Chapter 48: Constructing the Transportation Network

The man had a square face and exuded a scholarly aura from head to toe. At first glance, it was evident he was a well-educated intellectual.

Seeing a policeman enter, the shopkeeper was slightly startled at first, but quickly broke into a ingratiating smile as he hurried forward. Pulling out a few bills of fiat currency, he asked, "Officer, business has been poor lately. How about I buy you a pack of cigarettes?"

Li Haibo asked with calm composure, "Shopkeeper! Do you have Wi-Fi here?"

The shopkeeper was momentarily stunned, but his reaction was extremely quick. He immediately chimed in, "We don't have Wi-Fi, but our mobile data is fast!"

Li Haibo replied unhurriedly, "Data is too expensive. I just want to piggyback on some Wi-Fi to play ranked matches!"

Upon hearing this, the shopkeeper immediately grabbed Li Haibo's hand in great excitement and said, "Hello, hello! Comrade Commander! My name is Zhang Shuming, and I am your liaison. It is a great honor to fight side by side with you."

The two paced over to a desk and sat down slowly. Li Haibo spoke first in a calm tone, "My name is Li Haibo. I am no commander; you can simply call me Officer Li in the future."

Zhang Shuming nodded slightly and replied respectfully, "Understood! I have received orders to fully cooperate with your work from now on and to establish a supply line with the Jiading Guerrillas as soon as possible!"

Li Haibo pulled the stamped good citizen certificate from his breast pocket, handed it to Zhang Shuming, and said, "Here is the good citizen certificate you asked for. You needn't worry about the supply line; I have already planned it out! Let me ask you first, do you have a radio?"

A troubled look appeared on Zhang Shuming's face as he gave a light cough. "Uh! We don't have a radio. Radio equipment is quite scarce nowadays; the number of radios owned by the entire Red Party in Shanghai can be counted on one's fingers!"

"What about a pistol?" Li Haibo asked immediately.

"No pistol either!" Zhang Shuming shook his head helplessly.

Li Haibo produced a brand-new FN Browning pistol and handed it to Zhang Shuming. "Take this gun and use it for now! Do you know how to operate it?"

"I know, I know! That is simply wonderful. Thank you, Commander—no, thank you, Officer Li!" Unable to conceal his joy, Zhang Shuming quickly took the handgun.

"There is no need for formalities between us. Let me ask you another question: do you know how to develop and print photographs?"

"Yes! I have a safe house equipped with a complete set of developing equipment and chemicals!" Old Zhang said as he carefully stowed away the pistol.

"That's even better! I will come to find you tonight, and you can teach me how to develop photographs!" With these words, Li Haibo stood up and gently beckoned to Ma Quanyi at the door.

Hearing the summons, Ma Quanyi walked over briskly and called out respectfully, "Brother Bo!"

"Xiaoma, this is Shopkeeper Zhang Shuming. From now on, he is one of our own," Li Haibo introduced him to Ma Quanyi.

"Hello, Shopkeeper Zhang!" Ma Quanyi greeted him politely.

"Hello, Xiaoma!" Zhang Shuming responded with a smile.

Li Haibo continued, "Xiaoma's name is Ma Quanyi. He is my capable assistant and usually pulls a rickshaw around this area. If you ever have an urgent matter to find me with in the future, you can look for him first; he knows where to find me. He will also be responsible for delivering supplies to the guerrillas henceforth. In Dingjiacun at Jiangqiao Town, there is also a man named Ding Dashuan. He is likewise one of us—reliable and trustworthy. Combined, the two of them can form a complete supply line. You should make a trip to the guerrillas with Xiaoma this afternoon and connect the transport route!"

"Good! There's no need to wait until afternoon. We'll make some preparations and set off immediately!" Zhang Shuming's words were filled with eagerness.

"Alright! Xiaoma, once you meet Ding Dashuan, explain our future work clearly to him. By the way, check on those dozen wounded soldiers, and send them off to the guerrillas as soon as their injuries heal!"

"Understood, Brother Bo!"

Old Zhang immediately closed the shop door and went to Jiangqiao Town together with Ma Quanyi.

The afternoon hours were quiet and long. Li Haibo led several good-for-nothings to a small park to slack off, chatting idly about this and that.

As it was nearing the end of the shift, Li Haibo asked Hou Yong to buy several bags of fragrant pan-fried buns from the local center.

Just as the men were eating happily, they saw Xinzi running over from afar, panting heavily and completely out of breath.

"Big Brother! I finally found you!"

Startled by this sudden development, Li Haibo hurried forward in a flash, reached out to steady Xinzi, and asked anxiously, "Xinzi! Did something happen at home?"

"No, no! Nothing happened at home! I just came from the railway station!" Xinzi panted heavily while waving his hands repeatedly.

"The railway station! Did something happen to Xiao Hei and A Sheng? Or did Old Uncle Hou and Old Uncle Xiong get into trouble?"

"No, no! Everyone is fine!" Xinzi finally caught his breath and shook his head vigorously.

Li Haibo let out a long sigh of relief. Smiling, he pulled a grease-stained pan-fried bun from the bag, shoved it into Xinzi's hand, and said, "Since everyone is fine, don't rush. Have a pan-fried bun first!"

Xinzi's eyes, which had been slightly weary from his frantic run, lit up the instant they caught sight of the pan-fried bun. Without standing on ceremony, he grabbed the bun and took a ravenous bite. His cheeks bulged instantly, looking as utterly content as if no matter in the world could compare to this small pan-fried bun before him.

Watching Xinzi devour the food with such voracious speed, Li Haibo laughed inwardly. Well, judging by this manner of eating, it probably really wasn't anything too serious!

After devouring three pan-fried buns in a whirlwind fashion, Xinzi finally stopped with a satisfied burp.

Tossing away his burned-out cigarette butt, Li Haibo smiled and said, "All filled up? Can you properly tell us now why you were in such a hurry to find us?"

Xinzi raised his hand and scratched his head with some embarrassment. "I really don't know how to put it. Why don't... why don't you guys come with me to the railway station and take a look!"

The men looked at each other, exchanging glances.

Li Haibo shrugged indifferently. "We don't have anything pressing anyway. Let's go take a look at the railway station, consider it a routine patrol."

Following that, the group hurried along with Xinzi to the Zhabei Railway Station.

Upon arriving at the destination, Xinzi stretched out a finger, pointed straight ahead, and shouted, "Brother Bo! Look!"

The men looked intently in the direction Xinzi was pointing. At this single glance, they were so startled that their bodies trembled and their hair stood on end.

In a secluded corner near the railway station entrance, a thin, small beggar boy was curled up in the biting cold wind, his frail body shivering uncontrollably. The beggar's eyes were lifeless and glazed, his complexion as dark as ink, exuding an unspeakable eeriness and misery. Placed before him was a beggar's bowl full of chips and cracks. Most horrifying of all, the beggar's face and arms were crisscrossed with a series of shocking wounds. The edges of these cuts were neat, clearly carved open intentionally by human hands. Some of the wounds were still slowly oozing blood, the bright red fluid gradually congealing in the freezing air to form a stark and horrifying contrast with his ashen skin.

"Human harvesting and dismemberment!" Yang Chun exploded on the spot. "This motherf—"