Quickly conquer the martial arts world, and let your fists dominate the heavens!

Ye Ningzhen left the next morning.

She didn't say much, stood at the gate of the courtyard, and glanced at Chen Zhan.

"Seven days?"

"Seven days."

Ye Ningzhen turned and left the courtyard, her steps steady and her back straight. She walked to the alley entrance, turned a corner, and her figure disappeared into the morning light.

Chen Zhan stood at the gate of the courtyard and watched her walk away, then closed the gate and went back inside to sit down.

The courtyard quieted down.

The sound of the Suzhou River came from afar, and the whistle of the yarn factory sounded, signaling the start of the early shift.

He sat alone for a while, then got up, poured himself a bowl of water, drank it, and sat down again.

Wait until it gets dark.

into the night.

Chen Zuyan's mansion.

Chen Zuyan stayed at the Military Intelligence Bureau building until after 9 p.m. that day, processing a pile of documents, signing several transfer orders, and making two phone calls to Nanjing.

I left the building, got in the car, and went home.

Upon arriving at the mansion, we got out of the car, walked through the iron gate, crossed the garden, and went up to the second floor.

Open the study door and turn on the light.

Chen Zhan sat in his chair, holding the teacup on his table, and was drinking his tea.

Chen Zuyan stood at the door, watching this scene. His facial muscles twitched slightly. It wasn't shock; shock requires an unexpected premise, but he was no longer surprised.

It's more akin to helplessness.

He came in, took off his military jacket and hung it on the hanger, then sat down in the guest seat.

He sat in the guest seat in his study.

"Could you have let me know before you came?"

"Who should I notify? Given my current status, how can I notify anyone?" Chen Zhan put down his teacup, casually flipped through a document on the table, glanced at it, and then put it back.

Chen Zuyan watched him flip through his files, her eyebrows twitched slightly, but she didn't say anything.

"Your tea is no good; it's been sitting for too long and has a musty smell."

"You've come here because you need something?"

"Something came up." Chen Zhan leaned back in his chair. "I need to discuss a place."

"place?"

“I will come to keep the appointment in three days. We have to have a place. If we fight in the city, the civilians will die as soon as the guns start firing. Neither of us can bear that reputation.”

Chen Zuyan remained silent for a moment.

He was indeed thinking about this problem. The Kuomintang's firepower deployment required space. Machine guns, rifles, and grenades—if these were used in the city, shrapnel and stray bullets could fly hundreds of meters. If word got out that innocent people were killed or injured, his superiors wouldn't forgive him, and he wouldn't be able to explain it to the public.

"You have an idea?"

Chen Zhan picked up a pen from the table and drew a few strokes on a piece of white paper.

The approximate outline of the Yangtze River estuary, the direction of Chongming Island, and then a dot on the water surface south of Chongming and east of Wusongkou.

"There is a small island here, only a few dozen miles in circumference. There are no residents. During the Japanese occupation, the Japanese army set up a sentry post on it. After it was abandoned, no one went there again. It is surrounded by water on all sides, and the only way to get in and out is by boat."

He glanced at Chen Zuyan.

"It's enough for you to deploy your men, and enough for me to do my job. It's far from the city, so it won't matter how much noise we make."

Chen Zuyan looked at the dot on the paper but did not answer immediately.

He calculated in his mind that the island, surrounded by water, would make it difficult for Chen Zhan to get off once he was on it, which would be advantageous to the Military Intelligence Bureau.

The island has a complex terrain with dense forests and bunkers, which is advantageous for setting up ambushes. However, the same terrain also has advantages for Chen Zhan.

Dense forests and rocks can obstruct the line of fire, reducing the advantage in firepower.

Overall, however, it's much better to fight on the island than in the city.

Have you been to this island?

"I took a look while I was passing by, and after I left your place, I went to check it out on the way."

Chen Zuyan's lips twitched.

It's on the way; it's only a few dozen miles from his home to the mouth of the Yangtze River. If this person says it's on the way, then it's on the way.

“Okay.” He nodded. “My men will all be on the island the day after tomorrow, before dawn. When are you coming?”

"After dawn."

How do we get here?

Chen Zhan smiled and said, "Swim across."

Chen Zuyan looked at him, unable to tell whether he was joking or serious.

Is there anything else?

Chen Zhan stood up, walked to the bookshelf, and randomly picked out a book to flip through.

"The Art of War by Sun Tzu? You still read that?"

"Put it back."

Chen Zhan put the book back and looked at the other things on the bookshelf: several military books, an English novel, and a family photo.

In the photo, Chen Zuyan is dressed casually, with a woman standing next to her and two children squatting in front of her. The background is a park in Nanjing.

Chen Zhan glanced at the photo, offered no comment, and turned to walk towards the window.

"See you the day after tomorrow then."

He pulled back a corner of the curtain and climbed out the window.

Chen Zuyan sat in the guest seat, listening to the silence outside the window, and the hidden sentries in the courtyard did not react at all.

He stood up, walked to his desk, and sat back in his chair, which was still a little warm.

I glanced at the teacup on the table; it was empty.

He sat for a while, then picked up the phone.

"Tomorrow morning, send a team to survey a small island southeast of the Yangtze River estuary. It's an abandoned outpost from the Japanese occupation period. Bring surveying equipment, draw a detailed topographic map, and mark the locations of all high ground, dense forests, mudflats, and building ruins. Get the map to my office before dark."

He hung up the phone, then picked it up again.

"Please pick up Qin Heng for me."

first day.

After daybreak, a team of Kuomintang (KMT) reconnaissance personnel sailed out of Wusongkou and found the island in the Yangtze River estuary.

The island is not large; it takes about an hour to walk from east to west. It is shaped like a crooked peanut, narrow in the middle and wide at both ends. The highest point is a low hill about twenty meters high in the north-central part of the island.

On the low hill are the remains of Japanese outposts, half-collapsed cement bunkers, rusted iron frames, and several sections of dilapidated trenches.

The area was overgrown with weeds and shrubs, and in some places the shrubs were so dense that it was impossible for a person to squeeze through.

South of the low hill lies a dense forest, a mix of mixed trees and bamboo. The forest is not deep but very dense, and visibility is blocked after three or four meters.

North of the low hill lies a mudflat, filled with pebbles and silt, which is exposed at low tide and reaches knee-deep at high tide.

There are small, relatively flat open spaces at the eastern and western ends of the island. The one at the eastern end is larger and was once a temporary dock for the Japanese army, where a few wooden stakes remain.

The survey team spent most of the day walking around the island three times and drew a detailed topographic map, which was delivered to Chen Zuyan's desk before dark.

Chen Zuyan spread out the topographic map and called over the Qin brothers.

The three of them spent over an hour looking at the map.

Qin Zhunxian said, "The dense forest is the most dangerous place. If he goes into the dense forest, machine guns can't hit him, and rifles can't hit him accurately. We can only rely on people to go in and search. But once he enters the dense forest, it becomes his home ground. No matter how many of our people go in, they will die."

Chen Zuyan nodded: "So people are not allowed to enter the dense forest. Instead, a fire blockade is set up in the open areas around the dense forest. If someone enters the dense forest, they cannot get out. If they leave the dense forest, they will face crossfire."

Qin Heng looked at the location of the low hill on the map: "The bunker ruins can be used. Set up two machine guns on it, and from a high vantage point, we can cover most of the island."

What if he charges straight at the bunker?

"There are two layers of men around the bunker. The outer layer consists of archers who spread out fifty meters back, while the inner layer consists of several members of the Green Robe Society who are at the Transformation Realm, guarding the bunker closely. Qin Zhun and I are not inside the bunker; we are roaming around outside providing support."

Chen Zuyan marked on the map with a pencil: two machine guns in the bunker, four firing points on the north slope of the low hill, a fire blockade line on each of the east and west sides of the dense forest, and six gunners blocking the landing point at the east end of the dock.

"From which direction did he go to the island?"

“He said he would swim over,” Chen Zuyan paused, “and most likely land at the eastern dock, but he could come from any direction, such as the mudflats, reefs, or the edge of dense forest.”

"Then we'll cover all four sides," Qin Zhun said.

"We don't have enough people, so we have to spread them out on all four sides."

Chen Zuyan drew several lines on the map: "The eastern and southern ends are the most likely landing points, so we should focus our defenses there. The mudflats at the northern end are too shallow at low tide, making it difficult to land, but that may not be the case at high tide, so we should leave four people to keep watch. The western end has steep terrain and many reefs, making it difficult to land, so we should leave two people to observe."

"The firepower is concentrated around the low hills and dense forests. After he gets on the island, no matter which direction he comes from, he will eventually pass by the low hills or dense forests, which will be the place of the final battle."

Qin Heng asked one last question: "Director, will Nanjing send anyone else?"

Chen Zuyan paused her pen on the map for a moment.

"meeting."

He didn't say much.

the next day.

Personnel and supplies were transported to the island in batches.

Thirty elite marksmen from the Military Intelligence Bureau, each equipped with a rifle and two grenades.

Eight of them were snipers trained by the Kuomintang military intelligence; even the worst shot could hit a human-shaped target from 200 meters away.

Two light machine guns were mounted on the remains of the bunker, with their muzzles pointing towards the dense forest to the south and the dock to the east, respectively. Ammunition boxes were piled up inside the bunker, enough to keep them firing all day.

The Green Robe Society brought in four experts at the Transformation Realm and one veteran at the peak of the Dark Realm.

These five men were positioned on the inner defensive line around the bunker, responsible for close-quarters defense. If Chen Zhan broke through the outer fire blockade and reached the vicinity of the bunker, these five men would be the last line of defense.

Although everyone knew that the Transformation Realm was almost powerless against the Embracing the Core Realm, having some was better than having none.

Two rows of barbed wire were stretched along the north slope of the low hill, ten meters apart, and wrapped with barbs.

They didn't expect to stop Chen Zhan, but they could slow him down by half a breath, enough time for a machine gun to fire a magazine.

Six gunners, positioned behind wooden stakes and rocks at the eastern end of the dock, had their firing range precisely calculated. The six lines of fire intersected and covered the entire landing area, forming a fan-shaped death zone.

Everyone's location was marked on the topographic map. Chen Zuyan personally marked each person's number, position, firing range, and retreat route, without delegating the task to anyone else.

Qin Heng's injuries have improved somewhat in the past two days.

The bandage on my right arm has been removed, and I've regained about 70-80% of my strength.

He and Qin Zhun walked around the island twice during the day to familiarize themselves with the terrain and confirm their positions and movement for coordinated combat.

The two had practiced their combined attack technique for decades, and their coordination was perfect. When Qin Zhun attacked the left side, Qin Heng would always be on the right side, and when Qin Heng pressed forward, Qin Zhun would always be covering his retreat.

One side engages the opponent head-on, while the other blocks their retreat, keeping the opponent constantly under pressure from two directions.

This is the best solution they can come up with.

Day three.

Daytime.

Everyone got on the island and took their positions.

After dark, all the fires on the island were extinguished. Dozens of people dispersed along the edge of the dense forest, on and off the hills, inside and outside the bunkers, and behind the rocks in the direction of the dock, remaining silent, not lighting cigarettes, and even suppressing their coughs.

The night was quiet.

The wind blowing from the east at the mouth of the Yangtze River carries a salty, fishy vapor, rustling through the bushes.

In the distance, the lights of cargo ships moved across the water, and the muffled sound of their horns drifted from afar.

Chen Zuyan stood beside the bunker atop the low hill, gazing at the water in all directions. Moonlight shone on the river, making it ripple and stretching to the horizon.

Qin Zhun stood beside him, his hands behind his back.

"Director, there's something I'd like to ask."

"explain."

Who else will Nanjing send?

Chen Zuyan was silent for a few moments: "Don't worry about things that aren't your concern."

Qin Zhun did not ask any further questions.

The night wind blew across the river, making the hem of Chen Zuyan's military uniform flutter loudly.

He looked at the water to the east, towards the Wusongkou, and further in was the Huangpu River, with the lights of countless homes on both banks of the Huangpu River.

Chen Zuyan sat down on the cement wall of the bunker, took out a cigarette case, and lit one, the flame flickering in the wind.

Night fell quickly.

The two people he was waiting for never arrived.

But it's unlikely that either of them would go back on their word.

"Bang bang bang—!"

The flash of light appeared a split second before the sound, flickering across the night sky, followed by a burst of gunfire.

"He's already up here? There's no dock, no boats, how did he get on?"

"Damn it, we can't really swim up here, can we?"

Chen Zuyan became alert. (End of Chapter)