A Republic-era tycoon started as a secretary at Tianjin Railway Station

In an inconspicuous alley on Linsen Road, there stands a two-story attached villa in the style of the British Concession.

The walls are made of red and gray bricks with white mortar joints. The exterior walls show signs of weathering and are fitted with dark wooden louvered glass windows that are usually closed.

The black tin door had no markings, making it appear particularly understated and eerie.

As a secret service agency, the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics not only kept the identities of its personnel secret from the outside world, but its location was also unknown to ordinary people.

Ordinary people would never imagine that such an inconspicuous place is actually the famous Jinhai Station of the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics.

"There's a secret operation tonight, led by Captain Li. The situation is a bit special, so I'm announcing that no one is allowed to leave this building before 8 PM tonight. Any questions?"

In the conference room of the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics' Tianjin Station, portraits of the Founding Father and Chairman Chiang Kai-shek hung on the walls, flanked by the national flag and the flag of the Communist Party of China.

Hong Zhong was standing under the bright sun, right behind Station Chief Wu Jingzhong.

I was twenty years old that year, standing like a lackey.

"no problem!"

When the leader spoke, all the leaders standing at the table naturally responded.

"If you have any questions, please call the security office, and they will take care of them!"

Then, Li Ya added a sentence and looked at the stationmaster, Wu Jingzhong.

Wu Jingzhong said to Lu Qiaoshan on the other side, "Meeting adjourned. Director Lu, come with me for a moment!"

After saying this, he got up and left, and Hong Zhong naturally followed Wu Jingzhong.

Lu Qiaoshan, Yu Zecheng, and even Li Ya from just now were all completely confused.

However, although Lu Qiaoshan didn't understand the situation, he still quickly followed.

The three men entered the stationmaster's office. Wu Jingzhong sat on the sofa and pointed to the other sofa, saying:

"Qiaoshan, come, sit down!"

"Station manager, what happened?"

Although Lu Qiaoshan was sitting on the sofa, he still had some doubts.

"Secretary Hong, could you please explain?"

Wu Jingzhong did not answer, but instead brought up Hong Zhong.

Hong Zhong naturally understood Wu Jingzhong's meaning and stepped forward to explain to Lu Qiaoshan:

"Director Lu, I received a lead today: Ma Kui is likely hiding in the military police warehouse, and the person hiding him is Han Tieshan, a captain in the 20th Regiment of the military police!"

"It's him?"

"Does Director Lu know?"

"He committed a crime and I arrested him, but Ma Kui later got him released!"

Speaking of this, Lu Qiaoshan once again revealed his forced smile.

When the list of military intelligence agents was leaked, the station chief ordered Lu Qiaoshan to conduct a thorough investigation.

As a result, Lu Qiao took it all for granted and not only investigated the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics from top to bottom, but also extended his reach to the Garrison Command and the Military Police.

It was at this time that he put his fellow townsman Lu Yuxi into the garrison command.

However, on the military police side, he finally managed to find a weakness in Han Tieshan, but Ma Kui interfered, causing his efforts to fail at the last minute.

"Qiaoshan, I'm leaving this to you! But after 8 PM!"

Lu Qiaoshan's answer made Wu Jingzhong even more convinced that Hong Zhong's intelligence was accurate and that everything matched up!

"Understood! I'll take care of it!"

Lu Qiaoshan immediately nodded in agreement.

Wu Jingzhong entrusted this matter to Lu Qiaoshan because Lu Qiaoshan was the one who most wanted Ma Kui dead.

However, Hong Zhong, standing to the side, secretly felt it was a pity.

Although he had called Zuo Lan, he was unsure whether Zuo Lan would abandon tonight's operation, so he needed to be on the safe side.

Unfortunately, Wu Jingzhong was unaware that Ma Kui's presence would disrupt his carefully planned operation for tonight, and he still decided to wait until after tonight's operation before letting Lu Qiaoshan take action.

But he couldn't say these things out loud, and he even had to try to hide his presence in the matter.

To be honest, if he could, he really hoped to get rid of Ma Kui through Lu Qiaoshan.

Officially, this is a spy with blood on his hands, and he will target Zuo Lan tonight!

Personally, Mrs. Ma and Ma Kui were husband and wife after all, and he wanted to completely put an end to Mrs. Ma's hopes!

Unfortunately, time waits for no one!

Lu Qiaoshan and Wu Jingzhong still had things to discuss, so Hong Zhong left the stationmaster's office after finishing his report and returned to the secretary's office next door.

He had just returned when he received a call from Yu Zecheng.

"Director Yu, is there anything I can help you with?"

"Are you busy? Come play a game of chess!"

Upon hearing this, Hong Zhong remained calm and said:

"Okay, are you in the conference room? I'll be right there!"

After hanging up the phone, Hong Zhong knew that the message Cui Ping had passed on to Yu Zecheng had taken effect.

Now it's my turn to shine as the middleman who relayed the message.

Hong Zhong took a deep breath, composed himself, and walked towards the conference room.

-----------------

In the conference room, Yu Zecheng, after hanging up the phone, took out the red mahjong tile from his pocket again and looked at it.

Mahjong naturally corresponds to Hong Zhong, which he could certainly figure out, but Yu Zecheng did not know what message Cui Ping wanted to convey to him.

In his view, this move could represent many different messages.

For example, this could be to take advantage of Secretary Hong, or it could be to be wary of Secretary Hong, or it could even be a trap?

He could find out the truth by contacting Cuiping, but he was unaware of Cuiping's current situation, and making contact rashly could be dangerous for both of them.

Therefore, he decided to contact Secretary Hong first before making a decision.

Therefore, he specifically chose the conference room, which prevented Cuiping from calling his office.

Clearly, Yu Zecheng could not see Cuiping before meeting Secretary Hong!

Not long after, in the conference room, Hong Zhong and Yu Zecheng actually started playing chess.

As a well-known good guy in the Bureau of Secrecy, Yu Zecheng usually gave his subordinates a very amiable impression, much better than the other leaders in the station.

But when Hong Zhong sat opposite him, he could still feel the spiritual pressure... no, the aura emanating from Yu Zecheng!

Hong Zhong could tell that Yu Zecheng knew how to interrogate people.

At this point, he was using a technique in interrogation called the silence effect:

This involves using silence to create a discontinuous rhythm of communication, putting pressure on the suspect to wait, causing them inner turmoil and creating a need to express themselves, thus breaking the silence by speaking.

If it were the original Hong Zhong, he would probably be pounding with anxiety right now, but the current Hong Zhong is in a god-like position, looking down on everything, so he naturally wouldn't be suffering.

The problem is that he has to pretend to be suffering a lot right now!

After getting himself ready, he finally began his performance:

"Director Yu, shall we stop playing?"

Upon hearing this, Yu Zecheng revealed a smile that almost disappeared into his eyes, and said sarcastically, "I know you're very busy, hehe..."

"Director Yu, please stop torturing me!"

"How could I dare to torment you? You're the stationmaster's secretary!"

Hearing Yu Zecheng continue his sarcastic remarks, Hong Zhong looked terrified and said, "I know, your wife must have told you everything!"

"Yes, they told me!"

With that, Yu Zecheng slammed the chess set in his hand onto the table and continued:

"But you don't understand her. She always exaggerates what she says. I don't believe her, I believe you! Tell me, stop torturing yourself!"

If Hong Zhong hadn't known the plot, he might have actually believed Yu Zecheng; what he said sounded so convincing!

But right now, Hong Zhong was waiting for him to say those words!

At that moment, Hong Zhong seemed to channel Stanislavski, his acting skills exploding, and he excitedly exclaimed:

"Director Yu, actually, I really like Mrs. Ma. We...we even had something going on when Ma Kui was still alive!"

Upon hearing this, a hint of astonishment flashed across Yu Zecheng's calm face, and he was utterly bewildered.

My goodness, there was an unexpected bonus?

Wasn't I trying to gather information? What's with this sudden bombshell?