My spy diary

Chapter 563 The Ultimate Plan (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

I highly recommend everyone to watch "Nanjing Photo Studio," it's truly breathtaking.

Remember history, never forget national humiliation, and strive for self-improvement!

When Liang Yutang received Li Hongwei's call, she was attending a hotel etiquette training session.

The Luoyang Hotel, built in 1920, was known as the No. 1 Hotel in Luoyang. It was a place of entertainment for high-ranking officials of the Kuomintang, where singing, dancing and drinking were commonplace every day.

In addition to introducing Western-style service, the restaurant also incorporated some traditional Chinese rituals. Service staff needed to master a great deal of knowledge, such as how to arrange fish heads, and whether chicken or duck heads should face the main guest or other guests—all of which had strict requirements. This made Liang Yutang, who was accustomed to Japanese etiquette, feel very uncomfortable.

However, in order to remain undercover, she persevered and studied very diligently.

Having finally escaped the phone call, she was about to leave when the woman in charge of training called her back.

The eldest sister, dressed in a well-tailored floral cheongsam and beaming with smiles, pulled Liang Yutang outside before she could even agree.

"Xiao Liang, are you married yet?"

Liang Yutang shook her head: "I don't want to consider it for now."

The older woman glanced at her and asked casually, "Are you very familiar with Manager Li?"

"We're not close. He has business dealings with my uncle."

"Oh." The older woman nodded and continued, "You're from the countryside? How's life at home? Is it hard?"

Liang Yutang had probably already guessed what the topic would be, and a hint of embarrassment appeared on her face. She forced a smile and said, "It's alright, we're just getting by."

The eldest sister didn't notice the subtle change in Liang Yutang's expression and continued muttering to herself:

"Not bad at all! Prices are skyrocketing, even city dwellers are struggling to make ends meet, so life in the countryside must be even worse." She then changed the subject.
"Now that you're in the city, you need to think more about yourself. In this chaotic world, it will be so hard for a woman like you to live without a man to rely on."

Unable to find any other words to respond, Liang Yutang could only say, "Sister, Manager Li is still waiting for me."

"What's wrong with making him wait a bit? This pretty boy is full of bad intentions." A hint of disdain flashed in the older woman's eyes as she continued, "Tell me the truth, do you have a boyfriend?"

"No."

"How about I introduce you to someone? My cousin works at the police station. He's handsome and talented."

Liang Yutang was about to refuse, but when she heard that they were from the police station, she pretended to be shy and lowered her head.

Seeing this, the eldest sister felt there was hope and smiled broadly: "Then it's settled? I'll arrange for you to meet after I'm done with these few days."

Liang Yutang waved her hand somewhat embarrassedly and hurriedly left.

The older sister stared at her back, becoming more and more satisfied. She had a decent appearance and spoke kindly. If only her buttocks were a little bigger.

After shaking off her older sister's entanglement, Liang Yutang's face turned cold. As she walked towards the manager's office, she wondered to herself what Li Hongwei wanted with her.
She has already obtained the architectural drawings of the hotel, but hasn't found an opportunity to send them out.

Around noon, she noticed many unidentified people at the restaurant; without a doubt, these were plainclothes agents from the Military Intelligence Bureau.

Clearly, the hotel has increased security measures, and any unusual behavior from her would arouse the enemy's suspicion.

So, how do we send the drawings out?

If the hotel discovers the blueprints have been stolen and launches an investigation, will they suspect themselves?

For a moment, Liang Yutang was filled with worry.

Suddenly, a figure flashed through his mind.

That's right, with him, I can get away unscathed.

As she was pondering how to find this person, suddenly, a series of crisp footsteps came from the stairs.

Liang Yutang looked up and saw that it was the doorman Zhou Sizhu.

A godsend. Liang Yutang feigned surprise:
"Brother Zhu, what are you doing here?"

Seeing Liang Yutang in her cheongsam, with her graceful figure, Zhu Zi was momentarily dazed, then quickly came forward: "Yutang? I just helped the guests take their luggage to their rooms, what are you doing?"

"I was just getting ready to find you."

These words surprised and delighted Zhu Zi:
"Find me?"

Liang Yutang still looked shy, lowered her head, and said somewhat awkwardly and embarrassedly:
"Brother Zhuzi, you said before that I could come to you no matter what happens, is that true?"

"Of course!" Zhu Zi patted his chest resolutely, his gaze fixed on her. Seeing that she kept her head down, he quickly asked:
"what happened to you?"

Liang Yutang seemed not to hear him at all and continued to keep her head down.

Seeing her seemingly deaf attitude, Zhu Zi was at a loss. He hurriedly approached her and asked anxiously:
"Yutang, speak up! What happened? Me?"

Suddenly, Liang Yutang raised her head, her eyes brimming with tears: "Brother Zhuzi, can you do me a favor?"

"What's wrong with you?" Seeing Liang Yutang crying with tears streaming down her face, Zhou Sizhu panicked even more, his eyes slowly filled with panic and worry.

Liang Yutang didn't say a word, she just kept crying.

"Did that bastard Li Hongwei bully you?" Just thinking about it broke Zhu Zi's heart.

Liang Yutang remained silent, while Zhou Sizhu's eyes were already red, and he gritted his teeth:
Did he do something to you?

He became more and more agitated as he spoke, almost shouting, "I found out that bastard was up to no good, that beast, I'm going to find him right now, I'm going to kill him!"

"That's not how it is, Brother Zhu." Liang Yutang wiped away her tears, tugged at Zhu, pulled out a purse from her bosom, thought for a moment, then took out a few bills and stuffed them in. "Brother Zhu, can you do me a favor?"

Zhou Sizhu was slightly taken aback, not understanding what she wanted to say.

"I just received a call from my uncle saying that my mother is sick and urgently needs money. Could you help me deliver this money to a fellow villager of mine?"

"Of course, no problem." Looking at the pitiful Liang Yutang, Zhu Zi agreed without hesitation. "Where am I supposed to find him? Do you have enough money? If not, I have some more here."

Liang Yutang gave an address and phone number, saying, "That's enough, that's enough. Thank you, Brother Zhu, you're such a kind person."

"What's the big deal?" Zhou Sizhu's face flushed slightly as he waved his hands repeatedly, saying honestly:
"I'll go now, so as not to delay things."

After saying that, he left without looking back.

Liang Yutang stared at his retreating figure, a slight smile playing on her lips. Then, she took a deep breath, walked down the corridor, and arrived at the manager's office.

She knocked on the door, and Li Hongwei's voice came from inside: "Come in."

Liang Yutang gently pushed open the door. Upon entering the office, she immediately scanned the surroundings. She saw Li Hongwei standing in the center, staring at her with an unfriendly expression. She quickly feigned a puzzled look and asked:
"Manager Li, the older sister said you were looking for me. Yes, I am."

“I don’t want to see you at all,” Li Hongwei interrupted her rudely. “It’s Director Zhang who wants to see you.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Hongwei awkwardly stepped aside. The office chair behind him spun around, revealing Zhang Yi, who was smiling at her.
"Your name is Liang Yutang?"

Zhang Yi!

Upon seeing Zhang Yi, Liang Yutang could hardly conceal her shock. However, being a well-trained female spy, she paused for a moment, then feigned ignorance.

"Director Zhang?"

As she spoke, she frantically racked her brains, trying to think of a way out.

Just then, rhythmic footsteps sounded behind her, slamming the door shut. Without turning around, her ears, already alert, told her that these two were also highly trained experts, and Liang Yutang tensed up.

Zhang Yi stared at her for a moment, then calmly asked, "Did you steal the map from the archives?"

"What map?"

“Don’t admit it? That’s easy too.” Zhang Yi said, waving to Monkey and Qian Xiaosan, and stood up.

"Just search it up and you'll find out."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Monkey and Qian Xiaosan swiftly pressed pistols against Liang Yutang's head.

On the other side, Zhou Sizhu looked at the public phone booth behind him, his face full of anxiety.

He dialed the number Liang Yutang had given him, and a woman answered, telling him she would be there soon.

He had been waiting for more than ten minutes, but the person still hadn't arrived.

Zhou Sizhu breathed a sigh of relief and was about to walk into the phone booth to make another call when a car drove up from not far away and stopped in front of him.

He looked on in confusion, then saw the car window roll down, revealing the smiling face of a middle-aged woman:

"Are you Yutang's colleague?"

"Who are you?" Zhou Sizhu was completely bewildered. This woman knew Liang Yutang, so she must be the fellow villager she mentioned. But judging from Liang Yutang's appearance, she didn't seem wealthy. Would someone from her hometown afford a car? For a moment, his eyes were wide open, his mind racing. Then he heard the woman laugh:
"I'm from the same hometown as Yutang. Didn't we just talk on the phone? Can't you recognize my voice?"

"Fellow villager"

"Let's talk in the car." The woman opened the car door and got out. Zhou Sizhu's expression was blank, and he took a step back in a panic.

"Get in the car." The woman glanced at him, and without saying another word, pushed him into the car. Then, the car sped away.

A dozen minutes later, the car stopped far away on the side of the road outside Hongxiulou. The woman got out of the car, looked around, threw a bloodstained handkerchief into the trash can, and then walked into Hongxiulou through the back door without looking to the side.

She went up to the third floor, came to a fireworks room, knocked on the door, and went inside.

In the dimly lit fireworks room, two people sat facing each other. One was Liu Ying, the owner of the Red Sleeve Pavilion, and the other was Osawa Kanjiro, the head of the Japanese army's Kaifeng headquarters, who had just arrived in Luoyang from Kaifeng.

"Boss, this is something Tanaka Yukio sent."

Liu Ying nodded, waved for her to leave, and without bothering to avoid Osawa Kanjiro opposite her, took out the blueprints from her purse and began to look at them.

Kanjiro Osawa curiously leaned over to take a look, his face filled with disbelief:

"The structural blueprints of the Luoyang Hotel? Your Special Higher Police are planning to blow it up? That's a big deal!"

Liu Ying slightly raised her eyelids, but didn't speak, only smiled inscrutably.

"What do you mean?"

"That has nothing to do with your North China government agencies," Liu Ying responded with a cold laugh.

Unable to contain his anxiety, Osawa Kanjiro couldn't help but complain, "What do you mean it has nothing to do with our North China agency? Although we have many conflicts with the Special Higher Police, it doesn't affect our friendship at all. We can put aside our differences and join hands to participate in this once-in-a-lifetime plan."

"Us?" Liu Ying sneered, looking at the person in the picture with utter sarcasm. "You think you can represent the North China government? How many people do you have? If you weren't already in dire straits, you probably wouldn't have condescended to come to my territory."

Despite his grim expression, Osawa Kanjiro, who needed a favor from him, patiently explained, "You can't say that. I brought a few men with me to Luoyang this time. They are all highly trained elites of the Empire, capable of taking on a hundred men each. They have long since disregarded life and death. Believe me, as long as I give the order, they will not hesitate to rush into the Luoyang Hotel with bombs."

"Going to your death?" Liu Ying sneered again, tossing the map aside and saying meaningfully:

"What if I said I never intended to take action at the Luoyang Hotel?"

"What do you mean?" Ōsawa Kanjiro looked at her suspiciously, his eyes filled with surprise and confusion.

Liu Ying pouted, took out a cigarette, lit it, and started smoking without saying a word.

Kanjiro Osawa stared at her, remained silent for a moment, and then suddenly realized:

"You didn't send out bait, did you?"

As he spoke, he carefully observed Liu Ying's expression, muttering to himself, "I understand. You know the Luoyang Hotel is heavily guarded and difficult to raid. So you went to another place to prepare in advance. But you didn't tell your subordinates, and instead still sent her to the hotel to steal the blueprints, and she succeeded."

If I were in the Kuomintang's intelligence agency, I would definitely analyze her motives for stealing the blueprints. Of course, that's not important. Whether it was planting a bomb or infiltrating as an assassin, as long as there was a threat in the hotel, for security reasons, those holding the meeting would have to go elsewhere. As for exactly where, I don't know; I'm just guessing.

Liu Ying started smoking much more frequently and gave him a meaningful look.
"You're quick-witted; it seems there's still hope for you."

"I still can't compare to you." Osawa Kanjiro chuckled self-deprecatingly. "You're ruthless and decisive, and you can abandon your subordinates without hesitation."

Liu Ying smiled noncommittally: "For the Empire's victory, let alone one person, even ten or more sacrifices would be worthwhile. Everything is for the sake of the war. After the great victory is achieved, I will explain the original intention of sacrificing these people to the Special Higher Police. By then, they will be too busy grabbing the cake to care about such a small loss."

Osawa Kanjiro smiled slyly. Yes, he had come all the way to Luoyang just to get a share of the pie.

After a moment of silence, he said, "I'm not worried about anything else, but mainly about Zhang Yi. This man is cunning and treacherous, and often does unexpected things. If your people fall into his hands, can you keep the secret?"

“Of course, Zhang Yi is no ordinary person.” Liu Ying said thoughtfully, then sneered, extinguished her cigarette, and stood up. She changed the subject, “But neither of us needs to underestimate ourselves. I have full confidence in my subordinate. Even if she falls into Zhang Yi’s hands, she won’t say anything, because she has no idea about the ultimate plan.”

"And here?" Osawa Kanjiro wasn't as optimistic as her, pointing to the table, his meaning clear. Tanaka Yukio might not know the ultimate plan, but she knew your hideout.

Liu Ying glanced at him and said coldly, "You don't need to tell me these things. Even if she really confesses, it will all be over."

(End of this chapter)