Hidden Radiance

The Ford sedan drove out of Gate 76.

The wheels rolled over the puddles on the road, splashing up mud half a foot high.

Gu Yunqiu gripped the steering wheel with both hands, her eyes fixed on the street ahead.

"To the Special Higher Police, or the Mei Agency?"

"Neither." Lu Minghui leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.

Gu Yunqiu pressed the clutch and shifted gears. The car slowed down.

"Where can we find an artist?" Gu Yunqiu glanced at the rearview mirror to make sure there were no tails. "Song Qingyuan's family is being held in Hongkou. The Special Higher Police and the Mei Agency are the most suspicious places."

Lu Minghui opened his eyes, took out a pack of Lao Dao brand cigarettes from his pocket with his right hand, and took one out. He lit it with a lighter.

"Neither the Special Higher Police nor the Mei Agency can find an artist," Lu Minghui exhaled a puff of smoke. "In fact, we can't let anyone know that we're looking for an artist."

Gu Yunqiu remained silent, waiting for what was to come.

"The printing plant in the basement of Lita Bank was one bait. Xinmin Machinery Factory was the second bait." Lu Minghui looked at the plane trees rushing past the car window. "Shinichi Nakajima threw out these baits to fish out various forces in Shanghai. Li Shiqun took the bait and fell. Wang Puchen took the bait and almost died in Shanghai. Nanzo Yunzi took the bait and lost seven field agents."

Lu Minghui tapped the car window twice with his fingers holding a cigarette.

"So many counterfeit banknotes sank in Taihu Lake, and Zhongdao just casually told me to move the machines to Xinmin Machinery Factory." Lu Minghui turned his head, looking at Gu Yunqiu's profile. "He doesn't care. Why doesn't he care?"

Gu Yunqiu replied, "Those are inventory, not new stock."

"Once the machines from Xinmin Machinery Factory are installed, they can be shipped out on the same day." Lu Minghui flicked his cigarette ash. "No one fishes with a bad bait."

Gu Yunqiu's back lifted off the seat cushion, her spine straightening.

There was a two-second silence in the carriage. The smoke drifted along the roof.

"The true core of Project Sugi is not Litai Bank, nor Xinmin Machinery Factory," Lu Minghui said, lowering his voice, "but that 'Sugi Agency,' which we only know by name but never by form."

Gu Yunqiu loosened his right hand half an inch from the steering wheel, then gripped it again.

"Do you still remember the special envoy from the Song Agency?" Lu Minghui asked his second question.

"I remember. The fake envoy was assassinated at the train station, and you injured your left arm protecting him." Gu Yunqiu paused for a moment. "The real envoy never showed up."

"Not a single word has come out for so long." Lu Minghui flicked his cigarette ash into the car ashtray. "With such a high level of secrecy, he's very likely hiding in the Shanji Agency."

Gu Yunqiu stepped on the brakes and stopped at the red light at the intersection. She turned to look at Lu Minghui.

"You mean, the special envoy is Song Qingyuan?"

Lu Minghui glanced at her. "Coming from Hong Kong, passing through Guangzhou, and entering through the Wusongkou border crossing. The timeline matches up."

"To Wusongkou?" Gu Yunqiu released the brake pedal half an inch. "The special envoy's first stop upon entering the country. There must have been traces left there."

"I'm not going," Lu Minghui firmly rejected.

Gu Yunqiu was stunned.

"Any information that Nakajima reveals could be bait," Lu Minghui said confidently. "Going to Wusongkou now would be like deliberately walking into Nakajima's line of fire."

The light turned green. Gu Yunqiu didn't release the clutch. The car behind honked.

"So where are we going?"

"To Hongkou," Lu Minghui said, stating his destination, "Tiantong Road, Guangda Huaxing."

Gu Yunqiu released the clutch, stepped on the gas, and the car shot forward.

"Not going to contact anyone?"

"Find the goods." Lu Minghui looked at the road ahead. "To print a large amount of counterfeit money, you need a lot of special ink and special paper. The paper for legal tender is mixed with cotton, linen, and red and blue fibers. The ink is a specially mixed color-changing ink. These things can't be conjured out of thin air."

He stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray.

"We must have a factory. For secrecy, it must be a factory or trading company under our absolute control," Lu Minghui said coldly. "It must belong to the Japanese. We don't look for people, we look for goods. Once the goods arrive, the people will arrive."

Forty minutes later.

Hongkou District, Tiantong Road. Guangda Huaxing.

This is a three-story red brick building. The first floor is a spacious sales hall, where employees are moving boxes of Western medicine and cotton yarn. The clicking of abacuses fills the air.

The Ford sedan was parked across the street.

Lu Minghui got out of the car. His left arm was still injured, the left sleeve of his suit jacket hung loosely, and his coat was draped over his shoulder.

Gu Yunqiu followed half a step behind.

The two entered the hall.

The head manager came forward and was about to speak when Lu Minghui raised his right hand and handed him a business card.

"Let's talk to Boss Lu about a big business deal."

The head manager glanced at the business card, his expression turning serious. "Director Lu, please come in."

Third floor, General Manager's office.

Lu Xuzhang, dressed in an elegant dark striped suit and wearing gold-rimmed glasses, was writing behind his mahogany desk. He looked up when he heard the door open.

The head manager left and closed the door behind him.

Lu Xuzhang put down his pen and walked to the sofa in the reception area.

"Director Lu, this is a rare guest." Lu Xuzhang pointed to the sofa.

Lu Minghui sat down. Gu Yunqiu stood by the door.

There was no small talk.

"Check two things," Lu Minghui said, getting straight to the point. "Banknote paper containing red and blue fibers, or manufacturers that purchase large quantities of cotton linters and bleach. Also, check the import and export of special color-changing inks."

Lu Xuzhang pushed up his glasses. He sat down on the sofa opposite him.

"Printing money?" Lu Xuzhang asked in a low voice.

"Yes." Lu Minghui looked at him. "Litai Bank and Xinmin Machinery Factory are both fronts. The real printing plant is well hidden. We can only find it by looking at the flow of supplies."

Lu Xuzhang tapped his fingers twice on his knee, stood up, walked behind his desk, opened a drawer, and took out a thick black ledger.

The only sound in the room was the rustling of account books. Lu Xuzhang flipped through them faster and faster, his brows furrowing deeper and deeper.

His fingers stopped when he turned to the last few pages.

"What's wrong?" Lu Minghui leaned forward.

"There is one." Lu Xuzhang turned the ledger over, his fingertip pointing to a line of text, "Dongya Chemical in Hongkou. Last month, they suddenly made large-scale purchases of sodium sulfite and zinc chloride. These two things are raw materials for paper bleaching."

Lu Minghui looked at the line of text.

"But—" Lu Xuzhang shook his head, "Dongya Chemical itself is engaged in the trade of chemical raw materials. Purchasing these things makes sense, but it also doesn't. We can't make a decision based on this alone."

Lu Minghui leaned back on the sofa.

"There's another way." Lu Minghui pressed his right hand against his left shoulder. "The Shan Project has been running for at least a month. The printing presses are running day and night, consuming a huge amount of electricity. Any business or factory whose electricity bills have surged in the past month is also a suspect."

"Okay." Lu Xuzhang closed the ledger. "I'll keep an eye on Dongya Chemical. I'll have someone check the electricity bill with the power company. I'll let you know as soon as I have any news."

Lu Minghui stood up.

"There's one more thing," he said, looking at Lu Xuzhang. "This connection is known only to you and me. We won't go through any other channels."

Lu Xuzhang nodded.

The Ford sedan rejoined the traffic.

Lu Minghui leaned back in his chair, his left arm resting on his lap. He clenched his three movable fingers, then released them.

"Yunqiu".

"exist."

"Li Shiqun is under house arrest in Nanjing. The Special Investigation Committee is leaderless." Lu Minghui looked out the window. "What's Lin Zhijiang's situation now?"

"A stray dog," Gu Yunqiu replied, "searching for a backer everywhere. Ding Mocun sent people to take over the Special Investigation Committee's operations, and he's almost left without a place to stay."

Lu Minghui's gaze fell on the car window, unfocused.

"Pass a message to him. Tell him that the guard battalion needs manpower and ask if he needs any help."

Gu Yunqiu glanced at the rearview mirror. "Who will deliver it?"

"She Aizhen".