The Spy

Chapter 13 Determining Identity
There was still snow on the side of the road. Mr. Kang had just walked by, leaving clear and complete footprints.

It was not the print of leather shoes, but of cloth shoes. However, Xu Qingyun could tell at a glance that this footprint was very different from the one he had seen in the newspaper office before, and the two were definitely not from the same person.

The shoe store owner gave him wrong information?
The possibility is very low. After all, he asked about "Mr. Kang" here. There is indeed such a person. He saw the shoe pattern of the footprints in front of the newspaper office in the shoe store, and he can judge that the shoe pattern belongs to the same person.

Did something unexpected happen, or are there two Mr. Kangs living here?

This possibility is also not high. The surname Kang is not common. If there are really two people, the restaurant owner should ask him which one he is looking for.

Xu Qingyun didn’t know the real situation for the time being. At this moment, he was somewhat relieved that there were only three of them and they did not arrest anyone rashly.

Otherwise, if you catch the wrong person, you might alert the enemy.

"Squad leader, what's wrong?"

Yi Sheng and Zheng Jiming saw Xu Qingyun squatting there and did not continue to follow him, so they hurried over.

Xu Qingyun looked up and immediately ordered, "Jiming, you continue to monitor, and be careful. Don't be afraid if you lose him, but remember not to let him find you."

We still have to follow 'Mr. Kang', but that is no longer the most important thing. Now that we know his approximate address, we can find him no matter what as long as we are not discovered.

At this moment Xu Qingyun must figure out where the deviation occurred.

Xu Qingyun, who has cooperated with the police in solving cases many times, knows very well that once the direction of the investigation is wrong, the result will be counterproductive, futile, a waste of time and even the opposite effect.

"Yes, squad leader."

Zheng Jiming followed alone. He had been a policeman for many years and had some experience. He hated the Japanese the most and knew that the other party might be a Japanese spy, so he would be more serious.

Xu Qingyun lowered his head, took out the camera he was carrying, and took a picture of the footprints on the ground.

Only the brigade in the police station has cameras. Xu Qingshi supported him a lot in this investigation. He provided him with cameras, binoculars, bicycles, etc. As long as it could help solve the case, he would give him whatever he asked for.

After taking the photos, Xu Qingyun stood up and walked towards the restaurant.

In order to find out what went wrong, we must first figure out who this 'Mr. Kang' we are tracking is.

After paying for a pack of cigarettes, Xu Qingyun left again.

He just confirmed one thing, there was only one Mr. Kang nearby, the man who just passed by, and he lived in the seventh household in the alley next to him.

Mr. Kang is an elementary school teacher, and his story is similar to what the newspaper people said.

This is an old restaurant. According to the owner, Mr. Kang is a local and grew up here since he was a child, so his identity cannot be fake.

At the same time, the shopkeeper confirmed that a shoe store had indeed called him several times, and it was he who called.

"Yi Sheng, stay here and wait for our people. I'll go in and take a look."

Leaving Yi Sheng behind, Xu Qingyun went into the alley alone.

The alley is not big, with many houses inside. There is a row of thin bluestone slabs on the ground, and a dirt road next to it. Because of the wet snow, there are many messy footprints left behind.

There are all kinds of footprints, including adults, men and women.

Xu Qingyun walked slowly and soon stopped. He saw 'Mr. Kang's footprints'. There was no need to take a picture of this footprint. Judging from the freshness of the footprints, it could be judged that they were left by him just after he went out.

Continuing walking, when he reached the fifth household, Xu Qingyun was slightly startled and immediately squatted down.

There was a complete footprint at the door, made by leather shoes, and it was exactly the same as the half footprint outside the newspaper office, and clearer than the one at the newspaper office.

Judging from the traces, the footprints were not left for long either, at most two hours.

There were more than one footprints, one from each foot, pointing outwards, indicating that he lived in the fifth household and had left the house within two hours.

He went out, but there was no sign of his return.

His investigation direction was correct. The person who went to the newspaper office was indeed here. He must have some relationship with Mr. Kang. After taking the photo, Xu Qingyun walked out immediately.

"Brother Qingyun."

Back at the entrance of the alley, Zuo Jinfang and his men arrived, and Xu Qingyun now had enough manpower.

"Jin Fang, go to the police station in this area right away and get the information of all the residents in the nearby alleys. Ask for it in the name of tracking down wanted criminals. Don't let them know what we are investigating."

These alleys belong to the jurisdiction of the Second Brigade and are not under the jurisdiction of Xu Qingshi, so there is no need for him to show up.

"I'll go right away."

Jin Fangqi and an old policeman each rode away on a bicycle. As soon as he arrived here, he ran out without stopping.

Xu Qingshi took the others to another small restaurant nearby, where they sat and stared at the alley.

"Team leader, have some tea."

Yi Sheng poured Xu Qingyun a cup of good tea. Xu Qingyun held the cup and thought quickly in his mind.

What is the relationship between Mr. Kang and the person who went to the newspaper office? Why was he the one who was notified when the person who went to the newspaper office ordered custom shoes?

There must be a connection here. He would not act rashly before finding out the identity of the person who went to the newspaper.

Japanese spies are not ordinary criminals, especially this time we are dealing with a Japanese spy from the Intelligence Department.

They have received professional training and have very strong anti-reconnaissance capabilities.

An idea suddenly flashed through Xu Qingyun’s mind: anti-reconnaissance capability?

He looked up at the entrance of the alley and roughly guessed what was going on, but there was no rush now. Everything had to wait until Zuo Jinfang got the information back.

If his guess was correct, then the person who went to the newspaper office must be a Japanese spy, and not like Hua Tong who was used by the Japanese spy to help out, otherwise there would not be so much trouble.

Zuo Jinfang came back very quickly. The police station in this area was not far away, and the people Zuo Jinfang brought with him were acquainted with the people here, so they easily got the required information.

"Brother Qingyun, they said that we should send it to them after we finish reading it. If it weren't for you, they wouldn't lend it out."

The people in the second team had also heard of Xu Qingyun. They should give face to Xu Qingyun, as his brother is the captain of the first team, so they should give him face.

"Give me."

Xu Qingyun nodded. The purpose of requesting more alleys was to expand the scope and avoid being noticed by real Japanese spies.

He didn't look at other information and only looked at the alley he needed.

He immediately found the information of the fifth household.

Gao Benyi, 35 years old, 1.65 meters tall, is a teacher at Jinhai Primary School. He came here alone from Northeast China four years ago and his ancestral home is in Shandong.

Xu Qingyun immediately found out the information about Mr. Kang’s family.

Kang Ling, 33 years old, is a teacher at Jinhai Primary School. He is married with three children, and his wife is at home and does not have a job.

"How cunning."

Xu Qingyun's eyes flashed coldly. He took out his camera and took detailed photos of Gao Benyi and Kang Ling's families, including their photos.

He was now certain that Gao Benyi was the Japanese spy. It was he who went to the newspaper to publish the missing person notice, and then someone else went to contact Hu Qi.

Similarly, he was the one who went to the shoe store to make shoes. He left his phone number, but he deliberately left the name of his neighbor and colleague to prevent anyone from finding him through this. If he had not been well versed in tracking, he would have discovered that Kang Ling was not the one who went to the newspaper office. If he had arrested him rashly, he would have known it immediately.

I didn’t mean to stop there yesterday. I just happened to be writing there. I apologize for adding one more chapter today.

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(End of this chapter)