vncnus Chapter 79 He Danming's Betrayal
Chapter 79 He Danming's Betrayal
Yan Shuo pressed himself against the mottled brick wall of the courtyard, listening to the intermittent gunshots and the shouts of the spies inside, his brows furrowed in worry.
He knew that if he had been a second later, those two underground party comrades would have really perished here.
With a quick swipe of his wrist, he drew a silenced Browning M1906 pistol. He glanced out of his pocket at the alleyway outside the mansion. Four agents from the 76th Division were positioned in a fan-shaped formation, their guns pointed at the mansion's gate, completely unaware of the threat lurking behind them.
Yan Shuo narrowed his eyes, adjusted his breathing, and steadily locked the gun muzzle on the back of the neck of the outermost agent.
"puff--"
With a barely audible thud, the spy's body went limp, and he collapsed silently to the ground, blood seeping from his neck.
Before the remaining three could react, Yan Shuo had already moved his feet and pulled the trigger in succession. After three "thuds," the alleyway fell completely silent. All four agents lay stiffly on the ground, each with a fatal wound to the head, clean and swift.
After dealing with the surrounding area, Yan Shuo walked towards the courtyard, the soft sound of his boots rolling over gravel particularly clear in the silence.
Inside the courtyard, Yingzi and Huzi were leaning against a pile of wooden crates, desperately protecting Honggang's corpse in front of them.
Upon hearing the noise, the two men instantly tensed up, pointing their guns at the door with their fingers on the triggers, but hesitated to fire.
They witnessed this stranger take down four spies in succession and instinctively categorized him as "friendly." However, the organization's ironclad rules were ingrained in their bones: single-line contact and strict prohibition against unauthorized contact with unidentified individuals.
"Don't shoot, we're on the same side." Yan Shuo spoke first, his tone calm. He didn't stop walking until he reached the brick wall three meters away from them before squatting down. His gaze swept over Hong Gang's lifeless face and then fell back on the two men's tense faces. "I also fought the Japanese. I have no interest in your secrets. I just happened to be passing by and couldn't bear to see my compatriots being bullied by spies."
As he spoke, he reached out and opened his black leather bag. With a "whoosh," four brand-new pistols and twenty bulging magazines rolled out and landed on the ground in front of the two men.
"What kind of gun is this? It looks much better than the ones we have." Tiger finally couldn't help but speak up, his voice hoarse, but his eyes were fixed on the guns.
The gun in his hand was an old one that had been captured from the enemy, and it was almost out of bullets. He had only managed to hold on until now thanks to the cover provided by Secretary Honggang.
"A silenced Astra 900, a good product made in Spain." Yan Shuo pointed to the safety switch on the side of the pistol and patiently explained, "Each magazine holds eighteen bullets, more than double the number of bullets in your old guns. It has an effective range of over seventy meters, perfect for urban warfare. See this little lever? Pulling it down releases the safety, and pushing it up releases it. It's simple to operate; you can use it as soon as you turn it on."
Yingzi remained vigilant, her brows furrowed as she stared at Yan Shuo: "Who are you? Why are you helping us? Giving us such good equipment for no reason, you must have a purpose, right?" She reached out and pulled the package on the ground closer to her. Her fingertips touched the cold gun barrel, and her heart couldn't help but beat faster. Their organization didn't even have many silenced pistols like this.
"Purpose?" Yan Shuo smiled, took out a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the gun. "My purpose is to kill Japanese devils and eliminate spies. You share the same goal, so helping you is helping myself. As for who I am, there's no need to know for now. It won't be of any use knowing once you're safe."
Seeing that Yingzi was still hesitant, he raised his chin and said, "Don't believe me? Try it. Take one and fire a couple of shots. The sound is very quiet. Don't worry about attracting more enemies."
Yingzi hesitated for a moment, glanced at Hu Zi's anxious eyes beside her, then glanced at Hong Gang's corpse, and finally gritted her teeth.
She carefully picked up an Astra 900, found the safety as Yan Shuo had instructed, gently pulled it down, then cocked the gun, turned around, aimed at the wall deep inside the courtyard, and pulled the trigger.
"Biu! Biu!"
Two soft sounds were almost drowned out by the sound of the wind outside the house.
Two bricks were knocked off the wall, and debris fell down in a flurry.
Yingzi's eyes lit up instantly, and her hand gripping the gun trembled slightly: "It really is a silencer! Hu Zi, grab it! With this gun, we can break through safely!"
She deftly pocketed one for herself, kept one in her hand, and handed the other two to Hu Zi. She also carefully divided the magazines into two groups of ten for each person and stuffed them into the cloth bags at her waist.
With ample ammunition and suitable weapons, the panic on their faces finally subsided, and their eyes showed more confidence.
Tiger took the gun, checked the magazine several times, and tried to release the safety and pull the bolt. His movements were clumsy but he was very serious.
He looked up at Yan Shuo and said in a muffled voice, "Thank you." This was the second sentence he had spoken since meeting Yan Shuo. After speaking, he turned around and stared warily at the gate of the mansion, his finger still on the trigger, ready to guard against any sudden situation.
"How about it, is that gun powerful enough?" Yan Shuo stood up with a smile, about to say something more, when he suddenly caught a glimpse of a dark figure flashing at the gate of the mansion. He reacted quickly, raising his hand and pulling the trigger of Browning. With a "thud," the dark figure groaned and fell straight in. It was a Japanese soldier trying to sneak in, with a bloody hole in his forehead, his Type 38 rifle still in his hand.
"Thank you." Seeing this, Yingzi's wariness towards Yan Shuo lessened. She looked down at the cold body of Honggang in her arms, and her voice choked instantly. "It's a pity you came too late. Our secretary, Comrade Honggang, has already sacrificed himself."
"I didn't notice the commotion here." Yan Shuo touched his nose, his tone apologetic. He dodged a bullet that flew from a gap in the courtyard. The bullet hit the brick wall and sparked a string of sparks. "I was on my way to the French Concession to take care of some business. I heard the gunshot when I passed by this alley and came here. I really didn't mean to be late."
"It's not your fault." Yingzi took a deep breath, fighting back tears, her voice filled with grief and indignation. "We've been betrayed! The courier, He Danming, has betrayed us!"
"He Danming?" Yan Shuo raised an eyebrow. He seemed to have heard the name somewhere before. It seemed to be a traitor that No. 76 had recently recruited.
"It's him!" Yingzi said through gritted teeth, tears finally streaming down her face. "He was in charge of delivering important intelligence, and he had always seemed incredibly reliable. We all trusted him completely. Who knew that after he was captured by 76, he couldn't even hold out for three days before revealing our rendezvous point, our code words, and the identities of several of our comrades!"
Tiger clenched his fists and growled, "If he hadn't betrayed us, we wouldn't have been exposed hiding here! Secretary Honggang wouldn't have..." His voice trembled as he finished speaking, his eyes filled with rage.
"That traitor deserves to die." Yan Shuo's eyes turned cold. He had seen many traitors from the 76th Division, but one who betrayed his comrades so quickly still disgusted him. "Now is not the time to be sad. Let's find a way out first. I've dealt with most of the Japanese troops and spies outside. The remaining few are no threat, but if we wait for their main force to arrive, none of us will be able to leave."