My spy diary

Chapter 564 Bomb (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

"Let me go! What do you want? This is a frame-up."

Li Hongwei's office at Luoyang Hotel.

The monkey sneered as it pulled a dagger from Liang Yutang's thigh.
"What is this? A waiter carrying a dagger?"

Liang Yutang didn't immediately change her expression. She gave a cold smile and said, "Is it illegal for a woman like me, working alone outside, to carry self-defense equipment?"

Qian Xiaosan raised his hand and slapped her across the face, his fingers tracing the collar of her clothes. He snorted coldly, then lightly sliced ​​the fabric with his dagger, and a small white pill popped out.
"Potassium cyanide doesn't seem to have anything to do with self-defense, does it?"

As he spoke, he slapped him again with his backhand, "Tell me, where are your accomplices hiding?"

Liang Yutang looked at him defiantly: "What do you think?"

The monkey raised its hand to strike again, but Zhang Yi waved it off, turning to look at the expressionless Li Hongwei:
"Manager Li? The person you hired is a Japanese spy. Do you want to say something on her behalf?"

Li Hongwei seemed not to hear, his face pale, standing there listlessly.

"You think you're so great? Didn't you hear our section chief asking you a question?" Qian Xiaosan scolded.

Li Hongwei was stunned for a moment, and before he could utter the word "I", he was slapped across the face. He covered his face and was dumbfounded.

"say!"

Li Hongwei trembled, still shaken by the slap he had just received: "She, she really is a Japanese spy?"

“Say what you know.”

Li Hongwei felt even more guilty when he realized that Liang Yutang had been introduced by a friend: "Director Zhang, I'm innocent! I was also deceived. I thought I was just helping a friend. Who would have thought that she was actually a Japanese spy?"

"Speak the key."

"Yes, yes, yes," Li Hongwei nodded vigorously, his voice trembling as he said, "Liu Changfu introduced her; he said this woman is his niece."

Who is Liu Changfu?

“He is one of my business partners.”

Do you know where he lives?

"I don't know, but I have his phone number." Li Hongwei hurriedly opened the drawer and quickly flipped through the phone book with trembling hands. "Found it, 32235!" He took out the phone book and almost fawned over it to Zhang Yi.

Zhang Yi took it and glanced at it, then asked, "How did you two meet?"

Li Hongwei stammered, and said with shame and indignation, "We...we met in a brothel."

Which brothel?

"Hongxiu Tower."

Having finally gotten the answer he wanted, Zhang Yi made up his mind, picked up the phone on the table, and dialed the number.

When Li Mulin learned that Captain Cui's men had appeared at the mission site to monitor the Red Party, he realized that someone had leaked the intelligence, most likely the two deputy captains of the action team, which infuriated him.

The secretary considerately handed him a cup of Longjing tea, and, observing his expression, asked in a low voice, "Director, what do we do now?"

Li Mulin seemed not to hear his question. He leaned back in his chair with a gloomy face, deep in thought.

After a moment, he finally spoke, asking, "Where do you think the problem lies? How did Captain Cui's men find out?"

"Didn't Captain Cui say that the clue came from his informant?"

"You actually believe that?" Li Mulin glared at him angrily. This secretary was good in every way, except that he was a bit stupid. Of course, stupidity can sometimes be a virtue.

He thought for a while and muttered to himself, "Director Zhang is right. You have to be careful when dealing with smart people."

The secretary sensed a hidden meaning in those words and was pondering what to say when the phone rang.

"Hello?" Li Mulin answered the phone, and upon learning that Zhang Yi had captured another Japanese spy, he felt a surge of excitement. Although the matter of the two deputy captains had left him somewhat overwhelmed, now was a time when manpower was needed, and he couldn't afford to take drastic measures. Suppressing his anger, he said to his secretary:
"Have the two vice-captains come here."

"Yes."

Soon, the two vice-captains arrived.

"sit down."

Li Mulin sat on the sofa with her legs crossed and pointed to the seat opposite her.

The two captains hesitated for a moment, but still sat down cautiously, feeling extremely uncomfortable.

When the two saw Li Mulin lift the lid of two empty teacups on the coffee table and put a pinch of tea leaves inside, they immediately stood up in a flustered manner and scrambled to get the kettle.

Li Mulin noticed the tension between the two, and sneered inwardly, but remained outwardly calm, pressing his hand down slightly.
"We're all family, why are you being so polite with me? Sit down, everyone!"

"It's not that we're being polite, it's just that we're too embarrassed to have you make us tea. We've botched the mission of monitoring the Red Party, which is a real betrayal of your trust."

"Yes, stationmaster, I am extremely ashamed and request to be investigated."

The awkwardness and dejection of the two did not escape Li Mulin's notice. He smiled dismissively, personally handed them tea, and comforted them, saying:

"The Red Party incident was just an accident. In our line of work, sometimes you have to rely on luck, so don't be discouraged."

"I am ashamed. If Zhao Jingming hadn't been caught in the end, I would have had no face to see the station chief."

"Oh." Li Mulin nodded. "Was torture used?"

"We've used everything we could."

"Didn't say anything?"

"No, he did speak, he kept talking, but it was all nonsense, it was completely useless."

Li Mulin pondered for a moment, then, seeing the other person hesitate, asked directly, "Is there anything else?"

The man looked troubled: "Deputy station chief, everything else is fine, but the people in the war zone's confidential office have been urging us several times to hand over the person for interrogation. The phone keeps ringing, and we can't keep up."

Li Mulin sneered: "Are they trying to protect the Red Party, or do they want to reap the benefits without lifting a finger? You don't need to pay attention to them, I will negotiate."

The two stood up and said their goodbyes: "We are relieved to hear you say that. If there's nothing else, we..."

"Sit down." Li Mulin stopped the two, then changed the subject: "Regarding the arrests this morning, where do you think things went wrong? How did Captain Cui's men get the information?"

These words immediately put both of them on edge. The subtle change in their expressions naturally didn't escape Li Mulin's notice, but he pretended not to notice anything and pointed to the secretary standing to the side:

"Xiao Sun suspects there's a problem within our action team. What do you think?"

The two men exchanged a glance and remained silent for a moment. One of them then said warily, "You mean, the mole?"

“Besides this, I can’t find any other explanation.” Li Mulin looked directly into their eyes, and just as they were about to lose their composure, he changed the subject:
“Of course, I trust you completely.” As he spoke, he pulled a piece of paper from under the coffee table. “Write down the name of the mole you think is inside.”

These words surprised the two even more. After exchanging a glance, they each picked up a pen and quickly wrote down one person's name on a piece of paper without saying a word.

Li Mulin took it, glanced at it, and asked with some surprise, "You all think that ghost is him?" "Station Chief, don't you think so? He's the one in charge of the case, and we think he's the most suspicious."

"I thought it was someone else. We're thinking differently."

"Station chief, don't scare me. There are only four people on the mission today. Are two of them ghosts?"

"That's hard to say." Li Mulin gave the two of them a meaningful look, carefully put away the paper with their names on it, and stood up to say:

"Don't wash your dirty linen in public. Let's leave this matter here for now and head to the action team."

As he walked, he said, "Director Zhang just called and said that a Japanese spy was caught at the Luoyang Hotel. She has named a man named Liu Changfu. Your mission is to bring him back."

"clear."

As they were talking, they arrived at the action team's office. The plainclothes officers stood up when they saw him come in.

Li Mulin glanced at his watch and got straight to the point: "The two vice-captains will lead the team. Everyone, check your weapons, bring extra ammunition, just in case—let's go."

"Yes."

Upon hearing the order, all the plainclothes officers, led by the deputy captain, rushed out. Taking advantage of a moment when no one was paying attention, Li Mulin grabbed two agents named Xiao Li and Xiao Zhao and gave them a wink.

These two were his trusted confidants whom he had placed in the action team.

The two understood and slowed their pace slightly. After everyone had left, Li Mulin whispered instructions to them:
"Listen carefully, you only have one responsibility: keep a close eye on the two deputy captains, including everyone they come into contact with, understand?"

"clear."

After the two left, Li Mulin pondered for a while, went back to his office to change his clothes, and then left the Military Intelligence Bureau alone, walking briskly towards an ordinary teahouse across the street.

The building, which has a teahouse sign hanging on the outside, is actually a hidden gem inside.

As soon as they reached the third floor, a female officer in a captain's uniform came up to them and saluted: "Sir, everyone is here."

As she walked, she reported in a low voice: "Everyone who participated in this operation has been thoroughly investigated according to your requirements. They are all veterans of our Military Intelligence Bureau, drawn from various inspection stations, which can ensure the loyalty and confidentiality of each individual."

Before the words were even finished, the two had already reached the door of a conference room.

Li Mulin pushed open the door, and as soon as the people inside saw him enter, they all stood up with a "whoosh".

He glanced around and saw that there were about twenty or thirty people in the conference room, men and women, young and old, of all ages and professions, all of whom were capable and experienced plainclothes agents.

Looking at this new force, Li Mulin was greatly encouraged. This was a force independent of the Yuzhou campaign, and one that he controlled alone.

He smiled and nodded, gesturing for everyone to sit down.

The entire conference room was completely silent.

At the same time, Li Hongwei's office had been turned into an interrogation room.

Liang Yutang was covered in wounds, but she refused to say anything.

Whether she was well-trained or used to life-or-death dangers, Monkey Qian Xiaosan's threats and inducements had no effect whatsoever. She seemed to have grown impatient and simply closed her eyes.

"Chief, should we take her to the station's interrogation room and let her see other instruments of torture?"

Zhang Yi remained noncommittal. Li Hongwei stood to the side, stealing glances at him, a hint of trepidation mixed with anticipation.

Zhang Yi turned his head to look at him, and the other person immediately turned his head to rub the bloodstains left on his face.

"You have something to say?"

Li Hongwei grinned lewdly, pointed at Liang Yutang, and mustered his courage to say, "Director Zhang, how about you give me a chance?"

Zhang Yi was taken aback: "You?"

Li Hongwei chuckled and said, "Director Zhang, she might be able to withstand slaps and whips, but she might not be able to withstand men."

Judging from his lewd appearance, Zhang Yi already knew what kind of shit he wanted to take before he even lifted his butt, and snorted coldly:
"Would you like to try the taste of a whip?"

Li Hongwei was truly terrified: "Director Zhang, I was wrong! I just didn't like this woman and wanted to help her out."

Zhang Yi glanced at him, too lazy to pay him any attention, and pondered the purpose of the Japanese spy stealing the blueprints, then asked:

"It is said that the Luoyang Hotel was built with the help of the British. How many blueprints were there at the time?"

Li Hongwei thought for a moment and said, "I don't know about that. I only know that the man's name was something like Pete. He was a missionary, and I heard that he returned to his country a long time ago."

He paused for a moment, then seemed to remember something and said, "Oh right, I think he has a student who teaches at Henan Provincial University."

"what is it call?"

"Uncle Lin something."

As soon as Li Hongwei finished speaking, Zhang Yi said to Monkey, "Take a few people and go to the school right now. Invite this Lin guy here. Remember, be nice to him."

"Yes!"

An hour later, in the hotel lobby, Mr. Lin, an elderly man with a white beard and a cane, walked around a large pillar several times before falling into deep thought.

Li Hongwei looked at him expectantly and kept urging, "Old Lin, a great teacher produces great students, so say something!"

Old Lin frowned: "Could you give me a little time? I can't just make things up, can I?"

Zhang Yi shook his head at him.

Old Lin sighed: "It's been twenty or thirty years. Without the blueprints, I can't remember them either. However, I'm more inclined to believe this one. It should be the framework support for these beams and columns."

Zhang Yi walked around the pillar and looked at it. The pillar was carved with dragons and phoenixes, but there were no other decorations on it, and the surrounding area was very clean.

In such a conspicuous location, with people coming and going in the lobby and plainclothes Kuomintang agents secretly on guard, who would dare to blatantly plant a bomb here?

He couldn't figure out the Japanese spies' purpose for a moment, so he had no choice but to order them to continue searching the hotel.

Li Hongwei's office has been requisitioned, and the desk is piled high with the identification documents of employees and guests who have been checked and those who haven't.

Zhang Yi, holding a cup of tea, walked past the agents. He noticed a document lying on the ground, picked it up, and examined it. The date of birth on the document caught his eye. Suddenly, something occurred to him, and he asked:
"What's the date today?"

One of the agents paused for a moment, then said, "Reporting to Director Zhang, today is April 11th."

Zhang Yi immediately had someone call Li Hongwei over: "A resident is having a birthday party today, have you ordered a cake?"

"I'll have to ask." Seeing Zhang Yi's serious expression, Li Hongwei quickly grabbed the phone on the table. "Hello, is this guest rooms? Has anyone ordered a cake today?"

"Hello, front desk, this is Li Hongwei. Has anyone ordered a cake through you today? What? Yes, someone has!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yi disregarded everything else and immediately led Monkey and Qian Xiaosan out of the office and headed towards the lobby on the first floor.

Just as I reached the corner of the stairs, I saw a man who looked like a waiter carrying a beautifully packaged cake, bowing and scraping as he entered through the restaurant's main entrance and headed towards the front desk registration area.

(End of this chapter)