Courtyard House: Ten-year-old Master Zhu reorganizes the entire courtyard

The Japanese spies had successfully obtained the radio; although the agents had escaped, the operation was still a significant success. The agent who had given chase quickly returned, clearly having lost them. The two huddled together, exchanging a few words in hushed Japanese, both looking somewhat frustrated and tense.

He Yuzhu hid behind the window, his mind racing.

We can't let them leave so easily with the radio station!

Once the radio is brought back to the Special Higher Police, by analyzing its usage patterns and frequencies, the Japanese will be able to roughly determine the radio station's contacts and activity patterns. More importantly, they will confirm the existence of an intelligence network in the area. The ensuing massive search will be swift and ruthless, leaving no stone unturned!

At that time, not only He Yuzhu's family, but even the "shopkeeper's" line of work might be affected.

Chaos must be created! The waters must be stirred up!

He Yuzhu's gaze swept over the clutter piled up in the corner of the yard—a few pieces of firewood, a bundle of tarpaulin for starting a fire, and half a bucket of waste oil that his father had brought back from the restaurant, which was no longer edible.

A bold, even insane, idea instantly took shape in his mind.

[Ding! High-risk environment detected for the host, triggering a temporary decision!]

Option A: Remain silent and wait for the Japanese agents to leave. Risk: Area security level decreases; probability of being searched increases to 70% within the next week. Benefit: None.

Option B: Create chaos and profit from the chaos. Risk: 20% chance of being discovered by patrolling puppet troops or spies, potentially leading to your own demise. Benefit: If successful, it will greatly disrupt the Japanese army's judgment, eliminate the regional security threat, grant +50 system points, and acquire the one-time skill [Trace Cleanup].

He Yuzhu's eyes became incredibly determined.

Fortune favors the bold!

Without the slightest hesitation, he immediately took action. He tiptoed through the courtyard to the back door. Most courtyards in Rongxian Hutong have front and back doors, with the back door leading to a narrower, dead-end alley filled with garbage and debris. This is a sanitation dead zone and a blind spot for surveillance cameras.

He Yuzhu slipped into the back alley, moving as swiftly as a cat. Carrying a few pieces of firewood and tarpaulin, he circled around and arrived at a corner piled with discarded furniture on the side of the main alleyway. This spot was neither too close nor too far from the two Japanese spies, just diagonally behind them in their line of sight.

He built a makeshift frame out of firewood, stuffed tarpaulin into the gaps, and then poured the half-bucket of rancid waste oil onto it with a "whoosh".

After doing all this, he struck a match and threw it in.

"boom!"

The grease-soaked firewood and tarpaulin instantly burst into flames. Flames shot up more than a meter high, and thick black smoke, mixed with a pungent odor, billowed out and quickly filled the entire alley.

"Fire! Fire!"

He Yuzhu covered his mouth and nose with a tattered cloth, hid in the shadows further away, and screamed in a strange, shrill voice.

The scream was like a thunderclap thrown into a calm lake.

The courtyards on both sides of the alley were instantly brightly lit.

"What happened?"

"Where is the fire?"

"Quickly, put out the fire!"

The sounds of doors opening, shouts, and children crying created a chaotic scene. Several bolder neighbors had already rushed out with buckets and basins of water.

The two Japanese agents who were inspecting the radio station were also caught off guard by this sudden turn of events.

They were spies, hounds accustomed to operating in the shadows, their greatest fear being exposed to the spotlight. Seeing the gates opening on all sides and more and more people pouring in, they panicked.

"Captain, what should we do?" the young agent asked anxiously.

The older agent, his face ashen, gritted his teeth and cursed, "Retreat! Quickly!"

If we don't leave now, and the fake police and fire brigade arrive with a military radio, there will be no way to explain it! We'll be caught red-handed, and even if they're from the Special Higher Police, we'll be in deep trouble.

He slammed the suitcase shut, picked it up, and prepared to leave.

Amidst the chaos, no one noticed that "Mr. Wang," who had previously fled into another alley, took advantage of everyone's attention being drawn to the fire, crawled out through a dog hole deep in the alley, and then mingled with the firefighters, disappearing completely into the night in a few flashes.

Two Japanese spies, carrying suitcases, squeezed out of the crowd in a disheveled state, jumped into a black sedan parked at the street corner, and fled in panic.

The fire started by He Yuzhu wasn't large. Neighbors quickly rallied and brought it under control, eventually extinguishing it. After a few grumbling complaints, guessing which inconsiderate person had carelessly tossed a cigarette butt, everyone dispersed.

A potentially bloody arrest operation was abruptly halted by a minor fire.

He Yuzhu quietly slipped back into his yard through the back door, washed the oil and cigarette ash off his hands, and then lay down on the bed as if nothing had happened.

Only he knew that in those short ten minutes, he had single-handedly caused a precise arrest operation by the Special Higher Police to fail completely, saved a "colleague" whose allegiance was unknown, and most importantly, ensured the safety of himself and his family.

[Ding! Option B task completed.]

[Reward: 50 System Points]

[Reward: One-time skill [Trace Cleanup] has been issued. (Effect: Allows you to designate a small area and remove all physical traces left by the host in that area, including footprints, fingerprints, scents, etc.)]

He Yuzhu closed his eyes, a slight smile playing on his lips.

Watanabe Ichiro of the Special Higher Police is probably furious. The cooked duck has flown away, and he's gotten himself into a mess. They'll now focus on tracking down the escaped "Mr. Wang," rather than conducting a large-scale manhunt in the area.

The crisis has been temporarily averted.

He Yuzhu slept exceptionally well that night.