Chapter 40: Declaration of War

  Otani only felt that his limbs were weak, and his head was like a stone had been put in, sinking to death. He struggled to open his eyes, and it seemed that the sky had already brightened. A savory smell came from his nose, he didn't want to get up, but his stomach, which was hungry and twitching, couldn't bear the temptation of food.

  Otani struggled to sit up, but found two young people sitting on the edge of the tea table opposite the bed, wolfing down a full table of fragrant hotel breakfast. One of them seemed to be the person who had been drinking with him yesterday.

  Ota's head was spinning, and the events after drinking were just a vague impression. It seemed that they also went dancing together, drank a lot of wine, and there were two hot foreign girls, but nothing else could be remembered no matter what.

  "Awake?" Lin Xiaotang carried a glass of water and walked to the bedside: "Moisten your throat."

  ōtani didn't have time to thank him, hastily took it over, and his throat, which was almost smoking, was suddenly enveloped in a refreshing coolness.

  Lin Xiaotang invited Otani to put on a bathrobe and come have some breakfast together.

  Watching Otafuku Hui eating with gusto, Lin Xiaotang and Huoyan both laughed.

  Huoyan got up and left first. Lin Xiaotang saw that Dayu had eaten enough, then handed him a cigar and helped him light it.

  "Hey Ohtani, how were those two foreign chicks last night?"

  ōtani looked a bit embarrassed: "Thank you for your hospitality, but who are you...?"

  Lin Xiaotang smiled: "We are business partners, what we discussed yesterday, from now on we will make a fortune together!"

  Otafuku tapped his forehead, somewhat puzzled: "Business partner? What business?"

  "It's simple, useful for me and can make you money!"

  "Intelligence?" Otani exclaimed in surprise.

  Lin Xiaotang nodded: "Don't be nervous, I'm not an anti-Japanese element, but I have a strong interest in making money. Mr. Otani is from Osaka, and I sincerely admire the business mind of Osakans. Now it's wartime, and many messages are urgently needed by Americans, Soviets, and Britons. What we need to do is turn these messages into gold."

  Saying so, Lin Xiaotang pushed two gold bars straight in front of him: "This is the reward for Mr. Ooya last night."

  "Otani: 'What have I done?'"

  Lin Xiaotang shrugged: "It's just a small favor, don't mind it."

  Ohtani's face turned somewhat pale, he put down the wine glass in his hand, took a deep drag on his cigar, and looked at Lin Xiaotang with a complex expression.

  "Also, the guy who offended Otani last night has been erased from this world forever."

  "How dare you?" Okuda was taken aback.

  Lin Xiaotang pointed at the faint footprint on her skin exposed by the open collar of her shirt.

  "Who are you?" Otani's expression was somewhat panicked.

  Lin Xiaotang, with a cigar in his mouth, patted his hand and stood up: "Next time we meet, I'll tell you in detail. But one thing is for sure, I have no ill intentions towards you."

  As she spoke, Lin Xiaotang walked directly to the door of the suite, turned the doorknob, and clearly saw that two blonde beauties were lying naked on the bed in the suite, making eyes at him.

  ōtani suddenly felt like all the blood in his body was about to boil over.

  "Here is your carnival time, Mr. Taniyama, don't worry, I've already paid the money, enough for you to stay here for a week, this is also one of my sincerity."

  Lin Xiaotang smiled slightly and turned around to pick up her coat, then walked out of the room.

  Lin Xiaotang was well aware that wanting to control Ota so firmly was a bit too simple. After all, Ota was Japanese, and people from different clans must have different minds - this was something Lin Xiaotang understood. But it didn't matter, she had plenty of ways to force him to obey.

  Huǒ yǎn jiù zhàn zài chē biān, dōng rì de tài yáng zhōng yú lòu chū le tóu, kàn dé chūlái, jīn tiān yīng gāi shì gè bù cuò de tiān qì, Lín Xiào Táng shēn xī yī kǒu qì, duì zhe Huǒ Yǎn de ěr biān shuō le jǐ jù huà, Huǒ Yǎn gōng gōng jìng jìng de dā ying, Lín Xiào Táng xiào zhe qīng pāi tā de jiān bèi, zuàn rù le qì chē.

  In Sanders' cafe, Shen Pangzi, Ma Qixiang and Da Tou were crowded in the office, anxiously waiting for news from Lin Xiaotang.

  Last night's operation, Shen Pangzi and Ma Qixiang took Zhang Yaolin and Li Shiqun's men to Shanghai for a night tour of the car river. Of course, in order to make it look real, they also had a big fight with each other, bloody battles one after another, and finally retreated under the mediation of the concession authorities. Shen Pangzi was shot in the back, fortunately not fatal. When they saw Zhang Yaolin and Li Shiqun's expressions, which were so angry that they almost vomited blood, they felt that everything they had paid for was worth it.

  The only worry is that after everything has been settled, Lin Xiaotang has lost her trace, which makes everyone anxious.

  "What's this guy doing, going to do something big? Everyone has been sent on board, what else is more important?" Shen Baozi, who was bare-chested and wrapped in thick gauze, finally couldn't help but ask with a gritted teeth.

  Ma Qixiang flicked his cigarette ash and looked at Da Tou. Da Tou had a bewildered expression on his face, with both hands spread out in a helpless gesture.

  At this time, the door opened and Lin Xiaotang walked in with a tired face, ignoring everyone as if no one was there. She lay down on the sofa and let out a big yawn. Outside the door were several colleagues with surprised expressions.

  Shen Pangzi, Ma Qixiang and Da Tou stared at Lin Xiaotang with their eyes wide open, while Lin Xiaotang opened her sleepy eyes, smiled slightly: "Please, what's the matter? Wait for me to wake up from my sleep or you can just read today's newspaper. But whatever you do, don't ask me, I ran all night and need some rest."

  As soon as the words were spoken, a faint snore had already sounded. The three of them looked at each other in dismay, Ma Qixiang sighed, grabbed his coat and gently covered Lin Xiaotang's body with it, gave a signal to the other two, and the three of them quietly exited the office.

  As soon as he went outside, Shen Pangzi called over a colleague: "Has today's newspaper arrived?"

  The fellow replied: "No newspaper has arrived, but there is a freshly printed extra."

  Shen Pangzi grabbed it in one hand, and his eyes widened instantly: "What? Duan Baohu is dead!"

  The end of Shanghai's Jixi Road was a building hidden among green plants, which used to be the residence of Chen Diaoyuan, the former governor of Anhui Province. However, now there were Japanese gendarmes standing at the entrance with guns at the ready. The iron wire mesh in front of the door, the bayonets on the soldiers' rifles, and the cold gaze of the men wearing black Zhongshan suits who occasionally passed by made people quicken their pace as they walked by, not even daring to turn around to take a look at the building. It seemed that there was something terrifying hidden inside, and if one looked too closely, they would be swallowed up by its gaping bloody mouth.

  Dazzling sunlight shines on the white background black word signboard on the right side of the gate - "Central Executive Committee Special Affairs Committee Special Agent Headquarters". On the upper left corner of the gate, there is also an inconspicuous doorplate - "76 Jiefang Road".

  In the deputy director's office on the second floor, Li Shiqun, regardless of Zhang Xiaolin's presence, still burst into a rage and even smashed his favorite jade paperweight.

  Last night, there was a big commotion, but not even the shadows of Gao Tao and Li Shuang were seen. Li Shuang deeply knew what they carried on their bodies. If the two had exposed it, the Nanjing government and Wang Jingwei would have faced unimaginable public pressure. The key is that these two slipped away from under their own noses. Wan Mulin, this old fox, was suppressed to such an extent, yet he still managed to safely escort the person out of Shanghai with ease. It seems that they had underestimated his and Du Yuesheng's influence in Shanghai.

  Zhang Xiaolin's face was no longer sustainable, before that, he had solemnly promised Li Shiqun that the various gangs in Shanghai would not have a single soldier to support Wan Mulin, but such a result undoubtedly gave him a heavy slap in the face.

  Zhang Xiaolin's face turned iron-blue as he stood up, taking the baton handed over by his subordinate: "Director Li, this time it was my negligence. Don't worry, I will definitely investigate until the truth is revealed. If I find out who the son of a bitch dared to not give me face at this time, I'll kill his whole family!"

  Having said that, he bowed his head and left with his men.

  At this time, Li Shiqun also realized that his outburst was not quite appropriate. After all, Zhang Yaolin is the current controller of Shanghai's underground world. It would be unwise to create a rift with him at this time. Just as Li Shiqun was about to dissuade him, Zhang Yaolin had already strode out of the door, leaving Li Shiqun no choice but to withdraw his extended hand in dismay.

  A member of an action team stood outside the door for a while, and as soon as the door opened, he rushed towards Wu Sibao in the house, gesturing with his hands non-stop.

  Li Shiqun's eyes widened: "What is it? Come in and speak!"

  That team member came in with a look of trepidation, handing Wu Sibao a newspaper extra with both hands and whispering a few words in his ear.

  Wu Sibao took a hasty glance and suddenly changed his expression. He hastily came to Li Shiqun's side: "Director, please take a look."

  Li Shiqun impatiently took over and looked at Wu Sibao, strangely, he always felt that there was a hint of joy in the corner of Wu Sibao's eyes that was not easily noticeable.

  When Li Shiqun saw the eye-catching title, he suddenly felt dizzy and almost fell to the ground, but Wu Sibao quickly supported him.

  Li Shiqun steadied himself, his hand holding the telegram trembling slightly. Duan Baohu was originally a disciple of Huang Jinrong, and he had gone to great lengths to poach him to his own side, hoping that he could use the name of No. 76 to gradually erode the Shanghai gang's power and replace Zhang Xiaolin, allowing the Qingbang's power to be used by himself. Last night's action was Li Shiqun's fear of Duan Baohu's gang background, afraid that he would have some connection with Wan Mulin, so he temporarily put him on ice, but unexpectedly Duan Baohu quietly died in his own home.

  "What's going on?" Li Shiqun asked calmly and in a low voice.

  "Wu Sibao replied: 'Just now, we received a notice from the police department that Du Yuesheng and his mistress, as well as twelve of his subordinates, were all found dead in his villa in Jing'an. Our people have gone to take a look and haven't found any clues for the time being. However, one thing can be confirmed: the murderer used a silencer.'"

  "Silent pistol!" Li Shiqun's pupils suddenly contracted: "Military uniform!"

  Wu Sibao nodded: "It should be, there are only a handful of people in Shanghai who can use a silencer, the biggest suspect is the Military Affairs Bureau."

  Li Shiqun slammed his palm on the table: "The snipe and the clam are fighting, and the fisherman is benefiting. Dai Sha's move is indeed clever! He uses Gao Tao to confuse our vision, but secretly eliminates my left and right arms. This is a declaration of war against us!"

  Li Shiqun stood up straight, and a hint of spirit gradually appeared in his eyes: "Prepare the car immediately, I want to go to Te Gao Ke for a walk. Dai Li wants to play, we'll play with him! Si Bao, from today on, fully search and capture the Military Bureau personnel in Shanghai, I want to uproot the Military Bureau from our territory!"