Hidden Radiance

Confidential Office.

The clock on the wall pointed to 11:15.

Lu Minghui folded up the map of the Hongkou East Bank Wharf on the table and put it in a drawer. He stood up and walked to the door of the adjacent suite.

The door wasn't closed properly, leaving a crack. The crisp tapping of the typewriter sounded like a downpour hitting a sheet of metal.

Lu Minghui pushed open the door.

Nanzo Yunzi sat behind her desk, wearing a white silk blouse with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows. The light from the desk lamp illuminated her profile, highlighting her prominent nose.

Lu Minghui walked over, pulled out the chair opposite her, and sat down.

The typing stopped. Nanzo Yunzi looked up, her fingers still resting on the keys.

"Minghui-kun, aren't you going to rest?" She leaned back in her chair and rubbed her wrists.

"Something's gone wrong." Lu Minghui went straight to the point. "Li Shiqun has made his move. Yang Jie, the captain of the Third Action Team, pulled dozens of boxes of goods out of the French Concession half an hour ago and delivered them directly to the abandoned No. 3 dock on the east bank of Hongkou without leaving the city."

Nanzo Yunzi's wrist stopped in mid-air.

"The person who received the goods was Matsui." Lu Minghui looked into her eyes.

The room fell silent. Only the occasional sound of wind drifted from outside in the corridor.

Nanzo Yunzi lowered her hand, picked up the silver cigarette case on the table, and flicked it open. She took out an old-brand cigarette and put it in her mouth. The lighter's flint brushed against her, and the flame illuminated her eyes.

She exhaled a puff of smoke and looked at Lu Minghui through the bluish-gray smoke.

"Li Shiqun is desperate and has entrusted his life and fortune to the Black Dragon Society." Nanzo Yunzi said calmly, "Since Matsui-kun accepted this shipment, it's as if he swallowed the reserve funds that Section Chief Nakajima wanted."

She threw the lighter on the table with a crisp sound.

"Mr. Minghui, how do you plan to explain this to the section chief?"

Nanzo Yunzi didn't respond, nor did she show any surprise. She was waiting for Lu Minghui's reaction.

Lu Minghui looked at the lighter on the table.

"I don't want my friend to make a mistake," Lu Minghui said calmly. "Matsui is a smart man, but he's also a businessman. Businessmen are easily tempted by profits."

"so?"

"Give him half an hour." Lu Minghui glanced at his watch. "If he doesn't make a move within half an hour, I'll personally call the section chief and have the military police level Pier No. 3."

Nanzo Yunzi smiled. She held a cigarette between her fingers, her elbows resting on the table, leaning forward.

"Minghui-kun, you're still so loyal. I just don't know if Matsui-kun will appreciate it."

Time passed second by second.

11:30.

Nanzo Yunko opened a blank notebook on the table and drew a few lines in the corner of the page with a pencil—it was impossible to make out what she drew. She held the pencil between her fingers, twirled it a couple of times, and then put it down.

11:40.

Lu Minghui sat in the chair without changing his posture. His right hand rested on the armrest, and his index finger occasionally tapped the wooden edge.

Nanzo Yunzi pulled the cigarette down to the filter and stubbed it out in the ashtray. She glanced at the clock and was about to speak.

Ring ring—

The landline in Lu Minghui's office suddenly rang.

The ringing bell pierced the stagnant air.

Lu Minghui stood up, turned around, and walked back to his office. Nanzo Yunzi followed behind him, leaning against the door frame.

Lu Minghui picked up the microphone. His right hand then turned on the radio on the corner of the table, and static filled the office.

"Minghui-kun." Matsui's deep voice came through the receiver, tinged with a hint of amusement, "Still awake, aren't you?"

"I'm waiting for your call," Lu Minghui said calmly.

"That old fox Li Shiqun sent me a generous gift in the middle of the night. Dozens of large wooden crates, saying they were goods from the Chamber of Commerce, and asked me to store them at the dock for a few days." Matsui chuckled on the other end of the phone. "He really treats the Black Dragon Society as his refuge."

Lu Minghui did not respond.

"Mr. Minghui, this shipment is a hot potato. I, Matsui, only earn what I should earn, and I won't take the blame for others." Matsui cut to the chase, "Tell Ono to bring a few trucks to Pier 3. Tell him that the Black Dragon Society has seized a batch of smuggled goods of unknown origin and handed them over to the military police."

Lu Minghui's lips curled into a very slight smile.

"Okay. I thank you on Ono's behalf."

"We're brothers, no need to be so polite. See you tomorrow."

The phone hangs up.

Lu Minghui put down the microphone, turned off the radio, and turned to look at Nanzo Yunzi, who was leaning against the door frame.

"Matsui sent Ono to pick up the goods," Lu Minghui said, "under the pretext that the Black Dragon Society was seizing smuggled goods."

Nanzo Yunzi straightened up and slowly walked to the desk.

"Your old classmate is definitely on your side." She looked at Lu Minghui, her tone slightly teasing. "He could have just called Ono directly. But he dialed you instead."

"We're all friends." Lu Minghui met her gaze without backing down. "Li Shiqun wanted to use benefits to tie Matsui to his chariot, but he forgot that when Matsui was in the military academy, he slept in the bunk above me, and the section chief slept in the opposite bunk."

Nanzo Yunko stared into his eyes.

After looking at it for a few seconds, she suddenly stood up, walked around the desk, and went to Lu Minghui's side.

Her perfume overpowered the smell of tobacco in the room.

"Minghui-kun." Nanzo Yunzi lowered her voice, drawing out the last syllable, "Tonight, Li Shiqun is transferring assets, such a big matter, and you're letting Gu Yunqiu keep an eye on him alone."

Her fingers landed on the fabric of Lu Minghui's right shoulder and flicked it lightly.

"The section chief has made it clear that she is a suspect and can no longer have access to classified information. You not only let her participate in tonight's operation, but also sent her out alone."

Her fingers stopped on her shoulder, her nails digging into the fabric.

"Mr. Minghui, aren't you... a little too trusting of her?"

The last "don't worry" was pronounced more heavily than the preceding words.

Lu Minghui did not move.

He sighed.

He raised his right hand and placed it on the back of Nanzo Yunzi's hand. He didn't use force, but he definitely removed her hand from his shoulder.

"Yunzi, what kind of place do you think No. 76 is?" Lu Minghui asked, looking at her.

Nanzo Yunzi remained silent.

"This is Li Shiqun's independent kingdom." Lu Minghui released her hand, stood up, walked to the window, and looked at the dark night outside. "I only have those thirty-six newly recruited laborers. It's fine to smash the door in a big way, but to send them to follow people? They don't even know the roads in the French Concession."

He turned around.

"The only truly capable people in the Confidential Office are Sun Yaozu and Gu Yunqiu. Sun Yaozu comes from the Green Gang and has drunk blood wine and sworn brotherhood with the captains under Li Shiqun. I didn't take him with me tonight when we raided Wu Dazhi's house, for fear that he would leak the information."

Lu Minghui walked up to Nanzo Yunzi and looked directly into her eyes.

"If I don't send Gu Yunqiu to keep an eye on Li Shiqun, who else should I send? Sun Yaozu to tip him off?"

Nanzo Yunko's eyes flickered.

"Then you can let me go," she replied quickly.

Lu Minghui shook his head.

"It's raining outside, and Li Shiqun's men are all thugs. You want me to leave you alone in a dark alley to keep watch?"

He paused for a moment.

"Yunzi, you were sent by the section chief to assist me. Let others do the dirty and tiring work. If she wants to prove she's still useful, she has to risk her life. You don't need to."

Nanzo Yunzi looked at Lu Minghui.

Those eyes held reason, calculation, and a just-right layer of lingering affection. She stared at them for a long time.

He took half a step back.

"I'm glad that Minghui-kun cares about me." Nanzo Yunzi straightened her collar. "But Gu Yunqiu is always a potential problem. The section chief's patience is running out."

"If she has any problems, kill her." Lu Minghui turned and walked back behind his desk. "If there are no problems, once the China Reserve Bank bond issue is completely resolved, I will arrange a suitable ending for her."

Nanzo Yunzi nodded.

"I'm going back now. Minghui-kun, get some rest."

She turned and walked out of the office, closing the door behind her.

Click.

The sound of the door lock clicking was especially clear in the dead of night.

Lu Minghui stood still.

The weariness and gentleness on his face vanished the moment the door closed. He walked to his desk, opened a drawer, and took out the pack of Old Knife brand cigarettes.

Nanzo Yunko's probing won't stop there. Today she's using old feelings as a pretext, but tomorrow she might directly use the military police to arrest people.

Even more fatally, Nanzo Yunko lived right next door.

She not only took control of the document flow in the confidential office, but also blocked all the space around him. Gu Yunqiu is now just a driver, not even qualified to go upstairs.

Lu Minghui took out a cigarette, put it in his mouth, and lit it.

The firelight illuminated his face.

All his instructions had to pass through Nanzo Yunko's eyes. Old Ghost urgently needed to relay intelligence. The gold transfer route and the countermeasures implemented by the Central Reserve Bank of China—these couldn't be delayed.

But now, he can't even go to the grocery store.

The cord on the Lao Dao brand phone broke.

Gu Yunqiu was also being watched closely.

Lu Minghui exhaled a puff of smoke.

His gaze fell on the black tin box on the corner of the table.

That was the box we found under Wu Dazhi's bed tonight. Inside were secret letters from the Military Intelligence Bureau and a smuggling ledger.

Li Shiqun, in a desperate move to save himself, killed Wu Dazhi. But who was Wu Dazhi's superior? Why did the Kuomintang's secret agents in Shanghai have such deep-seated interests with the action leader of the 76th Division?

Lu Minghui flicked the cigarette ash into the ashtray.

The action leader of No. 76 couldn't have connected with the Military Intelligence Bureau on his own. There must have been someone acting as a go-between. This person was either inside No. 76, or—was bait planted by the Military Intelligence Bureau's Shanghai station itself.

Wang Puchen.

The man in the monastery, smoking a cigar.

Lu Minghui narrowed his eyes.

He opened the tin box and took out the blue ledger.

Turn to the first page. Your gaze falls on one of the code names.

He tapped the code name twice with his fingertips.