A New Challenge, an Outburst of Acting, Deceiving Everyone

The night at the special training base was unusually quiet. After the upheaval of the day's duel, most of the trainees were immersed in the joy of graduating and anticipation for the future. Shen Yan alone lay on the wooden bed in the dormitory, his fingertip gently tracing the newly unlocked "vehicle section" on the system panel, smiling without a word.

The vehicle shop had everything from military sedans and three-wheeled motorcycles to small amphibious boats. Each model came with detailed specifications and the Good and Evil Points needed to redeem it. Every vehicle performed excellently; the only regrets were that none came equipped with weapons, and aircraft and large ships had not been unlocked.

Shen Yan scrolled down with some regret, and a special vehicle appeared before him.

[Silent amphibious mini motorcycle with unlimited power]

[The body is made of lightweight alloy, with a curb weight of only 42 kilograms. It is equipped with a 125cc silent four-stroke engine and is completely silent when running. Its top speed is 165 km/h, and its range is unlimited. The matte black body blends perfectly into the night, and the front is equipped with an adjustable low-light spotlight to avoid exposing the target with bright light. It also comes with a water-travel attachment board, allowing a top speed of 150 km/h on water.]

Shen Yan was practically drooling. Then he looked at the price... Damn, it was expensive! The mini motorcycle and the driving mastery skill would empty nearly half his stash!

"Buy!"

Shen Yan gritted his teeth and made up his mind.

"Money's a bastard. Once I've spent it, I'll earn more!"

After he clicked buy, the matte black mini motorcycle quietly appeared in his space. Along with it came the skills to drive all kinds of vehicles, and Shen Yan instantly became a veteran driver!

"Nice! Nice! If I ever get a chance to return to the modern age, I'll become a professional racer and crush the competition!"

Shen Yan closed his eyes, ready to find a few racing girls in his dreams to discuss life with, when he suddenly heard two of his roommates talking in low voices. What they were discussing made his heart tighten!

"Did you hear? Section Chief Kuroiwa is preparing a graduation gift for us tomorrow. What do you think it'll be? I'm guessing a samurai sword."

"I don't have to guess. I know what it is. You'd better brace yourself tomorrow. This gift won't be easy to accept!"

"You've got inside information?! How do you know? Come on, tell me. We're brothers sharing a dorm. Why keep secrets?"

Yamada, who claimed to have inside information, quietly poked his head out and glanced at Shen Yan.

Right on cue, Shen Yan began to snore softly, as though he were fast asleep, though his ears were pricked up.

Yamada whispered, "My cousin is one of the instructors for this training course. He said the graduation ceremony tomorrow will make every one of us draw blood!"

"Ha, I thought it was something serious! We all came off the battlefield. Who doesn't have a few Chi... Chinese lives on his hands? That counts as a test?!"

"You don't know shit!"

Yamada stole another glance at Shen Yan and continued, "There are ten die-hard Communist Party members previously arrested and held at the base. Tomorrow we'll be ordered to execute them, barehanded!"

"Barehanded..."

The dormitory fell quiet, but Shen Yan's heart was in turmoil.

Ten of his compatriots were going to die tomorrow, and one of them would die at his own hands! Was this true, or was it another test by the Japanese devils?

[Ding! Special mission triggered: save the heroes. The Japanese will kill ten anti-Japanese patriots tomorrow. Host, please find a way to rescue them. Reward: 500 Good and Evil Points for each person saved. Successfully rescue them all for an additional reward: one refresh of the clone skill's cooldown!]

It's true... What should I do?!

Shen Yan opened the system and carefully took stock of the resources he had, searching for a way out.

After a long period of thought, a rough plan emerged in his mind.

The plan was far from perfect, and many things could go wrong, but he couldn't worry about that now!

"Let's try it. Do what I can and leave the rest to fate!"

"System, deploy my clone outside the training base. I want to possess it!"

[Ding! Clone deployed. Clone duration: 23:59:59, 23:59:58... Possession countdown: 3, 2, 1.]

Shen Yan's mind went hazy. As soon as he regained his senses, he took out the motorcycle and sped along the street, keeping an eye on the minimap as he searched carefully.

A moment later, Shen Yan slammed on the brakes. A red dot on the minimap was close at hand.

[Detachment Bookshop]

Shen Yan put the motorcycle away in his space, took out a piece of black cloth to cover his face, and used both hands and feet to scramble up to the second floor in a few swift moves. He pushed open the window, which had been left slightly ajar.

"Who's there!"

The person in the second-floor bedroom jolted awake, pulled a handgun from under his pillow, and aimed it at Shen Yan.

Shen Yan was completely unfazed.

"Qian Bin, forty-five years old, a member of the Chinese Communist Party underground, codename Scholar. Your cover is the proprietor of the Detachment Bookshop. Am I right?"

Shopkeeper Qian stared at him, dumbfounded, tightening his grip on the gun.

"You... are you with the Military Statistics Bureau or the Special Higher Police?"

With his details exposed so thoroughly, Qian Bin saw no point in denying them. He only hoped that when he sacrificed his life, he would at least know the truth, and preferably take someone down with him.

"I'm neither! I'm the Lone Wolf the Japanese devils talk about. Or perhaps you're more familiar with my other nickname: Scavenger."

"Scavenger?!"

Qian Bin froze. His mission in coming to Shanghai this time was to take over from Shopkeeper Zhou of the teahouse and reestablish contact with the Scavenger, the puppet policeman Shen Yan. But he had learned that Shen Yan had been transferred to the Special Higher Police for training, with no definite date for his return. Just as Qian Bin was at a loss, Shen Yan suddenly appeared in his bedroom...

"Mr. Scavenger, what do you need me to do this time?"

"You've got one thing wrong. It's not about you cooperating with me. I need your help to save your comrades!"

Shen Yan quickly told him what was going to happen tomorrow.

"Those beasts!"

Qian Bin gnashed his teeth and paced back and forth in the bedroom, considering a rescue plan.

But it was easier said than done!

The Special Higher Police was heavily guarded, with tight security. With the underground party's current strength in Shanghai, an armed rescue was a pipe dream!

Shen Yan had no time to watch Qian Bin pace in circles. He spoke quickly.

"I have a plan. I can't guarantee it'll work, but I'll do my best. If you can't think of a better way right now, have your people hide at the mass grave east of the city tomorrow at noon."

"The mass grave?! You want me to collect our comrades' bodies?! No, we can't give up like this! We have to find a way..."

"Shut up!"

Shen Yan cut him off sharply. "If my plan works, the comrades you find will be alive! I've said what I came to say. It's up to you whether you go!"

Shen Yan took two small red bottles from his pocket and handed them to Qian Bin.

"If you trust me, give them this medicine after you find the ten of them. It might save them."

Having given his instructions, Shen Yan stayed no longer. He jumped out the window and disappeared into the night.

Qian Bin looked at the red medicine bottles in his hand, deeply conflicted.

Finally, he seemed to make up his mind. He got dressed, opened the back door, and ran off.

Meanwhile, Shen Yan stood in a dark spot by the street.

"System, cancel possession and retrieve the clone!"

After another spell of disorientation, Shen Yan found himself lying on his dormitory bed. The motorcycle was still in his space, and the clone was shown to have entered its cooldown period.

Thinking over tomorrow's plan, he realized there was one last step.

"System, buy the master-level combat skill!"

[Ding! The master-level combat skill requires 3,000 Good and Evil Points. The host currently has 2,967 Good and Evil Points. Insufficient points!]

Shen Yan somewhat regretted buying the motorcycle on impulse, but it was too late to say anything now.

Where could he earn some Good and Evil Points?

Shen Yan gave an evil smile...

"Slap! Slap! Slap! Slap! Who told you to snore in your sleep?! Don't you know how inconsiderate that is!"

"B-but... Mr. Shen, you snore too..."

"You dare talk back?! Kneel in a row! Start reciting the Special Higher Police work regulations, one at a time. Whoever makes a mistake gets a slap!"

Two hours later, Shen Yan, having saved up enough Good and Evil Points, lay on his bed fast asleep, leaving Yamada and the other three staring speechlessly at the heavens, tears in their eyes...

Just one more day! Once tomorrow is over, we'll be far away from that devil Shen Yan!

Why is this night so long...

Early the next morning, the military police urgently summoned all the graduating trainees to the open-air training ground at the special training base. The usual solemn atmosphere had been replaced by an eerie sense of oppression.

In the center of the training ground, ten people with their hands tied behind their backs and blindfolds over their eyes were held by military police. Though dressed in rags and covered in wounds, they still held their backs straight.

Shen Yan stood in the front row, looking as calm as ever, his eyes lowered as though he felt none of the tension around him. In truth, he had already activated Heavenly Eye and swept his gaze over the ten people. Their Good and Evil Points were all above 100; they really were captured Communist Party members.

Kuroiwa Masao sat upright on the hastily erected reviewing platform, his expression cold, utterly unlike the approving look he had worn yesterday. He raised a hand, and the entire ground fell silent.

"Everyone, congratulations on graduating."

His voice was deep and commanding as he slowly surveyed the crowd. "You are all elites from various battlefields, with outstanding military records. But tell me, how many of you here have truly killed an enemy in close combat? On the intelligence battlefield, such a situation can arise at any time. Are you ready?!"

Silence reigned.

Kuroiwa looked around and pointed at the ten prisoners in the center of the ground. His tone was utterly flat. "These people are all Communist Party members who threaten the empire's rule, stubborn and unrepentant to the end. They are your graduation gift. What you must do now is kill them barehanded. No weapons are permitted, and no one is to be left alive. This is my gift to you: your rite of passage as intelligence officers!"

The crowd remained silent, but the trainees' breathing gradually grew heavier.

Kuroiwa Masao's face gradually darkened. His fingertips tapped the armrest lightly, and his tone held a warning. "What? None of you dares? If you don't even have this much ruthlessness, are you fit to be the empire's agents? If no one acts today, you will all be deemed unqualified, stripped of your eligibility to graduate, reduced to ordinary soldiers, and sent to the most dangerous front lines!"

Just then, a figure strode out of the ranks and bowed, his voice sincere and resolute. It was Shen Yan.

"Section Chief, sir, I have something to say!"

Kuroiwa looked at the talented man he held in high regard and slowly nodded.

Shen Yan stood before the trainees, looking coldly at them all.

"You should all know me. At the very least, you've sparred with me!"

Every trainee wore an awkward expression. Shen Yan's roommates in particular wished they could bury their heads in the ground.

"That's right, I'm Chinese, one of the Chinese you all look down on! But not one of the people who once looked down on me had the courage to fight me. Let me tell you, I practice martial arts, but I am by no means the best martial artist in China! Today I'll show you the true killing techniques of a martial artist. I hope that when you encounter a real expert in the future, you'll set aside your arrogance. Perhaps that will save your lives!"

With that, Shen Yan slowly walked up to the ten underground party members and stopped.

"Untie them. Give them weapons!"

The military police squad leader looked hesitantly at Kuroiwa, who readily nodded.

The underground party members were untied, and the black cloth was removed from their eyes. A bayonet was thrown at each of their feet.

The underground party members quietly picked up the weapons from the ground. Every one of them stared at him with cold, resolute eyes. There was no fear, only defiance, as though they had long been prepared to die.

"Kill this traitor!"

The oldest underground party member, his face covered in beard, shouted. The others charged forward, brandishing their bayonets. Not one of them backed down!

Shen Yan watched them coldly. Suddenly, he moved, lightning-fast and without a wasted motion. He clenched his fists, middle knuckles protruding, and struck them with punches swift as the wind. All the while, he kept speaking, like the King of Hell calling out names.

"Yamen, Fengchi, Taiyang, Baihui, Renzhong..."

One point named with each punch, and one person fell with each punch!

In just two minutes, all ten Communist Party members lay motionless on the ground, their faces deathly pale, all signs of life gone.

Shen Yan stood where he was and dusted off his hands. His face resumed its cold, ruthless expression as he bowed to Kuroiwa Masao on the reviewing platform. "Section Chief, sir, fortunately I did not fail you. Thank you for indulging my willfulness."

With that, he walked quietly to one side and looked up at the sky, murmuring to himself.

Kuroiwa Masao nodded in satisfaction and signaled for the military doctors to examine the bodies. Two doctors immediately stepped forward and checked each fallen person's pulse, breathing, and pupils with meticulous attention. They listened to their chests with stethoscopes and pressed their fingers to their carotid arteries, checking repeatedly. Finally, they bowed to Kuroiwa Masao and reported, "Section Chief, sir, all targets have stopped breathing, have no pulse, and their pupils are dilated. Death confirmed."

Kuroiwa Masao ordered, "Dispose of them. Throw them in the mass grave. Let those who oppose the empire see that their only fate is to be eaten by wild dogs!"

"Yes, sir!"

The military police answered and stepped forward, loaded the ten "corpses" onto a military truck, and drove away in a cloud of dust.

Kuroiwa slowly walked up behind Shen Yan and heard his murmured words: "Teacher, I hope all is well with you in heaven. I will continue to avenge you until the day you can rest in peace!"

Kuroiwa patted Shen Yan on the shoulder. "Sometimes I truly envy your teacher Inoue. His other work in life was not especially remarkable, but his one dazzling achievement was training you for the empire. I'm sure he can rest in peace in the underworld!"

Shen Yan lowered his head without a word. In a daze, he heard a roar from hell: "I'll sue you for defamation, you hear me?! I'll sue you for defamation! He's defaming me! He's defaming me!"