Volume One, Chapter 8: The Invaders' Fury—Capture Lin Mo at Any Cost!

North China, Headquarters of the Japanese First Army.

The atmosphere was as oppressive as the sea before a storm.

Lieutenant General Yoshio Shinozuka sat upright in the main seat, his face as沉 as still water.

Before him stood a man with a sharp gaze and a poised figure—Colonel Kazuki Yamamoto, a specialist in special operations.

“Yamamoto, is this what you brought back from the frontline?” Shinozuka asked, pointing to a blurry photograph on the table and several deformed copper shell casings, clearly different from the Imperial standard ammunition.

The photo was taken at night with a miniature camera, flames blazing high into the sky. Only vague figures of several Eighth Route Army soldiers wielding unfamiliar short-barreled automatic weapons were visible, firing wildly.

“Yes, Your Excellency,” Yamamoto’s voice was cold and resolute. “My intelligence analysis unit, along with weapons experts, has conducted a continuous twenty-four-hour analysis of these clues.”

He paused, picked up one shell casing, and placed it before Shinozuka. “The caliber of this casing is 7.62 millimeters, consistent with the Mauser handgun rounds commonly used by Chinese forces. But note its significantly larger powder charge, which means its muzzle velocity and power far exceed that of ordinary handgun rounds. This is specialized, enhanced submachine gun ammunition, designed for a specific automatic weapon.”

Yamamoto’s gaze turned to the blurry photo. “According to the surviving intelligence personnel, this weapon fires at an extremely rapid rate with fierce firepower, completely suppressing our MP18-equipped special squad. The most critical point is its structure—it appears very... simple, even crude. It is absolutely not a product of aid from Europe, America, or the Soviet Union.”

Shinozuka’s brow furrowed deeply. “What is your conclusion?”

“There is only one,” Yamamoto’s eyes gleamed with the excitement and ruthlessness of a hunter spotting prey.

“Within Li Yunlong’s Independent Regiment, or more broadly, the entire Eighth Route Army’s 129th Division, there has emerged a hitherto unknown technical expert. Someone capable of designing and manufacturing an entirely new automatic weapon under such rudimentary conditions!”

“According to multiple intelligence reports from Ichiro Hirata in Ping’an County, we have a preliminary target.” Yamamoto turned, and emphatically circled Yang Village in red on the map.

“A young man recently joined the Independent Regiment, internally called ‘Mr. Lin.’ He enjoys Li Yunlong’s trust and protection and has established an independent ‘Weapons Research Institute.’ All new weapons originate from there!”

Shinozuka slowly leaned back in his chair, his fingers tapping the table unconsciously.

He recalled the reinforced watchtower blasted apart, the mysterious explosive with the power akin to heavy artillery.

Now, there was even a homemade new submachine gun.

A technical expert can revolutionize an army.

Especially in the resource-starved Eighth Route Army, which relies heavily on captured equipment, this change could be lethal.

“Yamamoto, what’s your plan?” Shinozuka asked.

---

“Attack! A surgical strike with pinpoint precision!” Yamamoto’s tone rose sharply, brimming with confidence.

“The last special operation was merely reconnaissance. This time, my special operations team will infiltrate near Yang Village. Our objective is not destruction, but... capture alive!”

His eyes sparkled with greed. “Capture this ‘Mr. Lin’ alive! Extract all the knowledge in his mind! If he agrees to serve the Empire, our military technology will leap ahead by a decade! If he remains stubborn...”

Yamamoto made a throat-slitting gesture. “Then we will utterly destroy his research institute, erasing him and his technology from this world! We cannot allow such technology to spread within the Eighth Route Army!”

Shinozuka fell silent for a moment; he knew Li Yunlong’s Independent Regiment was a tough nut to crack and cunning as a fox.

Finally, Shinozuka made his decision. “I will dispatch two brigades to assist you from the flanks. I have only one demand: the operation must be secret and swift! I do not want to see reports of special forces being annihilated by the Eighth Route Army!”

“Understood!” Yamamoto bowed sharply, a cruel smile curling at the corner of his mouth. “Rest assured, Your Excellency. For such rear-guard technicians, my men have hundreds of methods to make them vanish without a trace!”

---

Independent Regiment, Yang Village, Weapons Research Institute.

Lin Mo stared blankly at the blackboard filled with chemical formulas and structural diagrams.

The victory in the last ambush brought him little joy; instead, it filled him with an unprecedented sense of crisis.

From the Japanese special forces equipment captured by Duan Peng and others, he discovered alarming items.

Besides the German-made MP18 submachine guns, there were telescopes, miniature cameras, special climbing tools, and even several syringes filled with deadly poison.

“These devils are not ordinary combat troops,” Lin Mo said gravely to Zhao Gang beside him.

“Their target is very clear—it’s us. Or rather, it’s our technology. The last time was a probe; next time will likely be a thunderous strike.”

“I fear the Weapons Research Institute has already been exposed.”

This thought sent a chill down Lin Mo’s spine.

He was not afraid of death, but feared that if he died, all he had just started would be destroyed.

He was terrified that the painstakingly developed weapon blueprints would fall into enemy hands.

“Old Zhao, our security measures must be upgraded immediately,” Lin Mo said, pointing to the map.

---

“The terrain of Yang Village is too open, with many access routes—it’s easy to attack but hard to defend. If small enemy units infiltrate, we cannot guard against them all.”

Zhao Gang nodded, aware of the severity of the situation. “I’ve already doubled the sentry posts in the guard company and arranged both overt and covert patrols.”

“Not enough,” Lin Mo shook his head. “Human eyes always have blind spots and sometimes get drowsy. We need something... the devils wouldn’t expect.”

He walked to the lab bench, picked up a packet of sulfur powder, and pointed to several unremarkable plants in a corner.

“This is ‘wolf’s bane.’ Its sap is colorless but contains special alkaloids. If we mix its sap with sulfur powder, dry it, and scatter it on the ground, it’s invisible to the naked eye. But once someone steps on it, their shoe soles get stained with this powder, and then if they step on the wood ash alkaline water we spread on the path earlier...”

A cold smile crept across Lin Mo’s lips. “Their footprints will turn a striking purple-red, a color hard to wash off quickly. No matter where they hide, they will leave deadly traces.”

Zhao Gang’s eyes brightened. “This... this is practically an invisible tracker!”

“That’s only the first line of defense.” Lin Mo then picked up a glass bottle containing a faintly scented liquid he had formulated himself.

“This substance is undetectable by humans but extremely sensitive to the olfactory system of military dogs. We can drip a few drops at key intersections around the institute every few hours. If an unfamiliar scent appears, the dogs will detect it before any human does.”

Lin Mo took a deep breath. He knew this was not merely a contest of technology but a struggle between life and death.

A war fanatic like Yamamoto, once he locked onto a target, would never relent.

He glanced out the window at the peaceful Yang Village.

But Lin Mo knew that beneath this serenity, a lethal danger quietly approached.

He had to lay a net of entrapment for the Independent Regiment—and for himself—before the enemy struck.

Lin Mo picked up his pen and began sketching a more intricate defense system on a new blueprint.

Besides chemical warnings, he designed directional explosive traps and lever-triggered snares...

He intended to turn the entire perimeter of the institute and even the Independent Regiment into a hell from which the enemy could never return.