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

Mingcheng finally returned. He stood at the doorway, leaning against the door frame, with heavy dark circles under his eyes and unsteady steps, as if most of his strength had been drained away.

His suit was wrinkled, and the top two buttons of his collar were undone, revealing faint red marks on his neck. It was clear that he hadn't slept all night and had been through a lot.

Minglou in the inner room was dozing off on his desk.

The sound of the door opening startled him awake.

He abruptly looked up, his eyes still glazed with sleep. Upon recognizing Mingcheng, his brows furrowed immediately. He gestured for him to close the door quickly, his voice filled with barely suppressed anger: "Where did you go last night? I looked everywhere for you! Do you know how worried I was?"

Mingcheng staggered as he closed the door, leaning against it to catch his breath. His face was full of resentment as he gritted his teeth and said, "Where else could we go? That damned Chen Qing! Last night at the party, he actually drugged me and Nantian Yangzi in our drinks! Nantian dragged me to a hotel room and tormented me all night, almost draining me dry. See for yourself!"

As he spoke, he ripped open his wrinkled shirt, revealing a chest and abdomen covered with nail scratches of varying depths, some still red, making him look quite disheveled.

Ming Lou, still angry, paused for a moment after seeing the scratches, then couldn't help but burst out laughing: "This Chen Qing, he really is vindictive. You practically 'died in the line of duty,' and instead of thanking him, you're holding such a grudge?"

"Thank him? I wish I could kill him right now!" Mingcheng pulled his shirt up tightly and cursed viciously, his face red and blue, clearly both ashamed and angry.

Minglou's smile faded, his expression turning serious again. He pointed to the chair in front of the table: "Alright, stop being so grumpy. Go make me a cup of coffee, let's get down to business."

Mingcheng responded and turned to walk towards the tea room, his movements still a little unsteady.

A moment later, he returned with two steaming cups of coffee. He placed one in front of Minglou, then pulled up a chair, sat down, and took a sip. The scalding liquid slid down his throat, slightly relieving his fatigue.

The office fell silent for a moment, with only the aroma of coffee filling the air.

Minglou gently stirred his coffee spoon, breaking the silence first, his tone grave: "You must have heard about what happened last night, right? Tarantula, also known as Nakamura Isao, has been arrested."

Mingcheng paused, a hint of seriousness on his face: "I heard about it. This morning, Nantian Yangzi rushed back to the Special Higher Police Department, and I took the opportunity to sneak back from the hotel and go to No. 76. I heard some rumors from Liang Zhongchun."

Minglou recounted what happened last night and early this morning, and the two exchanged information.

Minglou said, "Last night the situation was urgent, and I risked my life to contact Uncle Li. Yan'an sent a reply, saying that Nakamura Isao has made a great contribution and that we should find a way to protect him."

Mingcheng frowned deeply, a troubled look on his face: "But he's being held in the military police headquarters right now. It's heavily guarded, with multiple layers of security. Even if we had extraordinary abilities, we probably wouldn't be able to get through. Forcing our way in is definitely not an option; it would only alert him and get us into trouble ourselves."

Minglou was well aware of the difficulty involved. He sighed slowly and fell into deep thought.

After a long silence, he finally raised his head, his gaze serious: "A direct confrontation is definitely out of the question; we can only outsmart them. Xu Tian is still by Araki's side; perhaps he can find an opportunity. Let him think of a way. We can only do our best and take it one step at a time."

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

Xu Tian sat in his office all morning, his desk piled high with documents. The names on the covers were related to a series of alarming institutions: confidential files from the Tokyo headquarters, personnel records from the Military Police Headquarters, operational records from the South Manchuria Railway Bureau's Investigation Department, and confidential correspondence from the Japanese consulate.

"boom--"

The door was suddenly pushed open. Xu Tian didn't even look up, but slowly closed the document in his hand, as if he had already anticipated the visitor's rage.

Araki Yui's figure, carrying a fierce aura, stormed in, his military boots thumping loudly on the floor.

He tugged at his collar, his face still bearing the lingering rage of the interrogation room, and growled through gritted teeth, "Damn Nakamura Isao! Damn Communists! Five hours, I tortured him for a full five hours, whips, branding irons, electric shocks... I used every method at my disposal, and he didn't utter a single word!"

Xu Tian slowly raised his eyes, a barely perceptible hint of surprise flashing in them before he regained his usual calm: "This tarantula is quite a tough nut to crack. Your truth serum didn't come in handy?"

"We've already run out!" Araki paced irritably around his office. "The US suddenly cut off supplies too, and we can't get any more now! Without truth serum, we can't crack this tough nut at all during the interrogation!"

"That's really difficult." Xu Tian breathed a sigh of relief for no apparent reason.

"Xu Sang, I know you have a way. You're meticulous and always think of ways others don't. Can you help me get him to talk?"

Xu Tian shook his head slightly: "If you can't do anything, what can I do? No one in Shanghai is more proficient in Araki's interrogation methods than you."

"No, you must have a way. You're the best at understanding people's hearts; only you can do that."

Xu Tian looked up to meet his gaze, his tone becoming more wary: "Don't even think about threatening me. I'm just someone who provides intelligence analysis; interrogation and torture are not within my scope of duties."

"How could it be a threat?" Araki forced a smile. "What's our relationship? Besides, I just trust your abilities."

Xu Tian was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "Five hours of torture have pushed his body and mind to their limits. Further interrogation now will only backfire. Let him rest for a bit, let him catch his breath, and I'll think of something."

Araki's face lit up with a glimmer of hope, and he quickly nodded, "Okay! We'll do as Xu-san says! Please, this fish, Nakamura Isao, is too important; we absolutely can't let him get through this!"

Araki turned and left, and not long after, Tian Dan pushed open the door and walked in.

Xu Tian didn't look up, but quickly raised his chin, pointed under the table, and shook his head slightly, signaling her to shut up.

Tian Dan immediately understood, slowed her pace, and stood aside without saying a word.

Xu Tian slowly stood up, stretched, and said in a casual tone, as if it were just a casual chat, "It's almost noon, the cafeteria should be opening soon, want to grab something to eat together?"

Tian Dan nodded and followed him out of the office. The two walked slowly down the corridor, occasionally passing by secret agents who merely nodded casually in acknowledgment.

Only when they reached the corner of the corridor, out of everyone's sight, did Xu Tian lower his voice and speak very quickly: "There's a bug in the office. Araki has never truly trusted me."

Tian Dan paused, then replied in a low voice, "While treating Nakamura Ko in the medical room just now, I secretly increased the dosage of the sedative. He won't wake up for a while. We just received news from above that the Spiderweb members have all gone into hiding as instructed. Nakamura Ko has made significant contributions, and they're asking if we can save him."

Xu Tian frowned deeply, his gaze fixed on the end of the corridor, his tone firm: "Let me think of a way. Araki isn't stupid. We can't make any moves now. If he can hold out for 24 hours, maybe we'll have a chance."

"Don't do anything rash. Even if it's just to deliver a message, I'll be the one to do it." Tian Dan immediately grabbed his arm, her eyes full of worry. "Araki is keeping such a close eye on things right now. If you rashly pass a message to Nakamura Isao, what if he really can't handle it and exposes you? Not only will he be in danger, but you'll also be in peril."

Xu Tian sighed, "Let's wait and see if a suitable opportunity arises. There's always a way."

………………