My spy diary

Chapter 567 Choice (asking for monthly ticket)

Plainclothes officers disembarked from several vehicles and silently approached the compound where the Japanese spies were located from two directions.

In the simple room, Firefly lay asleep fully clothed, clutching a pistol. In her daze, she seemed to hear something, and suddenly opened her eyes, listened intently, and seeing no sound, closed her eyes again.

The plainclothes officers from the Military Intelligence Bureau quietly arrived at the entrance of the compound and surrounded it.

The plainclothes officer closest to the door held a knife, stood by the door frame, held his breath, pressed his ear to the door to listen, and then inserted the knife into the crack in the door and slowly slid the latch.

A moment later, the latch was opened, and the plainclothes officers standing guard slowly pushed the door open. The plainclothes officer who opened the door rushed in first.

He crouched low and crept quickly to the center of the courtyard. He listened intently and was about to signal his companions behind him when his expression suddenly changed. He heard a rustling sound coming from the base of the wall to his left, as if someone was unzipping their pants. Then the dark figure crouched down, and the rustling sound turned into a rapid "tap-tap" sound.

The plainclothes officer tensed up, his ears perked up, trying to catch any sounds around him. Even the brief sound of defecation seemed to be stretched out infinitely. Every tiny noise struck his nerves. Finally, with a satisfied groan, the figure stood up.

The plainclothes officer had been waiting for this moment. He suddenly raised his silenced pistol and fired three shots at the shadowy figure.

"chichichi"

With a "bang," the dark figure fell to the ground.

"Who?"

Liu Ying, who had just closed her eyes inside the room, suddenly froze, grabbed her pistol, and jumped up. However, there was no sound outside, only the whistling wind.

As soon as Liu Ying made a sound, the female spies inside the room were also startled. They all drew their pistols, stood up, and looked warily at the door.

"Go out and take a look." Liu Ying's face was ashen.

Two female spies, their expressions wary, gripped their guns and abruptly pulled open the door.

At the same time, the plainclothes officers lying in ambush at the gate heard Liu Ying's question, "Who's there?" and immediately realized they had alerted the other party. Without hesitation, the head of the plainclothes officers said:

"Do it!"

Before he finished speaking, several plainclothes officers rushed in with guns drawn.

At that moment, the door to the room where Firefly was located opened.

In the center of the courtyard, the plainclothes officer lay prone on the ground, raised his hand and fired several shots at the door. The thighs of the two female spies who rushed out were immediately pierced by bullets, blood splattered all over the door frame, and they screamed in agony.

The other accomplices fired back while desperately pulling them back.

Upon hearing the sudden gunfire, the female spies in the other rooms drew their pistols and fired back through the doors and windows, and in an instant, gunfire erupted.

Inside the room, the wounded female spy sat pale-faced on the floor, too weak to speak from the pain. The remaining few huddled behind the door, protecting Liuying, still shaken.

One of them said, "Hong Gu, what do we do now?"

Another person said, "Hong Gu, Osawa Kanjiro... Could it be that he exposed their whereabouts and was summoned by the General's men?"

Hearing this, the remaining people nodded in agreement. Yes, if someone hadn't leaked the information, how would the Military Intelligence Bureau have known their hiding place?
After his secret meeting with Ryuhoshi, Osawa Kanjiro left to lead his men to investigate the power plant and prepare for the next operation.

Liu Ying trembled all over, her lips twitching. She finally managed to calm herself and soothe her:
"Don't worry, as long as we break through, we'll win. If all else fails, we still have a way out."

One of her men understood that she was referring to the entrance to the tunnel beneath their feet and exclaimed, "That's a dead end!"

"We can't worry about that now."

Before he could finish speaking, amidst the intense gunfire, someone shouted, "Director Zhang's order: no matter what, load up with grenades!"

The fireflies all knew what this meant.

Firefly's face was deathly pale. At this moment, she couldn't care about anything else. Without hesitation, she lifted the wooden plank under the haystack and jumped down from the tunnel entrance.

The next moment, several grenades and bottles filled with alcohol were thrown at the doorway of the room. A series of explosions rang out, smoke filled the air, and screams echoed everywhere.

Soon, the military police from the garrison command also joined the battle, their MP18 submachine guns whistling and spewing flames, bullets sweeping like a fan, killing one who had slipped through the net.

On a deserted street near Liuying Street, Osawa Kanjiro, who had just returned from surveying the power plant, hid in a corner with several of his men. Listening to the distant, rapid gunshots, his eyes were bloodshot, and his expression was terrifyingly sinister. He checked his pistol, and without looking up, said:

"The Special Higher Police are finished."

Several of his men looked ashen-faced, glancing furtively at him. One of them swallowed hard, moistened his dry throat, and cautiously asked:

"Colonel, then our Special Higher Police are definitely doomed. Going up now would just be suicide. Should we retreat first?"

Hearing this, Ōsawa Kanjiro gazed at the distant flames and the continuous gunfire, then his gaze fell on the terrified faces of his subordinates. After a long silence, he finally managed to squeeze out a single word through gritted teeth:

"withdraw!"

The entire Liuying Street was brightly lit by car headlights and flashlights, and sporadic gunshots could be faintly heard.

The plainclothes officers from the Military Intelligence Bureau and the military police were busy cleaning up the battlefield.

Not long after, the gunfire around the courtyard completely ceased, and a large number of mutilated and bloodied Japanese spy corpses were piled up in the courtyard.

At this moment, a plainclothes officer hurried over from beside the pile of corpses and whispered a report to Zhang Yi and Li Mulin:
"Reporting to Director Zhang and Director Li, we haven't found Hong Gu. Neither she nor her body are here; she's probably escaped into the tunnel."

"Throw a few grenades in to destroy the tunnel, and send a few people to keep watch at the other end of the air-raid shelter, waiting for the enemy to come to them."

The tunnel was dark and damp, and you could hear dripping water and the rustling of mice running around.

Liu Ying held the flashlight, covered her nose, and coughed twice; the smell here made her feel nauseous.

However, after struggling to walk out for a short while, several earth-shattering explosions rang out behind them.

At this moment, Liu Ying was utterly desperate.

After a long silence, she numbly raised her pistol, pointed it at her temple, and pulled the trigger, ending her sinful life.

Everyone in the Military Intelligence Bureau's action team was as excited as if they had participated in the operation when Deputy Station Chief Li led the Inspection Office and joined forces with the Garrison Command's military police to wipe out the Japanese spies. Only two people were anxiously inquiring about the situation: the action team's deputy captains, Li Weizhang and Shen Zhongnian.

Deputy Station Chief Li Mulin has made such great contributions and controls the Inspection Office. He already has enough prestige to challenge Station Chief Cui Fangping's position. The two of them felt both hatred and fear when they thought about how they had accepted bribes from Captain Cui and how their talents had been wasted. How could they have been so foolish as to board this pirate ship? Alas, how can they escape the clutches of these people?
Thinking back to the time when they arrested Liu Changfu today, their two men clung to them like glue, never leaving their side, which made their expressions even more serious.

Is this a coincidence or inevitable? If they were ordered to monitor them, then the problem is serious.

In the office, the two huddled together, the lights off, deep in thought in the darkness. Li Weizhang asked, "What do we do now?"

Shen Zhongnian's voice trembled slightly: "Is there a medicine for regret in this world? From the moment we took the money from that Cui fellow, there was no turning back. Old Li, why don't we run away?"

"Where to go?"

"Why don't we go and join the Red Party? Captain Niu treated us well back then. If we go there using his name, we might be given important positions."

"Re-employ? Dig cave dwellings? Don't forget, we have the blood of the Red Party on our hands." Li Weizhang excitedly raised his head and faced Shen Zhongnian directly: "You're too naive. You were the one who advised me to take money back then, and now you're advising me to join the Red Party. Do you think I can escape?"

"Then what do you think we should do?"

Li Weizhang remained silent for a long time before finally squeezing out a sentence through gritted teeth: "What else can we do? Go back to Deputy Station Chief Li."

The sounds of rain and thunder drifted on the wind, like a question from fate.

If it weren't for the chaotic times, the two of them wouldn't have been forced to join the Military Intelligence Bureau and, after arriving in Luoyang, would have acted arrogantly and domineeringly. But it was precisely because of the chaotic times that, when faced with even more powerful forces, they were, to some extent, unable to make their own decisions and could only drift with the tide, dependent on the whims of the strong.

Hearing this, Shen Zhongnian asked anxiously, "Deputy Director Li, will you accept us back?"

"If it were me, I definitely wouldn't; I would only kick a man when he's down."

Shen Zhongnian was discouraged and asked with a wry smile, "Then, what should we do? Should we just give back the little yellow croaker that Mr. Cui gave us, intact?"

"It's not just about the small yellow croaker; we also need a pledge of allegiance!"

"A certificate of nomination?"

“Yes.” Li Weizhang abruptly stood up and paced back and forth in the darkness. After a long while, he slowly stopped, a resolute expression on his face, and said to Shen Zhongnian:

"The small yellow croaker is just icing on the cake; what Station Master Li needs most right now is timely help."

"What do you mean?"

"Bring down Cui Fangping."

Shen Zhongnian stood up in surprise: "Can this really work? The station chief is such a big shot, and he has Commander Chen backing him. How can we easily bring him down? No way."

Seeing his appearance, Li Weizhang mercilessly drew his gun and pointed it at him.

"Hey Li, what do you want?"

“We’re in this together now. I’ll do what I say. Otherwise, just for the fact that you tried to persuade me to join the Red Party, I could shoot you dead.” Li Weizhang pressed the gun firmly against the back of Shen Zhongnian’s head. “It’s true that the man surnamed Cui is a big shot, but his position is now precarious. As long as we find evidence that he murdered his lover, we can help Director Li bring him down.”

"Li Weizhang, do you have any conscience? I saved your life back then!" Shen Zhongnian grabbed the pistol that was pointing at him and cursed loudly.

Li Weizhang kicked Shen Zhongnian away, dodging the gun pointed at him: "I know people should have a conscience, but everyone is heartlessly soaking in a stinking cesspool. Holding onto my conscience will only become a burden for me."

"I'm begging you, Zhongnian, come with me. If we can just trick Captain Cui into coming and get him under control, we'll have no shortage of excuses. Once we have the evidence to bring down Station Chief Cui, we brothers can secure our positions at the station. If you don't agree, I'll take the recording and report you right now."

"You recorded our conversation?"

"Yes."

"Alright." After a long silence, Shen Zhongnian finally agreed with a bitter smile, trying to calm himself down, and asked:

"What are you going to do?"

Half an hour later, a car braked suddenly and stopped in front of an abandoned factory. Captain Cui frowned, rolled down the window, and coldly watched Li Weizhang and Shen Zhongnian walk over. With one hand on the steering wheel, he quietly reached for the seat next to him with the other, where a black, loaded pistol lay.

Li Weizhang and Shen Zhongnian walked over and saluted respectfully: "Captain Cui."

"Why can't we talk on the phone? Why do we have to come to this godforsaken place?"

Li Weizhang, without changing his expression, stepped forward, stood obediently, and said in a low voice:
"Captain, it's about Miss Xia's murder case. Tonight, the head of the criminal investigation team in charge of the case called and said he had discovered a major clue. He asked me to meet with him and recommend him to Deputy Station Chief Li. I dared not be careless and felt I should report this, so I called you immediately."

Captain Cui's expression hardened. While others might not know the details of the case, he was perfectly aware of it and quickly asked:

"What about others?"

Li Weizhang pointed to the factory and said, "It's inside." Then he turned to Captain Cui and said, "Captain, shall we walk over? It'll only take a minute."

"Alright, let's go." Captain Cui glanced at the two men a few times, nodded, picked up his pistol, turned off the engine, and got out of the car.

The road was a bit muddy after the rain. Shen Zhongnian led the way, and Captain Cui and Li Weizhang stumbled along in his footsteps. Captain Cui's hand was always on his pistol, and Li Weizhang consciously kept a certain distance from him, also reaching for the pistol hidden behind his waist.

Sure enough, about a minute later, the three of them arrived at the dark factory gate.

Shen Zhongnian, who was leading the way, went inside first, shining a flashlight.

However, Captain Cui stopped here. He stood at the doorway, seemingly trying to identify something, and turned to ask Li Weizhang:

"Where is the man?"

"It's right inside. Look there, there's a simple room, and the person is locked up in there."

Captain Cui looked in the direction he was pointing, and was about to turn around and say something when suddenly, Li Weizhang leaped up from behind and pressed a gun against his lower back.

"do not move!"

Their eyes met, and Captain Cui's face turned ashen: "You've committed an act of insubordination. What do you intend to do?"

Only then did he realize that this was all a trap set by those two bastards, Li and Shen. His mind raced through their previous performances, all the buildup designed to lure him here, and yet he had actually believed such a clumsy lie.

If they killed themselves here, no one would know. So why are they doing this? Where did these two get the audacity?

"Captain Cui, we're sorry, Zhongnian, we have no other choice. Why aren't you making a move!"

Captain Cui's mind raced, and before he could even draw his pistol, a gust of wind suddenly came from behind him. Shen Zhongnian rushed up and punched him in the head, making Captain Cui dizzy and causing him to fall to the ground with a thud.

Li Weizhang rushed up, disarmed him, and punched him several more times.

Then, the two of them worked together to handcuff the unconscious Captain Cui and dragged him into the interrogation room that the factory had prepared in advance.

(End of this chapter)