Chapter 671: There's a mole among us

「Hello? I am Anda 23。」

Anda 23 answered the phone with a calm expression.

「General Anda, I am Commander Tuqiao Yici of the 12th Army. 」

「"Tuqiao Yici, why are you calling so late? Is there something important?" Anda 23 asked.】

「"According to the intelligence we recently received, several local Eighth Route Army units seem to be preparing for emergency combat." Tuqiao Yici said in a low voice.】

「"Emergency combat?"」 Upon hearing this, Anda furrowed his brow.

Sitting beside the table, Gangcun Ningci heard this, sat up straight, and looked at Anda 23 with a solemn expression.

「"What emergency combat? Explain the situation clearly." Anda 23 said sternly.】

「"Hai!" Tuqiao Yici did not dare delay, immediately reporting his recent findings in full.】

After hearing Tuqiao Yici's report, Anda 23 said in disbelief: 「"The Eighth Route Army is not only preparing for combat, but somehow obtained at least several thousand rifles, and even got a large batch of food?"」.

Anda 23's first reaction was that Tuqiao Yici was talking nonsense.

They had imposed a very tight blockade on the local Eighth Route Army in North China, although some might slip through.

But how could weapons and food possibly reach the local Eighth Route Army through normal channels?

「"Chief of Staff, I understand your doubts, but the truth is indeed this: several infantry regiments have been equipped with new weapons, the weapon model…" Tuqiao Yici said, hesitating to continue.】

「"What about the weapon model?" Anda 23 asked.】

「"The rifles newly equipped by the Eighth Route Army are exactly our Type 38 rifle." Tuqiao Yici said in a low voice.】

「"What? Type 38 rifle—how is that possible? Where did they get Type 38 rifles?" Anda 23 even thought his ears were malfunctioning.】

In his memory, recently no arsenal had been looted, nor had any battle ended in defeat.

Gangcun Ningci, sitting nearby, felt something was off, finally snatched the phone and said coldly: 「"What's going on, what rifle?"」.

Upon hearing Gangcun Ningci's voice, Tuqiao Yici immediately explained again.

After listening, Gangcun Ningci was also full of doubts: 「"Are you sure?"」.

「"I also doubted this at first, but now more than one person has reported similar news; they can't all be mistaken…" Tuqiao Yici said rather vaguely.】

After a pause, he then cautiously said: 「"General Okamura, this matter is too strange."」.

「"According to our statistics, the data simply doesn't match that of the local Eighth Route Army…"」.

「"Furthermore, after discovering this, we immediately conducted a detailed internal audit, and the firearms quantities showed no issues."」.

「"What about the weapon repair shop?" Gangcun Ningci pursued.】

When damaged firearms appear, after being reported they are uniformly sent to the weapon repair shop.

If they can be repaired and reused, they are sent to the front lines; if not, the firearms are disassembled—usable parts are kept, the rest are scrapped.

During this period, it is very easy to falsify.

Although the weapon repair shop maintains strict discipline and rigorous inspections,

but it cannot be ruled out that they are selling firearms under the guise of scrapped weapons.

「"Impossible!" Tuqiao Yici declared firmly: "They are using only brand‑new, unused rifles… so…"】.

Having said that, Tuqiao Yici trailed off.

Since this batch of weapons and equipment did not come from the front lines, it must have come from the rear.

After all.

This food and supplies could be forcibly explained as the Eighth Route Army purchasing them at great expense, while the old firearms could be stubbornly explained as someone inside selling them off.

But this brand‑new Type 38 rifle is not something you can just buy…

Upon hearing this, Gangcun Ningci also clearly realized the seriousness of the problem.

There's a mole!

"You bastard, who the hell has the guts to dare sell brand‑new rifles to the local Eighth Route Army?"

Gangcun Ningci tried to keep his tone steady: 「"Tuqiao Yici, continue investigating this matter; you must uncover the source of the local Eighth Route Army's firearms!"】.

「"Furthermore, this matter must be kept strictly confidential; no leaks allowed!"】.

That old Japanese fellow also worried about startling the snake.

If this lot were to go into hiding, how could I continue the investigation?

「"Hai, General Okamura, I understand!" Tuqiao Yici stood up, accepted the order, and hung up the phone.】.

「"General, what exactly did Tuqiao Yici say, and what happened to the rifles of that local Eighth Route Army?" Anda 23 asked cautiously.】.

Gangcun Ningci said in a low voice: 「"Tuqiao Yici said that all units of the Eighth Route Army have been equipped with the brand‑new Type 38 rifle."】.

「"What?" Anda 23's face changed dramatically.】

Gangcun Ningci briefly summarized the phone call's content.

Anda 23's expression went beyond shock; that old Japanese fellow also realized it was likely someone inside was selling firearms.

Gangcun Ningci's expression turned grim, he turned to face Anda 23 and said: 「"Anda Army, what do you think of this matter?"】.

Seeing this, Anda 23 cursed inwardly, 'Old fox!'

The answer is pretty much out in the open—what else could I think?

Could it possibly be that the local Eighth Route Army conjured these weapons out of thin air?

At this moment, Anda 23's mood could no longer be described as mere dread.

Whoever dared to do this is even more audacious.

After muttering to himself, Anda 23 took a deep breath and said: 「"General Okamura, I suspect there is a mole selling supplies externally, having opened a smuggling route."】.

「"We must find a way to investigate this clearly—today they dare sell rifles, tomorrow they'll dare sell machine guns and artillery!"】.

"That's quite a big accusation," Anda said rather vaguely, without directly stating that they were selling to the local Eighth Route Army.

Gangcun Ningci nodded in deep agreement: 「"Anda, right away…"】.

The old devil originally wanted to allocate manpower to investigate this, but then thought, why go to such trouble?

Isn't there a recently established Special Investigation Unit within?

"Anda sir, immediately call Chief Director Sir and have him report to me as soon as possible; I have an important task to entrust to him!" Okamura Ningci said sternly.

"What?" Anda 23 blinked, then said: "Chief Director Sir is still young and lacks experience; he might not be able to bear this heavy responsibility!"

Work experience is secondary.

The most important thing is that anyone daring to do such a thing must be a lunatic; what if they get angry and kill Yuan Chief?

"Chief Director Sir is the captain of the Special Investigation Unit; now another internal spy case has appeared within the North China Military Department—if he doesn't investigate it, who will?" Okamura Ningci gave Anda an irresistible reason.

"Hai!" Upon hearing this, Anda 23 could only accept the order helplessly.

Since Yuan Chief was eating at Donglaishun, Anda 23 directly called the restaurant, identified himself, and had them find a customer named Yuan Chief.

Upon hearing this, the restaurant owner dared not delay; he immediately checked the guest list, located his private room, and knocked on the door.