Kingsman Agent in Film and Television

"General Rong, what happened?"

General Rong, who had barged into the conference room, slowly stepped forward, sat down, and said in a deep voice:
"I just received a call from Director Mao of the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics—"

He glanced around at the attendees before continuing:
"The Bureau of Investigation and Statistics has been in trouble!"

Something's happened to the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics?!

The high-ranking officials were stunned. What could possibly happen to the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics?

"Director Mao Renfeng is on his way, so please wait a bit."

Faced with General Rong's almost cryptic words, the attendees began to ponder – could it be because of the selection of the special envoy for the current investigation team?

Mao Renfeng's nose is... quite sharp!
Although it was a derogatory term for a dog's nose, it was actually a tacit expression of admiration. Everyone knew the cause of this incident.

Of course, their understanding was that Zhang Anping intended to purge Mao Renfeng's "core territory" of three locations and four stations by using the Suppression of Rebellion Brigade, and Mao Renfeng had no choice but to retaliate by labeling the Suppression of Rebellion Brigade with various accusations and smears.

This is very much in line with the logic of internal strife within the Nationalist government.

Now that Mao Renfeng seems to have provided a divine assist, they are naturally very happy, as they are acting under the instructions of the bigwigs.

As the saying goes, some are happy while others are worried. Those who fueled the flames were happy, but the section chief's representative became anxious.

The fact that the Suppression Corps had problems is not a big deal in the context of the Party-state – ask yourselves honestly, how many of the many departments or institutions in the Party-state can be as clean as a scallion mixed with tofu?
We're all black, so why would a crow mock a pig? (Just for fun, native Chinese pigs are black, which is why the Japanese sometimes criticize Europeans and Americans for their white skin...)
However, in the past few days, some people have been stirring up trouble and fueling the flames, linking the problems of the Suppression Brigade to the director—the current result is that once the Suppression Brigade is confirmed to have distorted the truth and killed innocent people to claim credit, it will be equivalent to confirming the director's incompetence in judging people and making improper use of personnel.

This is why the section chief used a sledgehammer to crack a nut, and was so eager to send Zhang Anping as a special envoy to lead a team to the three locations and four stations.

But the news General Rong brought made the section chief's representative realize that something strange was very likely going to happen.

Although no one knows exactly what's going on, Mao Renfeng's statement at this critical juncture that "something has happened to the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics" is most likely detrimental to their side.

After much deliberation, the department head's representative decided to have someone secretly inform the department head that if anything went wrong, the department head could simply step in!

Seeing that the director's representative had sent someone out "quietly," the others had an idea and followed suit, each finding an excuse to summon their confidants and have them secretly inform the higher-ups.

……

Inside the speeding car, Mao Renfeng appeared to be resting with his eyes closed, but in reality, a fierce internal struggle was raging.

Two little people are fighting wildly.

A said: "Since we're going to do this, let's do something big! Let's take this opportunity to kill that bastard surnamed Zhang!"

B said: Kill him? Are you kidding me! This kind of thing would certainly kill or worse for anyone else, but with this bastard surnamed Zhang, do you think you can kill him? What's more, this matter involves the director—although we started the fire, the bombs that are ricocheting are all big shots. If we ricochet too much, we might get pinned down!

A said: "Don't you think about how frustrating it is to be the head of the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics? Judging from the current situation, that bastard surnamed Zhang will squeeze us out sooner or later. He'll end up like Xu Enzeng sooner or later. Either way, he'll have a bad ending. We might as well fight to the death and take the opportunity to kill that Zhang!"
B said: "The crux of the matter now is the section chief—whether it's easy to kill Zhang while we're at it is another matter. Right now, at least we still have room to maneuver with the section chief. But what if we act too aggressively now and incur his wrath? What if he takes over later? If he decides to kill us, it won't just be Xu Enzeng's fate! Killing Zhang is justified, but absolutely not at this critical juncture! We should just play the victim!"

The two petty people argued back and forth, and Mao Renfeng's mind kept swinging back and forth, unable to make up her mind.

Upon arriving at the GFB building, Mao Renfeng took a deep breath and helped B kick A away—we can't afford to make enemies!

They are indeed fighting fiercely now, but it's just a fight. If they become mortal enemies, the future director will likely not have a good ending!
After making the decision, Mao Renfeng glanced at the GFB building, concealing the smile that had just instinctively appeared, and became serious.

……

meeting room.

Upon entering, Mao Renfeng immediately sensed the immense pressure in the conference room. He quickly scanned his colleagues sitting quietly at the oval conference table, mentally matching them one by one with the bigwigs behind them.

No sooner had Mao Renfeng sat down than a fellow official of the same rank launched an attack:
"Director Mao, what on earth is your Security Bureau? Why did something have to happen at this time!"

The one speaking was the section chief's representative!

Of course, everyone knew this "representative" identity, but there was no official seal in any real sense. He came from the Youth Army, entered the GFB after the war on the recommendation of the director, and repeatedly worked for the director's interests. The title of the director's representative had long been tacitly accepted.

Faced with these threatening words, Mao Renfeng felt a chill run down her spine.

But the die was cast, and he absolutely could not let Zhang Anping go to the three locations and four stations, especially as a GFB special envoy.

"This matter...is truly a scandal for our Bureau of Investigation and Statistics!"

Mao Renfeng said this with a face full of grief and indignation, then took a deep breath and, under the expectant or warning gazes of the attendees, slowly said:
"I'm being listened to!"

Mao Renfeng spoke these six words very slowly, but after he finished speaking, even the sound of breathing disappeared in the huge conference room.

The whole world seemed to be dead silent.

The Bureau of Investigation and Statistics (BIS) is the personal sword of the chief of staff and a typical representative of secret police politics. From the perspective of the middle and lower levels, the power of the BIS is simply boundless.

But precisely because of this, the higher-ups are trying every means to limit the power of the Security Bureau, lest it go further and become lawless towards them.

Among all the restrictive measures, wiretapping is the most inviolable red line.

No high-ranking official in the Nationalist government wanted their phone calls or private conversations to be tapped by the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics.

Therefore, the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics could conduct various forms of wiretapping all over the world, but it could only target the middle and lower levels. The higher levels were absolutely off-limits—Mao Renfeng himself belonged to the "high" level.

Of course, compared to the real big shots, he wasn't that much higher, but he still belonged to the "high" level.

And now, he's being monitored—this red line has clearly been crossed!

Especially since Mao Renfeng was the official director of the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics, despite the well-known frustration of his position.

boom!
After an unknown amount of time, the conference room erupted as if a bomb had exploded, with a constant buzzing sound. Apart from the section chief's faction, most of the others showed surprise before quickly turning serious. The reason Mao Renfeng was so frustrated as the bureau chief was because he had a deputy bureau chief named Zhang Anping. And in the entire secret service, who else but Zhang Anping would dare to eavesdrop on Mao Renfeng?
Who else could it be!

After the initial shock, the section chief's representative finally came up with a solution. Amidst the buzzing noise, he slammed his fist on the table:
Bang!
He then stood up, gave Mao Renfeng a stern look, and said:

"Director Mao, there are some things... you can't say carelessly!"

Upon hearing the director's representative say this, someone immediately stood up:

"Director Mao, there are some things that really can't be said carelessly—I doubt anyone in the Party would dare to be so disrespectful to their superiors!"

They are both warnings, but their meanings are completely different.

The section chief's representative naturally understood and immediately glared at the speaker, but the other party just smiled leisurely, as if to say that he was just going along with what the speaker said.

All the pressure was now on Mao Renfeng.

Mao Renfeng suddenly stood up, her voice filled with extreme grievance and anger:

"Would Mr. Mao joke about something so shameful?"

After speaking with a mixture of anger and grievance, Mao Renfeng continued:
"My biggest concern is that this person might be a member of the Communist Party! To avoid alerting them, I request that the GFB send someone to investigate and find out who is so audacious as to wiretap!"

Mao Renfeng's words seemed to be about to escalate the situation, but everyone in the meeting room keenly realized that he had clearly left room for maneuver—he said it was to avoid alerting the enemy, but in reality, he was trying to prevent the matter from becoming too serious.

Although he claimed to be "worried that this person might be a Communist," saying it in front of the section chief's representative clearly gave him time to tip him off—he could have used this time to clean up the mess and throw out a scapegoat.

What a shrewd Mao Renfeng!

Everyone realized that Mao Renfeng was unwilling to be the first to speak out and unwilling to face the director's anger, but some people couldn't hold back.

Within the Nationalist government's intelligence system, Zhang Anping had the best reputation in the military, but that didn't mean he had no enemies. A large number of the four major families had grudges against Zhang Anping, with the Chen and Kong families seeing him as a thorn in their side. Even Liu Jingfu, a top figure in the military, had been humiliated by Zhang Anping. How many of the people attending the meeting had any connection with the aforementioned forces?
Therefore, someone immediately said:

"I believe an investigation team should be immediately dispatched to the headquarters of the Bureau of Secrecy to thoroughly investigate this matter!"

"Yes! This person is suspected of being a communist sympathizer. He is very likely the deepest Communist Party mole in the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics. We must investigate him thoroughly immediately!"

"Seal off the conference room first to prevent the news from leaking out!"

This was clearly intended to catch Zhang Anping off guard!
It was the section chief's turn to speak. His mind raced; he realized this matter had likely blown up completely. Zhang Anping had crossed a red line set by the Nationalist government for the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics, and with so many people eager to kick him while he was down, protecting him to the death… was probably unnecessary!
Let's do our best!

Thinking of this, the section chief said on behalf of the department:

"This is a matter of great importance. I think we should report it to higher authorities first. What do you all think?"

Everyone understood the subtext of the section chief's representative: If you want to make a big fuss, then make a big fuss. I'll just do my job and give you a heads-up. As for the rest, I probably have no right to get involved.

Mao Renfeng secretly took a deep breath. Although she was targeting Zhang Anping, she hadn't gone too far. He should be able to sense her goodwill... right?

……

The director's car had just arrived at the GFB building, and before he could even get out, a school officer rushed over.

The section chief recognized the person and gestured for the guards to move aside.

"Chief, something's happened—" the officer whispered quickly through the rolled-down car window.
"Mao Renfeng from the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics just went to the GFB to complain that someone was wiretapping him. This matter is being urgently reported. The GFB has already prepared an investigation team, which can go to the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics as soon as the order is given."

The section chief was stunned for a long time before whispering, "He did it?"

The officer didn't say anything; he was just relaying a message and knew nothing about it.

The section chief didn't receive a reply, but he already understood the answer. After nodding slightly to the officer, he said in a unchanged voice:

"Turn around and go back!"

After closing the window and accelerating, the section chief angrily slammed his fist on the seat, his face incredibly gloomy.

After a long silence, he said softly:
"Zhang Anping, you are... truly audacious!"

……

The Bureau of Secrecy, its headquarters.

Zhang Anping was handing over his work to Wang Tianfeng—this wasn't a formal handover process, so it wasn't very "official."

"While I'm gone, you should transfer our people away from the joint training program and focus our efforts on our own training program. If the Party Affairs Bureau is not satisfied, tell them to come to me."

"Look, keep a close eye on this sum of money. The current atmosphere in the bureau..."

"When this group of students graduates, remember to make a trip in person..."

Zhang Anping rambled on as he handed over all sorts of messy tasks to Wang Tianfeng. Wang Tianfeng, whose face was usually calm and composed, showed a rare look of worry. Compared to being a section chief, Zhang Anping, as the deputy director, had far more to worry about. Why were there so many messy things to do?

The thought that Zhang Anping, once an incomparably sharp blade, was now surrounded by such trivial matters every day, having to worry about the overall situation while also fighting against Mao's faction, made Wang Tianfeng sigh for him in secret.

Zhang Anping naturally understood Wang Tianfeng's expression. He chuckled inwardly, thinking that Old Wang thought there were too many trivial matters.

More is better!

This was his original intention: to let Wang Tianfeng experience the "fact" that he was preoccupied with trivial matters every day, so as to prevent the suspicious old Wang from turning his attention to him.

Just as he was giving instructions on the construction of several secret outposts, the phone rang shrilly. Zhang Anping was delighted, thinking that it was pretty much the truth, and then answered the phone as if nothing was wrong.

A few seconds later, Zhang Anping suddenly froze. After about three seconds, he slowly put the phone down.

Although Zhang Anping showed no expression, Wang Tianfeng sensed a sudden sense of defeat emanating from him. After a moment of surprise, he asked softly:

"problem occurs?"

Zhang Anping paused slightly: "It's alright—we'll continue the handover."

Wang Tianfeng stared intently at Zhang Anping, but couldn't detect anything unusual on Zhang Anping's face. However, the ensuing handover made Wang Tianfeng realize that something serious had happened.

During the previous handover, Zhang Anping's attitude was to tell you what to do and what to do during this period. But since that phone call, Zhang Anping's attitude has been:
What should you do next? What should you do next?
From Zhang Anping's changed attitude, Wang Tianfeng realized something serious had happened, and their voices inevitably clashed:
"What on earth happened?!"

Zhang Anping remained silent, only gesturing for the handover to continue. Wang Tianfeng finally lost his temper and grabbed Zhang Anping's arm:

"What happened? Why are you acting like you're ignoring me?! Say something!"

Wang Tianfeng, who is used to being calm and collected, is probably only someone like Zhang Anping who has the ability to break his defenses.

At this moment, Zhang Anping frowned, clearly hurt by Wang Tianfeng's pinch. Wang Tianfeng ignored him, staring intently at Zhang Anping with an angry and anxious look.

Wang Tianfeng's vulnerable expression brought a hint of warmth to Zhang Anping's eyes. After concealing it, Zhang Anping slowly said, "I listened to Mao Renfeng."

"He went to the GFB to complain."

Listening on... Mao Renfeng!

Wang Tianfeng involuntarily released Zhang Anping's hand, then looked at Zhang Anping with a shocked expression, unable to believe that Zhang Anping had done such a thing.

After a long while, Wang Tianfeng finally spoke: "You...you..."

But when the words were on the tip of my tongue, I didn't know how to say them.

Seeing Zhang Anping's still composed expression and barely concealed exhaustion, Wang Tianfeng closed his eyes and said:
"Is it because of the three locations and four stations?"

Zhang Anping remained silent, but Wang Tianfeng revealed a bitter smile. He then closed his eyes and sat upright on the sofa, before collapsing weakly like a deflated balloon.

"I should have thought of that..."

Wang Tianfeng murmured:
"With such a major incident involving the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics, how could you not be seething with anger inside..."

"But, but...you're too...too..."

Wang Tianfeng was speechless. Did he mean Zhang Anping was incredibly audacious?
If it were me, I'd probably be listening in too!
Katyusha!

The unforgettable code name resurfaced in his mind. Wang Tianfeng opened his eyes and stared blankly at Zhang Anping without saying a word, but Zhang Anping gave him a slight nod.

Do you now also think that Mao Renfeng is the CCP's undercover agent Katyusha?
Wang Tianfeng shook his head, first shaking off this obsession, and took a deep breath:

"There's another way!"

He meant that there is still a way to salvage the situation.

But Zhang Anping shook his head:
“I did it, and I can’t let my men take the blame.”

Seeing that Wang Tianfeng was about to get up, Zhang Anping reached out and pressed him down. Even though Wang Tianfeng could easily push Zhang Anping's hand off his back, he didn't do so.

“Old Wang, in my entire life, I’ve never let my men take the hit of a mine—right now, whoever takes the hit is going to die.”

"I'm the only one who's different—please don't force me!"

After saying that, Zhang Anping stared at Wang Tianfeng.

Faced with Zhang Anping's sincere gaze, Wang Tianfeng wanted to shake his head, wanting to tell Zhang Anping:
The director needs you now!

But Zhang Anping's sincere gaze made him unable to speak.

Those who followed Zhang Anping, those who were willing to take a bullet for Zhang Anping, weren't they willing to risk their lives because of Zhang Anping's style?
"I……"

For the first time, Wang Tianfeng felt a suffocating sense of regret:

"I shouldn't have told you!"

If he hadn't told Zhang Anping about his suspicions, things wouldn't have come to this!
Zhang Anping shook his head:

"This is not your fault." (End of Chapter)