The Masked Tyrant Shen Hengzhi

Autumn 1939, Jiangling City. The Japanese 112th Division rules with an iron fist, while puppet troops, the Juntong, the Zhongtong, and the Green Gang tear into one another. Shen Hengzhi, a military doctor with the New Fourth Army medical team, is ambushed while transferring with his unit. The entire team is wiped out, and only he survives, rescued at great cost by Lao Jiang of the underground Communist Party. Before contact is lost, Lao Jiang leaves him one message: “Find Yamada Shoichi. He’s one of us.” Before Shen Hengzhi can reach the rendezvous, the traitor Fang Ming has already delivered his portrait to the Japanese military police. The entire city is under lockdown. There is nowhere to run.

At the brink of death, a searing pain suddenly explodes in his mind: the fake identity generation System has activated.

His first secret identity: “Manchuria Railway Investigation Department intern, Sato Ken.” The System warns him: he must obtain Manchuria Railway credentials within 72 hours, or the identity will expire and he will never be able to use it again.

Shen Hengzhi sneaks into the Manchuria Railway office, only to discover Fang Ming leading the military police in a search of every room. There is only one corner left in the corridor, and Fang Ming’s footsteps are drawing closer.

He looks down at his white coat, still stained with the blood of his New Fourth Army comrades.

A System notification appears: “Hostile units detected. Identity switch recommended. Usable memories remaining: the ancestral hall in your hometown, your mother’s face, your younger sister’s braids... Consume one to generate a new secret identity.”

Shen Hengzhi closes his eyes. He chooses his sister’s braids.

When he opens his eyes again, the new identity has loaded. He pulls off his white coat, opens another door, and calmly addresses the people inside. “I’m a liaison sent by the Japanese Antiwar League, code name ‘Crane.’ I need to see Yamada Shoichi.”

Outside, Fang Ming’s search has only just begun.

Autumn, Year Twenty-Eight of the Republic, Shiliphu, ten li north of Jiangling City.