Holding the original shares, they fought all the way to the Korean War!

"His sacrifice was so sudden that there was no time to hand over many things."

"Some of the couriers, liaison officers, and intelligence agents he directly contacted are still around, some have lost contact, and some..."

"There might be a problem."

"You suspect someone has betrayed us?"

Zhou Tianyang asked very directly.

"It's not about doubting any particular person."

Liu Ping shook his head, his tone carrying the caution characteristic of someone who had worked underground for many years.

"It cannot be confirmed."

"After the Special Committee Secretary was killed, all the means of communication he had were cut off."

"Those couriers only recognized him. Now that he's gone, they've become like kites with broken strings."

"Those above don't know who's still around below, and those below don't know who's reliable above."

He paused, then lowered his voice even further.

"So I need to rebuild a line."

"This line will not intersect with anyone else; it will operate independently and be directly controlled by me."

"Then, use this line to slowly verify which of the existing contact points and personnel are still usable and which are no longer usable."

Zhou Tianyang sat on the edge of the bed and listened quietly to what Liu Ping had to say.

He was silent for a moment, then spoke, his tone steady.

"In other words, you need to rebuild a team from scratch."

"right."

Liu Ping nodded.

"A completely independent team."

"Starting from the beginning, each line is only connected to me in a single line."

"That way, even if someone gets into trouble, it won't affect others."

"Is this the organization's decision, or your own judgment?"

"Both."

Liu Ping's answer was very frank.

"The organization instructed me before I left that I should establish a covert network as soon as I arrived in Shanghai."

"But I will control the specific implementation methods and pace."

"Does he know about the comrade from earlier in the day?"

"have no idea."

Liu Ping shook his head.

"Only you and I know about this."

"I will not reveal its existence to anyone until the covert operation is fully established."

Zhou Tianyang did not respond immediately.

He sat in the dark for a few seconds, going over Liu Ping's words in his mind again.

Shanghai was the core city of the Japanese-occupied zone, and the density of Japanese intelligence agencies and military police there was several orders of magnitude higher than in Taiyuan.

Doing intelligence work here is far more dangerous than fighting a battle in Shanxi.

Where do you plan to begin?

Zhou Tianyang asked a question.

Liu Ping had clearly already thought of the answer to this question.

He leaned forward slightly, his voice still very low.

"I have a few old acquaintances in Shanghai, all of whom I met ten years ago when I was doing underground work."

"At that time, I was involved in the workers' movement in a cotton mill in western Shanghai. Several key workers later changed their organizational affiliation and went to different industries."

"These people have never had any contact with the Special Committee system, so theoretically they are clean."

"Are they all reliable people?"

"reliable."

Liu Ping's tone was very confident.

"One of them was called Lao Shen. Back when I was in the yarn factory, he was an old worker in the workshop who led more than a hundred people in a strike."

"Later, when the Japanese occupied Shanghai, the cotton mills stopped operating, and he switched to opening a car repair shop."

"Those kinds of shops are inconspicuous, and you come into contact with all sorts of people, from all walks of life."

Zhou Tianyang nodded after listening.

Although he wasn't doing underground work.

But through years of leading troops in battle, I have come to personally understand the importance of intelligence.

A reliable intelligence source is sometimes more useful than a company of soldiers.

"So, who do you plan to screen first?"

Zhou Tianyang asked another question.

Liu Ping remained silent for a moment, as if he was carefully considering his words.

Several seconds passed before he spoke, his tone more somber than before.

"The comrade during the day is called Lao Zheng. He has worked here for more than three years and has handled a lot of people and things."

"He should be the most reliable person, but it's precisely because he's been in that position for so long and has come into contact with so many people that he's become the most reliable."

"On the contrary, I can't be 100% sure whether there are problems with his subordinates."

Do you think there's something wrong with him personally?

"It's hard to say."

Liu Ping shook his head.

"I've only heard of Old Zheng."

"He is a conscientious worker with rich experience, but he has been in this position for more than three years."

"Several batches of people have come and gone under his supervision, and each batch has passed through his hands."

"If one of the lines is infiltrated, he might not even notice."

Zhou Tianyang did not refute.

The most important lesson he learned on the battlefield was never to assume that something is safe.

Any passage, any location, is vulnerable to being infiltrated by the enemy.

Then we should treat it as if we've already been infiltrated.

"So how do you plan to screen them?"

Liu Ping tapped his knee lightly with his fingers, as if he were going over the plan in his mind again.

"Don't touch Lao Zheng's line for now."

"I made sure that all the necessary documents and contacts were handed over openly, so that he felt that everything was proceeding according to procedure."

"At the same time, I secretly set up Lao Shen's contact point and had him investigate the situation of Lao Zheng's liaison stations."

"What do you need me to do?"

Liu Ping looked up at Zhou Tianyang, his eyes filled with a complex expression.

"This shouldn't have bothered you."

"But I came to see you tonight to tell you, in case something happens to me in Shanghai..."

Zhou Tianyang interrupted him directly.

"Comrade Liu Ping, you'll be alright."

Liu Ping paused for a moment, then gave a wry smile.

"No one in our line of work would dare to say something like that."

"I'm serious."

Zhou Tianyang's tone remained unchanged.

"I don't plan to go back tomorrow."

"The brigade commander is keeping an eye on things at the military base, so a day or two won't make a difference."

Zhou Tianyang's tone remained calm.

"You don't have anyone you can trust here, and you can't completely trust Lao Zheng either."

He paused for a moment, his gaze falling on Liu Ping's face, his tone calm and resolute.

"I'll stay and wait until you reconnect Old Shen's line before I leave."

Liu Ping sat there, his lips moving as if he wanted to say something.

But in the end, he didn't say anything.

He lowered his head and remained silent for a long while.

Then he raised his head, looked at Zhou Tianyang, and said in a slightly hoarse voice.

"Commander Zhou, you've escorted me through so many checkpoints along the way, and now that we've arrived in Shanghai, you still have to..."

"You are the task assigned to me by the organization."

Zhou Tianyang interrupted him.

"I won't leave until the mission is complete."

The room fell silent.

Liu Ping let out a long breath.

She stood up, walked to the door, then turned back to look at Zhou Tianyang.

"Then I'll go to Old Shen's repair shop during the day tomorrow and come back in the afternoon to let you know."

"Um."

Zhou Tianyang nodded.

Be careful.

Liu Ping nodded, opened the door, and went out.

Zhou Tianyang sat in the darkness for a while before lying back down on the wooden bed.

If Liu Ping makes contact with Lao Shen tomorrow.

If all goes well.

He can stay for another two or three days at most before heading back to Shanxi.