Chapter 70: Hostages

Cheng Qianfan dragged the servant he had grabbed outside.

Agents of the Special Service Office immediately pinned the man firmly to the ground.

Cheng Qianfan himself rushed inside with his gun raised.

Kawada Eikichi had previously appeared at Selling Fish Bridge Wharf.

Communist agents had also appeared at Selling Fish Bridge Wharf.

This left Cheng Qianfan deeply puzzled.

His instincts told him that this veteran Japanese agent’s trip was aimed at the Hangzhou Communists.

Yet logically, it did not quite make sense.

The Japanese spies were currently focused almost entirely on the National Government.

For the time being, they had little attention to spare for the Communists.

It was difficult to imagine that Kawada Eikichi had come all the way from Manchukuo merely for the sake of the Communists.

What was there about the Hangzhou Communists that warranted such attention from Kawada Eikichi?

Wan Delong, leader of the Special Training Class Operations Group, glanced at Cheng Qianfan.

He was somewhat surprised by the agility of this trainee who had not yet attended even a single day of class.

Bang!

A gunshot rang out.

One of the agents who had just rushed through the gate was hit.

With a scream, he fell to the ground.

A Japanese agent guarding the entrance had been concealed behind a bonsai beside the bluestone pathway and had opened fire.

The agents immediately returned fire.

The bonsai was blasted to pieces.

The Japanese agent was riddled with bullets like a hornet’s nest.

Before dying, he let out a shrill shout in Japanese.

“Kawada Eikichi is inside.”

Overjoyed, Cheng Qianfan said to Wan Delong,

“What he shouted was, ‘Kawada-kun, run!’”

Although he was highly confident that Kawada Eikichi had not left, he had still been worried.

What if Kawada had disguised himself and escaped by some other route, perhaps through the rear gate?

Now Cheng Qianfan was finally relieved.

Upon hearing this, Wan Delong was delighted.

If he could lead the capture of a Japanese spy leader like Kawada Eikichi, it would be a tremendous achievement for him as well.

Inside the banquet hall.

Hearing the commotion outside, Kawada Eikichi’s expression changed.

He was about to send a subordinate to investigate when he heard a burst of gunfire and the dying cry of one of his men.

“It was Kojima-kun.”

The face of one Japanese agent changed dramatically.

Of the four Japanese agents guarding outside the banquet hall, two went out to meet the enemy while the other two rushed into the inner hall carrying Mauser pistols.

“Kawada-kun, we’re surrounded.”

One of the agents immediately pointed his gun at Yang Million.

“It must have been this Chinese who informed on us.”

Yang Million was terrified.

His goatee trembled as he frantically waved his hands.

“It wasn’t me, it wasn’t me. My loyalty to the Empire of Japan is beyond question.”

At that moment, intense gunfire erupted outside the hall.

“Kobayashi-kun!”

One of the Japanese agents cried out sorrowfully.

“Not bad.”

Wan Delong glanced at Cheng Qianfan.

That Japanese agent had been an excellent marksman.

He had wounded two Special Service Office agents and single-handedly sealed off the entrance.

Cheng Qianfan fired three shots.

The first was slightly off target.

The second struck the shoulder.

The third hit the head.

The other Japanese agent continued resisting stubbornly.

Wan Delong extended his hand.

An agent behind him handed over a Zhongzheng rifle.

Bang!

Wan Delong fired a single shot directly into the man’s forehead.

“Careful!”

“Grenade!”

The inner door suddenly opened and a grenade was thrown out.

The agents who had just dealt with the two Japanese spies and were preparing to rush inside were horrified.

They rolled and scrambled away, throwing themselves to the ground.

Boom!

The violent shockwave shattered the glass in the doorway.

Glass fragments flew everywhere.

Many people were cut by the shards.

A piece of glass also sliced open Cheng Qianfan’s shoulder.

The hall erupted in screams.

“What’s the situation inside?” Wan Delong shouted.

“Captain, the grenade injured several of our brothers.”

“Damn it!”

Wan Delong cursed.

Bent low, he rushed inside and immediately dropped flat.

Cheng Qianfan followed him in.

The hall was in complete disarray.

Several wounded agents lay on the ground screaming and groaning.

Bang!

A gunshot rang out.

Someone inside fired.

One of the wounded agents who had been groaning was shot directly in the head.

“Bastard!”

Wan Delong cursed.

Three more wounded agents remained lying in the middle of the hall.

With no cover whatsoever, they were essentially living targets.

One agent’s eyes turned red.

Crawling forward, he attempted to drag one of the wounded men back.

Bang!

Another shot rang out.

The wounded comrade he had tried to rescue was likewise shot in the head.

His screams stopped abruptly.

“What’s happening?”

Yu Ping’an’s voice sounded from the courtyard.

Wan Delong crawled backward and returned to the courtyard to report.

“The enemy threw a grenade. Several brothers were wounded.”

Wan Delong’s expression was grim.

“The Japanese shot and killed two of our wounded brothers and are using the other two wounded men, who have no cover, as hostages. I’m trying to find a solution.”

Yu Ping’an frowned.

At his level, he did not care about the deaths of ordinary agents.

He absolutely would not allow the Japanese to use this method to buy time.

However, under everyone’s watchful eyes, he could not simply disregard his own wounded men and order a direct assault.

That would only chill the hearts of his subordinates.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Just then, several gunshots came from inside.

“What happened?” Wan Delong asked urgently.

“Old Liu!”

Several cries of grief rang out.

Wan Delong returned to the hall.

“Group Leader, Old Liu...”

One agent cried out in sorrow.

Wan Delong glanced over.

His face grew even darker, filled with grief and rage.

At this moment, Cheng Qianfan was deeply shaken.

In his heart, he rejected, despised, and hated Nationalist agents.

The hatred between the two parties ran too deep.

Over the years, more than ten comrades and fellow fighters whom he personally knew had been killed by the Nationalists.

Comrade Zhulin, Old Liao, Sister Shaoyao...

Yet at this moment, on the battlefield against the Japanese spies, he witnessed something that shook him profoundly.

The two wounded agents lying in the middle of the hall, one in his thirties and the other barely in his twenties.

The two men lay prone on the ground.

Their eyes met briefly.

The older man suddenly struggled to his feet and raised his pistol.

The younger agent seized the opportunity to crawl backward.

One man was using his life to buy another a chance to escape.

The struggling agent fired a shot.

The Japanese spy inside immediately fired twice.

One shot struck the coverer’s head.

The other struck the escaping agent in the calf.

In less than ten seconds, the two agents’ plan had failed.

One dead.

The other severely wounded.

Cheng Qianfan clenched his teeth.

Despite their differing beliefs and positions, at this moment he was willing to offer respect to these fellow agents of the Special Service Office.

“Kuanzai, how are you?”

One agent shouted.

Kuanzai was the agent who had failed to escape and had taken another bullet.

“Big-Head.”

Kuanzai struggled to raise his head and looked over.

“You’ve come out ahead. You don’t have to repay the money you owe me.”

“No!”

Everyone, including Cheng Qianfan, cried out in grief.

With difficulty, Kuanzai shoved the barrel of his pistol into his mouth.

His face was covered in blood.

With a tragic smile, he pulled the trigger.

Bang!

Deathly silence followed.

“Charge!”

Wan Delong’s eyes turned red.

Roaring, he was the first to get up and rush forward with his gun.

“Charge!”

A Japanese spy inside blocked the doorway and resisted desperately.

He was quickly shot into a sieve.

“Don’t shoot, don’t shoot! I’m Yang Million!”

Through the shattered doorway, everyone could see the owner of the residence, Yang Million, being held at gunpoint by a short middle-aged man.

Another Japanese spy held a gun and used his body to shield Kawada Eikichi from exposure to enemy fire.

There was also a man wearing small round glasses, hiding in panic behind a table.

A strikingly attractive woman appeared to have fainted from fright.

There was a puddle of liquid on the floor.

“Which esteemed officer is in command outside? I am Yang Million, vice chairman of the Yuyao Chamber of Commerce in Hangzhou. Chief of Staff Lu of the Hangzhou Garrison is my brother-in-law.”

This Hangzhou magnate had become Kawada Eikichi’s hostage.

All the agents looked toward Operations Group Leader Wan Delong.

Kawada Eikichi’s presence in the Yang residence made it obvious that Yang Million was suspected of collaborating with Japanese spies.

Logically, this hostage was one of the enemy’s own people and had little value as leverage.

However, Yang Million’s status prevented the agents from acting rashly.

Wan Delong gritted his teeth.

According to his own wishes, he would open fire immediately.

Yang Million?

Vice chairman of the Yuyao Chamber of Commerce?

Brother-in-law of Chief of Staff Lu?

To him, this was merely a traitorous collaborator who deserved death.

But he did not dare give the order.

Wan Delong needed Yu Ping’an’s approval.

Only Yu Ping’an could make such a decision.

Wan Delong turned and jogged over to Yu Ping’an.

“Deputy Director Yu, what do you think...”

At that moment, he saw Cheng Wufang walking toward Deputy Director Yu Ping’an.

“Deputy Director Yu.”

Cheng Qianfan’s expression was dark, his eyes red.

“Has my contribution today been great enough?”

“Great.”

Yu Ping’an remained calm.

A trace of surprise flashed through his eyes as he nodded.

Cheng Qianfan nodded and turned away.

As he walked, he suddenly raised his pistol.

Bang!

Yang Million was shot in the head.

His brains sprayed out.

“Group Leader Wan, now.”

Cheng Qianfan said to the stunned Wan Delong behind him.

“There are no hostages anymore.”

“Charge!”

Wan Delong stared deeply at him and roared.

“Charge!”

A burst of gunfire erupted.