Courtyard House: Home Alone

Now that Wang Defa was in a state of panic, it was the perfect time to make a move. Without further hesitation, Lin Yifan teleported out of the void and appeared directly in Wang Defa's main room.

"Who goes there?!" Wang Defa and the three officers were so shocked by this sudden turn of events that they were terrified and their faces turned pale.

Especially Wang Defa, who raised his trembling hand and pointed at Lin Yifan, his face drained of all color in an instant, "You...who are you?!"

Lin Yifan didn't answer. His gaze, like a cold blade, swept over the people in the room. The three officers who looked like staff officers were already so frightened that their legs went weak, and they collapsed to the ground, scrambling to crawl under the table.

"Commander Wang, how have you been?" Lin Yifan's voice was calm and even, yet it carried a chilling undertone.

"You...you are 'Ghost'?!" Wang Defa's voice became sharp and shrill due to extreme fear, and his hands trembled even more violently, almost unable to lift.

"You guessed right, but there's no reward." Lin Yifan smiled faintly, but there was no warmth in his smile. "However, you can choose a more dignified way to die."

"No! Don't kill me!" Wang Defa's mental defenses completely collapsed. He knelt down with a thud. "Ghost, please spare my life! I know I was wrong!"

I shouldn't have become a traitor, I shouldn't have helped the Japanese bully the Chinese! I beg you to have mercy and spare my life. I promise I will repent and serve you like a slave to repay your kindness in sparing my life!

As he spoke, he kept kowtowing to Lin Yifan, and blood marks quickly appeared on his forehead. His cowardly and ugly behavior was completely different from his arrogant and domineering demeanor in front of his subordinates just now.

Seeing their division commander kneel and beg for mercy, the three officers were terrified and also lay prostrate on the ground, wailing, "Ghost, have mercy! We were forced into this! We are Chinese too!"

Lin Yifan looked at the few traitors groveling before him, his eyes filled with nothing but deep disgust, devoid of any pity.

"Forced?" He sneered. "You're taking the Japanese soldiers' salaries while committing atrocities against your own people, and now you think you can just wipe the slate clean with a 'forced' excuse? There's no such easy way out!"

"I...I can tell you the Japanese devils' secrets!"

Wang Defa, as if grasping at a last straw, hurriedly said, "I know many secrets of the Imperial Army! I also know some of the Special Higher Police's strongholds! As long as you don't kill me, I'll tell you everything!"

Lin Yifan's heart stirred; he did indeed need to learn more about the Japanese and the Special Higher Police. But that didn't mean he would let Wang Defa, this traitor with blood on his hands, go.

"I'll retrieve your intelligence myself," Lin Yifan said coldly. "As for your life, you must leave it!"

Before he finished speaking, Lin Yifan had a thought, and several bullets instantly flew out of his stationary warehouse, accurately hitting the three trembling officers.

After three muffled thuds, the three men fell silently to the ground, their eyes still showing signs of terror.

Wang Defa watched helplessly as his men were instantly killed, nearly fainting from shock. He cried out, "Don't kill me! I really know a lot of information! I can still do things for you!"

Lin Yifan looked coldly at Wang Defa, "I hope what you know can get you something in return." After saying that, he took a step to his side and reached out to put Wang Defa into his spatial storage.

Next, Lin Yifan spread his mental energy, enveloping the entire division headquarters, and began to clear out the guards one by one. In order not to alert those outside, it took him more than an hour to clear out the guards in the courtyard, leaving only two sentries at the gate and three puppet soldiers in the machine gun nest. He planned to deal with these five puppet soldiers one last time.

Then he began his looting. Wang Defa really did collect a lot of good stuff, from various military supplies and weapons to gold bars and silver dollars, all of which are now in his personal space.

Finally, he arrived at the gate, behind five puppet soldiers.

With a thought, five bullets accurately entered the back of their heads. The five puppet soldiers didn't even have a chance to turn around before they went to repent to their ancestors without making a sound. Then, a piece of white paper with the five large characters "The Fate of Traitors" written on it fluttered down and landed on one of the puppet soldiers.

After dealing with all the guards, Lin Yifan did a final check of the division headquarters to make sure nothing was missed before turning around and disappearing into the depths of the alley, heading towards the former Japanese military court.

This secluded courtyard deep in Tieshizi Hutong is eerily quiet at this moment.

What should have been a heavily guarded military court is now like an abandoned house, with its two doors tightly shut. Only the two dusty lanterns at the entrance creak and groan in the breeze, telling of the eeriness and terror that once existed here.

Lin Yifan arrived next to the military law office, and taking advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention, he entered the space and carefully examined the situation inside.

The situation inside the courtyard was completely different from that outside. There were two machine gun nests on both sides of the gate, each with a Type 92 heavy machine gun facing the entrance. Inside, there were guards every three steps and sentries every five steps.

Inside the main gate was a two-story building, with the backyard surrounded by Japanese soldiers' dormitories. In addition to about a company of Japanese infantry guards, there were also more than 300 Japanese soldiers in civilian clothes.

In the backyard, there was another entrance leading down. The ground of the entire yard had been hollowed out and used by the Japanese as interrogation rooms and prisons, which were almost overcrowded.

At that moment, in an office on the second floor, a Japanese soldier dressed as a captain was reporting something to another Japanese soldier in civilian clothes.

Lin Yifan concentrated his mental energy and heard the captain say, "Ono-kun, those prisoners have been reduced to one mixed grain cake every two days."

In this way, our food reserves will only last for two days. Do you think we should execute some of the prisoners?

In addition, we need to go out and purchase supplies, otherwise we may not be able to hold out until reinforcements arrive.

The Japanese soldier in civilian clothes, known as Ono-kun, had a hideous scar on his face and eyes as sinister as a venomous snake.

He tapped the table lightly, remained silent for a moment, and then said in a hoarse voice, "Yamaguchi-kun, I know about the grain situation."

"Let's postpone the executions for now. We might have some useful members among them. As for procurement..."

A ruthless glint flashed in his eyes. "With the situation so tense outside, and that 'ghost' causing such a stir, it's too dangerous to send people out directly."

Select a few officers from the Special Higher Police Department; they all speak Mandarin and have received professional training. Have them dress in civilian clothes, disperse, and try to bring back as much food and medicine as possible.

Remember, if they can't buy it on the black market, tell them to find a way to Fengtai. That's the only place still under our Imperial Army's control. Tell them to be careful not to reveal their identities, lest they attract the "ghost."