Chapter 14: Ishii Arrives, Yanagawa Ji no Kills

  "In front of him, a neatly dressed Japanese soldier appeared in the office of Ryōta Yanagawa."

  "Oh, finally, Songyuan Jun, you're here." said Ryu Choji as he looked up upon hearing the shout.

  "Yes, sir! What are your orders?"

  "Songyuan Jun, go to the Concord Hospital and check where this person lives? Remember to do it secretly." Liu Chuan Jiexi said while taking out a photo from the drawer and handing it to Songyuan. The two people in the photo were Anzi and Zhao Zhibang's couple photo, which was sent by Anzi to him when she wanted to get rid of Inoue Masao, and this photo was secretly taken by Liu Chuan Jiexi from Inoue Masao's room.

  "Does the boss want me to take care of him?" Shonosuke Matsumoto asked after taking a few glances at the photo handed over by Sugiyama Jiichiro.

  "No need, just make sure you figure out where he lives and his usual whereabouts, the rest is not your concern, hurry back to me once you've investigated, remember this matter must be kept confidential!" Ryu Chojiro said with a nod, looking at the private in front of him with a mixture of surprise and admiration. He most admired this kind of Japanese soldier who would shout "Charge!" one moment and "Kill!" the next, thinking that only such a person could be considered a truly qualified imperial subject.

  Songyuan saw the officer's approving gaze and, excited, gave a standard military salute before retreating.

  Although Sergeant Matsumoto and his superior, Ryukawa Jihiro, were just ordinary Japanese soldiers and not special agents, it was easy for them to investigate a doctor in a large hospital in an occupied country. Soon, Matsumoto reported Zhao Zhibang's home address, daily habits, etc. to Ryukawa, who began to look at the sergeant with new eyes. In the following years, the two men worked together seamlessly, committing numerous atrocities against the Chinese people.

  And their positions have been rising, and every time they are promoted, their hands are stained with the blood of Chinese people. This is a later story. At present, about the Zhao family, everything is clear to Ryūkawa Ji'ō, but he did not rush to act. He was waiting for an opportunity, and all this was unknown to anyone except the two of them, including Ikegami Masao, whose life was still just working and relying on alcohol to numb himself.

  More than a month had passed, and Ryokawa Jiushu still hadn't taken any action. The second lieutenant who was eager to make a good impression in front of his superiors had even forgotten about the matter. Ryokawa received an order that this place would soon be taken over by the military police corps from Northeast China, and they would follow the troops to participate in battles in the south. He was anxious and had been waiting for an opportunity until this day, when this person appeared.

  He is Ishii Shirō. And the purpose of his trip this time, needless to say, was also to assist the secretly located "North China Epidemic Prevention and Water Supply Department" in Xizhimen.

  "Yanagawa-kun..." Just back from the lab, Inoue Masao walked into Yanagawa Tsuguo's office.

  "Oh, Inoue-kun, you're out so early today, tough luck. Want to grab a drink? " Yanagawa Jihiro was reluctant to be a lieutenant in a field army unit doing this second or even third-rate garrison work, but there was an advantage here - he was the highest-ranking officer (at least within the garrison troops), and he could do whatever he wanted. If he were back at the military base, as just a lowly lieutenant, he wouldn't be able to enjoy such treatment."

  "Sorry, it's probably not going to work out today. I just received an order from Lieutenant General Saiten, my teacher Ishii is coming today and the lieutenant general ordered me to go pick him up at the station!"

  "Oh, so it's Colonel Ishii who's coming, no wonder everyone looks so spirited today, haha... Do I need to go with you?" Lieutenant General Yanagawa Tsuguo immediately stood up from his chair upon hearing that Colonel Ishii was coming. Don't underestimate this colonel, such a rank in the Japanese military field troops might be common, but for a military doctor to reach the rank of colonel is extremely rare."

  "Thank you, Mr. Liu! I was wondering if I could ask for your help in booking a table at the Liuguo Restaurant? I'd like to host a dinner there to welcome our teacher back! It's all so sudden, so thank you for your trouble!" He then bowed deeply towards Liu.

  "Ikeda-san is too polite, of course there's no problem, it's an honor for me, Yagawa Jiushiro, to dine with Colonel Ishii...". Yagawa rubbed his hands together, unable to contain his inner joy. Ever since he found out that Colonel Ishii was a pioneer in Japan's chemical warfare, he had always held him in high esteem. He thought to himself that although he was only a lieutenant, as the highest officer of the 1855 unit's defense corps, he would definitely be invited to such a banquet.

  "Yanagawa-kun, it's a misunderstanding! Professor Ishii has already discussed with the officials of Saikai and this banquet is actually a family gathering. It's been many years since Professor Ishii last saw Miss Ishii, so before coming here, he wanted to meet with Anzu-san alone first..."

  "Oh, I see. It's only natural... it's only natural..." After hearing Naotake Inoue's words, Tsuguo Yanagawa's eyes seemed to be slightly disappointed, but this disappointment was immediately replaced by another expression, and even became somewhat pleasant.

  "Rest assured, Mr. Yanagawa, after Professor and Miss Anzu meet, I will personally introduce you!"

  "Alright, alright... then I'll have to trouble you, Inoue-san... I'll send someone to make a reservation at Rokoku restaurant right away. Just take care of receiving the Consul-General."

  "Thanks for your trouble... I'll take my leave now, everything is in your hands, Ryūkawa-kun." With that said, he turned around and left.

  "Inoue-kun..."

  "Is there anything else, Mr. Yanagawa?"

  "Is Inoue-kun going to pick up Taisha now? Has Anzu-san been notified on her side?"

  "Oh dear, I almost forgot about this too! I just received a notice from the Western Heaven Official and haven't had time to send out notifications yet!" Inoue Masao stopped in his tracks, turned around, patted his head and said with a smile.

  "Haha, I think you're over the moon, Inoue-kun! Don't worry about Anzu-san's side, I'll send someone to inform her. You just go ahead and pick up Taisho!" said Yanagawa Jihiro, walking up and patting Inoue Masao's shoulder as he laughed.

  "Thank you very much, then I'll write down the address of Anzi's home for you..." Inoue said while pulling out a pen from his pocket.

  "It's all right... it's all right... You just go and receive the great general, I'll take care of everything else!"

  "Does Yanagawa know the address of Anzai's house?" Inoue Masao asked Yanagawa Jiuro with a puzzled look.

  "Ah, I don't know, I don't know... Ha ha, you see, I'm also excited to hear that General Ishii is coming. Ha ha... Please write down the address for me, and I'll send someone to pick up Miss Anzu right away!" Yanagawa Jihiro inadvertently let slip a word, but Inoue Masao didn't suspect anything. He wrote down the Zhao family's address from memory and handed it over to Yanagawa with a bow, saying "Thank you" before hastily taking his leave.

  Yanagawa Jihiro took the note written by Inoue Masao in his hand, without even glancing at it, and crumpled it into a ball. He had already grasped everything clearly. He pulled out the key and opened the drawer on the desk, taking out a folded white paper with a clear map of the surrounding area of Zhao's house. After looking at it for a few moments, he shouted towards the outside: "Songyuan Jun... Songyuan Jun..."