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

He now even hopes that the murderer has escaped from Taiyuan.

The farther you get away, the better; ideally, you should never come back to Taiyuan.

If the murderer didn't escape, he might be hiding somewhere around Taiyuan.

Then Yoshijiro Umezu's life could be ended by that bullet at any moment.

Can he defend himself for a while, or for a lifetime?

It's unstoppable.

Yoshijiro Umezu tapped his fingers lightly on the table.

What he is most worried about now is not the accountability from headquarters, nor the fighting on the front lines.

It wasn't even the morale of the First Army.

What he was worried about was his own life.

If that assassin could kill Kiyoshi Kazuki at the Kosha Airport, he could also hide in the shadows and kill Yoshijiro Umezu.

Thinking of this, Yoshijiro Umezu clenched his teeth.

We must strengthen our vigilance.

Starting tomorrow, the security level at headquarters will be raised, and his personal guards will be increased.

The travel route must be kept secret, and the timing must be random so that no one can figure out the pattern.

His gaze fell again on the telegram from headquarters.

Block the news.

A bitter smile appeared on Yoshijiro Umezu's lips.

Those people at headquarters are so adorably naive.

Blocking the news?

Lockdowns for one or two days are no problem, and lockdowns for three or five days can be managed with difficulty.

But a lockdown for ten days or half a month?

Totally impossible.

Such a big thing: an Imperial Army lieutenant general was assassinated.

The truth will out.

The news will eventually get out, reaching the front lines, the rear, and the ears of the Chinese people.

Moreover, he suspected that there were Chinese spies lurking in the high command of the First Army.

Otherwise, how would the other party know Kiyoshi Kazuki's departure time?

How did you know he was leaving from Guangshe Airport this morning?

How can we find out his specific schedule and time arrangement?

This information is all top secret.

Let alone ordinary officers, even within the First Army, no more than twenty people know the exact time of today's handover ceremony.

Among these twenty people, there is a high possibility that there are spies from China.

Yoshijiro Umezu's eyes turned sinister.

This matter must be investigated.

Starting today, he will secretly investigate all the high-ranking officers within the First Army.

Their backgrounds, their resumes, their interpersonal relationships, and their financial transactions.

We will not let a single one escape.

We must find that traitor.

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

He is too tired.

He has been working continuously for more than ten hours since this morning.

He was tasked with handling Kiyoshi Kazuki's funeral arrangements, planning the manhunt for the murderer, and responding to inquiries from headquarters.

Everything left him exhausted.

But what exhausted him most was not these specific tasks.

It was that feeling of dread, like a thorn in your side.

He didn't know where the assassin was now.

I don't know if he will come again, and I don't know if I will be his next target.

This uncertainty is more frightening than any specific threat.

Yoshijiro Umezu picked up the phone on the table and cranked the handle.

"Connect me to the Taiyuan Garrison Command, Yamaguchi Tsugio."

The operator's voice came from the other end of the phone.

"Hi, please wait a moment."

A moment later, a rough voice came from the microphone.

"I am Yamaguchi Tsugio."

"Yamaguchi-kun, I am Yoshijiro Umezu."

The voice on the other end of the phone immediately became respectful.

"Commander, what are your instructions?"

Yoshijiro Umezu spoke calmly, but each word was spoken slowly and deliberately.

"Starting tomorrow, the search intensity can be reduced appropriately."

"Recall the main forces of each unit back to their posts; those who should defend their strongholds should defend them, and those who should train should train."

"Leave only the necessary troops to continue the search around the airport and in the hilly area to the north."

Yamaguchi Tsuyoshi remained silent for a moment.

Then he spoke, his tone tinged with a hint of probing.

"Commander, do you mean the murderer may have already escaped from Taiyuan?"

Yoshijiro Umezu did not give a direct answer.

"I don't know whether the murderer escaped outside Taiyuan."

"But I know that if the murderer is still in this area, even if our 8,000 people search for a day and still can't find him, we might not be able to find him even after searching for ten more days."

There was silence on the other end of the phone.

"Instead of wasting troops, let them return to their posts."

Yoshijiro Umezu continued.

"We cannot relax our vigilance at the front lines, nor can we slacken our defenses at any outpost."

"As for the murderer, let's investigate slowly."

"Hi."

Jiro Yamaguchi's voice came through the microphone.

"Commander, I understand."

Yoshijiro Umezu put down the phone and leaned back in his chair.

He let out a long sigh of relief.

This matter is temporarily closed.

As for the headquarters, they should delay as much as possible and keep it a secret as much as possible.

Drag it out until they lose patience, keep it from them until they stop asking.

By then, even if the murderer hasn't been caught, no one will mention it anymore.

Yoshijiro Umezu stood up and walked to the window.

He gazed at the night outside the window and remained silent for a long time.

Then he turned around, walked out of the office, crossed the corridor, and went down the stairs.

The sentry at the main gate of the headquarters saw him come out and stood at attention and saluted.

He ignored him, simply waved his hand, and got into the black sedan parked at the door.

"Go back to the mansion."

He said to the driver.

"Hi."

The car slowly drove out of the headquarters gate and disappeared into the night.

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

He was still thinking about the assassin.

Was that person a member of the National Revolutionary Army or the Eighth Route Army?

……

The next morning, before dawn.

Zhou Tianyang then woke up.

He was woken up by the cold.

In early June, the temperature difference between day and night in the Taihang Mountains is huge. It's hot enough to wear a single layer of clothing during the day, but cold enough to make you shiver at night.

He opened his eyes, looked around, and then got up.

A night's rest allowed his body to recover to its best condition.

That's the limit of the human body; it doesn't need a long period of sleep to recover all its energy.

He took out some dry food and a water bottle from the system space and ate a few bites.

After finishing his dry rations, he put the water bottle into his system space, stood up, and patted the dirt off his backside.

Then, he took the three-wheeled motorcycle out of the system space.

Zhou Tianyang straddled the motorcycle, twisted the throttle, and continued north along the dirt road.

There wasn't a soul on the mountain path in the early morning.

On both sides of the road, in the farmland, you can see several early risers, bending over and working in the fields.

When they saw Zhou Tianyang riding his motorcycle past on the road, they all straightened up, lowered their heads, and dared not look any longer.

Zhou Tianyang ignored them and simply sped up.

The motorcycle sped along the dirt road, kicking up a cloud of dust.

He must return to Lijia Yu as soon as possible.

Although I can now move freely in the Japanese-occupied area while wearing this Japanese uniform.

But every minute you stay increases the risk.

What if we run into a serious Japanese officer?

If they insist on seeing his ID and verifying his identity, then it will cause trouble.

He had taken his identification from that Japanese sergeant; the photo didn't quite resemble him, so the Japanese usually wouldn't look at it closely.

But what if?

If they happen to run into someone with good eyesight, or someone who knows the sergeant, then they'll be exposed.

Therefore, he must leave as soon as possible.

The farther the better.

The motorcycle traveled for about an hour.

A fork in the road appeared ahead.