Hidden Radiance

More than fifty secret agents had their guns pointed at the courtyard.

More than thirty submachine guns were pointed at the outside of the courtyard.

The two groups of people stood apart, separated by a dilapidated iron gate. The air was thick with the smell of gunpowder and gunpowder.

Li Shiqun's gaze was fixed on the tin box.

He could see the plum blossom pattern on the sealing wax and the handwriting on the blue ledger clearly.

Wu Dazhi knelt on the lawn, blood from his severed finger flowing everywhere. When he saw Li Shiqun, he scrambled forward a couple of steps.

"Director! Director, save me! This is Lu Minghui framing me! That box isn't mine!" Wu Dazhi screamed at the top of his lungs, his voice cracking.

Li Shiqun did not look at him.

He stared at Lu Minghui. His gaze moved from the iron box to Lu Minghui's face, then swept over the indifferent-looking Ono beside him, and finally landed on Nanzo Yunzi.

Nanzo Yunzi responded with a lukewarm smile.

Li Shiqun's eye twitched slightly.

He suddenly smiled. The smile lingered at the corners of his mouth, but didn't reach his eyes.

"Director Lu," Li Shiqun said, his voice unusually calm, "There's a traitor in the 76th Division. I apologize for making you laugh."

He stepped onto the stairs.

More than fifty agents remained motionless. Lieutenant Yamashita, his hand on his sword hilt, stepped forward.

Li Shiqun waved his hand, indicating that he meant no harm. He walked up to Wu Dazhi and stopped.

Wu Dazhi raised his head, his face covered in tears and sweat: "Director, I've followed you for five years, you know me, how could I possibly betray my country..."

"Yes, five years."

Li Shiqun sighed. He reached into his coat pocket with his right hand.

Draw the gun. Pull the bolt. Pull the trigger.

boom!

The gunshot was short and sharp. A bloody hole appeared between Wu Dazhi's eyebrows. His head exploded, and his body slammed straight onto the lawn, snapping a patch of weeds.

The wind blew in through the gate, slicing across the bloodstains on the lawn, but no one moved.

Lin Zhijiang stared wide-eyed outside the courtyard gate, his Adam's apple bobbing.

Li Shiqun put away his gun, took out a white handkerchief, wiped his hands, and threw it on Wu Dazhi's body.

"A dog that colluded with the enemy doesn't deserve the surname Wu." Li Shiqun turned to look at Lu Minghui, his tone calm, "Director Lu, you handled this case well. I've taken care of the person for you; the rest is entirely your responsibility."

Lu Minghui looked at Li Shiqun, his right hand still holding the iron box, not retracting it.

"Director Li's act of turning down a family member is admirable," Lu Minghui said softly. "However, this ledger involves quite a few connections. We hope Director Li will continue to cooperate in tracing who is ultimately responsible."

"Definitely." Li Shiqun nodded.

He turned around and walked towards the courtyard gate. He didn't stop as he passed Lin Zhijiang.

"Fall back."

More than fifty agents put away their guns and retreated into their trucks and cars. Engines roared, the convoy turned around, and drove away from Myersey Road.

It comes quickly and goes quickly.

Lu Minghui handed the tin box to Xiao Ye next to him.

"Ono-kun, physical evidence."

Ono took the iron box, glanced at the corpse on the ground, and sneered, "Li Shiqun is a venomous snake that cuts off its tail to survive."

"A snake can grow a new tail after it's broken off." Lu Minghui turned and walked down the steps. "Let's call it a day and head back to the station."

Thirty-six men in black quickly loaded the suitcases full of gold bars onto the truck. Their movements were perfectly synchronized, and not one of them glanced at the corpse on the ground.

Nanzo Yunzi took in everything. She tapped her folding fan twice in her palm.

The Ford sedan drove out of the French Concession.

Gu Yunqiu gripped the steering wheel with both hands, her gaze fixed straight ahead.

Nanzo Yunzi sat in the passenger seat and rolled down the window. The wind blew in, carrying away the smell of blood from the car.

Lu Minghui leaned back in the back seat with his eyes closed.

"Mr. Minghui," Nanzo Yunzi suddenly spoke, her voice tinged with languor, "Your special operations team is quite interesting."

Lu Minghui didn't open his eyes: "What do you mean?"

"Faced with Li Shiqun's fifty-odd guns, these thirty-six men didn't even blink." Nanzo Yunzi turned her head and looked at Lu Minghui in the rearview mirror. "Did Wan Molin's laborers at the docks develop their audacity from carrying sacks?"

Gu Yunqiu tightened his grip on the steering wheel.

Lu Minghui opened his eyes and met Nanzo Yunzi's gaze in the rearview mirror.

"The people carrying sacks aren't afraid of guns because there are plenty of things far more dangerous than guns at the docks." Lu Minghui's tone was somewhat impatient. "Yunzi, you're checking up on your soldiers on your very first day in Shanghai. Isn't that a bit too much of a meddlesome?"

Nanzo Yunko didn't respond to his comment.

She turned her head back, and her thumb slowly traced one section of the bamboo joint of the folding fan, then another, without stopping at the original position.

"Don't misunderstand, Akihiro-kun. I'm just checking on behalf of the section chief." Nanzo Yunko placed the folding fan on her lap. "Lieutenant Yamashita is indeed a skilled trainer."

"It's just a way of offering something for nothing." Lu Minghui closed his eyes and said nothing more.

The carriage fell silent again.

76 Jessfield Road.

A Ford sedan was parked in front of the office building.

Lu Minghui got out of the car. Nanzo Yunzi followed him out.

"Yunzi, the Confidential Office is on the third floor. I've had a private suite prepared for you, right next to mine," Lu Minghui said, pointing upstairs.

"Thank you for the arrangements, Mr. Minghui." Nanzo Yunzi bowed slightly and walked into the building with her handbag.

Lu Minghui stood there, watching Nanzo Yunzi's figure disappear around the corner of the stairs.

He turned his head and walked to the driver's side window.

Gu Yunqiu lowered the car window.

Lu Minghui rested his right hand on the car door, his gaze sweeping across the courtyard. The light in the guardhouse was off, and the nearest sentry post was fifteen meters away under the porch.

"There are still a dozen or so people on the list. Li Shiqun cut off his own finger, and the rest might transfer assets tonight." Lu Minghui lowered his voice, just enough space between the two of them, "Take some men, change into civilian clothes, and keep a close eye on the fattest ones."

"I?"

"Yes." Lu Minghui nodded. "If there's anything, just call the office."

"Understood." Gu Yunqiu shifted gears.

"Be careful. The men under Li Shiqun are all from the Green Gang; they're all ruthless criminals."

Gu Yunqiu didn't say anything, stepped on the gas, and the Ford sedan drove out of the compound.

late at night.

The neon lights of Shanghai Bund flickered in the puddles.

Confidential Office.

Lu Minghui sat behind his desk. In front of him was a newly compiled briefing on the implementation of China Reserve Bank bonds.

From the next suite, the intermittent sound of Nanzo Yunzi's typewriter could be heard. She was compiling today's action report, preparing to send it directly to Nakajima Shinichi.

Lu Minghui glanced at the clock on the wall. It was 11 p.m.

The phone on the table suddenly rang.

The ringtone sounded particularly jarring in the quiet office.

The typing machine next door stopped.

Lu Minghui picked up the microphone. At the same time, with his left hand, he turned the knob on the radio on the table, tuned it to a blank channel with static, and turned the volume up to medium. The static masked the gap between him and the microphone.

"Commander Lu." Gu Yunqiu's voice came through the receiver, accompanied by the faint sounds of river wind and ship horns in the background.

"explain."

"Yang Jie, the captain of the third action team, has made a move." Gu Yunqiu spoke very quickly. "He brought five trucks and hauled dozens of heavy wooden crates from a private residence in the French Concession."

"Where did you go?"

"They didn't leave the city. The convoy headed east and entered Hongkou."

Lu Minghui frowned. Hongkou was a Japanese-controlled area.

"Specific location."

"Hongkou East Bank, Abandoned Dock No. 3." Gu Yunqiu paused, lowering his voice even further, "Commander Lu, the people who received the goods are not from Unit 76."

Lu Minghui tightened his grip on the microphone.

"You recognized me?"

"No. I didn't dare get too close." Gu Yunqiu paused for a moment. "The leader was wearing a top hat, walked with a slight limp in his right leg, and took a long stride. He was left-handed."

Lu Minghui's fingers were gripping the microphone tightly.

He has a slight limp in his right leg. He is left-handed.

Matsui.

"Withdraw," Lu Minghui ordered decisively. "Withdraw immediately. Don't let him discover us."

"Yes."

The phone hangs up.

Lu Minghui put the microphone back on the landline and turned off the radio.

The sound of the typewriter next door started again.

Lu Minghui leaned back in his chair, his eyes fixed on the briefing on the table.

Nakajima wanted to implement the Central Reserve Bank notes, and Matsui was in charge of the Chamber of Commerce taking over, while he was responsible for raising the reserve funds.

Now, the reserves have ended up in the pockets of the person who took over.

Lu Minghui opened the drawer and took out a pack of Lao Dao brand cigarettes. He pulled one out and put it in his mouth. He didn't light it.

He pulled open another drawer with his right hand, took out a map of the docks on the east bank of Hongkou, and spread it on the briefing.

The index finger landed on the location of the abandoned dock No. 3, traced two centimeters north along the shoreline, and stopped at a hand-drawn square mark.

That's the dock that Matsui just acquired the exclusive operating rights for today.