Bright Sword: This unit is really ruthless

He put his arm around Liu Ruyan's shoulders and said softly, "Don't be afraid, I will protect you."

Liu Ruyan's body trembled slightly, and she looked up at Zhang Ling, her eyes full of gratitude and... a hint of something strange that was barely noticeable.

At this moment, the sound of horse hooves suddenly came from afar, approaching at a very fast speed.

Zhang Ling's heart trembled, and he quickly protected Liu Ruyan behind him, looking vigilantly in the direction where the sound came from.

They saw a group of cavalrymen, wearing black uniforms and steel helmets, rushing towards them aggressively.

The leading cavalryman was tall and had a stern face. He held a gleaming saber in his hand and was filled with murderous intent.

Zhang Ling recognized the person at a glance. It was the Japanese officer who had been chasing them before!

He actually followed us here like a ghost!

What's more, this time he brought more helpers!

"Prepare for battle!" Zhang Ling growled, his eyes flashing with cold murderous intent.

A fierce battle is inevitable!

But at this moment, Liu Ruyan suddenly exclaimed: "Wait! I know that person!"

Night fell, and the stars twinkled. The bonfire crackled, illuminating the tired faces of Zhang Ling and the other two. Liu Ruyan sat aside, silently tidying up her slightly messy clothes by the firelight. She looked up at Zhang Ling from time to time, with a complex emotion in her eyes, some grateful, some inquiring.

"Brother Zhang, thank you for saving me." Liu Ruyan said softly, her voice soft and with a hint of the soft Wu dialect of a Jiangnan woman.

"It's just a small favor." Zhang Ling responded calmly, but his eyes never left the dancing flames. He was still thinking about the next road. Shanghai, the glamorous foreign land, was also an important stronghold of the Japanese invaders. It was extremely dangerous to go there.

Wang Mazi ate the cold steamed buns he brought from the village and said vaguely, "Captain, this girl is really pretty, like a famous actress on the stage."

Li Ergou chuckled and agreed, "Yes, Captain, if this had happened in the past, we brothers would have had no chance..."

Zhang Ling glared at them and scolded them, "Stop talking nonsense! What time is it now? Do you still have the mind to think about these things?"

Wang Mazi shrank his neck and dared not say anything. Li Ergou also tactfully shut his mouth.

A hint of embarrassment flashed across Liu Ruyan's face, but she quickly regained her composure and said, "Brother Zhang, I know you are going to Shanghai. Maybe I can help."

Zhang Ling then turned his gaze towards her and asked, "You? What do you know?"

Liu Ruyan smiled slightly, with a hint of mystery in her smile, "I know a lot, such as the Japanese invaders' medical deployment in Shanghai, their secret bases, etc...."

She paused and continued, "For example, one of their important plans."

Zhang Ling's mind moved, "What plan?"

Liu Ruyan moved closer to Zhang Ling and said in a low voice, "Plum Blossom Project."

"Plum Blossom Project?" Zhang Ling frowned. He had never heard of this plan.

"This is a top-secret plan, and its purpose is..." Liu Ruyan suddenly stopped here and looked around vigilantly.

"What's wrong?" Zhang Ling also became nervous.

"I feel like someone is watching us." Liu Ruyan said in a low voice.

Zhang Ling stood up immediately and looked around. It was quiet except for the rustling of leaves in the wind.

"No abnormalities were found." Wang Mazi said.

"I didn't see it either." Li Ergou also shook his head.

Liu Ruyan still frowned, "I can't be wrong, someone must be watching us in secret."

Zhang Ling also felt a little uneasy, but he believed in Liu Ruyan's intuition.

"Let's leave here first." Zhang Ling made a prompt decision.

The three of them took Liu Ruyan and quickly left the campfire and walked towards the depths of the dense forest.

After they walked for a distance, Zhang Ling stopped and signaled everyone to hide.

Sure enough, not long after, several dark shadows appeared where they had just rested.

"They are here indeed." said a deep voice.

"Chase!" said another voice.

The dark shadows chased in the direction where Zhang Ling and others left.

Zhang Ling and others hid in the dark, watching the black shadows go away, feeling a little scared.

"Who are these people?" Wang Mazi asked.

"I don't know." Zhang Ling shook his head, "But they are definitely not devils."

Liu Ruyan's face turned pale. "They might be from No. 76."

"No. 76?" Zhang Ling and Wang Mazi looked at each other, both a little surprised. No. 76 was a notorious Japanese puppet spy agency, cruel and ruthless, doing all kinds of evil.

"How do you know they are from No. 76?" Zhang Ling asked.

Liu Ruyan bit her lip and said, "Because...I escaped from No. 76."

Zhang Ling and the other two were stunned.

Liu Ruyan's identity is more complicated than they imagined.

"Why did you want to escape?" Zhang Ling asked.

Liu Ruyan was silent for a moment, then slowly said: "Because... I don't want to be an accomplice to the tiger anymore."

She raised her head and looked at Zhang Ling firmly, "Brother Zhang, I can help you deal with the Japanese. I can tell you everything I know, including the Plum Blossom Plan."

Zhang Ling looked at Liu Ruyan, with a lot of thoughts in his mind. He didn't know whether he should believe this woman, but her words undoubtedly gave him hope.

"Okay, I believe you." Zhang Ling said finally.

A relieved smile appeared on Liu Ruyan's face.

Just then, a gunshot was suddenly heard in the distance.

"Oh no, they are catching up!" Wang Mazi exclaimed.

The shadows have discovered their tracks, and a fierce battle is inevitable...

The night was dark, like ink, and you couldn't see your hand in front of you. Zhang Ling and the other two hid in a dilapidated temple and lit a bonfire to dispel the cold and dry their wet clothes. The crackling sound of burning wood was particularly clear in the silent night.

Li Ergou was chewing on the cold steamed buns he had brought from the village, and asked vaguely, "Captain, is Shanghai really like Wang Mazi said, with gold all over the place?"

Wang Mazi added a piece of wood to the fire and chuckled: "Of course, Shanghai is a place full of bright lights and rich people. Once you go there, are you afraid of not having money to spend?" As he spoke, a greedy look flashed in his eyes.

Zhang Ling glanced at him, but didn't say anything. He just stared at the jumping flames, wondering what he was thinking. Liu Ruyan's beautiful face and the information she had told him about the devils appeared in his mind. Who was this woman?

Liu Ruyan, wearing a plain cheongsam, with a graceful figure and elegant temperament, is out of tune with this dilapidated scene. She claimed that she was fleeing here and was being hunted by the devils, but she knew the devils' deployment and actions very well. Zhang Ling saved her not entirely out of kindness, but more out of a desire for intelligence.

In these troubled times, information is the weapon.

"Captain, what are you thinking about?" Wang Mazi couldn't help asking when he saw Zhang Ling didn't speak for a long time.

Zhang Ling came back to his senses and said calmly, "I'm thinking about how to gain a foothold in Shanghai."

"Hehe, this is easy," Wang Mazi rubbed his hands, "We brothers are good at shooting and fighting. When the time comes, we can find a rich man to back us up. Isn't it a good life?"

Li Ergou also echoed: "Yes, yes, Wang Mazi is right!"

Zhang Ling shook his head: "Shanghai is a complicated place. It's not that simple. We are unfamiliar with the place. If we act rashly, we will only become a target for others."

"So what does the captain mean..." Wang Mazi asked tentatively.

"Find out the situation first, then make plans." Zhang Ling said in a firm tone.

In the next few days, they continued to move towards Shanghai. Along the way, they disguised themselves, carefully avoided the Japanese patrols, slept in the open air, and lived a displaced life.

Liu Ruyan's joining added some color to their trip. Although she was born into a wealthy family, she was not spoiled, but showed amazing adaptability. She helped to light the fire and cook, and also took care of the injured Zhang Ling.

That evening, they arrived at a small town and prepared to replenish some supplies.

The town was bustling with people. Zhang Ling and the other two changed into ordinary civilian clothes and blended in with the crowd, trying not to attract attention.

"Captain, look at that girl, she's so cool!" Wang Mazi pointed at a woman in a red cheongsam not far away, his eyes wide open.

Zhang Ling followed his gaze and saw that the woman had a slim figure and a graceful demeanor. She was indeed a beauty. However, Zhang Ling did not pay much attention to her because he was thinking about how to obtain intelligence.

"Don't look at it, or you'll get into trouble." Zhang Ling warned in a low voice.

Wang Mazi was a little unconvinced: "What are you afraid of? In this chaotic world, the right thing to do is to enjoy life while you can."

At this moment, several Japanese soldiers swaggered over. One of the soldiers saw the woman in red and immediately became lustful, reaching out to touch her face.

The woman in red screamed and dodged the Japanese soldier's hands. Seeing this, the people around her tried to avoid her, fearing that they would get into trouble.

"Baka!" The Japanese soldier was so angry that he grabbed the woman in red by the hair and dragged her into an alley.

"Help!" The woman in red struggled desperately, and her cries for help echoed in the alley.

Zhang Ling frowned when he saw this. He didn't want to meddle in other people's business, but when he saw this scene, the anger in his heart still burned fiercely.

"Damn, the Japanese are too arrogant!" Wang Mazi couldn't stand it anymore, so he rolled up his sleeves and was about to rush forward.

"Wait!" Zhang Ling stopped him, "Don't be impulsive, take a look at the situation first."

Zhang Ling and the other two followed quietly and hid at the entrance of the alley to observe the situation.

In the alley, several Japanese soldiers were surrounding the woman in red, tearing her clothes. The woman in red was crying and resisting desperately.

"Beast!" Zhang Ling couldn't bear it any longer. He rushed into the alley, the Mauser pistol in his hand spewing angry flames...

Suddenly, a burst of hurried footsteps was heard, and a group of puppet soldiers appeared at the entrance of the alley. The leader was the Japanese officer who was injured by Zhang Ling in the village before! He was not dead!