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

the other side.

The back alley of Rongji Grocery Store.

Liu Ping sat beside the stone table, his gaze fixed on the direction of the courtyard gate.

The noise outside the alley has been constant since morning.

At first, there were only faint footsteps and car sounds, but they gradually turned into rapid running and short shouts.

Then, gunshots rang out one after another.

The gunshots were neither too close nor too far away.

It sounded like it was coming from two street corners away, but I couldn't hear it clearly.

Liu Ping did not go out to check, nor did he allow anyone else to go out.

He sat in the courtyard, maintaining a deliberate calm, telling himself this over and over again.

Going out now would be suicide.

Going out now would expose the entire supply line to the Japanese.

But he couldn't suppress the surging thoughts in his mind.

He was thinking about who had been arrested today.

Were those old contact points—those whose identities he hadn't had time to verify, those whose lines he hadn't had time to reconnect with, and those whose lines he hadn't had time to evacuate—affected today?

he does not know.

He had only been in Shanghai for a short time, and the new line had just been built.

He had only been in contact with Lao Zheng once, and although he had made contact with Lao Shen, things hadn't really started working on it yet.

He had too little information and too few people who could confirm his safety.

He was even still hesitating about what he should do right now.

An hour later.

The courtyard gate was gently pushed open.

Old Shen slipped in and closed the door behind him.

He wore a hat with the brim pulled low, obscuring most of his face.

He walked to the stone table, but instead of sitting down, he listened carefully to the sounds outside the alley.

Only after confirming that no footsteps were approaching did he sit down opposite Liu Ping and speak in a low voice.

"This morning, the Japanese were arresting people on a large scale."

"The joint operation of the military police and the Special Higher Police started in Hongkou and swept all the way to the French Concession and the International Settlement. It was a very big operation."

Liu Ping's fingers tightened slightly.

But his facial expression remained unchanged.

"Who did you catch?"

"It's hard to say."

Old Shen lowered his voice even further.

"At least dozens were arrested, and there was a battle in the International Settlement where many people died."

"Most of those who were taken away were probably from the Military Intelligence Bureau."

"The liaison station in Hongkou, the tailor shop on the edge of the French Concession, and the hideout hidden in an apartment building in the International Settlement—all of them were raided."

He paused here, glancing at Liu Ping's face.

It was as if she was confirming whether she should continue speaking.

"Several Western strongholds were also affected."

Liu Ping's gaze shifted slightly.

"Westerners?"

"Yes, there are several foreign trading companies and news agencies in the concession area."

"When the Japanese were searching for people, they also raided a news agency and the basement of a business, arresting five or six people."

"When those people were taken away, they kept shouting that they wanted to see the consul, but the Japanese military police ignored them completely."

Liu Ping remained silent for a moment.

My mind raced, processing all the information before I finally asked a question.

Where are our people?

"have no idea."

Old Shen shook his head, his tone tinged with helplessness.

"Our lines don't intersect with the Military Intelligence Bureau. If they're wiped out, it doesn't necessarily mean it will affect us."

"But we can't let our guard down."

"The Japanese devils have gone too far in arresting people this time; they've practically swept the entire area."

"I haven't been able to contact some of the people from our old contact points yet."

After listening, Liu Ping didn't say anything. He looked down at the water glass on the table and remained silent for a long time.

Then he raised his head and looked at Old Shen's face.

"Starting today, please don't come here for the time being."

"With such a big incident, the Japanese will definitely increase their surveillance and control over the perimeter in the next few days."

Old Shen nodded without saying anything more.

He stood up, walked to the courtyard gate, listened for a moment, then opened the gate and slipped out.

The door closed gently behind them, and the footsteps quickly disappeared at the end of the alley.

Liu Ping sat at the stone table.

His gaze fell on the door, and he remained silent for a while.

He was thinking about something.

The Japanese army's large-scale arrest operation had a clear objective: to target the Military Intelligence Bureau.

From Hongkou to the French Concession and then to the International Settlement.

Three communication stations in three different locations were simultaneously destroyed.

It couldn't have been a random search that led to this.

This indicates that the Special Higher Police had obtained accurate intelligence before taking action.

Knowing where those strongholds are, who lives there, and when is the best time to make a move.

This level of precision strike indicates that there may be problems within the Military Intelligence Bureau.

Liu Ping suddenly remembered what Zhou Tianyang had said when he left.

In a place like Shanghai, you have to be sure every step is solid before taking the next one.

He is now incredibly grateful that he didn't rush to touch those old connections with Lao Zheng back then.

If he had been too eager to achieve quick results, he would have reactivated those old contact points first.

Among those arrested this morning, there is a high possibility that his informant was one of them.

What he needs to do now is navigate through this chaos.

You need to hide your own line of work even deeper.

There's only one thing he needs to do next.

and so on.

Once the storm has passed, and the disturbed fish have returned to the bottom of the water.

at the same time.

Headquarters of the Japanese East China Expeditionary Army in Shanghai.

In Hata Shunroku's office.

The consuls from various countries arrived at the headquarters gate at almost the same time.

They arrived together without prior notice.

When Hata Shunroku received the report from his adjutant, he was sitting behind his desk writing annotations on a combat report.

He put down his pen, remained silent for two or three seconds, and then said something.

"Let them in."

At that moment, the Western diplomats were sitting on the sofa in his office, their expressions varying.

The British counselor was a tall man in his fifties, dressed in a suit and with his tie perfectly tied.

His gaze was fixed on Hata Shunroku.

"Your Excellency Commander, I am here today on behalf of the British Consulate General in Shanghai to lodge a formal protest with you."

"This morning, your country's military police forcibly broke into and searched the basement of a trading company owned by a British citizen in the International Settlement, and took away five people."

"Two of them hold British passports."

Hata Shunroku leaned back in his chair, his gaze fixed on the counselor's face, without rushing to reply.

The French consul next to him then spoke up.

His tone was more direct than that of the British counselor.

"Your Excellency Commander, similar searches have also occurred in the French Concession."

"Three residences within our jurisdiction were forcibly entered by the military police without any prior notice."

Two French nationals were taken away and their whereabouts remain unknown.

"What is your basis for this claim?"

The Chargé d'affaires of the Swiss Embassy was a man who looked to be under forty.

"Your Excellency Commander, the residence of one of our journalists has also been searched."

"The journalist holds a Swiss passport and a valid residence permit issued by the Shanghai International Settlement, and his whereabouts are currently unknown."

"I hope you can explain your reasons and release the person as soon as possible."