bookbashuk Chapter 5 Collection of Supplies
Chapter 5 Collection of Supplies
That evening, Yan Shuo received a reply from headquarters. After translating the telegram, a smile appeared on his lips. He turned to Li Zhiyao, who was wiping his pistol, and said, "Headquarters praised us for doing a great job. They told us to keep a close eye on the movements of the Japanese navy, especially intelligence on air force takeoffs towards Chongqing, and to report it immediately. They also gave us a reward of 300 yuan and leaked some information—there are several secret munitions depots and more than a dozen dead mail boxes belonging to different groups. They told us to investigate and recover as much as possible, and to send back any intelligence we can get. For now, we shouldn't make any horizontal contact with other intelligence groups; safety first."
Li Zhiyao stopped what he was doing, his eyes brightening: "We absolutely have to retrieve them! Transporting supplies here from headquarters is incredibly difficult; let alone guns and grenades, even a single bullet is precious. If those safe houses contain operational funds, our future operations will be much easier."
"Haha, great minds think alike!" Yan Shuo rubbed his hands together, a sly glint in his eyes. He was calculating in his mind: the Military Intelligence Bureau's operating funds often suffered "unexplained losses." If they really found it, they could use most of it to supplement their daily expenses, tell headquarters that they had only recovered a small portion, or simply say that another group had gotten there first. They might not investigate further—would they really send someone to check? "But safety first. We need to carefully plan our route so that no one else gets there first."
If we actually find the activity funds, we can tell headquarters that we didn't find them, and that they might have been taken by another group. Hehe, anyway, the Military Intelligence Bureau's activity funds are often lost ineffectively. We can just tell the higher-ups about it. They can take 8% and no problem. We can just say we didn't go there. Do you expect them to come and check for us?
In order to save time, and knowing that other groups would also be checking these places, the two quickly ate, disguised themselves, and sneaked out under the cover of darkness.
Yan Shuo also prepared medicines, guns, and special agent props. There were many good things in the mall, and he bought quite a lot this time.
They put on the imitation human skin masks for themselves and Li Zhiyao, and then put on the voice-changing patches. Tonight, they would be two rough men, the kind who steal things.
With camouflage powder applied, rough hands, and an oily appearance, hehe.
Two silenced pistols per person, 10 magazines per person, that's all.
I've bought strength potions, instant strength potions, and agility potions; I'll use them when necessary.
In the dead of night, there were very few Japanese soldiers and puppet police patrolling the streets. The two of them deliberately chose to travel through alleys, and when they encountered checkpoints, they simply climbed over the walls to avoid them, their steps as light as two shadows.
Half an hour later, the first safe house came into view—an inconspicuous little courtyard with blue bricks, the walls covered with withered vines, looking like it had long been abandoned.
"Beep! Danger alarm!" The system's sudden notification made Yan Shuo stop instantly. He grabbed Li Zhiyao, and the two quickly crouched down against the wall, cautiously scanning their surroundings.
"Up there!" Yan Shuo lowered his voice and gestured towards the two-story building diagonally opposite. A faint red light shone from the second-floor window, and a cigarette butt flickered in the night. The man's fingers could be vaguely seen resting on the holster at his waist, his gaze fixed intently on the gate of the courtyard.
Li Zhiyao's heart tightened, and he leaned close to Yan Shuo's ear: "There's definitely an ambush inside. Should we go somewhere else? The supplies in this room are good, but it's not worth the risk—the person who set up this place back then has long since gone to Chongqing. The station chief only knows that the goods are hidden on the surface; the deeper ones may not have been discovered, but now..."
"How will we know if we don't try?" Yan Shuo's eyes were firm. "You stay here and keep watch, I'll go in and check things out."
"It's too dangerous!" Li Zhiyao exclaimed anxiously. "Although I have received combat training, I'm not entirely confident that I can eliminate enemy agents silently."
"To the next one?" Li Zhiyao asked in a low voice. This house had guns, money, and a radio transmitter, but they were all buried in different corners. It seemed that the person in charge had already gone to the mountain city. The station chief only knew about the first floor and it wasn't time to notify him about the other floors yet. So, the supplies should still be there, but it was too dangerous, and he probably couldn't take them.
"You stay here and keep watch! I'll go check!" Yan Shuo didn't want to give up, so he told Li Zhiyao to hide properly, and he prepared to take out the sentry.
"Too dangerous! Not worth it!" Li Zhiyao was also trained by the Military Intelligence Bureau and knew how to fight, but she wasn't confident that she could kill an enemy agent silently in just a few hits.
"It's alright! Since I dared to come, I'm confident neither of us will get hurt! Just stay put and don't wait for their replacements to arrive, I won't know! Don't worry, fire away. When their replacements arrive and walk to the door, fire. This gun has a built-in silencer; I had a hard time getting my hands on it. Just use it without worry, the sound is very quiet, you won't even notice it if you're not paying attention." Yan Shuo took out his pistol and continued, "Fire by the door, the blood won't splatter on the floor, it'll all be inside the room, which will delay the time it takes to be discovered."
"Oh? Then you go ahead, I'll guard the door for you!" After learning about the firearm's performance, Li Zhiyao felt much more at ease. She knew how to kill! As long as it was safe, she was confident enough to keep firing!
After settling Li Zhiyao in, Yan Shuo felt the door himself. Hmm, the door wasn't locked. Someone must have gone out to buy late-night snacks. He gestured to Li Zhiyao, who replied that she understood and would be aware of whoever came from behind.
Yan Shuo continued to infiltrate. There was no one in the courtyard, and the living room lights were dim, probably because they didn't want the bright lights to alert the Kuomintang agents who came. It seemed like they were experienced veterans.
After applying night vision solution, Yan Shuo surveyed the surroundings. He saw three people dozing off on the living room sofa, each holding a gun.
He opened fire, killing three people. He continued scanning the rooms on the first floor. There were still a few people sleeping in the bedroom. Yan Shuo didn't let them go and silenced them all. There were also two naked women who seemed to have just finished having sex, with calluses on their hands. They were either radio operators or special agents. He silenced them as well. After finishing his search of the first floor, Yan Shuo used his spatial ring to collect everything he saw. He searched the bodies of the enemy agents one by one, taking away all the valuable decorations, guns, and coins.
They stealthily made their way to the second floor.
Upon reaching the second floor, the stairs creaked softly, and immediately, hushed voices could be heard from upstairs. Yan Shuo eavesdropped against the wall and discovered that two enemy agents were chatting:
"Damn it, when will this stupid mission end? I've been waiting for three days and haven't even seen a shadow of the Military Intelligence Bureau." The man in the black jacket on the left rubbed his eyes, his voice rough.
"What's the rush? The higher-ups said this house is the Kuomintang's headquarters, there's definitely a big fish here." The man on the right took a drag of his cigarette, smoke drifting from his nostrils. "Once we catch him, we'll get the credit and get out of this godforsaken place. The dampness is making my bones ache."
"What do you think could be in this room? I heard from Corey that the people who decorated this room back then fled to Chongqing a long time ago, and the things have probably been moved away already."
"Bullshit! The higher-ups are spot on. The weapons, radios, and gold bars are definitely there, just well hidden." The man spat. "We'll search carefully at dawn. If we find them, we brothers can get a bigger share. It's better than starving with those Marine idiots."
Yan Shuo listened for a moment, but didn't hear any more valuable information, so he didn't hesitate any longer. He suddenly stood up, pointed his gun at the two men, and fired two more soft shots. After taking care of the enemy agents on the second floor, he found two Mauser rifles in excellent condition, equipped with scopes, which were actually high-quality sniper rifles. He couldn't help but chuckle to himself, "I've gotten a bargain."
When I went downstairs to the gate of the courtyard, I saw three corpses holding lunch boxes, with food scattered all over the ground.
"What a waste! They don't cherish food!" Yan Shuo muttered, searched the person, took the equipment and money, and went outside to meet Li Zhiyao!
"How's it going?" Li Zhiyao leaned closer and whispered to ask about the situation inside.
"Done! They're all dead!" Yan Shuo laughed, his voice slightly louder.
"Phew! That was terrifying! I was so afraid something had happened to you! You know, when the gun was fired just now, the sound was so faint, I couldn't hear anything inside for a long time, and I thought something was wrong with you." Li Zhiyao patted her chest, exhaled heavily, and looked both nervous and adorable.
Yan Shuo patted Li Zhiyao's head. "You keep guarding the door. I need to go in and get something."
"Okay, go ahead and don't worry. The gun is good, I understand, don't worry!" Li Zhiyao told Yan Shuo to work hard, she would take care of things outside!
"Okay! Let's go!" Yan Shuo opened the door and went inside to collect supplies.
The first floor was spotless, as if a dog had licked it clean. Apart from the furniture, there was nothing of value. The second floor was the same; every visible and hidden place had been searched.
Looks like the basement is the only place we can look. Let's try our luck.
He walked to the corner of the living room, pried open a loose floor tile, and revealed a dark hole underneath.
Climbing down the ladder, I found the basement completely empty.
Undeterred, Yan Shuo used his dagger to pry open a stone slab in the corner of the wall, revealing a hidden compartment underneath—filled with supplies that nearly blinded him: four military radios neatly stacked, a dozen bundles of telephone wire and electrical cables piled to the side; twenty brand-new, unopened telephones, twenty large and one hundred small yellow twigs stacked in squares, their bright yellow color dazzling; $1 and £3000 wrapped in kraft paper, still bearing the stamp of the foreign firm; 10 yuan in legal tender bundled together, next to which were eight boxes of melon-shaped grenades, ten boxes of long-handled grenades, fifty boxes of explosives and matching detonators; twelve boxes of pistol ammunition, six boxes of pistols, one box of Mauser rifles, and two boxes of rifle ammunition—it was practically a small armory.
"Good heavens!" Yan Shuo's eyes lit up. Without any hesitation, he put all the supplies into his spatial ring, turned around, and climbed up.
"Have you found them all?" Li Zhiyao greeted him as soon as he came out.
"I've taken care of everything. Everything's here. Let's take some first. I'll carry it and we'll put it in the new safe house before moving on to the next location." Yan Shuo gestured to the boxes in his hand. A large-scale relocation would be too conspicuous. "I'll come back to relocate it another time. I'll call my informant over for this kind of rough work. It'll be easier if a few people do it. If you do this and get questioned, it'll be hard to explain yourself."
"Okay, let's go!" Li Zhiyao knew that Yan Shuo's reason was reasonable. She took a box, tried it, and found it really heavy. Sure enough, she couldn't do this kind of work.
The two walked for two blocks, mostly with Huang Shuo carrying the suitcase. When they were almost done, Li Zhiyao called for a rickshaw, threw the suitcase in, and then called for another rickshaw. The two got in and started walking home together.