novelhk Chapter 91 Raid on the Warehouse
Chapter 91 Raid on the Warehouse
"Shen Qing? He's got some guts." Miyamoto Ichiro sized up the figure who rushed in, his sneer widening. "Is he offering himself up to beg for mercy for these people, or is he walking right into a trap?"
Shen Qing's chest heaved violently as she clenched her teeth, a few strands of sweat-dampened hair hanging loosely on her forehead. Her gaze swept over the bound people in the corner, finally settling on Miyamoto Ichiro. Her voice was hoarse but unusually firm: "Miyamoto Ichiro, what use are these innocent civilians to you? Come at me if you dare! I'm the one you're looking for, release them!"
Kuroda took a step forward, clenching his fist as if to make a move, but was stopped by Miyamoto Ichiro raising his hand.
Miyamoto circled Shen Qing, his leather shoes clicking on the warehouse's concrete floor, the sound like a hammer blow to everyone's hearts: "Release them? Mr. Shen, do you think you have the right to negotiate with me?"
He paused, his eyes suddenly turning cold. "Where are the anti-Japanese elements behind you hiding? Where are their contact points in East China? Tell me honestly, and perhaps I can consider giving them a way out."
"Dream on!" Shen Qing suddenly looked up, his eyes filled with rage. "You Japanese army are mobilizing troops in Central China and creating smokescreens, just to take advantage of the situation and launch a surprise attack on East China. Do you really think we can't see through such a despicable trick? I'd rather die than reveal a single word!"
Keiko Tajima holstered her pistol, walked over to Shen Qing, and coldly sized him up. Her tone was mocking: "Young man, being stubborn won't get you anywhere. We have plenty of ways to make you talk—the tiger bench, pepper spray, and all sorts of new torture instruments. Which one would you like to try first?"
Shen Qing glared at her fiercely, her tone resolute: "Don't waste your energy, I won't say anything."
He looked at Miyamoto Ichiro again, "I'll say it again, my affairs have nothing to do with these people. If you have any humanity left, let them go, and I'll go with you and do whatever you want with them."
A sinister glint flashed in Miyamoto Ichiro's eyes as he turned to Kobayashi Kaoru: "Major Kobayashi, investigate his identity."
Kobayashi Kaoru pushed the cargo box, leaned over and quickly flipped through the documents in his hands. After a moment, he nodded and said, "Reporting to the section chief, Shen Qing is indeed a member of the Military Intelligence Bureau, responsible for liaison work. His identity is verified."
"Alright, very good." Miyamoto Ichiro clapped his hands. "Since you're so 'righteous,' I'll grant your wish. However, whether or not to release them is not up to you."
He waved his hand and instructed Kuroda, "Take him away and keep a close watch on him. After the screening here is finished, interrogate him properly."
"Hi!" Kuroda replied and roughly grabbed Shen Qing's arm.
Shen Qing struggled, but was no match for Kuroda Tsuyoshi's brute strength and could only be forcibly dragged out.
As he passed the corner, he subconsciously glanced at Xia Lin and Jiang Feng, a hint of worry flashing in his eyes before his resolve returned.
Xia Lin and Jiang Feng kept their heads down, their shoulders trembling slightly, but they never looked up.
Jiang Feng clenched his fists, his nails digging deep into his palms, in order to suppress the anger and impulse in his heart.
Charlene buried her face in her messy hair to hide the emotions in her eyes, deliberately making herself look as frightened and uneasy as the other frightened people.
They knew that exposing themselves now would not only fail to save Shen Qing, but would also render all their previous infiltration efforts futile.
Miyamoto Ichiro's gaze swept over the people in the corner, but did not linger on Xia Lin and Jiang Feng.
In his view, they were just a group of cowardly and weak ordinary people, and the truly valuable target had already been obtained.
He instructed the Japanese agent beside him, "Continue the screening, and hurry up!" After saying that, he led Keiko Tajima, Kaoru Kobayashi, and others, following Takeshi Kuroda's figure as they left the warehouse.
The four Japanese soldiers followed closely behind, leaving only 10 Japanese special agents and 20 puppet troops to continue guarding the warehouse.
The atmosphere inside the warehouse remained oppressive. The people looked in the direction Shen Qing was taken away, their faces filled with fear and helplessness.
The two Japanese agents stood with their hands on their hips, occasionally shouting a few words, their eyes fiercely scanning the crowd.
Yan Shuo remained on edge while in stealth mode until Miyamoto Ichiro and the others had completely left, at which point he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
He quickly checked Xia Lin and Jiang Feng's condition and felt somewhat relieved to see that the two had successfully concealed their identities.
The most important thing right now is to take advantage of the gap when the main Japanese force is away and the warehouse is poorly guarded to arrange a rescue plan.
About five minutes after Miyamoto Ichiro's convoy of taillights completely disappeared into the night, the wind outside the warehouse gradually subsided, but the oppressive atmosphere inside still lingered.
Yan Shuo, who was in stealth mode, narrowed his eyes, drew a line with his fingertips in front of him, and whispered, "Attack!"
Before he could finish speaking, ten dark figures suddenly appeared beside him, the weapon dolls wielding silenced Browning pistols.
These dolls moved swiftly, dispersing instantly upon landing according to pre-set tactics. Three rushed towards the warehouse gate, occupying the entrance and forming a fire blockade; four headed straight for the guard posts on both sides, targeting the armed Japanese special agents; and the remaining three slipped into the gaps between the civilians and the enemy, accurately locking onto lone puppet soldiers.
"Pfft... pfft pfft..." The sound of the silenced gun was muffled, yet it was extremely penetrating in the empty warehouse.
Beside the guard post, a Japanese agent who was smoking with his head down noticed the disturbance. Suddenly, his head lolled to the side, and blood slowly seeped out from the bullet hole in his temple. The cigarette in his hand fell to the ground, and the embers flickered twice in the dim light before going out.
Another Japanese agent, who was standing in front of the crowd and shouting, had just turned his head to shout "Who are you?" when a bullet pierced his throat. He covered his neck with both hands, unable to make a sound, and staggered into the wooden crate behind him. The crate collapsed with a crash, scattering its contents all over the ground.
The puppet troops were a makeshift force, and upon hearing the strange noise and seeing their comrades fall to the ground, they instantly lost their composure.
"Enemy attack! Ambush!" A puppet army squad leader, his face pale, trembled as he picked up his rifle but didn't know where to aim. Just as he raised the muzzle, a bullet from the side pierced his knee, and his scream of "Ah—" echoed throughout the warehouse.
The scream ignited chaos. The remaining puppet soldiers either threw down their guns and scrambled into corners or turned and ran toward the gate, only to be called out one by one by the weapon dolls guarding the gate. They fell to the ground without even hearing the gunshot.
"Don't move! Crouch down!" Several stubborn Japanese agents tried to organize resistance, leaning against the wooden crates and firing back. The bullets hit the weapon dolls but only made a "clanging" sound. These dolls were all bulletproof.
Before they could adjust their positions, the two weapon dolls had already rolled to the side of the wooden crate, their gun muzzles close to the gaps in the crate, and fired two shots. Then there was no more movement behind the crate.
The civilians inside the warehouse were initially huddled on the ground in fear from the gunfire. But as the enemy fell one by one, someone shouted, "Run!" and the crowd erupted into chaos.
Men, women, and children pushed and shoved each other toward the gate, their cries, footsteps, the sound of collapsing wooden crates, and sporadic gunshots mingling together to create a chaotic cacophony.
"Don't push! My child!" A woman's cry was drowned out by the crowd as she struggled through the flow of people, carrying her child, while behind her, weaponized dolls cleared out the last remaining enemies.