If you had to choose an identity to go undercover, you'd choose a gynecologist.

Military Police Headquarters

"Mr. Xu," Araki said, "I've been working on this for three whole months and finally caught a lead. That Takagi actually dared to betray the Emperor and secretly join the Red Party! If he hadn't taken the risk of stealing the 'Wang-Japan Secret Agreement' from the consulate, he wouldn't have been exposed."

Those idiots at the consulate! In their panic after discovering the documents were stolen, they actually shot and wounded him.

"It's alright, once he recovers at Guangci Hospital, I have plenty of ways to make him reveal his superiors."

Xu Tiandao, sitting opposite him, maintained his seated posture throughout, his dark long robe accentuating his slender figure.

His face showed no superfluous expression, as if the earth-shattering secret Araki spoke of was nothing more than a trivial matter in an ordinary alley.

After Araki finished speaking, he slowly raised his eyes, his tone indifferent: "I'm sorry, Araki, I really have no interest in these things."

Araki Yutaka knew the man's abilities well and pleaded, "Mr. Xu, you must help me! Uproot this spiderweb hidden in the shadows. I believe that no one in all of Shanghai is more capable than you."

Xu Tiandao shook his head slightly: "Araki, you should know that this matter involves far too many people. The Japanese consulate, the South Manchuria Railway, the Ume Agency, the Special Higher Police, and the military—all these forces are deeply intertwined. No matter who is implicated, it will offend a large number of people. To investigate further, we would have to go through a lot of classified information. You are Japanese, so this is understandable, but I am Chinese. If I know too many secrets that I shouldn't know, I'm afraid I won't live much longer."

Upon hearing this, Araki frowned, pondered for a moment, and then immediately said, "Xu-san, what you said makes sense. Then you can investigate secretly! I'll handle everything that requires your involvement, and I won't make things difficult for you."

Xu Tiandao was silent for a few seconds, seemingly weighing the pros and cons, before nodding slightly: "Alright then. For your sake, I'll try my best. However, you have to give me all the relevant information."

"No problem!" Araki immediately agreed.

Just as Araki was about to turn and leave, Xu Tian suddenly spoke up, seemingly asking casually, "By the way, what's the current situation with that communist from the Japanese consulate you captured?"

Araki paused, turned to look at him, a hint of hesitation flashing in his eyes, before replying, "Well... his injuries are quite serious, and he's being treated at Guangci Hospital. But don't worry, the hospital is heavily guarded inside and out; he can't escape. As long as he wakes up, I guarantee he'll obediently reveal all his secrets."

Upon hearing this, Xu Tiandao frowned almost imperceptibly, but did not pursue the topic further.

After work, Xu Tian rode his bicycle home with Tian Dan.

Tian Dan said, "We just received orders from our superiors that we must find a way to eliminate this Takagi. He is a subordinate of the web leader, Tarantula, and knows too many secrets about the web. If he wakes up and confesses, Tarantula will be exposed, and everyone will need to evacuate. All the network we have built over the years will be wasted."

Xu Tian didn't speak, but carefully recalled his conversation with Araki, even Araki's every smiling expression.

"What are your plans?" Xu Tian asked.

"We have several comrades at Guangci Hospital. I have found out that Takagi is in the fourth-floor intensive care unit. If absolutely necessary, we can use the opportunity of changing his dressing at night to poison him."

Suddenly, Xu Tian stopped his bicycle, turned around, and shook his head at Tian Dan on the back seat.

"No, cancel the operation immediately. This is a trap. I suspect the real Takagi may already be dead, and the one in the ICU is fake. We absolutely cannot take any risks now."

"How did you know?"

"My intuition told me that when I was talking to Araki and asked about Takagi, I noticed his ears twitched when he answered. This is an unconscious habit of his; his ears twitch every time he lies, and he doesn't even know it himself. So I concluded that this was a trap. Araki went to great lengths to set up such a trap to lure people into it. Whoever tries to kill Takagi will fall into this trap."

Tian Dan frowned and asked, "Do you have any evidence?"

"No, but you have to trust my judgment."

"Yes, I believe you, but how am I supposed to tell the higher-ups? Should I say it's your intuition that we should cancel the operation? You know, if Takagi is still alive and reveals his superior, no one can afford such a risk."

Xu Tian said firmly, "I don't care what your superiors think, but you can't take any action."

Tian Dan hesitated for a moment, then said, "Okay, but I also need to report your judgment to the organization."

Xu Tian's assessment was quickly reported to Ming Lou.

Mingcheng asked, "Brother, what do we do now?"

Minglou sat in his seat, silently smoking, his brows furrowed.

He trusted Xu Tian's judgment, but if Xu Tian made a mistake, even if there was only a one in ten thousand chance, the organization would not be able to bear such a loss.

Finally, he stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray and ordered, "Continue the assassination. Even if it's a den of dragons and tigers, we have to go for it. But we can't use our own people. We have to use the Kuomintang's people at Guangci Hospital."

Mingcheng hesitated for a moment before asking, "Should we still send Chen Qing?"

"Okay, let him go."

"But... what if something happens? How will we explain it to my older sister?"

Minglou raised his head and said coldly, "Explain what? Who the hell do I explain to? If I'm dead, I'm dead. That's fine, then he and my sister's child can inherit the shares."

"But what if he's captured and betrays us? Will he expose us?" Mingcheng voiced his concern.

Minglou shook his head: "No, he won't have a chance then."

………………

Chen Qing sat in the clinic in Ping Anli until late at night.

After Wang Jiazhi finished learning the foreign language with him, she went back to rest.

He was waiting for someone to arrive. Who could it be?

If it were Uncle Li, Minglou would be essentially showing him his hand, telling himself that he is a member of the Communist Party.

Isn't he afraid of being exposed? Or does he think he'll definitely be controlled by him?

Just as I was lost in thought, the phone on the table suddenly rang, its sound particularly jarring in the quiet night.

Chen Qing answered the phone, and an unfamiliar male voice came through the receiver: "Go to the north gate of Guangci Hospital immediately, find the gatekeeper, Uncle Qin, and tell him, 'I know what you did last night,' and he will arrange everything."

With a "snap," the phone was abruptly disconnected, leaving only a busy tone in the receiver.

Chen Qing held the receiver for two seconds, then turned and quickly went upstairs. He quickly changed into a black outfit, put on a black felt hat, took out a fake beard from the drawer and carefully attached it to his chin. He straightened his collar in front of the bronze mirror, and after confirming that his makeup was enough to deceive people, he grabbed the car keys on the table, turned off the lights, locked the door, and quietly walked out of the clinic, starting the black sedan parked at the alley entrance.

The car drove through the night, heading towards Guangci Hospital.

Upon arriving at the north gate of the hospital, Chen Qing slowed down and cautiously observed his surroundings.

I parked the car on another street as far as possible and walked all the way to the north gate of Guangci Hospital.

This is a hospital run by the Japanese, and most of the patients inside are Japanese expatriates and wounded Japanese soldiers who have retired from the front lines.

There were no military police on guard at the entrance as expected; only a faint light shone from the window of the gatehouse.

He walked to the door of the gatehouse and gently knocked on the door three times.

With a creak, the door opened a crack, and an old man with gray hair and a wrinkled face poked his head out, eyeing him warily: "Who are you looking for?"

"Is this Grandpa Qin?" Chen Qing asked in a low voice.

The old man nodded: "It's me."

Chen Qing glanced around to make sure no one was watching, then leaned close to the crack in the door and whispered the code: "I know what you did last night."

Grandpa Qin opened the door and let him in.

Chen Qing slipped into the gatehouse, and Grandpa Qin closed the door behind him and bolted it.

The cramped gatehouse was filled with the smell of tobacco and old wood, and an oil lamp sat on the table, casting a dim light.

"Did Viper send you?" Old Master Qin spoke first, his eyes fixed on Chen Qing.

Chen Qing's heart skipped a beat, and his pupils contracted slightly. Viper? This codename instantly put him on alert.

If the other party were a Communist, the code word should have been "Cobra," while "Viper" was Ming Lou's exclusive code name within the Military Intelligence Bureau.

He calmly countered with, "Are you from Chongqing?"

Grandpa Qin nodded, his face expressionless: "Yes, I also received an urgent order to kill Takagi in the fourth-floor intensive care unit. It's a death order, and it must be completed tonight."

Chen Qing's heart sank, filled with doubt.

Ming Lou actually used a Kuomintang intelligence team to carry out an assassination mission against the Communist Party? The strangeness of this made him increasingly suspicious.

Grandpa Qin said, "Guangci Hospital is outwardly relaxed but inwardly tense, so be careful. Go to the boiler room and find the boiler operator, Bao Yi. Just say you're my daughter Qin Lijuan's boyfriend, and he'll understand. Just lie low there; no one will notice. After midnight, a nurse named Liu Xiaojing will come to the boiler room to find you and arrange for you to go to the fourth floor to carry out the assassination mission."

Chen Qing suppressed his doubts, knowing that this was not the time to delve into the matter.

He nodded and replied in a low voice, "Okay."

Then, following Grandpa Qin's instructions, he turned and walked towards the boiler room deep inside the hospital.

...............