Holding the original shares, they fought all the way to the Korean War!

Yoshijiro Umezu walked out of the restroom, through the corridor, and to the terminal entrance.

The adjutant was still standing there, waiting for him to speak.

"adjutant."

Yoshijiro Umezu spoke, but his voice was not loud.

But every word seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth.

"Hi!"

The adjutant stood at attention and answered in a loud voice.

"Go send another telegram."

Yoshijiro Umezu's gaze swept over the mountains surrounding the airport, and his tone became even more serious.

"To the Taiyuan Garrison Command, to each regiment, to each battalion, to each company, and to all units with checkpoints."

"Order them to initiate the most stringent censorship."

"Anyone acting suspiciously shall be detained."

"Anyone who cannot produce a certificate of good conduct will be arrested."

"Anyone who resists shall be killed without exception."

"We must catch the murderer at all costs."

"I want to see him alive or dead!"

"Hi!"

The adjutant stood at attention, saluted, and turned to deliver the order.

"etc."

Yoshijiro Umezu called out to him.

The adjutant turned around, waiting for him to continue.

"Tell all units to focus their search efforts on the hilly area north of the airport."

"The murderer escaped in that direction."

"He can't possibly run too far."

"Even if we have to turn that area upside down, we will find him."

"Also, tell the garrison troops at each checkpoint."

"Pay attention to lone pedestrians, especially those coming from the north."

"The killer is likely just one person."

"It takes the Empire thirty years to train a lieutenant general, while the enemy only needs one bullet."

"We cannot afford to pay this price a second time."

"Hi!"

The adjutant stood at attention, saluted, and strode away.

Yoshijiro Umezu stood on the steps, watching his adjutant's figure disappear around the corner of the terminal.

He turned around and glanced again at the rolling hills to the north.

Then he strode down the steps and walked toward the black sedan parked by the track.

"Go back to headquarters."

He spoke to the driver in a cold voice.

"Hi."

The driver nodded, and the car slowly drove out of the airport.

Yoshijiro Umezu leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.

His mind was still preoccupied with the assassination attempt.

This time it's like a highly trained professional killer.

Or perhaps it was done by a sharpshooter in the army.

Regardless of the reason, this person must die.

His existence is a disgrace to the imperial army.

It's like a bomb that could explode at any moment.

If he can kill Kiyoshi Kazuki today, he can kill Hisaichi Terauchi tomorrow.

The day after tomorrow, he will be able to kill him, Yoshijiro Umezu.

Yoshijiro Umezu opened his eyes, his gaze turning sinister.

"Drive faster."

He spoke to the driver in a tone that left no room for argument.

"Hi."

The car sped up and headed towards Taiyuan City.

......

the other side.

Zhou Tianyang was still traversing the mountains.

His speed has slowed down; it's not that he can't run anymore, it's that there's no need for him to run anymore.

There were no pursuers behind him.

It wasn't that the Japanese didn't want to chase, it was that they couldn't catch up.

After entering the hilly area from the woods north of Guangshe Village, he kept walking north.

We crossed one mountain ridge, and then another.

We passed through one thicket of bushes, and then another.

He wasn't running around aimlessly; he had a direction.

He wanted to leave Taiyuan as soon as possible and return to his base.

This area was Japanese-occupied territory, and it was full of Japanese soldiers and puppet troops.

Although he speaks fluent Japanese, he is, after all, Chinese.

If we get caught during a checkpoint inspection, or if we slip up and give ourselves away, then we'll be in trouble.

Therefore, he must leave as soon as possible.

The farther the better.

Zhou Tianyang stood on a mountain ridge, gazing into the distance.

Ahead, the terrain gradually leveled out.

The mountains are no longer so dense; instead, they are replaced by hills and farmland.

If you continue north, you should reach the territory of Yangqu County.

If you travel northeast from Yangqu County for several dozen miles, you will enter the territory of the Eighth Route Army.

Zhou Tianyang wiped the sweat from his forehead and took a deep breath.

He was still wearing the clothes of an ordinary citizen, which were already torn in several places.

His face and hands were also scratched by thorns, leaving several bloody marks.

But he couldn't care less about that; all he wanted now was to leave Taiyuan as soon as possible.

He continued walking forward.

After walking for about half an hour, he stopped.

In the distance, a town came into view.

At the entrance to the town, several men carrying guns stood.

They weren't Japanese soldiers, they were puppet troops.

Zhou Tianyang frowned slightly.

puppet army.

These people are easier to deal with than the Japanese, but we still have to be wary of them.

They act like dogs relying on their master's power, like foxes borrowing the tiger's might, and are very fierce towards ordinary people.

If they stop you for questioning, it won't be as troublesome as the Japanese, but it'll still be annoying enough.

Zhou Tianyang thought about it and decided not to go into the town.

He wanted to go around it.

But after looking at the surrounding terrain, he realized that he couldn't get around it.

The town is nestled in a mountain valley, with steep cliffs on both sides, and only one road leads through it.

If we want to go around it, we'd have to climb over those steep mountain walls, which would be a huge waste of time.

He must go as far as possible before nightfall today.

We can't waste any more time.

Zhou Tianyang gritted his teeth and strode towards the town.

He walked at a moderate pace, with steady steps and a calm expression.

He wasn't carrying any weapons; his sniper rifle had long since been stored in his system space.

From his appearance, he was just an ordinary citizen.

They even looked somewhat down on their luck.

His clothes were covered in dust, and there were bloodstains on his face, as if he had traveled a long way.

As expected, when he reached the entrance to the town, the puppet troops stopped him.

"stop!"

A low-ranking officer of the puppet army stepped forward and looked him up and down.

"What do you do?"

"Where did we come from? Where are we going?"

Zhou Tianyang stopped and looked calmly at the puppet army leader.

"I'm coming from Taiyuan to Yangqu County to visit relatives."

His tone was calm, neither humble nor arrogant.

The puppet army leader snorted and stretched out his hand.

"Where's your certificate of good conduct?"

"Take it out and let us see."

Zhou Tianyang took out his good citizen certificate from his pocket and handed it over.

He smuggled the good citizen certificate from a traitor on the road.

He knocked the man unconscious and tied him to a ditch by the roadside. He won't wake up until at least tomorrow.

As for the traitor's certificate of good citizenship, the photo and the person don't look very alike.

But in those days, the puppet troops didn't check people so strictly.

As long as you have a certificate of good conduct, they won't make things too difficult for you.

The puppet army leader took the certificate of good citizenship, looked at the photo, and then looked at Zhou Tianyang's face.

The person in the photo is a bit fatter and has a rounder face than Zhou Tianyang.

But they all have yellow skin and black hair, so at first glance, it's not very easy to tell them apart.

"You're from Taiyuan?"

The puppet army leader returned Zhou Tianyang's good citizen certificate, his tone tinged with suspicion.

"right."

Zhou Tianyang nodded and carefully put away the certificate of good citizenship.

What's the situation in Taiyuan right now?

The puppet army leader asked, his tone tinged with a hint of probing.

"I heard something serious happened?"

Zhou Tianyang shook his head, his tone calm.

"I'm not sure."

"After I left Taiyuan, the city was placed under martial law, and no one was allowed to enter or leave."

The puppet army leader stared at him for a few seconds, then nodded.

"Okay, let's go."

He waved his hand and made way for him.

Zhou Tianyang nodded and strode into the town.