The Bravest

An hour after the assassination, there was a secret room in the basement of the back garden of a tavern. Two people were talking in a low voice in the secret room.

"The contact station has been notified of the move through the dead mailbox. You should arrange to cut off external contacts as soon as possible. The station and dock are probably blocked. I will hide here for a while." The person who spoke was the assassin named Zhang, the former deputy captain of the No. 76 Action Team.

"Old Zhang, when you came, did you shake off the tail cleanly? Was the operation successful or a failure? Tell me in detail."

The person asking the questions was a greasy uncle with a half-bald head and dressed as a chef.

"Ah, I guess I failed. I took advantage of the chaos to kill the two guards who ran away. There was no tail." Lao Zhang slapped his thigh angrily: "I didn't expect that loser to react so quickly and be so skilled. I was careless."

"Waste? Who? Wasn't the plan to do it when we met alone?"

"Old Chen, Li Shiqun usually meets people alone. I didn't expect there was another person sitting here today. Because of this person, the bomb was snatched away before we could throw it over, and thrown to the other side of the sofa. He also protected Li Shiqun and covered him with the sofa. He went in and handed over his gun. We didn't have enough time, so we had to create chaos and evacuate."

Lao Zhang could only briefly describe the course of the assassination and warned Lao Chen: "You should pay attention to this person in the future. Lin Jie is 23 years old, a native of Shanghai, and graduated from the Tokyo Police Academy in Japan. He is said to be as timid as a mouse. He only participated in one arrest operation against an organization member, was injured by a grenade, and peed his pants. Later, he was transferred to guard the warehouse. I thought he was a waste, and I didn't know him well. I didn't have any photos of him. I was careless today and failed."

"I will find a chance to report the situation you mentioned to the General Administration. You will leave through the secret passage and meet up with the people at the contact station at base No. 3. Take care. Plan No. 2 will be launched from now on."

Li Shiqun had already returned to No. 76 and was discussing the arrest of Lao Zhang with Gangcun. Most of the staff at No. 76 who were on vacation were recalled and all of them were sent to the residence and places where the assassin Zhang Wu often appeared. The gendarmerie blocked all major traffic routes and water and land ports early in the morning.

"Director Li, look at the on-site appraisal report. The material of the wooden box is very new, but this kind of precious wood is rare. You can check the manufacturer of high-end furniture."

"Okay, Secretary Sanpu, notify Chief Zhao Yilong of the Intelligence Department and have him immediately send someone to investigate the source of this wood. Keep it low-key."

"Mr. Gangcun, you see, this golden Buddha has been blown up so badly that it has completely changed its appearance. The Military Control Commission has really spent a lot of money to kill me. After searching for half a year, there are still so many fish that have slipped through the net. I think we should still increase our efforts, but this requires the support of the Imperial Army."

Li Shiqun did not care much about the assassination attempt. He had been mentally prepared since he defected to the Japanese. This was the third time. Although this time was the closest to danger, it was a good thing that Lin Jie was left behind to accompany the guests. Otherwise, it would be hard to say what would have happened.

Li Shiqun is now thinking more about how to get more funds and power from the Japanese. Only in this way can he enhance his own strength and squeeze out Ding Mocun and his arch-rival Wan Lilang.

"What Director Li said makes sense, but we, the Imperial Japanese Army, must see results."

"I believe that Okamura-kun will be able to see you soon."

The Mid-Autumn Festival dinner was finished before 6 o'clock in the evening. Li Shiqun did not show up. Ye Jiqing entertained the two and expressed his gratitude to Lin Jie for saving Li Shiqun.

After dinner, Lin Jie and Ye Wulian said goodbye and left. They walked side by side in silence on the road. In the end, Ye Wulian spoke first:

"Xiao Jie, the lady said that you saved the director. How did you do it? Didn't they all say that you were a coward? You? Where did you get the courage to rush forward?"

Ye Wulian stared at Lin Jie as if she didn't know him.

"No way, Wu Lian, don't look at me like that. It's just a subconscious reaction. You know this is what I learned. I have been learning it for more than three years. I will do it reflexively in many situations."

"I thought you had changed your personality and became so courageous." Ye Wulian teased Lin Jie.

"I am a little braver than before, but I won't throw my life away for a job. If it happens again, I might just run away." After Lin Jie finished speaking, he felt something was wrong and added:

"I admit that I am a coward and afraid of death, but who isn't afraid of bombs? Last time, I felt like my soul flew away (it really did). But don't tell others what I said before. It doesn't matter if others say I'm a coward, but if they say I'm a deserter, then I'm done for. I'll be shot."

"Don't worry, no one would say that. But you still have to be careful. Your life is the most important. Oh, I wish I hadn't introduced you to the organization. I thought the intelligence agencies were just offices. Who knew they would use knives and guns? I asked my cousin, and she said the Japanese said it's easy to get in, but hard to get out."

"Little Japanese, I'm not saying that Japanese people are not so easy to mess with. You should try to have less contact with them in the future to avoid getting into trouble."

"I know. It's getting dark. You should go back first when the bus arrives."

Lin Jie sent Ye Wulian to the bus and called a rickshaw to go home.

On the 76th, while eating the dinner brought by his confidential secretary Miura Kojiro, Li Shiqun asked, "Miura-kun, any news?"

"We have a clue. It's a factory in the French Concession that makes furniture for export. Section Chief Zhao has already gone there and is waiting for further verification."

"Well, I hope I can catch a big fish. Tell the people below that you can't catch big fish in a hurry. I'm going home first. Tell me as soon as you have any news."

Back in the underground secret room of the tavern, Lao Liu hurried back: "Lao Zhang, the outside is under strict surveillance, the contact station has been evacuated, and you are the only one who knows this place, it should be safe, but you can't leave for a while, so we'd better wait until the storm has passed before arranging your evacuation."

"That's all we can do," Lao Zhang said helplessly, "Lao Liu, you should also be careful and stop your activities for the time being."

"Okay, think about it again to see if there's anything you missed. I'm going to go out first."

The time came to 7:10 pm, in interrogation room No. in basement .

"Section Chief, this guy is the warehouse manager of that factory. He is a relative of the boss's wife. He often steals valuable wood and resells it. Other workers don't have the conditions or connections to do so."

Zhao Yilong looked at the middle-aged man tied to the tiger bench, who was so scared that his face turned pale, and asked with a smile: "Do you know where this is? No. 3, this wood came from you, right? Who did you buy it for? Tell me when you think it through. There's no rush. You have three minutes."

"I said, I said a few days ago, Hei Lao Er, who makes fake antiques, said he wanted to help a big boss make an antique box. He gave me two dollars and specifically wanted this kind of old Vietnamese golden nanmu. He didn't want a lot of material and the box would not be larger than two feet at most." When he heard that this was number 76, the middle-aged man immediately told me everything.

"You lead the way. If we catch Hei Lao Er, you will be fine. If we fail to catch him, you will suffer for him. Do you understand?"

"Hurry up, Group One will be responsible for the arrest, Group Two and Group Three will guard the perimeter and block it tightly. This line must not be broken. Keep quiet and get going."

At 8:45, Hei Lao Er was blocked at home. Facing several black gun muzzles, he immediately gave out the identity of the buyer.

"This is the blueprint I copied secretly. Look, brother, there is a layer on the base..."

"Okay, is the buyer the person in the photo? Where is he?" Zhao Yilong didn't bother to waste time and directly pointed the gun at Hei Laoer's chin.

"Brother, it's this guy. He was wearing makeup at the time, but I could still recognize him. He came to pick up the box after it was made. I don't know where he is."

"3...2...1, you don't have to say anything. The buyer will come to you soon." Zhao Yilong put the gun back, took out the silencer, and slowly screwed it on while whispering, "You are lucky. This is a silencer that only Military Control Commission agents can enjoy. It is silent and soundless. You get a bargain today. Do you have any last words?" After that, he clicked the safety of the pistol next to Hei Lao Er's ear.

"Wait, I remember now. That man was so mysterious that I thought he was a con man. He was doing a lot of business and was afraid that he would get me into trouble, so he asked someone to follow him secretly. We found two places where he stayed. The people in one of them left this afternoon, and the buyer went to the place behind. I don't know if he is still there now."

"You still have someone watching you, right? Where are the people? How many people are there? Lead the way immediately. You are just trying to rob your fellow thieves, and you're saying you're afraid of getting you in trouble."

At 9:50, Zhao Yilong formed two encirclements around the tavern where Zhang Wu was hiding.

At 10:30, Zhao Yilong sneaked into the tavern from the front and back at the same time. Without much noise, he controlled the three people inside and found three pistols, but did not find Zhang Wu.

At 10:50, the entrance to the underground secret room was discovered. Zhao Yilong used an air bag to pump a large amount of high-purity ethanol into the entrance. Ten minutes later, three agents wearing masks rushed into the secret room. The person in front triggered two booby traps that had been set in advance. With a bang, the secret room collapsed.