Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 862 British Army Traitor Captain Sinan Captured; Modern Warfare is About Information Dispari

The dining car arrived outside the main gate of the Third Garrison Battalion's camp.

It's chaotic here. The soldiers, who were reorganized from defeated troops, are undisciplined and are scattered around the camp gate.

The aroma of Nyonya rice dumplings filled the air, and several soldiers gathered around, taking out money to buy food.

The people lying in ambush nearby were tense, ready to rush out and attack at the slightest signal.

But no signal appeared, so they could only wait.

The soldiers dispersed.

A few minutes later, a British officer came over.

His demeanor and actions were completely out of place among the scattered and defeated soldiers around him. He walked to the food cart, took out some change, lowered his voice, and uttered a coded message that had nothing to do with purchasing food: "The wind and waves were strong yesterday, and the cargo ship was delayed in docking."

The merchant spy trembled violently, suppressing his panic, and slowly raised his right hand, pointing directly at the lieutenant colonel in front of him.

In an instant, the pupils of the Japanese spy chief, who was disguised as a British lieutenant colonel, shrank dramatically!

Without saying a word, he suddenly turned around and strode into the military camp. After only a few steps, he ran away.

But it was too late.

People lying in ambush rushed out, and a special forces soldier who was closest tackled him to the ground. Finally, more people rushed over and subdued him.

Seeing this, the British troops from the three battalions tried to surround them.

Just then, a military vehicle arrived, and soldiers got out and pointed their guns at them.

Lieutenant Colonel Terry also got out of the car.

He coldly told the British troops of the Third Battalion, "He is a Japanese spy. Return to camp immediately."

The soldiers immediately lost all interest in helping and returned to their camp as if avoiding a plague.

Lieutenant Colonel Terry looked at the arrested man, his expression changing: "It's you?!"

The officer looked up and said loudly, "It's a complete misunderstanding, Terry. You should know that I could not possibly be a Japanese spy."

"You still want to argue? When you get to headquarters, I have a way to make you talk." Lieutenant Colonel Terry sneered, and ordered his men to put him in a military vehicle and take him away.

The military vehicle drove back to the command post.

The soldiers led the hooded prisoner into the temporary interrogation room set up in the command post.

Fang Wen and Gong Xiuneng walked in from outside.

Fang Wen was somewhat surprised to see the prisoner remove his hood.

"It's you?"

This person turned out to be one of the senior officers who attended yesterday's meeting at headquarters.

Fang Wen looked at Lieutenant Colonel Terry who was walking towards them: "What is his identity?"

Lieutenant Colonel Terry replied, "Patrick Shinan, formerly an officer of the 16th Punjab Regiment, is currently a joint liaison captain of the British Indian Army and the Royal Air Force."

Upon hearing that it was related to the British Air Force, Fang Wen couldn't help but look at the prisoner. This guy was probably involved in the Japanese Air Force's sweep of the British military airfields in Malaya.

Lieutenant Colonel Terry continued, "Fang, please make sure your men can get him to talk. The information he has is very important to us."

Fang Wen nodded, and said meaningfully, "I'm afraid it will be difficult to handle. He must know that he's doomed if he tells anyone. He won't confess unless we use extreme measures."

"Extraordinary measures?" Lieutenant Colonel Terry's expression changed. He was already afraid of the methods Gong Xiu used to deal with prisoners; according to this explanation, it would be even more terrifying.

For the sake of this crucial intelligence, Terry said solemnly, "We must get him to confess, no matter what, as long as he's still alive."

“Okay. You can leave now. You don’t want to see what happens next,” Fang Wen replied calmly.

Lieutenant Colonel Terry nodded quickly, arranged for guards to keep watch at a distance and not approach the interrogation room, and went to the command post himself.

People are gone.

Fang Wen said to Gong Xiuneng, "Use your methods first and see if he will confess."

Gong Xiuneng stepped forward and, without saying a word, grabbed Patrick's limbs.

With several muffled thuds of dislocated bones, Patrick's limbs dislocated, and he instantly collapsed to the ground, his body convulsing and twisting uncontrollably.

The pain of a dislocated bone would have driven any previous spy to the brink of collapse.

Patrick, however, only had veins bulging on his forehead, and despite the cold sweat soaking his back, he didn't utter a sound.

He clearly knew better than anyone that once he confessed, he would face execution by a military court.

Since death is inevitable either way, I might as well grit my teeth and fight to the end.

When the dislocated bone punishment proved ineffective, Gong Xiu was able to use the tendon-splitting method instead.

Even so, this guy was still stubbornly holding on.

Gong Xiuneng turned to Fang Wen and said, "General Manager, I'm at my wit's end. This man has already resigned himself to death. Ordinary torture can only torment him, but it can't break down his psychological defenses at all. If we continue to torture him, he won't last long, and he will most likely faint and die here."

Fang Wen said calmly, "Then release his restraints. I'll do it."

Upon hearing this, a look of anticipation and awe flashed across Gong Xiuneng's eyes.

He knew the general manager possessed mysterious abilities, and this was a rare opportunity to witness it.

Gong Xiuneng immediately stepped forward and reset Patrick's dislocated limbs one by one, undoing all the manipulations.

With his limbs back in place and his muscles restored, Patrick gasped for breath, greedily inhaling the air.

He stared coldly at Fang Wen, clearly having heard what Fang Wen had just said.

But he didn't think he should be afraid.

Fang Wen did not rush to take action. He turned around and walked out of the interrogation room, addressing the guards on duty outside the door.

"Go and get the honey."

A moment later, a guard brought over a whole jar of thick honey.

Fang Wen returned to the interrogation room carrying the honey jar and handed it to Gong Xiuneng.

“Take off his clothes and smear honey all over his body.”

Following Fang Wen's instructions, Gong Xiuneng tore open Patrick's clothes, then opened the honey jar and carefully and evenly applied the thick, sweet honey to Patrick's neck, chest, waist, abdomen, and limbs.

The sweet smell of honey filled the small interrogation room.

"What are you going to do?" the prisoner asked.

Fang Wen looked down at him quietly: "In ancient times, there was a slow torture that was bloodless and boneless, yet most torturous. The prisoner's entire body was smeared with honey and placed in an area teeming with mosquitoes and ants, so that swarms of ants and flying insects would gather and gnaw at the sweetness. This process would not cause excruciating pain, would not damage bones or endanger life; it would be like countless fine needles, densely packed, constantly pricking, biting, and crawling on your skin."

His voice was icy, each word piercing to the heart: "It doesn't hurt, but it itches terribly. It's an itch that penetrates deep into the flesh and bones. Every inch of skin feels like insects crawling and gnawing at it, every second is extreme torture, you can clearly feel yourself being devoured by countless ants, day and night. You can endure the pain, but no one can endure the endless itching and mental torment."

After saying that, Fang Wen infused energy into the mosaic gemstones in the necklace hanging around his neck.

Through the mosaic gem, he gained the ability to control insects.

He raised his hand and pushed open the small ventilation window at the back of the interrogation room.

It is currently tropical daytime, the time when ants and flying insects are most active.

Countless mosquitoes and ants swarmed into the room from outside the window, crawling densely all over Patrick's honey-coated skin.

Countless ants crawled, gnawed, and wriggled, densely covering his neck, chest, and limbs, layer upon layer, penetrating every nook and cranny.

A fine, tingling, and piercing sensation swept over Patrick's entire body.

Patrick's pupils dilated suddenly, and this indescribable feeling overwhelmed him.

While the pain in his muscles and bones could be endured with gritted teeth, this kind of intense itching that penetrated to the bone marrow was simply unbearable. It felt like countless tiny flames burning beneath his skin, or like thousands of fine needles constantly piercing him, making his whole body numb and his scalp throb, and he wished he could tear his own flesh apart.

He writhed and struggled violently, trying to shake off the swarm of insects, but his hands and feet were already firmly tied with ropes, and he could not move.

"what!"

The extreme torture became unbearable for him, and he finally cried out.

With that shout, he could no longer maintain his previous tough stance.

"It itches! It itches so much! Let me go! Let me go now!"

Patrick was snotting up his mouth, his head was shaking wildly, and his eyes were filled with despair and collapse.

Death is a moment of relief, but this endless, relentless torment of being gnawed by insects is a long, desperate, and seemingly endless torture.

Fang Wen, however, remained unhurried, speaking slowly and deliberately: "After the insects have devoured all the honey, your skin will also rot completely. Its final effect is actually quite similar to another ancient form of torture, 'lingchi' (death by a thousand cuts). It involves cutting off pieces of flesh from your body with a small knife."

These words completely shattered Patrick's psychological defenses.

He was afraid of dying, but he was even more afraid of having his entire body gnawed by insects, a process that was worse than death.

With a sob in his voice, Patrick cried out, "I'll talk! I'll confess everything! Please take these bugs away! I'll tell you everything!"

Fang Wen opened the door to the interrogation room and said to the guard outside, "Go and call Lieutenant Colonel Terry over."

The small window of the interrogation room was open, and flying insects flew away from it.

The ants underground lined up in a long queue, carrying honey as they left through the cracks in the house.

Patrick Sinan was tightly bound to the torture chair, and Gong Xiuneng poured buckets of cold water over him to wash away the honey on his skin.

Although there was still honey, there were no more mosquitoes biting him.

Not long after, Lieutenant Colonel Terry pushed open the door and entered.

Fang Wen stood up and made way for him: "The person has already agreed, now it's up to you."

Lieutenant Colonel Terry walked up to the prisoner, put his hands behind his back, and stared intently at the officer who had betrayed his country:

"Are you codenamed 'Mr. Wolf'?"

"Yes."

"Are you the head of the Japanese intelligence organization in northern Malaya?"

"No."

Lieutenant Colonel Terry took notes in his notebook and continued asking questions.

"Now, confess all your crimes."

Patrick lowered his head: "I...I worked for the Japanese Army's intelligence agency, infiltrating the British forces in Malaya, specializing in stealing air defense and army operational secrets."

"Tell me more details," Terry pressed in a deep voice.

"I was born in Reefton, New Zealand, as an illegitimate child. I grew up with my mother in Burma and England. Because of my darker complexion, people around me didn't like me. Later, I attended Cheltenham Military Academy, but due to poor grades and fighting, I couldn't pass the regular examinations to become a British officer. It wasn't until 1935 that I was commissioned as a candidate and assigned to the 16th Punjab Regiment of the British Indian Army."

Lieutenant Colonel Terry interrupted impatiently.

"Just tell me about your espionage activities."

Patrick paused for a moment, then continued.

“In 1938, I had a six-month vacation, so I went to Japan for a trip. There, their intelligence agents contacted me and gave me a lot of money to collect some intelligence for them. That’s how I got in touch with them.”

"In June 1941, I was transferred to the Alor Setar Air Force Base, the northernmost point of Malaya, to serve as a joint liaison captain for the British Indian Army and the Royal Air Force."

“All British, Australian, and New Zealand air force squadrons, air defense positions, and border army plans in northern Malaysia are handled by me. I have access to the highest-level air defense and operational top-secret documents.”

Upon hearing Patrickton's words, Lieutenant Colonel Terry's eyes widened.

What a ridiculous joke! The British Army's top-secret liaison officer was actually a Japanese spy!

Terry's eyes grew even colder: "How many top secrets did you leak during your time as captain of air-ground liaison in northern Malaya?"

When the topic of operational secrets came up, Patrick shuddered again, knowing that any one of these pieces of intelligence was enough to get him shot.

But at this moment, he would rather be shot than have ants bite his whole body, so he had no choice but to confess one by one.

"I compiled the precise coordinates of all British and Australian airfields in Kedah and Kelantan, the layout of the aprons, the location of the hangars, and the real-time number and type ratio of fighter jets and bombers stationed there. I also compiled the rotation schedules, daily patrol routes, and take-off and landing times of each air force squadron into a booklet and regularly sent it to the Japanese side."

These words proved what Fang Wen had previously questioned.

Patrick continued, “Not only the deployment of fighter jets, but also the locations of all frontline airfields’ fuel depots, ammunition storage points, anti-aircraft gun positions, and blind spots in their firing ranges were all mapped out and transferred to the Fujiwara Agency in Bangkok through the Japanese consulate in Songkhla, Thailand, and finally delivered to the Japanese forces that were attacking northern Malaya.”

"Did you also leak the Army's defense plans?" Terry demanded sharply.

“Yes.” Patrick dared not conceal anything. “I reported all the details of the British military’s Operation Matador, the entire operational plan for the Japanese invasion, and the numbers and troop deployments of all the garrison troops on the northern border to the Japanese.”

"Besides sending it to the Japanese consulate, what other methods were used to transmit this intelligence?" Terry continued to ask.

“I obtained two miniature shortwave radios, one hidden inside a typewriter casing and the other disguised as a religious artifact carried by the army. Before the war, I regularly transmitted paper intelligence and encrypted messages. After the war started, I stayed at Alor Setar Air Base and sent messages during the intervals between air raids.”

After hearing all the testimonies, Terry's face turned ashen, and he remained silent for a long time.

He wrote all of these details down in his notebook.

He then stood up and said to Fang Wen, "I will report this situation to the Singapore Command. Thank you for helping us find this bastard."

After saying that, he walked out of the interrogation room.

Fang Wenye and Gong Xiuneng left the interrogation room and let the British take over.

The two were taking a walk on the road outside the command post.

Gong Xiuneng asked, "General Manager, are you saying that the British failed because of this guy?"

Fang Wen, however, had a different opinion.

"His leak of secrets was indeed one of the reasons, but not the whole story. The British were still unprepared; they didn't even have a single tank deployed in Malaya. The Japanese, on the other hand, followed the German example by using mechanized forces to advance and directly attack British airfields with their air force, thus gaining direct battlefield advantage."

After the two walked for a while, a soldier came over: "Mr. Fang, please return to the command post. The lieutenant colonel wants to see you."

Immediately afterwards, Fang Wen and Gong Xiuneng returned to the command post.

Lieutenant Colonel Trey, who had already reported to the Singapore Command, stood outside the interrogation room with heavily armed soldiers.

He said to Fang Wen, "I have received orders to execute this man by firing squad. I hope you can witness the death of this traitor with me."

Fang Wen nodded without saying a word.

Terry then ordered his soldiers to go in and bring Patrick out.

Before the execution.

Lieutenant Colonel Terry asked the last question.

"Captain Landley, who reported you before the war, had his plane crash. Did you do it?"

Patrick froze, but remained silent.

Terry looked at him coldly and raised his hand: "Ready."

The soldiers raised their rifles and aimed them at the prisoners.

As Lieutenant Colonel Terry lowered his hand, a volley of shots rang out.

All the bullets hit Patrick.

The traitorous spy who leaked a large number of British military secrets was executed by firing squad on Penang Island.

(Patrick as a child) (End of Chapter)