Kingsman Agent in Film and Television

After leaving the teachers' apartment at No. 5 Middle School, Zhang Anping kept pondering one thing:

Why were there no eavesdropping devices?
If you can't find the remote monitoring point, it could be that you didn't find the right location, or it could be that a certain monitoring point was not working during this time period, which can be explained.

Why is there no listening device?

Anyone in charge would have secretly placed the listening devices in the "Bai family's" home, because a careless remark from the person being eavesdropped on could be crucial intelligence.

But unfortunately, there were no listening devices!
The study, which was of utmost importance, was devoid of any listening devices—neither "high-tech" listening equipment nor physical listening methods were present. This was completely inconsistent with the style of the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics and with Wang Tianfeng's work style!

If it were someone else, they might think in a different direction at this point:
Or perhaps, Yuan Nong has already betrayed us!

In this case, there is naturally no need for eavesdropping devices.

Some might even think deeper: Wang Tianfeng may have deliberately stirred up trouble to alert Yuan Nong, so that the undercover agent could be exposed.

But Zhang Anping was a master of deception. He knew that Yuan Nong was a comrade who had been tested by the Kuomintang’s brutal methods and could not possibly betray his beliefs—so, what was the problem?

Was it because Wang Tianfeng was worried about alerting the enemy that he refrained from installing any eavesdropping devices?

[Wang Tianfeng still believes everything is under control and there's no need for eavesdropping devices!]

In fact, being a spy is similar to doing business. When faced with a target, the first consideration is not to play the long game, but to ensure a guaranteed profit, that is, to cash in and secure the gains.

A true businessperson considers leveraging only after establishing this foundation—ensuring that leveraging won't result in losses.

Don't ignore the risks when you see profits!
The same applies to espionage; once Yuan Nong has been discovered, it is imperative to ensure that he is "secured."

This is why, at the intelligence department meeting, Guo Qiyun, acting as Wang Tianfeng's mouthpiece, claimed that "Mr. Bai" was now under remote surveillance!
Only when you're sure the cooked duck won't fly away once it's right in front of your mouth will you start scheming further.

Therefore, Zhang Anping believes the only reason he couldn't find the listening device is the latter:
Wang Tianfeng believed everything was under control and there was no need for eavesdropping devices!

So, under what circumstances would Wang Tianfeng have such thoughts?
There is only one possibility:
Yuan Nong's every move and word could not escape Wang Tianfeng's surveillance!
After confirming this possibility, Zhang Anping couldn't help but gasp – under what circumstances would Wang Tianfeng believe that Yuan Nong's every word and action was under his surveillance?
The only answer:
Yuan Nong has people around him!
The name Lin Li involuntarily surfaced in Zhang Anping's mind, along with a sentence from Yuan Nong:

Her husband had recently died, and she had a four-year-old child in the revolutionary base area.

Zhang Anping forced himself to calm down quickly.

[It might be Lin Li, or it might be someone else—but it must be someone closely related to Yuan Nong!]

What a terrible move!

Zhang Anping immediately realized that having Yuan Nong cut off all contact with his comrades was a terrible mistake. If Yuan Nong had immediately severed ties, it would have been tantamount to telling Wang Tianfeng:
I've noticed that you've noticed me!

Zhang Anping had no choice but to urgently return to the "Bai family".

He understood that returning now would only arouse Yuan Nong's suspicion and cause him to lose trust, but Zhang Anping was helpless—if he didn't stop Yuan Nong from cutting off his comrades, it would be tantamount to revealing his hand, and Wang Tianfeng would immediately close in.

He had no choice but to go back.

When Zhang Anping returned and climbed back in through the window, Yuan Nong didn't show anything unusual, but his body still tensed up instinctively.

Zhang Anping, who climbed in through the window, gestured for Yuan Nong to follow him into the study.

After entering the study, Zhang Anping said somewhat awkwardly, "Cutting off contact was a foolish move."

"What do you mean?"

At this moment, Yuan Nong was filled with alarm.

Zhang Anping gave an irrelevant answer: "There are no eavesdropping devices in the study—you should have searched the outside, right? Did you find anything?"

Yuan Nong replied thoughtfully, "No."

"I suspect the enemy believes they can keep track of every word and action without needing to eavesdrop."

[The next step, is it... to extract other information from me?]

Originally, Yuan Nong's initial suspicion of Zhang Anping turned into trust.

Because Zhang Anping displayed restraint and sincerity throughout, the only two pieces of information that could be obtained from him were:

Information on Liu Shijie and Zhou Xianhui.

Assuming Zhang Anping is an enemy, these two pieces of intelligence are dispensable to him.

Therefore, Yuan Nong chose to trust Zhang Anping—especially since Zhang Anping's only request was in line with the principle of confidentiality.

But now, Zhang Anping has returned—from Yuan Nong's perspective, this seems more like a further attempt to extract money after gaining his trust.

Therefore, Yuan Nong believes that if this person intends to use this as an excuse to extract information, it is definitely a despicable and insidious tactic of the enemy!

"You mean, the traitor... is right next to me, right?" Yuan Nong feigned surprise and uncertainty.

Although he did not show anything unusual, Zhang Anping still sensed Yuan Nong's hidden hostility and wariness. Zhang Anping could only regret that he had not thought about it carefully before.

Zhang Anping shook his head:

"Now that you don't trust me, you won't believe anything I say—"

Seeing that Zhang Anping had seen through him directly, Yuan Nong simply stopped pretending. He calmly looked at Zhang Anping to see what tricks Zhang Anping would play.

"Could you tell me about Lin Li's husband? Since you said he has already sacrificed his life, I'm sure that even if you tell me some things, it won't involve leaking secrets."

Zhang Anping looked at Yuan Nong:

"There are two possibilities now. First, I am a spy sent by the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics to gather intelligence—but if you tell me about her husband, it won't have much of an impact, right?"

"Secondly, I almost made a big mistake just now."

Yuan Nong's eyes flickered, but he did not answer.

The two possibilities Zhang Anping mentioned represented two different choices for him:

Should you trust the person in front of you, or your comrade beside you?

He gave his answer:

"Lin Li could not possibly betray us!"

Zhang Anping said softly, "I also hope it's not her—but I need to investigate. If her husband is alive, then she must be the mole!"

It's a very simple principle: Lin Li couldn't have been an inside agent before this, otherwise the Qingsong intelligence group would have been in trouble long ago, instead of waiting until now!
But what could possibly cause her to suddenly become a mole?

There is only one possibility: her "sacrificed" husband actually faked his death.

However, this was something that Zhang Anping could easily investigate.

Yuan Nong closed his eyes. Emotionally, he trusted Lin Li more, after all, she was his comrade who was pretending to be his wife.

But reason told him that telling this person about Lin Li's husband was the best option at this moment.

After much deliberation, Yuan Nong finally made his choice:

"Her husband's name was Peng Siqi. He was a comrade of the underground party in Suzhou. He sacrificed his life half a month ago."

He chose to reveal only a limited amount of information.

This information was enough for Zhang Anping!
"Because of the pursuers, we won't take the initiative to contact our superiors, but they will contact us if the conditions allow—they will definitely contact us soon, and I will ask them for information about your intelligence group."

Zhang Anping said in a deep voice, "I hope you will not cut off contact with your comrades for the time being, otherwise the enemy may realize that the secret has been leaked and then directly close in."

"Comrade Yuan Nong, if she really is the mole, what you need to do now is maintain the status quo!"

"Only in this way can we avoid alerting the enemy."

Yuan Nong gave Zhang Anping a deep look and said, "I know!"

Even though he answered that he knew, Zhang Anping still felt that he was being perfunctory—or perhaps it was because he was overly sensitive.

Zhang Anping had to emphasize: "Comrade Yuan Nong, I will be able to obtain information about the Qingsong intelligence group from my superiors within three days at most. Three days is enough as long as you maintain your previous state!"

Yuan Nong said, "I understand. I hope that when we meet next time, there will be no more distrust between us." At that moment, Zhang Anping wanted to say a name to Yuan Nong:
Zeng Moyi.

But he suppressed his impulse—if he mentioned the name [Zeng Moyi], Yuan Nong might trust him, but he might also question him more, or even react more violently.

Zhang Anping could only say helplessly, "Find an excuse to delay for three days, three days at most!"

"Don't worry, I know what to do."

Seeing that he couldn't persuade Yuan Nong, Zhang Anping had no choice but to take his leave—he really wanted to slap himself a few times.

If I had thought about it more during our first meeting, I would have realized that it would have been much more appropriate to express my doubts to Yuan Nong through discussion than to do so now.

His return was truly a case of overreaching and making a mess of things!

After Zhang Anping left, Yuan Nong's gaze became deep and thoughtful.

He had previously chosen to believe Zhang Anping because Zhang Anping had only served as a warning.

But now Zhang Anping, who has returned, demands that he not sever ties with his comrades—logically speaking, this man's words do make sense.

In clandestine operations, sometimes logic alone is not enough.

I've already been exposed. If I can't cut off contact with my comrades, they'll come into the enemy's sights—how could I be so selfish?

This is Yuan Nong's idea!
[Lin Li, how could she possibly be a traitor?]

This person is more likely an enemy—so, what is he after?

Yuan Nong reached a conclusion without much thought:
Green pine!

The enemy's objective must be the pine tree!

[Three days at most, and you can get information about the Green Pine Intelligence Group from the organization? Ha—do you think I'm a child?]

Yuan Nong didn't believe it!

Intelligence work has its own rules. How could an organization possibly pass information from one intelligence group to the other when there is no communication between the two intelligence groups?

[The enemy's goal is probably to throw me into disarray first, right? Will they use the same tactics on Lin Li next? And then, the traitor... will be me, right!]

[No listening devices? What a relief! If I hadn't been alert, I might have actually fallen for it!]

[That was close! We almost fell into the enemy's trap!]

After taking a deep breath, Yuan Nong knocked on the bedroom door.

……

After leaving the Yuan family again, Zhang Anping couldn't help but slap himself.

He's made a mess of things!

For the first time, Yuan Nong truly trusted himself; he was absolutely certain of it.
Similarly, the second time Yuan Nong returned, he would absolutely not trust himself—he would definitely do as he said the first time and cut off contact with his comrades!
His own suspicions about Lin Li might even prompt him to tell her about it!

Remedies are needed! Remedies are absolutely necessary!
After slapping himself, Zhang Anping quickly began to think of a solution.

[Should we send Mo Yi to see Yuan Nong?]

【no! 】

Zhang Anping rejected his idea without hesitation. If Zeng Moyi appeared and made even the slightest mistake, it would be a devastating disaster for him. His own life and death were never a big deal, but if something happened to him, all the plans of the Second Intelligence Group would become nothing but a mirage.

Even countless comrades who were infiltrated will be caught in the upcoming purge!
Zhang Anping slapped himself again, his heart filled with indignation he couldn't express.

Why couldn't you have thought it through for a few more minutes the first time you were at the Yuan family's house?

Forcing himself to calm down, Zhang Anping once again considered ways to break the deadlock.

Got it!

[Keep a close eye on Lin Li. If Yuan Nong informs Lin Li of his meeting with him, she will definitely go to meet with Wang Tianfeng. We'll seize the opportunity then!]

[Immediately... tomorrow morning, check the work logs of the Suzhou station of the Security Bureau and search for any clues related to Peng Siqi.]

[Trying to contact the organization... No! I can't rashly contact them. If the pursuit detects the fluctuations in the superiors' communications because of the Second Intelligence Group, I'll be a sinner!]

Zhang Anping originally planned to check on Liu Shijie and Zhou Xianhui to see if they were being monitored by Wang Tianfeng, but time didn't allow it, and he had to pay the price for his foolishness.

Resisting the urge to slap himself again, Zhang Anping found a phone booth and dialed the Ming family's number.

……

Yuan family.

The sky outside gradually broke through the darkness, and the brightening light eventually enveloped the Yuan family's residence.

The bedroom door slowly opened, and Lin Li, already dressed, stepped out and exclaimed in surprise:

"Old Yuan, how many cigarettes have you smoked?!"

The room was filled with smoke and the smell of smoke permeated the air.

Yuan Nong stood up apologetically and said embarrassedly, "I'm sorry, I had insomnia last night."

“Smoking too much is bad for your health—” Lin Li said as she walked towards the window, trying to open it, but Yuan Nong went ahead first, opening the window as he spoke:

"There's too much smoke outside. Go to the bedroom and calm down. Come out when the smell has dissipated."

Lin Li didn't think much of it and said, "Mm."

But as she turned around, her expression turned to shock:

"Old Yuan, what are you doing? Why did you switch those two flowerpots?"

Lin Li's expression turned stern:
Do you know what this means?

"Change it back right away!"

There were many flowers on the balcony, and the reason why the two flowerpots were switched was that it was... a signal to cut off communication!

This means that Yuan Nong is transmitting a signal to the outside world:
Something's happened to me!

Yuan Nong took a deep breath: "Xiao Lin, I have a feeling we might be being watched by the enemy—"

"what?"

Lin Li was shocked, but then appeared extremely panicked.

Her unusual reaction made Yuan Nong's heart skip a beat.

Last night, after knocking on the door, Lin Li did not respond. After thinking for a while, Yuan Nong chose to keep it a secret—what if... he really was his comrade?
Therefore, Yuan Nong released a dangerous signal but chose not to communicate with Lin Li.

At this moment, Lin Li's reaction should have been to immediately destroy the confidential documents, not to panic like a newcomer. This reaction, in fact, confirms one thing:

That person guessed correctly!

Just then, there was a knock on the door:
"Old Bai, open the door, I need to use your toilet—hurry up!"

It was the voice of my colleague next door.

Lin Li, who was in a panic, actually went forward to open the door. Upon seeing this, Yuan Nong's lips twitched involuntarily.

As soon as the door opened, three figures rushed in.

But Yuan Nong was faster than them.

He stepped onto the window and jumped. (End of Chapter)