cicada

Chapter 1416 Caught
"Hoo~ho~ho~"

Gui Youguang moved quickly through the narrow alleys. As time passed, the shouts behind him grew fainter and fainter until they disappeared completely.

Because the incident happened so suddenly, No. 76 certainly didn't have time to seal off the surrounding area and shake off his pursuers, which means he has basically escaped capture.

After confirming that it was safe, Gui Youguang borrowed clothes and a hat from the residents along the way and rushed to the safe house of the backup intelligence network in Shanghai as quickly as possible, instead of going to the territory in Shanghai District.

Chen Gongshu came out of the police station with him. If the other party also encountered problems during the retreat, the Shanghai area could be exposed as a result.

Walking through the bustling streets, Gui Youguang quickened his pace. He needed to reach the safe house as soon as possible and find a way to alert the Shanghai district.

After wandering around for a long time, seeing that the roadside checks were getting stricter and stricter, Gui Youguang went into a Japanese restaurant and changed his clothes into a kimono.

Approaching the counter, he asked the owner in a low voice in Japanese, "Excuse me, do you have chrysanthemum tea?"

"Some customers, would you like to try our horse meat sashimi as well?" The owner gestured with his hand on the counter.

Seeing this, Gui Youguang also made a gesture and replied, "No need, I prefer sea bream sashimi."

The secret code and hand gestures were all correct. The boss glanced at the door, raised his hand and said, "Please follow me," before leading Gui Youguang to the most secluded Japanese-style room in the restaurant.

"Immediately issue a warning to the Shanghai district, order all personnel to evacuate, and cut off all communication with Chen Gongshu," Gui Youguang ordered.

The boss didn't ask why, and nodded: "Yes, I'll go right away. You can rest in the dark room first. I'm very familiar with the Japanese police station and military police around here, so you'll be safe here."

After he finished speaking, he pushed against the wall of the Japanese-style room, and a hidden door opened, leading to a small room.

In the middle of the room was a cot, and on the floor were several weapons, all of which were PPK, Thompson, Browning, and German-made high-powered grenades commonly used by the Kuomintang.

Gui Youguang entered the room and was relieved to see that there was a back door. He had been running away and thinking of ways to escape these past few days, and he was really exhausted.

Gui Youguang didn't know how long he had been asleep when he suddenly heard voices in his ear. He immediately got out of bed, picked up his weapon, and pressed his ear against the wall.

Outside, the restaurant owner was talking to a Japanese man. The two seemed to know each other well, as they laughed throughout their conversation.

After chatting for a while, the Japanese man left, seemingly accompanied by quite a few people. The noisy footsteps gradually faded away, and Gui Youguang breathed a sigh of relief.

With a creak, the hidden door opened, and the restaurant owner slipped into the dark room to report a few things to him.

"I have sent an alert to the Shanghai District through emergency contact. According to the deputy station chief of the Shanghai District, Commander Chen has indeed lost contact and his whereabouts are currently unknown."

"The Japanese military police just arrived. The person they want to arrest matches your description, but they don't know your name or any other information."

"In addition, two days ago, Li Shiqun and her lover were attacked at Yong'an Department Store. The assassin has not yet been caught, and it is unclear who is behind it."

Gui Youguang's heart sank. Chen Gongshu was indeed being watched. If he were arrested and confessed, not only would the Shanghai area be in danger, but this mission would also be thrown into turmoil.

Once Li Shiqun learns that they are planning to use someone else to do their dirty work, the vice-captain's plan will fail. Moreover, having captured such an important intelligence officer as Chen Gongshu, the Japanese will no longer doubt Li Shiqun's loyalty.

As for being implicated by the assassin, Gui Youguang didn't have many thoughts about it. He could only say that he and Chen Gongshu were unlucky to encounter such a thing.

Sensing that the situation had changed, Gui Youguang waved for the restaurant owner to leave and sat on the bed to think about a solution, which lasted for several hours.

Gradually, his gaze hardened, and he immediately took out paper and pen to write a secret letter, which he then handed to the restaurant owner and gave him a few instructions.

The restaurant owner raised his hand in salute, turned around and strode away. The restaurant was pitch black, with only the red lantern at the entrance emitting a faint light.
-
Number 76, Interrogation Room.

Li Shiqun stormed in and asked Wu Sibao, "How is it? Has the prisoner confessed?"

"Director, this guy is very stubborn. We're still trying to figure out a way to deal with him." Wu Sibao put down his steel whip, panting as he replied, looking somewhat helpless.

The prisoners this time were clearly professionally trained; no matter how they were tortured, they remained silent and their breathing did not change at all.

Upon hearing this, Li Shiqun slowly walked to the rack. A man was tied to the rack, his body covered in wounds, and most of his fingernails had been pulled out.

"Tell me, what's your name? And who was the person who ran away?" Li Shiqun put his finger into the wound and turned it around.

Under intense stimulation, the man's forehead veins throbbed, but he remained silent, no wonder Wu Sibao looked so furious.

“Very good, I like tough guys like you.” Li Shiqun sneered and turned to call the junior agent: “Call over the underground party, the Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics, and the Military Bureau of Investigation and Statistics. Unless he popped out of a rock, someone will definitely recognize him.”

As Li Shiqun spoke, his eyes remained fixed on the prisoner. Seeing the man's finger tremble slightly, he immediately understood. A short while later, several traitors were brought into the interrogation room. Wu Sibao pulled the man's head up to expose his face. One of the traitors, his face filled with shock, pointed at the man and stammered out a name.

"Chen Gongshu! He is Chen Gongshu!"

Boom! Li Shiqun felt his blood rush to his head. He was all too familiar with the name Chen Gongshu. He was Dai Chunfeng's former secretary and the head of the Military Intelligence Bureau in Shanghai.

In recent years, the other party led his military intelligence agents to assassinate many important figures in the new government. He had always been the number one wanted criminal of the 76th Division, but he never expected to fall into his hands today.

He whirled around and shouted at the junior agent, "Quick! Get the doctor to treat Mr. Chen! Hahahaha!"

Chen Gongshu was somewhat unable to accept it. He had weathered so many storms, only to be defeated in an ordinary rendezvous operation. It was truly a matter of timing and fate.

Not long after he and Gui Youguang parted ways at the police station, they were caught up by patrol officers and secret agents. Without asking any questions, they directly arrested him.

If Chen Gongshu hadn't known that Gui Youguang would never betray the party and the country, he would have suspected that the bald-headed Gui had defected to the 76th Division; otherwise, how could such a coincidence have occurred?

On the other side, Li Shiqun leaned closer and said, "Mr. Chen, I have long admired your name since my time in the Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics. I heard that even Zuo Zhong was your junior. Why is it that he has become your superior today?"

These words silenced Chen Gongshu. How could Li Shiqun say such a childish provocation? Did he really think of him as a greenhorn?

Seeing that he did not reply, Li Shiqun chuckled and said, "As the saying goes, a good minister chooses his master and a good bird chooses his tree. I make a guarantee here: as long as Mr. Chen is willing to abandon the darkness and join the new government, the position of deputy director of No. 76 will be vacant."

The methods of defection are varied but essentially the same: either coercion or enticement. If Chen Gongshu could be brought to the side of the Nanjing puppet government, sacrificing the position of director of the No. 76 would be a worthwhile deal.

However, Chen Gongshu did not react, lest the enemy glean his thoughts from his facial expressions or body language.

The longer he stalls, the safer everyone else will be. Once the people below can't contact him at the designated time, they will naturally evacuate according to plan.

Li Shiqun guessed his plan, and his expression slowly turned cold. After the doctor finished bandaging the wound, Li Shiqun asked the doctor to inject the other person with another vial of medicine.

Chen Gongshu thought it was a confession agent, but not long after the drug entered his body, he felt a wave of fatigue and fell into a deep sleep.

Perhaps a few hours had passed, or perhaps a few minutes, when another vial of medicine was injected into Chen Gongshu's veins. He instantly regained consciousness, though he was still somewhat listless.

Before Chen Gongshu could adjust, the third vial of medicine arrived. After countless times of falling into and waking up, he gradually lost his sense of time.

Li Shiqun smiled and said to Wu Sibao, "This is a new Japanese technology: depriving someone of sleep and then gradually breaking down their psychological defenses."

After showing off the inside scoop he'd heard somewhere, he looked at Tong Suo, who had just arrived: "Director Ji, have you found the suspect's whereabouts?"

“We’ve found it.” Tong Suo didn’t look at Chen Gongshu and said expressionlessly, “At the same time you were attacked, the suspect was talking with that bald man in a coffee shop. The two were very likely meeting.”

"Military Intelligence Bureau. Chen Gongshu. Bald Head Contact"

Li Shiqun muttered the words several times in a daze, then suddenly looked up at the already delirious Chen Gongshu and shouted, "Was it Gui Youguang you met?"

The Military Intelligence Bureau wanted to eliminate Li Shiqun, and the 76th Bureau was also trying to find out about the Military Intelligence Bureau's situation. They couldn't get very detailed information, but it was not difficult to collect general intelligence about the main leaders of the Military Intelligence Bureau.

For example, the head of operations for the Military Intelligence Bureau's First Division was Gui Youguang, a graduate of the Zhejiang Provincial Police Academy, bald, and a trusted subordinate of Zuo Zhong. He had carried out all major intelligence operations for the Special Service Department and the Military Intelligence Bureau after its establishment.

Only someone like him was qualified to make contact with the head of the Military Intelligence Bureau's Shanghai district. Li Shiqun stared intently at Chen Gongshu, completely unaware that his voice was trembling.

This is Gui Youguang. If he can catch the other party, he is confident that he can compete for the position of Director of No. 76, or even Minister of Police.

Chen Gongshu tried his best to stay awake, but a person is not a machine after all. So many times of falling into a coma and waking up had made his consciousness blurred. When he heard Li Shiqun's question, he subconsciously opened his mouth, but by the time he realized what was happening, it was too late.

Li Shiqun laughed wildly again, and sure enough, it was Gui Youguang. The 76 agents around him also celebrated. Tong Suo forced a smile in the crowd and cooperated with their performance.

"Pass on my order: seal off all passages in and out of the city—water, air, and ground—leave no stone unturned. Have the Japanese military police cooperate in the operation and use every means at their disposal to capture Gui Youguang!"

After making those harsh remarks, Li Shiqun turned his gaze back to Chen Gongshu and, with a forced smile, presented his conditions.

"Mr. Chen, I'm giving you one last chance. Tell me the list of people in the Shanghai area, the location of the safe house, the radio code and frequency, or help me find Gui Youguang."

As he finished speaking, he drew his sidearm and pressed it against Chen Gongshu's forehead, his eyes turning icy cold. Chen Gongshu swallowed hard, and his initially tough stance began to soften.

(End of this chapter)