Hidden Radiance

Chapter 72 Who

The military police officer's hand trembled slightly.

He slammed his ID card shut, put his feet together, and abruptly lowered his head.

"Sir!"

Gu Yunqiu did not reach out to take it. She stared coldly at the other person.

The officer handed back his identification with both hands, cold sweat beading on his forehead.

"Second floor, at the very back. However... Section Chief Nanzo is searching it."

"What did they find out at the izakaya?" Gu Yunqiu asked indifferently.

The officer lowered his voice: "Four bodies, six Browning shell casings. The killer used a silencer; no one called the police all night. The on-site investigation is still ongoing; the preliminary assessment is that it was done by professionals. The killer escaped through the back window; rainwater washed away the traces outside."

"lead the way."

Gu Yunqiu put away her ID, stepped over the police line in her high heels.

The officer followed half a step behind, his eyes constantly scanning to both sides—several military police on guard looked over, and he stiffly mouthed "Don't stop me."

As Gu Yunqiu passed by the gate, he heard two men huddled against the wall, whispering to each other.

"...It was even more terrifying at the izakaya; the blood had soaked through the tatami mats..."

"The military police didn't discover until dawn that the old man washing dishes was so frightened he wet his pants..."

Gu Yunqiu did not stop walking.

Lobby.

The filing cabinets behind the counter were all pulled open, and ledgers and invoices were piled on the floor. Two military policemen were taking things out of the safe one by one.

Gu Yunqiu's high heels clicked crisply on the shredded paper without stopping.

A sentry stood at the top of the stairs, holding a Type 38 rifle. Seeing the officer's gesture, he stepped aside.

Second floor, at the end of the corridor.

The door to Matsui's office was open.

All the drawers were pulled open, and documents were scattered all over the floor. The safe door was half-open, and most of the compartments inside were empty.

Nanzo Yunzi stood behind the desk. In her right hand, she held several sheets of carbon paper, printed in blue format—freight handover receipts. She flipped through them, but finding nothing she was looking for, she tossed the papers back onto the desk.

Hearing footsteps, she turned her head.

Gu Yunqiu walked in.

His gaze swept over the mess on the ground. It stopped on Nanzo Yunzi's face.

"Section Chief Yunzi." Gu Yunqiu nodded slightly.

Nanzo Yunko stared at her.

The Gu Yunqiu in front of me stood ramrod straight with her chin slightly raised. The few steps she took to get to her desk were two inches longer than before.

"Miss Gu," Nanzo Yunzi's voice was cold, "you have more guts than I imagined. You dare to barge in during a raid?"

"I'm a specialist sent by the South Manchuria Railway Company, and I'm in charge of Matsui's accounts." Gu Yunqiu met her gaze. "The section chief investigates the murderer, and I investigate the accounts. We don't interfere with each other."

He turned and walked towards his office at the end of the corridor.

Nanzo Yunzi's fingers clenched on the edge of the table. Her gaze was fixed on that retreating figure.

Mei Agency.

Consultant's Office.

Shinichi Nakajima sat on the sofa, holding a report in his hand.

Nanzo Yunzi stood in front of the coffee table, her military uniform perfectly straight.

"Section Chief, I request the immediate arrest of Gu Yunqiu." Nanzo Yunzi's tone was resolute. "She's acting too strangely. A few days ago, she pretended to be deaf and dumb at the company, but as soon as Matsui died, she immediately jumped out, revealing her identity as a member of the South Manchuria Railway Company, and even produced identification from the Sugi Project Action Group, forcibly breaking into the sealed-off site. She's trying to use the South Manchuria Railway Company and the Sugi Project's name to pressure me and stop the Special Higher Police from investigating!"

Nakajima put down the report.

"Arrest someone? What's the reason?" Nakajima looked at her.

"Matsui's death is definitely related to her!"

"Where's the evidence?" Nakajima leaned back in his chair. "She returned to her apartment in the French Concession at nine o'clock last night, and the lights were on for twenty minutes before being turned off. Records from the apartment doorman and the police station both prove she didn't leave. On what grounds are you arresting her?"

Nanzo Yunko gritted her teeth. "Intuition."

Nakajima laughed. The laughter wasn't loud, but it was sharp.

"Yunzi, you're the head of the Special Higher Police, not a street patrolman." Nakajima picked up his teacup. "Gu Yunqiu is a high-ranking elite in the South Manchuria Railway's Investigation Department, and she's on the radar within the Kwantung Army. Without solid evidence, touching her is a slap in the face to the South Manchuria Railway."

"But she..."

"What's wrong with her?" Nakajima interrupted her. "Is she arrogant? Is she domineering? This is how she should be!"

Nanzo Yunzi was stunned.

"A top talent trained by the South Manchuria Railway Company, now serving as Lu Minghui's secretary every day, behaving obsequiously." Nakajima took a sip of tea. "You really think she's changed? Her docility before was just for show, for Lu Minghui's benefit."

Nakajima placed the teacup on the table, his voice tinged with amusement.

"Women, you know. They always have to put on an act in front of the men they like. What does it mean that she's letting her true nature show now?" Nakajima looked at Nanzo Yunko. "It means she and Lu Minghui had a falling out. Or, she doesn't want to pretend anymore."

Nanzo Yunzi frowned. "Section Chief, this is just a guess."

"Yunzi." Nakajima stood up and walked over to her. "You're putting too much energy into Lu Minghui and Gu Yunqiu. If you keep fixating on Lu Minghui like this, your lover might become someone else's lover."

Nanzo Yunko's cheek twitched.

"Matsui's death must be thoroughly investigated." Nakajima's smile faded, his tone turning stern. "If it's just a yakuza feud or a dispute over loot, Matsui's death is insignificant. But if..."

Nakajima stopped.

Nanzo Yunko looked up. "If what?"

Nakajima's eyes flickered. He turned around and walked back behind his desk.

Matsui intercepted the shipment of medicine. It was urgently needed by Unit 1644. If Matsui's death was due to the leak of this medicine, leading to the uncovering of a secret…

"It's nothing," Nakajima said curtly. "Back to the scene."

He opened the drawer, took out a newly delivered site investigation report, and glanced at it.

"Six shots were fired in the middle of the night in a busy downtown area, and the guy washing dishes downstairs didn't hear a thing." Nakajima spread the briefing on the table. "The killer used a silencer."

Nanzo Yunko stared at the briefing.

"Four Browning shell casings were found outside the private room corridor, and two more were found at the stairwell." Nakajima drew a line along the scene diagram on the briefing. "The killer started from the second-floor corridor and killed his way downstairs. Six shots, four bodies, not a single one wasted."

He turned a page.

"There's a bullet hole in the paper door; Yamada was shot through the forehead. The killer fired the first shot through the door." Nakajima pointed to another mark. "Matsui was shot three times: in the right shoulder, chest, and forehead. The first shot broke his defenses, the next two were the kill. The pace was extremely fast."

Nakajima flipped through the briefing, his gaze lingering for a moment.

"Matsui's inner pockets were turned inside out." He tapped the paper with his finger. "His collar was torn crooked, and the buttons on his inner pockets were open. The murderer took things from the body."

Nanzo Yunzi's eyebrows furrowed even more tightly.

"No body search in a revenge killing." Nakajima raised his head. "The murderer not only wanted to kill, but also wanted to take something from Matsui."

He turned back to the previous page of the briefing.

"That katana—it was drawn, but there was no blood. Matsui drew it to fight back, but missed. There was a Nambu bullet embedded in a stairwell pillar; the bodyguard returned fire, but missed as well."

Nakajima gave a briefing.

"There were kick marks on the paper door, indicating it was kicked in from the outside. It was a rainy night, and the water stains on the corridor and stairs had dried by the time they were discovered. The second-floor back window was opened from the inside, and he climbed out; outside was a dark alley." He threw the briefing back onto the table. "He had a silencer, a contingency plan, and an escape route. Six shots, six hits; even a knife couldn't touch him. This guy's skills are excellent."

Nakajima leaned back in his chair, pinching his chin with two fingers.

"Investigate who Matsui has recently offended, and check the flow of funds at Southeast Trading Company. Especially that body search—what does Matsui carry with him, and who took it? Get it done."

Nanzo Yunko stands at attention. "Yes, sir!"

She turned and walked out of the office.

She glanced back as the door closed.

Nakajima's cover-up was too clumsy. Matsui must be holding something more deadly than counterfeit money.

Nakajima sat behind his desk, not moving.

His gaze fell on the line "inner pockets turned inside out" on the briefing, and he rubbed his thumb against the edge of the table twice.

Matsui is dead, and all his things are gone.

What exactly is lost?

Nakajima opened the drawer and locked the briefing inside.

Number 76, Confidential Office.

Lu Minghui sat behind the table.

A copy of that day's "Shenbao" newspaper was on the table.

Gu Yunqiu pushed the door open and entered. He then locked it behind him.

She walked to the table, pulled out a chair, and sat down.

"The Special Higher Police searched Matsui's office from top to bottom, but found no valuable clues," Gu Yunqiu said calmly. "Nanzo Yunko spent a long time looking through the shipping receipts, but didn't find what she was looking for. They did a thorough job."

Lu Minghui did not look at her.

He picked up the lighter on the table and twirled it between his fingers.

"I told you to pretend you know nothing," Lu Minghui said in a low voice, laced with suppressed anger. "I made you an accountant secretary. Why have you suddenly become so arrogant?"

Gu Yunqiu looked directly into his eyes.

"No one believes me when I'm not in the thick of things," Gu Yunqiu replied. "Matsui is dead, and it's illogical that a frail secretary like me can still handle the accounts so smoothly. The arrogance of the South Manchuria Railway Commissioner is the best cover. Nanzo Yunko will only think that I'm using my position to pressure her."

Lu Minghui slammed the lighter on the table.

*Snap.* The sound was crisp.

"You're playing with fire." Lu Minghui stared at her. "Nanzo Yunzi was only suspicious at first, but after you made such a scene today, she'll be like a mad dog, relentlessly attacking you."

"Then let her bite." Gu Yunqiu didn't back down. "As long as she's watching me, she won't be watching you."

The office fell silent.

Outside the window, a truck drove into the compound of No. 76, its engine roaring.

Lu Minghui looked at Gu Yunqiu.

She sat in the chair with her back ramrod straight, her jawline taut, and her lips pressed into a thin line.

Lu Minghui's left arm jerked violently.

"You think you're so great?" Lu Minghui leaned back in his chair, his voice flat. "Ready to sacrifice yourself at any moment?"

Gu Yunqiu remained silent.

"I'm telling you, you're not allowed to." Lu Minghui leaned forward, placing his hands on the table. "Now, I'm your superior. Without my orders, you don't even have the right to die."

Gu Yunqiu's eyelashes trembled.

"Nanzo Yunko went to the Ume Agency." Lu Minghui withdrew his hand. "Nakajima didn't order your arrest. Do you know why?"

Gu Yunqiu raised her head.

"Given Nakajima's personality, he most likely thinks your outburst today is because we had a fight." Lu Minghui's lips curled into a mocking smile. "He thinks you're jealous and trying to establish your authority."

Gu Yunqiu was stunned.

"That's your 'arrogance as cover'." Lu Minghui stood up and walked to the window. "Blind luck. Nakajima's delusion saved your life."

He looked out the window at the courtyard.

Lin Zhijiang, with bandages on his face and bruises, got out of a car and limped toward the guard unit.

"Matsui is dead, and the Southeast Trading Company is left unmanaged," Lu Minghui said. "The trail to that batch of medicine has also gone cold."

Lu Minghui turned around and looked at Gu Yunqiu.

"The show must go on." Lu Minghui walked back to the table. "Since Nakajima thinks we're having a conflict, let's make it bigger."

Gu Yunqiu stood up. "What's going on?"

Lu Minghui picked up the phone on the table and dialed Nanzo Yunzi's office.

"Section Chief Yunzi," Lu Minghui said irritably, "Are you free tonight? Let's grab a drink at Cinque Terrell."

hang up the phone.

Lu Minghui looked at Gu Yunqiu.

"You've lost control, Xia Ke." Lu Minghui's voice was extremely low, pausing for a beat before finally speaking. "I won't allow my team members to slip out of my control. From now on, you're moving out of the safe house and back to your South Manchuria Railway Shanghai office. Don't contact me without my orders."

Gu Yunqiu's fingers tightened at her sides.

Move out of the safe house. Return to the South Manchuria Railway Company. Cut off all contact.

Lu Minghui added, "I'll submit a report to Nakajima."

Complete isolation.

"Yes." Gu Yunqiu turned and walked towards the door.

His hand rested on the doorknob.

"Comrade Rouge." She didn't turn around. "If you find evidence of 1644, ignore me. Send the telegram."

The door opened and then closed.

Lu Minghui stood still.

Without you, who would I send this to?

In the drawer, the Colt lay quietly.

He opened the drawer, took out a gun, and tucked it into his lower back.