Hidden Radiance

"Boss Lu, do me two favors." Lu Minghui placed his hand on the doorknob.

Lu Xuzhang nodded.

"First, compile a list of information on all Japanese-owned companies in Shanghai." Lu Minghui looked at him. "Whether it's a trading company, a factory, or a transportation company, as long as it has Japanese investment, I need it all. The more detailed, the better."

"This is a lot of work. Some Japanese-owned companies are registered under Chinese legal representatives."

"Give it to me within three days." Lu Minghui released the doorknob. "Secondly, tomorrow, the supplement of the Shen Bao newspaper should publish a serialized novel. The title is 'The Legend of the White Snake: Midnight Horror'."

Lu Xuzhang was stunned. "A serialized novel?"

"The page doesn't need to be too big, but the headline must be eye-catching." Lu Minghui pushed open the door. "The story will follow the 'Legend of the White Snake.' I want to see it in the newspaper first thing tomorrow morning."

Lu Xuzhang didn't ask any further questions and nodded in agreement.

Lu Minghui walked into the night.

Sun Yaozu was leaning against the car door, smoking. The smoke dissipated slowly under the streetlights.

If it were Gu Yunqiu, she would only be wary of her surroundings.

Lu Minghui tossed a pack of Lao Dao brand cigarettes to Sun Yaozu.

Sun Yaozu bowed and scraped, thanking him repeatedly.

The following morning. Hongkou, Southeast Trading Company.

Gu Yunqiu sat in the innermost office on the second floor. On the desk was the day's copy of the Shen Bao newspaper.

In the corner of the supplement, where she published Bai Suzhen's miraculous healing, the words "The Legend of the White Snake: Midnight Horror" were printed in bold on the paper.

Gu Yunqiu's gaze lingered on the title for two seconds.

She folded the newspaper and placed it under her teacup. Then she opened the account book in front of her.

Footsteps sounded outside the door. Yamada pushed the door open and came in, holding a delivery slip in his hand.

"Miss Gu," Yamada walked to the table, "the batch of industrial dyes that arrived at the port a few days ago has been put into storage today. Here is the dispatch order; please check it."

Yamada placed the receipt next to the ledger. The words "industrial dyes" on the receipt were written in bold. A professional agent would definitely have noticed something amiss.

Gu Yunqiu didn't even look up. Her right hand held a pen, while her left hand moved the abacus beads, the beads clinking together.

"Just leave it there." Gu Yunqiu ticked off an account.

Yamada stood still.

Gu Yunqiu stopped what she was doing and looked up at him. "Is there anything else, Yamada-kun?"

"This batch of dyes is very large and quite valuable," Yamada cautioned.

"President Matsui's business is naturally a big deal." Gu Yunqiu took the receipt, glanced at the contents, flipped to the last page, and signed his name.

The document was returned to Yamada.

"I know nothing about dyes, nor do I know anything about trade." Gu Yunqiu picked up his pen again. "I'm only responsible for the numbers on the books. If the numbers match, I'll sign."

Yamada took the receipt and left the office.

The door closed.

Gu Yunqiu continued checking the accounts. She didn't look at the receipt, nor did she get up to open the window and observe anything.

He picked up his teacup, took a sip, and his gaze fell on the edge of the newspaper pressed against the bottom of the cup. He paused for a moment, then looked away.

The abacus beads moved under her hand a half-beat slower than in the morning. But only a half-beat slower.

Black Dragon Society headquarters.

Matsui sat behind his desk, listening to Yamada's report.

"Just a symbolic glance?" Matsui asked.

"Yes. Sign it directly." Yamada bowed his head. "She's been like this for the past few days, only doing accounting, not asking anything, not looking at anything."

Matsui leaned back in his chair.

Lu Minghui knocked on the wooden crates at the dock and let them pass. Gu Yunqiu faced the dispatch order, signed and sealed it, without even raising her head.

The two men, both with backgrounds in intelligence, showed absolutely no reaction when faced with the crucial raw material for printing money.

Matsui tapped his fingers on the table.

"President," Yamada tentatively asked, "Could Lu Minghui have sensed something and is pretending not to know?"

"Playing dumb?" Matsui laughed. "If he were playing dumb, he wouldn't have come to me to do business. If he were really investigating, he could easily find an excuse to seize those five tons of goods at the dock."

Matsui picked up his teacup and took a sip.

"That night on Broadway, I watched my ex-lover accept a lavish gift from someone else." Matsui put down his teacup. "He wasn't pretending; he was genuinely short of money."

Matsui stood up and walked to the window.

This was the first time Lu Minghui had shown such an awkwardness, wanting to reach out but then pulling back, which actually made him feel more at ease.

Yamada nodded. "Then what do we do next..."

"Deliver the goods as usual." Matsui turned around. "Treat Gu Yunqiu like she's invisible. Continue to show her the account books. As long as she behaves herself, her monthly dividends will be delivered to Lu Minghui on time."

He paused for a moment, then added another sentence.

"Keep a close eye on her. But don't let her find out."

Late at night. French Concession, safe house.

Lu Minghui sat at the table.

A thick stack of documents was piled on the table. It was a directory of Japanese companies that Lu Xuzhang had sent.

He turned a page of documents, took out a map of Shanghai city, and laid it flat on the table.

Dong-A Chemical Co., Ltd. Shanghai Transportation Co., Ltd. Chengda Company. Southeast Trading Company.

Four companies, four lines of business. They seem to be going their separate ways, but their money and goods are secretly intersecting.

Lu Minghui took out a red and blue pencil.

At Shanghai Transportation Co., Ltd., the electric meter rotates three times faster between midnight and 4 a.m. every day.

Chengda Company has a large inflow of funds on its books, but no corresponding goods are produced.

Five tons of coated paper? All the printing plants in Shanghai combined wouldn't even use one ton. That's not coated paper at all.

Lu Minghui used a pencil to draw lines connecting several companies: Toppan Printing Co., Ltd., Shanghai Huaxin Company, Shanghai Minfeng Company, Southeast Trading Company...

Meiji also had dealings with this shell company.

All the hidden threads converge on one point—Chengda Company.

14 Broadway Road.

There are no employees, no goods produced, only cash inflows and outflows. It's an empty shell on paper, but in reality, it's the main control system for the entire chain.

Lu Minghui drew a circle on "14 Broadway Road" with the tip of his pencil.

Colonel Sakata. Garrison Logistics Department. Directly under the military headquarters.

It's not on the periphery, not a front man. It's the central hub.

Sugimoto.

Even if Chengda Company is not the headquarters of Sugimoto Corporation in China, it is still an extremely important subsidiary.

He closed the documents and locked them in the drawer. His left arm felt slightly swollen and itchy, and a pencil rested on the edge of the map.

The phone on the table rang.

"Director Lu," Wan Molin's voice came urgently, "Something's happened at Litai Bank."

"explain."

"Takeda and his men have sealed off the bank's doors," Wan Molin said in a low voice. "He said there's a discrepancy in an account for 50,000 yuan, and he suspects someone has misappropriated the reserve funds. He's currently leading a team to investigate my accounts."

Lu Minghui stopped holding the pencil.

A mere 50,000 fiat currency, does it really require Takeda's intervention?

That fake deposit slip remained in Nanzo Yunzi's sight. Takeda wasn't investigating the accounts, but rather Lu Minghui's background.

"Don't move." Lu Minghui stood up. "I'll be right there."

He hung up the phone. Lu Minghui put on his coat.