Courtyard House: Home Alone

His fingers tightened slightly, and Matsui Iwane felt a sudden pressure, as if his breath was being suffocated. "But you're right, I don't need you to submit."

Before he finished speaking, Lin Yifan's spiritual power surged out like a tidal wave, instantly enveloping the entire conference room. Apart from Matsui Iwane, the other dozen or so Japanese generals were simultaneously drawn into his spatial dimension.

Matsui Iwane watched in horror as the elite of the empire, whom he was so proud of, vanished into thin air before his very eyes.

"What...what did you do?" Matsui Iwane's voice finally carried a hint of fear.

"Let them sleep somewhere else for a while."

Lin Yifan said casually, "Commander Matsui, now let's talk about terms. Of course, you can choose to refuse, but you should know what happened to Prince Asaka Yasuhiko then..."

He released his grip on the back of Matsui Iwane's neck, but the muzzle of the gun remained firmly pressed against the man's temple.

Matsui Iwane stiffly turned around and saw the "ghost" who had kept the empire's high command on edge for the first time—a black hood covering only a pair of eyes, which were eerily calm, as if looking at a dead man.

"What do you want?" Matsui Iwane forced himself to calm down. As the commander of the army group, he knew that any impulsive action at this moment could lead to irreversible consequences.

"It's very simple." Lin Yifan took out paper and pen from his spatial storage and threw them on the table. "First, in your name, immediately issue an order to all troops to cease the 'Iron Wall Encirclement' operation and lift the blockade of Beiping."

Second, list the locations of all the secret warehouses, armories, and granaries of the North China Area Army.

Third—"He paused, his voice suddenly turning cold, "hand over all evidence of your use of biological and chemical weapons in China, as well as all relevant materials about Unit 731."

Matsui Iwane's pupils suddenly contracted. The first two points were expected, but the third—how did this person know about Unit 731? That was the Empire's top-level secret; even within the Army Group, only a very few people knew about it.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he said, trying to remain calm.

"Yeah?"

Lin Yifan took out a document from his spatial storage and waved it in front of Matsui Iwane. "This is the 'Epidemic Prevention and Water Supply Department' expansion plan that Ishii Shiro submitted to your headquarters last December, along with a report requesting you to provide healthy living subjects. Do you want me to read it to you? 'The plan is to build a permanent bacterial research facility in the Pingfang area, with an estimated annual production of 300 kilograms of plague bacilli and one ton of cholerae…'"

Matsui Iwane's expression finally changed completely. "You...who exactly are you?"

"I told you, ghost."

Lin Yifan put the file back into his spatial storage. "Commander Matsui, my patience is limited. I'll give you thirty seconds to consider. Either cooperate, or—the high-ranking Japanese soldiers in North China will appear at Caishikou in Beiping and be executed by slow slicing!"

Of course, there were also all the Japanese troops involved in this operation. You should know that when "Ghost" strikes, it always means annihilation.

Fine beads of sweat appeared on Matsui Iwane's forehead. He had no doubt that the other party had this ability; the corpses of those ninja guards were still lying in the corner, their deaths peaceful as if they were asleep.

As a soldier, he was not afraid of death, but as the commander of an army group, he could not bear the responsibility for the collapse of the entire Japanese army in North China due to his stubborn resistance.

"If I cooperate," he began with difficulty, "can you guarantee their safety?"

You have no right to negotiate now.

Lin Yifan's voice was icy, "But I can tell you, any invader who sets foot on my Chinese soil, I, 'Ghost,' will not let a single one go."

He glanced at his watch. "Fifteen seconds left."

Matsui Iwane closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened his eyes again, the struggle in them had transformed into a kind of resigned calm.

"A pen." He held out his hand.

Lin Yifan pushed the paper and pen in front of him, and at the same time took out a radio from his spatial storage. "Use this to issue orders to the various units first. I will be listening in."

Matsui Iwane picked up the pen, his fingers trembling slightly. He knew that from this moment on, he would become a sinner of the empire, but he had no other choice.

The order was simple: immediately cease the "Iron Wall Encirclement" operation, and all units should remain in place and await further instructions from the Army Group Headquarters.

"The password book is in the third drawer," he said, pointing to the filing cabinet against the wall.

Lin Yifan scanned the codebook with his mental energy and indeed found it. He took out the codebook, compared it with the telegram written by Okamura Neiji, and personally operated the radio to send it out.

Radio waves pierced the night sky, reaching Japanese strongholds throughout North China. A few minutes later, confirmation messages arrived, with each unit reporting receipt of orders and their execution.

"Very good." Lin Yifan nodded in satisfaction. "Now, the warehouse location."

Matsui Iwane remained silent for a moment before beginning to write on the paper. Lin Yifan watched as he scanned the entire Haiguang Temple with his mental energy, confirming that there was no unusual activity.

The Japanese guards on the perimeter remained completely unaware that their commander was currently holding an "important meeting" and that no one was allowed to disturb him.

"Haiguang Temple has the largest armory of the entire army underground."

Matsui Iwane's voice was hoarse. "The entrance is inside the main hall of Haiguang Temple. The third wharf of Tianjin Port, and warehouses one through seven, store strategic materials transported from the mainland. In Fengtai, on the western outskirts of Beiping, there's a secret granary, enough to feed 100,000 people for three months..."

He wrote faster and faster, as if trying to unload some burden from his heart. Lin Yifan silently memorized the information; it would become irrefutable evidence in the future trial of war criminals.

"Finally," Matsui Iwane put down his pen, "the files on Unit 731 aren't with me. Ishii Shiro reported directly to the Kwantung Army Headquarters; I only received his periodic reports. The originals are all kept in Harbin."

"What should I report?"

"Mainly the progress and 'results' of the experiments." Matsui Iwane's voice trembled slightly. "They...they conducted bacterial experiments on living people, as well as frostbite experiments, vivisections..."

Lin Yifan's eyes suddenly turned cold. Even though he already knew this history, hearing the Japanese high command admit it still filled him with an uncontrollable rage. He took a deep breath, suppressing his emotions; now was not the time to erupt.

Do you have copies of these reports?

"Yes, it's in the safe." Matsui Iwane pointed to a steel cabinet in the corner. "The combination is..."

Lin Yifan didn't let him finish reciting the password. His mental power directly penetrated the cabinet door, sweeping away all the documents inside. More than a dozen documents marked "Top Secret," along with some gold bars and jewelry, were all stored in his spatial storage.

"Commander Matsui, it's been a pleasure working with you. Now, you should also find somewhere else to sleep for a while."

"You said you wouldn't kill me!" Matsui Iwane retreated in terror.

"I said I wouldn't kill you, but I never said I wouldn't let you sleep." With a thought from Lin Yifan, Matsui Iwane vanished from the conference room.