Hidden Radiance

Joint investigation team's temporary office.

The white light from the overhead lamp bathed the long table, casting the shadows of the three people close together.

Gu Yunqiu sat at the head of the long table, his hands crossed on the surface. His black Manchuria Railway uniform was pressed crisply, and the badge on his chest gleamed coldly under the overhead light.

Nanzo Yunzi stood by the table, staring at Gu Yunqiu.

"Miss Gu," Nanzo Yunzi's voice was cold, "the Southeast Trading Company is involved in two assassination attempts against high-ranking Imperial officials. The Special Higher Police are investigating, and the South Manchuria Railway is auditing the accounts. Don't you think you're failing to distinguish between primary and secondary matters?"

Gu Yunqiu did not look up at her.

She unfastened the clasp of her briefcase, pulled out a Japanese list, and pushed it across the middle of the long table.

"Before Matsui died, the South Manchuria Railway Company entrusted the Southeast Trading Company with the transshipment of three batches of high-level strategic materials." Gu Yunqiu pointed to the list. "Now the man is dead, and the goods are gone. The Kwantung Army Headquarters sends three telegrams a day inquiring about the progress. Chief Nanzo, are you planning to dismiss the Kwantung Army with the words 'investigating a case'?"

Nanzo Yunzi glanced at the Kwantung Army seal on the list, her face turning ashen.

"The Special Higher Police will investigate the whereabouts of the supplies!"

"By the time the Special Higher Police have finished their investigation, the fighting on the front lines will be over." Gu Yunqiu leaned back in his chair, his tone calm. "Only the South Manchuria Railway Company can investigate the accounts. This is Director Nakanishi's idea, and Advisor Nakajima has also given his approval."

Nanzo Yunzi placed her hands on the table and leaned forward.

"Gu Yunqiu, don't try to intimidate me with your connections. Did you really think your actions that night were flawless?"

"The section chief suspects me of murder?" Gu Yunqiu met her gaze, a smirk playing on her lips. "Fine. Throw me in the Special Higher Police's jail. Let's see—who dares to interrogate me?"

Nanzo Yunzi gritted her teeth.

They can't arrest her. Shinichi Nakajima just warned her that without solid evidence, taking action against the South Manchuria Railway Commissioner is suicidal.

Lu Minghui sat on the left side of the long table, twirling an unlit Old Knife brand cigarette in his hand.

He looked at Gu Yunqiu.

Perhaps this is what she was originally like.

"Gentlemen," Lu Minghui said, slamming his cigarette on the table to break the silence, "we're all serving the Empire, and our goals are the same. Since Advisor Nakajima has ordered a joint investigation, let's divide the tasks."

Nanzo Yunzi turned to look at him. Gu Yunqiu also turned his gaze away.

"Commissioner Gu represents the South Manchuria Railway Company and is most familiar with the accounts of the Southeast Trading Company." Lu Minghui tapped his fingers twice on the table. "Checking accounts, inventorying warehouses, and locating supplies are Commissioner Gu's strengths. The Special Higher Police are good at tracking, interrogating, and investigating murderers. Chief Nanzo is in charge of peripheral investigations and on-site investigations."

Lu Minghui paused for a moment.

"As for me, Agent 76 will be responsible for coordinating all parties and providing intelligence support. We'll operate on a non-interference basis, sharing intelligence. How does that sound?"

Nanzo Yunzi stared at Lu Minghui.

He was trying to smooth things over, legally handing over the power to audit the accounts to Gu Yunqiu.

"Okay." Nanzo Yunzi straightened up. "But the Special Higher Police must keep a copy of the Southeast Trading Company's core ledgers."

"No problem." Gu Yunqiu stood up and straightened the hem of his uniform. "I'll take over the finance department of Southeast Trading Company immediately. Section Chief Nanzao, please have your military police remove the seals."

Gu Yunqiu turned and walked towards the door.

The sound of leather boots was crisp and steady. He didn't even glance at Lu Minghui.

The door closed.

Nanzo Yunzi's gaze shifted from the doorway to the lingering marks on the chair back.

"Minghui, your ex-lover's temper has gotten worse."

"What do you mean by 'ex-lover'? That's just a secretary or a driver." Lu Minghui picked up the cigarette, put it in his mouth, but didn't light it. "Yunzi, the ledgers are dead, but people are alive. Let her dig up those messy accounts, we'll catch the murderer."

Nanzo Yunzi snorted coldly, grabbed the survey photos on the table, and turned to leave.

The heel of my military boot slammed hard against the threshold. The sound was crisp. I couldn't tell if it was accidental or intentional.

The door closed.

Lu Minghui remained seated.

He looked at the empty doorway.

The armor of the Manchukuo Ironworks could block the swords of Nanzo Yunko and Sakata, but it also completely put Gu Yunqiu under the gun barrel.

Lu Minghui took out a lighter. Click. He lit a cigarette and took a drag.

Smoke filled the empty office.

Like clouds and mist.

A luxury apartment building in the French Concession.

The main lights in the room were off; only a dim, yellowish desk lamp illuminated the room.

Li Shiqun sat on the sofa, a cheap cigarette between his fingers. The ash was long and had fallen onto his trouser leg, but he ignored it.

The two weeks in the Nanjing dungeon ripped him apart. Now back in Shanghai, he's still surrounded by enemies.

He took a deep drag of his cigarette, which made him cough.

The situation is terrible.

Lin Zhijiang tried to kick down the door of Chengda Company, but before he could even get inside, his nose was broken. Thirty secret agents from the guard battalion were disarmed and forced to squat with their hands behind their heads all night. This slap was aimed at Li Shiqun's face.

What's even more problematic is Lin Zhijiang's attitude after he returned.

After being beaten, she didn't immediately come to him to complain. Instead, she limped to Lu Minghui's confidential office.

I waited for a full twenty minutes.

Li Shiqun stubbed out the cigarette butt.

Lin Zhijiang, this ungrateful wolf, has probably already changed masters.

Join forces with Lu Minghui? No, it's not that simple. Chengda Company has such a powerful background; even when Lin Zhijiang led a group to cause trouble, he came back alive.

Li Shiqun's eye twitched slightly.

Could it be that Lin Zhijiang secretly sided with Sakata?

Regardless of whose dog Lin Zhijiang is, Li Shiqun is now in a very precarious position.

Nanzo Yunko's tacit approval of his investigation of Chengda Company wasn't to give him an opportunity; it was to use him as a stepping stone. Now that he's uncovered a problem, Sakata is furious. To appease the military, Nakajima Shinichi might push him out to take the blame at any time.

"A pawn to be discarded..." Li Shiqun gritted his teeth and squeezed out the two words.

He stood up and paced back and forth in the room.

Contact with the Military Intelligence Bureau was also cut off. Chen Zheng sent him to obtain Chengda Company's pledge of allegiance, which was a dead end. Chengda Company's level of security was so high that even the Special Higher Police couldn't get close. Chen Zheng sent him there to use the Japanese as a tool to kill him.

Paper Kite saw through his feigned defection.

The Military Intelligence Bureau didn't want him, the Japanese wanted to kill him, and Ding Mocun and Lu Minghui within the 76th Division were dividing up his interests.

A desperate situation.

Li Shiqun walked to the desk and placed his hands on the tabletop.

A new path must be found. A new path that will make Shinichi Nakajima feel he still has value, a path that will save his life.

His gaze fell on the table.

There were several recent issues of the "Shenbao" newspaper there.

Li Shiqun had a habit of glancing at every newspaper he read, even the minor supplements. Intelligence was often hidden in the most inconspicuous corners.

He casually flipped to the top page.

The supplement page. The novel is serialized in the bottom right corner.

The Legend of the White Snake: The Collapse of Leifeng Pagoda.

Li Shiqun's gaze stopped.

The previous serialized version was clearly titled "The Legend of the White Snake: Midnight Horror." The plot is completely disjointed. Instead of the flooding of Jinshan Temple, it jumps directly to the collapse of Leifeng Pagoda.

Li Shiqun grabbed the newspaper and held it up to the lamp.

The font size is very small, and the layout is compact.

He quickly pulled out the newspapers from a few days ago and spread them out on the table.

The Legend of the White Snake: Borrowing an Umbrella While Touring the Lake.

The Legend of the White Snake: The Miraculous Healer.

The Legend of the White Snake: Midnight Horror.

The Legend of the White Snake: The Collapse of Leifeng Pagoda.

Four newspapers were laid out side by side. Li Shiqun's finger moved from the first to the last, pausing below each publication date.

coincidence?

How many years did he stay at No. 76? He could smell the tricks in newspaper ads, shop windows, and radio requests with his eyes closed.

The story is right. But the pacing is off.

Leifeng Pagoda collapsed. The entire plot was skipped; it simply collapsed.

Is it the highest level of warning? Or a signal for a complete retreat?

Li Shiqun stared intently at the printed words on the newspaper. His fingers gripped the edge of the paper so tightly that his nails dug in, creating a deep crease in the newspaper.

Who is sending the signal? To whom?

He was able to manipulate the Shen Bao newspaper and had been operating in Shanghai for a long time, so he had immense power.

Paper kite.

These two words popped into Li Shiqun's mind. The new head of the Military Intelligence Bureau's Shanghai station needed to command the overall situation in this covert way.

If we can crack this code and follow the clues to capture Zhiyuan, or destroy the Kuomintang's communication network—that would be an immense achievement.

This is a million times better than going to Chengda Company and kicking a hornet's nest.

As long as the Kuomintang's paper kite is captured, Shinichi Nakajima will definitely not kill him, and Yunko Nanzo will also have to protect him.

Li Shiqun opened the drawer and took out a red and blue pencil.

He drew a heavy red circle around the four characters "Leifeng Pagoda collapsed".

The pen tip tore through the newspaper.

"If the Military Intelligence Bureau won't accept me, I'll come to them myself," Li Shiqun sneered.

He picked up the phone on the table and dialed.

connected.

"Lin Zhijiang," Li Shiqun's voice returned to its cold tone, "come to my place. Immediately."

hang up the phone.

Li Shiqun leaned back in his chair.

Lin Zhijiang is a dog, and dogs bite. Since he's already disloyal, let him bite someone else first.

Half an hour later.

There was a knock on the apartment door.

Lin Zhijiang pushed open the door and walked in. The gauze on his nose was stained with blood, and his face was swollen.

"Director." Lin Zhijiang bowed his head, his attitude impeccably respectful.

Li Shiqun sat on the sofa and pointed to the seat opposite him.

"sit."

Lin Zhijiang didn't dare to sit on it properly, and only got a half-sit on his buttocks.

"I'm sorry you had to go through all this trouble with Chengda Company." Li Shiqun picked up a cigarette case from the table and tossed one to Lin Zhijiang. "Sakata is arrogant. I'll remember this debt."

"It's no trouble to do things for the director." Lin Zhijiang took the cigarette but didn't dare to light it.

Li Shiqun pushed the Shenbao newspaper with the red circle drawn on it to the edge of the coffee table.

"Let's put the Chengda Company line on hold for now." Li Shiqun stared into Lin Zhijiang's eyes. "I'll give you a chance to redeem yourself."

Lin Zhijiang glanced at the newspaper.

"Go check the Shen Bao newspaper office." Li Shiqun tapped his finger on the table. "Check the supplement editor, check the typesetters. Find out who submitted this 'Legend of the White Snake' manuscript and how it was handed over. No need to arrest anyone, just keep a close watch on them."

Lin Zhijiang was taken aback. Investigating the newspaper office?

"Director, this..."

"This might be a code from the Military Intelligence Bureau," Li Shiqun said in a low voice. "Following this clue, we can find the kite."

Lin Zhijiang's eye, which wasn't swollen, suddenly opened.

Paper kite.

This is a target with an astronomical reward offered by the Special Higher Police.

"Understood!" Lin Zhijiang stood up. "I'll personally lead men to keep watch, making sure not to alert them!"

"Go ahead," Li Shiqun waved his hand.

Lin Zhijiang left the room.

The door closed.

Li Shiqun walked to the window, pulled back a corner of the curtain, and looked down at the street.

Lin Zhijiang walked out of the apartment and got into a black Ford sedan.

Li Shiqun sneered.

Lin Zhijiang went to investigate the newspaper office. If he had indeed defected to Lu Minghui, this news would definitely have reached the 76th Confidential Office. Lu Minghui's reaction would mean that he was inextricably linked to the Military Intelligence Bureau.

Li Shiqun lowered the curtains.

Leifeng Pagoda collapsed.

Let's see who gets crushed when this tower falls.

……

Night was falling.

The backyard of Tongji Pharmacy in the French Concession.

Lu Xuzhang sat in a grand chair, holding a cup of hot tea in his hand.

Ah Bing walked in and closed the door behind him.

"Boss," Ah Bing said in a low voice, "Mr. Lu came by. He bought anti-inflammatory powder and bandages."

Lu Xuzhang put down his teacup.

Did you leave a message?

"I've kept it." Ah Bing took out the slip of paper tucked inside the banknotes from his pocket and handed it over. "Mr. Lu said he wants to read 'The Legend of the White Snake: The Collapse of Leifeng Pagoda' in tomorrow's Shenbao supplement."

Lu Xuzhang took the note.

He read it twice. He pinched the edge of the paper with his fingers and rubbed the rough surface of the paper with his fingertips.

Leifeng Pagoda collapsed.

He stood up, walked to the brazier, and threw the note in. The corner of the paper curled up, a blackened edge appeared from the fire, and the flames licked at the writing, shrinking it into a charred fragment.

"Go to the newspaper office immediately." Lu Xuzhang turned to look at A Bing. "Notify Old Li, the typewriter, to evacuate overnight."

"Yes." Ah Bing turned and left.

Lu Xuzhang looked at the flickering flames in the brazier.

Lu Minghui activated the highest level of alert.

Matsui is dead, Takeda is dead. Chengda Company's secret can no longer be kept hidden.

Lu Xuzhang walked to his desk and pulled open a hidden compartment at the bottom of a drawer. He took out a codebook.

He had to send a telegram to Yan'an immediately.

The hum of the radio transmitter warming up echoed in the dark room in the backyard.

Beep beep, beep beep beep.

Radio waves pierced through the rainy night and flew towards the border region.

Lu Xuzhang sat in front of the telegraph machine, his fingers pressing the telegraph key, but his gaze was fixed on the calendar hanging on the wall.

With the vast pharmaceutical channels of Huaxing, the confidential authority of No. 76, and the trust of Meiji, Lu Minghui single-handedly manages so many lines. What else is behind him?

The thought circled around before he abruptly cut it off.

I shouldn't think about things I shouldn't think about.

The sound of the key fob rang urgently in the dark room.