The Spy

Chapter 130 Find One

"Team leader, you are awesome."

Fang Laibao gave a thumbs up and flattered him calmly. He was not aware of Xu Qingyun's ability to read footprints before. It was only after following Xu Qingyun to solve a case that he realized that the team leader had this unique skill of reading footprints.

“In fact, there is a lot more that can be seen.”

Xu Qingyun chuckled and said that there were indeed some things he didn't say, such as age, weight, etc. After that, Xu Qingyun continued to check the footprints. Finding the Japanese spy was the most important task at the moment.

Unfortunately, there was still no harvest this time.

However, Yan Ming and Zuo Jinfang had made considerable gains. The two groups inquired around the city in batches. Nanjing is the capital and has all kinds of talents. If they cannot find them here, Xu Qingyun plans to send a few people to Shanghai to look for them.

I will hire him with a high salary to find such a person.

This time they were lucky, Zuo Jinfang and Yan Ming found a total of five people.

Three are Chinese, one is Italian, and one is American.

All five of them could sketch portraits, and Yan Ming had seen their drawings before bringing them back.

But there is a prerequisite for the five people to paint, which is to paint facing people.

Simply put, they need a reference, at least someone or something they have seen, otherwise they don’t know how to draw.

The sketch profile had not appeared yet, and Xu Qingyun had no choice but to test them one by one to see who could draw a portrait based on the description.

Xu Qingyun himself doesn't know how to do it, but he has seen profilers ask about it.

Know what questions to ask.

When drawing, you have to draw several identical organs each time, and finally combine them so that people can judge whether it is someone they have seen before.

Xu Qingyun didn't need the portrait they drew to be almost exactly the same as in later generations. As long as they could draw it about 70% like, he would be able to tell whether it was the person they were looking for by the footprints.

The portrait helps narrow the scope of the investigation and facilitates future investigations.

"Sir, I can't do your job. I don't understand what you are saying. I can't draw it."

At the beginning of the test, the first painter complained to Xu Qingyun. Xu Qingyun, according to later sayings, asked him to try to draw the eyes first, but he couldn't even draw the eyes.

I told him several times, but he just couldn't get it to work.

The things that were forcibly drawn were completely different from what Xu Qingyun said.

"You go back first."

Sighing, Xu Qingyun asked someone to give him a dollar as a reward so that his trip would not be in vain.

The painter thanked him repeatedly and left with the money, satisfied.

He was very satisfied with the fact that he earned a dollar by running errands.

The second person is a little stronger than the previous one, but only to a limited extent.

Xu Qingyun asked the painter to draw Xu Erxi, but the result was that neither the eyes, nose, nor the mouth looked like him. Even the organs were not alike, and the person drawn was even less likely to look alike. They looked like two completely different people.

The third person to be tested was an Italian. He could draw, but his Chinese was not good and he could not understand what Xu Qingyun said, so he finally gave up.

The fourth one is an American. He speaks good Chinese and you can tell at a glance that he has been in China for many years. He can also understand a lot of what Xu Qingyun meant.

It was really incomprehensible, so Xu Qingyun explained it to him in English.

Anyway, as long as we can communicate well, that's fine.

What Xu Qingyun didn't expect was that his painting was actually very similar. The final product had a similarity of more than 70%, but still less than 80%.

However, Xu Qingyun's description is not as professional as that of the profiler. He can only do about 70% to 80% of it now. With more cooperation, maybe he can draw it more like the real thing in the future.

An American named John Hicks ran a gallery in Nanjing. His business was neither good nor bad. After being found, he heard that he would be selected and would receive a high reward in the future, so he came here.

"Mr. Hicks, please wait a moment."

Xu Qingyun did not make a decision immediately. He tried the last person first.

The last person was a Chinese. His painting was better than the previous ones, but at most it was only 40% to 50% likeness, far inferior to Hicks.

"Mr. Hicks, I want you to help the Military Intelligence Department with portraits in the future. It won't take up your time. I can pay you two dollars for each portrait you draw."

Two dollars is not a small amount of money. There was a painter who just came by and was painting portraits for people on the roadside. He only made two or three cents for a painting. He would have to paint nearly ten paintings to earn two dollars.

"No, two dollars is too little, not commensurate with the value of my labor."

Hicks immediately shook his head with a cunning look in his eyes.

"How many do you want?"

Considering that he was an American and that he was not often asked to paint portraits, Xu Qingyun simply asked him for his price.

Hicks held out a hand.

"Five dollars?"

The price was not low, but it was not unacceptable. He did not have to pay for the portrait, as the department would reimburse him.

Nowadays, if a good painter goes to your home to paint a portrait, it will cost about the same price, and sometimes even higher.

"No, it's five dollars."

Hicks shook his head again. Five dollars, more than ten dollars, this American is a bit shady.

It's not just a one-time drawing. This time you need to draw three people, which is equivalent to paying him fifteen dollars.

Nearly forty dollars.

Xu Qingyun frowned slightly, but Hicks explained that he had drawn sketches for people in galleries and the price was this high. He would not sell his labor for a price lower than this.

"Okay, five dollars a picture, but I have to be satisfied."

Xu Qingyun didn't argue with him about the price. Five dollars was a bit high, but at least it was within an acceptable range. If it was fifty dollars, Xu Qingyun would tell him to get out of here as far as possible.

"No problem, don't worry, I will definitely satisfy you with what I draw."

Hicks said confidently that he was indeed confident in his painting skills.

If the gallery business had not been doing so well, he would not have become a painter. He has his own pride.

However, he still deceived Xu Qingyun. He painted portraits for people in the gallery and even painted at people's homes, but the price was not five dollars, but five yuan. This was because he was a foreigner.

When Hicks saw that it was a public institution, he deliberately offered a high price, but he didn't expect it to work.

"We'll go get the portrait now."

Xu Qingyun didn't want to waste time. So much time had passed that the boss might have forgotten what the Japanese spy looked like. Fortunately, there were a few places he could ask. At worst, he could just ask Hicks to draw a few more pictures.

When they arrived at the first place, Hicks set up the easel and Xu Qingyun took the initiative to ask questions. The boss could not express professional vocabulary like him, and did not speak English, so he could not communicate with Hicks in English.

It took Hicks a full hour to finish the first painting, which was slower than before.

He also complained that if it was so difficult to know, it should cost ten dollars.

After being warned by Xu Qingyun, he finally stopped mentioning the issue of adding money.

Xu Qingyun told him that the maximum amount was five dollars, and the painting had to be good. If not, he would be asked to go back and look for one in Shanghai himself.

There are more people and painters in Shanghai, especially foreign painters, which are definitely much more than in Nanjing. Xu Qingyun believes that their prices will be cheaper.

Hicks understood the situation and decided to quit while he was ahead without any complaints.

"It's a bit similar, but not very similar. It doesn't seem right here."

The boss kept shaking his head at the portrait, and Xu Qingyun asked Hicks to make some modifications. After more than half an hour, the boss finally said that it was more like the portrait now than before.

After finishing the painting at the first house, Xu Qingyun immediately took him to the second one.

In one afternoon, I only painted two houses.

The speed is indeed a bit slow.

"I'll continue painting tomorrow."

It's getting dark, not suitable for portrait. "Mr. Xu, the reward."

Hicks smiled and stretched out his hand. He had said before that he would be paid for the portrait.

"give him."

Yan Ming took out his purse and counted out twenty-five dollars. At this time, ten US dollars could be exchanged for this much.

"Thank you, boss. See you tomorrow."

After taking the heavy dollar, Hicks checked it carefully and finally nodded with satisfaction.

Twenty-five dollars for two portraits was indeed a lot, and it was free money. Normally, his gallery would earn less than a hundred dollars a month.

Unless you meet a fool who doesn't understand, you can fool him a little more.

Hicks went back, but Xu Qingyun did not go home immediately. He took Yan Ming and went to the place where the Japanese spy had called to inquire again.

The boss confirmed that the portrait was quite similar, but he could not confirm whether it was that person.

After all, the portrait does not show the entire face, with the scarf covering the chin area.

"Take photos immediately, enlarge them and develop several more. Two teams will conduct a secret investigation tomorrow. Find low-level police officers and thugs and ask them to keep it strictly confidential. Anyone who lets the secret slip and lets the person escape will be shot immediately."

Xu Qingyun did not go home, but went directly back to the Military Intelligence Department and gave orders to Yan Ming.

Tomorrow, the two groups will first look for people based on the portraits, and find all those who look like the portraits.

There is a reward for finding it, and if anyone tells others about it, they will shoot you.

These little hooligans and low-level patrol officers know what to do.

"Yes, team leader, I'll go wash now."

He can develop the photos himself. It’s not a difficult task if he just enlarges a few more. After developing the photos, he can arrange the work tomorrow.

But the team leader is smart. He actually came up with this way to find Japanese spies. It is indeed much more convenient than blindly searching. He only needs to verify people who look similar.

As long as you find the person, it's a great achievement.

A few dozen dollars is nothing.

Early the next morning, Yan Ming issued the mission and all members of the two teams were dispatched.

There are also bounties for thugs and low-level police officers. If they find someone who looks like the photo, they will be given a dollar.

But if someone uses someone who doesn't look like them to defraud money, then no matter who is behind them, they will be in trouble.

This is the price set by Xu Qingyun. There won't be too many people who look similar in each area. At most there will be a few dozen or so, so it won't cost much.

Not to mention this, even if it costs a thousand dollars, it's still worth it as long as we can find the person.

Japanese observers are valuable because they know where the Japanese spies are hiding.

By investigating the area, we can find out the Japanese spies.

It is equivalent to finding an observer and several Japanese spies at the same time. It is a very good deal.

Hicks went to paint the last picture, this time finishing it a little faster than yesterday.

After taking the remuneration again, he generously said that if there was such a job, he could be contacted again, and he was very satisfied with this cooperation.

Three paintings, more than thirty dollars, how could he not be satisfied?
It would take him ten days to earn that much from the items he sells in his gallery.

"Team leader, we found someone."

In the afternoon, Yan Ming came to report the good news. One dollar per person was already a lot of money. The gangsters and the police were very active and immediately reported the people they knew who looked like the person in the photo.

In just one morning, they asked six questions.

Yan Ming has already gone to see the three, and they do resemble the photos to a certain extent, so he is not trying to deceive them or defraud the reward.

The police know that the Military Intelligence Department is powerful, so they dare not lie. The gangsters know that the police are honest and obedient, so they dare not lie to them.

Once you get the money by scamming others, you will have no time to spend it.

"Three verified?"

After Yan Ming finished his report, Xu Qingyun immediately asked, Yan Ming nodded and took out a dozen photos.

“These three found people, and I personally took photos of where they walked.”

Yan Ming knew what his team leader was good at, so he could tell whether the person they were looking for by looking at the photos without having to go to the scene.

Xu Qingyun took the photos and looked at them carefully one by one.

None of the three.

"Continue to verify. There is no need to question these three people anymore."

These are all photos of footprints taken by Yan Ming while following behind. Yan Ming can confirm that they belong to them, and he took more than one photo to prevent mistakes.

The three of them were not, and Xu Qingyun was not disappointed at all. If he could encounter this kind of luck-based thing at the first opportunity every time, it would be truly against the will of heaven.

"Yes, team leader."

Yan Ming left and took his men to continue verifying the people they found. Nine more people were reported in the afternoon. Yan Ming and Zuo Jinfang quickly verified eight of them together.

The photos of the eight people's footprints were sent to Xu Qingyun.

When he turned to the seventh photo, Xu Qingyun's eyes suddenly lit up, and he immediately took out the photos he had taken after the phone call and put them together for comparison.

Yes, it's him.

The person who was walking and making a phone call among the three observers, who Xu Qingyun had spent three days trying to find without success, has now been found.

This person didn't live in the area he was looking for, but it wasn't too far away.

"Yan Ming, monitor this person immediately and find out all his circumstances."

Xu Qingyun gave the order, Yan Ming was slightly startled, and immediately understood that they really found the person using this method.

"Yes, team leader."

Soon, Japanese spy materials were continuously gathered in front of Xu Qingyun's desk.

The Japanese spy's alias is Liao Wenting, he is 30 years old and currently runs a small rickshaw company.

Like Liu Qiaosheng, he is a businessman.

Their family has only a few rickshaws, just over a hundred, and their territory is not very large either. He has to pay a lot of protection fees for this territory.

If you want to run a rickshaw company, you need connections.

It doesn’t matter. Your car won’t be able to run at all, and if it runs out, it will be smashed by someone.

Don't even think about reasoning these days.

Liao Wenting was in his small company at this time. Yan Ming had already brought people to keep an eye on him. From other people, he learned that Liao Wenting came to Nanjing five years ago. He started out as an accountant in this rickshaw company, but half a year later, the original boss got into trouble, so he bought the company.

Xu Qingyun knew without any guessing that the so-called boss's accident must be a Japanese conspiracy, in order to hand over the rickshaw company to Japanese spies for operation.

Emergency messages can indeed be sent using rickshaws.

For example, Liao Wenting has absolute authority to arrange where their vehicles should wait.

Or post different ads.

There are many methods. What Xu Qingyun needs to do now is to find out the specific method he used, lock down the area where the Japanese spies are lurking, and then conduct an investigation.

If nothing can be found out, just arrest the person and interrogate him until he confesses. The same applies.

The biggest gain from finding Liao Wenting is that this method is effective. If we can find one, there is hope of finding the other two Japanese spy observers.

Xu Qingyun was very patient and not anxious at all.

Guaranteed first chapter.

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(End of this chapter)