harcoal pencil and smiled faintly: "If the Holy Maiden indeed seldom leaves her temple, how could she have hooked up with Prince Li Several years ago when Prince Li went to southern frontier on a dipl...424. The Weakness of the Clean Dust Master

In the dead of night, the streets were deserted. The wind from the Huangpu River swept across the Bund, rustling papers and occasionally rolling bottles.

A covered truck creaked to a stop near No. 24 on the Bund, not far from the Banque de l'Indochine (Great Wall) Shanghai Branch building.

Under the dim glow of coal oil street lamps, around ten figures jumped down from the truck. They were all dressed in black and armed with revolvers, explosives, ropes, and bags. They quickly rushed towards the entrance of the Banque de l'Indochine building.

It was clear they were preparing to rob the bank.

This month had already seen four incidents of bank robbery, with perpetrators emerging every week to target a different bank. The crimes took place around 3 or 4 AM, when security guards were most drowsy and fatigued.

The first three bank robberies occurred along the Bund's banking district, where over fifty banks had their headquarters. Each bank’s vault contained millions of dollars in gold reserves and cash. Therefore, each robbery yielded a substantial amount for the robbers.

Robbing banks clearly seemed to be an easy way to strike it rich.

Interestingly, all three previous robberies had targeted Japanese-owned banks, suggesting that these bank robbers harbored deep animosity towards Japanese people.

However, their methods were highly sophisticated; in the first three cases, they didn't use explosives to forcibly open the vaults. Instead, they relied on their exceptional lock-picking skills to open the vault doors. There was also no evidence of firearms being used against security personnel, who were either incapacitated with knockout gas or rendered unconscious at close range without any signs of violent struggle.

All this pointed to the fact that the previous bank robbers possessed both advanced technical knowledge and formidable combat skills.

For Chief James of the Old Gateway Police Station on Parker Lane (Nanjing Road), things have become much more complicated. Three recent bank robberies in the Shanghai International Settlement have caused a stir, and the Municipal Council has demanded that James solve these cases within a limited time frame and recover the stolen money valued at seven million US dollars.

After careful analysis, Chief James discovered that these robbers only appeared at night, following a strict pattern: they conducted their heists every seven days. Interestingly, all of the targeted banks were Japanese-owned.

This revelation narrowed down his protection targets to just a few remaining Japanese banks.

Today's targets are the Bank of Taiwan Shanghai Branch, Sakura Bank, and Sumitomo Fire Insurance Company of Shanghai. James led his team in setting up ambushes near these institutions.

With today marking exactly seven days since their last heist, Chief James was confident that the robbers would appear again. Catching them now would not only advance his career but also earn him a substantial reward from Japanese businesses.

As it neared four o'clock in the morning and James was starting to doze off, one of his men spotted something suspicious.

"Chief, there are several suspicious individuals near the Bank of Taiwan!"

"Wait! Let's move only when they rush into the bank."

James suddenly became excited and ordered his team to stay alert.

The police in the International Settlement were mostly Indian Sikhs, loyal followers of the British who often bullied Chinese residents; locals referred to them as "redheads" or "Ah San."

Seeing that the robbers had appeared, the redheads felt a bit nervous due to the weapons the criminals carried. However, there were many of them this time, and James had invested heavily, securing over two hundred policemen from the police commissioner.

In this way, seeing that they were in great numbers, the Indians quickly calmed down and waited for James to give the order to arrest them.

A dozen or so bank robbers looked around but did not spot any of the red-capped Indian ambushers hiding nearby.

When one of their leaders gave a signal, several robbers rushed to the front door of the bank and pulled out lock-picking tools.

The robbers fumbled with the locks for quite some time without success. The leader grew impatient and ordered his men to use crowbars to break open the doors.

A dozen robbers then stormed into the lobby of the bank, where Japanese security guards had already been alerted and began firing back while sounding the alarm.

Due to a series of recent robberies targeting Japanese banks, the Koreans Bank had greatly increased its security personnel and equipped them with numerous weapons. Furthermore, they were on high alert after receiving James' early warning about the impending robbery attempt tonight.

The moment the robbers rushed in, over twenty security guards immediately opened fire fiercely.

The intense gunfire instantly drew attention from all around Shanghai.

Several of the robbers were stunned as they were cut down by half within seconds. The remaining five or six fled, only to be blocked off by approaching police officers.

The robbers, clearly desperate men who knew that capture meant death, fought back with all their might.

As the Indians thought the robbers would soon be eliminated, James suddenly remembered something important.

"Leave one alive!"

After several minutes of intense gunfire, only one of the robbers remained, and soon his bullets ran out.

James breathed a sigh of relief and shouted to capture him alive. A few Redheads boldly stepped forward to arrest the robber.

All the lights were focused on the robber because he had become the night's main figure, the promotion and money tree in everyone’s eyes.

However, no one noticed a bright point of light several hundred meters away on the rooftop of a building. This was an optical phenomenon caused by the sniper rifle scope reflecting the light from the target.

The sniper pulled the trigger without hesitation.

Bang!

A gunshot rang out, and a 7.92mm bullet hit the robber in the forehead, exiting through the back of his head, leaving a bowl-sized blood hole.

Instantly, brains and blood splattered over several Redheads standing nearby.

Everyone was stunned at that moment until the Redheads couldn't help but vomit. Only then did everyone regain their senses.

The sole surviving robber being shot in the head clearly indicated an attempt to cover up the crime by eliminating witnesses.

"Who fired the shot Find him immediately!"

James was instantly furious. He had been counting on this robber to lead them to the whereabouts of the stolen money, but now it seemed that hope was dashed.

However, they only searched within a hundred meters radius because his experience told him that in poor night visibility conditions, a headshot couldn't possibly exceed one hundred meters. Who could have imagined there would be a sniper involved in such a bank robbery

After searching for what seemed like ages without finding the shooter, James was visibly deflated.

The next step was to ascertain the origins of these bodies and then search for the stolen money.

"Pull back!"

James gave the order in frustration. The constables who had been lying in wait near several banks withdrew, except for over twenty constables from Parker's Old Gate who followed James to the police station for further investigation. The rest returned to their respective precincts in the International Settlement; after all, they needed to be back on duty early the next morning. There were plenty of other matters needing attention in the International Settlement besides keeping watch at the Bund.

Fortunately, now that the robbers had been eliminated, everyone could leave with peace of mind. The security staff from each bank also immediately learned about the total defeat of the robbers and finally relaxed. Many felt secure enough to fall asleep in their resting quarters right away.

However, it seemed James was blinded by his victory, forgetting that tonight's robbers appeared rather ordinary compared to the previous three robberies; they were far less skilled and intelligent.

James left for the police station with his men and several of the robbers' bodies. The Bund quickly returned to its usual quiet state.

The wind from the Huangpu River continued to whistle coldly down the streets.

Before long, several black Ford cars and a large black canvas-covered truck stopped near the entrance of Sakura Bank.

Beneath the dim glow of coal oil street lamps, more than ten dark figures disembarked from the vehicles.

Their attire was identical—black shoes and black clothing. However, these individuals wore black hoods with steel helmets specially woven with a mesh layer to prevent light reflection, leaving only their eyes exposed. They all wore black leather gloves, and holsters on their thighs contained M1911 Colt pistols. Over their bodies they wore distinctive black vests that were visibly packed with various weapons, gear, and tools. The most striking feature was the object hanging from the left chest area of the vest—slightly larger than a later-generation "brick phone," it was Motorola's latest invention: the Max 1927 walkie-talkie.

In stark contrast to the previous dozen robbers who had moved lazily, these newly arrived black-clad individuals immediately formed three-man fire teams upon exiting their vehicles, with Thompson submachine guns aimed at any potentially threatening directions around them.

If this were happening in the 21st century, someone would likely recognize the group's origin and associate it with the renowned Hong Kong Tiger Squad.

But in the 1920s, how could such a military organization suddenly appear Who are they

"Safe!"

"Safe!"

With each team confirming their surroundings were secure, one of them approached a car and opened its door. A tall, imposing figure then slowly emerged.

This person was similarly equipped like the others but carried nothing in his hands. Judging from everyone’s respectful demeanor towards him, he clearly held the rank of leader among these individuals.

With just a wave of his hand, all personnel quickly dispersed.t aloud, "Actually, I still hope that Qiyun and Hongyu will come to Northwest, along with Minister Xu and Qingchen. In the future, matters concerning Northwest will only increase; under Dingguo王府, the...