Courtyard House: Home Alone

Pierre's face turned deathly pale instantly, and cold sweat poured down his forehead like beads from a broken string. He knew that the person in front of him was definitely not so easily fooled.

"It was...it was Yamada Niku who found me. He said he urgently needed this batch of medicine...I...I'm just doing this to make money. I have no interest in your grudges!" he hurriedly explained, trying to emphasize his "neutral" stance.

"Make money? Do you know where these medicines will ultimately be used? The Japanese are currently invading my country and massacring my compatriots. Don't you know that? Can you ignore all of this for money?"

Pierre was speechless at Lin Yifan's question. His face flushed red and then turned pale, and he avoided eye contact with Lin Yifan.

He opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something to defend himself, but in the end he only let out a powerless sigh.

Lin Yifan looked at him without a trace of pity. He reached for the samurai sword lying on the ground and plunged it into the man's heart with a backhand stroke.

Lin Yifan glanced at the corpses scattered on the ground, put the two boxes of US dollars and all the medicines into his spatial storage, and then began to collect supplies from the surrounding warehouses.

He discovered that in addition to the batch of medicines he had traded, other areas of the warehouse district contained a considerable amount of supplies plundered from various places, including cloth, grain, canned goods, and even a warehouse full of weapons and ammunition.

These items were a godsend for Beiping, which was currently suffering from shortages of food, clothing, and supplies. Lin Yifan didn't hesitate and collected all the usable supplies into his spatial storage.

After doing all this, he checked his surroundings to make sure he hadn't left any valuable clues. Then, with a flash, he disappeared into the night as silently as he had come, leaving behind only the warehouse reeking of blood and a pile of corpses lying haphazardly on the ground, waiting to be discovered by the first rays of morning sunlight.

After leaving the dock, he returned to 17 Victoria Road as soon as possible. He stopped 200 meters away from the house and used his mental power to check the surroundings and the situation inside the house. He found that there was nothing unusual around him. Xu Zheng was on duty at the window.

So he got out of the car and walked towards the small building, putting the medicine he was going to trade with the Germans for the next day into the basement. Back at No. 17, Xu Zheng, who had heard the commotion, went downstairs and opened the door. He gave a few brief instructions and then went back to his room to sleep.

The transaction with the Germans went very smoothly the next day. Chen Gongshu deposited all the gold he had collected over the past two days into HSBC and also exchanged it for 220 million US dollars in Japanese yen. This left Lin Yifan with over 1.3 billion yen in his storage space.

That evening, Smith called Chen Gongshu and told him that the fleet of ships transporting equipment would arrive at Tanggu Wharf the following night.

He immediately connected to Lin Yifan's communicator: "Young master, Smith just called and said the equipment will arrive at Tanggu Wharf tomorrow night."

The main problem now is that if we dock at the general cargo terminal, there are no large cranes, and some equipment cannot be unloaded. But if we dock at a Japanese-controlled terminal, we are afraid...

"Contact him immediately and tell him that the ship is docked at the general cargo terminal, and we will handle the unloading. However, once the cargo ship docks, they must evacuate all the crew members," Lin Yifan said, leaning against the bed.

"Okay, I'll contact him right away."

The next morning, Lin Yifan, who was scouting outside Haiguang Temple, received another call from Chen Gongshu. He turned on the call and heard Chen Gongshu's voice through the earpiece: "Young master, Smith just called again. He said he has made contact with the ship and will dock it at the general cargo dock. After docking, the captain and crew will go ashore to rest for three days, giving us three days to unload the cargo."

"Okay, I understand. Tell him that the medicine can be given to him tomorrow morning according to the agreed quota. You and he should settle the accounts, and the difference can be settled in gold."

"I remember his gold is stored at Citibank? Please double-check. If it is, like before, see if you can exchange some yen at Citibank. We still have over 1.3 billion yen on hand. Try to exchange as much as possible." Lin Yifan said as he walked back.

"Okay, young master, I'll take care of it right away. I've already contacted Citibank before, so it shouldn't be a problem. I'll confirm the account information with Smith as soon as possible and try to exchange more yen." Chen Gongshu's voice sounded very decisive.

"By the way, young master, what about the manpower for unloading cargo at the dock?"

"Contact Xu Zheng and the others to arrange the deal with Smith tomorrow morning. Don't worry about things at the docks, I'll take care of that," Lin Yifan said.

After hanging up the call, he hailed a rickshaw and went straight back to Victoria Road.

I'll be busy again tonight, so I'd better get some rest during the day.

Meanwhile, at the North China Expeditionary Army Headquarters, the highest-ranking officer was a lieutenant colonel staff officer, who was holding an investigation report that the military police had just delivered.

The report clearly states that, based on the existing evidence, it can be basically confirmed that the Special Higher Police's attack was launched by "Ghost." The incident was caused by the Special Higher Police and the Black Dragon Society provoking "Ghost" in order to carry out the military's orders.

He handed the investigation report to the communications officer beside him: "Musashi-kun, send the complete investigation report to the military headquarters. Just follow the orders from the military headquarters afterward."

Furthermore, urge the military headquarters to arrange for a commander to come to North China as soon as possible; the North China Expeditionary Army cannot remain leaderless indefinitely.

The communications officer took the report, respectfully replied "Yes, sir," and turned to carry out the order. The lieutenant colonel walked to the window, gazing at the gray sky outside, his brow furrowed. "The ghost...it's that ghost again..." he muttered to himself, a hint of seriousness and barely perceptible fear flashing in his eyes.

This ghostly presence has caused too much trouble for the Empire's North China plans and must be eliminated as soon as possible, otherwise the consequences will be dire.

The telegram quickly reached the island nation's military headquarters. Terauchi Hisaichi, holding the telegram, was also experiencing a headache. The agreement with "Ghost" at the time was very clear: apart from weapons and ammunition, nothing else could be blocked or interfered with in the trade.

They broke the agreement first, so they have to swallow the bitter pill themselves. As for the commander of the North China Expeditionary Army... sigh! It was originally a high-ranking regional official position, everyone wanted it, but now whoever goes will die...

"Let's leave this to the cabinet and let the Emperor worry about it." With that thought, he pressed the call button and said to the adjutant who entered, "Prepare the car; we're going to the cabinet."

The adjutant bowed and replied, "Yes, Your Excellency, the carriage is ready."

Terauchi Hisaichi waved his hand, signaling his adjutant to leave. He walked to the huge map, his finger slowly tracing the map of North China, his face full of gloom.

"Ghost..." he repeated the name in a low voice, his tone tinged with frustration and helplessness.

This mysterious adversary always manages to deliver a heavy blow to the empire at the most crucial moment, causing many meticulously planned schemes to fall apart.

This foolish move by the Special Higher Police and the Black Dragon Society has pushed the Empire into an extremely passive position. And that "ghost" is like a sword hanging over the Empire's head, ready to fall at any moment.

He took a deep breath, his gaze hardening. He had to get rid of this mess in the cabinet, leaving the civil servants to deal with it. He just wanted to escape it all as quickly as possible, out of sight, out of mind.