Chapter 25: Robbing the Japanese Devils

August 31, 1938, Umbrella Corporation, Jiangcheng.

"Young Master, the payment from Hongmao Trading has arrived—200,000 silver dollars in total," Alexei reported in a low voice, walking up to Wang Yue, who was lost in thought. The compound sulfonamide from Umbrella Corporation had been on the market for some time, and the results were explosive. The price had soared from the initial one fabi per tablet to two silver dollars per tablet. Today, Hongmao Trading had even cleared out their entire inventory.

"Have you confirmed the location of their warehouse?" Wang Yue nodded. Since arriving in Jiangcheng, he had unlocked a new application for his soul-searching skill: identifying traitors and spies. While he could not simply grab people for interrogation, getting close to a target allowed him to capture their innermost thoughts.

Previously, when Hongmao Trading approached them, Wang Yue happened to be present. Sensing something off about their demeanor, he had used his soul-searching ability. To his surprise, he discovered they were undercover agents for the Japanese military. They had initiated contact to prevent the medicine from falling into the hands of the Chinese forces and to replenish Japanese military supplies.

Furthermore, the Japanese were trying to investigate whether the Umbrella Corporation had any collusion with the Japanese Navy. Well, the Japanese Army had already pinned the blame for the Nationalist government acquiring a large number of torpedo boats on the Japanese Navy. It was a logical conclusion; without the "cooperation" of the navy, those torpedo boats could never have been transported to Jiangcheng. This was exactly why they hadn't sabotaged the Umbrella Corporation despite knowing it was selling massive amounts of military equipment to the Nationalist government—they likely enjoyed the prospect of watching the navy make a fool of itself.

As for the Japanese Navy, they might not know yet, or perhaps they already did, but they wouldn't care. They were probably eager for more reasons to expand their armament; the army had been squeezing more and more resources since the war began, which had already left the navy quite dissatisfied.

"Confirmed. It's in the French Concession. There are four people during the day and eight at night. They are equipped with four submachine guns and eight Mauser C96 pistols. There is a light machine gun on the second floor of the grocery store across the street, where two people sleep at night." Alexei produced a sketch and several photographs. Zhou Weiguo had handled this personally, and the images were remarkably clear.

"Steel-reinforced concrete?" Wang Yue's eyes twitched. A reinforced concrete warehouse with walls half a meter thick. Aside from the main gate, the few windows were eight or nine meters up, and there were hidden sentries stationed opposite. This was quite professional; the local patrol station certainly couldn't take it down.

"Steel-reinforced concrete. It used to be a warehouse for the Russo-Asiatic Bank, used for storing silver dollars for export." Alexei pulled out an old photograph, showing the bank in its former glory.

"Have Zhou Weiguo draw up an operation plan. We must take that warehouse tonight!" Wang Yue knew they would use foreign seaplanes to transport the medicine tomorrow, so they had to strike tonight.

"Young Master, can Zhou Weiguo be trusted?" Alexei was clearly uneasy about the somewhat rebellious Zhou Weiguo.

"Don't worry. Even Li Ya and Xu Zhongyi would be fine. As long as they're fighting the Japanese, it doesn't matter." Wang Yue shook his head slightly. The Military Statistics Bureau hadn't given Xu Zhongyi any specific orders other than to cooperate with Gu Yufei. As for Li Ya, he had been left idle since the Battle of Jinshanwei; the Bureau had likely forgotten him entirely. If not for the soul-searching skill, who would believe they would ignore someone as loyal as Li Ya?

The reason he brought Li Ya over was to keep him away from the messy politics of the post-war era. As a hero who had risked his life at Jinshanwei, his original ending was truly a pity. If he had to die, Wang Yue hoped he would die honorably.

"I will go and make the arrangements."

***

September 1, early morning. The heart of the French Concession remained lit with neon lights and revelry, but the industrial district was deathly silent. It was baffling; despite the ongoing war, the domestic industrial system had not entered a wartime footing. This was true for private enterprises, and the Arsenal's factories were no different.

During the day, Wang Yue and Zhou Weiguo had moved into a small nearby hotel, which they had now completely secured.

Watching the last patrol of the local police pass by, Wang Yue nodded at Zhou Weiguo. Grabbing the window frame with one hand, he effortlessly vaulted onto the roof of the hotel. Zhou Weiguo was clearly stunned; although he had seen Wang Yue training with the soldiers, he had no idea his physical prowess was this great—he had moved as if weightless, without any visible effort.

The group crept onto the roof of the grocery store, but Wang Yue stopped them. He had learned a crucial piece of information while buying cigarettes that afternoon: most of the roof was flimsy and couldn't support an adult's weight. Stepping onto it would cause one to fall straight through, and the second-floor flooring inside was just as weak.

Reaching the skylight, Wang Yue touched a small canister at his waist—a crude but effective smoke generator Zhou Weiguo had made using ether provided by Wang Yue. However, he released it instead, slipping through the small skylight like a dragon.

Wang Yue, who aspired to be a master of caution, would normally not be so reckless. But the "instincts" of this body were powerful. By the time his mind cleared, the two Japanese agents sleeping on the floor had been decapitated. Looking at the blood-dripping kukri knife, Wang Yue realized he had been influenced by the spirit of Nalan Xinde. He didn't know if this influence was limited to combat or something else entirely.

There was no time for hesitation. After looting the grocery store into his spatial storage, he returned to the roof through the skylight. The entire operation had taken less than a minute. When he emerged, Zhou Weiguo was still timing him on his watch, ready to lead the team in if the limit was exceeded.

Smelling the heavy scent of blood on Wang Yue, Zhou Weiguo realized that his presence tonight wasn't to impress a new boss; he was just a support character.

Sure enough, when they approached the warehouse, Wang Yue disrupted the plan again. He sliced through the ten-centimeter-thick jujube wood door bar with a single stroke. He rushed in wielding two silenced C93 pistols, ending the battle with a series of muffled shots before Zhou Weiguo and his men even had a chance to fire. He hadn't even needed to reload before all the Japanese agents were dead. Not stopping there, Wang Yue pulled out two Damascus steel blades and began decapitating the corpses.

Zhou Weiguo and his men were veterans who had seen such things, but Wang Yue's method was on another level—it was smooth, incredibly smooth. He always knew exactly where to strike for minimal resistance and minimal blood spray. The occasional droplets of blood bypassed him with uncanny precision. His blades were drenched, yet his hands remained spotless, and he even used the blades to flick the severed heads into a neat, uniform row.

A chill ran down Zhou Weiguo's spine. He began to wonder if the legendary old Northeast Army had all been like this—treating killing as a form of pleasure. The veterans behind him were even more shocked; the gruesome scene made them feel that they weren't so inferior after all. Their commander was a confidant of the Old Marshal; as long as he was there, the Marshal's banner would never fall.

Seeing the complicated expressions on their faces, Wang Yue was helpless. The influence of Nalan Xinde was unpredictable. If he had known this would happen, he certainly wouldn't have come himself.

After taking stock of the warehouse supplies, Wang Yue felt his personal involvement was worth it. The goods here were far more valuable than what he had traded for with the Nationalist government.

The largest haul was salt—high-quality refined salt, 800 tons of it. Even at standard prices, it was worth over a million silver dollars. As the war continued, the price of salt would only rise—another "investment product."

The second largest item was opium. The Japanese were not honest businessmen; their firms focused on refined or synthetic products, which were more profitable but faced resistance in many areas. Hongmao Trading specialized in "traditional items." Their military grew it on a massive scale in the Northeast and Suiyuan, using it as direct currency.

Merchants would dump this in China, selling it for two or two-and-a-half silver dollars per ounce, then exchange the proceeds into Japanese Yen back in Japan. The profit margin was far higher than legitimate business. If they colluded with local gangs to run opium dens, the earnings were even greater.

There were 67 tons of opium here, worth at least 3.5 million silver dollars at the lowest price. Wang Yue had no intention of being noble and destroying it. Not selling it wouldn't stop the addicts from buying or the Japanese from selling; in fact, supply shortages might just drive the price higher.

The third largest item was silver bullion—97 tons. This was not surprising. While most silver dollars could be deposited in banks, silver ingots, scrap silver, jewelry, and damaged or low-purity coins could not—or at least, the loss in value during exchange was high. The Japanese, being stingy, would simply refine and cast these into ingots to ship back home. These were likely stranded due to the war.

However, Wang Yue soon realized his perspective had been too narrow. In a corner of the warehouse was a full set of minting equipment: crucible furnaces, rolling mills, presses, tempering furnaces, edge-milling machines, and dies. It was almost complete. Checking them, he found they had been used recently. They were likely moved here from the Japanese Concession to avoid customs and to circulate counterfeit currency into the interior to exchange for gold, foreign exchange, and strategic resources. Jiangcheng was the perfect location for this.

Another surprise was the weapons. Due to the war, there were no heavy weapons, but there was a wealth of light arms: 1,300 Murata Type 22 cavalry rifles; 200,000 rounds of 8mm Murata ammunition; 492 Astra M902 pistols; 196 7.63mm Steyr-Solothurn S1-100 submachine guns; 500,000 rounds of 7.63mm pistol ammo; 299 7.92mm Lewis light machine guns; 1 million rounds of 7.92mm pointed bullets; 100 Type 10 grenade launchers; and 5,000 Type 91 hand grenades.

The Murata Type 22 was the first smokeless powder rifle developed by the Japanese. It was a classic piece from the First Sino-Japanese War. While it lacked a bayonet mount and was less cost-effective than the ubiquitous "Gold Hook" rifles, it was a collector's item. Wang Yue was reluctant to sell them, as they were worth a fortune in the future.

The Astra M902 pistols, with their 20-round magazines and wooden shoulder stocks, were perfect for small-scale skirmishes. The 7.92mm Lewis guns were surplus from the Great War, cheap and common, though ammunition was scarce.

Wang Yue’s favorite, however, was the Steyr-Solothurn S1-100. It was far superior to the Thompson or Suomi. With these, he could finally build a proper personal guard. As for the Type 10 grenade launchers, he didn't care for them, but they would be perfect for Li Yunlong to use against Yamamoto Ichiki.