cicada

Chapter 1457 Drawing fire from the bottom of the cauldron
"Dong dong."

He Yijun knocked on the office door and came in to report something to Zuo Zhong.

“Co-leader, Lin Miaoyin is not one of our people. At least, her name is not on the bureau’s roster of internal and external staff, but we cannot rule out the possibility that she is undergoing secret training.”

Zuo Zhong, sitting in the chair, remained noncommittal. Lin Miaoyin's identity was no longer important; the key was how to break the deadlock.

As he was thinking, he suddenly felt his cell phone vibrate in the room; it was a telegram from the underground party.

Zuo Zhong's heart skipped a beat. He told He Yijun to go out first, then immediately took out his phone and opened the message, only to find that the sender was not Old K, but the Social Affairs Department.

As he tried to guess what had happened, he deciphered the coded message, and soon a line of text appeared before his eyes.

[Investigate whether Ban Jun's arrest was related to the Military Intelligence Bureau.]

Zuo Zhong suddenly realized that the Northwest had also discovered the strangeness in Ban Jun's case.

He tapped a few times on the keyboard, but then immediately deleted the typed code by manipulating the cursor, replying simply with "Received".

Although Zuo Zhong had roughly figured out what had happened, he couldn't directly remind the underground party members, otherwise his true identity would be easily exposed.

Given the possibility of an internal traitor in the Northwest, once his identity is exposed, someone and Lao Dai will spare no expense to silence him, given that he knows too many secrets.

For example, the business distribution of a certain person and several families in Europe and America, the secrets of almost all high-ranking members of the Kuomintang, and the overseas deposits of Dai Chunfeng's son...

Zuo Zhong shuddered as he thought about it, picked up a pen and wrote down the names of Ban Jun, Lin Miaoyin, Yu Qin, Du Ziteng, and Xing Hanliang, along with a question mark, and connected them with lines.

This is a mind map, which can integrate scattered information into a clear framework, making it easy for users to quickly grasp the core points.

After staring at the mind map for a while, Zuo Zhongzhong roughly understood the current situation.

First, Ban Jun concealed Du Ziteng's underground party identity.

Secondly, Mr. Question Mark threatened Du Ziteng with Ban Jun's safety and identity, trying to get Du Ziteng to serve him.

The remaining Lin Miaoyin, Yuqin, and Xing Hanliang were only passively involved and can be disregarded for the time being.

The whole case is like a tangled mess, and the key to untangling it lies with Ban Jun and Du Ziteng. As long as they are safe, Mr. Question Mark's scheme will fail.

After thinking for a long time, Zuo Zhong circled Du Ziteng's name, then slammed his pen on the table. Damn it, this time I'm going to take down Mr. Question Mark!
Having devised a plan, Zuo Zhonggan's first task was to go to the personnel department. Upon seeing the deputy director's sudden visit, everyone in the personnel department quickly bowed and greeted him.

"Alright, you guys continue working, I'm going to check some information." Zuo Zhong said as he walked into the room where personnel files were kept.

According to regulations, anyone entering or leaving the personnel file database must sign and affix their fingerprint. However, rules are rules, and reality is reality. No one will stop the deputy director for a mere official document.

The head of the personnel department even took the initiative to lead the staff to wait outside so as not to disturb Zuo Zhong with their noise. Otherwise, how could he be a department head? He is so considerate!
In front of rows of huge filing cabinets, Zuo Zhong walked briskly among them, his eyes constantly scanning the text labels on the sides of the cabinets, as if searching for something.

When he reached a cabinet, he stopped, opened the drawer, rummaged through it, and took out a file bag. The cover of the bag was written with the name "Xing Hanliang" in calligraphy.

This was Xing Hanliang's file in the Military Intelligence Bureau. There was only one copy. Zuo Zhong rolled up the file bag and stuffed it into his spatial storage. Actually, he could have put it on his chest, but since he had the space, he might as well use it.

He then went to several departments, including the archives and finance department, and took away all written materials related to Xing Hanliang.

Zuo Chong returned to his office, set the files and materials on fire, and threw them into the brazier. The raging flames completely erased all of Xing Hanliang's records with the Military Intelligence Bureau.

After destroying these items, Xing Hanliang became an "invisible man" and was no longer a member of the Military Intelligence Bureau. Looking at the leaping flames, Zuo Zhong's eyes became unusually sharp.

The next day, Xing Hanliang received a secret telegram from Zuo Zhong. After reading it, he froze on the spot, his expression shifting between anger and uncertainty.

After hesitating for a long time, Xing Hanliang sighed, burned the secret telegram, and asked Chang Gu for leave again.

Hasegawa didn't even ask why, and readily agreed to the request, even thoughtfully providing a considerable amount of funding for the activity. He was truly a rare find among superiors.

That evening, Xing Hanliang rushed to Du Ziteng's home in Jinling. This time, Du Ziteng was not out socializing, and the two nephews and uncles went to the back garden of the villa in tacit agreement.

The dark clouds completely blocked out the moonlight. Xing Hanliang walked along the path with his head down, opening his mouth several times and then closing it again, unsure of what to say.

Noticing his nephew's hesitation, Du Ziteng smiled and said, "Did your Deputy Director Zuo give the order? Tell me."

Upon hearing this, Xing Hanliang finally mustered up his courage and relayed the contents of the coded telegram to the other party. The already quiet garden was now filled only with the howling wind.

After an unknown amount of time, Du Ziteng exclaimed, "As expected of Zuo Zhong, he actually came up with this method to break the deadlock. Alright, let's give it a try!"

"Uncle, should we think about it again?" Xing Hanliang was even more conflicted.

“No need.” Du Ziteng patted his shoulder: “Hanliang, do you know what’s most important in this line of work?” Before Xing Hanliang could answer, Du Ziteng answered himself: “It’s not marksmanship, it’s not fighting skills, it’s the courage to face death, it’s a firm will. You have to be able to endure grievances and also be able to withstand loneliness.”

After saying the above, he, as an elder and senior, imparted his accumulated experience in underground intelligence to Xing Hanliang without reservation, which felt like entrusting his son to someone and making arrangements for his future.

Xing Hanliang's experience in the undercover mission was somewhat forced, and he didn't have time to study many of the lessons in depth. Today, Du Ziteng gave him the most important lesson.

The wind continued to howl. That night, the uncle and nephew talked for a very long time. Although he was cold, a warm current was brewing and gradually expanding in Xing Hanliang's chest.

After daybreak, Xing Hanliang casually went to a park. Seeing that no one was around, he bent down and placed the intelligence at the bottom of a Taihu stone.

After doing all this, he left the park and drove around the city a few times. Finally, he used a street phone to call the brothel where Yuqin was staying and gave her the agreed-upon code word.

In the afternoon, Yuqin took a rickshaw and got off at a silk shop near the park. She spent two or three hours browsing before returning to her study.

When she returned, Ban Jun had already been listening to Kunqu Opera in the study for a while. The two walked intimately into the room, and soon the creaking sound came from inside again. The Japanese man who was listening inwardly cursed.

As the storm subsided, Japanese spies eavesdropped on the wall, and Yuqin's complaints could be faintly heard from next door.

"If you ask me, since you've already surrendered to the Japanese, why stubbornly refuse to confess? You may be concerned about camaraderie with your colleagues, but the underground party won't."

"Shut up! Is surrendering the same as harming your own people? Just serve me well and stop talking nonsense."

"Hey, Ban, why are you being so fierce? I'm only doing this for you and for our future."

"Okay, okay, let me think about it some more."

The voices grew softer and softer. The Japanese agents opened the surveillance log with satisfaction. With the persuasion of this woman named Yuqin, Ban Jun would soon completely side with the Japanese army.

The following day, Du Ziteng appeared at the Ministry of the Interior of the puppet government. The staff noticed that Vice Minister Du seemed a bit absent-minded and was forgetful in his work.

Two days later, Zong Yao, the puppet Minister of the Interior, could no longer tolerate it and summoned Du Ziteng to his office to reprimand him.

"Old Du, what's wrong with you? You even lost a document sent by the Japanese. If Mr. Shibayama finds out about this, we'll both get a scolding!"

Du Ziteng's lips were cracked, and his eyes stared blankly ahead, ignoring what his superior was saying.

Zong Yao hadn't noticed before, but seeing the other person like this, he was immediately shocked. Could something really have happened? So he changed the subject and comforted Du Ziteng.

“We’ve been friends for many years. I’ll cover for you with the Japanese, so you don’t need to worry.”

As he spoke, he seemed to remember something: "By the way, I heard that your nephew works in the Hase government. Did you hear something about it?"

Du Ziteng looked up blankly, as if he hadn't understood what the other person was saying. Zong Yao stopped trying to probe and leaned closer to him to whisper something.

"The situation for the Japanese in the South Seas is not good. The Combined Fleet has lost many warships to the Americans. If you receive any news, please don't keep it from us old brothers."

Listening to Zong Yao's incessant platitudes, Du Ziteng's expression grew even more bitter. While the other man was drinking water, he uttered a few words indifferently, causing the water glass in Zong Yao's hand to crash to the ground and shatter into pieces.

Meanwhile, inside the Japanese advisory department, a similar conversation was taking place, with Ban Jun and Shibayama Kenshiro as the main speakers.

Holding the teacup with both hands, Ban Jun asked with slight nervousness, "Commander Chai Shan, I wonder how Mr. Ji has arranged things for me?"

“It’s been quite a while now, and I still want to find a proper job in the new government. After all, being a military and political advisor isn’t a long-term commitment.”

His tone was somewhat awkward, his eyes were full of expectation, and he had the typical face of a traitor.

Kenjiro Shibayama recalled the surveillance footage from a few days ago, picked up his teacup, and slowly said "Tasa," before stating his terms.

"Bansang, calm down. Everything comes at a price. It's only natural that you want a good position, but you need to demonstrate your value first, right?"

Ban Jun hesitated for a few seconds, then suddenly looked up and stared directly at Shibayama Kenshiro, uttering each word slowly and deliberately.

What if I offered you a bargaining chip you couldn't refuse?

Shibayama Kenjiro's eyes gleamed, and he said impatiently, "Then you can get everything you want. Mr. Ji is often ill, so Bansan should seize this opportunity."

This statement is similar in meaning to "The Crown Prince is often ill; you should encourage him."

Shibayama was practically implying to Ban Jun that as long as he remained loyal to the Japanese, he might even have a chance to challenge Ji's position.

Faced with the enormous temptation, just as Ban Jun was about to reply, the telephone next to them suddenly rang, the ringing unusually shrill.