kvmb 142. Getting carried away.
142. Getting carried away.
Kondo's heart skipped a beat, and the rapid heartbeat pumped blood to his brain, making his mind active and quickly suppressing his emotions.
"Get in the car and head over there for reinforcements! Wipe out every single one of these audacious rats from both sides! I want to see who's so bold as to risk their lives as obstacles. Don't they understand how seriously we're taking this operation tonight? Whoever you are, you won't escape my grasp today. It'll only take less than twenty minutes to get to the explosion site from here, and even less from the docks to get reinforcements. Whoever you are, you've miscalculated; you're just a reckless fool!"
After the initial shock of the leak, Kondo quickly calmed down; he was even somewhat pleased. Indeed, there were enough Japanese soldiers stationed on both sides of the transport route. If the enemy dared to launch an attack from the middle, he could use his overwhelming numerical superiority to encircle and wipe out these audacious rebels.
After the explosion began, the local police department and Special Agent 76 also received Kondo's orders and converged on the Qiujiang Bridge from all directions of Shanghai.
But just then, a series of phone calls and bursts of light rose in other directions of the city.
The warehouse belonging to the Sakura Trading Company was attacked by unidentified individuals. Six security personnel responsible for guarding the warehouse were killed or injured. The attackers also set fire to the warehouse. The fire started from multiple points and spread rapidly. If the fire is not extinguished quickly, it will spread from one warehouse to another, and the expected losses and consequences are extremely serious.
Meanwhile, the Wang Jingwei regime's municipal government was attacked by Molotov cocktails. The cocktails smashed through first-floor windows and were thrown into the offices. Flames quickly engulfed the paper documents and wooden desks and chairs, and the fire and smoke, accompanied by shouts, spread rapidly throughout the government building. The staff, still working overtime, panicked and ran for their lives, screaming. The Wang Jingwei regime's deputy mayor personally called the military police, claiming they had been attacked by Red Army guerrillas and urgently needed reinforcements.
Neither of these two places could be ignored by the Japanese army. The Sakura Trading Company's warehouse contained a large amount of winter supplies for the Special Higher Police and the Military Police. If the warehouse was severely damaged, they would have to transfer supplies from the surrounding areas again, which would be both time-consuming and laborious. Moreover, this was a matter of face for the Japanese army. Shanghai was their occupied territory. If they had to ask for help from the surrounding areas due to insufficient supplies in the occupied territory, the local commanders would lose face.
As for the Wang Jingwei regime's municipal government, it is even more crucial that it not be lost. This is the puppet government they have supported locally, representing and serving as the cornerstone of the East Asian Co-prosperity Sphere. If the municipal government is attacked and no one takes action, it will undoubtedly severely damage the confidence of local merchants and citizens in the Japanese army and also affect their morale.
Upon receiving the call, the military police immediately mobilized personnel to rush to the Sakura Trading Company warehouse and the city hall as reinforcements. Several other police stations in Shanghai also received reinforcement orders, including the Jing'an Second Branch.
At this critical moment, Wang Shun and Xu Guodong were unable to contact their bureau chief, who was neither at home nor at the antique shop, and no one knew where he had gone.
Where did he go? He was at Qiujiang Bridge, of course.
The fighting here was far more intense and brutal than in the city center.
After the main offensive of the Military Intelligence Bureau reached a stalemate with the elite Japanese troops, the Axe Gang members, who had been hiding in the alley, all ran out at Chen Xiaodao's angry roar.
They first hurled a volley of homemade Molotov cocktails, then opened fire, aiming at the Japanese transport vehicles until they ran out of bullets. These hot-blooded gang members then drew their axes and daggers and fought with the nearby Japanese soldiers.
"Kill them, brothers! Kill those damn Japanese devils! Killing one is no loss, killing two is a guaranteed profit!"
"Let the Japanese devils taste our blood! We, the men of Xia, are not to be bullied!"
"I've tolerated them for too long. Killing all those wicked Japanese devils is my dying wish!"
"Brothers, don't get bogged down in battle. Remember our pre-arranged plan: our main task is to harass and disrupt the enemy's formation!"
There were still some clear-headed members in the Axe Gang, but their voices were of little use in the chaotic battlefield. Some Axe Gang members, caught up in the chaos, even detonated explosives, ramming themselves into Japanese vehicles, causing them to explode and resulting in mutual destruction with the Japanese soldiers.
"Xie Kun from the Axe Gang—a man from Liangshan, Sichuan—tell my mother her son isn't a coward!"
"Boom!"
"Tong Guangzhi of the Axe Gang~~~A Guangxi native, tell my mother I'm not a coward either~~~~"
"Boom!"
"Han Meng of the Axe Gang, a local from Shanghai, that son of a bitch. My mother's gone, but I'll go to the afterlife myself and tell her her son isn't a coward~~~~"
"Boom boom boom~~~!"
"Damn it! Who told them to rush up and self-destruct? Chen Xiaodao, what on earth are you doing?!"
In the distance, when Zhou Hongyi saw this scene, his eyes turned red with anger. He had not ordered these brothers from the Axe Gang to carry out suicide attacks. Their mission was only to harass, so why were they all getting so worked up?
As for Chen Xiaodao, he had long since forgotten Zhou Hongyi's instructions. He even grabbed a bomb and shouted, "Chen Xiaodao of the Axe Gang, a local from Shanghai, I'm an orphan, tell the gang leader I'm not a coward~~~"
Before he could finish speaking, a large hand suddenly pulled him behind and slapped him across the face twice.
Chen Xiaodao was stunned by the slap. He looked closely and saw a burly man with strong features, a square face, and a big beard in front of him, illuminated by the firelight. It was Chen Gong. The two slaps had woken him up.
Chen Gong glared at him and roared, "What the hell are you doing? Quickly gather your brothers and get back to the front!"
Chen Xiaodao finally regained his senses, hurriedly stood up, grabbed a few brothers who still wanted to jump into the fire, and ordered them to gather their forces and begin to retreat to the surrounding area.
By this time, the main Japanese convoy had been cut into three sections. Due to the earlier explosions and subsequent suicide attacks with Molotov cocktails and explosive charges, almost all ten trucks were set ablaze. To protect the delicate equipment on board, the Japanese had to send a portion of their troops to extinguish the fire and salvage the cargo from the truck beds.
The two Japanese vehicles that had been blocked on either side of the bridge began to break through into the river below the bridge. Their attack caused considerable casualties to both the Military Intelligence Bureau and the Axe Gang members.
Fortunately, the number of Japanese soldiers was small. Upon seeing this, Zhou Hongyi raised his rifle, aimed at the squad leader, activated "fire mode," and began headshotting them one by one. Without their commander, the Japanese troops were quickly suppressed by the overwhelming firepower of the Military Intelligence Bureau.
"Brothers of the Axe Gang, get out of here! Your mission is complete. Keep your lives, they'll be useful later. Don't be impulsive!"
Zhou Hongyi couldn't stand it any longer, so he rushed up and pulled the hot-blooded Axe Gang members back one by one. Soon, he saw Chen Xiaodao with a clear handprint on his face, and he was directing his men to retreat.
He brushed past Zhou Hongyi, neither daring to look at the other, but in any case, these Axe Gang brothers who had been fighting on the edge of their seats finally regained their senses and began to retreat.
"Da da da da~~~~"
Just then, a deafening sound came from behind. A Type 92 heavy machine gun on the roof of a Japanese vehicle indiscriminately opened fire on the retreating Axe Gang members. The powerful firepower and high rate of fire caused Axe Gang brothers who had their backs to the enemy to fall one after another.
"Oh shit!"
Zhou Hongyi cursed under his breath, pulled back the bolt, and fired a shot blindly in the direction of the muzzle flash. The shot splattered blood as it entered the Japanese soldier's right eye and exited through the back of his head.
"Brother Chen! That's enough, let's fight and retreat!"
Seeing the distant flames and the continuously collapsing bridge, Zhou Hongyi knew that they had achieved their goal for the night. The chemical agents carried in the truck had already leaked out due to the bumps and burned by the flames, and would be unusable even if salvaged. Continuing to fight would only increase their casualties.
Chen Gong wiped the blood from his face—whether it was his own or the enemy's—and gasped, "Alright, everyone fight and retreat, according to the original plan, disperse and withdraw!"