cicada

Chapter 1453 He's even insulting his boss behind his back now!

At the Japanese Advisory Office to the puppet government, Shibayama Kenshiro looked at the photos on the table, then looked up and joked with Ban Jun.

"Bansang, it's not a wise decision for Nalin Miaoyin to become a concubine. She might be a member of the Kuomintang secret police. Aren't you worried that this Miss Lin might kill you in the middle of the night?"

Ban Jun smiled and said, "Even if she really is a member of the Military Intelligence Bureau, I can still bring her to our side!"

Kenjiro Shibayama laughed heartily and issued the order to release the prisoners as quickly as possible, seemingly impatient.

That afternoon, Lin Miaoyin was transferred from the secret prison to a villa, where several servants helped her bathe and change clothes.

One of the older maids kindly reminded Lin Miaoyin not to resist, as being too beautiful was not always a good thing in chaotic times. Resisting would not only be useless, but would also bring about her death.

"Young lady, just live your life well. Your master has a very good relationship with the Japanese; he's a big shot," the maid grumbled.

But Lin Miaoyin waited until nightfall without seeing the important person the other party had mentioned. Lying on the soft spring bed, she fell into a deep sleep, her mind full of worries.

The next day, sunlight streamed through the carved window and fell on her face. Lin Miaoyin's eyelashes fluttered as she slowly opened her eyes.

"you're awake?"

A male voice rang out, and Lin Miaoyin immediately pulled the blanket up to cover herself, only to see a person sitting on a stool by the bed.

"You...have we met before?"

Halfway through her sentence, Lin Miaoyin seemed to recall their encounter in the secret prison. Her expression suddenly turned cold, and she silently cursed, "Traitorous dog."

Ban Jun looked at her lips, smiled and shook his head, then stood up and said calmly, "You'll live here from now on. I'll come to see you when I have time."

After saying that, he got up and left without making any physical contact or threats, leaving Lin Miaoyin with a face full of confusion.

Outside the door, the accompanying traitor asked as he walked, "Advisor Ban, why didn't you take that little wench?"

Ban Jun glanced at the man and raised an eyebrow: "Do you know what it means to train a hawk? If I don't temper her, I'll have to sleep with one eye open."

"I see. You are the class advisor."

The traitor gave a thumbs-up and patted Ban Jun on the back, then bent down to open the car door for him, looking extremely obsequious.

But as soon as Ban Jun left, this guy immediately called Shibayama Kenshiro and reported everything that had just happened.

"Yoshi, you continue to keep watch."

Kenjiro Shibayama hung up the phone, simply laughing off the so-called "eagle-training theory."

After the incident with Lin Miaoyin, Ban Jun seemed to have completely let himself go. In addition to demanding concubines from the Japanese and extorting merchants, he even started playing Pai Gow.

Every night, Ban Jun would gather a group of traitors to gamble until the sky darkened, losing a lot of money in the process.

One day, Ban Jun lost all his money again, and several traitors hypocritically advised him to stop gambling.

"Advisor, why don't we call it a day? It's almost dawn, you should go home and get some rest."

Ban Jun, however, acted like a gambler who had lost everything, slamming his service pistol on the table, indicating that he wanted to place a bet with his gun.

This was pure shamelessness. The traitors looked at each other, wanting to refuse but not daring to, so they had no choice but to reluctantly accept it.

The room where the gambling was taking place was very low, the light from the light bulbs was unusually dim, and with people smoking, the room was filled with a smoky atmosphere.

Amidst the swirling smoke, the traitors, who had stayed up all night, resembled demons from hell, their faces deathly pale yet still shouting loudly.

"Seven pairs!"

"Sixes bring good fortune, it's open!"

"Tianjiu, haha, I won."

Ban Jun was lucky this time, dominating everyone and winning. He grabbed all the banknotes on the table and brought them to his front.

The other traitors sighed and lamented, but some did not participate in the game, merely observing coldly, appearing somewhat out of place.

"Alright, you guys play, I'm going to the bathroom." Ban Jun, who had won money, made an excuse to go to the bathroom.

If anyone else had done this, they would have been beaten black and blue, but he was a favorite of Chai Shan, and no one present dared to stop him.

After relieving himself outside, Ban Jun returned to the house and found a seat. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that the young man next to him hadn't placed a bet, so he quietly asked him about it.

"Which side? The Military Intelligence Bureau or the Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics?"

Upon hearing this, the man pointed to himself, and after confirming that Ban Jun was speaking to him, he coldly replied, "Military Intelligence Bureau."

Ban Jun gestured with his chin toward the gambling table: "Why don't you go play a couple of rounds?"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Ban, I'm not interested in Pai Gow."

"Hehe, I forgot that your Deputy Director Zuo doesn't like gambling. Back when he was in police academy, he never went to such places."

In the hearts of the military's united front personnel, Zuo Zhong was undoubtedly the soul of the group. When Ban Jun mentioned Deputy Director Zuo, the young man's expression softened, and he slowly began to talk.

According to him, he was a member of the Kuomintang's Nanjing station. He was captured during an operation and surrendered because he could not withstand the torture.

At this point, the young man looked ashamed. Sacrificing oneself for righteousness sounds simple, but it is very difficult to do.

Ban Jun did not mock the other person, but talked to him about his situation after being arrested, such as how many people he had killed and whether he had fired any shots.

The young man looked bitter and admitted that he had killed several KMT prisoners of war; otherwise, he would have been the one to die.

"I understand, there's nothing we can do about it." "Since you've surrendered, work hard and do more for the new government. You'll get ahead sooner or later."

After offering a perfunctory word of comfort, Ban Jun turned his attention back to the card game and joined the traitors in shouting and yelling.

The young man turned his head, cursing under his breath. This guy, who was single-mindedly trying to become a traitor, was not one of his kind. He really shouldn't have talked to him for so long.

In the days that followed, Ban Jun learned about the background of the traitors through conversations and probing.

Among these people were opportunists who actively defected to the enemy, neutrals who chose to surrender due to unbearable torture, and rebels who were always ready to escape; the composition was quite complex.

Ban Jun maintained a distance that was neither too close nor too far from these three types of people, especially the third type.

He didn't believe that professional spies would reveal their true thoughts to the enemy; if they did, it must be a trap.

To understand why Ban Jun was able to thrive among traitors and portray the spy Gou so vividly, we have to mention an old classmate who wishes to remain anonymous...
-
A few days later, news of Ban Jun's actions reached Chongqing. Gui Youguang was furious when he mentioned the matter at a regular meeting of the Military Intelligence Bureau.

"I don't know who taught the old teacher, he extorts money from everyone he meets, demanding local specialties from everyone he meets. He's a real scoundrel."

Is the left side of the main seat considered an insult?

Damn it, people don't even talk about their bosses behind their backs anymore, huh? That bald guy has some nerve!
Everyone in the Military Intelligence Bureau knew that Zuo was honest and upright, famously incorruptible, like a white lotus flower emerging from the mud, pure and immaculate.

He practically carried a chastity archway—no, a commendation archway—on his shoulders, and someone actually dared to call him a corrupt official? Is there no law anymore?!

Gu Qi noticed that Zuo Zhong's expression was off and quickly changed the subject: "Let the underground party handle Ban Jun; he's one of their people."

Everyone nodded in agreement. If Ban Jun's problem was not handled properly, it would indeed affect the reputation of the Northwest.

"Okay, let's get back to business."

With a long face, Zuo Zhong asked Wu Chunyang, "How exactly was Ban Jun arrested? Have you found out the details?"

"We've found it." Wu Chunyang took out the case file and began to report.

"Nanjing authorities learned that a man dressed as a Taoist priest entered the incense and candle shop where Ban Jun was staying that day, and the Japanese rushed in shortly afterward."

"According to the tracing, this person first appeared near the Japanese advisory headquarters, and spoke with a Jiangxi accent."

"In addition, the previous evening, a traffic accident occurred on a section of road between Xiaguan Wharf and the incense shop, causing a 20-minute traffic interruption. The Japanese garrison was responsible for the traffic control."

After hearing the report, Zuo Zhong quickly made two conjectures.

First, the Japanese puppet regime used a car accident as a pretext to secretly arrest someone.

Second, this person was originally supposed to make contact with Ban Jun.

These two points are easy to understand; anyone with a little logical thinking can analyze them. So why didn't the Japanese follow the contact person, but instead chose to arrest him?
Even the most inexperienced agent knows that following the clues is the key to maximizing the results of a mission.

Putting other things aside, if the contact person doesn't confess, it will surely alarm Ban Jun and the Nanjing underground party over time.

Therefore, there is only one possibility: the Japanese not only knew about the contact person, but also about the existence of Ban Jun.

If that's the case, why didn't the Japanese arrest both of them at the same time, instead of waiting until the next day? And why did they arrest Ban Jun?
As I said before, in this line of work, arresting people isn't the goal; intelligence is the key.

The above questions kept flashing through Zuo Zhong's mind. After an unknown amount of time, an idea suddenly popped into his head.

The Japanese arrested the contact first, and then arrested Ban Jun the next day, probably to protect their intelligence source.

In short, someone wanted to pin the blame for leaking the military intelligence on the contact person.

As for the reason for arresting Ban Jun, it's simply that the other party no longer has any intelligence value, and perhaps Ban Jun's subordinates have also been exposed.

Oh no! There's a traitor within the underground party, and a top one at that! This is the only possibility Zuo Zhong can think of.

This mole has extremely high privileges, enabling him to access all information about the entire Banjun intelligence team, including mission assignments, personnel files, and so on.

But another question arises: why didn't Ban Jun's subordinates get into trouble? At least the Military Intelligence Bureau didn't detect any major operations by the Japanese intelligence agencies.

Is it a long-term strategy to catch a big fish? That's impossible. After Ban Jun was arrested, his associates will definitely leave.

Zuo Zhong became increasingly confused, feeling that the matter was shrouded in mystery and had too many inconsistencies.

For example, what is the point of the enemy capturing Ban Jun? Apart from the possibility of exposing an internal traitor, he cannot think of any benefit.

The one who tied the knot must untie it; to figure everything out, we have to rely on that person.

Realizing that the key to breaking the deadlock lay in this, Zuo Zhong immediately ended the meeting and went to the communications room to send a coded telegram.

(A bald man sneaks out of the conference room)
The next day, Xing Hanliang sat in his office looking at the two notes on his desk, feeling both surprised and uncertain.

One of the two slips of paper was a secret telegram from the Chongqing Military Intelligence Bureau headquarters, and the other was a letter sent to his residence in Shanghai; both were related to Ban Jun.

Pangolin, proceed immediately to Jinling to meet with the official and investigate the incident.

Please come to Jinling for a chat, Ban.

Xing Hanliang knew that Ban Jun had been arrested, and it was normal for Zuo Zhong to send him to Nanjing, but the second letter could not have been sent by Ban Jun.

The Japanese were very strict in managing those who surrendered, especially in terms of communications. If the letter had really been sent to him by Ban Jun, the military police would have visited him long ago.

Was it a trap? Or is there something else going on?
Xing Hanliang pondered for a while and finally decided to go to Nanjing to see for himself. He didn't believe the rumors about Ban Jun.

Without further ado, Xing Hanliang destroyed the telegrams and letters, then got up and headed towards Hasegawa Ryosuke's office.