My spy diary

Chapter 593 Thank you (Seeking monthly votes)

Next to the police station gate was a large locust tree, which was where Li Yishan set up his stall during the day. At this moment, Zhang Yi was hiding in the shadows behind the tree, carefully observing the surrounding environment.

The dark street was deserted. Zhang Yi picked up a stone and threw it against the iron gate with a loud bang. A moment later, footsteps sounded from inside. An old man opened the gate, poked his head out, and asked warily:

"Who?"

It was pitch black all around, and no one answered. The old man drew his baton from his waist, mustered his courage, and came out through the small door. He looked around suspiciously for a while, but found nothing unusual, so he prepared to go back. He didn't notice a figure climbing over the wall and vaulting into the yard.

Just then, a car with its headlights on drove up. The old man squinted and recognized it as Director Zhao's car. He quickly bowed and scraped as he approached, saying, "Director Zhao."

The car stopped, the window rolled down, and Zhao Wenwu, slightly reeking of alcohol, leaned out, glaring at him with a strange look.
"Your eyesight isn't great, but your hearing is pretty sharp. How did you know I was here?"

Just as the old man was about to say something, Zhao Wenwu impatiently urged, "What are you standing there for? Open the door now."

The old man had no choice but to keep quiet, and while jogging, he searched for the key in his waistband, finally managing to open the door after a long while.

Zhao Wenwu glared at him disapprovingly and drove straight in. Entering through the main gate, there was a spacious courtyard, beyond which stood a two-story office building. Zhao Wenwu parked the car in front of the building and headed straight for the interrogation room where Li Yishan was being held.

Inside the interrogation room, a young policeman was drinking with a burly man while listening to the phone being switched off. Li Yishan was handcuffed to the interrogation room wall; they had been keeping watch there as Zhao Wenwu had instructed.

There was a knock on the door, and the two men alertly drew their sidearms and leaned against the door.

The young policeman asked, "Who?"

The person outside the door said, "It's me!"

The young policeman opened the door, and upon seeing that it was indeed Zhao Wenwu, he quickly put away his gun and saluted.

"Director Zhao, weren't you at Boss Dai's welcome banquet?"

Zhao Wenwu entered the room, frowned as he looked at the wine bottle and peanuts on the table, then glanced at Li Yishan:
"He's not dead, is he?"

"No, he just fainted."

"That's good, you two have worked hard." Zhao Wenwu smiled, but then changed the subject, "Are you resentful that I didn't let you attend Boss Dai's welcome banquet?"

The two men exchanged a glance and hurriedly said, "Director, what are you talking about?"

"You really have no complaints? After all, the opportunity to meet Boss Dai is quite rare."

"Director, we are just small fry, how could we be qualified to stand in front of Boss Dai?"

"Good that you understand." Zhao Wenwu looked at the two of them with an encouraging look. "But even if you can't see Boss Dai, you can see my uncle. It all depends on whether you can seize the opportunity."

The two men beamed with joy: "Director, just tell us, what do you need us to do?"

Zhao Wenwu pointed at Li Yishan: "Take him and come with me."

And so, Zhao Wenwu went downstairs, with two policemen dragging Li Yishan behind him. Zhao Wenwu told the two to wait at the corner and went alone to the door of the room where Yao Zechong was being held.

There were two armed police officers standing guard at the entrance; they were from the police headquarters.

Zhao Wenwu nodded: "Thank you both for your hard work. Have you received the notification?"

One of them said, "Director Zhao only said that he would hand the person over to your branch office."

"Okay, I'm taking over the prisoner now. You guys go back and rest."

The two nodded, said nothing, and turned to leave.

After the two men walked away, Zhao Wenwu clapped his hands, and the two men around the corner dragged Li Yishan over.

Zhao Wenwu pushed open the door and entered. Yao Zechong, who was sitting in a chair reading a newspaper while wearing handcuffs, immediately threw down the newspaper upon seeing him and complained:

"Why are you taking so long? Why haven't you untied me yet?"

"Director Yao, you've suffered. You had to go all out with the act," Zhao Wenwu said with a smile, unlocking the handcuffs for him.

Yao Zechong remained arrogant, rubbing his wrist and letting out a cold snort:
"The performance is for outsiders. Am I an outsider?"

He then turned to walk outside.

Zhao Wenwu quickly stopped him: "My Director Yao, since we're on the same side, you know how tricky this is. If something goes wrong and things get out of hand, it'll be trouble for you, my uncle, and Boss Dai. It's not worth it. Please bear with it for now."

As he spoke, he hurriedly ordered his men to drag Li Yishan inside, saying, "Hurry up and change your clothes, I'll take you out in a bit."

Yao Zechong was somewhat impatient, but he still did as he was told, quickly taking off his clothes. When Zhao Wenwu's officers obsequiously handed him the clothes they had stripped from Li Yishan, especially the dirty, smelly shoes, he frowned, his face filled with disgust.
"Xiao Zhao, you too, didn't you know to prepare in advance? You made me wear such disgusting shoes?"

Zhao Wenwu said with a smile, "Director Yao, please make do for now. Once we get to your accommodation, you can wear whatever you want." While comforting Yao Zechong, he pointed at Li Yishan and said, "Hehe, once he puts on your clothes and a hood, no one will recognize him."

"Where do you live?"

"Here's the thing, you can't go home for the time being, nor can you show your face in public, so I've arranged a place for you to stay. This is Mr. Dai's idea."

"So troublesome?" Yao Zechong snorted, taking the shoes with disdain. Just as he was about to bend down to tie the laces, the room lights suddenly went out. "What happened?"

Zhao Wenwu was taken aback, then hurriedly went out to take a look. Seeing that the corridor was also pitch black, he said to his subordinates with some vigilance:
"Liu San and Zhao Si, go to the power distribution room right away and be careful."

A few minutes earlier, Zhang Yi had quietly entered the power distribution room. It was a storage room, with protective equipment and various tools piled up along the walls and on the shelves.

He walked around the shelf, found a new fuse in a toolbox, sharpened it on a file, heated it with a lighter, then unlocked the switch on the wall, turned on the main switch, quickly replaced the old fuse, and quietly left.

Emerging from the power distribution room, he could only grope his way forward along the walls in the darkness, but he moved quickly and soon reached the end of the corridor.

Just then, a bright light flashed in the distance, followed by the sound of footsteps.

Liu San and Zhao Si, holding flashlights, cautiously approached the door of the power distribution room. Seeing that the lock on the door was intact, they breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Liu San said, "I guess the fuse blew, but we don't have the key."

Zhao Si said speechlessly, "Where are we going to find the key now? Only the electrician and the general affairs officer have the key. By the time we get here, it will be too late. Move aside, watch me." As he spoke, he took out a key from his pocket and inserted it into the lock, but unexpectedly, the key got stuck halfway in.

Zhao Si paused for a moment, then tried even harder, but it still didn't work.

"Is this any good? If not, let me try." Liu San gave him a disdainful look, pulled out his keychain, took off an iron ring, bent it a few times, gestured for Zhao Si to move aside, and then poked the wire in, fiddling with it for a bit. With a click, the lock opened. He smiled smugly, "That title of first place in the police academy exam isn't for nothing!"

Halfway through their conversation, a crisp "click" sound came from the corridor—clearly the sound of a bullet being chambered. Startled, their hearts leaped into their throats. They quickly drew their pistols and stiffly turned around.
"Who?"

"Why am I dawdling like this?"

It was Zhao Wenwu. The sudden power outage made him alert, and he was worried about the two of them, so he followed them.

"Director."

"Is there anything unusual?"

"Right away, we'll go in and check right away." Liu San hurriedly opened the door and went inside. He shone his flashlight around but saw nothing unusual. He then went to the distribution box, opened it, and found that it was exactly as he had guessed. He then shouted loudly to the outside:

"Chief, the fuse has blown and the circuit breaker has tripped."

"sure?"

"I'm sure, it's burnt black, and it smells like that, there's no mistake."

"Find a new one right away, and hurry up." Zhao Wenwu was finally relieved. He put away the gun and slowly walked upstairs. However, just as he turned the corner at the end of the corridor, a pistol was pointed at his head. He was stunned for a moment, and before he could say anything, a chop to the neck came down and he immediately passed out.

Over here, Liu San and Zhao Si finally managed to replace the fuse after a lot of effort. However, when the two returned to the original room, an unexpected scene unfolded. There was only one person in the room. A fat man wearing a major general's uniform was handcuffed to a chair, with a hood over his head, and a syringe lying on the floor.

Liu San and Zhao Si looked at each other in bewilderment. Where were Commander Yao and Director Zhao?

"Did the director and the others leave because they couldn't wait for us?"

Liu San muttered to himself, "That shouldn't be the case. He should at least say goodbye before leaving." Before he could finish speaking, the phone on the table rang.

Liu San walked over and picked up the phone. He heard Zhao Wenwu's voice on the other end: "It's me. You guys guard the door and keep an eye on the prisoner. Someone will come to take over when it's light. You'll get your share of the benefits once this is over."

Hearing the weariness in Zhao Wenwu's voice, Liu San became suspicious and cautiously asked:
"Chief, are you okay?"

Zhao Wenwu grunted, "What could I possibly do? Follow orders!"

Liu San was relieved: "Yes."

The phone rang and the call ended. Zhao Wenwu frowned, staring intently at Zhang Yi, who was wearing a mask: "Are you satisfied now? I did everything you told me to do. Who exactly are you?"

He felt that this person's eyebrows and eyes were somewhat familiar, as if he had seen him somewhere before, and he was clearly speaking in a deliberately low voice.

Zhang Yi didn't say anything, expressionlessly knocked him unconscious again, then picked up the paper on the table, lit a cigarette with a lighter, threw it into the ashtray, and watched the paper burn to ashes.

What Zhao Wenwu just said was all read from what was written on the paper.

Then, he squatted down, looked at Li Yishan who was tortured beyond recognition on the ground, and pressed his hand on Li Yishan's philtrum.

A moment later, Li Yishan woke up. He opened his eyes and looked at the masked Zhang Yi in horror, instinctively struggling. Zhang Yi pressed him down and whispered, "I'm here to rescue you."

Li Yishan stared at him blankly, her eyes wide.

"Your name is Li Yishan?"

".yes."

Do you know why you were taken to the police station?

"I am Zhao Wenwu. He lied to me." As he said this, he suddenly saw Zhao Wenwu lying on the table and struggled to get up.

"Don't move! Have you heard of the Plum Blossom Spy Case?"

"I've heard of it. But what does it have to do with me? I'm just an ordinary citizen, I don't get involved in these things, Zhao."

Zhang Yi interrupted him: "The Plum Blossom spy case has been solved; it was a miscarriage of justice. Since it was a miscarriage of justice, someone must be held accountable."

Li Yishan was taken aback: "Someone's here?"

"To be precise, it's Yao Zechong, because you and he have similar builds, therefore."

Li Yishan finally understood and said blankly, "So, I've become someone else's scapegoat?"

"Not anymore. Can you walk by yourself now?"

A light shone in Li Yishan's eyes. He gritted his teeth and staggered to his feet: "I... I can do it."

Zhang Yi nodded, took out a handkerchief, used it to open a drawer, took out a pass to leave the city, wrote Li Yishan's name on it, then took the seal on the table and stamped it, then searched Zhao Wenwu's body and took the private seal and stamped it, handing it to Li Yishan: "Keep it safe, this is your pass to leave the city. For your sake, for your daughter's survival, you must leave the city tonight. Go."

After saying that, he hoisted the unconscious Zhao Wenwu onto his shoulder, glanced at Li Yishan, and walked outside.

Li Yishan gritted his teeth and followed behind, limping.

The two arrived downstairs without incident. Zhang Yi tossed Zhao Wenwu into the trunk, then helped Li Yishan into the car. He started the car, and with a honk, the old doorman came out. Seeing that it was the bureau chief's car, he quickly opened the door, and the car accelerated and disappeared into the night.

The night was deep. Following Li Yishan's directions, the car sped along and soon arrived at the alley outside his house.

"Get off the bus. Go back and pack your things right away. Take your daughter and leave home. Go as far away as possible."

Only now did Li Yishan truly believe that Zhang Yi had come to save him. Once bitten, twice shy, he was now afraid to trust anyone.

He trembled as he pushed open the car door, got out, took a few steps back, and knelt down with a thud, kowtowing three times in quick succession while repeatedly saying "thank you." Then he got up and quickened his pace toward home.

(End of this chapter)