After settling Shopkeeper Qiu, Wang Xu and Yu Zecheng came out.
Yu Zecheng spoke first, expressing his gratitude once again before saying, "Be careful tonight; there might be a massive search if things go south."
Wang Xu nodded slightly. The Japanese had fought a battle with the Central Statistics Bureau tonight and exposed Special Commissioner Shi as an undercover agent; it wasn't impossible for them to fly into a rage out of humiliation.
However, Wang Xu wasn't worried about the search.
In the entire city of Jinwei, with a population of millions, the Japanese garrison only consisted of one brigade, totaling just over seven thousand men.
For something like a city-wide search, the Gendarmerie wouldn't be deployed. Eighty percent of the work would be handed over to the police station and the Puppet Army, while they themselves would only be responsible for guarding the city gates.
"The search isn't a big problem. Of those in the Puppet Army, how many aren't greedy? When the time comes, I'll give them a little something; just make sure you don't show any flaws. By the way, there are clothes in my room. Have Shopkeeper Qiu change into a set to avoid being recognized." When Wang Xu said this, Yu Zecheng agreed.
But before the two could enter the room, Shopkeeper Qiu's exasperated roar came from inside: "Ga Zi, what are you doing? What time do you think it is, and you're still acting up with me!"
"I'm not acting up! Uncle Lao Luo said that if you make a mistake, you have to correct it yourself. I let the fake special commissioner go and lost my gun. Is it so wrong for me to go back and find it?"
Wang Xu and Yu Zecheng entered and saw Ga Zi pouting, crying even as he spoke.
Seeing them come in, Ga Zi wiped his tears and said defiantly, "As long as you let me out, I will definitely get the gun back. Even that fake special commissioner—I won't let him off."
"How are you not going to let him off? The fake special commissioner has already run away. Right now, he's either at the Gendarmerie or the Political Security Bureau. What can you do alone?" As Shopkeeper Qiu's temper flared, his movements inevitably became a bit larger, pulling at his wounds and making him frown in pain. "Old Yu, keep an eye on Ga Zi. He wants to seek revenge—isn't this just nonsense!"
Hearing the sequence of events, Yu Zecheng's face darkened as he pulled Ga Zi aside and began to talk to him in a low voice.
Wang Xu looked at Ga Zi and then at Shopkeeper Qiu. If Little Soldier Ga Zi was in this world and was as lucky as he was in the TV series, Ga Zi might actually pull it off.
Of course, while he thought so in his heart, Wang Xu didn't say anything on the surface.
He didn't dare to gamble on whether Ga Zi's luck remained, because if he lost the bet, not only would Ga Zi lose his life, but they might also be exposed.
"Ga Zi, I know you're a soldier, but our current mission is to lurk and not let the enemy find us. If you go out to find the fake special commissioner, wouldn't we have to cover for you? But Shopkeeper Qiu is so heavily injured; how can we just leave him behind?" Yu Zecheng knew Ga Zi was stubborn, so he didn't use orders to pressure him but instead advised him earnestly.
Ga Zi was still unconvinced. Back in the White Yang Lake area, he had run circles around hundreds of Japanese soldiers.
He was just about to retort when a commotion and urgent knocking came from outside the main gate.
"Open up! City-wide search, open up quickly!" The knocking was heavy, not like it was done by hand, but rather like something was being used to smash it.
Wang Xu quickly reached out, made a silencing gesture, and whispered, "It seems the Puppet Army is here!"
"I'll go with you to take a look." Yu Zecheng stood up voluntarily, intending to go with Wang Xu.
Wang Xu shook his head slightly, only telling Yu Zecheng to quickly change Shopkeeper Qiu's clothes and stay in the room without going anywhere else.
"Open the door! Damn it, if you don't open up, we're opening fire!"
"Coming, coming!"
Wang Xu gave a look and quickly ran out to open the door.
Outside the door stood a squad of soldiers, about seven or eight of them, knocking on doors from house to house.
Seeing Wang Xu come out, a Puppet Army soldier walked over, poked his head in to look around, and asked, "Have you seen any suspicious people?"
"No, I just heard a few gunshots in the middle of the night. I don't know anything else," Wang Xu said with a bow and a scrape. Then he reached into his pocket, but he froze as soon as he felt around.
Only then did he remember that his Silver Dollars had already been given to Xu Jiazhen; he had no money on him at all.
The Puppet Army soldier stood at the door. Waiting for a bribe that didn't come and a benefit that wasn't appearing, his brow slowly furrowed. "What, you want us brothers to go in and search?"
"Search for what?" Before Wang Xu could speak, an officer walked out from the darkness.
As soon as he saw this person, Wang Xu was delighted. Wasn't this Meng Sanyuan, the Puppet Army company commander who had sold him the house?
"Hello, Company Commander Meng!" Seeing Meng Sanyuan, the seven or eight Puppet Army soldiers immediately greeted him with grins.
Meng Sanyuan kept a stiff face. Without even looking at these people, he said coldly, "This is my little brother. He just moved in today. No need to check."
"Company Commander Meng, this..." The several Puppet Army soldiers looked troubled; they were clearly not Meng Sanyuan's men.
Meng Sanyuan's gaze shifted. Seeing their expressions, he snorted, "What, do you want me to go talk to Company Commander Zhang?"
"We wouldn't dare, wouldn't dare..." The several Puppet Army soldiers slunk away. They were just grunt soldiers. Since Meng Sanyuan had put it that way, would they really have their own company commander come over?
One had to know that soldiers were soldiers, and officers were officers.
If they really let their Company Commander Zhang come over, not only would he have to give face, but he would also have to give them a lecture. After all, they were all from the same regiment.
"These bastards are harder to deal with than the little devils!" Seeing them leave, Meng Sanyuan cursed under his breath before saying, "Next time you encounter something like this, it's best to spend money to settle it to avoid suffering. If you really let them in to search, do you still want the pots and pans in your house?"
Although Meng Sanyuan was talking to Wang Xu, his gaze was never here; he was craning his neck to look toward Xu Jiazhen's house.
Looking at this, Wang Xu knew that Meng Sanyuan's search area definitely wasn't this block; he had come specifically for Xu Jiazhen.
Sure enough, looking left and right, he couldn't see any lights on at Xu Jiazhen's house. Meng Sanyuan showed a look of disappointment, and his whole spirit deflated.
Wang Xu was just about to say something when he looked down, and his expression changed drastically... blood.
"Don't look. Qiu Xia is sick. Xu Jiazhen took her daughter to the hospital and hasn't come back yet." Wang Xu remained calm and stepped on the bloodstain with his foot.
There wasn't much blood on the ground, only a few drops. They had obviously dripped from the long gown while Shopkeeper Qiu was waiting at the door.
At this moment, Meng Sanyuan's heart was entirely on Xu Jiazhen, and he didn't notice Wang Xu's movement. Instead, he asked, "Is Qiu Xia's illness serious? Her family has no money. Going to the hospital so late, it'd be a wonder if they aren't ripped off!"
"The money was taken from me, so it should be enough. By the way, Big Brother Meng, do you want to come in and sit for a while?" Wang Xu deliberately steered the topic to prevent Meng Sanyuan from noticing the bloodstain.
Meng Sanyuan initially wanted to agree, but the words were taken back as they reached his lips. He shook his head and said, "No need. I still have a mission and have to leave first."
Not seeing his beloved goddess, it would be a lie to say he wasn't disappointed.
In the night, Meng Sanyuan was like an old ox, walking away while looking back every few steps.
Wang Xu stood at the door waving his hand, looking like he was waving goodbye, but in fact, he couldn't wait for Meng Sanyuan to hurry up and scram.
However, Meng Sanyuan was quite something; his feelings for Xu Jiazhen were truly more than just a little bit.
Similarly, it also made Wang Xu a bit suspicious about what exactly was so good about Xu Fugui. With someone like Meng Sanyuan pining for her, Xu Jiazhen was still utterly devoted to him. It seemed Xu Fugui was also an expert.