cicada

Chapter 1287 The mantis stalks the cicada

In the eastern suburbs of Melbourne, the Dandenong Ranges are silent after dark.

It was a full moon, and the bright moon was hanging high in the sky, illuminating the mountains and forests like daylight. Only the areas shaded by the trees were still dark, and faint black shadows could be seen swaying.

The truck from Hall Glass Factory was driving on a dirt road. The driver kept looking at the rearview mirror. When the truck drove next to a big tree, he pressed the switch and flashed the lights twice. Then a group of people walked out of the woods in the distance.

Mu He watched the truck stop in front of him, and finally a smile appeared on his stern face. He quickened his pace to the side of the truck and knocked on the surface of the secret compartment with his hand.

The Abwehr agent curled up in the secret compartment heard the signal, slowly pushed open the baffle with one hand, and tightly grasped the pistol with the other hand. He did not put down his weapon and guard until he could see Muhe clearly in the moonlight.

The man climbed out of the secret compartment and immediately handed the film to Mu Hyul, moving very carefully, as if using a little more force would ruin the hard-earned intelligence.

Mu Hyul took the film and said something to the other party with a smile: "Relax, Rollei's film is as strong as the imperial soldiers, not so fragile."

  The German agents present looked as if they had seen a ghost. They doubted their own ears and eyes. General Muh could actually laugh?

This was the biggest news of the Abwehr this year, even more shocking than the Empire's attack on Red Russia. After all, the latter would happen sooner or later, but this was the first time they had seen the former.

Perhaps noticing his men's reactions, Mu Hyul stopped smiling and asked about the details of the operation with a serious expression.

The agent reported the infiltration process and repeatedly assured the guards that he had not been discovered. He also perfectly restored the order and angle of the documents.

Muhle believed in the abilities of his men. As the most elite intelligence officers of the Abwehr, they had successfully stolen military deployments from the heavily guarded British headquarters, so it would naturally be easier for them to deal with a group of civilians.

However, whether the information in the film is valuable or not needs to be judged after the photos are developed and handed over to the empire's scientists. Mu He waved to the crowd, and the real driver of Hall Glass Factory hurried forward.

"Watch your mouth, I don't want to hear any rumors about tonight, understand?" Mu Hyul threw out a wad of pounds and warned the driver.

The driver counted the bills with his head down and nodded his head vigorously. “Of course, I have never seen you gentlemen. If anyone asks, I will say that my cousin has left Australia.”

Mu He was extremely satisfied, but at the same time he felt contempt. These descendants of thieves only cared about money and had no idea what loyalty and honor were.

If the authenticity of the information had not yet been verified, Abwehr might still need the other party's help. He really wanted to bury this greedy British guy in the woods.

"Very good. I look forward to our next cooperation. Goodbye." Mu Hyul suppressed his murderous intent and turned to leave.

The driver waved his arms vigorously, saying goodbye to the sponsors enthusiastically: "Goodbye, sir. If you need anything in the future, please be sure to contact me. Bang!"

Suddenly a bullet fired from the darkness, interrupting the driver's chattering and the branches above his head. The flying wood chips immediately left several bloody marks on his cheeks.

"hidden!"

The moment the gunshot rang out, Mu He rolled over and hid behind a thick tree, while still issuing a warning.

The other German agents also reacted very quickly. As soon as Muhle's reminder came out, they turned off their flashlights and hid in the bunkers, raising their weapons and aiming in the direction of the gunshots.

In the woods, the chirping birds were startled away by the gunshots. The moonlight poured onto the ground from the gaps between the treetops. A thin layer of mist slowly rose from the ground. The German agents present could only hear the heavy breathing of themselves and their companions.

After waiting for a long time and seeing that no one attacked and no one appeared, Mu He made a few gestures to his men beside him, and then shouted loudly.

"We are workers at Hall's Glass Factory, not damn rich people. No matter who you are, you can't get what you want from us."

While he was talking, several German agents divided into two groups and moved forward quietly, using large trees and rocks as cover, trying to find the shooter.

Bang~ Another gunshot rang out, and a deep bullet hole appeared on the tree trunk in front of Mu He. Then a male voice came from deep in the woods.

"General Muhe, as an ally, I think the Empire of Japan has the right to share penicillin information. What do you think?"

"And those gentlemen, please don't come any closer, otherwise my people wouldn't mind leaving some small marks on you."

The voice echoed in the woods, full of teasing. The German agents who were moving paused. Many dark shadows appeared in front of them. They had been surrounded.

  Mu He pounded the tree hard and cursed inwardly, "The damn bastard." He had already heard that the other party was the Japanese intelligence officer who had contacted him. The German Empire was betrayed by its ally again!

Dozens of meters away, Hase Ryosuke leaned against the rock wall and shouted, "General, as long as you hand over the information, I will let you leave Australia unharmed. I guarantee it with my honor. Please believe the guarantee of a gentleman."

Hearing Hase's shout, Tongsuo and Xing Hanliang on the side had strange expressions. The Japanese have ambushed their allies, so what reputation can they still have?

Saburo Iguchi and other Japanese spy chiefs looked calm. They were much more experienced than Hase in lying.

Mu He was so infuriated by the shamelessness of the Japanese that he immediately replied: "German soldiers do not accept threats. If you want to start a war, just shoot!" "No, this is not a threat, but a friendly reminder. My people have surrounded this place. No one can escape, and no one knows who killed you." Hase Ryosuke continued to shout, with a hint of pride in his voice.

All the German agents looked at Muhle, and when they saw that he didn't say anything, they gathered their weapons.

However, since it was a support operation, the German side did not carry much automatic firepower, only a few rifles and a small number of grenades for use as a rear guard, and their firepower was far from that of the Japanese.

In the event of an exchange of fire, the Japanese, with their terrain and equipment advantages, could easily suppress the Abwehr side.

Mu He's brain was thinking quickly. The Japanese were obviously well prepared. Perhaps from the very beginning, they were ready to seize the penicillin information from the Empire. What a despicable group of guys.

He cursed in his heart again, but he also thought clearly about one thing. Penicillin is owned by more than one country. Americans and British have pharmaceutical factories. There is no need for him to fight to the death with the Japanese, but he cannot easily agree to the Japanese's request.

They had to find a hostage who was important enough to prevent the other party from going back on his word after getting the information, so Mu Hyul made a condition to Hase.

"Okay, I can share the information, but sir, shouldn't you come out and hand it over in person?"

Ryosuke Hase was not surprised at this request at all. He nodded to Saburo Iguchi. Saburo Iguchi looked puzzled and pointed at himself.

"I?"

"Yoshi, Iguchi-kun, you are a technical expert and you need to judge the authenticity of the information." Hase Ryosuke said as a matter of course.

"but I."

"No buts, Iguchi-kun, I am the commander of this operation, you must obey orders."

Facing the hesitant Iguchi Saburo, Hase waved the gun in his hand and raised his chin to Tongsuo and Xing Hanliang. Tongsuo and Xing Hanliang immediately understood and slowly moved towards the wellhead.

Although Saburo Iguchi was a soldier, he had never served in a front-line combat unit. Looking at the expressionless Hase and the other two, he completely lost the cruelty and calmness he had when treating prisoners of war. He had to reluctantly leave the bunker and walk towards the location of the Germans.

Hase Ryosuke sneered and said to Mu Hyuk hypocritically: "Excuse me, I have more important work to do. The person you are meeting now is Major General Iguchi of the Kwantung Army's water supply unit. I think you should have heard of his name."

Mu He did not object. A general was enough to be used as a hostage to escort them to safe evacuation, not to mention that the general was the founder of Japan's biological warfare unit.

While greeting Hase's relatives, Saburo Iguchi walked out of the woods and successfully met Mu He. The two sides began to verify the authenticity of the technical data.

The German agents used tarpaulins to temporarily build a darkroom to develop the film brought out from the pharmaceutical factory, while the others were on guard outside, one to prevent a sneak attack by the Japanese, and the other to prevent a sudden appearance by the Australian police.

Mu He was more worried about the former. This place was deserted and surrounded by forests. The sound of gunfire could not be heard far away, and the probability of the Australian police showing up was very small.

It was different with the Japanese. It was unknown whether they would kill people to silence them after getting the information. He secretly gave orders to his subordinates that once the Japanese opened fire, everyone should break out towards the city.

The Australian police are both an obstacle and a help to the operation. They can completely rely on the Australian police to escape the pursuit.

Forty minutes later, Saburo Iguchi turned on the flashlight and checked the contents of the file on the photo. As he looked at it, his brows furrowed. The information seemed to be wrong.

As an experienced scientific researcher, even though he only took a rough look, Iguchi was able to keenly notice that the number and diversity of samples in the data were too limited.

In drug research, too small a sample size or being limited to a single population will result in experimental results that are not universal, which is very unfavorable for drug development. Researchers in pharmaceutical companies should not be so amateurish.

Mu Hyul, who was originally full of confidence, suddenly had an ominous premonition when he saw Jingguchi's reaction. He had already agreed to share the information, and the Japanese had no reason to play tricks again.

He quickly took two steps forward and asked in English: "General, is there something wrong with the information?"

Saburo Iguchi put down the photo and nodded affirmatively. A pharmaceutical factory that was able to develop technology for large-scale production of penicillin would never make such a low-level mistake.

"Mr. Muhe, I think."

"Bang~"

Before Jingkou could finish his words, another gunshot rang out. This time it was no longer a warning shot. Among the Japanese operatives, a traitor lowered his head to look at the wound on his thigh. After a few seconds of stunned silence, he fell to the ground holding his thigh and wailing.