A Midnight Warning, Every Raid Comes Up Empty

Steam filled the bathhouse that afternoon, and the warmth of the hot water, mingled with the faint scent of soapberries, made people relax without realizing it.

It was still early, so there weren't many customers. After soaking and scrubbing with Old Chen, Shen Yan chose a private room where they could lie down. He called an attendant, ordered a pot of hot tea and some snacks, and had a masseur give Old Chen a thorough massage.

"Godfather, patrolling with me these past few days must have worn you out. Take it easy and relax."

Old Chen murmured his assent and leaned back on the bamboo couch, his whole body relaxing. The masseur's experienced hands made him feel comfortable all over. Before long, his eyelids grew heavy, his head lolled to one side, and he drifted into a hazy sleep.

Seeing that he was sound asleep, Shen Yan rose quietly, took out a silver dollar, and handed it to the attendant waiting nearby.

"My godfather is a heavy sleeper. Sorry for the trouble, but please keep an eye on him and don't let anyone disturb him. When he wakes up, order a few dishes and warm a pot of wine. Tell him I've gone home first. You can keep the change."

The attendant hurriedly accepted the coin, nodding and bowing. "Don't worry, Officer Shen. I'll take good care of him."

Shen Yan said no more. He quietly got dressed, pushed open the bathhouse's wooden door with light steps, and slipped silently into the deepening night.

He returned home, closed the door, and drew the curtains.

Shen Yan took a briefcase out of his spatial storage and opened it.

Inside were stacks of printed documents, all in Japanese. His Japanese was now at a native level, so he had no trouble reading them.

After turning a few pages, his expression gradually grew grave.

It was a detailed "Shanghai Anti-Japanese Forces Investigation Plan."

Everything inside was sorted into categories and clearly listed-

Suspected communists: thirty-two people, including their contact points, activity patterns, surveillance levels, and recommended methods of handling them.

Undercover Military Statistics Bureau agents: nineteen people, including their aliases, meeting places, relationships with their superiors, and evidence already obtained.

Green Gang members connected to the communists: eleven people, including records of contact with the communists or the Kuomintang and suspicious financial transactions.

Every name was followed by densely packed notes.

Shen Yan turned the pages one by one, then suddenly fixed his gaze on one entry.

He had spotted a familiar name-

West District Teahouse, owner Zhou Deshun. Suspicion level: two. Notes: repeatedly received suspicious individuals; close surveillance recommended.

Shen Yan stared at the name in silence for a long time.

Sure enough, this side's experience and techniques in the intelligence struggle were still far behind the Japanese devils'. Their information had practically leaked like a sieve!

When he first met Zhou Deshun, the teahouse owner, Heavenly Eye had revealed that he was an underground Party courier. At the time, Shen Yan had thought, It's none of my business.

Now it was his business.

If this list fell into Japanese hands, Zhou Deshun would be as good as dead. The teahouse owner who served him tea and water with a smile every day would be as good as dead.

Forget it. I'll just consider it repayment for those wontons.

Shen Yan continued reading.

There were sixty-two people on the list in all.

He didn't know a single one of them-except Zhou Deshun.

But all sixty-two of those lives belonged to courageous people willing to die fighting the Japanese.

It would have been one thing if he hadn't known, but now that he did, he couldn't stand by and do nothing. Just then, a system notification suddenly sounded:

[Ding! Host detected intercepting confidential Japanese military documents and delaying the enemy agents' purge operation. Chain reward triggered!]

[Overall assessment of this operation]:

· Confidential documents intercepted ×1

· Enemy agents' purge plan delayed ×1

· Anti-Japanese personnel indirectly protected ×62 (32 communists, 19 Military Statistics Bureau agents, 11 Green Gang members)

· Japanese soldiers killed ×22

[Reward calculation]:

· Base Good and Evil Points: +450

· Additional reward for protecting comrades: +620 (10 points per person)

· Reward for first participation in a team operation and killing 22 Japanese devils: +1100

[Current Good and Evil Points]: 3890

[Additional achievement unlocked: Name of the Lone Wolf]

· Achievement effect: increased prestige among Shanghai's anti-Japanese forces; some forces hold a friendly attitude toward the "Lone Wolf"

[Ding! Host detected in possession of confidential documents on the Japanese military's purge operation. Random mission triggered: Save the heroes!]

[Mission details: Special Higher Police, pass on the intelligence as soon as possible and notify the undercover personnel to relocate. Rewards will be based on the number of undercover personnel saved. Failure penalty: none]

Shen Yan shook his head with a wry smile. It looked like he needed to lay his cards on the table.

At the West District Teahouse, it should have been a busy time, but because of the afternoon's firefight, the Japanese had imposed martial law. Hardly any pedestrians could be seen on the streets, only one patrol after another of Japanese soldiers with fierce, menacing looks.

Shopkeeper Zhou decided to close early. After putting up the door shutters, Zhou Deshun climbed the stairs to his bedroom, unable to stop worrying about the safety of the comrades who had taken part in the ambush.

He walked into the bedroom and reached for the light cord by the wall.

The dim light came on, and Shopkeeper Zhou froze. Shen Yan was sitting on a chair in the room, looking at him with a smile.

"Officer Shen... What are you doing here? Is there something you need from this old man?"

Shen Yan smiled. "Proprietor Zhou, or should I call you Comrade Longjing? Don't be nervous. I haven't come with ill intentions. Sit down and let's talk."

But Shopkeeper Zhou was only surprised for a moment before he relaxed.

"Officer Shen, you really are capable of anything! Still, it's no surprise that the famous Scavenger could manage this."

Shen Yan gave a wry smile. "Sure enough, after I saved the girl, my identity was practically an open book to you. I'm curious: if I hadn't stepped in, how would you have handled the situation, Shopkeeper Zhou?"

"We'd have done our best to rescue her. If we couldn't... we'd have given up!"

Shopkeeper Zhou paused.

"If we'd confirmed that a rescue was impossible, someone would have shouted, 'Girl, it's dark. Time to go home and sleep,' and Comrade Su Wan would have taken her own life!"

Shen Yan fell silent for a moment.

"Your party..."

Shopkeeper Zhou smiled, at ease.

"Officer Shen, are you saying we're cold-blooded?"

Shen Yan made no comment.

"This isn't cold-bloodedness. When we joined the organization, every one of us understood one thing: there's no one who can't be sacrificed! For our beliefs, anything is worth it! If I were in that desperate situation, I wouldn't hesitate to put a bullet in myself rather than implicate my comrades."

Shen Yan looked into Shopkeeper Zhou's eyes. Two utterly opposite emotions, extreme calm and extreme fervor, had somehow blended together perfectly.

Shen Yan felt his blood stir. It was because of these patriotic martyrs who had risked everything that the prosperous China of later generations had become possible!

After steadying his emotions, Shen Yan took out a folder.

"Let's get down to business. The documents contain a list of undercover personnel the Japanese have recently suspected and placed under surveillance. There are people from your party, the Kuomintang, and the gang members you've recruited. Notify them to withdraw as soon as possible. You don't have much time left. I don't know if I'll ever get another chance to eat the wontons you make, Proprietor Zhou."

Proprietor Zhou sprang to his feet. "How did you get your hands on this? Were you behind what happened this afternoon?! What about our comrades?"

"They're safe!"

Shen Yan stood up and spoke as he walked. "When I left, they withdrew too. They didn't take action at any point, and no one was hurt."

At the door, Shen Yan stopped.

"I won't consider joining you for the time being, but if there's anything you need my help with, let me know."

With that, Shen Yan left through the back door without looking back.

Shopkeeper Zhou didn't say much either. He changed his clothes, slipped silently into the back alley, and disappeared into the night.

Two hours later, the Shanghai underground Party's contact points all activated their emergency plans at the same time.

Some packed their belongings overnight, some destroyed all their documents, and others were roused from deep sleep and sent into safe houses prepared in advance.

By daybreak, the surveillance net the Special Higher Police had spent three months carefully setting up had come up completely empty.

Meanwhile, in a hidden apartment in the French Concession.

A middle-aged man in pajamas frowned at an identical list on the table.

He was Chen Mingzhi, chief of the Military Statistics Bureau Shanghai Station.

An hour earlier, someone had slipped the list through the gap under his door. The attached note contained only one sentence:

"Nineteen people on the Military Statistics Bureau list. The Japanese are about to close the net. -Scavenger"

Chen Mingzhi stared at the list, a chill running down his back.

The names, aliases, meeting places, and relationships with superiors of the nineteen people on it encompassed nearly everything the Shanghai Station had spent the past six months working on.

"Scavenger..."

Chen Mingzhi murmured the name.

Recently, rumors had spread all over the city about a mysterious killer who targeted Japanese devils and traitors, appearing and vanishing without a trace. The Japanese had offered five thousand silver dollars for his head.

He had thought they were only street rumors.

Now it seemed they were true.

And this person had even managed to obtain the Special Higher Police's top-secret documents.

Chen Mingzhi stood up, walked to the window, and gazed out at the heavy darkness.

"Pass the order down," he said without looking back. "Everyone on the list is to withdraw. Suspend the use of all contact points associated with the list. All remaining personnel are to go silent!"

His adjutant answered quietly behind him, "Yes, sir."

"One more thing." Chen Mingzhi paused. "Find out where this 'Scavenger' comes from. If we can bring him over to our side, do it. If we can't... don't antagonize him."

That night, two confidential reports were sent out from Shanghai separately.

One went to Yan'an:

"Recently received a confidential warning from a mysterious person known as the 'Scavenger,' successfully averting major losses. This person may be a patriotic individual acting independently. He is neither a member of our party nor of the Military Statistics Bureau, and has no intention of aligning with either side. Recommend maintaining contact, observing cautiously, and carefully seeking to bring him over."

One went to Chongqing:

"A mysterious figure known as the 'Scavenger' has appeared in Shanghai. He has formidable combat ability and possesses core Special Higher Police intelligence. He has warned both our party and the communists. His identity and position are unclear, and he is exceptionally capable. Recommendation: win him over; do not make an enemy of him."