The Spy

Chapter 113 Signal Source
The key is how the Japanese spy notified Kong Yufa. Since he didn't make a phone call, he must have sent a signal.

It's impossible to take the risk of meeting him. The Military Intelligence Department is keeping a close eye on him. Anyone who comes into contact with him will be investigated. Apart from the school, he has never had contact with outsiders.

He has never had any abnormal behavior in school, so how did this signal come about?

It can't be the newspaper. He has been targeted and needs to be evacuated urgently. The advertisement in the newspaper has taken too long and an accident may happen at any time.

The most effective and quickest way is to draw the signal where he can see it.

The Japanese used a similar method. When in Tianjin, Kawata and Miyajima both communicated through signals on the wall.

Where is this signal located?

After so much time, does the signal still exist?

These are all questions.

Don't be afraid of problems, just solve them. When investigating a case you can't just sit in the office and daydream, daydreaming will not produce any results.

"Go out and see."

Xu Qingyun stood up. Yan Ming and Fang Laibao were still looking at the information and had a general understanding of the situation.

"Yes."

Yan Ming responded happily. Fang Laibao was driving, he and Yan Ming were in the front, and Xu Qingyun was sitting alone in the back seat.

Kong Yufa's house is a private courtyard and the house is nice.

Teachers have high salaries, so he is fully capable of buying a house, but this one is rented. Xu Qingyun understands their thinking. The Japanese are not as wealthy as imagined, and they will not waste money that can be saved.

Kong Yufa escaped in the afternoon. He went to school as usual in the morning and went home to cook at noon.

After dinner, I returned to school to work.

On the way to work, he passed by a crowded place and suddenly turned into a small alley. The people who were watching him at the time hurriedly chased after him, but when they arrived, they found that Kong Yufa had disappeared.

The alley is very short and you can turn into another street after passing it.

That street is a commercial center with a lot of people. It is easy to hide in the crowd and avoid being tracked.

Judging from his performance, this route was obviously set in advance so that he could escape in case of an emergency.

After Kong Yufa escaped, Xu Zhanjie ordered an emergency search for him, but after three consecutive days of failure to find him, he finally gave up.

Kong Yufa is a Japanese, the most unlucky landlord. The tenant ran away, but he couldn't take back the house. Without the permission of the Military Intelligence Department, the house has been sealed.

It's sealed by the police station.

Xu Qingyun entered the room and took a look. It was a mess, with many things lying around and there was nothing valuable.

"Look around here, especially in corners and high places."

Xu Qingyun whispered that Kong Yufa behaved normally in the morning when he was at work, but suddenly ran away in the afternoon. The most likely time he saw the signal was when he came back from school at noon, or on his way to work.

If he was on his way home from school, the signal location should be not far from his home, otherwise he would not have to go home to cook and then run.

The same thing happened on the way to work. He escaped halfway, and if he found a signal, it must be in the place he had passed before.

Either way, the signal must be closer to his home.

Taking the two people with him, Xu Qingyun walked slowly along the road. Yan Ming and Fang Laibao also looked at the roadside. The three of them looked together to avoid missing anything.

The area where Kong Yufa lives is considered a prosperous area, with vendors setting up stalls at every intersection.

After paying attention to these vendors, Xu Qingyun continued to look at the wall.

The distance was not far, and the three of them soon arrived at the school gate.

Nothing was discovered along the way.

Xu Qingyun looked very carefully. If something had been drawn on the corner, there would be traces left even after being cleaned. Apart from the natural dirt, there were no such traces on the wall.

Didn’t the Japanese spy notify Kong Yufa by drawing a signal?

Xu Qingyun would not put all his hopes on the idea. It was just speculation in itself, so it didn't matter even if it was wrong.

"Go again."

We just started from Kong Yufa’s house, and now we are heading in the opposite direction.

According to Xu Qingyun's previous inference, Kong Yufa was most likely to have seen the signal on his way home from get off work.

He noticed the signal, but couldn't escape immediately, so he went home to cook, confusing the surveillance personnel, and suddenly escaped when he was at work.

This time Xu Qingyun looked more carefully.

Fang Laibao was specially arranged to go to the other side to observe together. Fang Laibao was very careful and if there were any differences, he would definitely not be able to hide them from him.

"Team leader, nothing was found."

Returning to the door of Kong Yufa's house, Fang Laibao ran back from the other side of the road. He looked very carefully along the way and found no suspicious marks on the wall.

Xu Qingyun's eyebrows twitched, he didn't notice it either.

Looking up, Xu Qingyun looked at the vendors setting up stalls on the roadside.

Were they sending signals through the vendors, or were they disguising themselves as vendors?

Even if they were disguised as hawkers, it was impossible for them to have direct contact with Kong Yufa, otherwise the surveillance personnel would definitely find them and then include them in the investigation.

But what if there is one more specific vendor?

Xu Qingyun quickly shook his head. This was possible, but not very likely. After all, this was a way to notify emergency evacuations, and any possible accidents must be prevented to avoid the failure to notify people.

For example, when it rains continuously or in other bad weather, individual vendors will be more conspicuous.

If it’s not possible for hawkers, what about the shops next door?

Xu Qingyun stood at the door of Kong Yufa's house and looked at the two sides of the road again.

There was a wall in front of his house and no shops, but there was a row of shops in front. Xu Qingyun walked straight over. There were pharmacies, tailor shops, restaurants, photo studios, etc.

"Yan Ming, go ask how long these shops have been open."

Xu Qingyun suddenly said, and Yan Ming ran out immediately.

Finding out these things is his strong point, even Xu Qingyun can't compare to him.

"Team leader, I found out."

Not long after, Yan Ming returned with the store information.

"The pharmacy is an old brand, it has been open for more than ten years, the tailor shop has only been open for a year, it was a shoe store before that, the restaurant has been open for about six years, and the photo studio has been open for three years."

"Three years?"

Xu Qingyun immediately looked towards the photo studio. This time point was the same as the time when Kong Yufa lurked in Nanjing.

Xu Qingyun walked quickly to the photo studio and narrowed his eyes.

There are many photos pasted on the glass frame on the right side of the photo studio's entrance. This is a form of advertising. The people in the photos are good-looking, which naturally attracts others to take photos.

"Team leader, this photo studio is doing good business and is said to be making a lot of money." The photo studio is different from the small grain store in Pingchuan. Business here is booming. Photography is expensive in this era, so if the business is good, it will definitely make money, and a lot of money.

"Have you asked the boss about the situation?"

"I asked, and the boss is not from here. He is said to be from Shanghai, and he is a young man."

"Shanghai?"

Xu Qingyun looked at the photo studio. Photography was considered high-tech these days. People were afraid of taking photos at first. Some said that taking photos would cause one to lose their souls. They regarded cameras as magic weapons to summon souls.

"Team leader, do you suspect that the Japanese spy sent a signal to Kong Yufa through the photo studio?"

Yan Ming was very smart and asked immediately. Xu Qingyun stood there without saying anything. Fang Laibao said, "It's possible. As long as a specific photo is placed at the entrance of the photo studio, Kong Yufa will know that something happened to him. They can even use photos to issue orders. Different photos can represent different meanings."

Fang Laibao is a prison guard and has seen many similar methods over the years.

For example, some people in prison do business, selling cigarettes or other things, but they cannot say it openly, so they use knocking to tell others what new goods they have.

Knocking on the wall means cigarettes, knocking on the iron railings means food, etc. Before he joined the Military Intelligence Department, he had even seen people who could bring in opium.

Corruption is rampant in the Kuomintang. As long as you have money, there is nothing you can't do.

"Team leader, I'm going to ask about the boss's situation."

Yan Ming took the initiative to say that Fang Laibao's statement was similar to what Xu Qingyun thought, and he did suspect that there was something wrong with the photo studio.

However, there is a doubt at this time. If there is really something wrong with the photo studio and a Japanese spy is hiding there, it means that Kong Yufa is very important and he specially arranged a Japanese spy to guard him here, or is the photo studio his superior?
Offline is also possible.

"Don't ask directly, ask someone else."

Xu Qingyun finally spoke, saying that speculation needs to be verified. Speculation that has not been verified is called fantasy.

"Don't worry, I know how to ask."

Yan Ming grinned and ran out immediately. Xu Qingyun had no worries about asking him for information. If Yan Ming couldn't get the information out, he and Fang Laibao wouldn't be able to get it out either.

This time, Yan Ming took a little longer, nearly an hour to return.

There was a tea stall nearby, and Xu Qingyun and Fang Laibao were sitting there waiting for him. After he came back, Yan Ming immediately poured tea and drank it all in one gulp.

"Team leader, the photo studio is run by a couple, but they are not the real owners. The boss comes once in a while. I asked about the situation and found out that on the day Kong Yufa escaped, the boss came to the store and left at noon."

"The boss is not here usually?"

Xu Qingyun asked immediately, and Yan Ming nodded: "It is said that he only comes once every ten days or half a month. Some people also say that the boss is very rich and has opened more than one photo studio."

"Investigate the boss's details immediately, including the two people in their store."

Xu Qingyun gave the order decisively. The photo studio was already suspicious, and the owner had appeared when Kong Yufa escaped. At this time, the owner was already a considerable suspect.

"Yes."

Yan Ming and Fang Laibao replied in a low voice together, especially Yan Ming, who was very excited.

As expected of the team leader, he came here and found a new direction for the investigation in a case that had no clue at all.

If there is really something wrong with the boss, maybe we can catch the big fish.

There are only three of them in Intelligence Group 4. Xu Qingyun has no intention of reporting it before getting solid evidence.

If there is any gain from this kind of thing, it is fine to report it. If the speculation is wrong, the boss will not have any problem. However, once it is reported, it will disappoint the superiors and it will become a bad thing.

Some people are eager to show off, and like to report things that have not yet been decided to their leaders. In the end, they achieve no results and only get negative impressions. Smart people will not do such things.

Even if there are only three people, the investigation progress is still not slow.

Yan Ming mainly inquired about the boss's situation, while Fang Laibao went to check which other photo studios were related to this boss and where their addresses were. Xu Qingyun continued to track down Kong Yufa, in addition to the students, there were also their parents, and which ones were closer to Kong Yufa.

Or maybe Kong Yufa had contact with them many times.

This school is in a good location and some of its students come from well-off families, including many children of government officials.

Through the students' parents, Kong Yufa can collect intelligence or recruit the necessary moles.

The three people had clear division of labor and made rapid progress.

The first one was Fang Laibao. He had already found out that the two photo studios were opened by this boss. Fang Laibao had talked to all kinds of people. He did not go through the neighbors, but went directly to the thugs.

The thugs collect protection fees, and the photo studios have to pay them as well.

The shop assistants certainly couldn't make the decision on something like this, and the boss had to step in. Through them, it was confirmed that the other two stores and Kong Yufa's photo studio had the same owner.

Fang Laibao also found out that the photo studios were basically opened three years ago, and the difference between the opening times of the three photo studios was less than three months.

Yan Ming's life was not as smooth as before. The boss's surname was Liu, but no one knew his name. Everyone called him Boss Liu.

None of the neighbors, even the regular customers of the photo studio, knew where Boss Liu lived.

Yan Ming has not yet contacted the studio employees as he is afraid that Boss Liu will find out and alert the enemy.

"Team leader, although Boss Liu is not here, his business is doing well. He funded the photo studio and he doesn't pay his employees a fixed salary. Instead, he distributes profits, allowing his employees to earn more than they would in other places. It's like a partnership."

Fang Laibao found out the photo studio, and Yan Ming went to investigate nearby.

I found that several of the businesses were doing well and had the same model. The people in charge of the operations could get a lot of dividends, which increased their work enthusiasm.

"Team leader, I'm applying to enter the photo studio for internal investigation, starting with other photo studios."

If you want to find out the real situation, you must contact the people inside the photo studio. There are limits to what you can ask from the outside.

"Okay, but you have to be careful not to be seen as abnormal."

After thinking about it, Xu Qingyun agreed to Yan Ming's request. Since there had been no progress in the peripheral investigation, it was indeed necessary to conduct a deeper investigation.

"Don't worry, I'll pretend to be someone who wants to open a photo studio and ask."

Yan Ming can take photos and has certain photography techniques. Pretending to be a colleague to investigate, he can indeed reduce suspicion.

After Yan Ming left, Xu Qingyun was thinking.

The profit-sharing model can indeed motivate employees, and this will remain true in the future, but there is a prerequisite, which is to prevent employees from cheating.

Human nature is greedy and never satisfied. If you make one dollar today, you will want two dollars tomorrow.

Boss Liu is often not there. What if they commit fraud, create false accounts and deceive Boss Liu?
Xu Qingyun didn't think much about it. Since every store was doing so well, Boss Liu probably had his own ways to prevent this. Everything would wait until Yan Ming found out the results.

He has also made progress.

After a detailed investigation, it was discovered that Kong Yufa had given individual tutoring to eight students and had visited the homes of all of these students.

Of the eight students’ parents, five work in government departments, two are in the military, and one is a businessman.

The business is not small.

Whether it is collecting intelligence or inciting rebellion, the homes of these eight students are the most suitable places.

Rubbing his head, Xu Qingyun felt a little headache.

Zuo Jinfang and his team's special training has not yet ended, and the reinforcements from Hangzhou will have to wait another two months. The problem of insufficient manpower has always troubled him. Now he has fewer subordinates than when he was a squad leader in Tianjin, but the cases he is investigating are more important than when he was a squad leader.

(End of this chapter)