Courtyard House: Home Alone

Matsui Iwane's lips curled into a meaningful smile, and this ambiguous answer caused the officers present to exchange puzzled glances.

He slowly walked around to the other side of the map, drawing a dotted line northwest from Shanghai with his baton. "According to the Special Higher Police's intelligence, Shanghai has suffered heavy losses recently. Their methods and tactics point directly to 'Ghost.' 'Ghost' must have a purpose in going there. But—"

He suddenly raised his voice, "This precisely gives us a window of opportunity, a window of opportunity that prevents him from being able to look north."

Major General Asaburo Kobayashi, Chief of Staff of the 12th Army, interjected, "Sir, if 'Ghost' succeeds in Shanghai and then quickly returns to reinforce, wouldn't our army be caught in a pincer movement?"

"Good question."

Instead of getting angry, Matsui Iwane smiled, the sinister glint in his triangular eyes transforming into a cruel confidence. "This is precisely the core of the second phase of the 'Iron Wall Encirclement'—speed. We must complete the comprehensive purge of the area surrounding Beiping within thirty days. Not a gradual encroachment, not a swift expulsion, but a thorough and devastating annihilation."

Lieutenant General Iinuma Mori, commander of the 110th Division, seated third from the left, nodded slightly and placed his gloved hands, folded together, on the table: "Commander, should the blockade line in the western suburbs of Beiping be tightened further? Yesterday, intelligence indicated that small groups of armed personnel inside the city attempted to infiltrate from the western mountains."

"No need."

Matsui Iwane straightened up, his baton slowly moving towards the Taihang Mountains on the west side of the map. "Let them infiltrate. The essence of Okamura-kun's 'Iron Wall Encirclement' plan lies in 'encircling without attacking, trapping and wearing them down.' What we need to do is weave a net—"

With a slight twist of his wrist, the baton traced a vast arc between the Taihang and Yanshan Mountains, "a net that forces the prey to exhaust themselves and willingly run into it."

A low murmur of agreement rippled through the conference room. Lin Yifan's mental energy penetrated the thick brick walls, taking in everyone's expressions: some wore expressions of admiration, some seemed lost in thought, and others—like the young colonel sitting at the end—had a barely perceptible weariness hidden in their eyes.

"Do you all know,

Matsui Iwane suddenly put down his baton, braced himself on the edge of the table, and leaned forward. "There's an old Chinese saying, 'To subdue the enemy without fighting.' In the past few years, the Imperial Army has relied too much on military conquest. What has been the result? Security in the occupied territories has deteriorated day by day, and the blood of the Imperial Army has been spilled across the mountains and rivers of North China."

Lin Yifan's spiritual power penetrated the thick brick wall, allowing him to see the entire scene inside the conference room. He noticed a lieutenant general sitting to Matsui's left, who was frowning slightly. That was Yoshio Iwamatsu, the commander of the First Army, a man known for his caution among Japanese military officers.

"Commander," Yoshio Iwamatsu cleared his throat, "According to the First Army's intelligence department, the Eighth Route Army's activities in the Taihang Mountains have become much more frequent than before."

Meanwhile, their weaponry also seemed to have been upgraded, and their original tactics of 'retreating when the enemy advances, harassing when the enemy camps' had changed, showing a tendency to expand outwards. Our supply lines—"

"The supply line problem will be resolved by the army group's directly subordinate units."

Matsui Iwane interrupted him, slamming his baton heavily on the edge of the map. "Iwamatsu-kun, I understand your concerns."

But please remember, our primary target is Beiping, is the "ghost".

The key to restoring order in North China lies in completely destroying the "ghost's" popular support in Beiping. Without the support of the people, I will turn them into real ghosts!

Having "seen" this far, Lin Yifan had lost interest in continuing. Even the best strategy needs someone to execute it, and Matsui Iwane's tricks should just become history.

What he needs now is a swift victory to disrupt the Japanese plans and return to Beiping as soon as possible.

Lin Yifan double-checked the locations of the Japanese soldiers in the conference room, especially the four ninja-like soldiers meditating nearby and the Japanese guards outside the conference room. Then, he put on his hood, and with a thought, vanished from the spot.

In an instant, he appeared behind Matsui Iwane. At the same time, four bullets flew silently from the stationary warehouse, heading straight for the four ninjas' foreheads.

The four ninjas didn't even have time to open their eyes before their bodies went limp and they collapsed, each with a bloody hole in their forehead.

Matsui Iwane suddenly sensed something amiss behind him. Just as he was about to turn around, a hand like an iron clamp gripped the back of his neck, and the cold muzzle of a gun was pressed against his temple.

"Don't move, Commander." Lin Yifan's voice was low and calm, spoken in fluent Japanese. "Tell your men to keep quiet as well."

The air in the conference room seemed to freeze. Yoshio Iwamatsu's face turned deathly pale instantly, and his right hand instinctively reached for his waist, but froze in mid-air—he saw that Lin Yifan's left hand was holding another gun, the dark muzzle pointed directly at his chest.

"Who...who are you?"

Matsui Iwane's voice trembled with disbelief. As the supreme commander of the North China Area Army, his headquarters was heavily guarded, with three lines of security around the perimeter and the empire's most elite ninja guards inside the meeting room. How did this person get in?

"Ghost." Lin Yifan uttered the two words softly.

A few gasps filled the conference room. Yoshio Iwamatsu's hand fell completely to his side. This name was no secret among the high command of the Japanese army—the Imperial Army's repeated losses were all related to this man.

Some even rumored that this person could fly and disappear into the ground, and that this person was the core target of Matsui Iwane's "police crackdown".

"Impossible..." Matsui Iwane's voice was hoarse, "You couldn't be here... in Shanghai..."

"Shanghai? Hah, you old devil, do you know how many 'ghosts' we Chinese have dedicated to killing Japanese devils?"

Lin Yifan exerted a little force, and Matsui Iwane groaned in pain. "Your 'Iron Wall Encirclement' and your 'Operation Annihilation' are over."

His gaze swept across everyone in the room, memorizing each face. Besides Okamura and Iwamatsu, there were two lieutenant generals, one major general, three colonels, two lieutenant colonels, and a civilian officer wearing gold-rimmed glasses, whose shoulder insignia indicated he was the chief of staff of an army group.

These people were the core decision-making body of the Japanese army in North China.

"Now," Lin Yifan's voice was devoid of emotion, "the only thing you can do is accept the judgment of the Chinese people. At the same time, in the name of the Army Headquarters, issue an emergency order to all divisions, regiments, and brigades to cancel all troop movements targeting Beiping and Tianjin, and order all troops to remain in place."

"Delusion!" Matsui Iwane spat out the two words through gritted teeth. "Imperial soldiers will not yield to terrorists!"

Lin Yifan's lips curled up slightly, but the smile didn't reach his eyes.

"terrorist?"

He shook his head slightly, as if he had heard an amusing joke. "Commander Matsui, you have been burning, killing, and looting on my Chinese soil, creating no-man's-lands, and using biological weapons, and now you're talking to me about terrorism?"