Chapter 53: Bai Jie's Obsession

For safety reasons, the two parties will not meet for this handover.
At the abandoned pottery kiln factory, there are several scrapped large jars. One of them has the number "6" written on it in lime, and inside it lies what we are looking for.
Remember, you must arrive precisely at two-30 PM, neither early nor late.
If you go too early, you won't get it; if you go too late, someone else might beat you to it.

"Two-30 PM?" Li Haibo instinctively lifted his wrist and glanced at his watch. "Then I need to set off right now, and I'll have to hurry!"

Feeling anxious and rushing all the way, Li Haibo finally arrived at the abandoned pottery kiln factory located in Pengpu Town.
Lifting his hand to check his watch again and seeing that he still had plenty of time, he breathed a slight sigh of relief.
He composed himself, pretending to patrol nonchalantly while quietly activating his clairaudience superpower, keenly capturing the surrounding movements.
After carefully circling the pottery kiln factory a few times and making sure there were no potential dangers, he finally stepped through the battered gate.

This pottery kiln factory had been abandoned for a long time; the traces of time crept over every inch of every corner, and no human activity had taken place here for a while.
Against the base of the east-facing wall of the courtyard, dozens of scrapped large water jars were piled up in disorder.
Normally, during the firing of pottery jars at the kiln factory, defective items were inevitable.
Those pottery jars with only slight deformations but still functional would be kindly moved outside the main gate by the generous owner, left for poor families to take back and use for free.
As for those pottery jars with cracks and leaks that could no longer hold water, they were not casually discarded either.
Instead, they were piled in the courtyard to hold sundries, serving as improvised storage lockers for the workers.

On the walls of these large water jars, various marks had been crudely scribbled with white lime—arabic numerals, strange symbols, and various surnames or names.
Li Haibo's gaze swept rapidly across these water jars, and he quickly spotted the one marked with the number "6".
Joy welled up in his heart. He quickened his pace, walked swiftly up to the water jar, and reached out to lift the tattered straw mat covering it.
Inside the jar, two wicker crates rested quietly.

Without a second thought, with a wave of both hands, he swept the two wicker crates into his spatial storage. Then he carefully replaced the straw mat, making sure everything was restored to its original state, before turning and leaving the pottery kiln factory in a brisk stride.

At the same time, the Youjian Bookstore had not a single customer; only Boss Zhang was busy by himself, engrossed in the vast sea of books as he carefully organized them.

Bai Jie gently pushed open the bookstore door, and the wind chime hanging on the door emitted a crisp, pleasant sound that echoed in the quiet space.
Hearing the sound, Boss Zhang raised his head from the mountain of books. When he saw clearly that the visitor was Bai Jie, a reproachful look crossed his face as he asked, "Comrade Xiao Bai, why are you only arriving today? Did you not see the missing person notice I posted?"

Panting slightly, Bai Jie apologized, "I am truly sorry!
Things at the hospital have been far too busy lately, and I only happened to see the missing person notice you posted the night before last.
Yet when I came over yesterday, I saw a sign hanging on your door stating you were out, so I could only come today. Has something happened?"

Boss Zhang furrowed his brows slightly and said earnestly, "Comrade Xiao Bai, I have emphasized to you many times that you must always pay attention to the bulletin board.
Just because you failed to arrive for our meeting in time, our entire group was almost forced to relocate.
Fortunately, other comrades said they saw you reporting for work normally at the hospital, otherwise you really would have ruined us!"

Covered in guilt, Bai Jie hurriedly said, "I'm sorry! I definitely won't be like this again in the future!"

Boss Zhang gently waved his hand, sighed, and said, "Forget it, there won't be any future."

"What?"

"I received a notice from superiors. They have adjusted my assignment, and I will no longer be engaged in behind-the-enemy-lines propaganda work.
Furthermore, all the comrades in our group must evacuate. Because you failed to arrive in time, the other comrades have already left ahead of schedule!"

Hearing this, Bai Jie could not help crying out in shock, "Ah! What about me then?"

Boss Zhang said, "We have established a new transit line, and currently only I and our commander know about this route.
Go back and pack your things as quickly as possible. Early tomorrow morning, head out of the city toward Dingjia Village in Jiangqiao Town.
At the entrance of the village stands a large locust tree, and a limping man surnamed Ding lives beneath the tree.
When you meet him, say this: Mr. Hai sent you to offer incense at the Earth Temple!
That way, he will send you to find the Jiading County Guerrilla Unit, and the guerrilla unit will be responsible for sending you safely to the troops!"

Bai Jie's eyes lit up, and she asked eagerly, "That's wonderful! Am I going to the frontline troops?"

Boss Zhang shook his head and replied, "To the military hospital!"

Bai Jie's gaze instantly dimmed, and she said with some dissatisfaction, "But I want to go to the frontline troops to fight the Japanese devils and avenge my deceased family!"

Boss Zhang patiently advised, "Comrade Xiao Bai, you are a female comrade. You shouldn't constantly fixate on going to the frontline troops to shoulder a rifle and fight in battles.
You are a doctor; your battlefield is in the hospital and on the operating table, a position that is actually even more crucial.
Once you heal all the wounded soldiers, won't they be able to fight the Japanese devils with even greater strength?
Therefore, you should contribute to the War of Resistance through the field at which you excel."

Bai Jie remained silent for a moment before finally saying with helpless resignation, "Very well! I will obey the organization's arrangement!"

Boss Zhang nodded in gratification. "There! That's right! Hurry back and pack up!"

Bai Jie turned away in disappointment, leaving the bookstore in a daze.
As she walked, she pondered inwardly: I simply wanted to kill a Japanese devil with my own hands; failing that, even killing a traitor would do.
Yet now she could only head to a military hospital—how does a military hospital fight Japanese devils? This fell far short of what she had envisioned in her heart.
She understood the logic; as a powerless female doctor, her contribution on the operating table would undoubtedly be greater than charging onto the battlefield herself.
However, she felt unreconciled.

As the setting sun sank in the west, Li Haibo finished work on time.
Being in a wonderful mood today, upon returning to the urban area, he went to the safe house alone to open the crates and inspect them.

One crate contained explosives and detonators, along with matching priming devices, and electronic ones at that.
The Kuomintang Military Statistics Shanghai Station had considered things quite thoroughly, even preparing the electric wires and dry batteries needed for detonation down to the last detail.
The other crate contained a brand-new submachine gun and three hand grenades, alongside two hundred silver dollars packed in a cloth bag.

Although this locally imitated submachine gun was not as good as the original German ones, and the ammunition quantity was not particularly abundant, Li Haibo felt quite satisfied in his heart.
Even if these supplies might not come in handy immediately in the short term, being able to "shear the wool" off the Military Statistics was still enough to gladden anyone's heart.