Chapter 9: The Butterfly in Human Form!

Bang!
A grenade landed squarely in the metal basin on the table.
Amidst the shocked stares of everyone present, it exploded, sending shrapnel flying and causing heavy casualties.
As the dust billowed, Jiang Bai gently set down the wounded Feng Army soldier he had been carrying and pointed at the signal flags nearby, asking,
"Can you operate the enemy's signal flags?"
"I can!"
The wounded soldier, dazed and dizzy, nodded hurriedly.
"During our military training, all our instructors were Japanese—they taught us how to use signal flags!"
Without waiting for Jiang Bai's reply, the soldier stood up, grabbed the flags, and began to wave them with a feverish enthusiasm.
Seeing the soldier's movements—almost more practiced than those of the Japanese flag bearers themselves—Jiang Bai was not surprised.
Within the Fengtian Army, there had always been two factions.
One, the Army faction led by Guo Songling, consisted mainly of graduates from domestic military academies. They advocated for deep development of the Northeast's resources and building up strength.
However, after Zhang Zuolin set his sights south to engage with the southern armies, this faction became disillusioned, launched a rebellion against Fengtian, and ultimately met defeat and death.
The other, the Pro-Japanese faction led by Yang Yuting, was made up of members who had studied at Japanese officer schools and were thus also called the Officer faction.
While Zhang Zuolin lived, the contest between the two groups was restrained.
But after Zhang Zuolin was assassinated by the Kwantung Army and his son Zhang Xiaoliu succeeded him, the struggle grew increasingly fierce.
Clearly, this wounded soldier belonged to the Officer faction.
The Japanese squad originally sent to scout was misled by the signal flags and, following their indication, abandoned the search and returned to the fight.
Their suspicion arose partly because they could never have expected their command post to be occupied, and even the flag bearer replaced.
And, faced with the temptation, every Japanese soldier was eager to claim Zhang Zuolin's head and ascend in rank.
Meanwhile, in the temporary command post,
as Jiang Bai approached step by step, the gravely wounded Higashi Palace Ironman roared,
"Terrifying demon! I am a soldier of the Imperial Army, protected by Amaterasu! You are cursed—come, kill me if you dare! If you have the skill, end my life!"
"Very well, I’ll oblige you,"
Jiang Bai replied coldly, raising the stone in his hand to strike,
when suddenly a prompt sounded in his mind:
[Ding! Congratulations, host, for activating an extra side quest. Please choose according to the situation.]
Option One: Swift resolution! End Higashi Palace Ironman's life directly, gain 10 reputation points.
Option Two: Prolonged torment! Use slow torture, increase enemy fear by 20 points.
Faced with the pale blue panel before him,
Jiang Bai made his choice almost without hesitation.
He drew a combat knife from his belt and gave Higashi Palace Ironman a chilling smile.

"Have you ever heard of the ‘Human Butterfly’?"
What is the "Human Butterfly"?
Not only the wounded soldier, but even Higashi Palace Ironman was puzzled for a moment.
Yet Jiang Bai's subsequent actions not only revealed his intent to the wounded soldier, but etched it into his memory as a nightmare forever.
Fifteen minutes later, when the Japanese squad reached the designated spot, they found it empty. Under the wounded soldier’s flag signals, they began fighting each other across the reeds.
Soon enough, each squad realized the tactical error in the flag signals—they understood something was wrong with the temporary command center.
When they rushed back and surrounded the small hill near the command post,
Jiang Bai and his team had already quietly withdrawn.
"Damn it, those Chinese—I'll make them pay!"
The infantry group leader, Uesugi Jin, his face dark as iron, was about to advance toward the hill
when he encountered a soldier coming from the command post.
The soldier was pale, vomiting repeatedly, as if he had witnessed something horrific.
Seeing Uesugi Jin, he hastily advised,
"Captain, I suggest you don't go up there. Otherwise, you won’t sleep tonight."
Uesugi Jin, already simmering with rage,
exploded at the warning.
"Coward! You've disgraced the honor of Imperial soldiers!"
"Prepare for punishment!"
He slapped the soldier aside, gripped his saber, and strode forward in fury.
Upon reaching the top, he heard Higashi Palace Ironman’s dying voice:
"Captain, please...please end my life. I beg you."
Uesugi Jin’s heart tightened, and he rebuked loudly,
"Higashi Palace, you coward! How can you speak of death so lightly?"
"Suzi is still waiting for you at home, you fool!"
But when he pushed aside the reeds and saw inside clearly,
his face turned ashen, his stomach churned, and he doubled over, retching uncontrollably.
Higashi Palace Ironman lay there with vacant eyes.
His chest cavity had been completely opened, organs and blood vessels meticulously arranged on either side,
forming a pair of exquisitely beautiful yet horrifying crimson wings.
This scene, with Higashi Palace Ironman’s heart still beating and his cries echoing, delivered an overwhelming visual shock.
"Damn it—how is this possible? How could this happen?"
Uesugi Jin staggered back, clutching his head, crying out in agony.

"Zhang Zuolin—I will make them pay!"
Then, as if struck by a sudden thought, he grabbed a nearby medical officer and shouted,
"Suture him! Why are you all just standing there?"
"Captain, Higashi Palace is still alive. Begin surgery immediately!"
"Regrettably, Captain, there is nothing we can do for him,"
the medical officer replied in a tone trembling with fear and disbelief.
"Higashi Palace is only alive because the killer avoided his vital points so skillfully."
"If we act rashly, he could bleed out and die even faster!"
"Even if we could suture him, with the prolonged exposure to air, his body is already severely infected."
In this moment, death was the only gentle release for Higashi Palace.
To kill him was a kindness?
As Uesugi Jin stood in shock,
suddenly a soldier seemed to have found something, picking up a scrap of paper from the bushes, and reported loudly,
"Captain, here’s a note, apparently left by the murderer. It’s written in Eastern script:
‘Ladies and gentlemen, does this ‘Human Butterfly’ artwork suit your aesthetic?’
‘If not, don’t worry—every spectator shall become my masterpiece!’"
Human Butterfly?
This so-called masterpiece in his hand!
Uesugi Jin’s pupils contracted, he stumbled back, sweat pouring down his face, lips trembling in terror,
"This is the work of a demon—a fiend straight from hell!"

...

Meanwhile, on a secluded path leading toward Fengtian,
"Move! Move!"
Dust billowed as several Feng Army soldiers spurred their horses, galloping toward Fengtian city.
"Damn, these enemy horses are really impressive—after all this running, they don't even seem out of breath!"
"Brother Jiang Bai, what do you think?"
With Zhang Zuolin’s voice ringing with boldness,
Jiang Bai smiled and was about to reply
when suddenly, a string of cold system prompts sounded in his ear.