56. The Starving Military Statistics Assassins

Chen Gong walked up to a closed door, raised his finger, and knocked a few times in a specific rhythm. A moment later, the door was opened from the inside by a man dressed in black shirt and trousers, wearing a black cap. The man nodded at him and whispered, "Captain."

"Come in, brother."

As if he had run hot from pulling the rickshaw, the moment Chen Gong stepped into the courtyard, he completely stripped off his coarse cloth jacket, revealing a robust torso covered in dense body hair.

"Good grief, Captain Chen, did human evolution forget about you? Why do you look like a black bear that has attained sentience? These male hormones are way too dense."

Zhou Hongyi muttered inwardly, but his vigilance had already been ratcheted up to the maximum level.

Stepping into this small courtyard, he sensed that at least three gun muzzles were aimed at him simultaneously. Though he appeared relaxed on the surface, sweat was already beading on his forehead.

Even though he had special skills to rely on, he was not invulnerable to blades and bullets. In a situation where the enemy was hidden and he was exposed, if he were locked onto by the enemy's gunmen, his chances of survival would be extremely, extremely low.

Chen Gong led Zhou Hongyi through the front hall and into the back courtyard. Here too, two men in black stood by the door and nodded in greeting.

"Captain."

Zhou Hongyi looked around with considerable interest, only to find that even the roof had people crawling on it. Damn it, if he hadn't known Chen Gong's identity in advance, he would have definitely assumed this was a deadly banquet set up by the Japanese devils.

Walking into the back parlor, a dim light burned inside. Sitting around a long table were seven men with fierce gazes. When they saw Chen Gong, they all shouted "Captain," and then looked toward Zhou Hongyi with guarded vigilance.

The bearded man took the jacket tossed to him by a subordinate, slipped it on, and introduced: "This is the Brother Zhou Hongyi I told you about. Young Master Zhou, brother-in-law to Director Ding of Number 76, and head of the Special Operations Group of the Jing'an Second Precinct. At the same time, he is also an anti-Japanese patriot. How about that? Didn't expect it, did you? Last time I was caught and dragged into the police station's dungeon, it was thanks to Brother Zhou that I managed to escape completely unscathed. After a long period of getting along and observing, I am basically certain that Brother Zhou stands on the same front line as us. Yesterday, Wei Zhe, the captain of the Second Precinct's Third Team, was executed by his own hands."

At first, upon hearing Zhou Hongyi's identity—that he was actually the brother-in-law of that great traitor and superspy—the atmosphere in the room turned somewhat dangerous. But upon hearing later that he had saved their captain and had just executed a traitor within the police station with his own hands, the atmosphere noticeably softened.

Zhou Hongyi chuckled, cupped his fists, and smiled at the crowd: "Good heroes, it's a pleasure to meet you all. I know that being the brother-in-law of a major traitor and superspy is certainly nothing to boast about, but at the same time, if this identity is utilized well, it can serve a great purpose. I believe that in this regard, Brother Chen and I have already reached a consensus."

Chen Gong laughed heartily, patted Zhou Hongyi, and said, "Brother, don't be nervous. We are not some pugilistic gang. Telling you my true identity, brother: I am the captain of a Military Statistics special operations team of the Nationalist Government, Chen Gong, styled Fenglie. This is naturally my real name. Our special operations team has twenty-three members under its jurisdiction and has successfully assassinated seven people, including traitors, devils, and spies, though we have also lost two brothers. Nowadays, the devils and Number 76 have started searching for our contact points all over the world, which has forced us to abandon many safehouses and move here temporarily to lie low. But with Brother Zhou joining us, going out to handle matters will be much more convenient."

Zhou Hongyi pretended to be oblivious. Upon hearing Chen Gong expose his own identity, his body gave a violent start and he took half a step back, displaying the acting skills he had honed over many years on the Hengdian sets to the fullest.

"What? You turn out to be a hero of Military Statistics and captain of a special operations team! Oh my, oh my, Brother Chen, you fooled me so bitterly! I always thought you ran a gang."

"Hahaha, apologies, Brother Zhou. Previously, before confirming your true stance, I couldn't expose my identity. But now I am certain we are people of the same path. How about it? Interested in joining our special operations team and becoming a part of Military Statistics? I can be your referrer to join the Nationalist Party, serve the Party and the State, expel the devils, and eliminate traitors!"

Zhou Hongyi was startled once more, followed by his lips twitching as if overcome with emotion, making his speech somewhat stuttering.

"Brother Chen, is what you're saying true? Recruiting me into the Nationalist Party is something I never even dared to dream of! To tell you the truth, I have actually always felt ashamed to have a brother-in-law like Ding Mocun. I am utterly ashamed! At the same time, in order to extract useful intelligence from him, I put up a false front every single day, constantly torn between two options: killing him now or killing him a little later!

"Now, meeting Brother Chen and the many heroes of Military Statistics is truly Zhou Hongyi's great fortune. Brother Chen, rest assured, I didn't bring much—just a hundred silver dollars. Consider it the initiation fee to join the organization. I must also trouble Brother Chen to handle the formalities for me to join the Nationalist Party. Serving the country and executing traitors and devils is Zhou Hongyi's lifelong wish!"

As he spoke, Zhou Hongyi fished a small gold bar out of his pocket and firmly pressed it into Chen Gong's palm. The eyes of everyone in the room instantly lit up, and some could not even help swallowing their saliva.

In fact, ever since stepping into this place, Zhou Hongyi had already activated the [Eye of Insight]. He saw that these members of the Military Statistics special operations team, though trying their utmost to put on a fierce facade, had stomachs that betrayed them. Everyone had the status tag "Hungry" floating above their head. It seemed Number 76 and the little devils had squeezed them far too hard, making even getting a meal a problem.

Chen Gong was also stunned into silence for over ten seconds by Zhou Hongyi's lavish display, before he finally licked his dry lips and said, "Good brother, but you must remember, I am introducing you to join the Nationalist Party and our Military Statistics special operations team not to ask you for money."

Before Chen Gong could finish his sentence, Zhou Hongyi turned solemn and said, "Brother Chen, what kind of talk is that? What do you take me, Zhou Hongyi, for? Of course I know the brothers of Military Statistics treat wealth like dirt, but please rest assured, this money is entirely clean—earned through my own ability. As long as it can be used for the Anti-Japanese War, it is the cleanest money of all. Please, Brother Chen, do not refuse. Accept it!"

Chen Gong's eye twitched at his words. Originally, setting up this lineup today to show cards with Zhou Hongyi was meant to give this kid a stern warning and display the "muscles" of his Military Statistics special operations team. Now look at how it turned out—his posture was completely dismantled by a single small gold bar. Just look at those worthless fellows, their eyes were practically turning green with greed.

"Good brother, I accept your kind gesture, but let's get back to business. This time, absorbing you into our special operations team and Military Statistics still requires a reporting process. I have the authority to grant you an official status, but I also have one small request."

Zhou Hongyi grasped Chen Gong's hand and said, "Brother Chen, what do you mean by a request? Just name it; as your younger brother, I will give it my full support."

Chen Gong stroked his beard and said, "Good brother, didn't you recently establish some kind of special operations group in the Second Precinct? I was thinking, could you perhaps recruit your older brother into it as well? That way, it will be much more convenient for us to act in the future, and when I enter and leave your police station, I won't have to sneak around in disguise anymore."