Hidden Radiance

The French Concession, Jubaozhai.

At the French inspector's command, the police officers retreated, and the sound of the armored vehicle's engine disappeared around the street corner.

In the lobby of the antique shop, a piece of incense burner shattered and hit the bronze wall.

Shao Shijun wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and leaned closer to Wang Shijin: "Mr. Wang, your reputation really works! These foreign devils are indeed..."

He hadn't finished speaking.

Wang Shijin suddenly stood up and swung his right arm in a wide arc.

Snapped!

A slap landed on Shao Shijun's face.

Shao Shijun crashed into the display cabinet, and a Ming Dynasty blue and white porcelain bowl fell to the ground and shattered into a pile of porcelain shards.

"Mr. Wang..." Shao Shijun covered his face, his eyes wide open.

Wang Shijin pulled a silk handkerchief from his sleeve and wiped his fingers one by one.

"idiot."

"I did it to protect the account books, that brat Lu Minghui..."

"Lu Minghui has Nakajima Shinichi standing behind him." Wang Shijin threw a handkerchief at Shao Shijun's feet. "Li Shiqun told you to lead people to smash up Xinmin Machinery Factory, and you actually went? He's using you as a pawn, and you're pulling the trigger for him. If I hadn't taken precautions and had Sanxin Company notify the police to cause trouble beforehand, you'd be in the Special Higher Police's office by now."

Shao Shijun opened his mouth, but no words came out.

"The first step of the Sugi Project is integration, not a merger." Wang Shijin sat back in his armchair, his fingers twirling the small-leaf sandalwood bracelet. "Lu Minghui is Nakajima's lifeline now. If you mess with him, Nakajima will mess with you."

The beads clicked loudly as they were turned.

"Go back. Tell Li Shiqun that if there's a next time, I'll personally send him to the military police."

Shao Shijun lowered his hand from his face. Half of his face was already swollen.

He stared at the handkerchief on the ground, didn't bend down to pick it up, and turned to walk out.

Wang Shijin looked at the empty lobby.

My thumb rested on the bead, but I didn't move it.

Mei's office, section chief's office.

Lu Minghui pushed open the door and entered. Nakajima Shinichi stood by the window, without turning around.

"Didn't you bring it back?"

"The police station's interference was anticipated by Wang Shijin." Lu Minghui walked to the table. "Shao Shijun has ambushed over thirty people in the antique shop, clearly intending to confront them head-on."

Nakajima turned around. There was no anger on his face.

"Wang Shijin is using the walls of the French Concession to block my way." Nakajima walked behind the table and sat down, tapping his fingers twice on the surface. "Does he think the police station can protect him?"

"Section Chief, it's my fault for not doing a good job." Lu Minghui bowed his head.

"It's not your fault. You've done a great job." Nakajima raised his hand to interrupt him. "Lu Xuzhang, Wan Molin, and Hu Juewen, you have all three of them under your control. You've done an excellent job with the integration mission in Shanghai."

Nakajima's tone softened somewhat.

"Shao Shijun is a clown. But Wang Shijin is different; he is Nanjing's god of wealth, holding the power to allocate funds for the Shan Project. He doesn't allow us to get involved in the core aspects because he wants to gain greater benefits for the Nanjing government."

Lu Minghui took a step forward and lowered his voice.

"Section Chief, since Wang Shijin is so ungrateful, why don't we replace him with someone else?"

Nakajima raised an eyebrow.

"Wang Shijin relies on his connections in the financial world and his set of ledgers. But now, we've unified the chambers of commerce and gangs in Shanghai. As long as we control the flow of goods, his ledgers are just pieces of paper." Lu Minghui paused for a moment, "Wouldn't it be easier to support a 'gardener' who is completely obedient to the Mei Agency?"

Nakajima remained silent.

He tapped his fingers twice on the table and then stopped.

A moment later, Nakajima smiled.

"Replacing Wang Shijin is a matter for later. The immediate priority is the second step of the Shan Plan."

Nakajima opened the drawer and took out a stack of banknotes.

The paper is thick and sturdy, and it is printed with the words "Central Reserve Bank".

"This is..." Lu Minghui took the banknotes.

"The Central Reserve Bank Notes, a truly great gift brought by the special envoy." Nakajima stood up, walked to the map, pointed to Shanghai's financial district, and said, "Abolish the legal tender and promote the Central Reserve Bank Notes. Use these pieces of paper to exchange Shanghai's wealth for the wealth of the empire."

Lu Minghui ran his right hand across the ticket. The ink smelled strong.

"Such a large-scale financial operation is most easily implemented by the Chinese within China." Nakajima turned to Lu Minghui, staring at him. "Li Shiqun is too greedy, and Wang Shijin is too arrogant. Minghui, I want you to be the one to implement this."

Lu Minghui clutched the banknotes in his hand.

"Those people in the Chamber of Commerce won't fall for this easily. To push this through, you need someone backing you up, and you need guns."

"Your special operations team has been preparing for this moment." Nakajima walked up to Lu Minghui and straightened his trench coat collar. "Starting tomorrow, have Wan Merlin's men lead the way in using Central Reserve Bank notes at the docks. If they don't accept them, seize the cargo and seal the ship."

"clear."

Lu Minghui turned and left the office.

Stepping out of the Meiji government building, a cold wind rushed into my collar.

Gu Yunqiu leaned against the car, her gaze fixed on the Central Reserve Bank notes in his hand.

"If you push this thing down, all the merchants in Shanghai will hate you to death." Gu Yunqiu started the engine.

Lu Minghui got into the car and threw the stack of banknotes onto the dashboard.

"Go to the military police headquarters and see Ono."

Hongkou. Headquarters of the Japanese Military Police.

The air smelled strongly of disinfectant. Ono sat behind his desk, holding a fine silk cloth and wiping his military knife repeatedly.

Lu Minghui pushed the door open and came in. The plaster cast on his left arm was dazzlingly white under the light, and his trench coat still had the dampness of the rain outside.

"Ono-kun, if you keep polishing this knife, the blade will become thinner." Lu Minghui walked to the table, pulled out a chair, and sank half of his body into the shadows.

Ono put away the silk cloth, and the blade clattered as it went back into its sheath. He looked up, his gaze lingering for a moment on Lu Minghui's injured arm, a stiff smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

"Minghui, I heard you brought thirty-six laborers into No. 76, which made Lin Zhijiang's face turn green with anger."

"Don't even mention it." Lu Minghui waved his hand, took out a pack of Lao Dao brand cigarettes from his pocket with his right hand, put one in his mouth without lighting it, and said, "They call them a guard, but they're really just a bunch of peasants. Wan Molin gave them to me, and they're all roughnecks who carry heavy loads at the docks. They can't even stand in line properly without tripping, let alone firing a gun."

He crumpled the cigarette between his fingers, and the bits of tobacco fell onto his knees.

"I'm good at intelligence gathering and accounting, but I'm not cut out for leading troops into battle."

Ono chuckled briefly.

"What good stuff can Wanmerlin give you? Nothing but rotten meat to put on a show."

"That's why I came to find you." Lu Minghui leaned forward and lowered his voice, "These thirty-six people may look strong, but they're actually a disorganized bunch with no fighting ability whatsoever."

"How can I help?"

"Send someone," Lu Minghui said bluntly. "Send one of your elite men to be my captain. He can discipline them and train them as well."

He paused for a moment, then slightly raised his chin and moved half an inch closer to Ono.

"Sun Yaozu is a fool. Besides flattering and taking advantage of others, he has no real skills. You can't count on him."

Ono loosened her fingers that were resting on the table.

"Minghui-kun, you're always so perceptive." Ono stood up and walked to the window. "Lieutenant Yamashita is someone I trained. He's calm and collected, and his marksmanship and hand-to-hand combat are top-notch. Tomorrow, he'll be reporting to you with two sergeants."

"Let Sun Yaozu be the captain. He may not be very capable, but he is loyal. Let Shanxia be an instructor."

"Thank you." Lu Minghui stood up and bowed slightly. "Lieutenant Yamashita's salary will be tripled, coming from my confidential office's account."

Ono waved his hand, indicating that it was nothing serious.

Lu Minghui sat back down in his chair, his brows furrowed in a frown.

"Do you have any leads regarding the gold?"

"Gold? We've been under lockdown for almost a month, not even a fly could get out of Zhabei and Nanshi, but that stuff seems to have vanished into thin air." Ono slammed his fist on the windowsill. "Those robbers are like rats in the ground!"

"I'm not looking anymore," Lu Minghui suddenly said.

Ono suddenly turned around.

"Not going to look for it anymore? That's the reserve fund for implementing the Central Reserve Bank bonds, the foundation of the Sugi Project!"

"It's gone, it's just gone." Lu Minghui pulled a thick wad of new banknotes from his pocket and slammed them on the table. "These are Central Reserve Bank notes. Section Chief Nakajima gave me a death order: starting tomorrow, Shanghai must fully implement these things."

He pointed to the stack of banknotes.

"Ono-kun, you're a smart man. For the Central Reserve Bank notes to circulate, Shanghai's commerce needs to get going. But what about now? The whole city is under martial law, the docks are closed, and factories are shut down. Ordinary people have no goods, and merchants have no money. If we introduce the Central Reserve Bank notes now, who will use them?"

Ono fell silent.

"If the search for that batch of gold whose whereabouts are unknown causes the implementation of the Central Reserve Bank bonds to be hindered, and the Sugi Project to fail..." Lu Minghui looked at him, "neither of us can bear this responsibility."

"Without gold as reserves, the Central Reserve Bank notes are just a piece of waste paper!" Ono roared.

"Those disobedient merchants have just as many gold bars hidden in their homes as banks," Lu Minghui said, a slight smirk playing on his lips. "And those corrupt officials with ulterior motives, confiscating one house can be equivalent to half a gold vault."

Ono stared at him.

"If we can't find the gold, we'll slaughter those fat pigs and use the profits to fill the hole left by the Central Reserve Bank bonds." Lu Minghui leaned forward half an inch. "Slaughtering fat pigs is always faster and more reliable than searching the whole city for a batch of gold bricks whose whereabouts are unknown. Right?"

Ono paced back and forth in the office. His military boots slammed against the floor.

"Lift the blockade..." Ono stopped in his tracks, staring at the stack of Central Reserve Bank notes on the table. "The blockade order was jointly issued by the General Staff Headquarters and the section chief. My decision alone doesn't count."

He walked to the table, opened the copy of the blockade order on the desk, pressed his thumb on the General Staff Headquarters seal, paused for two seconds, and closed it.

"If the General Staff investigates, whose head will be on the table?" Ono turned to stare at Lu Minghui.

"You'll be in charge of execution, and you'll draft the official documents for the General Staff." Lu Minghui didn't back down. "Your reply to the General Staff will be just four words—'Transfer to covert investigation.' On the surface, resume trade, but secretly strengthen surveillance of specific goods. The gold hasn't disappeared; it's just been found in a different way."

"Transition to covert investigation..." Ono chewed on those four words, his military boots grinding half a circle on the floor.

"What the section chief wants is political achievements. The port reopens, the Central Reserve Bank notes circulate, and tax revenue recovers. Once these three things are reported to Tokyo, the General Staff will order the lifting of the blockade. At that time, it won't be you withdrawing your defenses on your own; it will be the higher-ups going along with it." Lu Minghui stood up, walked to the door, and placed his hand on the doorknob. "I'm just helping you get ahead of the curve."

Ono stared at Lu Minghui for a long time before finally nodding slowly.

"Okay. But those fat pigs..."

"I'll give you the list." Lu Minghui turned the doorknob. "Those who usually get close to Nanjing, those who secretly collude with the enemy, and those who are disobedient in No. 76. Deliver it first thing tomorrow morning."

Go out.

Gu Yunqiu leaned against the Ford sedan. The rain had stopped, and the wind was chilly on her face.

"Have you reached an agreement?" she asked.

Lu Minghui got into the passenger seat and closed his eyes.

Half the street was silent.

Gu Yunqiu didn't ask any more questions and stepped on the gas.

"Make Wan Molin explain things clearly to those thirty-six people. The Japanese instructors are arriving tomorrow, so everyone keep your eyes peeled."

The car turned the corner.

In the darkness, a black sedan followed closely behind.

The driver was wearing a top hat, the brim pulled low. His right hand gripped the steering wheel, while his left hand deftly twirled a steel needle.

The steel needle spun around on the fingertip, flipped over the index finger, slid over the middle finger, stopped on the pad of the ring finger, and then flipped back.

He looked at the taillights of the Ford sedan ahead, his lips under the brim of his hat moved slightly, but he didn't say anything.

The top hat was pulled down half an inch lower.

The steel needle was tucked into the cuff and disappeared into the darkness.