My spy diary

Chapter 669 Eavesdropping (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

Liu Ningxue was full of confidence when she heard the conversation between the man and woman amidst the fireworks coming through her earphones again.

The woman asked, "How exactly did I expose myself?"

The man replied, "We learned through special channels that this so-called 'Thunderbolt' plan is actually a bait, a trap, designed to lure you into revealing your identity."

"Bait?"

"Yes, the so-called Thunderclap Plan is meant to make an example of us, divert our attention, uncover the spies, and at the same time cover up the real plan and buy time for their next move."

"The real plan? What could it be? Infiltration and infiltration?"

"The organization also thinks so. Most of the enemy's hidden agents have been captured, but some have escaped and are lying in wait, obviously waiting for new instructions. The Military Intelligence Bureau will definitely send someone to contact them."

The woman asked anxiously, "Have you received the list yet?"

The man was silent for a moment before saying, "No. The organization is trying to find a solution."

"What about 031?"

"031!" Upon hearing this code name, Liu Ningxue, wearing headphones, immediately focused intently, quickly scribbling down on a piece of paper:

"Thunderclap, Infiltration, Infiltration, List, 031"

The man's voice came through the earpiece clearly: "Actually, there is no 031 at all. It's all a smokescreen we released to confuse the enemy."

The pen swished and swished as Liu Ningxue, who was writing furiously, suddenly froze, her eyes widening. At the same time, an incredulous voice came through her earphones:

"A smokescreen? You mean to deceive everyone and fish in troubled waters?"

“Not bad.” The man smiled mysteriously. “The Military Intelligence Bureau is an impregnable fortress; it’s really not easy to infiltrate. We’ve lost so many men, yet we still couldn’t get past the final gate. So we stopped considering infiltrating. As Sun Tzu’s Art of War says, ‘The superior strategy is to attack the enemy’s plans; next is to disrupt his alliances; next is to attack his army; and the worst is to besiege his cities. To subdue the enemy without fighting.’ Therefore, we devised this plan to select a suitable ‘one of ours’ from within the enemy ranks.” The man paused, then continued, “This is all thanks to the detailed resume of the Military Intelligence Bureau’s high-ranking officials that you provided. After careful analysis by the organization, we selected Zhang Yi.”

"why?"

"Because he was too outstanding. Being outstanding is not a crime, but in the Military Intelligence Bureau, a cesspool of deceit and intrigue, his sharpness pierced through the mediocrity of others and threatened their vested interests. Like a knife that is too sharp, it will make the person wielding it wary, and it will also make those hiding in the shadows want to break it first."

The woman seemed somewhat puzzled: "But he's not one of ours after all. One time is fine, but why does the enemy keep suspecting him?"

This was also a question in the mind of Liu Ningxue, the eavesdropper.

The man said with a hint of sarcasm, "Who cares if he is or not! People always believe in the truth of what they see, but ignore the limitations of their senses and the influence of prejudice. Little do they know that what they see with their own eyes is often the very thing that obscures the truth."

In other words, the truth has no fixed form. What matters is not the truth itself, but the 'reality' that people insist on believing because they are bound by prejudice, obsession, and inertia.

Zhang Yi wants to find out the truth, and so do those who believe him. But we're doing the exact opposite: we're covering up the truth, making it even more elusive. This will keep him under suspicion and surveillance, drawing the enemy's attention and buying us space and time for our operation.

The woman questioned, "Even so, the people below might make stupid mistakes or errors due to interests or selfishness. What about Dai Yunong? He's the most cunning and treacherous old fox I've ever met. You don't know, when I was working in the confidential office, I felt like I was walking on thin ice every day, and the person I feared seeing the most was him."

"Yes. He is indeed an extremely dangerous person. An extremely dangerous person is usually an extremely intelligent person. An extremely intelligent person is often an extremely arrogant person. From the moment the Military Intelligence Bureau had its intelligence leaks, he distrusted everyone and made his own people monitor each other. His tactic of using each other's strengths to undermine one another was masterful."

So we brought up Zhang Yi, proceeding cautiously and realistically at every step, at least on the surface, then deliberately leaving subtle clues and traces pointing to him. Sometimes damaged evidence is more attractive and believable than actual evidence, thus drawing people to spend more time searching for those clues until they are exhausted and find nothing. The man smiled smugly.

"Old Zheng, you seem quite smug?" Just like Liu Ningxue, the eavesdropper, upon hearing this, she quickly wrote "Old Zheng" on a piece of paper and added a question mark after it. At this moment, she was extremely curious about this person's true identity.

"Really? I got carried away?" The man chuckled, seemingly still unsatisfied, and continued, "I didn't mean to show off, this isn't about being spiteful. We just want to make his opponent realize he's being repeatedly manipulated, to make him anxious, angry, and then impulsive, and then make a childish and fatal mistake. Often at this moment, many rare opportunities will suddenly appear in front of us."

For example, our recent attempt to implicate Wang Xinheng in Mao Zhongxin through Zhu Hua is a continuation of this plan. I can't say how the Military Intelligence Bureau will react, but even if the Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics (Zhongtong) is only half-convinced, they will still hold onto Wang Xinheng and Zhang Yi, ultimately leading to a dogfight.

"Mao Zhongxin? How did Mao Zhongxin get involved with the Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics?" Liu Ningxue's expression hardened as she pondered this. The woman paused for a moment, then said:

"The conflict between the Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics (CBIS) and the Military Bureau of Investigation and Statistics (MMIS) has a long history and has been escalating for years, to the point of mutual destruction. I am not worried about this."

She paused, then said worriedly, "But what about Dai Yunong? As the saying goes, things shouldn't happen more than three times. If we bring up Wang Xinheng now, isn't that a bit superfluous? If we make one wrong move, he'll become suspicious and realize what's going on."

The man remained confident and said, "I've said it before, people only believe what they see and choose what they want to believe. The truth doesn't matter; that's human nature."

"Why? Once or twice is acceptable, but not a third time. Aren't you underestimating Dai Yunong? Who would fall into the same trap three times? With his cunning and shrewdness, how could he not have doubts?"

"On the contrary, I say this based on my understanding of him." The man smiled. "I've said before that an extremely intelligent person is often extremely arrogant. Arrogance makes people stubborn and self-willed, even disdainful of everyone, and unwilling to listen to any dissenting opinions." He lit a cigarette and continued to talk eloquently. "Throughout history, there are countless examples of intelligent people making foolish decisions, sometimes leaving people completely baffled."

Why would someone who is usually perceived as extremely intelligent, insightful, visionary, and knowledgeable in their field make such a ridiculously stupid decision? Not only was the direction wrong and the pace chaotic, but everyone from top to bottom complained, and they even stubbornly persisted, ultimately leading the team astray. I couldn't understand it before, until I met my instructor in Moscow.

"What did he say?"

The man seemed lost in memories, remaining silent for a long time before finally speaking:

"He told me that the core reason is the combination of factors such as cognitive blind spots, environmental constraints, and decision-making inertia. Even the most capable person will find it difficult to break through their own limitations."

"Cognition? What does that mean?"

"Oh, this word comes from Latin, and the English word is cognition. It means the mental activity of understanding and cognition. In Western psychology, cognition refers to a series of mental processes by which an individual receives, processes, stores, retrieves, and applies external information, covering core elements such as feeling, attention, memory, and thinking."

"Go on, be more specific!"

"Let me think about it. Specifically, it's the information cocoon effect. Dai Chunfeng, this head of the secret service, wields great power and holds a high position. He is surrounded by sycophants, and real information has long been filtered out. He hardly hears any negative feedback, which leads to his judgments being detached from reality."

"Second, the path dependence trap. Past successful experiences can become mental shackles. When faced with new situations and changes, he will still use the old methods, which may seem foolish but is actually due to inertia."

"Third, risk perception bias. Because he is in a high position and has been in control for a long time, he is less sensitive to potential risks, or he is unwilling to cut his losses due to 'sunk costs'. He would rather continue to make mistakes than change them, after all, the face of an important person is more important than anything else."

"Fourth, implicit interest binding. After all, we are not by Dai Chunfeng's side, we are not mind readers, and we cannot see his private games, such as power exchanges, forced compromises, etc. There may be other hidden reasons for some things."

"Fifth, overload of energy and cognition. The Military Intelligence Bureau headquarters alone has several thousand to tens of thousands of people, and the special agents and troops scattered throughout the country that can be directly or indirectly commanded and controlled add up to hundreds of thousands of people. The amount of information he needs to receive and process every day is enormous, and it is inevitable that he will make mistakes in judgment. In addition, his mood is unpredictable, which makes it easier for emotional fluctuations to affect the quality of decision-making."

The woman fell silent, seemingly digesting the information, before finally saying with a sigh:
"Old Zheng, is this the difference between people? You were the one who led me down this path in the Soviet Union. I used to be proud and stubborn, thinking that one day I would catch up with you, but now it seems that I am far behind again. What you are saying is too profound."

"Why belittle yourself? Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses; everyone has their own area of ​​expertise." Zheng Huhe gave a wry smile, secretly criticizing Zhang Yi. He wondered how Zhang Yi had come up with the script. Zhang Yi, similarly limited by his past understanding, was completely baffled by some obscure and unfamiliar words. He could understand the meaning, but they were so difficult to pronounce. As the saying goes, one is never too old to learn. While reflecting on this internally, he tried to explain it in his own way:
"Simply put, intelligent people often have too much faith in their own judgment and are unwilling to listen to the opinions of others, ultimately locking themselves in a cage of shackles. Especially when this intelligent person has won a few times based on past intuition, they are more likely to go down a dead end. Even if others kindly remind them, even if it is common sense advice, they will think in their hearts - what do you know? I have won before, this must be done this way."

"Furthermore, some high-ranking individuals are not actually pursuing whether the matter itself is right or wrong, but rather whether their own decisions are the most correct and wise, and whether their authority must be constantly demonstrated. They are essentially held hostage by themselves. This is the key to their obviously foolish decisions."

He was too eager to prove himself, to demonstrate his correctness and foresight, and to establish an image of himself as wise, all-knowing, and omnipotent. Once he became enslaved by his own perfect image, he was easily prone to making foolish decisions.

At this moment, Liu Ningxue, who was eavesdropping with headphones on, sat quietly in the darkness, overwhelmed with shock and unable to calm down for a long time. If she had to describe her current state of mind in one word, it would be—utterly bewildered and awe-inspiring.

She picked up her pen, listened attentively, and wrote rapidly on the paper.

"This man is not simple. Did he return from studying in the Soviet Union?" Liu Ningxue's doubts deepened. She had to report all of this to her superiors, find out his true identity, and meet him.

As she wrote, her pace suddenly slowed. Slowly, her pen stopped, and she listened intently to the sounds coming from her earphones, but heard nothing more from the two people next door. Liu Ningxue paused, and just as she was about to remove her earphones, she heard a woman's murmured voice:

"So how can we avoid this problem?"

Liu Ningxue was equally curious and immediately turned up the volume on her headphones. A man's sigh came through the headphones:
"Any organization that takes loyalty to a particular person or group as its spiritual pillar is bound to suffer such tragedies." Then, he changed the subject, saying firmly, "As the saying goes, pride goes before a fall, humility brings benefit. Listen to all sides and you will be enlightened; believe only one side and you will be misled. Be realistic and proceed from reality!"

"I understand!" The woman seemed relieved, and stood up to ask, "What are the organization's plans for me?"

"You will be arranged to leave the mountain city soon."

"where to?"

The man said with deep reverence, "Yan'an."

The woman exclaimed in surprise, "Really?" Then, with great interest, she asked, "Have you been to Yan'an?"

“No, but I heard Director Ye mention it,” Zheng Huhe said, standing up as well. “The people there are different. In the early morning on the loess slopes, peasant women carrying vegetable baskets walk side by side with soldiers carrying guns, casually chatting about the harvest and training. In the cave dwellings at night, commanders and soldiers sit together under the oil lamp, not discussing rank, but only ideals and the war. They are simply dressed but have bright eyes, and they can find warmth even in simple meals. There is no pretense like in the mountain towns, no backstabbing in officialdom, only a pure faith, which makes the barren loess slopes the most vibrant place.”

Guo Xinya laughed and joked, "Old Zheng, you shouldn't be a secret agent, you should be a poet."

“Maybe. If everything goes smoothly, once we drive out the Japanese invaders and achieve true victory, all we need is a train ticket. Whether it's Shanghai, Nanjing, or Yan'an, China is so vast, we can go anywhere. We'll be ordinary people, our lives devoid of politics, filled only with mountains, rivers, lakes, and the mundane details of life. Perhaps I'll become a poet.” After saying this, Zheng Huhe glanced at his watch, gave Guo Xinya a wink, and the two quickly walked towards the window.

Liu Ningxue was still engrossed in their conversation and didn't notice that they had already left. By the time she realized there was no sound in her earphones for a while, Zheng Huhe had already calmly left with Guo Xinya.

(End of this chapter)