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

"yes!"

"You're safe, and my mission is complete."

"I have to go back to Shanxi now."

Zhou Tianyang took a sip of wine.

"How's everything going on your end?"

"good."

Liu Ping picked up a piece of green vegetable with his chopsticks and chewed it slowly.

"Old Shen's connection has been established, and two more old lines have been reconnected in the past two days, although it's only a single line of communication for now."

"But if you give me two or three months, I can get things sorted out here."

Zhou Tianyang did not ask for further details.

The two ate the few dishes and half a bowl of wine slowly, chatting casually.

The night grew deeper.

The dishes on the table were gradually emptied.

Zhou Tianyang put down his chopsticks, finished the last bit of wine, then stood up and looked at Liu Ping.

"Comrade Liu Ping, I won't say goodbye to you when I leave tomorrow."

Take good care of yourself in Shanghai.

Liu Ping also stood up and extended his hand.

Zhou Tianyang grasped his hand, shook it forcefully, and then let go.

"Take care of yourself."

Liu Ping only said those two words, his voice was not loud, but very steady.

Zhou Tianyang turned around and walked towards his room.

Early on the third day.

Zhou Tianyang woke up very early.

He put on a worn-out short jacket and a straw hat.

They looked no different from the people who got up early to work on the streets.

He checked the M1C Garand again, and after confirming that all parts were in good working order, he stored it in the system space.

Ma Yong had already gotten up and was standing at the gate of the courtyard waiting for him.

The two exchanged a glance, and Ma Yong didn't say anything, just nodded.

"Commander, I'll lead the men ahead and wait for you in the western suburbs."

"Um."

Ma Yong turned around and waved towards the courtyard.

The guards emerged from the backyard one after another, all dressed in civilian clothes, showing no signs of anything amiss.

As they passed Zhou Tianyang, everyone glanced at him.

No one spoke, but the weight of their gazes was no less than any words.

Zhou Tianyang stood at the entrance of the courtyard.

I watched them walk out of the alley one by one and disperse into the street.

Ma Yong was the last to walk out of the alley. He paused at the corner and glanced back at Zhou Tianyang.

Then he turned around and strode away, never looking back.

The alleyway fell silent again.

Zhou Tianyang stood still, took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled.

Then he turned and walked back into the courtyard, where he sat down on a stone bench.

He took out the pocket watch from his pocket and checked the time: 6:20 a.m.

There are still more than eight hours before we start.

He closed his eyes and began to conserve his energy.

At 10 a.m., Zhou Tianyang stood up and walked to the gate of the courtyard.

After confirming that Liu Ping was the only one left reading in the next room in the courtyard, and that no one else was paying attention to him, they made sure that he was safe.

Then he pushed open the courtyard gate and went out.

Walk along the alley towards the Japanese concession.

Instead of taking the main street, he weaved along the side streets he had scouted out the day before, avoiding the most crowded areas.

Along the way, he encountered a patrol of Japanese soldiers, who merely glanced at him before continuing on their way.

They also encountered two puppet soldiers squatting by the roadside eating breakfast, without even lifting their eyelids.

Zhou Tianyang arrived at the alleyway behind the six-story building at around 11:00 a.m.

He didn't rush inside.

Instead, he stood for a while in front of the grocery store across the alley, bought a pack of cigarettes, and slowly lit one.

Across the street, he used his peripheral vision to observe the direction of the back door.

A few pieces of discarded wood were piled up at the entrance of the alley, untouched. The alley was empty, with no one coming or going.

The padlock on the back door was still in place, and the window glass was still broken.

He finished his cigarette, stubbed it out, and then leisurely crossed the road and walked into the alley.

He paused in front of the back door, listened intently for any sounds inside, but there was none.

Then he bent down and reached his hand through the gap in the broken windowpane.

He found the window latch and gently pried it open.

The window slid open silently a crack.

Zhou Tianyang sideways and climbed through the window, landing almost silently.

He stood in a storage room filled with miscellaneous items, quickly scanned his surroundings, and made sure no one was around.

Then he walked through the storage room, pushed open a half-closed door, and entered the hallway.

The hallway was very quiet.

Zhou Tianyang did not stop, but walked up the stairs one floor at a time, his steps very light.

Each step was taken on the edge of the stairs, in a position that wouldn't make a sound.

When he reached the sixth floor, he saw a small door leading to the rooftop.

The door lock was an old-fashioned bolt type, and it wasn't locked.

The rooftop was more spacious than he had imagined, with a low railing around the edge.

He walked to the edge of the rooftop, took the sniper rifle out of the system space, and set it up in a recess in the railing.

Then he lay down and looked through the scope toward the East China Expeditionary Army Headquarters.

The view was even better than he had expected.

The main gate, the side gate, and the street in front of the gate are all within the crosshair of the scope.

He could even see the two Japanese soldiers on guard duty at the main entrance, leaning against the wall of the guard post, lazily basking in the sun.

Zhou Tianyang steadied the gun and adjusted the focus.

Then I lay there quietly and began to wait.

Time passed by, second by second.

Occasionally, a car horn could be heard in the distance.

Zhou Tianyang lay motionless, his eyes fixed on the scope.

At 2:40 PM, a change occurred in the scope.

Several black cars slowly drove over from a distance.

The car stopped briefly at the entrance, as if waiting for something.

Then the door of the first car opened.

A Japanese officer in military uniform got out of the car, stood by the roadside, and was talking to someone next to him.

Zhou Tianyang's crosshairs were aligned with that figure.

The man was wearing a Japanese general's uniform with a star on his epaulettes.

Major general.

Immediately afterwards, the door of the second car opened, and another person got out.

He was also wearing a Japanese general's uniform, but his rank was higher than the first one.

Lieutenant General.

Zhou Tianyang's breathing became very steady, and his finger rested lightly on the trigger.

He didn't rush to fire.

The two people were standing by the car talking, and he needed a better angle.

About ten seconds later.

The two men seemed to have finished speaking, and turned around and took a few steps toward the gate.

Their pace was neither fast nor slow, and their expressions were calm; they were clearly unaware that they had been targeted by a sniper rifle.

Zhou Tianyang held his breath, and the cross-shaped object was firmly placed on the head of the lieutenant general in front of him.

He lightly pressed the trigger before pulling it.

"Bang."

The instant the gunshot rang out.

The bullet struck the Japanese lieutenant general precisely in the temple.

His body jolted violently, then collapsed limply to the ground without even uttering a sound.

The Japanese major general next to him was stunned for a moment.

They hadn't even realized what had happened.