Chapter 258: This Doesn’t Look Like A Chance Encounter
Soon, all the supplies on the vehicles were unloaded. Boxes containing mortar shells, penicillin, firearms, bullets, and artillery shells were loaded onto the trucks. After issuing an order that the boxes were not to be opened for inspection, the vehicles were told to drive off first.
All those who remained were people Hao Pingchuan trusted and had brought with him personally.
What was in those boxes? With the boxes blocking the view, no one would know what was inside.
However, large items like the Type 92 infantry gun and mountain guns could not be packed into boxes.
To conceal this as much as possible from Cao Weida, he could only let his most trusted subordinates load, unload, and transport these large cannons.
When these guerrilla fighters saw the cannons, without exception, their eyes widened, thinking they were mistaken.
After a few seconds of excitement, Hao Pingchuan yelled at them to hurry and load them. He did not intend to transport these cannons and their corresponding artillery shells to the surrounding guerrilla base areas, but rather directly to the base area that very night.
Cao Weida naturally had no objection to this arrangement; he also understood the significance of these cannons to the Communist Party.
Amidst the guerrillas’ excited emotions, the cannons were disassembled into parts and loaded onto the trucks one by one.
Compared to many international cannons, the Japanese Type 92 infantry gun and Type 94 mountain gun were indeed somewhat inferior in performance, but it had to be said that in terms of weight and ease of disassembly for transportation, they had praiseworthy aspects.
After loading them, Hao Pingchuan suppressed his excitement, but the smile on his face was harder to suppress than an AK.
“Cao Ye, I need to go to the guerrilla base area to arrange the transportation of those supplies. Tonight, would you mind enduring some hardship and resting there for a night?”
“After the city gates open tomorrow, I will definitely send you back first thing in the morning!”
“No need, you should all leave quickly.” Cao Weida took out his pocket watch, looked at it under the flashlight, and said,
“I still need to wait here for the Japanese convoy to arrive, and I’ll be returning with them.”
He took out a stack of temporary passes from his pocket: “These are temporary passes. Show them when you encounter inspections, and they will naturally let you through.”
Ono Shiota knew that these vehicles and one-tenth of the supplies were to be sent to the base area and could not remain in the occupied territory, otherwise, it would be trouble if discovered by someone with ulterior motives.
To show his sincerity, Ono Shiota had procured some temporary passes according to Cao Weida’s request.
“Alright!” Hao Pingchuan said without further ado. After receiving the passes, he called the driver and distributed half of them, saying,
“You should know the value of these things. Be careful on the road, don’t stop, and deliver them all safely to their destination!”
“Yes!” *N.
Hao Pingchuan left in the truck, leaving Cao Weida alone.
With a slap, he killed a mosquito that was trying to suck his blood. It was already late May, and the mosquitoes were gradually becoming active.
To avoid being bothered by mosquitoes, he looked around, went under a large tree, and with a stomp of his foot, he quickly climbed onto a thick branch. Sitting on the trunk, he took out a cigarette, lit it, and leaned back comfortably against the tree, smoking and watching the yellow lights of the convoy disappear into the distance.
“There’s only one year and three months left until the Resist Japan War victory. There isn’t much time left to trap the little devils~~”
The night was beautiful tonight, without a cloud in the sky. A crescent moon hung in the starry expanse, casting its pale moonlight across the land.
A gentle breeze rustled the leaves, creating a symphony with the surrounding insect chirps, a melody unique to nature.
“Such beautiful scenery. If I were still living in modern times, at this moment, I’d probably be lying on a lounge chair in the courtyard. Never mind the bragging, I’d likely be exhausted and fast asleep, conserving energy for the grueling life of the next day.”
As he said this, he suddenly smiled. Although he was forced to transmigration to this war-torn era, and although it was indeed tough at first, lacking television, computers, or mobile phones,
with the help of the system, he gained abilities and money.
With some ability, he could help his country and his ancestors by providing supplies, and he had several beautiful wives and concubines at home, so he had nothing to be dissatisfied about.
“So, what are those transmigrators in those transmigration novels looking for when they constantly think about going back, having systems?”
Anyway, if Cao Weida had to choose, he definitely wouldn’t want to go back and be a workhorse again.
Time passed slowly, and it was soon around 12:40 AM, with only twenty minutes left until the appointed time.
Cao Weida gazed into the distance and saw a line of orange-yellow lights moving from the direction of Beiping City.
“They’re finally here,” Cao Weida muttered, extinguishing the cigarette he was holding in his mouth by pressing it against the tree. Grasping a branch, he flipped over and landed lightly on the ground.
Before long, the roar of truck engines grew from afar, and a convoy of six trucks stopped in the deserted village.
Then, a Japanese soldier in a military uniform stepped out from the co-driver’s seat of the lead vehicle.
Upon seeing the person arrive, Cao Weida emerged from behind the tree trunk and smiled,
“Fujita-kun is as punctual as ever!”
“Haha~~ Cao Sang, sorry to have kept you waiting.” Upon seeing Cao Weida, Fujita Sosuke laughed heartily.
The total value of this batch of supplies was considerable, and he would be able to pocket another four to five thousand silver dollars, making him incredibly happy.
“Fujita-kun is too kind. It is my honor to serve the Empire.” Cao Weida pointed to the adobe house where the supplies were stored:
“Everything is inside. Please begin loading now.”
He waved his arms a few times and scratched himself, saying with a wry smile, “The mosquitoes are getting more numerous now. Let’s finish loading quickly so we can leave. I don’t want to stay here and feed the mosquitoes anymore.”
“Yōshi, well said!” Fujita Sosuke slapped his face with a ‘snap’, and a mosquito that was about to ‘ambush’ his ‘noble bloodline’ was heroically sacrificed.
With a wave of his hand: “Quickly, load the supplies. I don’t want to stay here and deal with mosquitoes!”
“Hai!”
As the order was given, the accompanying Japanese soldiers immediately began to act.
Fujita Sosuke and Cao Weida chatted and smoked on the side, making plans to go have some fun at Xiaguang Garden tomorrow.
After a while, a Japanese soldier holding a list came up to Fujita Sosuke and reported the quantity to him in Japanese.
Fujita Sosuke nodded with satisfaction and said a string of gibberish, of which Cao Weida only understood the two words ‘Yōshi’.
“Fujita-kun, how is the verification of the supplies?”
“Yōshi, Cao Sang, the numbers are all correct. We can depart! Space is limited, so you can squeeze into a vehicle with me.”
Cao Weida had no objections. If Fujita Sosuke didn’t mind squeezing in, how could he, a mere lackey, be pretentious?
After everyone boarded, the convoy set off towards Beiping City.
Upon returning to Beiping, Cao Weida did not go home but checked into a hotel.
At three in the morning, with a soft creak, the hotel room window was opened a crack. After observing the surroundings, Cao Weida, dressed in black, quietly left through the hotel room window.
An hour later, Cao Weida returned to the hotel, lay on the bed, and fell into a deep, satisfied sleep.
Just as Cao Weida drifted off to sleep, the Wanping Military Police station was brightly lit.
“Creak~~”
With a sharp screech of brakes, a military sedan stopped at the entrance of the Military Police station.
A group of Japanese military police quickly approached the vehicle, anticipating potential danger.
A Japanese military policeman quickly ran to the rear passenger door and respectfully opened it, placing his hand above the car door.
Then, a man in his fifties with the insignia of a Colonel on his shoulder emerged from the rear door and, surrounded by the military police, quickly entered the office building.
Uchida Ryoma’s eyebrows involuntarily twitched as he looked at the scene investigation report submitted by the criminal investigation department.
“Shioguchi-kun, are you sure this was done by Communist Party guerrillas?”
To be honest, Uchida Ryoma believed Shioguchi Shuzou’s conclusion, but for some reason, he felt something was strange about the matter.
“Uchida-kun, we combined the on-site investigation with the testimony of the escaped driver, and after repeated verification and deduction, we arrived at this conclusion!”
He pointed to the photographs above and said, “The goods on the vehicles were not all stolen; most of them were destroyed and burned. This indicates that the other party did not have experienced vehicle crews!”
“From the bodies, we extracted bullets of various types, all caused by rifle bullets. These characteristics… aside from the guerrillas, I can’t think of any other group that would act this way.”
“The organized bandits in the vicinity have either been annihilated and driven away by us or have been incorporated by us. Besides these guerrillas, who are like maggots on a bone, I really can’t imagine who else would have the courage to attack our convoy.”
“Furthermore, during the day, I led a team to arrest a group of dissidents and killed more than ten people and injured six while they resisted. I suspect this is a retaliatory action by the guerrillas against us!”
“I believe this was a spur-of-the-moment action decided by them!”
Shioguchi Shuzou’s analysis was well-reasoned and eloquent. Uchida Ryoma did not find it inappropriate; on the contrary, he agreed with it.
However, his intuition told him that there must be something unknown about this matter.
Because the entire incident was too coincidental.
How did the guerrillas know the transportation route of the convoy?
Why were the injuries caused at close range?
Didn’t the Communist Party always believe in not killing prisoners?
And why did the vehicle break down at that particular spot so coincidentally?
Judging by the traces at the scene, this did not look like an accidental encounter but a premeditated act!
Otherwise, why would the action be so clean and efficient?
He wanted to ask for more clarification, but seeing the look of certainty on the other person’s face, he wisely suppressed his doubts.
Because he suddenly realized that this matter seemed to be more complicated than it appeared!
He recalled that Arakawa Naoto had reported the Logistics Department to the Expeditionary Army Headquarters, bypassing the usual chain of command.
Then, the Minister of the Expeditionary Army Logistics Department righteously amended the long-standing procedures for incoming and outgoing goods and made a sarcastic remark.
And now, Arakawa Naoto had suddenly died, under unclear circumstances.
Hiss~~~
He suddenly gasped, his pupils narrowing slightly.
Good heavens, could it be…
He couldn’t help but shiver, then his expression turned serious, and he said righteously, “Shioguchi-kun’s analysis is very reasonable! I completely agree with this conclusion!”
“These damned guerrillas are simply too lawless. After I return, I will definitely request the officer to conduct a thorough investigation of the occupied territory!”
This matter could not be investigated further; it would be left as it is, otherwise, he was genuinely afraid that as he investigated, he would end up like the second Arakawa Naoto!!
