Courtyard House: Starting in 1938, kill enemies and loot equipment.

As night fell, the city of Beiping gradually quieted down, with only a few scattered lights flickering in the streets and alleys, accompanied by the occasional bark of a dog, making the stillness even more palpable. In the courtyard house at No. 95 Nanluoguxiang, everyone had already retired for the night, with only a dim oil lamp still lit in the east wing of the front yard.

Zhou Ye sat on the edge of the bed, looking at the sleeping Zhou Xiaocao, a faint smile on her face, who must have had a great time playing with He Yuzhu and the others during the day. He gently tucked the blanket in, his eyes tender, then sharpening again—tonight, he was going to investigate the Japanese stronghold in the west of the city to prepare for the next move.

He changed into a set of dark shorts for easy movement, stored his Type 38 rifle, military knife, and short sword into his system space, leaving only a dagger at his waist. Zhou Ye then took out a small pot of spiritual spring water from his space and drank it down, instantly replenishing his strength. He silently pushed open the door; the courtyard was quiet, with only a single lamp still lit in the deaf old woman's room, indicating that she had not yet gone to bed.

Without alerting anyone, Zhou Ye darted across the courtyard like a cat, gently pulled open the latch of the gate, and slipped out, disappearing into the night.

The night in Beiping was bitterly cold. The streets were deserted, with only moonlight casting faint shadows on the bluestone slabs. Zhou Ye walked briskly along the shadows beside the street, avoiding the occasional patrolling puppet troops, heading west.

Half an hour later, Zhou Ye arrived near the Japanese stronghold in the west of the city. The abandoned granary, fortified by the Japanese, resembled a huge fortress. Every so often, a sentry post stood atop the wall, brightly lit, and the figures of Japanese soldiers could be vaguely seen moving back and forth. The two sentries at the gate remained vigilant, their rifles slung across their shoulders, their eyes scanning the surroundings.

Zhou Ye lay in ambush atop an old locust tree not far away, observing the situation at the stronghold from his vantage point. Compared to the daytime, the stronghold was much more heavily guarded at night. Searchlights above the walls swept across the area from time to time, illuminating the surrounding area, making it quite difficult to infiltrate silently.

He waited patiently, his eyes fixed on the small door at the back of the outpost—there was only one sentry post there, and it was far from the searchlight's coverage area, making it the best infiltration point.

About an hour later, it was late at night. The lights in the stronghold gradually thinned out, and the sentries on the wall began to relax, yawning from time to time. Zhou Ye knew that the time had come.

He silently jumped down from the tree and, using the shadows as cover, quickly moved to the rear wall of the stronghold. The wall was three meters high, covered with barbed wire, making it difficult to climb. Zhou Ye took out a pair of military-grade pliers from his system space; he had previously taken them from Japanese corpses, and they came in handy now.

He cautiously approached the wall, making sure the sentry wasn't watching, then quickly raised the pliers and forcefully cut the joint of the barbed wire. With a soft "snap," a small opening was cut in the barbed wire. Zhou Ye held his breath, observed for a moment, and seeing that the sentry was still facing away from him, he nimbly climbed the wall, lightly leaped, and landed inside the stronghold.

The stronghold was silent, with only a few houses still lit, from which the faint snoring of Japanese soldiers could be heard. Zhou Ye moved quickly along the wall, his eyes scanning the surroundings—the main building of the granary was in the center of the stronghold, surrounded by many wooden crates, presumably filled with supplies.

He quietly approached a house with lights on, peering through a crack in the window. Inside, he saw four Japanese soldiers lying soundly asleep, their rifles and knives lying in the corner. Zhou Ye's eyes turned cold. He silently pushed open the door, closed it behind him, then drew his dagger from his waist and approached the bedside like a ghost.

The Japanese soldiers were fast asleep, completely unaware of the impending danger. Zhou Ye flicked his wrist, and with a flash of cold light, the dagger pierced the throat of the first soldier. The soldier died without even a groan. He then repeated the process, taking down the other three soldiers in quick succession, his movements clean and swift, without making a sound.

After dealing with the Japanese soldiers inside, Zhou Ye waved his hand, and the four Japanese corpses were instantly taken into the farm space. In a flash, the space decomposed them into pure energy and organic fertilizer, which were then integrated into the farm's soil.

【击杀侵华日军士兵4名，农场分解尸体获得有机肥料×20、能量值×40，奖励功勋值40点！当前功勋值80点、能量值40点！】

The system notification sounded softly in his mind. Without pausing, Zhou Ye quickly picked up the Japanese soldier's rifle and ammunition, stored them in his system space, and then silently left the room.

Next, he needed to find where the supplies were stored. Based on his observations during the day, the supplies should be stored inside the main building of the granary. Zhou Ye moved quickly along the wall to the granary entrance, where he saw two Japanese soldiers standing guard, dozing off against the doorframe.

Zhou Ye's eyes narrowed, and he lunged forward like a cheetah, simultaneously covering the mouths of the two Japanese soldiers with both hands, his dagger swiftly slicing across their throats. The two soldiers didn't even have time to react before collapsing to the ground. He raised his hand again, storing the two corpses into his farm space, instantly completing their decomposition.

【击杀侵华日军士兵2名，农场分解尸体获得有机肥料×10、能量值×20，奖励功勋值20点！当前功勋值100点、能量值60点！】

Having dealt with the sentry, Zhou Ye pushed open the granary door, and a musty smell mixed with the aroma of grain hit him. Inside the granary were piles of wooden crates and sacks; the sacks were likely filled with grain, while the wooden crates probably contained weapons, ammunition, or other supplies.

Zhou Ye quickly checked the granary and, confirming there were no other Japanese soldiers inside, took out the short knife he had previously captured from his system space and began prying open the wooden crates. The first crate was pried open, revealing rows of rifles and ammunition; the second crate contained hand grenades; and the third crate contained canned goods and biscuits.

Zhou Ye was overjoyed; these supplies were undoubtedly a godsend for him. With a thought, he stored all the supplies into his system space—the farm's storage shelves had a huge capacity, more than enough to hold all the supplies, and the fertilizer from decomposing the corpses would nourish the crops on the farm, making the grains and fruits grow faster and better.

Just as he was about to leave, a series of hurried footsteps and shouts from the Japanese soldiers suddenly came from outside the granary. Zhou Ye was startled. Had he been discovered? He quickly hid behind a pile of sacks and looked out through the gaps. He saw more than a dozen Japanese soldiers with guns raised, running towards the granary. The leader was the commander of the stronghold, a Japanese major with a mustache.

It seemed the commotion of the missing sentry had been discovered. Zhou Ye calculated in his mind that a direct confrontation was definitely not an option; the Japanese soldiers were numerous and powerful, and armed. He had no choice but to outsmart them.

He quickly moved to the other side of the granary, where there was a ventilation shaft large enough for a person to crawl out. Without hesitation, Zhou Ye crawled out of the ventilation shaft and landed at the rear of the stronghold, exactly where he had infiltrated earlier.

The Japanese soldiers had already stormed into the granary and found that all the supplies inside had been looted and there wasn't even a single corpse on the ground. They were immediately enraged. Major Rendan Hu shouted incoherently, his tone full of surprise and fury, and ordered his men to search everywhere.

The Japanese soldiers couldn't understand how the six guards had vanished into thin air, and the warehouse full of supplies had disappeared without a trace, leaving only empty houses and granaries.

Using the shadows as cover, Zhou Ye quickly retreated. Behind him came the sound of Japanese gunfire and hysterical shouts. Bullets whizzed past him, but couldn't even touch the hem of his clothes.

After running all the way, Zhou Ye finally returned to the courtyard house at No. 95 Nanluoguxiang half an hour later. He quietly pushed open the courtyard gate and slipped inside. The courtyard was still quiet, and the lights in the deaf old lady's room were already off.

Zhou Ye returned to the east wing of the front yard, gently pushed open the door, and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Zhou Xiaocao still sleeping soundly. He quickly changed his clothes, put away his weapons and supplies, and then entered the farm space to check—the corn and sweet potatoes in the field were growing better and better thanks to the newly added fertilizer, and they had also accumulated a lot of energy, which could be used for subsequent farm upgrades.

[Current merit points: 100; energy points: 60. System/farm space can be upgraded. Upgrade now?]

A system notification sounded in Zhou Ye's mind, and an idea struck him. Now that the farm had fertilizer and a sufficient crop supply, he might as well upgrade the system and improve his own strength.

"Upgrade the system!" Zhou Ye silently chanted in his mind.

[System upgrade in progress... Upgrade successful! New skill unlocked: Night Vision (Basic), allowing clear vision in the dark; New feature unlocked: System Shop (Basic), allowing you to exchange merit points for resources and skills!]

A warm current instantly surged through Zhou Ye's body, and he felt his vision become exceptionally sharp, allowing him to clearly see every detail in the room even in the dark. At the same time, a virtual shop interface appeared in his mind, containing ordinary food, medicine, military equipment, and various basic skill books, each requiring different amounts of merit points to exchange.

Zhou Ye was overjoyed. The night vision ability would give him a significant advantage in his subsequent night raids on Japanese strongholds, and the system shop would allow him to replenish supplies as needed, greatly accelerating his strength improvement.

He didn't immediately exchange for the supplies, but instead closed his eyes to rest for a while. There was still important work to do tomorrow—to distribute some of the captured grain to He Daqing's family and the neighbors in the courtyard. In chaotic times, food is the foundation of survival, and the farm could continuously obtain fertilizer by decomposing corpses, so there was no worry about food supply. It would be better to use the supplies to strengthen neighborhood relations and secure a foothold.

Just as dawn was breaking, Zhou Ye woke up. He quietly got up, took out several bags of rice, several bags of flour, and several cans of food from his system space, and walked to the central courtyard, where he ran into He Daqing, who was up early and preparing to go to work at Fuxinglou.

"Brother Zhou, what's this?" He Daqing looked at the heavy grain and canned goods in Zhou Ye's hands with surprise. These were extremely precious items in Beiping at that time.

"Uncle He, take these grains and canned goods and give them to your wife and children to improve their meals," Zhou Ye said with a smile as he handed them over. "Share some with the neighbors in the yard too. We're all struggling, so it's good to look after each other."

He Daqing was taken aback for a moment, then quickly declined, "Brother Zhou, this is unacceptable! These are so many good things, they are too precious, we can't just take them from you for nothing."

"Uncle He, take this," Zhou Ye stuffed the things into his hands. "I have a way to get food here, so we don't have to worry about food or clothing. We all live in the same courtyard, so we should help each other out."

Looking into Zhou Ye's sincere eyes, He Daqing was deeply moved and nodded emphatically, "Brother Zhou, I'll remember this kindness! If you ever need anything, just let me know!"

Lu Bingxin also got up. After learning the reason, she quickly thanked Zhou Ye with her child and then turned around to help distribute the canned food.

The neighbors in the courtyard gradually got up. Yi Zhonghai, Liu Haizhong, Xu Wude, and others looked at the polished rice and canned goods in their hands, their faces filled with shock and gratitude. You must know that at this time, the price of grain in Beiping was soaring, and ordinary people couldn't even get enough coarse grains to eat, let alone polished rice and canned goods.

"Brother Zhou, this is truly a timely help!" Yi Zhonghai said excitedly, holding the flour. "The food at our steel mill is poor, and this grain will be just what we need to supplement our family's diet."

Xu Wude thanked her repeatedly, while Jia Zhangshi beamed from ear to ear, constantly saying, "Brother Zhou is such a kind person. If anything happens in the yard in the future, your aunt will be the first to help you!"

The deaf old woman came out leaning on her cane. She looked at the grain in the hands of everyone in the yard, then at Zhou Ye. A glint of shrewdness flashed in her cloudy eyes, and a faint smile appeared on her lips: "Good boy, you are straightforward and know your limits."

Zhou Ye smiled but didn't offer any further explanation. No one knew where the grain came from, nor did anyone ask about the Japanese stronghold. Everyone simply assumed he had encountered a benefactor with special connections, and this tacit understanding put Zhou Ye at ease.

In the days that followed, the atmosphere in the courtyard grew increasingly harmonious. He Daqing's work at Fuxinglou became more and more successful. Because of the deaf old lady, the manager valued him highly, and his wages increased considerably. Yi Zhonghai, Liu Haizhong, and a few others were apprentices at Lou's Steel Rolling Mill. Although it was hard work, it was stable. When they came home from get off work, they would always chat with Zhou Ye about things at the mill and inquire about news from Beiping. The children played and laughed in the courtyard, and Lü Bingxin and Jia Zhangshi often did housework together. The courtyard was filled with the warmth of everyday life.

Zhou Ye, taking advantage of this peace, began to take frequent action. With his basic night vision, he could scout out at night without any hindrance, targeting small Japanese strongholds and patrol teams. After each time he finished off the Japanese, he would put the corpses into his farm space to decompose them into fertilizer and energy, leaving no trace, nourishing the farm, and accumulating merit points.

He captured more and more weapons and ammunition, and his merit points rose rapidly. Occasionally, he would exchange some medicines and practical skills in the system shop, and his skills and adaptability were constantly improving in actual combat.

Gradually, a legend about a mysterious man began to circulate in the underground of Beiping City—a young hunter in the dark who specialized in killing Japanese soldiers and puppet troops. He appeared and disappeared without a trace, and his crimes were clean and swift. The Japanese could not even catch a glimpse of him. The people secretly called him "Night Shadow" and had a glimmer of hope in their hearts to fight against the Japanese.

The Japanese and their collaborators hated "Night Shadow" to the core, offering a bounty for his capture throughout the city and increasing patrols, but they still had no clue. They could never have imagined that this hunter who kept them up at night was hiding in a courtyard house in Nanluoguxiang, living a life just like ordinary people, guarding the peace of their little courtyard.

That evening, Zhou Ye returned from gathering information outside. As soon as he entered the courtyard, he saw Yi Zhonghai, Liu Haizhong, Xu Wude, and several others gathered around a stone table in the central courtyard. Their faces were solemn, and the rough porcelain bowls in their hands were left untouched on the table.

"What's wrong? What happened?" Zhou Ye stepped forward and asked in a deep voice.

Yi Zhonghai raised his head, his face full of indignation and anxiety, his voice extremely low: "Brother Zhou, something terrible has happened! The Lou family's steel rolling mill has been officially taken over by the Japanese. Starting tomorrow, all the workers in the factory will have to obey the Japanese orders. Not only will they have to work overtime to rush the production of military supplies, but they will also have to endure beatings and verbal abuse from the Japanese. Anyone who resists in the slightest will be arrested and taken to the military police. I heard that two old workers were arrested yesterday, and their fate is unknown!"

Zhou Ye's eyes instantly turned cold, and his aura deepened. The Japanese devils' clutches had finally reached out to him.

He knew that this peaceful life had finally been shattered. A much bigger storm was brewing. And he would not only protect the neighbors in the courtyard, but also make these evil Japanese devils pay the price they deserved!