I used the Mo Dao (a type of long-handled sword) to fight the Japanese.

The shoeshine boy glanced up at the man in the suit, nodded, and remained silent. The two brothers were overjoyed to have encountered this fearsome leader of the Mo Dao (陌刀) Regiment. If they could successfully assassinate him, it would be a tremendous achievement! Perhaps, as Colonel Yamazaki had said, they could really take care of the Mo Dao Regiment themselves and reclaim two towns!

The shoes were quickly polished, and after paying, the man in the suit got up and left.

The man in the suit didn't go far. He picked up his suitcase at a food stall, turned a corner, went around to the back of the house opposite the government compound, climbed onto the roof, and set up a sniper rifle! He aimed at the entrance of the government compound through the lens, waiting for his prey to appear.

The autumn wind was bleak, the view was open and unobstructed, and the situation in the courtyard was completely visible. He waited for over half an hour, and just as his eyes began to drowsiness, three men and two women finally emerged from a house. The two women had clearly been crying; a young girl was holding an old woman's arm, whispering something. The elder man was obviously the original target, the chairman of the chamber of commerce. The other two young men, one dressed in a Zhongshan suit and the other in simple laborer's attire, looked like farmers who had just finished working in the fields!

Without a doubt, this man in the Zhongshan suit was his target—Zhao Mancang, the commander of the Mo Dao Regiment! As for the laborer beside him, he was probably just a militiaman on business; whoever he was, it was none of his business!

The five men walked toward the gate while talking, completely unaware of the approaching danger! Just as they were about to reach the gate, the man in the suit decisively pulled the trigger, and a bird's cry rang out!

"Chirp!"

The sound was so soft it was almost inaudible, but the effect was remarkable! The man in the Zhongshan suit was shot in the chest and immediately fell to the ground, while the others immediately panicked!

"Bang bang bang!"

The coolie and the young woman with his wife quickly shielded the elderly couple behind them and returned fire. The coolie even pulled the man in the Zhongshan suit with one hand, and they swiftly hid behind the courtyard wall! Chaos erupted at the gate; vendors abandoned their stalls and scrambled for cover! The truck driver, carrying a gossipy old woman, cautiously moved towards the gate...

Well, there's no chance to fire a second shot, but taking out the leader of the Mo Dao gang is enough! The man in the suit calmly put away his sniper rifle, jumped off the house, and left the spot.

……

Chaos erupted at the entrance of the compound. Man Gui quickly checked the surroundings and confirmed that the gunman had left. He rushed to Man Cang and asked anxiously:

"Brother! Brother! How are you? Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine! Quickly take him back to the village!" Mancang hurriedly helped Sun Zhengyi up, checking that he was still breathing, and urged him on.

"Good! Good!" Man Gui secretly breathed a sigh of relief, picked up Sun Zhengyi, and walked out.

"Zaohua, Mom and Dad, get in the car! It's not safe here!" Mancang pulled the three of them away without another word. The government compound was unsecured, and it was no longer safe for the family of three to stay there!

"Yes, yes, yes! Let's go back to the village first!" Zaohua urged her parents.

“…The Japanese devils are too despicable!…” Zhang Youcai cursed and followed the two men onto the truck.

"Di Di..."

Man Gui quickly started the car and honked the horn as he drove towards Tianma Village. Man Cang and Zao Hua stayed in the truck bed to watch over Sun Zhengyi. Man Cang pressed his hat against the bullet hole to reduce the amount of bleeding.

They covered an hour's journey in half an hour, and Liang Ping and Wang Min immediately had Sun Zhengyi carried into the clinic and got to work quickly.

"Uncle Cang! Uncle Cang! What's going on? Where did this gunman come from?" Tiger rushed over upon hearing the news and secretly breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Man Cang was safe and sound.

"You've come at the perfect time! Immediately send men to stand guard at the town government compound and the Qili Township Chamber of Commerce! We were too careless before! Also, you personally lead the brothers to disguise themselves as villagers and secretly investigate this matter. I believe the gunman hasn't left our territory yet!" Mancang ordered.

After taking those two towns and eliminating the Japanese and traitors, I always thought safety wasn't an issue. Now it seems I was careless! The safety of the Chamber of Commerce cannot be ignored!

"Okay! I'll go arrange it right away! Do you think this was done by the Japanese?" Tiger guessed.

"Definitely! And the target should be me; Platoon Leader Sun was implicated because of me!" Mancang affirmed.

Platoon Leader Sun had no enemies among them, and the Japanese couldn't possibly know that this Nationalist soldier had crossed the line of fire. Therefore, the Japanese objective was obvious; it was just unclear why the gunman mistook Sun Zhengyi for himself!

This guess is very close to the truth. I wonder what Mancang would think if he knew that the gunman had saved him from death because of his clothes!

"Well... how about we have two of your brothers stay with you and protect you closely? This is too scary!" Tiger suggested.

The importance of Mancang is beyond doubt. If anything were to happen to this kid, the entire Mo Dao Group would have to disband!

“No need for that. Watanabe Kuro can just follow along. Dogs are more sensitive to danger than humans. But this isn’t a long-term solution. You can’t always be on guard against thieves. We need to find a way to wipe out these rats hiding in the shadows! It’s embarrassing to have our brothers protecting us on our own turf!” Man Cang said thoughtfully.

That's true. It's not that we're afraid of thieves stealing everything, it's that we're afraid of them having their eyes on us. Constantly worrying about assassinations means we won't be able to do anything else – that's exactly what the Japanese want!

"That's true! Uncle Cang, what's your idea? You know we men can't do things that require brains!" Tiger said foolishly.

"Let's settle the brothers down first. After this is all done, I'll go out for a stroll!" Man Cang already had a plan in mind.

The Japanese devils want to assassinate me? Well, I'll turn the tables on them and use myself as bait to catch them! Do you think the Japanese devils can rebel in this tiny place? I refuse to believe it!

"Mancang! Mancang! Liang Ping and the others are out!" Zao Hua, who was guarding the door of the room, shouted not long after Hu Zi left.

"How is Platoon Leader Sun? Did he hurt his heart?" Mancang hurriedly went over and asked.

"Thank goodness! The bullet was less than a centimeter away from my heart. If it had been any more off, things could have been very different!" Liang Ping said thankfully.

"The person inside is in good condition. The bullet has been removed, and with the penicillin injection, he should wake up tonight if all goes well. However, it will take at least two or three months for him to fully recover..." Wang Min explained the injury in detail. In short, his life was saved, but he was still not out of danger and would need a period of recuperation to recover.

"That's good! That's good!..." Mancang finally felt completely relieved. If something had happened to Platoon Leader Sun, he wouldn't have been able to explain it to his brother-in-law!

He instructed them to take good care of the wounded, then turned and walked into the blacksmith's shop. This assassination attempt had served as a wake-up call; it seemed the first uniform for the Mo Dao Regiment would soon be on the agenda!

It's that metal plate bulletproof vest!