Spy Wars: Return of the Red Luan

Chapter 123 Arranging for Old Cat to Return to Northeast China

"Is it really that simple? I'm asking about the deeper purpose! You Japanese are wolves in sheep's clothing; there can't be such a simple goal! Just to open a pharmacy, you want him to give up his current military rank and status to work for you Japanese? I don't believe it!"

Zhao Yiyue's words actually make a lot of sense. If Aoki Seigen only offered the position of pharmacy manager as a condition, how could he possibly persuade Chen Lanfeng? Chen Lanfeng is a soldier, after all, with status and position. Would he really work for a Japanese person like you? You're being foolish!

At present, this single reason is indeed insufficient to explain it.

"How about we skip this question for now and ask other questions first? Maybe the answer to this question will come out later."

Zhao Yiyue was also taken aback. It seemed he couldn't ask any other questions! He suspected that Zhao Shiyu was a member of the organization and that he must have his own purpose in following the Japanese. If he asked him about it, wouldn't he ruin his plans? It might even disrupt the organization's operations in Shanghai!

"Then tell me, where did you take Chen Jiehua back then!"

"Damn it, you might as well continue with the previous question, which is even more unanswerable. Zhao Yiyue, you're really stubborn; after all these years, you're still bringing this up?"

“Back then at the graduation ceremony, if I hadn’t come up with a quick-thinking idea to save you, none of you, Zhao Yiyue, or the Chinese students from the 18th and 19th cohorts who were unaware of the truth and were incited by you, would have been able to graduate safely!”

"How about this, I reckon you won't get any substantial questions out of me. Why don't you let me leave first, and you two can chat slowly? After all, leaving my car parked outside for too long will arouse suspicion from my Japanese classmates. What do you think?"

Zhao Yiyue did not answer, his mind still replaying the scene from back then. On the stage, he was subdued by Aoki Seigen in three moves, and then, amidst the buzzing noise, he was released.

"If you don't speak, I'll take that as agreement." Chen Jiehua finished speaking and got up to leave. Zhao Yiyue watched Qingmu Qingxuan get up and leave without stopping him. Zhao Shiyu stared wide-eyed at Zhao Yiyue, then at the closed door, speechless. This is acceptable?

"You just let him go like that?"

Do you think he'll bring people to arrest me?

"I doubt it."

"That's settled then. Given his current status, there are many things I can't say to you, Comrade Zhao Shiyu!"

……

After leaving No. 23, Chen Jiehua drove straight home without any apparent concern. I'm confident in my judgment, so I feel at ease knowing they're together.

Zhao Yiyue is really strong now, and he's a member of the organization, which is something to be happy about.

It's already the end of May, and there are only 10 months left. It's time to cut ties with Gu Shunzhang. He must know about Old Cat Zhao Shiyu's existence;

Old Cat needs to cut ties as soon as possible. This period is a good time to send him back to the Northeast. His official identity is to assist the Navy in establishing the Aoki Pharmacy network, but secretly, we'll see if there's anything we can pick up.

Old Zhou was tricked into giving a few lectures to the Special Branch. Gu, being the head of the Special Branch, certainly knew of Silver Fox Zhou Yongsu's existence. Now that Old Zhou has returned to America, he won't be allowed back anytime soon, and will be tasked with managing things there. Although Mei Xu has left the Red Team, their telegram correspondence and organizational ties haven't completely severed, so he most likely knows of Mei Xu's existence!
This is really troublesome. If Mio leaves Shanghai, there's really no suitable person to take over this huge mess.

Killing him would be another problem! This guy is the head of the Special Branch. Killing him before his arrest would leave no good reason, and the traitor's name would be impossible to clear.
Killing him when he's arrested won't work either! The organization will ask, how can you be sure he'll betray us? How do you answer that?

Ideally, we should kill him within 24 hours of confirming his betrayal, which will be difficult, but that's what makes it challenging! The modified sniper rifle in the space hasn't even been used yet! We need to come up with a foolproof plan.

The only drawback is the lack of a muffler. Old Zhou can't be relied upon, so I have to find a way to get one myself first. I'll have to do it myself.

After settling Qing Tengyi and Qing Tengjiu at home, Chen Jiehua went to the secret room on the third floor to complete his daily remote telegram communication with Silver Fox Zhou Yongsu. He then returned to the second floor to communicate with Meixu about recent important news.

The following morning, Chen Jiehua met the energetic old cat Zhao Shiyu at the main pharmacy store as agreed.

"Zhao Jun, you and Yi Hui will hand over the work here. You will have a new mission and will be leaving Shanghai for a while."

In fact, Zhao Shiyu has recently been either teaching students at the East Asia Tongwen Academy or inspecting various pharmacies. He also just returned from an inspection trip to Nanjing a while ago, so there's nothing for him to hand over.

After Zhao Shiyu got into the car, Chen Jiehua said seriously while driving, "Old Zhao, I have reliable intelligence from Tokyo that the Japanese Kwantung Army may be planning a major operation soon, but the specific time and what it will be are still unclear."

“You are more familiar with the Northeast, and I don’t trust anyone else to handle this, so I need you to go to the Northeast and get this information sorted out.”

"The public identity I've arranged for you is the president of the Manchurian branch of Aoki Chain Pharmacy Co., Ltd., but you also have a clandestine identity: a naval special envoy serving the Imperial Japanese Navy."

Old Cat Zhao Shiyu was surprised, "You're pretty amazing, aren't you? You went back to Japan and got involved with the navy? You're undermining the Kwantung Army?"

"You understand. The Japanese Navy's identity is to protect your true identity. You only need to obey the leadership of Colonel Masao Shibayama, the commander of the Marine Corps. As long as you do not violate the morality of being Chinese, or the organizational principles and discipline, you can listen to him. Of course, I will keep an eye on things secretly and will not let him stray too far."

"What you need to do is try your best to remove the tissue markings from your body. Did you have a pleasant chat with Comrade Zhao Yiyue last night? He should have reminded you of that, right?"

"It seems like nothing can be hidden from you, and everything is under your calculation. Since you're so capable, how did you manage to get him under your control last night?"

“If I said I did it on purpose, would you believe me? I had already figured out that he was a member of the organization. If I didn’t show weakness, he wouldn’t be able to lower his guard and have a heart-to-heart talk with you so easily.”

"I don't believe you for a second. He said he spotted you hiding in that dark spot when his rickshaw passed by, and then he came in through another door and observed you from the shadows for half a minute, but you didn't react at all!"

Damn, I can't hold back anymore! I'll definitely teach Zhao Yiyue a lesson next time!
"Alright, whatever you say, I won't argue with you. Let's continue discussing your arrangements and precautions for going to Manchuria in Northeast China."

"Once you get there, the most important thing to pay attention to is to be especially vigilant about the existence of the Doi-Yuan Agency. Doi-Yuan is currently the most powerful spy chief in Japan, and you should never underestimate him!"

(End of this chapter)