Hidden Radiance

The sound of military boots outside the door stopped. Then, a knock came at the door.

"Come in." Nakajima put away the newspaper.

Ono pushed open the door and entered, standing at attention.

"Section Chief. We've clarified Lin Zhijiang's investigation records at the Clock Tower."

"explain."

"After the incident at the train station, Lin Zhijiang led a search of the clock tower. But he only went to the second floor; the search of the top floor was left to his agents. The three shell casings were picked up by the agents." Ono looked up. "He didn't even go to the sniper position to confirm."

Nakajima picked up the pencil on the table and bent it with two fingers.

Click. The pencil broke in two.

"Is it just a perfunctory job, or a deliberate cover-up?" Nakajima threw the broken pen into the wastebasket. "Li Shiqun's dog is getting less and less sensitive to smell."

"Should we arrest Lin Zhijiang?"

"No." Nakajima stood up. "Isn't Lu Minghui going to build a special operations team? Send him the files and approvals for those thirty-six people. Tell him I've sharpened this knife for him; how he cuts, and who he cuts, is up to him."

"Yes."

76 Jessfield Road.

It was afternoon. The water in the yard hadn't completely dried up yet.

Two military trucks roared through the gate, their tires crunching over puddles and splashing mud onto the steps of the office building.

The engine is turned off. The tailgate is lowered.

Thirty-six men dressed in black Zhongshan suits jumped off the bus one after another. The suits were newly issued, and some of them had the buttons fastened incorrectly.

No one spoke, and no one whispered.

They stood scattered in the middle of the courtyard, some with their hands in their pockets, some with their hands on their hips, some with their hands hanging down, each with a different posture, but none of them looked around.

Thirty-six pairs of eyes were all fixed on Lu Minghui on the steps.

Lu Minghui had his left arm draped across his chest, and a black trench coat draped over his shoulders.

Gu Yunqiu stood to his side and slightly behind, holding a document in her hand.

The office building doors opened. Lin Zhijiang walked out with a dozen or so special agents from the action team, his lips pursed and his cheeks puffed out.

"Director Lu, what a grand display." Lin Zhijiang walked to the front of the crowd, his gaze sweeping over the unfamiliar faces. "When did the threshold for No. 76 become so low? They're letting in just any Tom, Dick, or Harry with dubious backgrounds?"

Lu Minghui did not respond.

He walked down the steps and stopped half a meter in front of Lin Zhijiang.

He extended his right hand. Gu Yunqiu handed the document to him.

Lu Minghui slammed the document directly onto Lin Zhijiang's chest. The force was considerable, causing Lin Zhijiang to take half a step back.

"The staffing approval was personally signed by Section Chief Nakajima." Lu Minghui looked at him. "These thirty-six people are under my direct command. They receive stipends from the Mei Agency and perform duties for the Special Higher Police."

Lin Zhijiang glanced down at the chrysanthemum-patterned seal on the document, his Adam's apple bobbing.

"If Captain Lin thinks they're just nobody, he can go to the Mei Agency and talk to Section Chief Nakajima about the threshold issue." Lu Minghui withdrew his hand. "But before he goes, he should recall the shooting at the train station."

Lin Zhijiang suddenly looked up, his eyes twitching.

Lu Minghui didn't look at him again. He turned to face the courtyard.

"Get in the car."

The thirty-six men turned and walked toward the truck. Those in front were fast, those behind were slow, and some had to go around a bend to find the side of their truck. But everyone got on the truck decisively, flipping over and pushing off without any hesitation.

The baffle is pulled up.

"Where to?" Gu Yunqiu asked.

"Xinmin Machinery Factory." Lu Minghui opened the door of the Ford sedan. "Go and take over Hu Juewen's business."

He turned to Sun Yaozu and said, "Have the guard battalion's armory allocate thirty submachine guns and five boxes of ammunition for the truck. Load them halfway there."

Sun Yaozu paused for a moment, then jogged away.

Gu Yunqiu started the engine, turned the steering wheel, and lowered his voice: "Sun Yaozu reported this morning that Shao Shijun's men went to Zhabei before dawn."

Lu Minghui didn't reply, but tapped his knee with his right hand.

"Hurry up and open it."

Zhabei, Xinmin Machinery Factory.

The factory gates were wide open, and the glass in the guardhouse was shattered all over the floor.

The workshop echoed with the muffled thud of machines and the angry shouts of workers. A dozen or so thugs, dressed in short-sleeved shirts and sporting tattoos of blue dragons and white tigers on their arms, were smashing parts boxes around the workshop's perimeter with iron bars. The leader was a bald man carrying a machete.

"Boss Hu, Director Shao has given the order. If you don't hand over 30% of the factory's shares today, all the machines will be smashed to scrap metal!" The bald man slashed at the wooden crate with his knife, the blade chipping at the edge.

Hu Juewen, dressed in a long gown, stood at the workshop entrance, protected by several workers. He gritted his teeth, his knuckles white as he gripped a steel pipe in his hand.

"Who does Shao Shijun think he is!" Hu Jue roared angrily. "My factory won't give a single screw to those traitors in Nanjing!"

The bald man brandished his knife, slapping the blade against his palm: "He won't listen to reason, so he'll have to drink the penalty shot. Brothers, break his leg!"

A dozen thugs raised iron bars and charged forward.

boom!

A gunshot rang out, drowning out the noise in the workshop.

The bald man's foot stopped abruptly, a burst of blood erupted from his thigh, and he screamed as he collapsed to the ground.

Outside the factory gate, two trucks were parked sideways. Thirty-six men in black jumped out of the trucks, carrying submachine guns they had loaded along the way, and rushed into the factory. With a swift movement of their guns, they surrounded and killed more than a dozen thugs.

The thugs' iron bars clattered to the ground, and they all crouched down, covering their heads.

Lu Minghui, wearing a trench coat, walked in, stepping over the broken glass scattered on the ground. Gu Yunqiu followed beside him.

"Director Lu." Hu Juewen tightened his grip on the steel pipe upon recognizing the person, gritting his teeth, "A pack of dogs from Nanjing left, and now a Japanese dog has arrived."

Lu Minghui walked up to the bald man. The bald man was lying on the ground, clutching his leg and groaning.

"Who sent you?" Lu Minghui looked down at him.

"Director Shao... Director Shao..." The bald man trembled with pain. "Lu Minghui, if you dare touch us, Director Shao will not let you get away with this!"

Lu Minghui stepped on the bald man's machete, the blade embedding itself in the shards of glass, the steel scraping against the floor tiles with a piercing sound.

"Go back and tell Shao Shijun. The Mei government has taken over the Xinmin Machinery Factory. If he dares to point a finger here again, next time it won't just be a leg beating."

He pulled his foot back.

"roll."

A dozen thugs grabbed Baldy and scrambled out of the factory area.

The area in front of the workshop quieted down.

Lu Minghui looked at Hu Juewen. "Boss Hu, shall we go inside and talk?"

Hu Jue snorted coldly, threw away the steel pipe, and turned to walk into the office.

Lu Minghui followed him inside. Gu Yunqiu stayed outside and closed the door behind her.

Inside the office.

Hu Juewen walked behind the table but did not sit down.

"Director Lu is quite impressive." Hu Jue stared at him. "What, did Shinichi Nakajima send you to steal my machine?"

Lu Minghui walked to his desk, pulled out a chair, and sat down. He tapped the desk twice with his right hand.

"Station Chief Wang asked me to give you his regards," Lu Minghui said in a very low voice.

The anger in Hu Juewen's eyes instantly subsided.

He opened the drawer, took out a note with a password that he had just received last night, and burned it with a match in front of Lu Minghui.

"I've received the secret order from the Military Intelligence Bureau's Shanghai station." Hu Jue sat down and lowered his voice, "You want me to cooperate with your charade."

He stared at Lu Minghui's left arm, which was hanging across his chest, for two seconds.

"The secret order said to cooperate with Lu Minghui, the head of the 76th Confidential Section. I thought Station Chief Wang was joking." Hu Juewen's voice was even lower. "You're a traitor. Station Chief Wang wants me to entrust my life to you?"

"You don't have to believe me," Lu Minghui said without explanation, "but Li Shiqun has already obtained the waybill for your machine parts being shipped to Chongqing. Today Shao Shijun is causing trouble, tomorrow it'll be the military police. Do you think you can wait for a second secret order?"

Hu Juewen pressed his finger on the table. His nail turned white, then he released it.

"How can we cooperate?"

"The factory is registered under the Mei Agency's name, and your parts were mixed in with military supplies and went through my channels." Lu Minghui looked at him. "I was the one who audited the accounts. What Nakajima saw was only what I let him see."

Hu Jue stared at Lu Minghui for a long time without saying a word.

"You're carrying the burden of Nakajima, Li Shiqun, and Shao Shijun all by yourself." Hu Juewen pressed his finger on the table again. "If something goes wrong, will Chongqing abandon me?"

"The secret order is in your hands; you were acting under orders." Lu Minghui stood up. "I acted on my own initiative. Who bears the responsibility is self-evident."

Hu Jue glanced at Lu Minghui's arm hanging across his chest, but didn't ask any more questions.

Extend your right hand.

"It's a pleasure working with you, Director Lu."

Lu Minghui did not shake hands. He glanced out the window.

"You'd better put on a good show." Lu Minghui raised his voice, slamming his hand on the table, making the teacup jump. "Hu Juewen! Don't be so stubborn! Send the account books to No. 76 tomorrow, or I'll shut down your factory!"

After saying that, he turned around, opened the door, and strode out.

Hu Jue heard a furious roar from inside the door: "Traitor! Lackey!"

Lu Minghui walked out of the office building. Gu Yunqiu came to greet him.

"Fall back," Lu Minghui ordered.

Thirty-six team members boarded the vehicle. The convoy departed from Xinmin Machinery Factory.

Inside the car. Gu Yunqiu gripped the steering wheel.

"Hu Juewen lowered his head?" she asked.

"With a knife to his neck, he has no choice but to submit." Lu Minghui closed his eyes.

Gu Yunqiu glanced at him but didn't say anything more.

The small Western-style house in the backyard of No. 76 Jessfield Road.

Shao Shijun stood by the window, his back to the people in the room.

The bald man lay on a stretcher, one leg wrapped in bandages, blood still seeping out.

Shao Shijun didn't get angry. He looked out the window at the courtyard, his fingers on the window frame, his nails digging into the lacquer. White lacquer flakes fell down in a flurry.

"Tell me," Shao Shijun said calmly, "How did you lose it?"

The bald man recounted what had happened, trembling.

Shao Shijun didn't turn around. He scratched off another piece of paint under his fingernail.

Li Shiqun sat on a sofa in the distance, twirling two pairs of walnuts in his hands, making a crackling sound.

"Director Shao, as I said, Lu Minghui now has troops under his command." Li Shiqun stopped eating the walnuts he was holding. "Zhongdao has approved a direct guard of thirty-six men for him. Sending a few thugs to rob the factory is just asking for trouble."

Shao Shijun suddenly turned his head and stared at Li Shiqun.

"It's better to strike before him than to sit and wait to die," Shao Shijun said, emphasizing each word. "But Director Li, your three assassins died in the French Concession without even touching Lu Minghui's clothes. Who's more shameful?"

The smile on Li Shiqun's face vanished. The walnut remained in his palm, no longer spinning.

"Director Shao, whether it's your people or mine, you can't win in a head-on confrontation." Li Shiqun put down the walnuts, stood up, and walked to the window.

"The bigger his operation becomes, the more flaws he'll expose." Li Shiqun looked at the rain clouds outside the window. "He's protecting those chamber of commerce bosses; Nakajima will become suspicious sooner or later. We need a catalyst to ignite this fire."

Shao Shijun turned his head.

"What trigger?"

Li Shiqun did not answer directly. He put his hands behind his back, rubbed his thumbs together, and glanced at Shao Shijun.

"Director Shao is in charge of taxes in Nanjing. What's he most afraid of with the accounts?"

Shao Shijun narrowed his eyes.

Li Shiqun didn't say anything more. He walked back to the sofa, sat down, picked up the pair of walnuts again, and started turning them with a crackling sound.

Evening. Mei Agency.

Section Chief's Office.

Shinichi Nakajima sat behind the table. The copy of the "Shenbao" newspaper was spread out on the table.

The phone rang suddenly.

Nakajima picked up the microphone. "Speak."

"Section Chief." Ono's voice came through the receiver, a beat faster than usual. "We found it. The address that young man in the newspaper left is an antique shop on Avenue Joffre in the French Concession. He appeared in three consecutive issues, each with a different keyword, and spelling it out gives us this address. This afternoon, a man in a long gown went in. We kept a close watch on the outside, not daring to alert him."

Nakajima's gaze fell on the two kana characters written in pencil on the edge of the newspaper.

gardener.

"Did you see her face clearly?" Nakajima asked.

"I see clearly now." Ono paused for a moment. "It's Wang Shijin. Wang Shijin of the North China United Reserve Bank."

Nakajima tightened his grip on the microphone. His knuckles dug into the microphone's groove, causing the plastic casing to creak.

Wang Shijin. A true gardener.

"Keep a close watch. Do not move without my order."

Nakajima hung up the phone.

He stood up and walked to the window.

The neon lights in the Bund direction lit up first, their red and green glows casting a hazy halo around the low-lying clouds.

Nakajima looked at his reflection in the glass window. He reached out, touched the glass with his fingertip, moved it away, touched it again, moved it away, and then touched it a third time.

Three points, three people.

Wang Shijin. Shao Shijun. Lu Minghui.

I pulled my fingers back from the glass. My fingertips were cool.

A knock came at the door.

"Enter."

Gu Yunqiu pushed open the door and walked in. In her hand, she held a red sealed envelope with a hot wax stamp on the seal.

"Section Chief, urgent telegram from the South Manchuria Railway." Gu Yunqiu walked to the desk and handed over the envelope with both hands. "Red envelope, for the Section Chief's personal use only."

Nakajima took the envelope.

He glanced at Gu Yunqiu. She stood very straight, her hands hanging at her sides, her gaze fixed straight ahead, without any extra expression or movement.

He tore open the seal with his thumb, pulled out the telegram, and glanced at it.

His hand holding the telegram froze in mid-air.

He pressed his thumb on the paper for two seconds without moving it.

The telegram contained only one line:

"Secret report from Fengtian: Gu Yunqiu's identity is in doubt; investigate immediately."

Nakajima slowly raised his head and looked at Gu Yunqiu standing in front of him.

Gu Yunqiu met his gaze, her face expressionless.