Republic of China: German-equipped divisions massacred as warlords guarded the nation's borders

It was late at night on the third day after the naval battle ended.

In the French Concession of Shanghai, at the end of Avenue Joffre, lies the extremely secluded basement of a detached villa.

The dim, yellowish incandescent light bulb flickered in the damp air, emitting a buzzing sound. Water droplets on the wall slowly slid down the moss and dripped onto the cold, damp cement floor.

A state-of-the-art German-made Siemens high-powered telegraph machine was emitting an extremely faint but rapid "tick-tock" sound.

A middle-aged man dressed in a gray long shirt, with an ordinary face that would be impossible to spot in a crowd, was wearing headphones and his hands were flying across the keyboard like phantoms, typing out passwords.

His name is Lu Mingfei, codename "Viper".

In this turbulent era, most people only know about Chiang Kai-shek's army, but few know about the terrifying intelligence network under Chiang's command, "Skynet," which was woven by intelligence chief Dai Zhijian.

"Viper" is the highest-ranking gold-medal agent of "Skynet" in the Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai region. He has been infiltrating Shanghai for three years without ever making a mistake.

"drop--!"

The telegram stopped abruptly. Viper took off his headphones, took out a tattered copy of "The Family Letters of Zeng Guofan," and began to quickly decipher it, comparing the page numbers and word counts.

Two minutes later.

When the entire telegram was translated, a look of extreme shock flashed across Viper's lifeless eyes.

"A direct order from the principal himself..."

Viper's fingers trembled slightly as he read the translation. "Activate all our covert networks in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai, infiltrating the Chen family army's military and military-industrial complex at all costs. Targets: the core blueprints of the Jiangnan Shipyard, and the sulfonamide formula for the Gongji Hospital. Prioritize obtaining the blueprints for the latest destroyers from the Jiangnan Shipyard, and the sulfonamide synthesis formula from the Gongji Hospital! Secondly, obtain information on the actual strength and deployment of the Chen family army, especially the exact whereabouts of those submarines!"

"If we absolutely cannot obtain it, then we'll directly destroy the core drafting engineers at Jiangnan Shipyard. As for Gongji Hospital, if we can't get the formula either, we'll physically eliminate the core technical personnel of Chen Jiajun!"

"The principal personally issued a death order, which must be carried out!" Viper folded the telegram neatly and stuffed it into his pocket.

The viper took a deep breath, lit the telegram over the kerosene lamp, and watched it turn to ashes.

This is a fight to the death!

He was well aware of the weight behind this telegram. The outcome of the East China Sea naval battle a few days earlier had already caused a major upheaval in the southern headquarters. The news that Chen Zijun's submarine squadron had completely annihilated the Japanese Third Fleet kept Chiang Kai-shek up at night.

This marked a turning point in the Sino-Japanese War, an acknowledgment of the strength of the Chen family army, and a tremendous threat to the interests of the Southern National Revolutionary Army. Only by completely controlling the military industrial system, including the Jiangnan Shipyard, and the technology of the Gongji Hospital, could the Chang faction make decisive decisions when confronting the Chen family army in the future.

This absolute military deterrence has completely ripped off the Chang faction's pretense of civility, directly extending the war to the covert intelligence front.

"Chen Zijun, Chen Zijun, your cannons are indeed formidable, and your submarines are quite terrifying." Viper's lips curled into a sinister sneer. "But in the quagmire of intelligence, how could a nouveau riche warlord like you, who made his fortune through arms dealing, possibly outmaneuver our systematically trained professional agents?"

Because of certain unspoken rules in the intelligence field, he was unaware that elite agents who shared his beliefs had returned safely to the place he believed in, and whether they were still breathing or not was not reported.

He walked to the corner, took out a gold bar and a Browning pistol from under a loose floor tile, and put them in his pocket.

"That peripheral drafting engineer at Jiangnan Shipyard, if paid enough, can steal the blueprints tonight..." Viper pushed open the basement door and, like a venomous snake merging into the night, disappeared into the torrential rain.

……

At the same time, at the Longhua Garrison Command.

Unlike the cold and gloomy atmosphere of the concession, the interrogation room of the Military Intelligence Bureau here was completely filled with a nauseating smell of blood.

The walls were covered with barbed whips, red-hot branding irons, and all sorts of German-made torture instruments whose names I didn't know. Several high-powered searchlights illuminated the three men tied to the tiger benches, leaving them nowhere to hide.

These three individuals were one of the Guangzhou agents who, a few days earlier, had infiltrated Shanghai under various disguises and false identities in an attempt to steal the sulfonamide formula, only to be captured alive by Moranzhi as soon as they disembarked.

At this moment, there wasn't a single patch of good flesh left on their bodies. All ten fingers and toes had been pinched raw and bloody by pliers. Their fingernails had been forcibly pulled out, and blood dripped onto the ground from the instruments of torture.

Su Guiying, dressed in a crisp black military uniform and high-top military boots, stood behind the searchlight with a cold expression. In her hand, she toyed with a state-of-the-art syringe imported from Germany, filled with a pale blue liquid.

"Still won't talk?" Su Guiying sneered, her voice chilling and undeniable. "You people from the National Revolutionary Government are certainly tougher than those Green Gang thugs. But on my turf, there's never been a mouth that can't be pried open."

"Bah! You lackeys of the warlords! Kill me!" The middle agent spat out a mouthful of blood and roared hysterically, "The principal's army will crush you warlords sooner or later!"

"Don't try to intimidate me with your moral high ground." Su Guiying stepped forward, grabbed the agent's chin with her white-gloved hand, and forcefully injected a syringe of blue liquid into his carotid artery. "This is a truth serum, a central nervous system toxin, just developed by a German medical laboratory. After taking this, even a celestial being would vomit up everything about wetting the bed as a child!"

The drug took effect in less than two minutes.

The agent's eyes began to glaze over, his body convulsed violently, and he vomited large clumps of white foam; his consciousness completely collapsed.

"Tell me! Who is your highest-ranking contact person after you arrived in Shanghai?" Su Guiying stared intently at him.

"Viper... Viper..." the agent answered mechanically, his voice weak. "Director Dai's top-notch undercover agent... codename Viper... Project Skynet... has been launched... target... Jiangnan Shipyard... core blueprints..."

Upon hearing this, Su Guiying's expression changed instantly.

She swiftly drew her sidearm from her waist and, without a word, fired three shots, instantly killing the three agents on the tiger bench.

"Get the statement sorted out immediately!" Su Guiying shouted sharply, turning and striding out of the interrogation room. "Prepare the car! I need to see the young marshal right away!"

"yes!"

……

Fifteen minutes later.

The headquarters of the Shanghai Garrison Command on Longhua Road, the office of the commander-in-chief.

Chen Zijun was sitting behind a large mahogany desk, his cold gaze sweeping across a pale blue light screen in the void.

[Unlimited Pay-to-Win System]

[Host: Chen Zijun]

Current available funds: £105 million

[System Assessment: The host's assets and military strength have reached the standard of a regional hegemon. The smuggling black market continues to generate revenue, and daily financial output is extremely stable.]

"We've finally broken the one million pound mark again."

A satisfied, cold smile curled at the corner of Chen Zijun's lips. The victory in the East China Sea naval battle had firmly established his dominance in southeastern China among the great powers, and protection money and smuggling profits poured in like a river. With this huge sum of money, he stood taller than ever before.

"Reporting to the young marshal!"

The study door was pushed open, and Su Guiying rushed in, slamming the blood-stained confession heavily onto the table.

"Young Marshal! Something's happened..."