Spy game? Stop guessing, I really am an undercover agent!

Chapter 272 The enemy of my enemy is my friend
"Isn't it just Kazuo Takaji? What? Haruki-kun is scared?"

Chen Yang stared at Qing Qiqingyin and slowly said, "He is a colonel, and you are also a colonel. Shanghai is still the territory of the Mei Agency. How can you be afraid of an outsider?"

"Haruki-kun, what's wrong? You can't lift a sword anymore, or have you lost your courage?"

Qingqi Qingyin blushed and after a long while timidly explained, "Chen Sang, you may not know much about Colonel Kazuchi."

"When I was an advisor in the Imperial Inspectorate, he was already a colonel."

"You should be very familiar with the four major intelligence agencies in China: Plum, Orchid, Bamboo, and Chrysanthemum. They are second to none in terms of ability and courage. The other agency leaders are not far behind. Colonel Shibayama of the Bamboo Agency came from the most unpopular supply corps in the army infantry."

"It was precisely because of this background that he faced a lot of discrimination on his path to promotion, so in order to regain his self-esteem, he always presented himself as very tough to outsiders,"

"In stark contrast to Colonel Chiyo, his path to promotion was remarkably smooth."

"After graduating from the Army Officer Academy, he was sent to Europe for special intelligence training,"

"It can be said that Colonel Kazutaka II received systematic training primarily focused on intelligence work from the very beginning,"

"Now, both his resume and his work ability are superior to mine."

After a long silence, Qingqi Qingyin finally said in a low voice, "Excellent."

“Outstanding? Who said that?” Chen Yang looked at Qing Qiqingyin and smiled. “There are plenty of outstanding people in the world, but why haven’t they succeeded?”

"Mr. Qingqi, let me tell you, in this world, choice is always more important than effort."

“That’s right, Kazuyoji is very strong, but unfortunately, he doesn’t have your luck, Haruki-kun.”

"His partner is a fool like Nan Tian, ​​while your partner is me. Based on that alone, he's bound to lose and will never be able to establish himself in the Shanghai market."

Qing Qiqingyin felt a surge of warmth in his chest upon hearing this, and a glimmer of light appeared in his eyes. He bowed slightly and asked, "Chen Sang, what do I need to do next?"

“Haruki-kun, Kazuyoshi has already given you a warning. Now you should learn to fight back,” Chen Yang said seriously. “You need to learn to be tough like them and let them know whose territory this is.”

"Whatever choice you make, I will help you..."

Qingqi Qingyin bowed slightly and said, "Hi, Mr. Chen, I know what to do."

Inside the Shanghai Command Center of the Mei Agency, the atmosphere was oppressive, as if filled with lead. Deputy Chief Qingqi Qingyin stood before a huge map of Shanghai, the heavy marks left by his red and blue pencils forming a stark urban planning diagram.

His face was colder than usual, and his hawk-like eyes burned with barely suppressed rage.

Chen Yang's words gave him the confidence to confront and confront Ying Er!
On that day, He Zhiying forcibly took Dai Xingbing and Wu Gengshu away from No. 76 under the name of the Lan Agency.

This was not only a slap in the face to No. 76, but also a resounding slap to Mei Jiguan and to Qing Qiqingyin's face!
The overreach of the Lan Agency, the knife handed to them by Yoko Minamida of the Special Higher Police, and the covetousness and desire for control over intelligence affairs in Central China revealed by these actions all made Haruki feel an unprecedented and deadly threat.

After receiving information that Mr. Wang had arrived in Shanghai, Yingzu instructed her to ensure the stability of Shanghai.

But He Zhiying's actions right from the start put him in an awkward position!

This incident has a very serious impact on his status, the Mei Agency's dominance in Shanghai, and Kageyama Yoshiaki's plans.

Worse still, after Dai Xingbing was taken to the Lan Agency's secret base, he seemed to disappear without a trace. The Lan Agency, citing "in-depth interrogation to uncover upper-level moles," refused to disclose any progress of the interrogation to the Mei Agency.

The scattered rumors coming from Major Ando of the Special Higher Police were chilling. It was said that the ruthless officials of the Lan Agency had been subjecting Dai Xingbing to "sleepless interrogation" for days and nights, their methods far more brutal than those of the 76th Agency. This was hardly an interrogation.
They are clearly fabricating testimony detrimental to the Mei Agency, undermining the foundation upon which they support the Wang Jingwei regime and control order in Central China!
Wachi Takaji's actions were clearly intended to destroy the "peace movement" plan meticulously constructed by the Ume Agency.

"If this continues, before Mr. Wang, whom we've been supporting, has even settled into his position in Nanjing, we'll be swallowed up by Kazue Eiji and that bitch Nantian!" Qingqi slammed her fist on the map, hitting the Special Higher Police headquarters and knocking several thumbtacks off.

They could no longer sit idly by and wait for their doom. At this moment, Haruki Yoshitane strongly agreed with Chen Yang's suggestion and knew they had to fight back. Reiwa Chiyoji could not advance any further!
But how to retaliate?

The Army Ministry would not want to see the Mei Agency, the Lan Agency, and the Special Higher Police fighting amongst themselves on the ground in Shanghai.

Moreover, under these circumstances, it would be difficult to shake Wachi Takaji, who is backed by the Special Higher Police, using conventional means.

As the head of the agency, Kagesa Teisho had to keep Wang Jixin in check and deal with the complex relationships at the Tokyo headquarters, leaving him no time to pay attention to the Lan Agency's underhanded dealings.

Therefore, all the tasks fall on Haruki Yoshitane's shoulders. If he wants to secure his position as the head of the Ume Agency after Kagesa's departure, Haruki Yoshitane must become the sharpest blade in the shadows of the Ume Agency:
"Want to strike at Kazuo Kazuo? Cut off the Special Higher Police's intelligence network, render him blind and deaf! ...And in Shanghai, the fastest, most ruthless, and most reckless way to do this is..."

Qingqi Qingyin stood in front of the map, feeling extremely confused!

He turned around and sat back down in the chair behind his desk. The confidential documents and reports in front of him made his eyes light up instantly.

A crazy plan took shape in his mind: to use someone else to do the dirty work, and to use one tiger to devour another!

If anyone in Shanghai still wants to kill the Special Higher Police, it must be the Military Intelligence Bureau.

It has to be said that this plan is indeed crazy. The deputy director of the Mei Agency actually wanted to cooperate with the Military Intelligence Bureau to deal with the Special Higher Police and the Lan Agency.
This plan sounds incredible, but it is the best solution for Qingqi Qingyin at this moment.

Internal strife is forbidden within the empire, but enemies outside the empire certainly can.

Moreover, the enemy of my enemy is my friend.

The Military Intelligence Bureau would certainly be happy to deal with the Special Higher Police's spies in the concessions.

Without those intelligence sources, I'd like to know what they plan to do next.
Of course, this idea is crazy, but there's still a core problem: how to precisely target the Special Higher Police's network without harming the Meiji Agency itself?

The answer lies in the deep exchange of intelligence.

Mei Agency possesses the most detailed network of core strongholds of the Special Higher Police in Shanghai, as well as information on some key members and informants of the Special Higher Police.

The value of this intelligence was enough to tempt the Military Intelligence Bureau, an organization with a blood feud with the Japanese invaders.

Another question: How to make contact? How to gain trust?
Qingqi knew that going directly to communicate was tantamount to suicide, so he turned his attention to a mid-level intelligence agent in the Shanghai district of the Military Intelligence Bureau, codenamed "Partridge".

"Partridge" was a hidden pawn planted by Li Qun to monitor some of the movements within the Military Intelligence Bureau.

But now, this piece has a greater use.

Haruki Yoshihisa placed the organized intelligence reports on his desk, a cold smile playing on his lips!

In the mountain city, the headquarters of the Military Intelligence Bureau was brightly lit.

When Boss Dai received this urgent intelligence report from a "high-ranking Japanese informant" in Shanghai, a cold glint flashed in his deep-set eyes.

The core content of this intelligence report is like a bombshell...

This is an extremely important intelligence document, the source of which has not been detailed by the other party...

The entire document contains the core strongholds of the Special Higher Police in Shanghai, including not only the special liaison department of the Japanese Club in Hongkou, but also the highly concealed listening command center under the cover of the Xingrongfeng Cotton Mill in Yangshupu, as well as the addresses of several key safe houses in the International Settlement!

There is also a list and basic information of several key figures under the control of Yoko Nanda, including Chen Jiuling, the "Chinese informant leader," and Kikuchi Nobuo, the "Japanese intelligence analysis core."

Chen Gongshu, the newly appointed head of the Military Intelligence Bureau station in Shanghai, proposed to launch a devastating attack on the targets on the list, causing a paralyzing loss to the Special Higher Police's intelligence network in Shanghai.

Partridge also stated that after the plan succeeds, the Mei Agency could "inadvertently" leak some "scattered information" about Dai Xingbing being tortured at the Lan Agency but not yet vomiting out, as well as the ambiguous space to "turn a blind eye" to certain actions of the Military Intelligence Bureau in specific areas in the future.

Boss Dai's finger slowly traced the names of several key figures from the Special Higher Police on the list.

A strange expression flashed in his eyes.

With his intelligence, he could immediately see that this was a case of using someone else to kill someone during the infighting between the Japanese and their puppet regime.

However, if the elite intelligence forces of the Special Higher Police in Shanghai could be destroyed in one fell swoop, it would be a huge blow to the Military Intelligence Bureau and a victory for the Japanese invaders! Even a trap has its value.

"Notify Chen Gongshu," Boss Dai's voice was icy cold, like a poisoned dagger, "not a single head on this list can be spared! Operation codename [Blade], let them see what true despair is!"

The order was quickly relayed to the Military Intelligence Bureau's Shanghai station.

Chen Gongshu selected the most elite special agent team from the Linli training camp in Hunan. At this moment, like hungry wolves released from hell, they accurately locked onto several important targets indicated in intelligence within just 36 hours of receiving the order.

They even used the internal duty roster code of the Special Higher Police provided by the Mei Agency through secret channels, and the action team, led by Chen Zhihua, infiltrated the heavily guarded area.

The 38th year of the Republic of China.

In mid-July 1939, in order to boost morale for the War of Resistance and establish a positive image, Chen Gongshu, the head of the Military Intelligence Bureau's Shanghai station, personally led a team to carry out "Operation Blade".

On the evening of July 16th, at the Hongkou Japanese Club: In the dead of night, the club was filled with the sounds of clinking glasses and lively conversation. On the surface, it was a social gathering for high-ranking military officers, but deep inside, intelligence was being exchanged.

Suddenly, all the lights in the club went out...

The next moment, screams, short and intense gunshots, and the sound of shattering glass were drowned out by the noise of a deliberately created power outage.

When the lights came back on, Nobuo Kikuchi, the Special Higher Police station chief, was found dead in a pool of blood in the VIP room, his encrypted notebook and important documents missing.

At the same time, at the secret listening station of Yangshupu Textile Mill: among the seemingly normal night shift workers, several unfamiliar faces had infiltrated. Following the directions on the map, they entered the mill and rushed along the internal passageway towards the abandoned warehouse at the back of the mill.

Just as the information indicated, there were indeed several undercover agents lurking here.

Comparing the location warning map left in the intelligence, under the leadership of team leader Chen Zhihua, the group quickly dispersed and launched a surprise attack at the same time!

After a few muffled thuds, all the hidden agents were dealt with. Then, the group rushed into the monitoring center and unleashed a hail of gunfire, killing the key technical personnel and guards responsible for the monitoring in front of the complex equipment, and destroying the monitoring devices along with them.

That wasn't the end of it. In a safe house in the International Settlement, a team disguised as police officers conducting a room check quickly subdued the guards. Chen Jiuling, the top Chinese informant of the Special Higher Police, was shot in the head by a sniper while attempting to detonate a grenade to kill himself and others.

After Chen Jiuling was killed, the ambush team on Xiafei Road also began their mission.

Xiafei Lane, behind the "Yunshang" tailor shop!

Lin Manli is the owner of a tailor shop. On the surface, she is a fashionable tailor serving the French, but in reality, she is a high-ranking female spy working for the Special Higher Police.

He used his social circle to steal political and business intelligence in the French Concession, and even participated in planning the surveillance and kidnapping of several pro-China French citizens.

Chen Gongshu arranged for two female operatives to pose as wealthy women to "customize cheongsams" and lead Lin Manli into a dimly lit inner room to "take measurements."

The moment the measuring tape was wrapped around her neck, the female agent pulled out a cold steel wire hidden in her watch and tightened it suddenly!
Lin Manli struggled in vain, and after a minute, her body went limp.

The "tailor's assistant" quickly cleaned up the scene, leaving only a mimeographed note with the words "eliminate traitors" written on it, which was then nailed to the silk!

Yangshupu, near Huishan Wharf, the warehouse of "Jinbaoji" rice shop...

The target of this trip is Zhao Jinbao, the rice shop owner, a key informant planted by the Special Higher Police among the dockworkers.

They controlled the labor movement, monitored the goods and personnel entering and leaving the docks, and provided the Special Higher Police with a large amount of intelligence on underground party and patriotic student activities.

This person is quite difficult to deal with. The intelligence department received the information and took advantage of the rice shop receiving "new rice" that night to send a special team of operatives to infiltrate among the unloading workers.

Under the dim light of a kerosene lamp inside the warehouse, Zhao Jinbao was scolding the workers as they took inventory.

An operative accidentally knocked over a bag of rice, causing chaos as the white rice spilled out.

Just as Zhao Jinbao was looking down and cursing, another person stabbed him in the back of the heart with a cold-forged triangular scraper.

The body was quickly dragged deep into the empty rice sack stack.

Deep in a Shikumen alley in Zhabei...

Zhou Chongxin, formerly an associate of the Military Intelligence Bureau, secretly defected to the Special Higher Police two months ago, betraying a liaison point in the western part of Shanghai, which led to the arrest and tragic death of three Military Intelligence Bureau agents at 76 Jessfield Road.

For Zhou Chongxin, this was purely a punitive purge!
A team of operatives smashed open the door with lightning speed. Zhou Chongxin, knowing he was doomed, tried to detonate the explosives hidden under the table to take everyone down with him.

But a split second before his hand reached for the cable, the submachine gun's close-range fire sent him crashing into the wall like a rag doll.

The room was in complete disarray, and the words "Traitors shall die" were carved into the blood-stained wall with a dagger.

The first few tasks were completed very smoothly.

However, an unexpected incident occurred when dealing with Yoko Minamida!

According to intelligence, Nantian lives in a fully furnished apartment in the Japanese quarter, which is usually unguarded!
But after the operation began, they discovered that a number of elite Special Higher Police officers had inexplicably appeared at the apartment entrance.

The four-man action team was shot dead on the spot by several elite Special Higher Police officers responsible for the outer perimeter security, and the apartment windows were shattered.

Chen Gongshu remained calm after learning the outcome of the operation...

This top-secret file provided by Haruki Yoshitaka contains information on key Japanese members of the Special Higher Police, highly strategic Chinese informants, and even a few defectors who posed a potential threat to the Ume Agency.

Wan Tianmu, who holds a high-ranking position at No. 76!
Unable to kill Nantian, Chen Gongshu turned his final target to Wan Tianmu!

Executing this traitor would be a great achievement, and at the very least, Boss Dai would be very happy...

Inside the Mei Agency, Qing Qiqingyin kept receiving good news from Partridge: the Military Intelligence Bureau's assassination operation was going very smoothly.

The names on the "Blade" operation list have basically all been eliminated by Kuomintang agents.

The names listed here are essentially part of the "efficient intelligence network" built by the Special Higher Police under the leadership of Yoko Minamida and Takaji Wachi.

They may not be high-ranking officials, but each of them is a precise "cog" and "blood vessel" that supports the stable operation of the Special Higher Police's intelligence machine in Shanghai.

When Qingqi Qingyin provided these names, he hoped that the Military Intelligence Bureau would eliminate these people. In this way, the Special Higher Police's control over Shanghai would be directly and devastatingly damaged at the micro level, and the operation of the intelligence network would instantly become sluggish and chaotic.

Furthermore, since Wachi Takaji was new to the area, he relied heavily on the mature network built by Nanta.

The fact that the network was severely damaged by the Kuomintang right under his nose directly proves that there are huge loopholes in his "control" and will shake the Tokyo headquarters' trust in his abilities.

Local support is crucial for both Wachi Takaji and Haruki Yoshitane.
Since it's a power struggle, naturally, even the most ruthless methods can be used.

Moreover, they weren't killing Japanese people; they were killing Chinese informants and traitors.

These pawns of the Special Higher Police might pose a competition or threat to the power structure of the Mei Agency after it supports the Wang Jingwei regime. Eliminating them through the Military Intelligence Bureau would kill two birds with one stone.

Most importantly, the Special Higher Police must expend enormous effort to rebuild the network, track down the "mole," appease the terrified informants, and deal with accusations from Tokyo.

This will greatly distract and distract the two of them from targeting the Mei Agency.

For the Military Intelligence Bureau, although they knew the list was "poisoned bait" used in the internal power struggles of the Japanese, its value was immeasurable.
Xingyuanzhai was actually a secret liaison point set up by the Special Division in the Japanese resident area, which was often used to meet with informants.

The moonlight swayed gently, the paper door was tightly shut, and the glow of the Shirakawa paper lantern poured down from above, enveloping Yoko Minamida and Masao Nakamura in a cool and tense atmosphere.

Yoko Minami knelt like a pine tree, the sharp edges of her Special Higher Police uniform exuding a rigid and cold aura.

Beside her stood Major General Masao Nakamura, the chief of staff and right-hand man of Lieutenant General Yoshio Shinotsuka of the First Army of the North China Area Army.

His brows were furrowed, forming a deep "川" (river) character.

A crisp knock sounded at the door. Nakamura nodded slowly to Nanada, who tactfully got up, went forward, and opened the door.

Standing at the entrance were the head of the Lanzhou government agency, who had traveled a long way from North China, and Zhiying Er.
"Colonel Kazuchi, please come in," Minamida bowed slightly, inviting Kazuchi Takaji to sit down.
Without any hesitation, Kazuo Takaji sat down opposite the two of them.
Nakamura glanced at Kazuchi Takaji, who did not touch the steaming green tea in front of him. His eyes were like a still, cold pool as he looked at Kazuchi: "Kazichi-kun, I have read the internal report you provided three times."

"The logistics transportation report riddled with loopholes, the records of steel and medicines that mysteriously disappeared, the fuel list that vanished into thin air and never reappeared... Each and every one of these items, in black and white, with photos and testimonies, is clear enough to point to the truth."

"This is already a dagger drawn and pressed against the opponent's heart. Why not make a move? Why turn the blade towards Mei Jiguan?"

The only sound in the study was heavy breathing. The air was pulled even tighter by Masao Nakamura's accusation. The soft light from the Shirakawa paper lantern caressed Nanda's cold and tense face, and also illuminated the deep furrows between Nakamura's brows.

Wachi Takaji did not immediately argue, but simply reached into his robes. The next moment, a heavy object fell onto the thin tatami mat with a dull thud.

The voice wasn't loud, but it was enough to instantly fix the other two's gazes on the source: a dark brown hardcover ledger.

The notebook was so old it was unsettling; the edges were worn down to reveal the rough inner fibers, and there were no words on the cover, yet it exuded an eerie and gloomy atmosphere.

Nantian's heart sank without warning.

Masao Nakamura's gaze was fixed on the open account pages.

Lines of familiar unit designations! Strings of cold, hard numbers! A line of tiny, neatly written characters pinned to the yellowed paper:
June 22, 1945: Three and a half tons of special steel (marked "Eagle Feather") were dispatched from the South Gate Warehouse and received and transferred by the "Kikumaru" group. Subsequent handling: No record.

July 7, Showa 14: 150 boxes of high-standard powder injection (original factory seal code "T-ZK17", production batch number 1940-A), North Manchuria Pharmaceutical Warehouse Warehouse Third Warehouse Transfer Certificate No.: TZ-887.

Recipient: Kobayashi, "Shosha Tojinkai" (Trading Company Colleagues Association) signed for receipt.

Shipping record: Loaded onto the ship "Beidou Maru" at Tianjin Port.

"What is this?" Nakamura's expression turned extremely grim.
"Haven't you been trying to find out the supply routes?" Kazuya Takaji said slowly, "Do you really think that the transport department's military trains can transport so many supplies to North China in such a short time?"

"You're so wrong. Besides military trains, there are also transport ships. That means it's not just the land transport department that's involved in smuggling; the navy is involved too."

"If we want to uproot them, we can't just focus on attacking the most heavily defended transportation department. We need to find a way to break down their defenses first."

Nantian suddenly realized: "Colonel Kazuchi means the Ume Agency?"

“That’s right, the Transportation Department, the Logistics Department, the Mei Agency, No. 76, the Jinling Special Agent Headquarters—these agencies all have problems,”

"Frankly, this job is a huge challenge for us, and I hope Mr. Nakamura will support my decision,"

Nakamura smiled at Minamida and said, "Section Chief Minamida, see? This is what you call professional."

(End of this chapter)