My spy diary

Chapter 671 Searching is a Skill (Seeking Monthly Tickets)
The man in the suit spat dismissively: "A bunch of cowards."

As he spoke, he strode forward and stared at Li Maocai, asking in a condescending manner:
"What?"

Li Maocai stared at him for a long time before recognizing the bruised and swollen man as the godson of Director Tang of the Shancheng Police Station. A thought flashed through his mind, and he pretended not to know him, shouting fiercely:
"Who are you? Are you trying to obstruct us from performing our official duties?"

Young Master Tang was even more arrogant: "My surname is Tang. My father is a major general in the Chairman's personal staff, the director of the Shancheng Police Bureau and the deputy director of the Central Police Academy, an executive member of the Shancheng Party Committee, and an officer of the Shancheng branch of the Three People's Principles Youth League. Which department are you from?"

Li Maocai seemed to be intimidated by Tang Gongzi's imposing manner and the string of titles he rattled off:
"Military Intelligence Department, Investigation Section." He spoke with increasing uncertainty, "Head of the Investigation Section."

Seeing that Li Maocai was intimidated by him, Young Master Tang breathed a slight sigh of relief and deliberately pretended to be frank:

"Oh, so you're a section chief from the Military Intelligence Bureau. Your Director Yang from the Intelligence Department should know me."

At this point, Young Master Tang paused, looked up at Li Maocai, and waved his hand dismissively, "Alright, what's done is done. We're all family. This is my territory. Go back. If you need anything, have Director Yang call me."

Li Maocai didn't finish speaking; he just stared straight at him.

Young Master Tang, hands in his pockets, said with an unyielding expression, "What, you don't believe me? You can call your Director Yang right now and see what he has to say. Let me tell you, Huanyun Pavilion is my territory." With that, he waved his hand impatiently, "Get out of here!"

Hearing him say that, the group of plainclothes agents from the Military Intelligence Bureau glanced at Li Maocai's expression, then looked at each other, bewildered.

Beside him, the madam, who had been trembling with fear just moments before, now unconsciously straightened her back, looking at Young Master Tang with reverence. She thought to herself, "Young Master Tang may be a coward, but he really gets things done once he gets paid. Tonight, I'm going to use every trick in the book to serve him perfectly, so he'll be completely satisfied."

"Is that so?" Li Maocai slowly approached Tang Gongzi with a gun in hand, a smile on his face, but his eyes were sharp. "I need to see your identification."

Young Master Tang immediately shrank back. He patted his pocket and said sheepishly, "I forgot to bring it when I left home. If you don't believe me, you can come home with me to get your ID, or ask the police over there to come and verify my identity."

After saying this, seeing that Li Maocai didn't appreciate it, he revealed an arrogant look on his face, "What, you're not giving me face? You can not give me face, but you have to give Director Tang face! If I let him call Director Yang, can you still be a section chief?"

Li Maocai looked at his serious eyes and laughed in anger. He was already annoyed by the man's arrogant attitude, but this last sentence finally enraged him completely.

He swiftly and accurately twisted Tang Gongzi's throat:

"You're just putting on airs, who do you think you are!"

Caught off guard, the terrified young master Tang was pinched until his face turned red. He desperately grabbed Li Maocai's hand, trying to scream but unable to make a sound.

Li Maocai gripped Tang Gongzi's neck tightly with his left hand, while his right hand gripped the gun handle and struck Tang's head like a wooden fish.

"You think you're so great? Daring to interfere in our Military Intelligence Bureau's affairs! And you're even impersonating Director Tang's son! Tell me, are you in cahoots with the murderer we're after? Men, handcuff him and gag his filthy mouth."

No sooner had he finished speaking than two plainclothes officers who had long disliked Young Master Tang pounced on him, pinned him down, and beat him mercilessly before dragging him aside and handcuffing him.

Beside him, the madam stared blankly at Li Maocai, who seemed like a completely different person.

Li Maocai smiled and beckoned with his hand. The madam, shoved by one of the guards, finally came to her senses. She forced a smile that looked more like a grimace and took small, hurried steps forward.

"Sir."

"Closer, closer."

The madam craned her neck, her face full of obsequiousness: "Sir."

Li Maocai's fist came hurtling down as the madam uttered the last word, slamming hard into her powdered cheek.

Caught off guard, the madam was punched and sent flying. Li Maocai caught up in a few steps and stomped on her face.
"Laugh, I'll let you laugh. A pimp, thinking you're so high and mighty just because you have some connections? Someone as insignificant as you, even if I beat you to death, I guarantee no one will say a word for you. Tell me, are you harboring any murderers here?"

The madam trembled all over and cried out in a sob:

"Sir, we've always operated legally here, there's no murderer among us!"

"Do murderers carve words on their faces? A place like yours, a den of iniquity, must be hiding a lot of criminals! If you know something but don't report it, you deserve to die!" Li Maocai cursed and stomped on the madam's foot again.

A bloody gash appeared on the madam's face, and she let out a pig-like scream.

The prostitutes who had been herded to the hall were all terrified and lowered their heads, no longer daring to look at Li Maocai.

Among them was a female spy using the alias Liu Ningxue, whose real name was Kawashima Yukina and codename Black Butterfly. At this moment, she was huddled in the crowd when her eyes suddenly fell on Li Maocai, who was holding a gun. She pretended to be trembling and almost collapsed to the ground, but her maidservant helped her up first, and she barely managed to stand up.

Li Maocai glanced at her silently, then smiled knowingly: "You're the courtesan queen? You're quite beautiful!"

Liu Ningxue pretended to be scared, lowered her head and remained silent.

Li Maocai shrugged it off and waved to the menacing plainclothes officers behind him.

"Leave a few men to guard the front and back doors, the rest of you go and search the rooms. Search them thoroughly, leave no stone unturned, not a single corner unsearched."

"Yes, sir." The group of plainclothes officers couldn't contain their excitement and rushed upstairs.

Soon, the sounds of rummaging through drawers and cabinets filled the room.

Li Maocai walked to the side, lit a cigarette, and watched the movements of the group of prostitutes while smoking.

Liu Ningxue glanced up at him almost imperceptibly, then quickly lowered her eyes, trying to figure out what Li Maocai had said earlier. She felt a little uneasy. Were the Kuomintang agents really here to hunt down a murderer? Or were they arresting Communists under the guise of a murderer?
She felt that today's events were too coincidental, and there was an inexplicable eeriness to it.

Time passed by in agonizing agony.

At this moment, a plainclothes leader rushed down the stairs, looking dejected.

"Section Chief, we've searched the entire upstairs, but found nothing. Aside from women's clothes and a bunch of random cosmetics and toiletries, we haven't found any valuable clues. Could it be that the murderer got wind of it and ran away?"

The deputy section chief, who had already checked the documents, came over and reported in a low voice:

"Section Chief, there aren't any suspicious people. A few are from gangs, and a few are heavy opium addicts and brothel regulars who hang around here year-round."

Li Maocai's face darkened as he pondered, the more he thought about it, the more something seemed amiss. Why would the Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics (Zhongtong) be here? He looked at the plainclothes leader:

"The entire building, upstairs and downstairs, was thoroughly searched?"

Plainclothes leader: "We searched all the brothels, bedrooms, kitchens, and warehouses. We didn't find anything suspicious."

Li Maocai became increasingly puzzled, and after thinking for a moment, he said:

"The one who tied the knot must untie it. Send a few people to interrogate Zheng Rui and see what they're up to that warrants torture."

"Yes." The plainclothes leader acknowledged the order and left.

The deputy section chief then suggested, "Section Chief, shouldn't we report this to the director? Or perhaps we could take the madam and all the prostitutes back for further interrogation?" Li Maocai remained noncommittal, paused, and said, "Let's wait until that guy surnamed Zheng confesses. You go and keep an eye on things."

A higher-ranking official can have absolute power, so the deputy section chief had no choice but to reluctantly agree.

Just as the two were about to go their separate ways, a car horn sounded at the door.

He Zhiyuan, the head of the operations department, strolled in, surrounded by a group of plainclothes officers.

"Director He!" Li Maocai and the deputy section chief hurriedly stepped forward, stood at attention, and saluted.

Li Maocai was surprised. He asked his men to call for backup, but to his surprise, He Zhiyuan came in person.
"Where is the head, you?"

He Zhiyuan waved his hand and said with a smile, "I'll be your pawn."

Li Maocai feigned fear: "Director He is joking. I cannot bear the responsibility. It is just a case of apprehending a murderer. You can send a section chief or team leader. Why do you have to come in person?"

"It's been a while since I've been involved in frontline work, so this is a good opportunity to stretch my muscles." He Zhiyuan smiled, then changed the subject, "How's the search progressing?"

"Your subordinate is incompetent!" Li Maocai quickly reported the search findings truthfully.

He Zhiyuan remained noncommittal. He squinted and surveyed the brothel before slowly asking:
"As the art of war says, 'Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will win every battle.' Section Chief Li, did your intelligence personnel do any research on the history of this brothel before coming here?"

Li Maocai and the deputy section chief looked at each other, puzzled.

Upon seeing this, He Zhiyuan smiled.

As soon as he reached out, his secretary immediately and respectfully took out a drawing from his pocket and laid it on the table.

He Zhiyuan pointed:
"The predecessor of Huanyun Pavilion was called 'Youlai Pavilion'. When the Japanese Kato Shige was in charge of it, he renovated all the buildings and created many secret rooms. When he took back the place in 31, he found the architectural drawings."

Li Maocai glanced at the drawings on the table; they were clearly new hand-drawn drawings, and he couldn't help but feel a little puzzled.

"And this one is?"

He Zhiyuan remained silent.

The secretary explained in a serious tone:
"The blueprint should have been kept in the city government's archives, but when we sent someone to retrieve it, we found that it had mysteriously disappeared."

Li Maocai's expression hardened: "Stolen? This was clearly intentional. What happened next?"

The secretary said smugly, "The blueprints are definitely gone, but there's someone who's even more useful than the blueprints."

"Who?"

"Liu Ziwen from the Mountain City Academy of Fine Arts. That traitorous dog used to be a favorite of the Japanese. He designed the renovation project for the museum. After the concession was taken back, he was imprisoned in Wanglongmen Prison. We just had him draw up these blueprints." The secretary said with a fawning expression, "Speaking of which, it was all thanks to our Director's foresight."

He Zhiyuan interrupted his secretary's flattery irritably and looked at Li Maocai:

"Section Chief Li, since your intelligence section has come up empty-handed, the action department will now take over the investigation of this case. You have no objections, do you?"

"Of course I have objections!" Li Maocai thought angrily. "Weren't you from the intelligence department here to support ours? How come you're even taking over the case? Isn't this blatant credit-stealing? How shameless!" Li Maocai, both frustrated and helpless, reluctantly said:
"Of course, I have no objection, but... but shouldn't we ask Director Yang for instructions?"

"You don't need to worry about that. I'll talk to Lao Yang myself later." He Zhiyuan snorted and waved his hand dismissively.
"Search for me!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the plainclothes officers from the Operations Department rushed upstairs. They were much more professional than the Intelligence Department, with a clear division of labor. They worked in groups of four, each entering a bedroom to search every corner of the room.

The plainclothes officers entered the bedroom where Liu Ningxue had previously eavesdropped.

After searching around and finding nothing unusual, the group was about to leave for another room when they saw Shen Linfeng, the action team leader who had graduated from the Linli training class, walking seriously toward the mirror embedded in the wall next to the wardrobe.

The three plainclothes officers, puzzled by his intentions, carefully observed his every move.

To be honest, they were not convinced by this so-called team leader. He was young and had no qualifications, but just because he graduated from the Linli training class, he jumped to the position of team leader and rode on their heads. Although he was their superior, they kept their distance from him.

Shen Linfeng was fully aware of their thoughts. In any department, seniority and factionalism are inevitable, and as a newcomer, he was helpless in the face of it. To gain the respect and obedience of his subordinates, he first needed to build seniority and prestige over time, and secondly, naturally, to solve major cases and establish authority through his abilities.

At this moment, Shen Linfeng felt that his opportunity had come.

He turned on a flashlight, his gaze meticulously fixed on the mirror. He recalled how Zhang Yi, a part-time instructor at the Linli training course, had taught them: "Searching is a skill. Take a mirror, for example; it could be a one-way mirror or a two-way mirror. How do you tell?"

The trainees offered various answers, such as disassembly and hammering, but Zhang Yi was not satisfied with any of them. Finally, he directly revealed the answer.

Thinking this, Shen Linfeng raised the flashlight, pressed his finger against the mirror, and then he laughed—because there was no gap between his finger and the mirror.

Of course, this alone is not enough to determine that it is definitely a two-way mirror. Shen Linfeng's expression turned serious, and he tried tapping it with his finger again—the sound was hollow and slightly echoing.

Now he could finally be sure.

Under the puzzled gazes of the others, Shen Linfeng pulled out a dagger, thought for a moment, then pulled over a chair, removed one of its legs, and began slicing with it.

Before long, the chair legs turned into thin sheets that were straight at one end and slightly wider at the other.

Then Shen Linfeng slowly inserted the thin piece into the gap of the inlaid mirror, slid it up and down slowly, and then lifted and pulled, and suddenly the mirror opened.

The subordinates who were waiting to see the joke were dumbfounded when they saw this scene.

One person blurted out, "A secret room?"

Shen Linfeng smiled reservedly, not daring to be careless at all. He shone his flashlight and slowly opened the mirror door. Seeing that there were no grenades or hand grenades inside, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He looked at the eavesdropping equipment and weapons inside, then beckoned the people present to gather around:

"Take a look, what is this?"

"Eavesdropping devices, pistols, landmines!"

Suddenly, the way the others looked at Team Leader Shen changed. One of them couldn't help but ask:
"Team leader, how did you discover that?"

Shen Linfeng coughed, pulling his mouth back from a wide grin that nearly stretched to his earlobes, and feigned nonchalance:
"Searching is a skill."

He immediately became wary. "The listening device is here. It must be installed nearby or next door. Search it again carefully, even if you have to dig three feet into the ground, find it."

"Yes!" The three subordinates straightened their backs, accepted the order with a stern voice, and were completely convinced.

(End of this chapter)