cicada

Chapter 1516 Conscience Can't Be Sold for a Price
The mornings in this mountain town are noisier than in other cities, because residents living on the mountaintop can easily find a bustling street right outside their windows.

For example, Fang Zhanbo, a reporter for the Civilization Daily, lives in such a wooden building in Jiulongpo.

This area is a residential area for government employees, senior military officers, professors, and bank employees in the mountain city. The rent is not cheap, and Fang Zhanbo's salary simply cannot afford it.

Although Fang Zhanbo claimed to have studied in the United States and even had a doctoral degree, when asked which university he studied at, Dr. Fang would either stammer or give vague answers, so naturally he couldn't find a satisfactory job.

Fortunately, Fang Zhanbo had a good friend who not only frequently donated money but also introduced him to a respectable job as a journalist.

With this job, Dr. Fang not only successfully settled down in the mountain city, but also married a wife, had children, and lived a happy life with a wife, children, and a warm bed.

Early that morning, Dr. Fang was furious at the noise outside the window and threw a pillow at the wooden window.

The pillow was caught firmly by a hand halfway through its flight, followed by a roar in a local accent. The owner of the voice was a burly man with the courage of ten thousand men.

"You surnamed Fang, I've had the worst luck in eight lifetimes to be with you! All you do is sleep all day long, and the rice jar is almost empty, you know that?!"

The woman, identified as Mrs. Fang, put her hands on her hips and started yelling. The neighbors, unfazed by this, quickly closed their windows, afraid of angering the tigress.

Fang Zhanbo was on the verge of tears. How could he have been so drunk and reckless back then? If it weren't for that, he wouldn't have ended up in this woman's hands.

With a deep sigh and a dejected look, Dr. Fang left his home and went to the office of the Civilization Daily.

The Civilization Daily is an old newspaper with publication dates back to the Great Ming Dynasty, but its sales have always been unsatisfactory due to its outdated content.

In order to keep the newspaper running, the new president was indiscriminate in his approach to everything. As long as the money was right, the newspaper would publish any kind of report or advertisement, regardless of how much of it was true or false.

Among the many reporters at the newspaper, Fang Zhanbo was the most professionally competent, because he had a talent for talking nonsense.

In his writing, the high-ranking officials of the Nationalist government were transformed into the incorruptible Bao Longtu, and the unscrupulous merchants who bought and sold disaster relief grains were portrayed as righteous merchants who sacrificed their families for the greater good.

With such a talent for distorting the truth, Fang Zhanbo shouldn't be living in such dire straits, but there are just too many "conscientious" reporters, and fake news doesn't fetch a good price.

Just as he sat down at his desk, the phone rang. Fang Zhanbo picked up the receiver and put it to his ear.

"Hello, this is the Civilization Daily. Who is this?"

"My friend, that's me, Schneider~"

Upon hearing the voice on the microphone, Fang Zhanbo immediately straightened up and started chatting with the other person, his enthusiasm revealing a hint of ingratiation.

"Schneider, you're back? Oh, that's great! Shall we meet at our usual spot tonight?"

"Of course, Fang, see you tonight."

Fang Zhanbo also said "See you tonight" before happily hanging up the phone. Then he walked around the room with his hands behind his back, his eyes gleaming.

Next to the Civilization Daily, a junior agent took off his headphones and whispered a report to Wu Chunyang.

"Chief, the person on the phone with the target is a man named Schnecker. The target and the other party agreed to meet at the usual place tonight."

Schneider?

Wu Chunyang repeated the name, picked up the target's file and began searching, quickly finding the record about this person.

Schneider, male, 38 years old, from Macau, occupation: businessman, former sponsor of James.

Upon seeing this short line of text, Wu Chunyang frowned, slammed the file on the table, and began to curse in a low voice.

"What kind of investigation record is this? What kind of job did you do! What about Schneider's hometown and background? His family members and social connections? His educational background?"

"If I hadn't happened to be here on inspection, were you planning to just let this slide? Have you all forgotten the rules set by the vice-captain? The investigation must be thorough!"

It's no wonder Wu Chunyang was angry. Intelligence investigation is a very serious task, and any oversight could leave a fatal hidden danger. The investigation must be comprehensive.

For example, the target's political stance and inclinations, economic situation and main sources of income, recent whereabouts and permanent address, communication methods and contacts, daily routine, etc., all need to be compared and repeatedly verified.

The junior agent lowered his head and obediently accepted the scolding until Wu Chunyang stopped lecturing him, at which point he raised his head to explain.

"Chief, Schneider doesn't have a fixed address in the mountain city. He changes hotels every other day and carries a lot of cash with him. He never goes to banks or post offices. This bastard is definitely up to something."

Wu Chunyang frowned even more deeply. How come the Second Division failed to discover such a suspicious person who had been active in the mountain city for several years?
Before he could ask, the junior agent explained the reason: "Schnecker only stays in the mountain city for three to five days each time he comes, so it is difficult for the Second Division to keep track of his whereabouts."

So that's how it is. Wu Chunyang's anger subsided slightly, but he still had to emphasize what needed to be emphasized, so he continued his lecture with a stern face.

"If you encounter this situation again, please report it to me in advance and request assistance from the local station staff."

After saying that, Wu Chunyang stood there pondering Fang Zhanbo and Schneider. The vice-seat suspected that OSS would use intellectuals to cause trouble, and now it seemed that this was indeed the case.

This is troublesome. If this isn't handled properly, it could easily cause a large-scale riot, and the situation would be difficult to control. He scratched his head in distress and decided to personally follow Fang Zhanbo tonight to find out the enemy's intentions as soon as possible and try to minimize the number of deaths.

Wu Chunyang knew the deputy director's temperament well; when the deputy director mentioned clearing the garden weeds, he was already prepared to take action.

As Zuo Zhong's longest-serving subordinate, he didn't want his deputy to offend the cultural circles because of this matter. These people were incapable of accomplishing anything, but they were very good at causing trouble.

Time flew by as Wu Chunyang waited anxiously, and before he knew it, it was evening. Fang Zhanbo left the newspaper office humming a nonsensical tune.

"Don't follow yet. Observe the surrounding situation. Be careful that the enemy doesn't use the guy surnamed Fang as bait."

Wu Chunyang cautiously gave the order, while simultaneously rotating his binoculars to check the shops on both sides of the street. If there really was a security sentry behind Fang Zhanbo, the shops would be the best hiding places.

After waiting for more than ten minutes, a junior agent from the front brought news that the target had arrived at the dock and seemed to be heading to Jiangbei.

Upon learning of this situation, Wu Chunyang decided not to wait any longer and immediately assigned tasks to his subordinates.

"Split up and work in pairs to cover each other while being tracked."

"Once we reached the riverbank, half of the team crossed the river, while the rest stayed in the city to provide backup and prevent the target from suddenly returning."

Wu Chunyang had led his team in carrying out similar surveillance operations countless times. After assigning tasks and making arrangements, he and another junior agent were the first to leave the temporary surveillance point.

The two disguised themselves as inconspicuous mountain villagers carrying baskets, blended in with the pedestrians, and arrived at a small dock. They then boarded a wooden motorboat and headed to Jiangbei County.

However, Wu Chunyang's arrangement was completely in vain. Fang Zhanbo not only had no security sentries around him, but he also had no awareness of being followed. He just swaggered into a tavern.

Having pinpointed the target's location, the junior agent asked Wu Chunyang, "Chief, Fang Zhanbo is in the middle private room on the second floor. We can eavesdrop on the first floor and the rooms on either side. Should we send someone in?"

"Don't move, wait for target number two to arrive."

Wu Chunyang still felt it was better to play it safe. He changed into a gangster outfit and squatted by the roadside chatting with people. There were many real gangsters around him, who were also familiar faces from the neighborhood.

Target number two, Schneider, didn't keep the Kuomintang agents waiting for long. A dozen minutes later, a mixed-race white man hurriedly entered the tavern.

The undercover agent whispered, "They're here."

"Okay, send someone to the roof, but don't alert the target," Wu Chunyang replied, his gaze slowly moving with the passing pedestrians, without looking at Schneider.

It's getting dark now, visibility is low, and with the city under air raid control and all outdoor lights turned off, one or two people lying on the rooftops are very well hidden and difficult to spot from a distance.

Upon receiving the order, the skilled spy climbed up the beams and pillars to the top of the tavern, then slowly moved above Fang Zhanbo's room, pressing his ear to the roof tiles. He immediately heard the conversation inside.

"Fang, I need your help."

"Schnecker, you don't need to be so polite. If it weren't for your help, I'm afraid I would have already gone to meet God. Please don't hesitate to ask if you need anything."

“Very good, I…”

Snake's voice grew softer and softer. The eavesdropping agent was focused but heard nothing. A moment later, James exclaimed in surprise.

"What?! This?"

Fang Zhanbo, who had just been making confident assurances, hesitated, his face filled with refusal. Schneider's request was too dangerous and could easily backfire.

Even if Schneider only gave him a little money, since the other party was his own father, Fang Zhanbo would not want to do such a dangerous thing.

Schnecker cursed the despicable people of the Republic of China, completely forgetting that he also had Chinese blood flowing in his veins. After cursing, he took out a file folder and handed it over.

"Here's your payment and the tasks you need to complete. Fang, you won't be ungrateful, will you?"

Fang Zhanbo took the bag. Its heavy weight indicated that the reward was substantial, enough for his family to live on for several years. However, out of caution, he still opened the bag and looked at the relevant documents.

After glancing at it only once, Fang Zhanbo flipped the document face down onto the desktop and stammered a question to Schneider.

"Who exactly are you? Are you from Jinling? I'm sorry, I can't let my country down!"

Schnecker took a sip of his drink and looked surprised. "You care about this kind of thing? I thought you only cared about money."

"Hehehe." Fang Zhanbo chuckled awkwardly, then suddenly gave a thumbs up: "My friend, you have a good eye for people. If you want me to do something, I can, but you'll have to pay me more!"

"Deal made, still in US dollars."

Schnecker waved his hand dismissively, while preparing to add two more zeros to the report. There was no reason for this despicable man to make money, while he, who had risked infiltrating the Republic of China, could only live on his salary.

In a place in southern Asia, Margaret and Gui Youguang were walking through a dense forest when a fire flashed in a valley a few kilometers away from them.

(End of this chapter)