Hidden Radiance

"Secretary Lu, Chief Wu just left. Everything in this room is evidence. Director Li gave the order that no one is allowed to touch it. I'm here on orders, so please don't make things difficult for me."

Sun Yaozu stood up straight and crossed his arms.

Lu Minghui took out the paper that had been folded twice from his inner pocket, unfolded it, and held it up in the air.

Black ink on white paper, red seal.

"Letter of Appointment from the Mei Agency, Commander-in-Chief of the Guard Brigade, Lu Minghui." After reading it, he put the paper back in his pocket. "Now, open the door."

Sun Yaozu's smile froze.

He stared at the pocket where Lu Minghui kept the papers, his cheeks twitching twice.

"Chief Commander?" Sun Yaozu snorted coldly and took a step forward. "76 has its own rules. Personnel appointments have to go through Director Li. You think you can take over Chief Commander Wu's position with just a note from the Japanese? The brothers below won't accept it."

The eight men took a step forward.

As Sun Yaozu took that step, Lu Minghui's right hand had already reached towards his lower back.

This is exactly what he's been waiting for.

Three steps became two steps, the distance narrowed, and the person behind Sun Yaozu had his shooting angle blocked by his own body.

He drew his gun and raised his hand.

The gun barrel was pressed against Sun Yaozu's forehead.

With a flick of the thumb, "click".

Sun Yaozu froze. His pupils contracted, and the smile on his face froze.

"You dare to use a gun at No. 76?" Sun Yaozu gritted his teeth, cold sweat beading on his forehead.

"Disobeying orders and attempting to destroy important evidence." Lu Minghui pressed his index finger on the trigger. "I'll kill you, and Li Shiqun won't dare utter a sound."

The eight henchmen reacted quickly, drawing their guns and aiming them at Lu Minghui.

The young man who was leading the way gasped in fright and pressed himself against the wall, trembling.

The nearest man had already pulled the trigger, the gun pointed at the back of Lu Minghui's head.

Without turning his head, Lu Minghui thrust the gun forward, forcing Sun Yaozu's head back and causing the veins on his neck to bulge.

"Did you know that No. 76 is under the direct jurisdiction of the Special Higher Police?"

The corridor was deathly silent.

Sun Yaozu swallowed hard.

"Put down your guns!" Sun Yaozu roared, his voice cracking.

The eight men exchanged glances. The one standing against the wall was the first to holster his gun, as if he had been waiting for those words. If they could, they wouldn't want to lay a hand on someone from the Special Higher Police.

"The key." Lu Minghui held out his left hand.

Sun Yaozu trembled as he pulled a bunch of keys from his pocket and slapped them into Lu Minghui's hand.

"Open the door and come in."

Sun Yaozu gritted his teeth, turned around, and used the key to open the mahogany door.

The office was a complete mess.

The filing cabinet was forcibly pried open, and the drawers were pulled out in disarray. The safe door was half-open, with documents scattered all over the floor.

Sun Yaozu was indeed looking for something, and he was looking for it very urgently.

Lu Minghui glanced around. Several receipts were scattered next to the safe, one of which he recognized the heading: a precious metals transaction certificate from the French Concession black market.

My gaze drifted down to a metal box under the desk. There were fresh pry marks on the edge of the box; I couldn't tell if it hadn't been opened or hadn't been opened in time.

"Take him away," Lu Minghui said to the young man outside the door.

The young man froze: "Bring...bring who?"

"Deputy Captain Sun is suspected of murdering Wu Sibao and has been detained in the interrogation room." Lu Minghui put away his gun, his tone calm.

"Lu Minghui! You're spouting nonsense!" Sun Yaozu roared, turning around to pounce on him.

Lu Minghui raised his leg and kicked Sun Yaozu squarely in the abdomen.

Sun Yaozu groaned, his body tucked in, and he stumbled back three steps, crashing into the desk. He clutched his stomach and slid to the ground, unable to catch his breath for a long time.

Just as the eight men outside the door were about to move, Lu Minghui raised his gun again.

"Whoever moves, dies."

The eight people stood frozen in place, none of them daring to take a step forward.

"Call the interrogation team over and take him to the basement," Lu Minghui instructed the young man.

The young man scrambled off to get help.

While waiting, Lu Minghui intercepted a passing intelligence clerk in the corridor and asked him to take the investigation file of Wu Sibao's murder case to the basement. He also asked him to bring a summary of the report on the Kunshan gold robbery.

He leaned against the corridor wall and tucked the gun back into his waistband. The grip was slippery from the sweat in his palms, and the metal against his back gave him a sense of security.

Four people from the interrogation department arrived. Two of them grabbed Sun Yaozu and dragged him downstairs. Sun Yaozu cursed all the way down, his voice carrying from the second floor to the first floor, then sinking back down to the ground floor, finally being muffled by the iron door.

Underground interrogation room.

It was dark and damp, filled with the smells of blood and mildew. Various instruments of torture hung on the walls, their chains rattling softly.

Sun Yaozu was tied to an iron chair, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, his eyes fixed on the person opposite him with a sinister gaze.

Lu Minghui sat behind the desk, on which lay the tin box, several documents found in the office, and a thin investigation file.

The incandescent light overhead swayed back and forth, casting Lu Minghui's shadow in various lengths.

"Lu Minghui, this is settling a personal score. When Director Li returns, I'll make you regret it!" Sun Yaozu shouted, the chains rattling loudly.

Lu Minghui opened a document without looking up.

"On the 15th of last month, a shipment of gold being transported by the Japanese army to Nanjing was robbed in Kunshan."

"The Mei Bureau investigated for a month, turning Kunshan upside down, but found no clues. The entire escort team was wiped out, and the scene was cleaned up very thoroughly."

Sun Yaozu's expression changed, and he stopped struggling.

"What does this have to do with me?"

Lu Minghui picked up the tin box and opened it.

There were no gold bars inside, only a black ledger and two boat tickets.

"Wu Sibao's private account." Lu Minghui turned to a page in the ledger and pointed to the numbers with his fingertip. "On the 20th of last month, a batch of gold of unknown origin was exchanged for silver dollars and US dollars through the black market in the French Concession."

He threw the ledger on the table with a "thud".

Sun Yaozu's breathing became rapid.

"Wu Sibao is incredibly bold; he even dared to touch the Japanese gold."

Lu Minghui raised his head and fixed his gaze on Sun Yaozu.

"But he couldn't do it alone. The Japanese army had a tight defense along the Kunshan line. Someone would need to provide the transport route, someone would need to lead the team to meet them, and someone would need to dispose of the stolen goods."

Sweat streamed down Sun Yaozu's face.

"The ferry ticket was for Hong Kong, and the date was tomorrow. He was planning to flee." Lu Minghui paused for a moment, "But he's dead. Shot in the back of the head and in the chest."

"That was done by the Military Intelligence Bureau! Even the 76th Bureau knows!" Sun Yaozu finally shouted.

Lu Minghui pulled a photograph from the investigation files and threw it in front of Sun Yaozu. "Wu Sibao was shot in the back of the head, killed instantly. The killer, worried that the first shot wasn't enough, rolled over and fired a second shot into his chest. Do you think this is a tactic used by the Military Intelligence Bureau?"

Sun Yaozu stared at the photo, his lips moving, but he couldn't say a word.

"That was ruthless." Lu Minghui stood up, walked around the table, and stood in front of Sun Yaozu. "You helped him rob the gold and sell the stolen goods. If the spoils weren't divided fairly, or if you were afraid the Japanese would find out, you simply killed him to cover it up. You were also worried that if you killed Wu Sibao and went to Hong Kong, you wouldn't be able to explain it to Mr. Du. Were you afraid?"

"You sealed off the office today just to find this ledger."

Lu Minghui leaned down and placed his hands on the armrests of the iron chair.

"There are records in the ledgers showing that you were in charge of disposing of stolen goods."

Sun Yaozu was trembling all over, biting his lip tightly.

Lu Minghui leaned close to Sun Yaozu's ear and said, "Someone is even bolder. They dare to rob the Japanese of their gold and dare to shoot their superiors." His tone was soft but firm.

"He deserved to die!" Sun Yaozu blurted out.

"So you did it." Lu Minghui replied quickly, giving him no time to think.

Sun Yaozu abruptly shut his mouth, his face turning deathly pale.

The ledger had no names at all, only code names. He was betting that Sun Yaozu wouldn't dare to open it and confront him.

"I'm only giving you one chance." Lu Minghui stared into Sun Yaozu's eyes. "Where is the gold hidden? Tell me, and I'll spare your life as a way of redeeming yourself. If you don't, I'll hand you over to the Mei Agency right now. Not everyone is as easy to talk to as I am."

Sun Yaozu's Adam's apple bobbed up and down twice.

He struggled against the chains, but couldn't break free, and collapsed to the ground.

"In...in the basement of 144 Avenue Joffre in the French Concession." He lowered his head dejectedly, his voice hoarse.

Lu Minghui straightened up and stepped back behind the table.

He picked up the ledger and flipped through it again from beginning to end. He turned to every page and scanned every line of codes. He closed the ledger and put it in a folder along with the interrogation records.

Mei Agency, second floor, Shinichi Nakajima's office.

Lu Minghui neatly placed the account books and interrogation records on his desk.

Nakajima flipped through the confession, his expression shifting from surprise to ecstatic joy.

"The gold robbery... it was Wu Sibao who did it!" Nakajima slammed his hand on the table, stood up, walked over to Lu Minghui, and patted him heavily on the shoulder. "Minghui, you've done a great job! The chief of staff lost his temper three times over this, and the military police were in a complete mess. Now we can finally close the case!"

Lu Minghui stood in front of his desk, his expression calm.

"Sun Yaozu has already revealed the location of the hidden gold, and I have asked Ono-kun to retrieve it from Xiafei Road."

"Excellent. You did a perfect job." Nakajima didn't hold back his praise. "I knew it. You took over for less than two hours and managed to solve the biggest cancer in the 76th Division and crack the gold heist. Li Shiqun has nothing to say this time."

Lu Minghui took a half step back, avoiding Nakajima's hand.

"Section Chief Nakajima, the case is solved, my mission is complete." Lu Minghui took out the letter of appointment from his pocket and placed it on the table.

Nakajima was stunned.

"What do you mean by that?"

"I can't take this position as the head of the security detail." Lu Minghui looked at Nakajima, his tone sincere. "Wu Sibao dared to rob the Japanese of their gold, which shows that the waters inside the 76th Division run very deep. Today, I arrested Sun Yaozu, and I have completely offended Li Shiqun. As an intelligence officer without any connections, I won't last more than three months in this position. I don't want to die."

Nakajima frowned.

"With me backing you up, who dares to touch you?"

"It's easy to dodge a spear in the open, but hard to guard against an arrow in the dark." Lu Minghui sighed. "If Mr. Nakajima insists on me going... I've seen the organizational structure of the 76th Division. The position of Commissioner of Police has always been vacant. It's a high-ranking position, meaning you don't interfere with actual work, you don't bother people, and it's convenient for keeping an eye on people."

The police force has access to the personal details and activity records of all personnel in Unit 76.

Nakajima stared at Lu Minghui, his eyes sharpening.

He was examining it.

Lu Minghui looked back calmly, his body slightly hunched, revealing a hint of fatigue and retreat.

Nakajima suddenly laughed.

He picked up the letter of appointment from the table and, in front of Lu Minghui, tore it in half with a "rip".

Lu Minghui curled his fingertips.

Did they mess it up?