Hidden Radiance

"puff!"

Just as the owner of Xiangji uttered a single syllable, a spark flashed in the rain from the highest point outside the courtyard.

A bloody hole exploded in the forehead of the owner of Xiangji. He fell backward and hit the back of his head on the blue brick with a dull thud.

His eyes were still wide open, his lips moved slightly, and blood and foam gushed from the corner of his mouth, silencing the rest of his words.

"There's a sniper!"

Gu Yunqiu grabbed Lu Minghui's arm and pulled him behind the stone lion, while shouting at the military police, "Seal off the rooftop across the street! Now!"

Chaos erupted in the courtyard. Military police rushed towards the gate, while Green Gang thugs drew their weapons, shoving and jostling each other, unsure which way to point their guns.

The two thugs beside She Aizhen had already set up their pistols and aimed them at the rooftop opposite. She Aizhen pressed the barrel of her gun, glanced around the courtyard, and retreated behind the door frame of the main hall.

Lu Minghui crouched behind the stone lion, his gaze passing over the crowd and fixed on the window of the three-story building across the street.

Behind the broken glass, a figure wearing a black felt hat flashed by and disappeared.

High cheekbones and a hard, cold jawline.

He recognized that face. Not on the street, but in a photograph.

Paper kite.

How did he know the tailor was here? How did he know the tailor was a key witness?

Wang Puchen knew nothing about the tailor. Old Zhao knew nothing about the kites.

This person's reach extended to places he couldn't see.

"Commander Lu, are you alright?"

Gu Yunqiu stood close to him, her eyes behind her glasses fixed on his face, scanning it inch by inch.

Lu Minghui grabbed her wrist with his other hand, his fingertips digging into her flesh.

"Secretary Gu, these are the good soldiers you've trained." He lowered his voice. "Surrounded by the military police, the witness was silenced in public. The efficiency of the South Manchuria Railway's elite is nothing special."

Gu Yunqiu shook off his hand, her face turning ashen.

"Take the bodies and get out of here!" Gu Yunqiu gritted her teeth.

She Aizhen stood at the entrance of the main hall and lit another cigarette.

Through the swirling smoke, she looked at Lu Minghui. She neither nodded nor spoke.

His gaze swept over the tailor's corpse, lingered on Lu Minghui's face for a long time, and then fell on the bulge in his trench coat pocket—the gun was still inside.

Then she looked down at the blood on the tailor's face that hadn't dried yet.

"Commander Lu," She Aizhen's voice was not loud, "My people, don't let others do it for you next time."

"Someone else do it?" Lu Minghui's voice was cold. "That's an important witness. Who would dare to do it for someone else?"

An hour later, Mei's agency.

Shinichi Nakajima stared at the autopsy report on the table without saying a word. Rain pattered against the windowpane.

"Section Chief, the sniper used a German-made 7.92 caliber rifle, standard equipment for the Military Intelligence Bureau's action team." Gu Yunqiu stood in front of the table, the gauze on his head soaked with blood again. "The spent cartridges were found on the roof of the building across the street. The assassins made a clean getaway, leaving nothing behind."

Lu Minghui sat on the sofa, flicking his lighter on and off. *Ding. Ding.*

"Why would the Military Intelligence Bureau kill a tailor at a time like this?" Nakajima looked up. "Unless this tailor knows enough to wipe out the Military Intelligence Bureau in Shanghai."

"Or," Lu Minghui closed his lighter, "he knows who Zhiyuan is."

Nakajima snorted and pushed a document over.

A letter of accusation from the Nanjing puppet government. Zhou Fohai personally called the head of the agency, demanding an explanation within three days. The matter of the twenty boxes of gold had caused unrest at the higher-ups.

"Has Fu Yewen been recruited?" Nakajima asked.

"He only admits to being greedy and wanting to make money in the French Concession. He stubbornly refuses to admit to the treasury matter," Gu Yunqiu replied.

"He doesn't need to acknowledge it."

Nakajima stood up and walked to the window.

"The coded telegram is in his office. His confidant, Ah Bing, ordered military uniforms on the black market. The tailor was silenced by the Military Intelligence Bureau. The chain of evidence is complete."

He turned around, his tone devoid of warmth.

"Fu Yewen is Zhiyuan. He used Li Shiqun's brother-in-law identity as a cover to infiltrate the Military Intelligence Bureau and plunder the Empire's resources."

He paused for a moment.

"The head of the agency needs an explanation, and Nanjing also needs an explanation."

Gu Yunqiu suddenly looked up: "Section Chief! The chain of evidence does indeed point to Fu Yewen, but Ah Bing is dead, the tailor is dead, and all the witnesses who could speak are gone..."

"Yunqiu." Nakajima didn't turn around, his gaze fixed on the rain outside the window.

He paused for two seconds, picked up the paper cutter on the table, and tested the blade with his thumb.

"The department head is going to Nanjing to report on his work the day after tomorrow. What do you think he should say when he stands in front of Zhou Fohai?"

He put the paper cutter down, blade facing outwards.

"The truth can be investigated, but the report must be written this way."

Gu Yunqiu tightened her jaw, and the muscles in her jaw twitched. She didn't say anything more.

Lu Minghui stood up, walked to her side, and stood half a step away.

"The vacancy left by Director Fu needs to be filled by someone in the Confidential Affairs Department. If Secretary Gu feels he has been wronged, he might as well volunteer to the section chief and take over this task himself."

Gu Yunqiu glanced at him sideways, but ultimately didn't respond.

"Minghui, you did a great job."

Nakajima looked at Lu Minghui with the same gaze he would give a newly sharpened knife—whether it was suitable or not, he would have to take another look.

"You'll take over the position vacated by Fu Yewen. Starting today, you are the head of the Confidential Affairs Department, and your military rank will be promoted one level. You will continue to serve as the chief instructor concurrently."

"Thank you for your guidance, Section Chief." Lu Minghui lowered his head.

"As for you, Yunqiu," Nakajima turned to Gu Yunqiu, his voice turning cold.

"Although the gold robbery is over, those fake military police last night acted too quickly and their retreat route was too precise. There may be not only Kuomintang agents inside No. 76, but also members of the Communist Party."

Gu Yunqiu's expression changed.

"The gold was stolen by the Military Intelligence Bureau, but what about the intelligence? The simultaneous attacks on the French Concession and the gold vault, a coordinated effort across multiple fronts—this doesn't seem like the work of the Military Intelligence Bureau. I suspect they've colluded with the Communist Party." Nakajima lowered his voice. "Go investigate. Don't focus on those in the open, focus on those in the shadows. Especially that guy codenamed 'Old Ghost'."

Gu Yunqiu straightened his back: "Your subordinate understands."

As I walked out of the Meiji Government Building, it was just beginning to get light.

Lu Minghui stood on the steps, a cold wind blowing into his collar.

Head of the Confidential Affairs Department. The most crucial position in the 76th Division, secured.

But Fu Yewen was just a discarded pawn. All those things related to "kite" were buried in the coffin, and also in Nakajima's heart.

Lu Minghui walked towards the Ford. As he passed the newsstand on the street corner, he glanced at it out of the corner of his eye.

The towel is missing.

The old man who sold newspapers was gone. There was a puddle of water on the ground, and the stool next to his stall was overturned with one leg broken.

That's Old Zhao's stall.

Lu Minghui didn't stop. He got into the car, inserted the key into the ignition, it slipped, and he had to try a second time to get it in.

The engine starts.

After driving two blocks, a black sedan appeared in the rearview mirror.

Gu Yunqiu's car. Not too far, not too close, about three parking spaces away.

Was Lao Zhao arrested? Or was he moved beforehand?

Maza broke a leg. Old Zhao is a clean person; he wouldn't smash his own things before leaving. The leg was broken because someone kicked him.

If you get caught...

Lu Minghui did not return to No. 76, nor did he go to any contact points.

He drove his car to the Bund and parked it by the river.

I got off the bus, leaned against the railing, and lit a cigarette.

The river wind is strong.

Gu Yunqiu's car was parked not far away. She walked over, wearing high heels and carrying a small leather bag.

"Commander Lu, you've been promoted, why do you look a little unhappy?"

Gu Yunqiu took off her glasses, wiped them with a handkerchief, and put them back on.

"I'm wondering what Director Fu would say to Li Shiqun before he died," Lu Minghui said, looking at the river.

"He couldn't say anything," Gu Yunqiu said. "He committed suicide out of fear of punishment."

Lu Minghui flicked the cigarette ash into the river breeze and didn't reply.

"By the way, Commander Lu."

Gu Yunqiu leaned closer, her voice so soft it was almost carried away by the river breeze.

"Why didn't I see you taking a rickshaw today? Where's your driver?"

Lu Minghui tightened his grip on the cigarette for a moment, then released it.

"Secretary Gu is joking. I don't have a driver."

Lu Minghui turned his head and looked at her.

"Of the thousands of rickshaw pullers in Shanghai, not one of them was mine."

"I just arrested a rickshaw driver surnamed Zhao, a Communist Party member." Gu Yunqiu ignored his words. "Should we interrogate him as well?"

She stared into Lu Minghui's eyes. The wind blew from the river, scattering stray hairs from her temples onto her glasses, but she didn't brush them away.

Then he looked away and turned to walk back.

Her high heels clicked on the concrete, and she walked twenty steps before getting into the car. The door closed, the engine roared to life, and the black sedan drove away from the riverbank.

Lu Minghui stubbed out his cigarette on the railing and turned to walk towards the car.

Open the car door, get in, and close the door.

His upper body was slumped over the steering wheel, his body twitching constantly, and whimpering sounds could be heard from time to time.

Gu Yunqiu moved too fast, like a mad dog.

A note was seen being aired out through a crack in the window at some point.

Lu Minghui only noticed the note after he regained consciousness. He instinctively reached for his waist, pulled out his pistol, and looked around. Cold sweat was already streaming down his back.

Only after confirming that no one was there did they remove the note.

The words were written crookedly, as if written with the left hand.

"The stationmaster wants to see you."

The handwriting was unfamiliar. A simple bird was drawn at the end of the signature.

Paper kite.

Lu Minghui folded the note back and stuffed it into the inside pocket of his trench coat. He took his hand out of his pocket and placed it on the steering wheel, without moving.

The river wind blew in through the cracks in the car window and lingered for a long time, making the car ice cold.