My spy diary

Chapter 688 Arrest (Happy New Year, please vote!)
P.S.: Illness strikes like a landslide. Long hours of staying up late writing have weakened my immune system, so when I get sick, it's a serious illness. I can't take a break from updating for a few days. Sorry!
That's all for now. Wishing all my dear readers a Happy New Year, good health, and abundant wealth!

Meanwhile, the taxi driver, hidden at the other end of the alley, saw this scene and his face darkened.

And he was none other than Lu Zhongping, who had just met with Zhao Deshan.

His public identity is a driver for Linfei Car Rental Company.

A driver is a type of rickshaw puller, but far more respectable than a regular rickshaw puller. Not only do they interact daily with high-ranking officials and wealthy merchants, allowing them to gather intelligence intentionally or unintentionally, but their respectable status and job also grant them access to luxurious places that ordinary people can't even dream of visiting, enabling them to directly or indirectly contact groups they wouldn't otherwise have the opportunity to obtain information.

These need not be elaborated upon.

At this moment, Lu Zhongping's face was gloomy. He cursed "idiot" in his heart, stared intently at the figure of the thief, and began to speculate.

"A petty thief? Is this just a coincidence? Or has Zhao Deshan's identity already been exposed, and this is merely a scheme by the Military Intelligence Bureau? What is its purpose? Bait? Or something else?"

Countless thoughts rushed in, disturbing his peace of mind.

But being a well-trained spy, he quickly processed his emotions. Taking advantage of the moment while lighting a cigarette, he pondered and cautiously glanced around, looking up, down, left, and right. Finding nothing amiss, he turned and walked into another alley while still smoking.

Behind the half-open window of the teahouse, Monkey was intently watching Lu Zhongping, the uninvited guest, through binoculars. The plainclothes officers had already confirmed the taxi driver's identity: Lu Zhongping was a driver registered with Linfei Taxi Company at the Public Transportation Management Office.

The records show that this person previously drove a taxi in Shanghai. After the Second Battle of Shanghai, he fled to Nanjing and later moved to Chongqing, where he continued to work as a taxi driver.

According to the records, it's flawless.

But the monkey knew that in the espionage business, which is full of lies and deception, anything can be faked, including files. The simpler, more seamless, and cleaner the file, the more suspicious it seems.

The monkey observed him with some suspicion. Lu Zhongping glanced around warily, and just as his gaze was about to fall on the teahouse where he was, the monkey quickly moved back to avoid Lu Zhongping's gaze.

Lu Zhongping looked around and, seeing nothing unusual, turned and walked into another alley.

The monkey thought for a moment, picked up a top hat from the table, pondered Zhang Yi's previous arrangements, waved to several plainclothes officers who were waiting expectantly, and the group quietly left. Of course, their purpose was not to follow or stalk, but to observe from a distance and wait and see what would happen. If the person took any action, they would not hesitate to surround, intercept, and arrest him.

"My money! My money has been stolen!"

Seeing Zhao Deshan groaning in the alley, Shen Linfeng quickly ran over, glanced at the departing thief's back a few times, and was somewhat surprised:

"Writer Zhao?"

As he spoke, he noticed Zhao Deshan's injured hand. "You're injured? Is it serious? Should we go to the clinic?"

"I'm fine, but hey, my money, that's my royalties!" Zhao Deshan winced in pain, but took the initiative and grabbed Shen Linfeng's arm, urging, "Quick, stop him!" As he spoke, he covered his hand, cursed, and ran after the thief.

"Stop right there, you son of a bitch."

"Royalties?" Shen Linfeng was taken aback. A question quietly arose in his mind. He suspected that this person had gone out to make a meeting. How did he end up talking about royalties? He wanted to ask Zhao Deshan immediately, but Zhao Deshan had already run far away. He had no choice but to jog after him.

But Zhang Yi, or rather the thief Zhang Yi disguised himself as, didn't go far. After turning into a quiet alley, he immediately opened the envelope and began to sell the stolen goods.

As the saying goes, "to catch an adulterer in the act, one must catch him red-handed." The first thing a thief does after getting something is to transfer it, either by hiding it or handing it over to an accomplice; he certainly won't keep it on his person. This way, even if you catch him and know it's him, without evidence, there's nothing you can do.

Zhang Yi opened the envelope, and the first thing he saw was a business card, followed by a stack of crisp banknotes. He weighed them in his hand and estimated it to be about five thousand. Just as he casually tossed the business card and envelope into the corner and stuffed the banknotes into his pocket, he heard hurried footsteps. He immediately realized that Zhao Deshan was chasing after him, so he pretended to be panicked and ran away.

"You son of a bitch, don't run!" Zhao Deshan was furious when he saw the thief. He grabbed a shovel stuck in a pile of dirt by the roadside and gave chase.

The thief, naturally, wouldn't surrender easily and ran even faster.

At the same time, driver Lu Zhongping had already circled around to another alley entrance and saw Zhao Deshan in the distance. Zhao Deshan also saw him and seemed not to expect him to come out here. A trace of panic flashed across his face. Just as he was about to speak, he was interrupted by Lu Zhongping, who had a calm face. Lu Zhongping secretly made a flanking gesture towards Zhao Deshan who was coming towards him.

Zhao Deshan understood immediately and chased after the thief's disappearing figure.

The two men moved with lightning speed, one in front and one behind, flanking the thief darting about in the alley.

Zhang Yi ran out of the alley, circled around, and then returned to the alley he had been in before. He turned into a small path, then switched from a jog to a brisk walk, gripping the dagger hidden in his sleeve as he walked, like a thief who had just escaped his pursuers but was still filled with lingering fear and unease.

After driving for a while, and just turning a corner, Lu Zhongping, dressed as a driver, suddenly blocked his path:
"You dare to do this petty theft in broad daylight? Believe me or not, I'll take you to the police station!"

Zhang Yi feigned surprise at this "uninvited guest," then adopted an arrogant and domineering attitude:

"You can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want. Which of your dog eyes saw me steal something?"

At this moment, Lu Zhongping was so close that Zhang Yi could see the fine hairs on his face clearly, and his true appearance was finally completely exposed to Zhang Yi's eyes.

His taxi driver attire looked respectable, and his clean-shaven face gave him a refined appearance. But upon closer inspection, like most seasoned spies in his memory, he had a suffocatingly smelly right index finger, a furrowed brow, and eyes full of vigilance and suspicion.
“Pretentious!” Lu Zhongping sneered in return, subtly scrutinizing Zhang Yi as if trying to discern some secret from his face.

Lu Zhongping sized up the guy in front of him: he had a carefree and dissolute appearance, but his clothes were relatively decent. His face, especially his exposed neck, was relatively fair, so he didn't look like someone who worked in the rain and should have a relatively comfortable life. He kept his distance from Lu Zhongping without making a sound. He seemed relaxed, but in reality, he was secretly bracing himself and being on guard. His right hand was clenched tightly in his sleeve, where he probably had a knife hidden, ready to strike at any moment.

Lu Zhongping thought to himself:

This guy was a trained fighter; his stance was steady and seemingly casual, yet it subtly revealed a solid foundation in horse stance. Looking at his posture, it wasn't particularly upright, suggesting he wasn't a soldier, though that could be a disguise. And his eyes—unwavering, not the kind of petty thief who would scare people away at a glance.

Undoubtedly, a well-trained spy, adept at concealing his brilliance amidst the everyday life of ordinary people, excels at quietly and discreetly identifying his kind. Furthermore, those who survive in this line of work possess exceptional intuition, particularly a keen sensitivity to danger; Lu Zhongping believed this was no ordinary person.

Lu Zhongping made a quick judgment, but he wasn't particularly interested in the person in front of him, as long as he wasn't a member of the Military Intelligence Bureau. However, for a fleeting moment, he felt something was off. He glanced at Zhang Yi again, feeling a vague sense of familiarity with the man, but he couldn't quite place him.

Just as he hesitated, the thief spoke. He glanced left and right, and seeing that the culprit wasn't chasing after him, he sneered:
"Mind your own business like a dog trying to catch a mouse, get out of my way!"

After saying that, he was about to push Lu Zhongping.

Lu Zhongping subtly took a step back, glancing around to make sure nothing was amiss. He quietly clenched his fists and asked, seemingly casually:
"What exactly do you do?"

Zhang Yi replied subtly:
"Hey passerby. What's up?"

"A passerby? A passerby carrying a knife? Who is he?"

"A businessman. He's often away working, so he keeps these for self-defense."

Lu Zhongping scoffed, clenching his fist: "A pickpocket business?" Zhang Yi smiled coldly:

"none of your business!"

Lu Zhongping snorted:
"Take the things out!"

Zhang Yi smiled contemptuously, turned around and was about to run when suddenly a shovel grazed his forehead. It was Zhao Deshan, who had been running after him.

He was covered in sweat, gritting his teeth as he gripped the shovel tightly, panting heavily.

Seeing that his shovel missed its mark, Zhao Deshan was stunned for a moment, then cursed and swung it again: "You fucking dare to steal my money!"

Before he could finish speaking, Zhang Yi kicked out and cleanly struck Zhao Deshan in the neck.

This extremely powerful kick made Zhao Deshan's head spin, and he fell to the ground with a thud, his head hitting the ground hard.

Seeing this, although he was certain that the thief in front of him was no ordinary person and was already mentally prepared, Lu Zhongping still couldn't help but gasp when he saw how decisive and ruthless the thief was. He felt a strange sense of unease, but at this moment he didn't have time to think about who the person in front of him was. He cursed silently, suddenly reached up and pulled up his trouser leg, grabbed a gleaming dagger tucked into his calf, and lunged forward to stab Zhang Yi in the neck.

At this moment, it didn't matter to him who the thief in front of him was. As long as he saw his face and his safety was in danger, he would eliminate him without hesitation.

However, unexpectedly, Zhang Yi nimbly dodged, subtly creating distance between himself and Lu Zhongping, and swiftly drew his loaded pistol from his back, firing two shots at Lu Zhongping.

The bullets struck Lu Zhongping precisely in both legs, causing him to stagger and fall to his knees with a thud.

In an instant, Lu Zhongping understood everything.

His face was extremely gloomy. He gritted his teeth and gripped the dagger tightly. Ignoring the injury on his leg, he cursed and pounced on Zhang Yi like a trapped beast.

"boom!"

Another shot was fired, this time not at Zhang Yi, but at the monkey that appeared behind him.

The bullet also hit his calf, and Lu Zhongping staggered and fell to the ground.

"Take them alive!" Zhang Yi sneered, reminding them.

As soon as he was reminded, Lu Zhongping, who was lying on the ground, roared and angrily pointed the dagger at his own neck.

In a flash, Zhang Yi, who had been maintaining his aiming and firing posture, pulled the trigger.

"Bang! Bang!"

Two more bursts of fire.

Lu Zhongping screamed in agony as a bloody hole appeared in his hand, spurting blood as the dagger slipped from his grasp.

Before he could make a further move, Monkey and the ferocious plainclothes officers rushed over and pinned him down, restraining his hands and feet.

Lu Zhongping struggled desperately, refusing to yield, but two fists can't fight four hands. Even a crab with a hard shell can't withstand seven or eight hands, let alone a wounded dead fish like him. All his struggles were in vain.

In an instant, Lu Zhongping's hands and feet were handcuffed.

The plainclothes officers had a clear division of labor: some held the suspect down, some handcuffed him, some pinched his chin and pried open his mouth, and some searched him. Everything was done in an orderly manner.

All of this happened in the blink of an eye. Zhao Deshan, who was lying on the ground in a daze, was dumbfounded. It took him a long time to come to his senses. He staggered and struggled to get up and was about to run away when Shen Linfeng, who had been waiting behind him, kicked him over.

Immediately afterwards, they were also handcuffed and began to be searched.

Meeting Shen Linfeng's ambiguous smile, Writer Zhao's face turned ashen. It was all over.

"Chief, we've found dentures, and there's poison hidden inside." At that moment, a plainclothes officer found the dentures in Lu Zhongping's mouth and carefully pulled them out.

"Okay, search again, be more careful."

Zhang Yi nodded, stepped forward, and while flipping through the documents he had taken from Lu Zhongping, he looked down at him and said with amusement:

"Lu Zhongping? Mr. Lu, didn't you just ask me what I do? Now you should have an answer!"

Lu Zhongping gritted his teeth, his eyes filled with fierceness, and glared at Zhang Yi.

"You're not convinced? Even the wisest can make a mistake. Even the most experienced strategist can slip up unexpectedly. Who do you think you are? Take them away!" Zhang Yi sneered, paused, and then ordered again, "One group, go to Zhao Deshan's house immediately and search it thoroughly! One group, go to Mr. Lu's house, and one group, go to the car dealership. Bring back everything you can carry."

"Yes!"

Soon, plainclothes officers drove up in their car and dragged the struggling Lu Zhongping and Zhao Deshan into the vehicle.

At the alley entrance, a few passersby stared in astonishment at what had just happened. Amidst the bewildered and horrified gazes of the onlookers, the crowd sped away in their cars.

Zhang Yi got into the following car and headed to the interrogation room.

After making some arrangements, he prepared to interrogate Xiaodie again.

The interrogation room was dimly lit and gloomy, filled with the damp, bloody smell.

Xiaodie, codenamed Shirayuki, was brought out and taken into a brightly lit interrogation room. At this moment, her expression was calm and indifferent.

"Sit down. As you said, we've already published the missing person notice. Is there anything else you want to add? Think about it carefully." Zhang Yi sat down opposite her and placed a "specially customized" newspaper in front of Xiao Die.

Xiaodie picked up the newspaper with her handcuffed hands, sniffed it lightly—it was clearly freshly printed, the ink still smelling fresh. She flipped to the center of the newspaper, where the missing person notice was exactly the same as what she had said earlier, and couldn't help but smile.

First came a light laugh, or rather a contemptuous laugh, which then turned into a loud, unrestrained, wild laugh.

"Hahaha, you foolish Chinese."

(End of this chapter)