Starting from 1950

Chapter 156 Making a contribution before even starting work?

"Gold? A lot of it?"

The message Xiaobai conveyed startled Su Yang.

"Xiaoyu! Quick! Go keep an eye on things!"

"Whoosh—!" Xiaoyu transformed into a white streak of light, instantly bursting out of the open door and shooting straight into the sky. Su Yang followed closely behind, rushing out of the east wing. Xiaobai had already darted out of the courtyard like an arrow, running wildly towards the west side of the alley.

Wow! That big dog is so fast!

"Was that a bird that just flew up into the sky?"

The children playing in the yard were startled by the commotion and screamed. Su Yang didn't have time to explain. He chased after Xiao Bai's figure and, guided by Xiao Yu's shared aerial view, quickly ran out of the yard.

Xiaoyu's sharp eyes, like a high-powered telescope, clearly locked onto a man riding a backward-facing donkey tricycle in the alley below.

The man had just passed by the entrance of No. 5 Mao'er Hutong and was driving west at a leisurely pace.

The tricycle's cargo bed was covered with a thick, dirty tarpaulin, bulging and full, which was the source of Xiaobai's strong smell of "gold"!

If it were just gold, Su Yang wouldn't have chased after it so decisively.

Even though it happened during the cleanup of enemy and puppet supplies, there were countless wealthy people in Beijing, especially many of the remnants of the old regime, whose family fortunes were impossible to ascertain.

Most importantly, in addition to smelling gold, Xiaobai also detected the smell of gun oil and ammunition!

All of these factors combined make the identity of the man riding the tricycle quite intriguing.

"Xiaoyu, raise the height and keep monitoring him to see his final destination! Xiaobai, slow down, don't alert him, keep your distance from me!" Su Yang quickly issued the instructions through his mind.

Xiao Bai was extremely clever. It immediately slowed down, pretending to wander casually through the alley, but its ears and nose were always pointed in the direction of its target. When the tricycle pulled away, it would run a few steps, and when it closed the distance, it would stop again, pretending to sniff around the alley like an ordinary dog.

However, its appearance was so eye-catching that it attracted the attention of many residents after walking for only a short distance in the alley.

"Wow! Where did this big dog come from? Its white fur is so beautiful!"

"I've never seen you before! Did you move here recently?"

"Why does it look a bit like a wolf to me?"

The man riding the tricycle turned around and glanced at Xiaobai a few times when he heard the noise. Although he was a little surprised, he did not suspect that this "dog" was specifically following him.

Su Yang also got a clear look at the man's face with the help of Xiao Bai's eyes.

He was around forty years old, with dark skin and a bitter look on his face. He was wearing a traditional Chinese jacket and riding a donkey backwards. Anyone who saw him would think he was just an ordinary, hard-working laborer.

Xiaoyu silently ascended to a higher altitude, overlooking the entire neighborhood.

Su Yang, on the other hand, was trailing far behind.

Finally, after traveling several hundred meters, the tricycle stopped at the entrance of a quiet alley.

The man looked around warily, and after confirming that no one was paying attention, he turned north into the alley. After driving for another hundred meters or so, he quickly lifted the tricycle into the gate of a dilapidated courtyard that was almost completely covered by debris, and then disappeared from sight.

"No. 33, Doujiao Hutong!"

Su Yang did not approach rashly, but instead slipped into the shadows of a gatehouse next door, letting Xiao Yu pass by the gate through which the man entered and memorize the house number.

The old city of Beijing is not like Shenzhou; the bad elements who have managed to infiltrate here are definitely deeply entrenched.

Su Yang knew that this was something he couldn't handle alone.

He needs support and needs to report immediately!

Without hesitation, he left Xiaoyu to continue closely monitoring the small courtyard and alley from high above, while he took Xiaobai and rushed towards the Third Military Control Commission as quickly as possible.

When I applied for my work permit today, I also applied for Xiaobai's "special working dog" certificate at the same time.

When Su Yang registered at the entrance, the security guard only glanced at Xiao Bai a few more times before letting him in.

Upon entering the Military Control Commission compound, Xiao Bai naturally attracted the attention of many people.

Su Yang had no time to worry about that and just kept running inside.

When he rushed into the main courtyard of No. 69 Dongsi Jiutiao and headed straight for Deputy Director Wang Huifang's office, Liu Chuansheng was just coming out carrying a stack of documents, and the two almost bumped into each other.

"Su Yang? Why are you back again? You weren't supposed to be back until tomorrow..." Liu Chuansheng didn't finish his sentence.

"Brother Liu! Urgent! Major situation! Is Director Wang here?" Su Yang spoke rapidly.

"Hey! Come in quickly!" Liu Chuansheng realized something was wrong and immediately pushed open the door.

Wang Huifang was reviewing documents when she saw Su Yang return with a serious expression. She was taken aback: "Xiao Su? What happened?"

"Director Wang!" Su Yang gave a crisp military salute and reported quickly but clearly, "Reporting, Director! After I returned to my residence, Xiao Bai suddenly smelled a strong odor that resembled gold and guns! Tracing it, we found that the smell was coming from a man riding a backwards tricycle, with the items on the vehicle covered by an oilcloth. I followed him to No. 33 Doujiao Hutong, and the target had already entered the courtyard."

"Gold? Guns?" Wang Huifang stood up abruptly, her eyes instantly turning sharp as knives.

She quickly walked to a huge, detailed map of Beijing on the wall and pointed precisely to the location of Doujiao Hutong.

"Hasn't the 22nd Police Station already screened the Nanluoguxiang area several times? How come there are still some who slipped through the net?" Her voice carried a hint of coldness.

Like Mao'er Hutong, Doujiao Hutong belongs to the Nanluoguxiang area.

Last year, a major event occurred in Beijing, and it can be said that the establishment of the Working Group for Clearing Enemy and Puppet Materials was related to this event.

Three days before October, the Military Control Commission of Beijing cracked a shocking case.

A group of bad elements planned to attack TAM's city gate with mortars on the important day three days from now.

After the conspiracy was foiled, the entire inner city was thoroughly searched for a month.

Nanluoguxiang is very close to many important units, and is even less than ten miles from the central government!

Wang Huifang's expression was grim. "Xiao Su, the intelligence you provided is extremely important! This might not be as simple as just enemy and puppet supplies!"

She immediately returned to her desk, picked up the handle of a black telephone, and cranked it vigorously: "Switchboard! Connect me to Police Station No. 22! Quickly!"

The call was connected.

"I am Wang Huifang! Listen up, there's an emergency! Immediately assemble all available police forces, plainclothes officers! Target: No. 33 Doujiao Hutong! There may be highly dangerous individuals hiding there. Move quickly! Be discreet! Surround and monitor them, await my orders! I'm bringing the task force over immediately! Repeat the order!"

A resolute voice came from the other end of the phone: "Yes, Director Wang! Understood! No. 33 Doujiao Hutong! Surround and monitor! Execute immediately!"

After hanging up the phone, Wang Huifang quickly dialed the internal line: "Ding Yi, take an elite combat team, armed, and get to my office door immediately! The entire cleanup team, drop everything and assemble immediately!"

Her decisive and efficient style was on full display.

As orders were issued, the entire Third Military Control Commission sprang into action instantly.

Su Yang then realized that the backyard he had never stepped into was actually the location of the Third Branch of the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau.

In less than five minutes, more than twenty police officers with live ammunition were standing neatly in the main courtyard.

Although Su Yang had not yet reported for duty, news of his and Xiao Bai's arrival had clearly spread throughout the courtyard. The comrades looked serious, but they still couldn't help but steal glances at Xiao Bai.

"Xiao Su!" Wang Huifang looked at Su Yang, her eyes filled with trust and seriousness. "Take us to the scene immediately!"

Su Yang, however, was somewhat puzzled and couldn't help but ask, "Director, don't we need to monitor them first and then try to follow the clues to catch more bad elements?"

Wang Huifang glanced at him a few times, a smile appearing on her serious face: "Xiao Su, you haven't started your work yet, so you don't know the situation. The bad elements who can infiltrate Beijing are all rigorously trained. Our organization doesn't use torture to extract confessions; it's difficult to uncover them and bring them all down with them. We usually eliminate them one by one! We're not afraid of having too many rats, we're afraid they won't show themselves!"

The other team members were all incredulous to see that Deputy Director Wang, who had always had a cold face since taking office, was actually explaining things to Su Yang in a friendly manner.

"Xiao Wang, another operation?"

Cheng Zhiyuan, the director of the Military Control Commission, had heard the commotion long ago, but he had been in a meeting in the conference room. Now that the meeting was over, he came out of the room.

Su Yang couldn't help but scrutinize the head of the Third Military Control Commission. His hair was gray, and he looked to be almost 60 years old. He had a kind face and his position was only half a rank higher than Wang Huifang's, but he was almost twice as old.

It's estimated that he'll retire from this position, at which point Wang Huifang will be promoted to the permanent position.

"Director Cheng, would you like to say a few words?" Wang Huifang asked Cheng Zhiyuan with a smile.

"What should I say? I still acknowledge your work ability. If I had to say something, it would be... Comrades, please be careful."

Cheng Zhiyuan smiled broadly, looking like a kind old man.

Wang Huifang was clearly prepared for his attitude, and said with a smile, "Thank you for your concern, Director Cheng."

Having said that, she waved to everyone and said seriously, "Let's begin!"

Two unmarked jeeps and a truck were already parked in front of the Military Control Commission.

Just before getting into the car, Wang Huifang suddenly remembered something and shouted, "Ding Yi, give Comrade Su Yang a gun!"

Each member of the Military Control Commission is issued a gun. Su Yang will not officially report for duty until tomorrow, so he has not received his gun yet.

"No need, I have my own gun!"

Su Yang pulled out the 1911 that he had taken out of his backpack beforehand from his waist.

"Wow! This gun is quite rare!" Ding Yi exclaimed in surprise.

"It was a gift from a comrade-in-arms. I've been using it for a while now, and it's quite handy," Su Yang explained casually with a smile.

Ding Yi nodded thoughtfully, knowing that Su Yang was so highly regarded by Wang Huifang at such a young age, so he must have a powerful background.

"Set off!"

The convoy drove out of the military control committee compound and headed straight for the Nanluoguxiang area.

Xiaoyu kept circling high in the sky, "live-streaming" the real-time situation of the courtyard and the surrounding alleys to Su Yang: the target courtyard was still quiet, with no one coming in or out, and no unusual activity.

The man went inside and never came out again.

The plainclothes police officers led by Hu Guangyuan have quietly formed a tight encirclement of Doujiao Hutong from different directions, like water droplets merging into the sea.

The car stopped at the intersection of the target alley.

Wang Huifang, Su Yang, Ding Yi, and Hu Guangyuan met up in a secluded spot, the atmosphere so tense it was almost palpable.

"What's the situation?" Wang Huifang asked succinctly.

Hu Guangyuan reported in a low voice: "Director Wang, the courtyard is completely surrounded. There are hidden sentries at the front and back gates and along the walls on both sides. Inside, there's only a main house and a dilapidated shed, where a man named Cui Laosi lives. He's in his forties and a bachelor. He worked as a patrolman at the old police station for a few days, then quit and became idle. Two years ago, he started driving a pedicab. We hadn't noticed any clear enemy spy background on him before, but his social connections are complicated. He hasn't come out since he went in."