Spy Wars: Red Shopkeeper

Chapter 126 Arresting people
"Both of them look good."

The villas here are not uniform buildings; they are diverse in style, mainly Japanese and European, and each villa looks different from the others.

Fu Xiao'an's house was a two-story Japanese-style building, while Ling Xianwen's own was a three-story European-style building.

The design is exquisite, comparable to the top-tier villas in the former concessions.

Coupled with the tranquil surrounding environment, the living experience is much better than that of the municipal government's dormitories.

Having a house means you can hire a housekeeper to cook, and you won't have to eat the moldy rice and pickled vegetable meals from the cafeteria anymore. Gu Yansheng only has these simple needs.

We definitely won't choose the Japanese style; the remaining option is to select one European style building.

Take a stroll, wander around, and chat.

"Let's go with this one." Gu Yansheng chose a three-story European-style building, just like Ling Xianwen's.

I didn't look at it closely. I just thought it looked nice and I liked it. Ling Xianwen was with me. I couldn't take him out for hours.

As long as the basic needs are met, everything else is about the same.

"Great, you have good taste. I liked this house when I first saw it; the garden is especially large," Ling Xianwen praised.

"Secretary-General, why did Fu Xiao'an build a two-story Japanese-style house back then?" Gu Yansheng asked curiously.

Ling Xianwen scoffed: "Probably to cater to the Japanese. They think choosing a Japanese style would make it more intimate for Japanese people to discuss business at their home. Did you see the trees in his yard just now? They're all cherry blossom trees, specially brought in."

"I see," Gu Yansheng nodded, then inquired about the surrounding area, "Isn't it noisy living here? Isn't there a Japanese military camp next door? Do they conduct training exercises or something?"

"It won't be noisy. The military camp is quite a distance away, they won't be able to hear you."

Ling Xianwen explained, "This is the core area. There's another ring of municipal government bureau chiefs and deputy bureau chiefs living on the outer perimeter, as well as some Japanese army lieutenants. Their houses block the sound, so it's long gone before it reaches us."

The soldiers patrol all day long. Our area is the core, so they pass through it more often, making it safer.

However, you can't rely solely on them while staying here; you still need to take care of your own security.

"We've arranged for guards everywhere. Even if the Military Intelligence Bureau manages to infiltrate, and the military police patrol doesn't notice, the moment your guards fire, the army will be there within minutes. An assassination attempt here is impossible."

"Okay, I'll find some people to come over later."

After completing the formalities and getting the keys, Gu Yansheng and Ling Xianwen went back to their office to work. The house had been vacant for so long, they definitely needed to find someone to clean it up, otherwise they would be turned away.

Give the key to Liu Xiaolou and ask her to go to the market and find some people to help clean up the place first.

As for the people who will be using the villa for a long time, such as cooks and cleaners, Gu Yansheng plans to use ordinary people, as long as the house is normal.

As for security guards, it's not easy to find someone for that purpose right now.

The person needed to know a bit about martial arts and have a clean background. If they were chosen someone who had served in the Chinese army, and the Japanese found out, it would be impossible to explain themselves.

After much thought, it seems that only gang members are an option.

Since that's the case, Gu Yansheng called Gu Zhuxuan and asked him for some people so that it would be easier to ask him for help in the future.

Meanwhile, at the intelligence headquarters.

Time was passing by, and it was impossible for Li Shiqun to tell Ding Mocun that there was no rush. No one dared to ignore the threat posed by Yingzuo.

The sudden appearance of a clue from the waiter was a godsend.

As long as we find the waiter, we can definitely dig up information about the Military Intelligence Bureau.

Even if they can't recruit the Military Intelligence Bureau, using this person to appease Yingzuo is enough; at least he won't be executed immediately.

Yesterday, after trying every possible means to find this family, they finally spent money to buy the family's boarding ticket information from the shipping company in the concession. They were quite excited at the time and specifically reported this matter to the military police to intercept them.

However, when they stopped the boat for inspection, they discovered that the person had not boarded the boat at all.

Wu Sibao rushed in to report.

"Brother, we couldn't find them. It's like that waiter and his family disappeared in Shanghai. I asked around at all the hotels in the concession, and there's no one with such a large family staying there. Damn it, I don't know where those bastards are hiding."

"If they didn't board the ship, they must still be in Shanghai. Have you searched carefully?" Li Shiqun asked, frowning.

Ding Mocun was also anxious and said, "Could it be that they live separately? You're looking for that child; children are conspicuous."

"It's hard to find."

Wu Sibao spoke frankly, "It's fine to bribe the hotel staff in the concession to check if any families are staying together, but if they are separated and the Military Intelligence Bureau helps them register their addresses, and the list doesn't match, then I can't possibly knock on each door to verify, the hotel staff won't allow it."

Who registers the children's information?

Ding Mochun frowned and tapped the table. "So what do we do now? We haven't found the person, and the hospital says they don't treat people with gunshot wounds. All the leads have gone cold? Are we just waiting for Yingzuo to come and question us? Are we just supposed to wait to die if we can't find them?"

The room fell silent for a moment.

Li Shiqun took a deep breath with a grim face: "Waiting to die is not an option. If we can't find them, then we'll find someone else. Director Ding, I'll send someone to arrest Du Yuesheng's butler, Wan Molin. You send someone to arrest the people from the Bank of China. I don't believe that these two groups have nothing to do with Chongqing."

Ding Mocun's heart skipped a beat, and he stared at Li Shiqun, saying, "Are you sure? Doing this would seriously offend Chongqing."

Both groups have problems, and they're well aware of it. But one must be careful in their actions. Who is Wan Molin? Du Yuesheng's chief steward!

Du Yuesheng was a friend of Chiang Kai-shek and a guest of Dai Mubai. To put it more bluntly, a large portion of Du Yuesheng's business profits in Shanghai likely went into the pockets of these two men.

Those who provoke them will face retaliation.

This isn't like killing a few low-ranking Kuomintang agents; they can just be killed and that's it. The people in Chongqing won't care.

If you touch even a penny of their money, it will truly hurt them to the core.

The Bank of China, needless to say, was a bank in Chongqing. If it hadn't moved into the foreign concessions, it would have been wiped out long ago.

"Do you have any other ideas?" Li Shiqun gave him a look.

This was truly the only option left. Ding Mocun slammed his hand on the table and stood up. "Let's do it this way!"

Evening, the French Concession.

Wan Molin came out of the teahouse after drinking tea.

The people at the intelligence headquarters acted swiftly.

Wan Molin was surrounded by bodyguards. When someone showed disrespect to Master Wan, they immediately drew their guns and opened fire. A fierce gunfight ensued, but the Special Agent Headquarters was prepared and managed to capture Wan Molin despite the bodyguards' protection!
Furthermore, they simultaneously targeted Wan Molin's confidants throughout the concessions, arresting several of Du Yuesheng's subordinates who were in charge of his business.

And in the International Settlement, at the entrance of the Bank of China.

Just as the employees were about to leave work, more than a dozen cars suddenly pulled up at the entrance, and dozens of agents rushed into the bank, killing the guards and beating the employees.

After forcing the person in charge to reveal their office address, several squads strode upstairs, stormed into the upper-level offices, forcibly dragged the person out, and prepared to force them into a car.

However, the interrogation here and the time spent going downstairs took too long. When the patrol officers arrived, they immediately shouted at them not to make the arrest.

The patrol officer leading the team today was a hardliner who, despite pressure from the intelligence headquarters, refused to allow any arrests.

He pointed to his chest and said, "Go ahead and shoot! Let's see who of you gets out of here today!"
"Go make a call and seal off all the entrances to the concession! Do you think this is your home? You can arrest whoever you want? Arresting ordinary people too, this is outrageous!"

With someone taking the lead, the Bank of China employees who had been beaten also came out to shout in support.

As more people shouted, those on the roadside joined in, criticizing their outrageous behavior.

The tough stance caused the intelligence headquarters to halt its operations.

They didn't dare kill the patrol officer yet, fearing things would escalate, so they chose to let him go.

The news quickly spread throughout the concession, causing great alarm among the residents.

It's one thing for the Special Agent Headquarters to target the Military Intelligence Bureau, but for example, the Military Intelligence Bureau's Shanghai district chief in the International Settlement—they could fight to the death, which was understandable.

But the fact that they arrested Wan Molin, a well-known figure in the concession, and employees of the Bank of China in broad daylight was beyond everyone's imagination.

The Secret Service headquarters has begun to disregard the laws of the concession!
If we can capture Wan Molin, then one day we can capture them without any scruples!

The news quickly reached Gu Yansheng's ears.

Ding-ling-ling. Ding-ling-ling.

Liu San called, "Director Gu, I need to ask you to come down here again. I have something to bring you."

Gu Yansheng thought it was something else, but then Chen Mo popped out from the back seat of the car.

"What's wrong? Why are you sneaking around?"

Chen Mo's expression was not good. "The people from the Special Agent Headquarters have arrested Mr. Wan."

"Which Mr. Wan?"

"Wan Molin, the chief steward of Master Du Yuesheng! The head of the Military Intelligence Bureau's transportation line in Shanghai!"

Gu Yansheng frowned immediately: "He knows you?"

“I know, he and I are both Du’s men. In fact, he is of a higher status than me. Many of the Kuomintang agents infiltrated Shanghai through his connections. I also estimate that many people got into the Shanghai district through his connections during this reconstruction.”

"Without his shipping company in the foreign concessions, how easy would it have been to transport firearms, ammunition, and radios into Shanghai?"

No wonder you had to be so secretive. Gu Yansheng said, "I was wondering why you're seeing me through Liu Sanxian. Don't panic, he's Du Yuesheng's chief steward. Now that Du Yuesheng has left Shanghai, it means that all of Du Yuesheng's businesses are under Wan Molin's control?"

"Yes, Mr. Du is currently in Chongqing, while he is in Shanghai handling business and transportation matters."

Gu Yansheng thought for a moment and said, "Would the Green Gang disciples give him face?"

"Sell it, definitely sell it!" Chen Mo said with certainty: "He is the head butler. When Master Du was still in Shanghai, he was the one who handled most of the affairs. After leaving Shanghai, he handed the business over to him. You can tell how much Master Du trusts him. If the subordinates are not convinced, they definitely won't be able to handle the situation."

Gu Yansheng nodded thoughtfully: "I understand. Don't worry, send a telegram to Chongqing to inform them. They should then notify everyone on Wan Molin's line."

Then you go to Sassoon's place, rent a room, and hide there for a few days. I'll find an opportunity to make contact about this matter and confirm Wan Molin's testimony. If he betrays us, you should prepare to leave Shanghai.

(End of this chapter)