Chapter Sixteen: The War Is About to Begin

  Takeshi Shimo is a seasoned intelligence officer in the Tokko Department, who has been active in the Beiyang government for many years with remarkable achievements. A few months ago, he was directly ordered by the General Headquarters to rush from Beijing to Shanghai to investigate the case of the missing gold.

  After months of investigation, Takeeda Keiji's already sparse hair had almost all been pulled out by himself. The matter was really too strange, the fishing boat that had been burned and sunk to the bottom of the river was salvaged, but there was not a single trace of gold. "How did they do it?" This was what Takeeda couldn't understand. The five-ton gold had been transported onto the ship under his nose, then the ship caught fire, sank, and the Special High Police were watching closely, making it impossible for anything to be secretly taken out. The salvage operation started early the next morning, but after the boat was pulled out of the water, there was nothing left, no gold and no people!

  Several intelligence officers from the Special High Police who were tracking down Kaito swore in the name of Amaterasu that they had not misidentified him! After several months of investigation, there was no lead at all except for a single name.

  A few days ago, news came from the inner circle of the US Consulate that a mysterious person was selling a divine medicine to Americans that could cure meningitis, pneumonia and sepsis! This is the first antibacterial drug in history! After testing by Americans, it was confirmed to be effective!

  Takechi was shocked by the news, although he didn't know much about economics, he could see the enormous value of this medicine. People all over the world would go crazy buying it! Its military use is immeasurable! Before the invention of antibiotics, at least half of the people who died on the battlefield were due to wound infections!

  Although it was suspected that it might be a trick played by Americans, the Japanese people's innate greed and love of taking advantage won out over reason.

  Immediately dispatched personnel to the northern gate of the city to find SC Trading Company for a probe, and after being rejected, launched a surprise attack that night in an attempt to obtain the molecular formula and ratio by force. It was unexpected that the other party was so powerful and had not yet entered the main gate when they were killed and wounded by a sweep of gunfire. After a fierce exchange of fire, it was discovered that the opponent was well-trained and well-equipped, and could not gain an advantage without considering casualties, directly capturing one of the wounded soldiers as a prisoner and immediately turning him in.

  He used all eighteen martial arts of the Special High Department, what scorching hot iron, water-soaked cowhide whip, and chili water with mustard were all used, but not a single word was obtained. He had never met such a hard person! Being stared at by those emotionless, cold eyes, Zhuxia felt like being stared at by a poisonous snake.

  The other party came to negotiate, and after the representative had negotiated the conditions, they took the person away. Zhuxia never thought of paying money, preparing to grab the opponent's head and ask for a split, he didn't believe that everyone was so tough?

  However, the other party suddenly proposed to confirm the gold before the transaction, which made him very vigilant. He didn't care about time and place, just wanting to confirm whether the gold was there or not. Relying on his intuition as an intelligence officer for many years, Takeshita felt a sense of danger. But things were no longer under his control. The Tokyo headquarters dispatched General Aoki Nobumasa, the head of intelligence, to Shanghai to take full responsibility for this incident.

  "General Aoki, something is not right. Anyone who isn't a fool can see that we're up to no good, but the other side is willing to rush in as long as there's gold involved! There must be a problem, it's just that I can't figure out where the problem lies?" Takeishi said excitedly to Aoki. He now felt that things were just as strange as the mysterious disappearance of the gold on the fishing boat.

  "General Tojo, the headquarters has already confirmed that the Americans have conducted experiments and the medicine is effective! This point has already decided that things must go on. The gold has also been transported, and the Great Japanese Empire must obtain this antibacterial drug! What we need to discuss now is the specific details of the action, not whether or not to do it! No matter what the other side prepares to do, we will proceed!" Aoki said sternly to Tojo.

  "Zhu Xia, in a sealed underground room, under the eyes of hundreds of heavily armed elite soldiers, surrounded by thousands of brave imperial warriors within a radius of one kilometer from the restaurant, can you take away ten tons of gold?"

  "Impossible, no one can do it, unless they're a god!" he said after furrowing his brow in thought for half a moment. "Then what are you worried about?" Aoki asked with a smile.

  "Hahaha..." The two little dwarves burst out laughing together.

  Kōyō walked into the restaurant, and at the tables, inside the counter, in the kitchen, on the stairs, and on both the first and second floors, there were armed personnel holding guns. The large door was closed with a loud "bang". A short, dark-haired man wearing a kimono and wooden sandals came over, bowed slightly, and said, "I am Take-shita Keiji, the manager of Osaka Restaurant. I don't know how to address this gentleman?" As he spoke to Kōyō, his eyes were fixed on the box in Arno's hand, turning around it.

  Gao Yang smiled and said, "Where's the gold?"

  Takeda didn't say anything else and made a polite gesture before turning around and leading the way down to the basement.

  A rectangular table with eight immortals, two chairs. Qingmu Xuanzhen sat in the main seat. The two sides were lined with armed personnel holding guns, behind them was a pile of square objects covered with black cloth.

  Gao Yang walked over and sat down across from Qing Mu, Ano standing behind him with a suitcase in hand.

  Aoki sized up the young man in front of him, who had an ordinary appearance and a tall stature. He was wearing a well-fitted suit, but what was most striking was that despite being surrounded by so many guns, he was still calmly smoking a cigarette, showing no signs of fear or tension. "What on earth gives him such courage? How can he be so calm in this environment?" Aoki wondered randomly.

  Seiki smiled and said to Gao Yang, "This gentleman, I am Seiki Nobumasa, the plenipotentiary representative of the Great Japanese Empire in Modu. The Great Japanese Empire is very interested in the medicine you possess, and would like to make friends with you. Ah, may I ask how should I address you, sir?"

  Gao Yang smiled and puffed out a smoke ring, saying faintly to Qingmu, "My name is Smith."

  Aoki Takeshi stood up and hadn't spoken yet, when Takeda beside him already exclaimed "You're Smith?!" The words were filled with excitement, it was truly a case of "no need to search far and wide"!

  "Hahaha......" Aokiyoshi burst into laughter, and a series of clicks sounded as the surrounding gunmen all pointed their guns at Gao Yang. "It's great to see Mr. Smith." Aokiyoshi felt extremely good, what kind of good thing was this?

  "Mr. Smith, I wonder where the five tons of gold you swindled from the Great Japanese Empire last time are? Can't you return them to us?" Aoki looked at Gao Yang with a pitiful expression.

  "I'm a businessman, I sell you things and collect your money, how can that be cheating? As for those gold, I've already spent them." Gao Yang said, extinguishing his cigarette.

  "Are you kidding me? You think you can leave here alive without returning the gold today?" Bakuya roared in anger.

  Gao Yang smiled and said, "Alright, I'll show you a magic trick. I reckon you won't have the chance to see it again." As he finished speaking, he flipped his hands and a huge crate of military supplies appeared beside the table. Amidst the stunned gazes of Qing Mu and the others, he chuckled and said, "I'll take my leave first, see you in three minutes, if you're still alive by then. General Qing Mu, at your age, it's time to stop struggling and be buried in Huaxia!" With that, he activated his time-space shuttle and left. Ano stretched out a hand and lifted the lid, pulling out an M134 minigun!

  "Fire!" Amidst Qingwu's ear-piercing screams, Ano began to sweep. The dense and deafening gunfire, like a burst of beans being stir-fried, erupted in the cramped underground room. Bullets flew everywhere, the smell of gunpowder filled the air, and under the dim light, Mark's long-barreled gun spat out flames accompanied by blood-curdling screams!

  Three minutes later, Gao Yang returned to the basement. Anuo was holding a Mark IV and firing fiercely at the entrance of the basement and outside, his clothes were already riddled with holes, and his artificial skin had also cracked open to reveal the alloy skeleton inside!

  Gao Yang covered his nose and walked to Qingmu's side, reaching out to close his eyes. "Since you're a Chinese expert, then stay in China forever." The ground was littered with severed limbs and fragments, blood flowing everywhere! In the corner, the once-mighty Bamboo Agency Director lay on the ground like a dead fish, his eyes wide open in death! His empty gaze seemed to be screaming "There really are gods!"

  Remove the black cloth and look at the small mountain-like pile of gold blocks, Yang smiled happily. Put the gold into the storage space, then take out a whole box of explosives and set up the timing device. Ano is an inanimate reactive life form that can enter the storage space.

  Thirty seconds later, a huge mushroom cloud rose over Hongkou District, and the dazzling fireball almost illuminated the entire night sky of Magic City! Unparalleled magnificence!

  The next day, countless Japanese people with bloodshot eyes rushed to the location of SC Trade in Zhabei District, only to find that no one was there. The Japanese could only burn down the three-story building to vent their anger. Later, the Japanese headquarters released a message "Former Army Lieutenant General Aoki Nobumasa died at his home in Miyazaki Prefecture yesterday due to illness, aged 65."

  "The American Consulate in the Public Concession. 'Consul, I'm a businessman, and my only goal is to make a profit. Don't talk to me about friendship between our two countries, I don't understand that. Let me say it once: there's no exclusive agency rights, $20 per share for your country; if you're not willing, I'll go find another buyer.' He paused, took a sip of his coffee, and continued, 'Of course, you can also learn from the Japanese - as long as you can grab it, I don't mind giving it to you.'"

  "Nice doing business with you, Mr. Gao." Consul John extended his hand. He also saw the big explosion that day!

  Back in Feng County, Wekes came to report that the reorganization had been basically completed and was now undergoing intensive training. "The soldiers are excellent, hardworking, and obedient to orders. However, their cultural level is too low, and most of the soldiers can't even read the order documents." Wekes complained.

  "Each battalion has a cultural instructor who organizes soldiers for cultural study every evening, and it takes time to produce results." Gao Yang explained.

  "There's another important thing, now the live ammunition training intensity is very high, and various types of ammunition are being consumed in large quantities, we need to replenish them quickly." Wekes said.

  "A new batch of military supplies has been shipped from Germany, along with the second batch of recruited mercenaries. They are all veterans with rich experience in European wars. I have an idea, after this batch of mercenaries arrives, they will be assigned as deputy officers, and when there are enough qualified new recruits in the training camp, they can be transferred to regular officers to lead the new recruits, and immediately form combat effectiveness." Gaoyang said.

  "This method is great, one formation with two strengths. Once there's a battle, it can quickly form combat power and join the fight." Wekes' eyes lit up, immediately understanding where the benefits lay.

  Time flies, and the whole country from south to north is plunged into a strange turmoil. The straight faction's strong momentum, the clamor for unifying the country by force, has forced all warlords across the country to stand on the opposite side of the straight faction. Zhang, the big marshal of the Fengtian clique, has become the unanimously recommended leader of the alliance, and the war between the two sides is already on the verge of breaking out.