Outside the headquarters, the smell of gunpowder was still thick, like a layer of haze, weighing heavily on this devastated land. The Japanese army's armored vehicles withdrew suddenly, leaving only shell casings and charred flags floating in the morning breeze.

The air was filled with the pungent smell of gunpowder and the sickening smell of blood. A few crows landed on the broken brick wall, uttering bursts of mournful cries.

Chen Shicong hid in a secret room in the headquarters. The stone walls around him were chilling to the bone, and beads of cold sweat oozed from his forehead.

He lit a cigarette with trembling hands, and the flickering flame illuminated his uncertain face. The ashes from the cigarette fell down, leaving several burnt holes on his jacket.

"Boom, boom, boom"

Three light knocks echoed faintly on the stone wall, with the intervals between them varying. It was the agreed-upon secret code.

Chen Shicong suddenly started, his eyes instantly became sharp, and his right hand subconsciously reached for the pistol at his waist.

The secret door slid open silently, and Wang San, the confidant, flashed in, soaking wet, with mottled mud on his trouser legs, dripping all the way to the ground. "Master Chen," Wang San lowered his voice, breathing rapidly, "The ship is ready, it's at Pier 3, we have to hurry!"

"Hmph!" Chen Shicong gritted his teeth, pulled down the brim of his hat, hurriedly stood up, and crouched down to get into the car behind the secret room.

The car was speeding on the street after the rain, its wheels rolling over the puddles at high speed, splashing large amounts of turbid muddy water.

Chen Shicong looked out the car window at the gradually brightening sky over Tianjin, feeling mixed emotions. Just as he was about to breathe a sigh of relief, Wang San suddenly slammed on the brakes, causing the car to tilt forward.

Chen Shicong was caught off guard and his forehead hit the back of the seat in front of him hard, and stars suddenly appeared in front of his eyes.

"You're looking for death!" He was about to curse, but the moment he looked up, his heart sank.

Before dawn, the pier was shrouded in thick fog. Dozens of black shadows could be vaguely seen in the hazy fog.

"Turn around! Turn around quickly!" Chen Shicong shouted in horror, his voice distorted by fear.

The sound of bolts being pulled came one after another.

Chen Shicong's face turned pale as he watched Xie Yun's personal soldiers swarming around him from all directions.

He felt completely hopeless, but he pretended to remain calm, sneered, pushed open the car door, and slowly got out.

Zhou Lin walked out, playing with his gun, with a teasing smile on his face: "The young marshal asked me to ask you, did you enjoy playing this borrowed knife murder drama?"

Chen Shicong's pupils suddenly shrank, and the muscles on his face twitched instantly, and he suddenly laughed like crazy: "Hahaha... this Xie Yun! From the beginning to the end, I was just a chess piece on his chessboard!" Before he finished speaking, his right hand suddenly reached for his waist.

Almost at the same moment, the gun went off.

Chen Shicong saw a wisp of green smoke rising from the muzzle of Zhou Lin's gun.

He felt a chill in his chest and looked down to see blood blooming on his white silk shirt. Then, he fell heavily to his knees as if all his bones and muscles had been pulled out.

As his consciousness gradually blurred, he heard Zhou Lin's indifferent voice, as if coming from a distant place: "It's over, Boss Chen."

Zhou Lin put away his gun, his eyes calm, and gently kicked the gradually cooling corpse with his military boots.

"Clean up the scene." Zhou Lin ordered.

The soldiers were well-trained and quickly put the bodies into sacks. In the morning mist, a soldier carried a bucket and vigorously washed the blood on the ground. The dark red liquid slowly flowed into the turbid sea water through the cracks in the dock and gradually disappeared.

Zhou Lin was exhausted from the journey. When he pushed open the door of the office, a biting cold air was blowing in.