Shanghai, a famous cosmopolitan city in the Far East, has a population of 3 million and is home to expatriates from 50 countries. Interestingly, the Japanese are the largest among them, accounting for more than half of the foreigners in Shanghai, who mainly live in the public concession in Shanghai's Hongkou District. For this reason, Hongkou District is also known as "Little Tokyo", and the Japanese side stationed a marine corps in Hongkou District to protect the expatriate.

The headquarters of the Japanese Marine Corps, located on Sichuan North Road, Hongkou District, Shanghai, was the command center of the Japanese army and their base camp in Shanghai.

The headquarters building is in the shape of a "mouth", surrounded by barracks and warehouses. In the middle is a 2,200-square-meter playground, which can accommodate more than 2,000 people for training, and can also accommodate a large number of armored vehicles to drive in and out. Watchtowers and artillery pieces are built on the rooftops to control the surrounding traffic arteries.

Although this huge building is only five floors, the foundation is eight stories deep, and the exterior wall is made of reinforced concrete, which is 80 cm thick and very strong, and is called "steel fortress" by the world.

The headquarters was located in the southwest corner of Hongkou District, close to the Zhabei District of the Chinese Boundary and far away from the Huangpu River, so that they could easily see the movement of the national army in Zhabei District. At the beginning of the war, the 88th Division was blocked by this huge building, losing troops and losing generals, and Major General Huang Meixing was martyred.

The 88th Division paid a heavy price, but the Japanese army was no better, they also suffered heavy losses.

General Hasegawa Kiyoshi at the headquarters was in a state of panic all day long, and the headquarters was not only being watched by tens of thousands of national troops, but was also within the range of enemy artillery, and the headquarters was really unable to hold on any longer. Hasegawa Kiyoshi didn't want to be the first general to be captured by the enemy, so on the 15th, he sent three rescue telegrams to Tokyo in a row.

"Our Marines have been holding the front for several days, and although their morale is extremely strong, it is extremely difficult to fight continuously with their outnumbered enemies. Therefore, I hope to send reinforcements as soon as possible......"

The Japanese mainland combat units were being assembled, and it was really impossible to send a large number of reinforcements, and Hasegawa Kiyoshi's first telegram did not receive reinforcements. So, he sent out a second one, which shows the fear in his heart.

"In today's fierce battle, our marines have suffered heavy losses. Although morale was still very strong, they were outnumbered, but based on the concentration of the enemy's forces, it was expected that there would be fierce battles every day in the future. Due to fatigue and attrition, it is difficult to hold on, and if it is difficult to urgently dispatch domestic troops, please consider sending the Special Marine Corps on standby in Lushun to this side first. ”

Hasegawa Kiyoshi's urgent telegram for help made the Central Department of the Japanese Navy extremely anxious, and immediately ordered the Marines to form two groups in Sasebo, each with about 500 men, and to complete the transportation and prepare for Shanghai that night.

Hasegawa Kiyoshi was still uneasy, and he sent a third message asking for help. The Central Department of the Japanese Navy had no choice but to send 2,000 marines to Shanghai to relieve the urgent need of the Marine Corps headquarters that was being stationed in Lushun mentioned in Hasegawa's telegram.

"Report!"

"What's the matter?"

"The reconnaissance team we sent out was attacked, and Second Lieutenant Oda was killed, and his body has been brought back."

"What!?"

Hasegawa Kiyoshi was stunned, this was a worse thing. The artillery of the national army posed a great threat to the commander, so a reconnaissance detachment was dispatched, but now it ...... The Japanese army is already stretched, and every soldier is very precious in the eyes of Hasegawa.

Coming to the playground in the middle of the building, three groups of soldiers were lined up. With solemn expressions, they stared straight at the 22 corpses in front of them.

Next to the corpses, a junior officer was examining each body. The dead were all his compatriots, and there was no sympathy or pity in his expressions.

"Zuoto-kun, isn't this what you should do?"

Hasegawa strode over, and the young man got up after examining the last corpse, then took off his white gloves and threw them aside.

A soldier quickly stepped forward and bent down to present a very fine katana. The black scabbard of the katana is edged with gold edges and edges, and a cherry blossom image is engraved in the middle. The katana is a symbol of samurai status, which shows that the identity of this named Sato is not ordinary.

Hasegawa walked up to Zuoto, Kondo was a head taller than the other man, and he was an outlier among the Japanese who were known for their shortness. Not only is he tall, but Zuo Teng's body is also very burly, like a martial artist.

"You're a nobleman, how can you do such a thing?"

Mitsuhiko Sato, who was dissatisfied with Hasegawa's accusations, actually leaked a smile on his handsome face, he nodded slightly, and said to Hasegawa: "I'm sorry, Your Excellency General, I'm just curious. ”

"Curious about what?"

"The number of killed. If they were ambushed, they should have been wiped out, but only one squad and one squad were killed. Later, I asked the surviving soldiers, and there was only one person who attacked the detachment. ”

"Alone? Yaga, when did my warrior become so useless! ”

Hasegawa's face was angry, and he felt even more unbelievable. At this time, he thought of Zuo Teng's words just now, and said disdainfully: "You just said that the surviving soldiers should have escaped from the other party." Kondo, you use very inappropriate words, this is a great insult to the soldiers. ”

"Yes, survived." Mitsuhiko Sato still had a modest expression and explained, "If that person wanted to, he could have killed everyone." But the goal had been accomplished, and he gave up, because the remaining soldiers had no meaning in his eyes. ”

"Purpose?"

"Yes, his purpose is Second Lieutenant Oda. Obviously he has been killed, but the man still has to cut him in the neck, is he a devil? Terrible enemy. I think if he wanted to, he could sneak into the headquarters without much effort and kill His Excellency the General. ”

Hasegawa Kiyoshi was already panicked, and after being frightened by Zuo Teng, his face turned red and white, and he said: "Hehe~ Zuo Teng-kun, are you kidding?" ”

Mitsuhiko Zuoto couldn't hold back a smile with his mouth open, bowed his head slightly and said, "I'm sorry, I'm joking." But I really want him to come, and I'm hungry for the sword that His Majesty the Emperor has given you. ”

"Hmph~"

Hasegawa Kiyoshi shook his hand vigorously and left angrily. He didn't like Sato because he was a nobleman who gave him some face. But Mitsuhiko Sato pretended to be all day long, putting on a refined expression every day, not only that, but he also showed off the sword given to him by the emperor all day long, saying things like "hunger and thirst" and "loneliness", but so far, that kid has not killed a single enemy, which makes Hasegawa very unhappy.

Leaving with Hasegawa's indignation, Zuoto still pretended to be calm, and even leaked a contemptuous smile, and he said to the person behind him: "Someone." ”

A man dressed in what appeared to be a ninja costume walked up behind Zuo Teng, bowed his head and said, "Yes!" What does the suzerain command? ”

Zuo Teng Mitsuhiko ordered in a commanding tone: "Order Phoenix to send people to find out the location of the enemy's artillery position as soon as possible, and find out who the person who attacked this reconnaissance detachment is." ”

"Subordinates obey."

The man bowed his head again, then turned away.

Although the "Phoenix" organization was a supernumerary department of the Japanese army's intelligence department, it had a powerful intelligence network. This organization is composed of three types of people: first, elite intelligence officers composed of Japanese, who have received strict special training and are responsible for collecting important military intelligence; The second type is composed of ninjas, dojos, ronins and other people with special skills, who are responsible for assassinating important enemy figures; The third is that there are Chinese intelligence officers who blend into the enemy camp and collect some low-level intelligence.

However, the third group of people is the most terrifying, not only are they numerous, but they are also difficult to discern. Most of them are students from Northeast China, Taiwan, and Japan, and have received special training.

At this time, several thousand such people had already infiltrated Shanghai, posing a great threat to the Chinese side. The Military Command Bureau has received this information and has sent a large number of spies to conduct a city-wide search. The female student Ye Lei suspected was one of them.