Hidden Radiance

14 Broadway Road.

The Ford sedan was parked in the shadows on the street corner, its engine off.

Lu Minghui sat in the driver's seat, lowering the window halfway. He held the steering wheel with one hand, gazing at the road ahead.

Across the street is Chengda Company.

There was no sign, only a heavy, black iron gate. A three-meter-high wall was topped with electrified barbed wire. Four fully armed Japanese military police stood at the gate, leading two wolfhounds.

A stray cat darted over the wall, a searchlight shone instantly, and a wolfhound barked wildly. Military police cocked their guns in perfect unison.

Lu Minghui withdrew his right hand from the grip of the Colt rifle at his waist.

I can't get in.

There are no blind spots on the outside, but the situation inside is unknown. Song Qingyuan may be imprisoned inside, or he may have moved in voluntarily.

Forcing your way in would be suicide.

The security level of the Sugi Agency is a level higher than that of the Ume Agency.

Lu Minghui pushed the gun deeper into his belt. He rolled up the car window, pressed the clutch, and the sedan silently glided into the night.

Hongkou, Special Higher Police.

An underground chamber. There are no windows, only a high-wattage incandescent light bulb hanging overhead.

Li Shiqun sat on the iron chair. He was wearing a new suit, but his cheeks were sunken and his eyes were dark. The days he had been under house arrest in Nanjing had taken a heavy toll on him.

Nanzo Yunzi walked in and threw a document on the iron table.

"Senior Advisor of the Special Higher Police." Nanzo Yunko looked at him. "A letter of appointment personally signed by Advisor Nakajima."

Li Shiqun stared at the paper, his Adam's apple bobbing. He stood up, picked up the letter of appointment with both hands, and bowed deeply.

"Thank you for your guidance, Section Chief Nanzao." Li Shiqun's voice was hoarse. "My life now belongs to the Empire."

"Your life is worthless." Nanzo Yunzi pulled out a chair and sat down. "What I want is the new head of the Military Intelligence Bureau's Shanghai station, Zhiyuan. He's been wreaking havoc in Shanghai, causing heavy losses to the Empire. I want you to dig him out."

Li Shiqun carefully put the letter of appointment away from his body and looked up.

"Section Chief, the kite is well hidden. We can't find it from the outside." Li Shiqun took a half step forward. "We have to fish it out from the inside."

Nanzo Yunzi remained silent.

"Everyone in Shanghai knows my current predicament. I've been abandoned by Zhou Fohai and purged by Ding Mocun. I'm desperate." Li Shiqun's lips twitched slightly. "At this point, if I want to leave myself a way out, secretly contacting the Military Intelligence Bureau is perfectly reasonable."

Nanzo Yunko narrowed her eyes.

"A feigned defection?"

"Yes." Li Shiqun nodded. "The Military Intelligence Bureau might not believe me on my own. But I can get She Aizhen involved. Her position at the 76th Division is also awkward. If the two of us surrender together, it will be enough to pique Zhiyuan's interest. As long as Zhiyuan shows his face, I will definitely kill him."

Nanzo Yunzi stared at Li Shiqun for a few seconds.

"Go for it." Nanzo Yunko stood up. "I only care about the results."

A secluded luxury apartment in the French Concession.

She Aizhen was sitting on the sofa when the cigarette filter in her hand burned her hand. She snapped back to reality and stubbed the cigarette out of the ashtray.

Sitting opposite her was Li Shiqun, who should have been serving time in prison in Nanjing.

"Director Li's 'golden cicada shedding its shell' trick is truly eye-opening." She Aizhen suppressed her shock and tried to keep her tone calm.

"Thanks to Lu Minghui." Li Shiqun leaned back on the sofa, lit a cigar, and said, "He set me up, trying to use the Japanese to kill me. Unfortunately for him, I'm tough."

She Aizhen didn't reply. Her gaze shifted from Li Shiqun's face to his collar—the suit was new, but the collar of his shirt was frayed. Things hadn't been easy for him back in Nanjing.

"How did you get out?" She Aizhen asked.

Li Shiqun exhaled a puff of cigar smoke but did not answer the question.

"Captain She, your days at No. 76 haven't been easy either, have they?" Li Shiqun changed the subject. "The people in Dingmo Village are ostracizing you. And Lu Minghui? He uses you, but he's also wary of you. Do you really think he'll let you go just because you hand over a key?"

She Aizhen's fingers clenched tightly at the hem of her cheongsam.

The scene from that night at the Cinque Terrell ballroom flashed into his mind. Lu Minghui sat in a booth, pushing the brass key back to the center of the table, his voice flat and even.

Why did you point out Wang Puchen's identity?

If an intelligence chief becomes suspicious of you, you're not far from death. Although she tried to salvage the situation, the other party was Lu Minghui—the same Lu Minghui who sent Li Shiqun to the Nanjing dungeon within days.

Li Shiqun crawled in by himself.

"Director Li didn't come here today just to catch up with me, did he?" She Aizhen picked up the silver lighter on the table and fiddled with it in her hand.

"Let's join forces and defect to the Military Intelligence Bureau," Li Shiqun leaned forward, "to find ourselves a way out."

She Aizhen paused.

"Nanjing is unreliable, the Japanese are ruthless, and the Red Party's foundation is too shallow. Chongqing desperately needs an inside agent from Shanghai." Li Shiqun lowered his voice. "We have classified information from the 76th Division and intelligence from the Mei Agency. These are our keys. As long as we get in touch with that new station chief, Zhiyuan, we can regain the initiative."

She Aizhen looked into Li Shiqun's eyes.

She knew Li Shiqun was insidious, and she knew this was likely a setup. But the pressure Lu Minghui exerted on her felt too real. If she stayed at No. 76, Lu Minghui would settle scores with her sooner or later.

"How can I contact you?" She Aizhen put down her lighter.

Li Shiqun smiled.

Chunfeng Teahouse, Sima Road.

The innermost private room on the second floor.

Paper Kite, dressed in a long robe and wearing gold-rimmed glasses, used the alias "Chen Zheng." He sat in the main seat, slowly and methodically washing the tea set.

The door was pushed open. Li Shiqun and She Aizhen walked in one after the other.

Paper Kite glanced at the two of them and gestured for them to enter.

"Mr. Chen," Li Shiqun sat down and got straight to the point, "Let's not beat around the bush. We've reached the end of our road with the new government. We want to work for Boss Dai, so we'd like to ask Mr. Chen to introduce us to the new stationmaster of the Shanghai station, Zhiyuan."

The paper kite lifts the purple clay teapot. Hot water is poured in, and steam rises.

He lowered his eyes and steadily turned the lid of the teapot.

The station manager didn't give any prior notice. These two people came to us on their own.

Paper Kite pushed two cups of tea in front of the two people.

"Both of you are prominent figures in Shanghai." Paper Kite's tone was calm, with a hint of a businessman's shrewdness. "Boss Dai is naturally pleased that you've abandoned the darkness for the light. However, Station Master Paper Kite's whereabouts are unpredictable, and even seeing him is as difficult as climbing to heaven for me."

"Mr. Chen, we understand the rules." She Aizhen took out three gold bars from her handbag and placed them under her teacup. "This is just a small gift. If we can make contact, there will be a generous reward later."

The paper kite glanced at the gold bar but didn't touch it.

"Gentlemen." Paper Kite picked up his teacup, blew away the foam, and said, "It's not that I'm unwilling to help. It's just that the stationmaster instructed me that things are tense lately, and I'm not seeing any guests. Unless—"

The kite stopped and took a sip of tea.

"Unless what?" Li Shiqun pressed.

"Unless you two can show some real sincerity," Paper Kite put down his teacup. "The station chief won't believe empty promises of surrender. You have to do something to prove you're not Japanese spies."

Li Shiqun and She Aizhen exchanged a glance.

"What kind of pledge of allegiance does Mr. Chen want?" Li Shiqun asked.

"Wait for news." Paper Kite stood up and pushed the three gold bars back in front of She Aizhen. "I will inform you both once the station chief gives the order. The tea is good, please enjoy."

Paper Kite opened the door and went out.

French Concession, safe house.

Lu Minghui sat at the table, the bandage on his left arm having just been changed. The air was filled with the smell of iodine.

the phone is ringing.

Lu Minghui answered the call.

"Station Chief," Paper Kite's voice came through the receiver, "Li Shiqun and She Aizhen just contacted me, saying they want to defect to the Military Intelligence Bureau and request a meeting with Paper Kite."

Lu Minghui held the phone between his neck and picked up a pencil with his right hand, continuing to trace on the map.

"Li Shiqun has returned to Shanghai?"

"Yes. Looks like they've had some tough time, but they seem to be in good spirits," Paper Kite said. "Station Chief, what are those two up to? Didn't you receive any news from 76th?"

"Without Nakajima Shin's nod and without Nanzo Yunko's help, Li Shiqun wouldn't have been able to leave Nanjing at all." Lu Minghui's voice was cold and hard. "He returned to Shanghai with a mission. It was a pretense of surrender, a trap."

"What about She Aizhen?"

"She's probably really scared." Lu Minghui put down his pencil. "I gave her a warning before, and she felt guilty and wanted to find a way out. Li Shiqun took advantage of her."

There was a two-second silence on the other end of the line.

"So what do we do?" Paper Kite asked. "Just take them out?"

"No." Lu Minghui looked at the map of Shanghai city spread out on the table.

The cross drawn with red and blue pencils on "14 Broadway Road" is exceptionally eye-catching.

Chengda Company. Its defenses are tight, leaving no room for error.

Just when they were worried about not finding anyone to traverse the minefield, Li Shiqun delivered himself to their doorstep.

"Aren't they trying to prove their loyalty?" Lu Minghui said. "Give them a chance."

"Investigate what?"

"Hongkou, 14 Broadway Road, Chengda Company." Lu Minghui slowed his speech, emphasizing each word. "Tell Li Shiqun that this company is a secret warehouse of the Japanese army's logistics department, containing a batch of high-value military supplies. As long as he can figure out the layout inside, or take something of value out of it, the Shanghai station will accept him."

Paper Kite chuckled on the other end of the phone.

"Station Boss, are you using someone else to do your dirty work?"

"If he's determined to be a dog, let him bite the hardest bone." Lu Minghui paused for a moment, "Don't make the reminder too obvious. Let him try it himself."

hang up the phone.

My gaze returned to the map.

If Li Shiqun really investigates Chengda Company, Colonel Sakata will definitely not let him off the hook. Once the secrets of the Sugi Agency are exposed, a dog-eat-dog drama will unfold in Hongkou.

In time, that tightly closed iron gate will eventually show a crack.

Lu Minghui opened the drawer. Colt lay inside, the gun barrel yellowed and dim in the light of the desk lamp.

He looked at it for two seconds, then closed the drawer.