Chapter 55

Using poison gas to attack Japanese civilians was something Dong Ku had been planning for a long time. To make the Japanese收敛 (restrain), and to reduce the harm to the poor, this was the only way out!

At this time, the so-called Japanese settler groups were doing the same things as the Japanese army, and what was even more hateful was that these settler groups would disturb the people every day, plundering wealth, and committing all sorts of atrocities. In the memory of later generations, when the Soviet Union declared war on Japan, although most of the over one million Japanese settlers in the three northeastern provinces died in the hands of the Soviet Red Army or in concentration camps, a small part managed to escape back to their homeland, or simply went into hiding among the local population; and the wealth of these survivors was comparable to that of the major landowners of the early years. Even if they didn't own hundreds of thousands of dollars, they certainly had tens of thousands.

The most critical point was that the Japanese policy at the time was to replace the local Chinese with Japanese settlers, thus making the three northeastern provinces Japanese territory at their roots; as a result, the settler groups had a significant number of human lives on their hands. Although their methods were different from the Soviet occupation of Siberia, where they massacred the local residents of Chinese descent, the difference was not significant.

However, poison gas was not a bomb. In Dahu Town, he could use it because the area was sparsely populated, and there was no one left in Dahu Town, so it wouldn't harm innocent compatriots. But here, there were tens of thousands of Chinese, or even more. If the poison gas were to spread to the western part of the city, Dong Ku would bear an inescapable sin, and no matter how many Japanese he killed, he couldn't pass his own conscience.

But if he didn't act now, the opportunity would be lost, or it would become extremely difficult, and they would inevitably suffer casualties.

Standing there, Dong Ku's eyes became distant, and he carefully considered each step in his mind. After a while, he took a deep breath and ordered, "Liu Zhong, take four people into the secret room and move all the black powder out. Be careful not to open any doors along the way and don't touch anything else."

"Yes!"

Dong Ku waved his hand and led Mazi, Shunzi, Liu Hai, and Sun Tao into the secret room.

After they disappeared, Dong Ku turned back and said, "Huzi, go replace your brother Mazi. Remember, anyone who knocks on the back door is not allowed to enter. If you have to let them in, you must eliminate them, no matter who they are."

"Yes!"

Huzi quickly washed his face, removing the greasepaint, grabbed a set of guard's clothes, and carried a crossbow and a dagger to the back yard.

Shortly after, Mazi came to the living room. Before he could ask, Dong Ku ordered, "Use burlap bags to load all the bodies in the side hall onto the truck and clean up the bloodstains on the ground."

"Yes!"

Mazi and Dog Egg responded and turned to leave, starting to load the bodies.

The black powder from several boxes was quickly moved to the yard and loaded onto the truck, along with the bodies of the Wang family.

While everyone was busy, Dong Ku went to the secret room where Shu Linglong was held, opened the door slightly, turned off the light inside, and said, "Miss Shu, I will now untie you so you can move and relieve yourself, but then I will tie you up again. I hope you can understand."

"Hmph!"

Shu Linglong didn't speak, but coldly snorted, mentally cursing the man's ancestors and vowing to give him a lesson for treating her so poorly and not trusting her.

Dong Ku knew that Shu Linglong, who had been forced into this situation, was definitely unhappy, but he had no choice. He needed to act tonight and had to let this woman go after the action, but he couldn't let her know about the secret room or the tunnel, and he couldn't let her lose her ability to move due to being tied up for too long, or be captured by the Japanese.

Dong Ku entered the room by feel, carefully untied Shu Linglong's feet and hands, and did not touch her body in the darkness.

Shu Linglong cooperated fully, not moving at all. After Dong Ku closed the door and stood guard outside, she quickly moved her limbs and stood up in the dark. Two minutes later, she gritted her teeth and felt her way to the wall, where she took off her pants at the foot of the bed...

Dong Ku listened carefully to the sounds inside the room. When he heard the sound of water, he secretly admired the adaptability of the people in the underworld, who knew how to assess the situation.

After the water sound stopped for a while, he said through the door, "Miss Shu, please stand by the bed when you're done."

Shu Linglong didn't respond, but tidied herself up and felt her way back to the bed, standing still.

Dong Ku, hearing that Shu Linglong had returned to the bed, took the rope and cautiously entered the room, feeling for her position. When his hand touched her back, he quickly tied her up and laid her on the bed, his movements skilled and precise, without any inappropriate behavior.

This made the angry and humiliated Shu Linglong secretly relieved, and she relaxed her tense legs, lying back on the bed.

As soon as her head touched the bed, a foreign object was placed in her mouth. Before she could react, Dong Ku's voice sounded.

"This is a piece of deer loin, eat a little. This is water, you can reach it."

As he spoke, Shu Linglong smelled the salty and fragrant dried meat and, without hesitation, opened her mouth to bite it, slowly chewing. She felt a cool sensation on her cheek, and the sound of water splashing as a water container was placed next to her.

Dong Ku put down the opened water bottle and turned to leave the secret room, no longer paying attention to Shu Linglong.

After he came out and closed the secret room, Liu Zhong and the others had already loaded all the bodies onto the truck as he had instructed.

"Shunzi, Shanzi, come with me. Liu Zhong, you are responsible for guarding the Wang family, no one in or out." As he spoke, Dong Ku quickly changed into Wang Ziyuan's outfit and put on the top hat.

Shunzi and Shanzi responded, each preparing their items. At Dong Ku's signal, Shunzi, dressed as a guard, took two Mauser pistols and went out the front door, getting into the truck.

Shanzi had already changed into his outfit and got into the car he had never driven before. After Dong Ku taught him a few times and practiced moving forward and backward, he drove the car, pulling Dong Ku out of the Wang family compound.

As soon as the car and truck left, the gate of the Wang family compound slammed shut.

Shanzi carefully drove the car, leading Shunzi toward the checkpoint in the west of the city.

On the way, Dong Ku noticed that there were not many pedestrians on the road, and the streets were full of Japanese soldiers patrolling in groups.

"Damn! I don't know if there's a chance to get rid of this guy."

Although Dong Ku didn't have time to gather information, he was sure that the presence of such a large force meant that the person coming was of high importance. He didn't know that originally, only one brigade was responsible for Jiamusi's security, but because of the tenfold retaliation he caused in Baoqing, Nanzhilang was on high alert and had brought in two divisions to surround Jiamusi.

This wasn't just one commander; the entire Kwantung Army leadership was here, so he had to be extremely cautious.

After driving for a few minutes, Shanzi gradually got used to the car and drove steadily to the checkpoint.

Shanzi handed over the special pass, simply stating that he was ordered by the head of the preparatory committee, Wang, to leave the city. Without any inspection, they were allowed to leave the checkpoint with the truck.

Shanzi led the way out of the checkpoint, leaving the Jiamusi area, and turned into a small road leading to a village in a forest.

After driving for a few minutes, Dong Ku told Shanzi to stop the car, quickly went to the truck, and climbed aboard.

After a tense period of work, when Shanzi drove back, Dong Ku had set up the explosive trap and punctured the rear tire of the truck. As the tire hissed and deflated, he and Shunzi got into the car and headed back to Jiamusi.

On the main road, they encountered a group of patrolling Japanese soldiers but were not stopped and returned to Jiamusi smoothly.

By this time, it was already mid-afternoon, and it would be dark in two hours. Dong Ku signaled Shanzi to stop the car and pointed to a guy wandering nearby, saying, "Shanzi, him. Get him to go to the truck."

"Okay!"

Shanzi responded, got out of the car, and walked up to the guy, smiling and said, "Busy?"

"Who are you?"

The guy pulled out his pistol, flicked his oiled hair, and asked arrogantly.

"Brother, I'm Wang Dezhi, the driver for the head of the preparatory committee, Wang. I need your help with something." As he spoke, Shanzi slipped two silver dollars into the guy's hand.

"Help? The head of the preparatory committee is so prominent, why would he need my help?"

The guy weighed the silver dollars and looked at Shanzi.

"See, it's you I'm asking, just to deliver something. When I come back, I'll treat you to a couple of drinks at Huichunlou." As he spoke, Shanzi handed the repair kit to the guy.

"Why don't you deliver it yourself?" The guy took the repair kit, weighed the two silver dollars, and narrowed his eyes.

"Brother, I got a... my wasteful wife found out, so..." Shanzi understood and slipped two more silver dollars into the guy's hand.

"Ha ha... hiding a beauty... "

The guy smiled lewdly, understanding, and tucked the repair kit under his arm, patting Shanzi on the shoulder. "It's a small matter. If your house is on fire, I can't just stand by. I'll deliver it, and when I come back, I'll treat you at Huichunlou."

"Brother, I'll remember your kindness. I'll treat you at Huichunlou. Just deliver the thing in the car and make the arrangements." Shanzi thanked him profusely and added, "The car is loaded with good things for the Imperial Army, so don't lift the curtain." As he spoke, he told the guy the location of the car and ran back to the car.

The guy, from a distance, watched Shanzi start the car, then proudly blew on the silver dollars, called a companion, got on a bicycle, and headed out of the city.

"Let's go back to the compound." Dong Ku patted Shanzi, satisfied.

They entered the compound and were busy when, less than half an hour later, a loud explosion was heard from outside the city.

Shortly after, the city's alarm whistles sounded, and Japanese soldiers rushed out of the city. The streets immediately went into a state of martial law.

Shanzi, hearing the explosion, stopped and chuckled, muttering, "I don't even know where Huichunlou is. You go on your own..."

Dong Ku, hearing the whistles, looked up at the sky and ordered, "Move quickly, we don't have much time!" He then pulled Liu Zhong and Shunzi aside and instructed, "When the explosion happens, Liu Zhong, take them through the tunnel. Each person carries twenty pounds of gold, wear the masks and clothes we brought, and dispose of them in Huinan. Then, take a detour back to Dahei Mountain and avoid fighting as much as possible."

"Shunzi knows all the secret doors and mechanisms. Take the girl from the secret room with you, but don't release her until you are a few hundred meters away from the tunnel exit. Remember, put the mask on her and cover her with the glass hood so she doesn't know she's in the tunnel."

"Then we'll go, what about you? What will you do?" Liu Zhong asked.

Liu Zhong and Shunzi looked at Dong Ku, puzzled, not understanding the purpose of this arrangement. They didn't know that the strange items were gas masks, and they certainly didn't know that Dong Ku had already made up his mind to die...

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