Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 238, Part 237: Nighttime Battle, Miraculous Escape, Perfect Plan

The kidnapping of a Japanese naval admiral is still ongoing.

Because Hongkou was blockaded by the Japanese army, people outside could not know what was going on inside.

Only a small number of people learned some information through special channels.

Outside the villa where the crime occurred, an officer raised a loudspeaker and announced:

"We need time to prepare. If we can't do it today, we'll have to wait until at least tomorrow."

The third floor of the small Western-style building.

The windows were all covered by black curtains, so people outside couldn't see what was happening inside.

This prevented the Japanese army from determining the exact location of Fang Wen and the hostages, and thus deterred them from firing indiscriminately.

The bodies of the Japanese soldiers inside had been moved to the corridor as a barrier.

In the middle of the room, Nagano Osamu, Yoshida, and two other officers were tied to chairs with bombs strapped to their bodies and their eyes and mouths sealed. They were in the most vulnerable position to being shot, and if the guns were fired from outside, they would be the most likely to be hit.

After listening to what the officer outside said, Fang Wen extended the megaphone:

"We can wait overnight, but don't try anything funny."

After saying that, Fang Wen whispered to the team members, "They will definitely try to rush up tonight. Everyone, prepare for the fourth step."

The fourth step is nighttime defense, which presents the Japanese with their best opportunity, as they are likely to risk attempting a rescue.

Immediately, the team members began to work in an orderly manner.

They retrieved the bulletproof iron shield from the wall cavity.

These iron shields with interlocking joints were assembled into temporary protective fortifications, with an outer curved shield and an inner triangular support to prevent them from tipping over.

These bulletproof shields were set up in front of windows and doors so that in the event of a battle, Fang Wen and his team of soldiers could use the bulletproof fortifications to fire outwards from the firing ports.

In addition to bulletproof fortifications, each person also has ample firepower.

汤姆逊冲锋枪一把，20发弹匣5个，100发弹鼓2个。20发用于接触战，100发

One Browning pistol, two magazines.

Each person has three fragmentation grenades.

Time passed slowly, and the sun set.

Surrounded by thousands of Japanese soldiers, the lonely little villa became an isolated island in the HK district.

As darkness fell, shadowy figures moved about outside the isolated island.

The Japanese army is about to make a move.

The darkness provided the best cover, and the Japanese attempted to use this opportunity to launch a surprise attack.

But they didn't know that something was also happening inside the small building.

Qian Yinxing quietly went downstairs and carefully detonated the trigger bombs in the stairwell, behind the corner door, and other locations.

Thin wires were slowly pulled out from the wall, hanging at the other end to form a tripwire; these mechanisms were impossible to detect under the cover of night.

After setting up the first floor, Qian Yinxing carefully bypassed the various triggering devices and went up to the second floor to continue setting up.

This task can only be done by him alone; having another person would only cause trouble. He has been preparing for this for a long time.

A dozen minutes later, all the trigger devices on the three floors were activated, and Qian Yinxing returned to his room to report.

"Activation complete. There is no way out outside."

Fang Wen nodded: "Now, everyone take your positions and wait for the rabbit to run into the tree stump."

As night deepened, Japanese soldiers carrying long rifles crouched low as they entered the small Western-style building.

The leader waved his hand, and the soldiers split into two groups: one group searched and guarded the first floor, while the other group went up the stairs.

The soldiers who went upstairs tiptoed, afraid of disturbing the people inside.

But they didn't expect that countless deadly traps were hidden ahead.

As the leading soldier took his third step, his front foot got caught on a thin thread.

The trigger-activated explosive device was activated instantly. There was a soft bang inside the wall, and then a fist-sized black shadow popped out from the blasted wall.

The dark shape was a fragmentation grenade that had been ejected and exploded in mid-air before the Japanese could react.

Fragmentation grenades are extremely lethal in small spaces, especially in places where there is no way to take cover.

The staircase area was completely open, and four Japanese soldiers were caught off guard in an instant.

They were not dead yet, their bodies covered in wounds from British-made fragmentation grenades, howling in agony on the ground.

"Retreat." The commander of the raid ordered his men to carry the wounded out.

He reported to his superior: "There are bombs inside, we can't go up."

"Baka!" His face was slapped hard by his superior officer several times, and the officer's curses echoed throughout the area.

Even Fang Wen and the others on the third floor heard it.

Fang Wen beckoned Liu Yinfeng over: "I heard you're really good at cursing?"

Liu Yinfeng blushed: "It's just that I talk too fast. I feel really embarrassed by what you said, boss. I'll definitely change in the future."

"No need to change it. Just start by insulting the Japanese outside and provoking them."

"understood."

Liu Yinfeng picked up a megaphone and quietly extended it through the curtains.

"You bunch of cowards, I'm standing here today! Come on up if you dare. I'll kill every single one of you who comes up. You short, ugly lot, and you dare to defy the heavens? Those who don't dare to come up are cowards!"

He really knows how to curse, and he never stops.

The Japanese people below couldn't understand at first, but after the interpreter translated it, they were furious.

Immediately afterwards, another group of suicide squads was organized to go up.

This group of Japanese suicide squad members stripped off their shirts, drank a lot of alcohol, and rushed into the small Western-style building while cursing.

Not long after, a series of explosions occurred, and they all perished inside.

But this round revealed a flaw to the Japanese.

The bombed areas are safe.

Two more teams then rushed up to the second floor.

In this way, they somehow managed to clear a passage to the third floor, and then a large group of soldiers went upstairs.

They were met with a barrage of bullets.

The alternating bursts of fire from the Thompson submachine gun were comparable to those from a machine gun.

The Japanese hadn't expected not only so many bombs but also such overwhelming firepower; they simply couldn't break through those final 20 meters.

Not to mention the fragmentation grenades that were thrown at them from time to time.

The fierce battle that lasted all night finally came to a standstill in the corridor on the third floor. The Japanese soldiers, who dared not use heavy firepower to attack, were simply unable to break through this deadly corridor.

Looking at the rising sun outside, Fang Wen said, "Give them a greeting gift."

The three officers and Nagano were pulled up, and the operatives used them as cover to reach the door.

“You fouled last night, this is your punishment.”

A shot rang out, and an officer was hit and thrown into the corridor.

"Get out of here now, all of you. If anyone dares to come up here again, I'll cut off Nagano's arm to show you."

The Japanese soldiers dared not act rashly and withdrew from the small Western-style building.

Now only three hostages remain inside, which only makes the Japanese naval officers outside even more worried.

They had no choice but to do as the kidnappers inside demanded.

An order was issued from the Kwantung Army headquarters, and prisons in Changchun, Shenyang, and Harbin simultaneously began releasing prisoners.

British and French diplomats in the Northeast witnessed the release of prisoners.

Subsequently, the same thing happened in Tianjin.

Twenty wounded prisoners were sent out of the Japanese concession in Tianjin and received by officials of the Tianjin Nationalist Government.

This scene was also observed by Wu Yingzong, who was sent to Tianjin by Fang Wen.

He personally witnessed Yue Jinping, covered in injuries, being among the transfer team.

That was enough. Fang Wen couldn't be sure how many real anti-Japanese elements the Japanese had released, but as long as Yue Jinping was rescued, the operation would be considered a success. Wu Yingzong immediately sent the telegram back.

Fang Wen, who had just received the telegram, smiled as he stood in the small Western-style building in Hongkou.

The matter is finally coming to an end.

He glanced at the last three hostages.

We can't leave Yoshida behind; the other surviving officer will be his cover.

Now, it's time to evacuate from here.

He whispered, "Step five begins."

The fifth step is also the most crucial step in the entire plan.

They quietly withdrew under the watchful eyes of the Japanese.

The team members carefully lifted a cabinet in the room, revealing a hidden hole under the bookshelf.

This dark tunnel connected to the study on the second floor. Liu Yin pushed aside the cover, observed the situation below, and climbed down after confirming that there were no Japanese soldiers.

The angle at which the study is positioned is such that it's completely hidden from view by the bookshelves.

As soon as Liu Yin's hand touched the ground, he immediately crawled forward silently.

He pushed aside the bookshelf in the corner, revealing a dark hole that led to the kitchen on the first floor.

This time, Liu Yinshou spotted Japanese soldiers. Surprisingly, one Japanese soldier hadn't left but was hiding in the kitchen.

He slowly removed the tarpaulin, then suddenly jumped down and slit the Japanese soldier's throat.

After silently defeating his opponent, Liu Yin pulled on the thin thread on his body to report to Fang Wen.

The thin line shakes five times in a row, indicating that it is safe below.

Fang Wen gestured for all the team members to go down.

He then extended the loudspeaker out from behind the curtain.

"Have they all been released? I need to know the progress."

The officer outside shouted, "The person has been released. According to the agreement, you should also release the person."

"How can I be sure?"

The British and French consuls took the megaphone and announced: "Our diplomats witnessed the release of the prisoner. You can release him now. As long as you release him, we can guarantee your safety."

The Japanese naval officer quickly echoed, "Yes, as long as you release the people, we can guarantee you won't die."

“But it means going to jail, right? I need to think about it,” Fang Wen replied, feigning a pitiful tone. “Give me some time.”

After saying that, he put away the megaphone, stood up, and quietly climbed down the dark hole, pulling the gag up with him.

Only three hostages remained in the room on the third floor.

The three hostages were blindfolded, gagged, and had no idea that no one was watching them in the room.

Fang Wen and his group of seven quietly went from the third floor to the first floor, dragged away the Japanese soldiers' corpses in the kitchen, and moved the water tank.

There was actually a tunnel entrance beneath the water tank.

That was the original basement entrance to this small villa.

However, since it wasn't specified in the lease, the sub-landlord was unaware of it. If Fang Wen and his group hadn't installed a remote-controlled bomb, they wouldn't have discovered this hidden basement.

It was this basement that caused Fang Wen to change his original plan to kidnap Nagano Osamu, take him to the Huangpu River, and then leave by seaplane.

This also makes the whole plan more perfect.

They quietly entered the basement. Liu Ying, who was the last to go in, tied a trigger bomb to the Japanese soldier's corpse before going down and carrying the water tank back to its place.

Fang Wen went down the vertical ladder to the bottom.

Scan the surroundings.

It's not a large place. The British businessman built this basement mainly for emergency shelter and to store some private items.

With the British merchants returning home, everything inside had long been removed, and now it's completely empty.

But for Fang Wen, the most important thing is the basement itself.

There is a strange cast iron balustrade on the west wall, through which you can see the space behind it.

That was the sixth step of Fang Wen's plan: the escape route.

Behind the cast iron barrier is a section of abandoned underground pipeline.

It was established in the early 19th century when the concessions were first established.

Later, as the population of the concessions increased, the consumption of various types of domestic water increased, and with the popularity of flush toilets, the drainage of the original underground pipe network could not keep up with the actual demand.

Therefore, 15 years ago, the original underground pipe network was abandoned and a new underground pipe network system with a larger diameter was established.

These abandoned underground pipe networks have been sealed off, and few people know about them.

However, one section was discovered because a British businessman had secretly commissioned someone to build a basement.

The British merchants simply sealed it with a cast iron plate.

But this gave the team members who discovered the basement a bold idea.

They also visited the underground pipe network in the French Concession of Tianjin. Although the pipe network in Britain was smaller than that in France, some modifications might still provide an escape route.

They shared this idea with Fang Wen, which led to the sixth step of the plan.

Time passed quietly.

Fifteen minutes had passed since Fang Wen said he needed to think about it.

All eyes outside were on the third floor, awaiting the decision.

Right under their noses, Fang Wen and his group opened the cast iron plate.

Behind the cast iron plate is an abandoned underground pipe measuring 0.9 x 1.5 meters. Although it has been abandoned for a long time, there is still some water underneath, and the pipe walls are covered with rust.

(The rusty inner wall of the underground pipe)

The pipe space was a bit small, requiring people to bend over and stoop to pass through. For this moment, Fang Wen and the action team members even changed into tall rubber boots and raincoats.

Step six begins.

Special operations team members Liu Yubao and Liu Yinfeng led the way, followed by Fang Wen and the others.

After walking for a while, a fork in the road appeared.

Liu Yubao reported in a low voice, "General Manager, the passage on the right has been explored and there are no abnormalities."

Fang Wen nodded. The left side of this fork in the road was blocked, so they could only go through the right side.

To the right is the area below the newly built slaughterhouse of the Municipal Council, where old and new pipes are shared, and sewage is discharged into Shajing Port.

Shajing Port is not a port, but a small tributary river within the urban area of ​​Shanghai.

Once you reach Shajing Port along this road, you can escape without anyone noticing.

The group fell silent and hurried on their way, traveling eastward from underground until they arrived at Hongkou.

There was no way forward; a wall blocked the passage.

The team members were well-prepared and got to work with their demolition tools.

Not long after, the wall was torn down, revealing the newly built underground pipes on the other side.

It smells terrible there.

It's the peculiar smell of a slaughterhouse.

People tied handkerchiefs to their mouths and noses, enduring the stench as they continued on their way.

The distance of just 200 meters quickly led to the sewage outlet of Shajing Port.

The iron gate there was locked with a large padlock, but it couldn't stop the skillful hands of thieves.

Chen Suoxin fiddled with the iron gate for a while, unlocked the large lock, and the group was finally able to leave the stinking underground passage.

After closing the iron gate, the group waited by the Shajinggang River.

Large numbers of cattle and sheep would be transported to this river for slaughter, and then the fresh meat would be delivered to various parts of the concession.

Fang Wen and his team were waiting for one of those ships.

A dozen minutes later, a cattle and sheep boat that had been unloaded arrived, and Fang Wen and his group jumped aboard and sailed into the Huangpu River.

(A slaughterhouse established by the Municipal Council in 1933, located on the banks of Shajing Port.)
(The present-day Shajing Port)
(End of this chapter)