lerbook Chapter 96 The Underground Business Empire That Drains Blood in Reverse
Chapter 96 The Underground Business Empire That Drains Blood in Reverse
Just as Moranzhi pulled the bolt of his submachine gun in the torrential rain in the French Concession.
On the banks of the Huangpu River, the Chen family army's top-secret military pier.
The blinding beams of searchlights tore through the rain, illuminating the entire dock as if it were daytime. Rows of fully armed military police, dressed in German-style raincoats and carrying MP18 submachine guns, stood guard every few steps, completely sealing off the area. Any unauthorized personnel daring to approach would be shot dead on the spot without even a warning.
Accompanied by a deep blast of the ship's horn, a 10,000-ton ocean-going cargo ship flying the Italian flag slowly docked on the pier.
As soon as the springboard was lowered, a glamorous Western woman in a black velvet dress and a mink coat stepped off, surrounded by a dozen bodyguards in black.
She is none other than Lily Kurrag, the eldest daughter of the Italian Mafia Kurrag family.
At this moment, the Mafia socialite who once held sway over the European black market looked at the rows of cold, menacing German-equipped soldiers on the dock and the armed gunboats patrolling the river in the distance, her eyes filled with undisguised shock and awe.
"God, every time I come to Shanghai, this young marshal's martial prowess gives me a chill that goes straight to my soul," Lily murmured, taking a deep breath of the damp air.
A few days ago, the news of the complete annihilation of the Japanese Third Fleet in the East China Sea not only shocked the Far East but also spread throughout Europe via the British Empire's telegraph network. While all of Europe was speculating about which hidden underwater reaper was behind it, Lily knew very well that it was all the work of that young Chinese warlord.
But she was also shocked; she had only given Chen Zijun one U93 submarine!
That was a fleet of more than ten warships; even international powers like Italy might not be able to muster several fleets of that size.
One submarine, ten warships...
How did you do that?
My God, what a mysterious and irresistibly maddening man.
On the dock, Mo Huixin, dressed in a well-tailored white suit and holding a black silk umbrella, stood quietly waiting.
"Miss Lily, you must be tired from your journey." Mo Huixin nodded slightly, her voice clear and efficient. "Young Master has been waiting for him at the underground vault of the Longhua Command for quite some time. I hope you brought back a gift that will satisfy him from your trip to Europe."
"Miss Mo is joking. Even if the Kurrag family had ten times the courage, they would never dare to deduct even a penny from the payment for the young marshal's goods."
Lily shivered and immediately abandoned the arrogance she displayed when facing other gang leaders, waving her hand with utmost respect.
No one in the world understands the power of this woman better than she does. Even Mo Huixin, the empress of the underground financial empire, actually addresses Chen Zijun as "Young Master"...
My God, this man is so charming!
Soon, the winches in the cargo ship's hold began to roar wildly.
One by one, incredibly heavy solid wood crates were hoisted ashore and, using hydraulic trolleys, directly loaded into ten armored transport vehicles parked at the dock. Even in the pouring rain, the dull metallic clang of the crates colliding was enough to drive any expert in the field mad.
What's inside is real hard currency!
……
An hour later.
The Longhua Garrison Command is located in the core vault, thirty meters underground.
When the seal on the last wooden crate was forcibly pried open by the military police with a crowbar, an extremely dazzling golden light instantly filled the entire space.
"Bang!"
The box was overturned, and hundreds of standard gold bars bearing the seal of the Royal Bank of the British Empire cascaded out like a golden waterfall, reflecting a dazzling, greedy hue under the cold lights.
Chen Zijun, dressed in a crisp general's uniform, stood with his hands behind his back before the mountain of gold. His face was stern, but his dark eyes burned with a fierce ambition.
"Young Marshal."
Lily Kurrag stepped forward and respectfully handed over a bill: "This is the entire proceeds from the first batch of purified sulfonamides dumped on the European black market by Gongji Hospital. After deducting our family's pumping and transportation losses, it totals £2.17 million! To evade financial controls by customs in various countries, we converted £2 million into physical gold, and the remaining £170,000 has been transferred to Miss Mo's name through an anonymous account at a Swiss bank."
Upon hearing this number, even Chen Zijun, who always regarded money as dirt, couldn't help but curl a proud smile at the corner of his mouth.
This is just the first month after the channels were opened, and it's already more than two million. It seems that Europeans value their lives!
"Good! Very good!"
Chen Zijun suddenly turned around and burst into laughter: "Over two million pounds in profit! This is a true commercial empire! With just a few small bottles of pills, I've squeezed all the wealth out of the people from the European powers!"
As this huge sum of money entered the account, the system panel on Chen Zijun's retina instantly burst out with a dazzling golden light!
[Unlimited Pay-to-Win System]
[Host: Chen Zijun]
Current military rank: Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Forces of the Five Southeast Provinces (Marshal-level)
[Current total available funds: £322 million (a huge increase!)]
[System Assessment: The funding pool is extremely abundant, allowing for a large-scale theater-level firepower upgrade program.]
[Overview of troops under command]:
- Army: The Central Reorganized 10th Army Division, also known as the 1st German-equipped Division (full strength); the Newly Reorganized 2nd Division of the National Defense Army, also known as the 2nd Newly Reorganized Army Division of Zhejiang Province (full strength); the Newly Reorganized Independent Armored Brigade of the National Defense Army; the German-equipped Heavy Artillery Brigade; the Tax Police Corps; the Shanghai Garrison Brigade (full strength); and the River Defense Artillery Brigade (German-equipped).
- Navy: Shanghai Independent Fleet, First Special Submarine Squadron (13 U-93 type ocean-going submarines, with a full complement of 600 elite officers and soldiers)
Seeing the staggering figure of £322 million, Chen Zijun's blood boiled.
Having money is useless if you don't keep it to breed! The only perfect use for it is to turn it into cannonballs to fire at the enemy!
Although the East China Sea naval battle was a great victory, destroying the Japanese surface fleet, Chen Zijun remained remarkably clear-headed. The Japanese high command would not tolerate this defeat, and once they recovered, they would undoubtedly utilize their rapidly developing air power to launch retaliatory bombing raids on the Wusongkou Fortress and downtown Shanghai.
However, air defense firepower is precisely the biggest weakness of Chen Jiajun's army at present.
The 381mm coastal defense guns at Wusongkou Fortress were adequate against warships, but using them to shoot down aircraft was like using an anti-aircraft gun to kill a mosquito.
"System! Open the anti-aircraft weapon exchange list for me!" Chen Zijun roared in his mind.
[Ding! Air defense list expanded!]
Product Name: German-made Flak 18 88mm Anti-aircraft Gun (with chassis and tractor)
Price: £1.5 per unit (including 1000 rounds of ammunition and crew/artillery personnel)
[Evaluation: The most powerful anti-aircraft/anti-tank multi-purpose artillery piece of World War II, capable of engaging both aircraft and tanks, an invincible king of land warfare! Also known as the "anti-all-weapons artillery"!]
Product Name: Early Type "Frea" Air Detection Radar (Modified Disguise Version)
Price: £10 per unit
[Evaluation: Capable of detecting enemy aircraft formations 60 kilometers in advance, granting absolute air superiority and early warning!]
"Damn, this is real cutting-edge technology!" Chen Zijun's eyes flashed with a terrifying light, and without hesitation, he issued the exchange order: "Exchange for 40 88mm anti-aircraft guns! Also, install 4 air defense early warning radars!"
"A total of one million pounds, all deducted!"
[Ding! Exchange successful! £100 million deducted, current remaining funds £222 million.]
[Forty Flak 18 anti-aircraft guns, along with personnel and tractor units, have been delivered to a secret underground warehouse at the Longhua Arsenal through a disguised logistics system.]
The four air defense early warning radars have been disassembled and packaged, and can be retrieved and installed at any time.
The transformation from the system warehouse to reality took only a moment. Chen Zijun could even sense that a large number of suffocating steel beasts had suddenly appeared in the huge, hidden warehouse of the Longhua Arsenal.
Chen Zijun turned his head and looked at Lily Kurrag, who had a respectful expression on her face, a deep light flashing in his eyes.
"Miss Lily, would you like to see what kind of magic this pile of gold will become in my hands?" Chen Zijun's lips curled into an arrogant smile.
Lily paused for a moment, somewhat puzzled, but still smiled charmingly: "I am naturally very much looking forward to the young marshal's methods."
"Shen Li!" Chen Zijun shouted suddenly.
"Here!" Chief of Staff Shen Li, who had been standing at attention, immediately snapped to attention.
"Immediately notify the garrison brigade! Begin forming the Shanghai Garrison Air Defense Brigade now! I want to create a 24/7 air defense network! Tell them that the batch of heavy air defense equipment my father secretly ordered from Germany has arrived at the arsenal warehouse!" Chen Zijun calmly attributed the system's advanced technology to the "secret channels." "Move out those 40 anti-aircraft guns overnight and build an impenetrable air defense position around the Wusongkou Fortress, the Longhua Command Headquarters, and the arsenal!"
"I want to ensure that not even a single Japanese fly can get into the skies above Shanghai!"
"Yes!" Shen Li loudly accepted the order, turned around and strode away.
Just half an hour later.
Under Lily Kurrag's horrified gaze, one half-track tractor after another roared out of the gates of the Longhua Arsenal.
Behind these tractors, dragging along massive cannons with incredibly menacing designs and unbelievably long barrels! The long 88mm barrels pointed straight to the sky, emitting a chilling metallic gleam.
"My God... what kind of monster is this?" Lily stared wide-eyed, her red lips slightly parted, completely unable to believe what she was seeing.
She had seen artillery from various countries in Europe, but even the most advanced arsenals of France and Germany did not possess such super anti-aircraft guns that exuded a strong aura of death! What was even more terrifying was that there were a full forty of them! This level of anti-aircraft firepower was something that even the entire air defense force of the Italian capital combined might not be able to match!
Where did this young Chinese warlord conjure up these groundbreaking weapons from?
"Miss Lily, what do you think of my magic?" Chen Zijun walked to the window, looking at the artillerymen who were rapidly deploying their positions in the torrential rain, his tone revealing absolute control.
"Young Marshal...you are simply the God of War!" Lily was completely impressed by this unparalleled military strength.
She turned around abruptly, her captivating eyes burning with intense fervor, and knelt directly on one knee in front of Chen Zijun, lowering herself to the lowest position.
"Your Excellency, Young Marshal!"
Lily's voice trembled, tinged with a hysterical agitation: "Although our Kurag family wields considerable power in Europe, in the eyes of those arrogant nobles, we are ultimately just a gang. If you don't mind, on behalf of the Kurag family, I implore you!"
"We will establish the Italian Mafia's Far East branch in Shanghai! From this day forward, the Kurrag family is willing to act as the young marshal's front man in Europe, handling all your shady deals and intelligence! We are willing to acknowledge you as... our true godfather!"
Chen Zijun looked down at the Western gangster queen who was now subservient to him, and a smile finally appeared on his cold face.
With such a massive transnational criminal organization as an external reach, smuggling, cashing out, gathering intelligence in Europe, and assassinating dissidents would all become incredibly easy.
"good!"
Chen Zijun reached out and pulled Lily up. "In Shanghai, as long as you behave, I guarantee you can walk sideways!"
The night grew deeper, and the torrential rain continued to rage.
Just as forty 88mm anti-aircraft guns formed an absolute no-fly zone around Shanghai like hedgehogs, and radar antennas began to rotate silently in the night sky.
"Bang!"
The office door was suddenly pushed open, and Su Guiying, the head of the military intelligence department, rushed in, soaked to the bone and without even taking off her cloak.
Her expression was extremely solemn, and there was even a hint of shock in her eyes.
"Young Marshal! The fishing operation in the French Concession has taken an unexpected turn!"
Su Guiying strode up to Chen Zijun and reported urgently in a low voice, "The spy 'Viper' has indeed taken the bait and obtained the fake blueprint. Director Mo has also completed the encirclement with the assassination team from the Operations Department..."
"But! Just as we were about to begin the annihilation, an extremely elite armed squad suddenly appeared! They weren't from the Southern National Revolutionary Government at all!"
Chen Zijun whirled around, his eyes flashing with a chilling light: "Who dares to double-cross me right under my nose?"
"It's the Special Higher Police of Japan!"
Su Guiying gritted her teeth and said, enunciating each word clearly, "They've obviously also set their sights on the Jiangnan Shipyard's blueprints, intending to ambush Viper en route! The three parties are now completely embroiled in chaos in the abandoned warehouse area!"
Upon hearing this, Chen Zijun not only did not get angry, but instead let out a low and cruel sneer.
"Well... I originally just wanted to trick Chiang Kai-shek, thinking they might join forces, but I never expected these little devils from Japan to actually dare to jump in!"
Chen Zijun slammed his hand on the table, his voice dripping with murderous intent: "Fine, then attack! Order Mo Lanzhi! No need to hold back! Unleash the full firepower of the MP18 submachine guns! Turn those Japanese rats into mincemeat..."