It Came Without Effort

In the rainy night, the only light on the pitch-black road came from the nearby hospital, its lingering glow piercing the curtain of rain. A man holding an umbrella hurried along the street. His leather shoes tapped against the hard pavement covered in a layer of water, the sound carrying far even through the rain. Every step seemed to land on the rise and fall of a heartbeat, making one's scalp tingle.

When Wang Yan had come earlier, he had not gone around to the back of this inpatient building. He had investigated from farther out, then, after making half a circuit, climbed into the hospital at an inconspicuous spot ahead. Only now, after leaving and returning, had he truly made a full round.

So the gaze from above belonged to the guards, not to people who had already identified their target. Otherwise, he would have been shot long ago.

But the situation was not promising. He could not enter the inpatient building to investigate carefully and determine whether Song Xiwen was here. Soldiers guarded the building now, but that did not necessarily mean Song Xiwen was inside. Then again, he might well be. The information he had obtained was too limited, a mix of truth and falsehood that gave him no basis for judgment.

With that in mind, Wang Yan left and went to the nearest safe house. This one was in worse shape than the previous one, having clearly been searched. Presumably, it was because the Japanese had conducted a large-scale manhunt after the prison break.

He took out the Japanese Army Hospital identification papers and, comparing himself against the listed physical features, once again applied makeup and changed his appearance.

The Japanese doctor from the Army Hospital was named Takahashi Masao. His family probably had some standing.