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

He knew perfectly well that there were definitely listening devices installed in this interrogation room.

The man trembled violently, despair flashed in his eyes, and his voice was barely audible: "I...I'll tell you everything."

Zhao Heng nodded slightly and gave the agent beside him a wink, signaling him to take a statement.

The man took a deep breath and said, word by word, "The head of the underground Communist Party in Chongqing, codenamed Lone Shadow. This person is infiltrated within the Military Intelligence Bureau. The sacrificed Secretary Yuan told me this himself."

In the adjacent listening room, the air seemed to freeze instantly.

Dai Li's expression changed drastically. He gripped the listening earpiece tightly, and the fierce killing intent surging in his eyes almost burst out of their sockets.

"Lone Shadow? This demon who crawled out of hell is actually Lone Shadow!"

Who exactly is the Lone Shadow?

No one could have imagined that the core of the underground organization in the mountain city was hidden so secretly, lurking right under the nose of the Military Intelligence Bureau.

Zheng Yaoxian was shocked, his eyes filled with complex emotions, and he slowly took off the earphone. He knew in his heart that this man had completely betrayed him and defected to the enemy.

Fortunately, the man only knew the code name "Lone Shadow" and had never seen his true face.

In the monitoring room, the red lights on the monitors and radios flashed incessantly, and the crackling sound of electricity was particularly jarring in the deathly silence.

Dai Li's gaze swept across the crowd like a hawk's, finally landing on Zheng Yaoxian beside him. His tone seemed casual, yet it carried a chilling pressure: "Sixth Brother, tell me, who is this Guying?"

Zheng Yaoxian frowned, paused for a moment, then looked away and slowly said, "This 'Lone Shadow' might be right next to us, or perhaps hidden in various departments. Both the First and Second Divisions of the Military Intelligence Bureau are suspects. In the end, 'Lone Shadow' is just a code name."

Guan Yongshan's eyes darkened, and he tapped his fingers lightly on the table before continuing, "Sixth Brother is right. Right now, this is the only code name we have."

Dai Li nodded slightly, then glanced at everyone in the room before ordering in a deep voice, "In that case, we must be even more cautious and immediately launch an internal investigation. Zhao Heng did a good job with the interrogation this time; give him credit."

"Director, what should we do with the one thousand US dollars that Zhao Heng mentioned earlier?" Zheng Yaoxian brought up the matter.

Dai Li raised an eyebrow, his voice icy: "That thousand US dollars is just bait, to get Zhao Heng to continue interrogating this Communist. If he still can't get any useful information out of him, then let Zhao Heng take matters into his own hands and deal with him personally."

Dai Li's ruthlessness was on full display; he spoke these words casually, yet they revealed a chilling cruelty.

Upon hearing this, a hint of sympathy flashed across Guan Yongshan's face, and his gaze unconsciously drifted toward Zheng Yaoxian.

Meanwhile, in the bedroom on the second floor of Xinxin Old Teahouse in Jiaochangkou, a completely different scene unfolded.

Captain Liu of the underground guerrilla team in the mountain city took a stack of documents and threw them straight into the brazier. The flames instantly entangled the pages, and wisps of black smoke rose up.

"Comrade Nine of Hearts, thanks to your timely message, we were able to evacuate ahead of schedule."

"No need to thank me, Captain Liu. Safety is the most important thing. These documents must not fall into the enemy's hands. You all need to move quickly and go to the Southern Bureau at No. 13 Hongyanzui as arranged by Guying." Gu Yufei's face was full of determination.

Captain Liu nodded, immediately packed his luggage, and dragged a heavy suitcase out from under the bed, opened it and took out a Mauser pistol.

"Comrade Nine of Hearts, Yuan Nong betrayed the revolution. I will settle this score with him one day and personally eliminate him!"

Gu Yufei's expression remained calm, but a cold glint flashed in her eyes: "Enough talk, let's go. This communication point is null and void from today onwards. This is Guying's order. Only if you safely retreat to the Southern Bureau can Guying fight the enemy head-on without any scruples."

Captain Liu gripped the gun handle tightly, his eyes filled with determination: "Alright, Comrade Red Heart Nine, I'll take three comrades and set off immediately. You must also be careful."

After the four guerrillas split into two groups and left the teahouse, Gu Yufei looked around to make sure there were no oversights, then picked up the burning brazier and smashed it hard against the bed.

With a loud bang, flames instantly engulfed the bed, and thick smoke billowed upwards.

Without hesitation, Gu Yufei quickly evacuated. She ran down to the second floor, passed through the back door of the teahouse to the alley entrance, and got straight into her military jeep.

She inserted the key and turned it, the engine roared, and Gu Yufei drove straight to the headquarters of the Military Intelligence Bureau.

In the interrogation room on the other side, Zhao Heng sternly ordered two agents, "Use torture! You must pry his mouth open and find out Gu Ying's true identity!"

"Yes, sir!"

A piercing sizzling sound rang out as the red-hot branding iron was pressed hard against the man's chest, causing him to scream in agony.

"Ah! You...you broke your promise!"

Zhao Heng coldly watched this scene, silently walked to the side and sat down, took out a cigarette from his uniform pocket, put one in his mouth, and then took out a lighter to light it.

At this moment, he was so angry that his teeth itched, and he wished he could kill the man immediately.

Damn it, another traitor! Yuan Nong's men are all spineless cowards!

If they can't even endure this little bit of hardship, they have no integrity whatsoever as members of the underground Communist Party!

Zhao Heng took a deep drag on his cigarette, the swirling smoke blurring his vision, but his eyes grew increasingly sinister. He slowly exhaled a smoke ring and said in an icy tone, "If you don't tell the truth now, the next round of torture will only be more brutal."

"Go get some bamboo skewers, pry open his fingernails one by one, then sprinkle salt on them. I want him to taste what it's like to be worse than dead."

Zhao Heng knew perfectly well that the interrogation room was equipped with listening devices, and that old fox Dai Li was probably listening in from next door right now.

The man gritted his teeth, despair spreading across his eyes, but he couldn't hold on any longer.

"I'll tell you everything! Gu Ying... and Lu Hanqing, the doctor at Huichuntang, they're in cahoots!"

In the next listening room, Zheng Yaoxian, wearing listening headphones, felt a chill run down his spine and a wave of fear wash over him when he heard his colleague directly name Lu Hanqing.

Fortunately, Zhao Heng was meticulous and had already arranged for Lu Hanqing to leave overnight, and even personally drove him away from the place.

Zheng Yaoxian took a deep breath, quickly took off his headphones, and turned to Guan Yongshan beside him, instructing, "Old Guan, I'll trouble you to make a trip to Huichuntang to arrest Lu Hanqing."

Then he turned to Dai Li and said frankly, "Director, many people in the Military Intelligence Bureau and the Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics have been to Huichuntang for medical treatment, and I have been there too."

He did this precisely to dispel Dai Li's suspicions.

Dai Li narrowed his eyes slightly, sizing up Zheng Yaoxian before slowly speaking after a long pause: "Sixth Brother, you've thought things through quite thoroughly. Old Guan, take your men to Huichuntang immediately, make sure everything goes smoothly. If Lu Hanqing really is Guying, we'll have done a great service this time."

"Yes, Boss Dai!"

Guan Yongshan nodded in acceptance and immediately turned and strode away, his hurried steps creating a gust of wind.

Zheng Yaoxian stood aside, thinking to himself that Lu Hanqing was definitely not alone, and Dai Li had chosen the wrong target.

That afternoon, Guan Yongshan led his team into Huichuntang, only to find it deserted and empty.

"Damn it! What bad luck, Lu Hanqing got away!"

"Search! Search thoroughly, inside and out, don't miss a single clue!"

Guan Yongshan shouted angrily, and his men immediately ransacked the place, not letting go of even a scrap of paper. The entire Huichuntang was filled with a tense and disappointed atmosphere.

That evening, Zhao Heng drove Zheng Yaoxian home from get off work.

The cold wind howled outside the car window, and the streetlights cast a dim yellow glow, making the two people's shadows long and thin.

"Zhao Heng, it's all thanks to your quick thinking, otherwise Lao Lu would have..." Zheng Yaoxian's words were full of relief.

"Comrade Zheng Yaoxian, be careful, someone is following us outside." Zhao Heng, sitting in the driver's seat, glanced at the rearview mirror and whispered a reminder.

Zheng Yaoxian nodded and immediately dropped the matter. The carriage returned to silence, with only the roar of the engine echoing softly in the night.

Back at Zheng Yaoxian's small villa, he personally conducted a thorough search of the house, inside and out, in every nook and cranny, even in the bathroom, under the telephone receiver, under the bed, and next to the lamp, to confirm that no listening devices had been installed.

Only then did Zheng Yaoxian drop all pretense, let out a long sigh of relief, and slumped into the high-end sofa, his tone filled with barely concealed lingering fear: "Comrade Zhao Heng, Dai Li was eavesdropping on your interrogation right next door today. My heart was in my throat the whole time."

Zhao Heng gently comforted her, "I know. Zeng Moyi and the guerrillas have all safely evacuated."

"That guy sold all of Guying's information. Keeping him around is a huge threat. We must find a chance to get rid of him."

At midnight, Zhao Heng completed his daily check-in on time.

[Ding! Congratulations, host, for successfully surviving for 168 hours. This check-in reward: one mini radio, the entry "Immune to All Poisons", $10,000, and 10,000 eggs.]

[Mini Radio: Net weight 1500 grams, supports telegram sending and receiving functions.]

Zhao Heng was secretly delighted. This reward came at just the right time and would definitely come in handy at a crucial moment.

[Entry "Immune to All Poisons": Host Zhao Heng's body has acquired immunity to toxins, and no poison can harm him.]

As soon as he finished speaking, ten thousand US dollar bills bearing Franklin's portrait appeared out of thin air in Zhao Heng's hand, the bright green bills particularly eye-catching.

Based on current prices, one US dollar could be exchanged for fifteen silver dollars, the value of which is self-evident.

After signing in, Zhao Heng not only had to meet with Mingtai, but also unexpectedly discovered a contact point for the Special Higher Police.

It was at this moment that he noticed a trick in the sign-in system, which was not a system vulnerability in the traditional sense.

He discovered that the rewards for checking in varied drastically depending on the city and the level of danger.

The weapons, supplies, and gold bars received in Beiping were far more plentiful than those in Chongqing.

Like the ten thousand dollars I received this time, it's not a huge sum, but it's definitely not a small amount either.

Recalling his first sign-in, he received a hundred gold bars, which are still safely stored in the system space.

Zhao Heng thus figured out the pattern: the more enemies in a city, the higher the overall danger level, and the more generous the sign-in rewards.

As night deepened, Zhao Heng entered the bathroom, filled the bathtub with hot water, and soaked comfortably in it to relieve the fatigue accumulated over the past few days.