The Mysterious Soldier of the Anti-Japanese War

While the Military Intelligence Bureau was trying its best to find Lei Tao's whereabouts, the manager of the Shanghai branch of the 82nd Bank of Japan was tied to the torture instruments of the Shanghai Military Police, beaten all over his body and dying.

"Tell me! Who did it?" the Japanese military police in charge of the interrogation roared viciously.

The manager gasped weakly, his voice trembling: "It was a group of Japanese army who robbed the vault..."

The Japanese military police's intelligence chief stood nearby, frowning as he recalled the night after the vault was robbed. It was a chaotic night filled with gunfire and explosions. When they arrived, they found the manager still alive.

When a gendarme pushed open the half-closed vault door, an explosion suddenly occurred inside the vault. The huge impact force instantly blew away several gendarmes nearby.

"Huh, how could it be such a coincidence?" The head of the intelligence agency was full of doubts.

All these signs made the intelligence chief feel that there was something fishy about the bank manager. He paced back and forth, pondering the strangeness of the matter.

The intelligence chief couldn't help but think back to the string of sudden incidents that had occurred in Shanghai. First, the munitions at the Huangpu River docks and the destroyer Yamato were destroyed by a mysterious weapon. The scene of the attack was horrific, and even the Imperial warriors who survived the explosions were suffocated to death... With no eyewitnesses, the exact nature of the enemy's devastating weaponry remains unknown. Then, the self-proclaimed "ghost assassin" had secretly set up a large-caliber howitzer on the rooftop of the Japanese concession and bombarded the Japanese headquarters. Finally, the vault robbery occurred.

But if the Japanese bank manager said it was the Imperial Japanese Army that did it, it didn't make sense. But he also felt that there seemed to be some kind of inexplicable logical connection, which made his thoughts fall into a tangled mess.

"Is there a huge and mysterious organization behind this manipulating everything? Or is it just a series of coincidental accidents?" The intelligence chief became more and more confused the more he thought about it.

Afterward, the intelligence chief gathered his subordinates to discuss the case. On a blackboard, he used chalk to draw a rough map of the crime's location. He wrote "Ghost Assassin" and drew two arrows, one pointing to the Huangpu River dock and the destroyer Yamato, the other to the Japanese military headquarters. He then wrote "Imperial Japanese Army," drew an arrow pointing to the bank vault, and then placed a question mark. Then, he connected "Ghost Assassin" and "Imperial Japanese Army" with a line and placed a large question mark in the middle.

"Gentlemen, what do you think about this?" The head of the intelligence agency asked first.

One of his subordinates said, "Sir, is there any connection between this Netherworld Assassin and the Imperial Japanese Army? This is unbelievable." His face was full of confusion.

Another subordinate continued, "Could it be that someone deliberately framed the Imperial Japanese Army to divert our attention?" He speculated in his heart.

Another person said, "It is possible that they are different forces, but their actions seem to be coordinated in some way. There must be a deeper conspiracy behind this." He frowned and thought hard.

At this time, another person speculated, "Could it be the work of the Military Control Commission? They have always been hostile to us and are well-trained."

"It's also possible that these are Western international thieves causing trouble. After all, judging from these actions, they are well-trained, well-armed and very mysterious." Another person echoed.

Everyone was talking at once and the discussion was very lively.

Suddenly, an intelligence officer who was surveying the battlefield near the enemy artillery positions that bombarded and disrupted the Japanese army's entry ceremony into Nanjing noticed a photo of a crossbow bolt left on a corpse near the vault. His eyes lit up and he said, "I know, it was the 'Nanjing National Protection Column' who did it. This crossbow bolt is the evidence..."

His words were like a stone dropped into a calm lake, instantly stirring up a thousand waves in the conference room. The intelligence chief suddenly turned to look at him, a sharp glint in his eyes: "Are you sure?"

The intelligence officer picked up the photo, walked quickly to the blackboard, pasted the photo on the board, and pointed out the details of the crossbow bolt: "Sir, you see, the style and material of this crossbow bolt are exactly the same as those we found in Nanjing. At that time, there were crossbow bolts of this type on the battlefield several kilometers away from the enemy artillery positions in Nanjing. This is definitely not a coincidence."

Everyone gathered around, examining the photos carefully. The intelligence chief's frown gradually relaxed, a flicker of realization in his eyes. "So, this series of events was most likely the work of the Nanjing National Protection Column."

One of his subordinates questioned, "But why did they do this? And how did they manage to act so freely under our noses?"

The intelligence chief pondered for a moment and said, "Whatever their motives, now that we have a lead, we must thoroughly investigate. From now on, gather all intelligence on the 'Nanjing National Protection Column' and focus on investigating their movements and personnel composition in Shanghai."

"Yes!" the subordinates responded in unison.

Meanwhile, the Japanese military brass learned of this and ordered a full-scale campaign against the "Nanjing National Protection Column." Inside Shanghai, Japanese military police were deployed in full force, conducting sweeps of suspicious locations. A tense atmosphere permeated the streets, and residents, terrified, remained indoors.

The "Nanjing National Protection Column" operating far away near Nanjing City was still unknown to everyone... Instead, it caused a lot of trouble for the Military Control Commission and underground party members in Shanghai...