Hidden Radiance

Chengda Company, first floor medical room.

The smell of iodine tincture entered my nasal cavity.

Gu Yunqiu leaned against the hospital bed, the bandage on her right arm seeping red.

Lu Minghui pushed the door open and came in.

The medic, with his back to him, was rinsing equipment at the sink. The water splashed loudly.

"How is the situation?" Lu Minghui walked to the foot of the bed.

"Loss of blood, no infection." The medic shook his hand. "I'll get you some anti-inflammatory injections."

The medic carried the tray out. The door closed tightly.

Lu Minghui immediately went to his desk.

There was a row of medical records in the folder. He opened the one with "Gu Yunqiu" written on it.

The lab report was sandwiched in the middle.

Blood type: Type A.

Lu Minghui pulled another form from the inside pocket of his trench coat. It was from a paper kite that had been taken an hour earlier at the French Concession hospital.

He pulled out the original and stuffed in the forgery.

The blood type field on the forged document reads: O.

He crumpled the original document into a ball and stuffed it into his pocket.

Five seconds.

"What did you change?" Gu Yunqiu asked, looking at him.

"Your life." Lu Minghui walked back to the bedside.

The sound of military boots echoed down the corridor.

boom!

The door was pushed open. Nanzo Yunzi strode in, followed by four armed military police.

Mao Sen, wearing a black trench coat, followed slowly at the back.

"Section Chief Yunzi." Lu Minghui turned around and stood in front of the hospital bed. "This is the infirmary."

"I know." Nanzo Yunzi's face was cold, her gaze passing over him and fixing on Gu Yunqiu. "Take Commissioner Gu back to the Mei Agency."

"reason."

"Reason?" Nanzo Yunzi sneered. "Director Mao was just about to check the knife wound when Commissioner Gu was stabbed. The gunshot wound just happened to cover up the old one. Li Kaifeng blew up the ink, and Gu Yunqiu killed Ishihara. You 76ers are really something."

She waved her hand.

"take away!"

Two military policemen stepped forward.

Lu Minghui didn't move. He drew his Browning pistol, muzzle down, and flicked the safety with his thumb.

Click.

The military police stopped.

"Relying entirely on intuition to solve cases?" Lu Minghui looked at Nanzo Yunzi.

"Logic," Nanzo Yunzi gritted her teeth. "There's blood on Ishihara's sword. Take it back for a medical examination, and we'll know for sure."

"What blood type?" Lu Minghui asked.

Nanzo Yunko squinted. "Type A."

Lu Minghui walked to the table and took out the test results from the medical record folder.

He walked up to Nanzo Yunzi and patted the sheet on her chest.

"Section Chief Yunzi only looks at the wound, not the blood type?"

Nanzo Yunzi had seen the lab report.

Blood type: O.

Her pupils contracted. Her eye twitched.

"impossible!"

"The Special Higher Police's medic issued the report half an hour ago. It's signed." Lu Minghui holstered his gun. "If you don't believe me, you can have him confront me."

Nanzo Yunzi held the sheet tightly, her knuckles turning white.

The blood type was incorrect, and the chain of evidence broke on the spot.

Mao Sen leaned against the doorframe. A slight smile curved his lips.

"Section Chief Yunzi," Lu Minghui straightened the hem of his trench coat, "the South Manchuria Railway commissioner was assassinated, and instead of catching the killer, you've detained the victim. What will Section Chief Nakajima think when he finds out?"

Nanzo Yunko took a breath.

Put the order form back on the small table.

"disturb."

He turned and left. His military boots clattered on the floor.

The military police followed them out.

Mao Sen didn't leave immediately. He looked at Lu Minghui, then at Gu Yunqiu on the hospital bed.

"Director Lu, impressive skills."

When you're done, turn around and leave.

The infirmary fell silent.

Gu Yunqiu looked at the test results. "There's my blood on Ishihara's sword."

"It's gone now." Lu Minghui walked back to the table and put the form back into the medical record book.

At the end of the corridor.

Mao Sen lit a cigarette and took a drag.

My mind works incredibly fast.

The physical examination was scheduled for this morning in the conference room of the Mei Agency. Only four people knew about it: Nakajima, Nanzo Yunzi, Lu Minghui, and himself.

Less than an hour after the meeting ended, a gunman from the Military Intelligence Bureau appeared at the entrance of the Yokohama Specie Bank and shot through Gu Yunqiu's right arm.

It's impossible for Nakajima and Nanzo Yunko to give such an order.

He remained silent.

The only person who could mobilize the Shanghai station's action team was the station chief, Zhiyuan.

The kite was in that conference room.

Mao Sen's gaze pierced through the shadows of the corridor and landed on the door of the infirmary.

In the interrogation room, the ring finger taps out the Morse code.

Lu Minghui is Paper Kite.

But Maosenka is at a point.

Gu Yunqiu, a commissioner of the South Manchuria Railway, was a staunch traitor. The Kuomintang's Military Intelligence Bureau attempted to assassinate her in Fengtian.

Lu Minghui is now the head of the Kuomintang's Shanghai station. Why would he risk his life to save a traitor?

Unless Gu Yunqiu has an even bigger secret.

Mao Sen stubbed out his cigarette.

I finally met Lu Minghui. There were some things I couldn't say at No. 76.

Late at night. The back alley of the Da Dong Bookstore in the French Concession.

The rain was very fine.

Mao Sen, wearing a black raincoat, stood under the eaves.

The footsteps at the alley entrance were steady.

Lu Minghui, holding a black umbrella, walked out of the rain and stopped three steps away.

Raindrops pounded on the umbrella with a dull thud.

"Paper kites," Mao Sen began.

Lu Minghui did not deny it.

"Captain Mao." Lu Minghui twirled the umbrella handle, shaking off the water droplets.

Their identities were laid bare. The distance between the two people remained the same, but the nature of their relationship changed.

"You protected Gu Yunqiu today." Mao Sen stared at him. "You arranged the gunman. You altered the lab reports."

"Yes."

"Why?" Mao Sen took a step forward, rain lashing his face. "The Military Intelligence Bureau killed her in Fengtian. They're lackeys of the South Manchuria Railway. You're using Shanghai Station resources to save a traitor?"

Lu Minghui looked at him.

"Were the people who killed her in Manchuria yours?" Lu Minghui asked.

Mao Sen frowned. "Yes."

"Then you should investigate why the killing didn't succeed."

"She's lucky to be alive."

"She won't survive long." Lu Minghui's lips twitched slightly. "Gu Yunqiu is dead."

Mao Sen was stunned.

"This Gu Yunqiu is not that Gu Yunqiu." Lu Minghui looked at him. "She is my mole planted in the Red Party."

Mao Sen's pupils contracted.

"She used her identity as a South Manchuria Railway commissioner to feign being turned, but she's actually one of my people," Lu Minghui continued. "Wang Puchen has top-secret records of this. You can send a telegram to verify if you don't believe me."

Mao Sen remained silent.

Wang Puchen's filing. This scheme runs too deep.

"Then how do you explain Ishihara's death?" Mao Sen pressed. "Gu Yunqiu had an injury on her right arm, which you desperately covered up. She's the murderer."

"She had an old injury, unrelated to Ishihara," Lu Minghui said calmly. "They encountered police questioning during the rendezvous and a fight broke out. The Special Higher Police discovered the knife wound, exposing her identity as a Communist Party undercover agent. This pawn was rendered useless."

A logical closed loop. Saving Gu Yunqiu is about preserving the supply line.

Mao Sen couldn't find any fault with it.

"What about those four cases?" Mao Sen asked. "Takeda, Matsui, Ishihara, and Warehouse No. 3. They weren't handled by the Military Intelligence Bureau."

"No," Lu Minghui said, "So, Director Mao."

The umbrella tilted forward slightly.

"Continue investigating the case." Lu Minghui looked at him. "Nakajima ordered you to investigate the Communist Party. The more thoroughly you investigate, the more secure your position will be. I will fully cooperate."

He turned around.

"Our enemies are not just the Japanese."

Mao Sen watched his retreating figure and gritted his teeth.

"Okay." Mao Sen nodded. "I'll dig the Red Party's trail."

I turned around and walked into the rain.

Lu Minghui stood still.

Rainwater trickled down the steel frame of the umbrella, forming a small puddle in front of the shoe tips.

Mao Sen took the case. Nakajima's attention will be drawn to the Red Party.

But the real crisis is not at Chengda, nor at No. 76.

three days later.

No, there are only two days left.

Fifty sealed carriages of the South Manchuria Railway Dispatch Department are about to be filled with germs from Unit 1644 and sent to Hangzhou.