Chapter 18: Orphans of the Demon City

"You have no idea what the going rate for a gun is on the black market these days; it’s exorbitant. But they won’t be jumping around for much longer. The Chief has already posted a massive bounty on the black market. As long as they dare to bring those guns out to sell, they won’t make it out alive."

"Heh! That’s music to my ears!" Li Haibo sneered to himself, thinking, I never had any intention of selling them anyway.

Lieutenant Kentaro Yamamoto, the captain of the military police, stormed into the police chief’s office, his face contorted with rage. He immediately lashed out at the chief, landing seven or eight heavy slaps across his face, left and right.

"Baka yaro! You are nothing but a good-for-nothing! Thieves break into the police station and steal firearms—your incompetence is absolute!"

Police Chief Wang Fugui was left seeing stars, his face swelling up like a pig’s head. He could only cringe and bow repeatedly. "Taijun, this… this was truly an accident. We never expected the thieves to be so bold."

Lieutenant Yamamoto kicked over a chair nearby. "An accident? This is dereliction of duty! The entire Zhabei precinct is in total chaos, and you have no solution. Your men are all useless idiots; they can’t even catch a thief, and now our military police have to come in to clean up the mess."

Cold sweat beaded on Wang Fugui’s forehead. "Please, calm your anger, Taijun. We are already investigating with all our might and have posted a bounty on the black market. We will certainly provide you with an answer."

Lieutenant Yamamoto stepped closer to Wang Fugui, jabbing a finger into his chest. "An answer? Public order in Shanghai is already abysmal, and anti-Japanese elements are rampant. If this batch of firearms flows into the black market and falls into their hands, the consequences will be unthinkable! If you don't recover those guns, forget about keeping your head. Your negligence is a serious threat to the safety of the Imperial Army, and you will bear the full consequences!"

Wang Fugui trembled. "Hai! Hai! Taijun, I will certainly send out more men to crack the case as quickly as possible."

Lieutenant Yamamoto let out a cold snort. "You had better, or both you and your family will face severe punishment. The Empire of Greater Japan does not tolerate those who harbor or encourage evil!"

Wang Fugui wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and said cautiously, "Yes, yes, yes! But Taijun, because of the theft, the men are terrified. Without guns in their hands, they are afraid to patrol the streets. I beg for your assistance to allocate a batch of guns to give them some courage. Only then can they resume their duties, maintain order, and better track down the stolen weapons."

Lieutenant Yamamoto frowned, pacing back and forth. After a moment of thought, he gritted his teeth and said, "Hmph! So that those stupid policemen don't continue to disgrace the Imperial Army, I can transfer a batch of guns. But if there is even one more mistake, you can wait to eat a bullet!"

As if granted a reprieve, Wang Fugui bowed repeatedly. "Thank you for your immense kindness, Taijun. I am deeply grateful. I will strictly order my subordinates to use these weapons properly and pursue the theft with all our strength. I will not fail your expectations."

Lieutenant Yamamoto gave him a look of disgust, turned, and strode away, muttering, "A bunch of useless fools."

That morning, the military police transferred a batch of old guns from elsewhere.

Although they were old, they were much better than what they had before. Seeing the weapons, Li Haibo couldn't help but feel a prickle of greed, wondering if he should pull off another job.

After some internal struggle, reason won out. He abandoned the idea, knowing the risk was simply too high—one slip-up would mean total ruin. Guns were fine things, but his own life was far more important.

Because the number of new guns was insufficient, each one had to be shared by two men. Consequently, Li Haibo's four-man squad only received two weapons—one long and one short.

A few hundred meters away from the Zhabei precinct, at the Beihai Cloth Shop, another group of military police was investigating a scene.

This crime scene, however, was a real head-scratcher.

There were no signs of forced entry on the doors or windows. The main gate had been locked from the inside, and it could only be opened from within.

Early that morning, employees arriving for work knocked repeatedly to no answer, eventually forcing them to report the incident. When the military police arrived, they had to break through a window, only to find a large amount of blood on the floor. The four bodyguards were nowhere to be found, and thousands of bolts of cloth stored in the warehouse had been completely cleaned out.

The most baffling part was how the perpetrators had slipped in and retreated without a trace. Furthermore, the massive safe, weighing over five tons, had mysteriously vanished as if it had evaporated into thin air.

Was this the work of ghosts? Even ghosts couldn't pull this off!

As everyone was at their wit's end, Second Lieutenant Ichiro Koizumi stared at the blood on the floor, lost in thought. Seeing this, Lieutenant Rokuro Yamamoto walked over, full of suspicion, and asked softly, "Koizumi-kun, have you discovered something?"

Ichiro Koizumi shook his head and spoke slowly. "No leads. But judging by the amount of blood, those four bodyguards are definitely dead. To take over a thousand bolts of cloth, along with other supplies and four corpses, it would take at least twenty people. And to move a five-ton safe, human power isn't enough; they would need heavy machinery, at least a truck. That kind of movement would certainly make a lot of noise. But the neighbors and the patrolling soldiers all say they didn't hear anything suspicious. It’s very strange!"

Lieutenant Rokuro Yamamoto thought for a moment and said, "This case is serious. Many imperial citizens have perished, and a huge amount of property has been stolen. We must report this to our superiors immediately."

Lieutenant Rokuro Yamamoto and Lieutenant Kentaro Yamamoto both quickly submitted the details of their respective cases to the Gendarmerie Headquarters.

The headquarters attached great importance to the matters and sent additional personnel to assist, yet there was no progress, and no one linked the two cases together.

What? The same group of people?

Impossible? Absolutely impossible?

...

After Li Haibo spent the day slacking off with a few other scoundrels, he handed in his gun early and headed home.

"Mama! I’m home!" Li Haibo shouted as he walked through the door.

"Brother! You're back!" Xiaohua ran over happily, reaching out her small hands.

"No money! Get lost!" Li Haibo retorted impatiently.

"It's not that..."

Just then, a thin, frail boy walked out of the room—it was Xin Zai, the newsboy. He greeted Li Haibo respectfully, "Hello, Brother Bo!"

"Eh? Xin Zai! What are you doing at my house?" Li Haibo asked, surprised.

"Brother Bo, I..." Xin Zai hesitated, struggling to find his words.

Xin Zai’s parents were from eastern Zhejiang, having come to Shanghai in search of a living years ago, where they rented a small shack on the street.

When Xin Zai was born, his mother died in childbirth, leaving his father to work as a furniture repairman and mason to barely make ends meet while raising him through hardship.

However, fate was cruel. During the First Battle of Shanghai, Xin Zai’s father was brutally murdered by the Japanese, leaving the seven-year-old boy an orphan.

Since then, Xin Zai had been forced to live on the streets. At first, he survived by begging and relying on the charity of neighbors, and as he grew older, he began selling newspapers on the street.