Courtyard House: Reborn in the 1940s, Starting with Killing Japanese Devils

Da da da! Da da da!

Gunshots suddenly ripped through the silence of the night. Zheng Yaoxian pulled the trigger, and bullets rained down on the sentries. The two men fell to the ground on the spot, their blood staining the white snow beneath their feet.

Lu Hanqing was so startled that he shrank back and hugged the suitcase in his arms even tighter.

Zheng Yaoxian immediately drove through the checkpoint, the wheels running over the corpses with a dull thud.

In the darkness, the beams of the car headlights pierced the night, illuminating the winding mountain road ahead.

The mountain road was bumpy and potholed, and the jeep jolted along the way. Zheng Yaoxian kept his grip on the steering wheel, his expression resolute.

Lu Hanqing was still shaken, his gaze fixed on the vast darkness outside the car window.

Half an hour later, the jeep finally drove into the courtyard of the office building of Farm No. 13, Hongyanzui.

Zheng Yaoxian quickly opened the car door and got out. After looking around to make sure it was safe, he went around to the other side to open the door for Lu Hanqing, and then turned around to take the radio from the car.

A moment later, comrades from the Southern Bureau's Security Section arrived at the scene, armed with flashlights and Hanyang Type 88 and Type 24 rifles, their muzzles all aimed at the two men.

"Who goes there?" someone shouted sternly.

"Comrade, don't shoot, they're our own people!" Zheng Yaoxian shouted loudly to stop them.

"I am Lu Hanqing, an underground member of the Communist Party in Chongqing."

Lu Hanqing composed himself, carefully put down the black leather suitcase in his arms, and said to the Eighth Route Army soldier in front of him, "This is my subordinate, code name Kite. Yuan Nong, an underground party member in the mountain city, has betrayed us, and the situation is extremely critical. Comrade Guying arranged for Kite to drive more than 100 miles overnight to escort me to the Southern Bureau."

The security personnel looked at each other, unsure of what to do.

"You all stay where you are and don't move. We need to ask our superiors for instructions."

Ten minutes later, Wu Xiang, dressed in a gray Zhongshan suit, walked quickly in, followed by a group of high-ranking officials from the Southern Bureau.

"Comrade Lu Hanqing, Comrade Fengzheng," Wu Xiang said, his tone tinged with surprise. "I didn't expect to see you two here."

Secretary Dong nodded slightly, his gaze deep, and said with concern, "Comrade Lu Hanqing, welcome to the Southern Bureau, welcome home. As long as you stay here, no one will dare to touch you easily."

With tears welling in his eyes, Lu Hanqing tightly grasped Secretary Dong's hand, his voice trembling with emotion: "Thank you, Secretary Dong."

Zheng Yaoxian stood aside, his heart filled with mixed feelings, his gaze fixed on Secretary Dong and Prime Minister Wu.

"Dear leaders, my code name is Kite, and Comrade Lu Hanqing is my contact person."

As he spoke, he reached out and took out a sapphire ring from his pocket. "This ring proves my identity; I always wear it with me."

On the other hand, Dai Li personally ordered Zhao Heng to preside over the trial of Yuan Nong's rebellion.

Inside the Dai Mansion in the Mountain City's Fairy Cave, in a secret room, Dai Li was sitting on the sofa, secretly meeting with Fei Zhengpeng, the deputy director of the Military Intelligence Bureau's Second Division.

Fei Zhengpeng, dressed in a wrinkled gray Zhongshan suit, with lines of varying depths etched on his face and his hair neatly parted in a three-seven split, calmly asked, "Boss Dai, you wanted to see me?"

"Fei Zhengpeng, has that Communist in the hospital been saved?" Dai Li asked casually, holding a bottle of foreign liquor in his hand and a handkerchief in his left.

Fei Zhengpeng immediately became extremely vigilant and respectfully replied, "Boss Dai, the Communist is out of danger and is recuperating in the ward. I have assigned the action team and the detectives to take turns guarding the ward and keeping a close watch on him."

"Very good, make sure everything goes perfectly."

Dai Li took a sip of red wine, a cold smile playing on his lips. "By the way, go and inform Zhao Heng that as soon as he arrives at his post tomorrow, he should immediately go to the interrogation room to preside over the case. We must extract any useful information from this Communist."

As he finished speaking, his face darkened like an unyielding inkstone, resembling a venomous snake lurking in the night.

"Yes, Boss Dai." Fei Zhengpeng respectfully accepted the order, turned around and left the secret room, secretly pondering to himself that Zhao Heng's interrogation methods were always ruthless. He wondered if this mission could be completed smoothly. If it failed, he would probably not escape Boss Dai's punishment.

The door to the secret room slowly closed, leaving Dai Li alone in the room, lost in thought. The red wine glass in his hand swayed gently, the glass reflecting his cold and sharp eyes.

Outside the window, the night in the mountain city was as thick as ink, and the cold wind howled past, as if foreshadowing a huge storm that was about to arrive.

Everyone says Dai Li is a ruthless killer, but they also have to admit he was a meticulous and ruthless intelligence expert. He wanted to continue testing Zhao Heng's limits and the extent of his loyalty to the Military Intelligence Bureau.

"As a secret agent, one must always be vigilant. No one in this world can be trusted," Dai Li muttered to himself.

"Zhao Heng's loyalty still needs further verification." His eyes were sharp as he secretly calculated, "Tomorrow's interrogation will be the touchstone to test him."

At five o'clock the next morning, before the night had faded, Zhao Heng was at Zheng Yaoxian's home when he suddenly received a call from Fei Zhengpeng of the Second Division of the Military Intelligence Bureau.

"Director Fei, calling so late, you must have something important to discuss with Sixth Brother." Zhao Heng sat on the leather sofa, a pistol discreetly placed under his buttocks. His tone seemed calm, but it revealed a hint of barely perceptible wariness.

Fei Zhengpeng's voice came from the other end of the phone, his tone serious: "Zhao Heng, Boss Dai has ordered you to go to the interrogation room at the Military Intelligence Bureau headquarters first thing tomorrow morning to personally interrogate that Communist. You must pry open his mouth and obtain crucial intelligence."

Zhao Heng frowned slightly, remained silent for a few seconds, then nodded and replied, "I understand. I will pass the message on to Sixth Brother."

He hung up the phone without hesitation as soon as he finished speaking.

Zhao Heng took a deep breath, his brows furrowing even more. That old fox Dai Yunong was indeed cunning and calculating, taking every step with meticulous care.

This wasn't about having him interrogate a communist; it was clearly a test of his loyalty. It seems this interrogation was not only torture of the communist, but also a severe test for him.

Zhao Heng thought to himself that he had to be extremely cautious in the current situation, so as to complete the mission perfectly without revealing the slightest flaw.

According to organizational rules, all comrades on his contact line must be immediately evacuated upon Yuan Nong's death.

In particular, Jiang Xin, the key person Yuan Nong had placed within the Military Intelligence Bureau—the confidential secretary of the Secretariat—was a crucial figure who required special protection.

This woman is actually Jiang Wanchao's daughter.

Few people know that Jiang Wanchao's true identity was actually a hidden agent planted by Dai Li in northern Shaanxi in his early years, codenamed Shadow.

Zhao Heng, carrying memories of his past life and possessing an omniscient perspective, is fully aware of all the hidden secrets.

He knew that the shadows arranged by Dai Li were never alone, but rather two, one real and one fake, one in the light and one in the dark, covering for each other and cooperating with each other.

Jiang Wanchao betrayed the organization and joined the Military Intelligence Bureau in his early years, becoming a pawn of Dai Li, but he was nothing more than a false shadow to deceive others.

The real shadow is actually Han Bing.

This woman was a double agent painstakingly cultivated by Dai Li, who had been infiltrating northern Shaanxi for many years without ever being exposed.

Zhao Heng secretly resolved to help the organization expose Han Bing's true identity, leaving this hidden enemy nowhere to hide.