Hidden Radiance

The photo lay flat on the desk.

The office was so quiet you could hear the ticking of the clock.

Lu Minghui looked at Nakajima's face. He had originally thought that if Nakajima saw these photos, which might involve special materials from Unit 1644, he would immediately detain Gu Yunqiu on the grounds of obstructing military affairs.

But Nakajima didn't.

Nakajima picked up the photo and examined it closely. His fingertips lingered on the outline of the ampoule for three seconds.

"Commissioner Gu," Nakajima said calmly, putting down the photos, "what do you suspect these glass bottles are?"

"I don't know." Gu Yunqiu looked directly at Nakajima. "But they were packed in a supply crate at the South Manchuria Railway Company. I need to find out where these things went, as well as the whereabouts of that batch of building materials."

Nakajima leaned back in his chair, his hands clasped over his abdomen.

"The supplies from the South Manchuria Railway cannot be lost." Nakajima nodded. "Now that Commissioner Gu has found this route, let's continue the investigation. The Special Higher Police will fully cooperate."

Lu Minghui paused for a moment as he flipped through the case file.

Nakajima agreed. Not only did he not object, he even gave Gu Yunqiu the green light.

That's not right.

The meeting adjourned.

As I stepped out of the gate of the Mei Agency, a cold wind rushed towards me.

"Commissioner Gu," Lu Minghui said, walking up to Gu Yunqiu. "My car went to run another errand. I'll hitch a ride with you to the Southeast Trading Company."

Gu Yunqiu glanced at him, said nothing, and opened the car door.

Lu Minghui got into the passenger seat. The car drove out of Meiji Station. Lu Minghui rolled up the window.

"Are you crazy?" Lu Minghui lowered his voice, his tone stern. "Lu Xuzhang's fake account books aren't even finished yet, what right do you have to flip the table like that? Do you know how dangerous that was just now!"

Gu Yunqiu gripped the steering wheel with both hands, staring straight ahead.

"I can't wait for your fake ledgers," Gu Yunqiu said coldly. "Your plan is too slow."

"Slow?" Lu Minghui turned to stare at her. "Using Nanzo Yunko to investigate Sakata is the safest way. You're directly presenting Nakajima with clues about the drugs; you're courting death!"

squeak--

Gu Yunqiu slammed on the brakes.

The car was parked on the side of the road. She turned her head and looked at Lu Minghui.

"Ningbo, Kaiming Street," Gu Yunqiu said rapidly, "the plague was airdropped. More than a thousand people died within days. The entire street was burned to the ground."

Lu Minghui did not respond.

"Changde," Gu Yunqiu continued, his words cold and hard, "six thousand lives. The corpses are piled up outside the city, more than they can burn."

Her fingers tightened on the steering wheel.

"You know these things better than I do. Once the special materials for Unit 1644 are replenished, they will be deployed again. We don't have time to wait for Nanzo Yunzi to slowly check the accounts. Every extra day we wait, another street will be burned on the front lines."

The only sound in the carriage was the hum of the engine idling.

"You think you can stop 1644 by slapping the clues on Nakajima's table?" Lu Minghui's voice softened. "If Nakajima really was involved in the interception, he has a hundred ways to make you disappear."

"Then let him kill me." Gu Yunqiu turned his gaze back. "As long as I die, the South Manchuria Railway will definitely make a big fuss. With the Kwantung Army involved, this batch of medicine will be impossible to hide."

Lu Minghui's lower back was pressed against the back of the chair, while Colt's ridge was pressed against his lower back.

"The one who dies can't be you." Lu Minghui stared at the road ahead, his tone flat. "If you die, who will I answer to? Who will take over the position of 'Knight-errant'? Who will send telegrams to the border region?"

Gu Yunqiu's lips moved slightly, but no sound came out.

"My plan is conservative," Lu Minghui said. "But I can guarantee that while muddying the waters, we can save our lives. Lu Xuzhang is already falsifying the accounts. As long as the pharmaceutical deficit is attributed to Sakata, Nanzo Yunzi will turn against Sakata. Once Sakata is in chaos, Chengda Company's true colors will be revealed."

"Nanzo Yunzi is very smart; she might not fall for it," Gu Yunqiu said.

"She's already been fooled," Lu Minghui said. "Now all she can think about is the massive $2 million smuggling case involving Sakata. As soon as she gets her hands on the fake ledgers, she'll make her move."

Gu Yunqiu remained silent for a moment. He shifted gears again and stepped on the gas.

"I'll cooperate with you," Gu Yunqiu said, "but if there's no result within three days, I'll resolve it in my own way."

The car was parked downstairs at the Southeast Trading Company. Lu Minghui opened the car door and got out.

Watching Gu Yunqiu walk into the building.

He walked to the street corner and went into a public phone booth.

He remembered the number for Tongji Pharmacy. But Li Shiqun's men were watching the shop with binoculars. It was a public phone; no calls were transferred through the 76 switchboard, and no call logs were kept. Li Shiqun was watching the people entering and leaving the pharmacy, not the phone line.

Lu Minghui dialed the number.

"Ah Bing," Lu Minghui said in a low voice, "have the goods ready by tomorrow morning."

"clear."

The call ended. Less than eight seconds had passed.

Lu Minghui stepped out of the phone booth. He stood on the street, not leaving immediately.

The fake ledgers won't be in his hands until tomorrow morning at the earliest. Before that, he needs to confirm one thing—the missing 70% of the medicine.

Is it Sakata acting, or Nakajima acting?

I waved and hailed a rickshaw.

14 Broadway.

Chengda Company.

Four Japanese soldiers stood outside the gate. Lu Minghui handed over his identification. The soldiers checked it and let him through.

Lu Minghui walked into the courtyard. The courtyard was piled with wooden crates, and several workers were moving them.

Colonel Sakata stood on the steps, a riding crop in his hand, his face grim. Beside him stood a man in a long robe, wearing round-framed glasses. He was not tall, and his back was slightly hunched.

Lu Minghui walked over.

"Colonel," Lu Minghui said, bowing slightly.

Sakata snorted coldly when he saw Lu Minghui.

"What are you doing here?" Sakata asked rudely. "To see me make a fool of myself?"

"Colonel, you've misunderstood." Lu Minghui took out a list. "I've taken over Southeast Trading Company, and some material handovers need to be verified with Chengda Company."

Sakata snatched the list and glanced at it.

"Check my ass!" Sakata slammed the list into Lu Minghui's chest. "That bastard Matsui messed up my goods. And now you're asking me for supplies?"

Lu Minghui didn't move.

The short man stepped forward, bent down, and picked up the list.

"Colonel, please calm down." The short man handed the list to Sakata with both hands and said in fluent Japanese, "Director Lu was just following orders. We can investigate the supplies later."

Sakata glared at the short man, then turned and walked into the building.

The short man turned around and looked at Lu Minghui. He raised his head. His eyes behind his glasses were sharp.

"Director Lu," the short man said in Chinese, his voice low, "I'd like to speak with you in private."

Lu Minghui followed the short man to the pile of goods in the corner of the yard.

The short man raised his hand and pushed up his glasses. His back straightened, and his timid appearance vanished without a trace.

"Let's get to know each other again," the short man said. "Zhongtong (Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics), Song Qingyuan."

Lu Minghui looked at him. The henchman hiding in the shadow of the bronze bell on the top floor of Notre Dame.

"Is the tall guy your double?" Lu Minghui asked.

"Those of us in this line of work always have to be careful," Song Qingyuan smiled. "Director Lu's move at Notre Dame was also quite clever."

Lu Minghui did not respond.

"You came to see Sakata because of that batch of medicine?" Song Qingyuan asked bluntly.

Lu Minghui's gaze fell on Song Qingyuan's face.

"How much do you know about Sakata, since you've been lurking around him?" Lu Minghui asked.

Song Qingyuan took out a box of matches, struck one, and lit a cigarette.

"I know you suspect Sakata intercepted that batch of medicine," Song Qingyuan exhaled a puff of smoke, "but you've got the wrong person."

Lu Minghui stared at him.

"Sakata was mainly in charge of Project Sugi," Song Qingyuan said. "He only cared about his economic war. If Nakajima hadn't brought it up himself, he wouldn't have known that 70% of the drugs were missing."

Song Qingyuan glanced at Lu Minghui.

"Consider this message my advance payment," Song Qingyuan flicked his cigarette ash. "Director Lu should give me a definite answer about the China Reserve Bank bond template."

Lu Minghui's hand, holding the cigarette, froze in mid-air, not bringing it to his lips.

Sakata didn't take it.

Then——

His gaze shifted to the direction of the Plum Blossom Agency in the distance.

Shinichi Nakajima.

Why did he bring up the matter of 70% of the medicine himself? Just to provoke Sakata's anger?

This morning in the office, Nakajima's reaction when he saw the photo of the ampoule bottles was...so calm. As calm as if he were looking at something he already knew.

Nakajima did not detain Gu Yunqiu.

It wasn't out of concern for the South Manchuria Railway, nor was it out of tolerance.

He let Gu Yunqiu continue investigating because he wanted to see what this thread would lead to—and who it would lead to.

Lu Minghui's severed finger on his left arm suddenly twitched.

My back felt cold.

If Nakajima knew about the pharmaceuticals and that Gu Yunqiu would be checking the accounts, then his agreement to Gu Yunqiu continuing the investigation meant he was waiting. Waiting for Gu Yunqiu to expose all the clues. Waiting for Lu Minghui's reaction. Waiting to see who would appear on this trail.

Gu Yunqiu entered the Mei Agency.

And he is still standing in the courtyard of Chengda Company.

Lu Minghui turned and left.

"Director Lu!" Song Qingyuan called from behind, "Don't forget about the China Reserve Bank bond template!"

Lu Minghui didn't look back, quickly walked out of Chengda Company's gate, and got into a rickshaw.

"To Southeast Trading Company! Quickly!"

The rickshaw stopped downstairs at the Southeast Trading Company building. Lu Minghui threw down a banknote and rushed into the building.

The finance office was on the second floor. The door was ajar. Lu Minghui pushed the door open.

There was no one in the office.

The photos of the ampoules on the desk were gone. The South Manchuria Railway Company's audit records were also gone. The desk was wiped clean, except for a half-finished cup of iced tea. A thin layer of dust floated on the surface of the tea.

They left in a hurry. They weren't ready to leave after packing up; someone called them away.

She went to the Mei Agency.

Lu Minghui stood in front of the table. He ran his fingers over the rim of the glass of cold tea.

The porcelain surface was slightly cool. It had taken at least half an hour to walk there.

He turned and walked out of the office. His steps were quick, but he didn't run.

At the end of the corridor, Nanzo Yunzi was walking over with two military police officers.

"Minghui-kun." Nanzo Yunzi stopped in her tracks.

Lu Minghui stopped in front of her. He paused, took a deep breath, and then spoke.

"Commissioner Gu isn't in her office," Lu Minghui said, his tone regaining its composure. "Did Section Chief Nakajima call for her?"

"What a coincidence." Nanzo Yunko smiled, but the smile didn't reach her eyes. "Section Chief Nakajima just called and asked me to go to the Ume Agency as well. Let's go together."

Lu Minghui's thumb knuckle touched the seam of his pants and pinched it.

"it is good."

The two walked down the stairs side by side and got into the Stypunk sedan.

The car headed towards the Meiji Agency.

Lu Minghui looked out the window. The roof of the Mei Agency had appeared at the end of the street. Gu Yunqiu was inside.

He was sitting in Nanzo Yunzi's car, with Colt pressed between his lower back and the back of the seat, unable to get out.

The gates of the Mei Agency were in front of us, drawing ever closer.