cicada

Chapter 1504 Three Gifts
A week ago, Zuo Zhong walked to the door of Dai Chunfeng's office and immediately heard the teacher scolding him.

"What's going on! Why weren't such important personnel monitored, and how did they manage to escape from the mountain city? This is a serious dereliction of duty!"

"Do you know that if that guy surnamed Ni were to defect to the Japanese, the Military Intelligence Bureau's entire communications network in the enemy-occupied areas would be exposed?"

Hearing the roaring from inside, Zuo Chong knocked on the door. Old Dai shouted, "Come in!" His voice was full of anger.

Zuo Zhong pushed open the door and went in. He saw Wei Daming, the head of the Military Intelligence Bureau's communications department, standing in front of his desk with his head down. It seemed that he had just been scolded quite a bit, but it was Wei Daming's own fault.

The day before yesterday afternoon, Mr. Ni, a telecommunications expert from the Military Intelligence Bureau, suddenly defected. Before leaving, he took his wife, children, and valuables with him, making it seem like he was moving house.

Wei Daming failed to notice anything unusual beforehand and did not arrest him in time afterward. Being scolded was the least of his worries. If this had happened to someone else, Dai Chunfeng would have killed them long ago.

Looking at the furious Old Dai, Zuo Chongli stood at attention, saluted, and reported the latest situation related to Mr. Ni.

"Director, according to the report from Jiangcheng Station, the man surnamed Ni has made contact with the Japanese and is currently traveling by plane to Nanjing. This shows that his defection was premeditated."

Dai Chunfeng slammed his hand on the table again, startling Wei Daming. Old Dai glanced at him and then coldly questioned Zuo Zhong.

"Of course I know this was premeditated. The important thing is how to minimize the impact of their defection. Shen Zhong, what are your thoughts?"

Zuo Zhong lowered his head slightly and offered two solutions: "I have sent warning messages to all the hidden radio stations in the enemy-occupied areas, informing them to change their communication codes and destroy recent files."

"Furthermore, I believe it is necessary to select a capable person to feign surrender to the Japanese puppet regime and find an opportunity to assassinate Ni Ni. The sooner the better."

To be honest, Zuo Zhong was also helpless. He had sent people to investigate Mr. Ni, and the results showed that everything was normal. He didn't expect that the other party would still defect.

I really don't know what these traitors were thinking. What's the difference between surrendering to the Japanese puppet regime at this time and being loyal to the Third Reich now? They must have some kind of mental problem.

Dai Chunfeng frowned and thought for a moment, then said to Wei Daming with a dark face, "You must go back to Daishan Company immediately and stabilize the situation. Make sure nothing else goes wrong, or I won't be able to save you."

"Yes, yes, Director."

Wei Daming wiped away his cold sweat, nodded to Zuo Zhong again, and then quickly walked out of the office.

After he left, Old Dai angrily said, "That bastard only knows how to hang out in nightclubs. I'll have him court-martialed sooner or later!"

Zuo Zhong secretly curled his lip. Wei Daming controlled the Military Intelligence Bureau's electrical smuggling business. You, sir, would never kill the other party. This is a business with a profit of more than 100,000 US dollars a year.

However, Zuo Zhong could only think these words to himself. He said respectfully, "Teacher, the selection of the assassin to carry out the sanction mission still needs your decision."

Upon hearing this, Dai Chunfeng took out a roster of Kuomintang agents from the safe, his finger sliding over each name before finally tapping on one of them.

Zuo Zhong looked up and saw that, sure enough, it was a spy surnamed Yu, who was currently the section chief of the Military Intelligence Bureau's Second Telecommunications Station.

Dai Chunfeng muttered to himself, "The Qingpu class from 1937 is considered a veteran, and I previously worked in fieldwork, so I'm not familiar with the guy surnamed Ni."

"He's technically skilled and experienced. I think this Section Chief Yu is perfect for the job of an assassin. Shen Zhong, what do you think?"

Zuo Chong bowed his head and said, "Teacher is wise. He has accompanied students on several missions. He is bold and meticulous. He is indeed a good candidate."

Upon hearing this, Lao Dai nodded and immediately decided that a special agent surnamed Yu would go to Nanjing to punish the traitor Ni, with all departments of the Military Intelligence Bureau fully cooperating with the operation.

"Yes, seat."

Zuo Zhong skillfully switched between addressing the teacher and the director, and then heard Lao Dai ask another question.

"Shen Zhong, has the reason why that man surnamed Ni defected to the enemy been investigated?"

"This hasn't been investigated yet. The other party is not short of money, is conscientious in their work, and has never made any dangerous remarks."

Zuo Zhong answered Lao Dai's question truthfully. He also didn't understand why a promising technical expert who was highly regarded by Wei Daming would defect to the enemy.

There are only three reasons why someone becomes a traitor: either for fame, for profit, or because they feel wronged. But the person surnamed Ni does not fit any of these three criteria.

Dai Chunfeng was quite surprised. This was the first time he had encountered a case that even Shen Zhong couldn't figure out.

The master and apprentice exchanged glances and tacitly ended the topic. Why the man surnamed Ni had defected to the enemy was not important; the other party was doomed anyway.

After dealing with the traitor, Old Dai looked outside and asked, "How did the magic operation go?"

"Successfully." Zuo Zhong glanced at the door and lowered his voice: "Lao Gu, Chunyang and the others are back. The stuff is safe in New Zealand."

"Among the goods is a jade cabbage made under the supervision of the Imperial Workshop of the previous dynasty, which is quite exquisite, but its authenticity is still inconclusive. I heard that you have some knowledge of antique appraisal, so I took the liberty of sending this item to your residence for you to appraise. I hope you will forgive me."

Dai Chunfeng's eyes lit up, and he wanted to say something, but realizing that it was not safe to talk about these things in the office, he could only suppress his excitement and say, "This is the last time."

The Japanese looted so many good things, and now they all belong to him, so Old Dai is naturally happy.

Zuo Zhong smiled silently to the side. Old Dai was just watching with amusement. After the other party tested the mountain's hardness, the ownership of these valuables would be up to him. (The image below is a precious video record of Dai Chunfeng and Zuo Zhong meeting with the Yu-surname spy.)
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Two days later, the spy surnamed Yu accepted the mission and left the mountain city, where a severe test awaited him.

As for the tests, they include courage, wisdom, and faith.

But Zuo Zhong believed that no matter how the process changed, the Yu-surname spy would eventually find his own way, which was the ultimate choice of every patriot.

Moreover, there's Mrs. Yu, who shares the same surname as Zuo Zhong. She will act as his guide. With such a partner and companion, Lao Wu's days at Tianjin Station will probably be even more difficult in the future.

Just as the sanctions were proceeding smoothly, No. 23, Jiazi, Shancheng was bustling with activity as a large number of letters were sent there for sorting.

This place is the Military Intelligence Bureau's external mailbox. Except for Dai Chunfeng and Zuo Zhong, all other personnel must have their mail checked before sending or receiving it.

This was done for two reasons: first, to prevent anyone from leaking intelligence or exposing the internal situation of the Military Intelligence Bureau; and second, to prevent the enemy from spreading harmful substances, such as viruses and bacteria, through letters.

In the sorting room, a junior agent's eyes scanned the envelopes, and with a practiced flick of his wrist, the letters flew into a bamboo basket a few meters away.

A note was pasted on the outside of the bamboo basket, which read "Intelligence Division One". There were several other bamboo baskets next to it, with the names of departments such as Intelligence Division Two and Action Division written on them.

Suddenly, the little spy paused in his act of throwing the letter, because the letter in his hand was strange; it had no recipient's name, only the words "old friend from Cairo."

He turned around and called out to his supervisor, "Sir, come and take a look, there's something going on."

The supervisor quickly walked over, took the letter, and after reviewing it, connected to the headquarters' intelligence department and reported the matter to Wu Chunyang.

Upon hearing the letter from his old friend in Cairo, Wu Chunyang thought of someone who had clashed with the Military Intelligence Bureau during the Cairo Conference.

He ordered someone to inform Gui Youguang that, if he wasn't mistaken, the mysterious letter sender should be the bald man's guest.

Gui Youguang was overjoyed to receive the news and immediately rushed to No. 23, Jiazi, as he had been waiting for news from that person for a long time.

Upon opening the letter, there was only an address written on the paper, located in the mountain city.

Half an hour later, Gui Youguang led his little spy to a bookstore, where a man was sitting at a table outside reading a newspaper.

"It seems you need help?"

Upon seeing the other person, Gui Youguang sat down beside him and asked with a smile.

The man put down his newspaper, revealing a typical Germanic face. He shrugged helplessly and explained his purpose.

"Yes, I need a job to support my family, and the salary should be as high as possible."

“I didn’t want to serve Americans or British. Although the war was over, the hatred couldn’t be erased with time, so I came to the mountain city.”

Gui Youguang's emotions were somewhat complicated. Who could have imagined that Germany's most elite special operations expert would fall to such a state?

Skorzeny, one of the most dangerous men in Europe, would one day have to worry about his family's livelihood; life is truly unpredictable.

But rushing won't make a sale. After a few seconds of contemplation, Gui Youguang said, "Of course, I can offer you a job, provided you demonstrate sufficient value."

Skorzeny, who had risked his life to come to the mountain town, was not disappointed upon hearing this; on the contrary, he was invigorated. He pushed three file folders to Gui Youguang and then gave a detailed introduction to the contents of the folders.

“I have brought three gifts. The first is the coordinates of the locations where some of the Empire’s treasures are hidden, but I cannot guarantee that they have not been discovered by the Allies.”

"Don't ask me why I don't dig. I'm a soldier, not a construction worker. That would be too easy to expose me."

Gui Youguang's heart pounded. The Germans had plundered most of Europe's wealth, including countless treasures that France had taken from the previous dynasty.

Before he could calm down, Skorzeny dropped another bombshell, one even more important than the last.

"The second document contains the whereabouts of important scientists of the Empire. After the defeat, these people hid in South America and Africa. I think you will need it."

Gui Youguang clenched his fists tightly to prevent himself from laughing out loud. It was like a pillow coming when he was sleepy; Skorzeny's arrival couldn't have been more timely.

After Operation Nest, the Vice-President ordered the recruitment of scientists from various disciplines. With this group of Germans, his mission was half accomplished.

On the other side, Skorzeny patted the third file folder with a slightly strange expression, but continued talking.

"As for the last gift, it was my interrogation record of a U.S. military intelligence officer."

"The other party's confession is very interesting. It seems that the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) recruited a key British agent, but did so under the guise of the Russian KVD."

"After being recruited, the British agent first went to East Berlin, and then used a false identity to travel by train and cruise ship to the United States. His whereabouts were very mysterious."

"I don't understand the purpose of the Americans doing this, but this may not be an isolated incident. I hope it will be useful to you."

This intelligence report, which was originally just filler, immediately aroused Gui Youguang's vigilance. The possibility of him turning against someone and framing him made him think of something.