had been destroyed.

Even after digging three feet into the ground, you still couldn't tell it was originally a house.

There used to be a few households living nearby, but they are no longer there.

Chen Zhan didn't go inside to check; he walked straight over, sensing that many eyes were fixed on him. Even though he had been gone for over a year, the Japanese hadn't let their guard down. After he left, several Japanese samurai exchanged glances, and one of them slowly followed.

Chen Zhan walked to the original site of Wanhua Escort Agency. The agency hadn't been leveled, but there were even more people watching it.

As expected.

Another person appeared behind them, lagging far behind, thinking they were well hidden.

Chen Zhan went to several other places. The Gong family mansion had been occupied by the Japanese, and the Japanese soldiers were heavily guarding it.

The thief's courtyard was also sealed off and heavily guarded.

In reality, they were all guarding the area in secret, but for Chen Zhan, there was no difference between doing so in secret and in the open.

I wandered around the city for a long time, until...

When Chen Zhan reached the vicinity of the City God Temple in the north of the city, he was followed by a dozen or so Japanese Black Dragon Society warriors. His behavior was too suspicious, as he had walked through almost all the suspicious locations after the explosion.

This would inevitably attract the attention of the Black Dragon Society. Among those tracking them, several people were sent to notify the Black Dragon Society headquarters and the military police, but for some reason, no one has come yet.

They dared not send out too many people, for fear of losing them.

The leader of the Black Dragon Society warriors stared intently ahead as Chen Zhan, with his hunched back, walked very slowly.

"Something's not right, let's fire a signal flare."

"Isn't this making a mountain out of a molehill?"

"Do as I say."

"Hey!"

Sending signal flares inside the city would attract attention from all sides, so they dared not do so unless absolutely necessary.

The black-clad warrior lagged behind, turned a corner, and pulled a signal flare from his pocket.

The moment his hand touched the signal flare, a cold wind whistled into his neck. He looked down and saw his head fall to the ground, still holding the signal flare in his hand.

The group of people who had been staring intently at Chen Zhan suddenly realized that the hunched figure from before was gone!

The black-clad warrior instantly realized something was wrong, but it was too late.

The middle-aged man, who had been moving slowly and had a hunched back, suddenly emerged from the shadows, wielding two swords, and flashed past.

One hour of darkness!
It darted through the crowd with lightning speed, a dark light like a phantom.

Chen Zhan's figure disappeared, "Puff puff puff~"

Blood splattered out, bodies were torn apart, ten people! All dead instantly!
Chen Zhan flicked the blood off the blade, thinking to himself, 'This sword is indeed more comfortable to use than a Japanese samurai sword.'
-
Yu Zhihao has had a very tough time lately.

As the highest-ranking officer of the Fengtian Police Department, he should theoretically hold a high position and wield great power, and should be living a life of luxury anywhere.

Only Fengtian.

He had high-ranking officials in the Northeast Army above him, and none of them were generals he could afford to offend.

With Japanese people both in front and behind, it's outrageous that they're bullying us.

Nowadays in Fengtian, even ordinary Japanese citizens, including merchants, dare to beat, scold, and provoke the police!
But he had no choice but to tolerate it.

Because the higher-ups had given a strict order that there must be no conflict and that the Japanese must not be given any excuse; they had to wait for the higher-ups to make a decision.

Seven days ago, his policemen were beaten to death in the street by Japanese samurai and merchants.

The reason given was that he had harassed a Japanese woman during a patrol, but Lao Cheng was nearby and saw that the woman had run into him on her own. It was clearly a frame-up and provocation.

But there's nothing we can do; the Japanese have gone mad and are provoking us without restraint.

Many of the long-serving officers in the police station could no longer bear it and stayed at home, leaving the police station unable to maintain basic order in Fengtian.

Yu Zhihao was also at home, making and receiving phone calls every day, hoping for a call from Beiping.

Even if the order were to fight the Japanese to the death, it would still be better than what we are doing now.

But all the orders received were the same: to remain still and not allow any conflict!
He sat on the sofa, unable to sleep at all. Whenever he tried to fall asleep, he heard the screams of his brothers, who had shared life and death with him over the years, being beaten to death by the Japanese.

"I can see you're in a lot of pain."

The sound suddenly rang out, and Yu Zhihao turned around abruptly. In the shadows of the hall stood a person.

The lights were off, and the hall was too dark to see faces clearly. Only by the moonlight could one see that the other person was holding two swords, the swords striking the ground, dripping blood.

"You've come to kill me?"

There was a gun hidden under the sofa where Yu Zhihao was sitting; it was already loaded.

Don't you remember my voice?

A figure emerged from the shadows, slowly walked to Yu Zhihao's side, and sat down without a word, placing his long sword aside.

Yu Zhihao looked at the person in front of him; they were so close that he could finally see their face clearly.

He was middle-aged, with a sallow and thin complexion, and a relatively tall stature.

I've never seen this face before.

But the other person said, "I don't remember my voice!"

Yu Zhihao suddenly stood up. "You are... Mr. Chen?"

(End of this chapter)