kvmb 145. Long live Director Zhou!
145. Long live Director Zhou!
Kondo himself is quite capable, but he was completely blinded by his own involvement when he was in trouble. He was thrown into a state of mental chaos by the mysterious "Monkey King" in the shadows.
Reminded by Yosuke Saotome, Kondo quickly came to his senses and said gratefully, "Yosuke-kun, your arrival has really made things much easier for me. You're right, this search operation is not only laborious but also has minimal effect. The people of Shanghai are in a state of panic, and prices are skyrocketing. Our priority is to stabilize the situation first, and then quietly investigate and eliminate those hidden dangers one by one. Solving problems requires a gradual and subtle approach. Ah, I'm truly ashamed that I had to trouble you, Yosuke-kun, to remind me of such a simple truth."
After saying this, Kondo immediately ordered his subordinates to release the students and newspaper staff arrested in the street clashes of the past few days, but all the newspapers had to be confiscated. He also urged the school to strictly discipline the students. As for the shortage of supplies, he arranged for the necessary goods to be purchased from surrounding farms at normal market prices. In addition, the Sakura Trading Company would allocate funds to purchase some supplies and food from foreign merchants to stabilize the situation in Shanghai first. After that, they would carefully review each link from within. This task was assigned to the five-person team led by Yosuke Saotome.
Moreover, Kondo overturned the original transportation routes and plans, added many disguise methods, and planned to use a mix of civilian and military vehicles for transportation, setting up many false targets along the way to confuse intelligence personnel from the Nationalist and Red parties.
They also secretly increased their guard force significantly, adding a large number of defensive fortifications around strongholds such as Wujiaochang and the secret factory, building many bunkers and pillboxes, and upgrading their firepower, even deploying multiple mortars.
He also ordered his men to lay landmines in the forests along the guerrillas' retreat route and to arrange for snipers to lie in ambush. In addition, he doubled the intensity and frequency of patrols throughout Shanghai. Kondo even brought in aerial reconnaissance aircraft to conduct reconnaissance over the city and surrounding areas, while motorcycle patrol teams shuttled through the streets and alleys, focusing on key locations such as areas where suspicious people gathered and distribution centers for supplies.
However, the most insidious methods belong to the agents of No. 76.
Under the instructions of Ding Mocun and Li Shiqun, the agents of No. 76 broke into smaller groups, disguised themselves as ordinary citizens and merchants, and quietly infiltrated civilian organizations. While secretly gathering intelligence on anti-Japanese forces, they also spread their spies throughout the old city and concessions, tracking any suspicious individuals and arresting them at the first sign of trouble, attempting to dismantle the local anti-Japanese alliance in Shanghai from its very foundation.
Zhou Hongyi and his team had been busy dealing with the students' arrests until Kondo issued an internal order, at which point all the students detained in the police station were released. The students, unaware of Zhou Hongyi's true intentions, thought the police were afraid of them and that's why they were released. They walked out of the police station with their heads held high, spitting on the police station entrance several times before leaving.
"Phew~ Chief, we've finally gotten rid of these 'little devils.' They've practically bankrupted our branch these past few days."
Looking at this scene, Wang Shun said with lingering fear, clearly having been thoroughly ravaged earlier.
Zhou Hongyi gave a helpless wry smile and said, "Let's go back to the bureau. I just received a call from the Special Higher Police. Everyone has been working hard lately, so we'll give you two days off to rest. When you come back to work the day after tomorrow, I'll give everyone a red envelope as a way of keeping my promise."
"New Year's Eve is just around the corner. Although prices have risen sharply, I, Zhou Hongyi, absolutely cannot let my brothers go hungry for the New Year. In addition to red envelopes, I'll give everyone a piece of meat, a bag of rice, and a bag of flour as my personal treat for everyone."
"Long live Director Zhou!"
In his excitement, Wang Shun shouted out, only to be startled by his own words. He quickly craned his neck and looked around, afraid that some spy might have heard him. After all, shouting "Long live Director Zhou!" was not something one could just casually do.
Back at the police station, everyone's tense nerves relaxed instantly, and they felt completely exhausted, like deflated balloons, either leaning back in their chairs or slumped over their desks, sighing.
Seeing everyone's expressions, Zhou Hongyi clapped his hands lightly and said, "Alright, everyone, cheer up. We have a holiday tomorrow and the day after, so everyone can rest well at home. I've already talked to Captain Wang about this. New Year's Eve is almost here, so I'm preparing some rice, noodles, and meat for everyone these next few days so you can have a comfortable New Year. The promised red envelopes will be given to everyone, and you'll all receive them when you come back to work after the holiday. Those of you who don't have anything to do can go home now. The special operations team can stay and keep watch."
Hearing this, the police officers in the station perked up somewhat and thanked Zhou Hongyi one after another, but the overall atmosphere was not as enthusiastic as before.
Zhou Hongyi glanced at A Gui sitting not far away, who nodded slightly, then slammed his hand on the table and said angrily:
"Hmph! Only our Director Zhou still cares about his brothers and thinks about how to benefit everyone. Those Japanese devils and spies don't even treat us like human beings! We risk our lives for them on the front lines, but what do they do? They take their anger out on us at the slightest provocation and kill people without hesitation."
Captain Xu was such a good person. He was a veteran of our Second Division. He always cared deeply for his brothers. But because Kondo suffered a setback at the Special Higher Police, Kondo was so angry that he raised his hand and killed Captain Xu! After that, he didn't even give a proper explanation. He just gave him ten silver dollars to settle the matter.
Captain Xu's child is still young, and now he's lost his father. What's infuriating is that those Japanese devils still want us to continue working for them. Do they really think of us as livestock to be summoned and dismissed at will? It's outrageous! Can we just swallow this insult?
Indeed, because of this incident, the Second Division suffered a non-combat casualty, and the one who died was the captain who was deeply respected by everyone. This made everyone feel heavy-hearted, as if their lives were as worthless as grass in front of the Japanese. They could kill them whenever they wanted and not have to take any responsibility.
Upon hearing Ah Gui mention this, Wang Shun's face turned deathly pale. He was there at the time and had narrowly escaped death from the Japanese guns. Even now, thinking back on it, his legs still trembled uncontrollably. Xu Guodong's unseeing face seemed to be etched in his mind, and recalling it again now still sent chills down his spine.
"That's right, those Japanese devils don't treat us like human beings at all. Director Zhou is so good to us, he really treats us like brothers. If it weren't for Director Zhou, I would have quit this police job a long time ago!"
"That's right! If it weren't for Director Zhou, his father would have quit long ago! Not only would he quit, but I would join the Axe Gang and chop down a few Japanese devils to vent my anger!"
"That's right, the Axe Gang really showed off this time. Although they were chased by the Japanese for several days and dared not show their faces, and all the places they used to occupy were taken over by other gangs, they still had a great time in front of the people."
"I heard that Liu, the leader of the Axe Gang, has been put on a kill order by the Japanese. Those Japanese are just talking about the bounty, but they don't dare to actually arrest him. Humph~ They're just bullies who pick on the weak and fear the strong!"
"Captain Xu was such a good person. When I first joined the police station, he took me out and used my temporary firefighter status to make a lot of money. If it weren't for him, how would I have gotten married? I would have been a bachelor long ago! But such a good person died so mysteriously... Chief, are we really just going to let this go?"