Hidden Radiance

It's late at night. In Hongkou, at the Sakura Izakaya.

Lu Minghui pushed open the door to the private room. The charcoal brazier was burning brightly. Matsui sat cross-legged on the tatami mat, holding a cup of sake in his hand.

"Minghui-kun." Matsui put down his wine glass, raised his eyelids slightly, "You were quite the big shot at Litai Bank just now. You almost broke Takeda's leg again."

Lu Minghui took off his shoes, went inside, and sat down opposite Matsui.

The bandage on his left arm throbbed faintly beneath his suit jacket. He didn't touch it.

"Takeda doesn't know the rules." Lu Minghui picked up the empty wine glass on the table, poured himself a glass, and said, "I'm here to settle the accounts of Southeast Trading Company with Matsui-kun."

Matsui looked at him. "Coming to check the accounts in the middle of the night?"

"Even close brothers should keep clear accounts." Lu Minghui picked up his wine glass, took a sip, and said, "My men have been with the company for several days now, and Matsui-kun's goods have been shipped out batch after batch. Where's the money?"

Matsui smiled.

He pulled open the drawer beside him, took out a thick brown paper envelope, and threw it on the table. The envelope hit the wooden table with a dull thud.

"This is the first dividend." Matsui looked at Lu Minghui. "Minghui-kun, don't be in such a hurry."

"The situation in Shanghai changes every day." Lu Minghui tucked the envelope into his pocket. "Only money in your pocket is truly yours."

Lu Minghui stood up. "Matsui-kun, get some rest."

He pushed open the door and left.

Matsui sat there, staring at the closed door. He picked up his glass and drank it all in one gulp.

A confidential section chief who came to collect a debt in the middle of the night for money.

This is the real thing.

The following morning. Hongkou, Meiji Government Office.

The door to the advisor's office was pushed open. Nanzo Yunko, dressed in a crisp major's uniform, walked to the desk.

Shinichi Nakajima sat on the sofa, holding a copy of the day's "Shenbao" newspaper in his hand.

"Section Chief." Nanzo Yunzi bowed her head.

Nakajima turned a page of the newspaper. "I heard about what happened at Litai Bank last night."

"Takeda acted impulsively, alerting the enemy." Nanzo Yunzi straightened up. "Lu Minghui was prepared. That deposit slip was indeed a setup he orchestrated."

Nakajima put down his newspaper. His gaze fell on Nanzo Yunko's face.

"You didn't come here today to apologize on behalf of Takeda."

"Yes." Nanzo Yunzi walked to the coffee table. "Section Chief, I'd like to go to Nanjing."

Nakajima picked up his teacup. "Hmm?"

"Go and bring Li Shiqun up," Nanzo Yunzi said crisply.

Nakajima stopped drinking tea. The teacup hung suspended in mid-air.

"Li Shiqun took that fake deposit slip to Nanjing, which has crossed the line of the Sugi Project." Nakajima's tone turned cold. "Zhou Fohai's house arrest of him is a statement to me. Are you going to bring him up now?"

"It's precisely because he crossed the line that he's now a dead man." Nanzo Yunzi met Nakajima's gaze. "Zhou Fohai can't tolerate him, and Ding Mocun is frantically swallowing up No. 76. Li Shiqun's twenty years of business in Shanghai is about to be devoured alive. He has nothing left but his life."

Nakajima put the teacup back on the coffee table.

"The best way to deal with Chinese people is to use Chinese people themselves." Nanzo Yunzi leaned forward. "Li Shiqun in the past had Nanjing backing him up, so he outwardly obeyed the empire but inwardly defied it. He had a way out."

She paused for a moment.

"But now, he has no way out. As long as the Empire intervenes to save his life, he will be a mad dog that only bites anti-Japanese elements. He will be more ruthless, more vicious, and more obedient than before."

Nakajima looked at Nanzo Yunko, his fingers tapping on the sofa armrest.

He knocked three times. Then he stopped.

"How much does he know about the secrets of Project Sugi?" Nakajima asked.

"All he knew was that there was a printing press on the second basement floor of Litai Bank, and he smelled the ink," Nanzo Yunzi replied. "Besides that, he didn't know anything. He even thought it was just a way to launder smuggled goods."

Nakajima stood up and walked to the window.

Outside the window, several trucks loaded with military supplies were driving out of the gate of the Meiji Military Headquarters.

"Making use of waste," Nakajima said, looking at the convoy. "That's a good suggestion. Shanghai is too quiet now; it needs a mad dog to bite those rats lurking in the shadows."

Nakajima turned around. "I'll call General Kagesa. You take my warrant and go to Nanjing to retrieve him. Tell Li Shiqun that his life was given to him by the Empire. If he dares to mishandle anything again, I'll chop his hand off."

"Hi!" Nanzo Yunko stood at attention.

After finishing her business, Nanzo Yunzi did not leave.

She looked at Nakajima and her lips moved twice.

"Is there anything else?" Nakajima walked behind the desk and sat down.

"Section Chief." Nanzo Yunzi clenched her fist, then relaxed it. "It's about Lu Minghui."

Nakajima's face darkened.

"I warned you, Shanghai is so big, don't just focus on Lu Minghui."

"But Section Chief!" Nanzo Yunzi braced her hands on the edge of her desk. "The Taihu ambush, the Xiafei branch road gunfight—he's too clean! Every time something happens, he's there, but he's never actually there. That kite is like his shadow, clearing away all obstacles for him!"

Nanzo Yunko stared into Nakajima's eyes.

"Li Shiqun took the deposit slip to Nanjing, ostensibly because he was greedy for credit. But in reality, Lu Minghui used you to eliminate the biggest boss of the 76th Division. He was using someone else to do his dirty work!"

The sound of military police changing guard echoed in the corridor, then faded away into the distance.

Nakajima looked at Nanzo Yunko. He didn't get angry.

He opened the drawer and took out a cigar. He cut off the cap, peeled off the wrapper layer by layer, but didn't smoke it.

"Yunzi, you're an excellent agent. But you're only good at arresting people, not at playing chess."

Nanzo Yunzi was stunned.

Nakajima leaned back in his chair. "You think Lu Minghui is a kite (a symbol of loyalty and righteousness)? Or a member of the Red Party? Okay, let's assume he is."

Nanzo Yunko's eyes lit up.

"So what?"

Those four words struck Nanzo Yunzi squarely in the face. Her expression froze.

"So what?" Nanzo Yunzi repeated, "Section Chief, he's an undercover agent! He'll steal imperial secrets and sabotage the Empire's plans!"

"What did he sabotage?" Nakajima tossed his cigarette into the ashtray. "He helped me stabilize the situation at Litai Bank. He helped me move the equipment from Xinmin Machinery Factory without leaving a trace. He even helped Matsui transport supplies from the black market into the Empire's warehouses."

Finally, I stuffed the eggplant wrapper into the ashtray and pressed it down.

"What the Empire lacks most right now is resources! Money! Lu Minghui can get penicillin from Lu Xuzhang and revitalize the Black Dragon Society's channels. As long as he's working for the Empire, does it matter whether he's a man or a villain?"

"But Project Sugi..."

"Project Sugi has been leaked," Nakajima interrupted her. "From the moment Li Shiqun smelled the ink, Zhou Fohai knew, and Chongqing must have known too. The established facts cannot be changed."

Nakajima stood up and walked to Nanzo Yunko.

"Since the secret can no longer be kept, someone needs to draw Chongqing's fire. Lu Minghui is the best candidate."

Nakajima lowered his voice.

"If he were a kite, he would definitely keep a close eye on Project Sugi. He would investigate the paper, the ink, and the printing press. He would put all his energy into it."

Nanzo Yunzi's shoulder blades were taut, and two vertical lines appeared on the back of her military uniform.

"Is the section chief trying to use Project Sugi to stall him?"

"Let him investigate." Nakajima turned and walked back behind the table, leaning back in his chair. "He'll get infinitely close to the truth, yet he'll never uncover it. He can only howl like a desperate lone wolf in the wilderness."

"Sakata's troubles are getting bigger and bigger."

Nanzo Yunko stood still. The Ume Agency and the Sugi Agency were nominally under the same command of the military, but Sakata's men had never taken Nakajima seriously.

"Does the section chief mean to send Lu Minghui to deal with Sakata?" Nanzo Yunzi asked tentatively.

"We're all serving the Empire, don't talk nonsense." Nakajima picked up the ashtray and emptied the tobacco and eggplant wrappers into the wastebasket. "I just need Sakata to attract everyone's attention."

Nakajima crossed his arms and placed them back on the table, then sat up straight.

Nanzo Yunzi did not ask any further questions.

"Your mission now is to go to Nanjing and bring Li Shiqun back," Nakajima said, looking at her. "Let him bite the people he should bite."

Nanzo Yunko stood at attention, head bowed. "Yes, sir!"

He turned and walked towards the door.

She stopped when she reached the door.

"Section Chief." She didn't turn around. "If Lu Minghui really finds out Sakata's background, or even destroys the Sugi Agency, the Imperial Military will hold him accountable..."

"That's because Sakata is incompetent," Nakajima said coldly. "He can't even handle a confidential affairs director; what qualifications does he have to oversee Project Sugi?"

Nanzo Yunzi pushed open the door and went out.

The office fell silent again.

Shinichi Nakajima leaned back in his chair, his gaze fixed on the copy of the "Shen Bao" newspaper on the table.

The newspaper had turned to the supplement page.

The Legend of the White Snake: Midnight Horror.

Nakajima tapped the headline twice with his fingers. Then he flipped the newspaper over.

Several newspapers were also lying underneath, all of which published the story of "The Legend of the White Snake" in their supplements. The stories were different, and the dates were also different.

He arranged the newspapers by date and pressed his thumb on the publication date of the earliest one.

The fingernail dug into the paper.

Outside the window, the sun peeked out from behind the clouds.

French Concession, safe house.

Lu Minghui stood by the window, looking at the rain outside.

The wound on his left arm was flaring up again. He pressed his right hand against his left shoulder, his brow furrowed slightly.

The phone on the table rang.

Lu Minghui walked over and answered it.

"Commander Lu," Gu Yunqiu's voice came through, low and hushed, "Southeast Trading Company received a new shipment today."

"What goods?"

"The shipping manifest says it's industrial dye," Gu Yunqiu said quickly. "But during loading and unloading, I saw water stains seeping from the bottom of the wooden crates. Pale red. In the sunlight, it turned from red to purple."

Lu Minghui tightened his grip on the receiver.

Special color-changing ink. Used for printing banknotes.

"What's going on with Matsui?" Lu Minghui asked.

"Yamada personally escorted the truck. The goods weren't taken to the warehouse; they were loaded directly onto another truck. I noted down the license plate number; it belonged to the garrison's logistics department."

Lu Minghui closed his eyes.

Military Logistics Department. Colonel Sakata. Chengda Company.

All the clues have connected.

"You don't need to do anything." Lu Minghui opened his eyes. "Go to work as usual tomorrow."

"clear."

He hung up the phone. Lu Minghui walked to the table and picked up the map of Shanghai city.

A red and blue pencil drew a heavy cross on "14 Broadway Road".

Chengda Company. The central hub of the Shanji Group in Shanghai.

Once the goods were found, the people were found as well.

Song Qingyuan must be there.

Lu Minghui placed the pencil on the edge of the map and stared at the cross for a few seconds.

Rescue them, or kill them.

He opened the drawer; there was a Colt and a Browning.

He took out the Colt, ejected the magazine, and counted the bullets. Seven rounds. He pushed it back in with a click.

He tucked the gun into his waistband.