My spy diary

Chapter 695 Confession (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

Dai Chunfeng's eyes gleamed, showing great satisfaction:
"Good progress. Next, you need to speed up the process of getting to know each other better, enhance your relationship, and use this person to completely infiltrate their ranks, or even turn him to defect."

Hearing him say that, Chen Kaiyan glanced at him and asked in a low voice:
"When will my mission end?"

Instead of answering, Dai Chunfeng asked, "Does he have a telephone at home?"

".have."

"That's good! From your description, he's a very cautious person. To avoid alerting him, we should play the long game and catch a big fish. Now is not the time to make a move on him. If we can slip this into his phone, it will save us a lot of trouble. You should know how to use it."

Dai Chunfeng patted his pocket and quickly put something into the vegetable basket.

Chen Kaiyan glanced at it; it was a bugging device with two metal wires attached. He hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

Dai Chunfeng noticed her expression and gestured to her:
"Go ahead. I'll tell you everything I know."

Chen Kaiyan thought for a moment, then said, "What if he checks the telephone?"

"Don't worry, most people put listening devices in the earpiece or microphone. If you put it in the base, it usually won't be detected."

Amid the bustling crowd, the two continued to walk side by side.

At Wanglongmen Detention Center, Zhang Yi interrogated Xiaodie again.

At this moment, she slumped against the interrogation chair, her previous arrogance completely gone. Her eyes were lowered, staring at the ground, and she remained silent.

"What, a maid taking the keys—can't she run the household or make decisions? Have you forgotten who you are while acting?"

Even though he couldn't receive Xiaodie's gaze, Zhang Yi still looked at her and said, "You're a smart person. Smart people know how to weigh the pros and cons. If you really want to protect yourself and your family, the best way is to confess."

When her family was mentioned, Xiaodie opened her mouth slightly, but in the end she closed her mouth and chose to remain silent.

Zhang Yi pursed his lips: "Because of your and Liu Ningxue's arrest, your superiors sent Lu Zhongping, and now he's been captured too. If they can't contact him within 24 hours, or at most 48 hours, they'll assume something's wrong and send a new contact. So you're buying him time, right?"

Once he arrives and contacts the rest of your group, it will prove your loyalty and secure your family's safety. However, as the saying goes, "the devil is always one step ahead of the saint." Seeing that Xiaodie remained unmoved, Zhang Yi sneered and unleashed his ultimate weapon.

"Hakata Port in Fukuoka City, you should be very familiar with this place, right?"

"What do you mean?" Xiaodie swallowed hard and looked up uneasily. This news was somewhat unexpected.

"In the past, we would have gone around in circles, outwitted each other, and then finally talked about those weighty words like glory and shame, loyalty and betrayal, and expressed our feelings. But time is tight and the mission is urgent, so I'll be direct. You have your clever plans, and I have my countermeasures. Our field team in Japan has already gone to Hakata Port in Fukuoka City, and I believe we'll have results soon."

As he said this, Xiaodie's face grew increasingly pale.

“Although conditions in Hakata Port are tough, it has abundant fish, so they won’t go hungry. What I want to tell you right now is, don’t worry about your family. I will ask my colleagues to take good care of them for you.”

Zhang Yi looked at her with tenderness and spoke softly.

Xiaodie's face turned extremely pale; she could no longer sit still. Upon hearing the word "protect," she began anxiously wringing her fingers. Seeing Zhang Yi's cold smile, she couldn't contain herself any longer and asked:

"What do you mean by that sneer? What happened to your family? Speak up!"

Zhang Yi didn't speak, but just glanced at his watch.

Xiaodie was extremely anxious: "Why are you looking at the time? What are you doing? Are they waiting for your orders? What do you want to do to my family? Zhang Yi, talk to me! If you just let my family go, I'll tell you anything."

Zhang Yi remained silent.

Xiaodie could no longer suppress her emotions. She buried her face in her clenched hands and wept bitterly. After a long while, she slowly raised her head, let out a long breath, and completely gave up resisting.

"You guessed right, I'm the know-it-all, the leader of the Snow White Group. Do you have a pen? And a piece of paper too."

Half an hour later, Zhang Yi emerged from the interrogation room carrying this crookedly written, incomprehensible book. Despite some mental preparation, the contents of the paper were still horrifying. He called Monkey over:

"From now on, you will keep a close watch on her, and no one may approach her without my order."

"Yes!"

"Director Zhang, did he confess?"

Next door to the interrogation room, Deputy Director Ruan and Lai Guomin were interrogating Zheng Rui. Hearing the commotion, they immediately peeked out curiously and asked what was going on. Unexpectedly, they only heard Zhang Yi blurt out:
"From this moment forward, everyone stay where you are. No phone calls are allowed, and no one is allowed to leave without permission! Everyone!"

The two looked at each other, both simultaneously glancing at Zhang Yi.

Zhang Yi offered no explanation and left the detention center without a word.

At that moment, Dai Chunfeng was on the phone in his office. He said to the person on the other end, "That's exactly what I mean. Make sure to tell the people monitoring Chen Songnian to be extra careful."

After hanging up the phone, he turned to his adjutant, Jia, and said:

"Let him in."

"Yes." Deputy Officer Jia opened the door, and the person who came in was Dai Yiqian, the head of the confidential section.

"Mr. Dai, we've made contact with them."

"That's good." Dai Chunfeng was deeply gratified, a smile spreading across his face. Then he added, "When will they be able to complete their mission?"

"Within 24 hours. The key issue isn't here, but rather how to get the photos to the mountain city after we get them."

Dai Chunfeng hesitated for a moment, about to say something, when the phone on the table rang. Deputy Jia answered it, listened for a moment, and immediately turned to Dai Chunfeng, saying:
"Deputy Director Zhang has arrived. He says he has something very important to report."

Seeing that they still had things to do, Dai Yiqian immediately said:
"Mr. Dai, I'll come back later."

Dai Chunfeng nodded, sat back down on the sofa, and gestured to Deputy Officer Jia to let Zhang Yi in.

"Director!" As soon as Zhang Yi entered the office, he reported Xiao Die's confession to Dai Chunfeng.

Dai Chunfeng looked surprised. The things he needed hadn't even arrived yet, and he'd already confessed? He excitedly stood up and punched Zhang Yi:
"Yunyi, well done. You've managed to pry open even the most stubborn elements."

As soon as he finished speaking, he noticed Zhang Yi's unusual expression and immediately asked:
"What happened?"

"You should see it for yourself, Chief!" Zhang Yi handed him the confession written by Xiao Die.

Dai Chunfeng took the paper with a bewildered expression, unfolded it as if it were a precious treasure, glanced at it, and then froze, staring at the words on the paper with a somewhat dazed look.

Full of doubt, Lieutenant Jia leaned over for a glance, and his eyes widened in surprise:
"Shen Yanzhi?"

Shen Yanzhi was from Cixi, Zhejiang. He served as a secretary in the Second Section of the General Staff Office, a lieutenant colonel staff officer, and a military translator who had returned from studying in Japan. His main responsibilities included intelligence analysis. He came from a scholarly family in eastern Zhejiang; his grandfather was a scholar who had passed the imperial examinations during the Qing Dynasty, and his father ran a bookstore in Shanghai. He was a close friend of Mr. Bulei, the head of the Second Section of the General Staff Office and a national policy advisor, who was also Mr. Chang's "literary advisor." It was through these connections that Shen Yanzhi was recommended for a position in the General Staff Office after returning to China.

It took Dai Chunfeng a while to come to her senses, her brows furrowed:
Is Xiaodie's story credible?

Since it involved the servants' quarters, he dared not be careless.

Zhang Yi wasn't embarrassed at all, and spoke frankly:

"I find it believable."

“We must be cautious. We can’t blindly trust the one-sided story of a female spy.” Lieutenant Jia hesitated. “Could it be a feigned surrender, a false confession, deliberately mentioning a few names to lead us astray?”

"What's the reason? A female spy who has been captured has her family's lives hanging by a thread. Would she still have such thoughts?" Zhang Yi insisted on his opinion.

"Never underestimate the cunning of the Japanese, especially women poisoned by militarism. For revenge or to survive, they might do anything," said Lieutenant Jia with an air of seriousness. The more shocked he was just moments before, the more suspicious he became.

"Old Jia, are you questioning my abilities?" Zhang Yi chuckled sarcastically.

"Deputy Director Zhang misunderstood. There were no warning signs at all, so it was quite unexpected."

Zhang Yi glanced at Dai Chunfeng, and seeing his gloomy face and silence, he said somewhat excitedly:
"Director, are you doubting my abilities, or overestimating the limits of Japanese spies? This person is indeed unexpected, but don't forget about Huang Jun and his son!"

Dai Chunfeng frowned deeply. As the bureau chief, he bore a greater responsibility. Especially when it came to the personal guard, he had to be extremely cautious.

If Shen Yanzhi is indeed a spy, that's fine; but if it's a mistake, then the job is off.

Espionage work sounds simple—just arresting, killing, and interrogating people. But in officialdom, one is not always in control. It's not as simple as just arresting someone you suspect and calling it a day. Catching spies is important, of course, but you can't afford to offend others or cause too many negative consequences.

Lieutenant Jia gave an awkward laugh, glanced at Dai Chunfeng's expression, and whispered a suggestion:
"Director, should we inform the Chairman first?"

The title "Chairman" acted like a key, instantly unlocking the secrets of Dai Chunfeng's mind. Yes, report to the Chairman first; as long as he followed the Chairman's will, he couldn't go wrong! Thinking this, his brow relaxed slightly. He glanced at his watch and said:
"I'll report this to the Chairman right away. As for Shen Yanzhi, keep an eye on him and don't alert him! Also, immediately notify Yang Rong and He Zhiyuan to come over and urgently arrange the arrest of the others. You, Yunyi, will be in charge."

"Yes!"

Yang Rong and He Zhiyuan arrived quickly after receiving a call from Deputy Officer Jia. They knocked on the door and came in, and were surprised to see Zhang Yi sitting on the sofa.

Yang Rong looked around:

"Where is the Director?"

"The Director has gone to report to the Chairman. I will take charge of the next steps."

Yang Rong gave an "Oh," a hint of embarrassment appearing on his face. He and He Zhiyuan, following Dai Chunfeng's instructions, had deliberately leaked the news of Zheng Hu's appearance, setting a trap for Zhang Yi. They hadn't expected Zhang Yi to sit so calmly in the bureau chief's office. This subtle expression was noticed by Zhang Yi, who ignored it and went straight to the point:
"My two senior officers, time is of the essence and the mission is heavy, so I won't waste time with pleasantries. Please forgive me and let's get straight to the mission."

Zhang Yi handed the two of them a piece of paper with Shen Yanzhi's name cut off:

"These three are all suspected Japanese spies. The Director has ordered their immediate arrest. You two are experts in this field, so I won't presume to teach you how to make the arrests."

Upon hearing that it was about arresting suspected Japanese spies, Yang Rong and He Zhiyuan immediately perked up and took the paper to read it carefully.

Besides Shen Yan, there are three others. In order, they are Su Manqing, Wei Tingshan, and Lin Mowen.

Su Manqing, the female owner of Yuxing Foreign Firm, was a widow from Shanghai. Her husband was originally a comprador for the foreign firm. After the outbreak of the War of Resistance against Japan, he died in a Japanese bombing. She brought a large sum of money to Sichuan and opened a foreign firm in the mountain city, specializing in purchasing daily necessities.

Wei Tingshan is a dentist at Aimin Dental Clinic in Ciqikou, Chongqing.

Lin Mo-wen, editor of the Central Daily News.

"Brother Yunyi, you're too modest." He Zhiyuan smiled and politely asked Zhang Yi for his opinion, but Zhang Yi waved his hand, indicating that the two of them should discuss it, and then walked aside, looking completely detached.

The two stopped being polite and immediately began discussing the matter in earnest.

Indeed, as Zhang Yi said, these two are both "experts." When it comes to things like arresting people, everything follows established procedures and regulations, and all that's needed is to strictly and methodically carry them out.

They quickly came up with a plan, and after repeatedly scrutinizing the details and confirming that there were no oversights, they immediately made a phone call to get help.

Soon, a large number of agents gathered at the headquarters of the Military Intelligence Bureau.

The sounds of cars starting, motorcycles roaring, and secret agents' footsteps created a cacophony.

After Yang Rong and He Zhiyuan announced the mission, the dark gates of the bureau headquarters opened instantly, and the headlights of numerous cars and motorcycles shone through. The convoy quickly drove out of the compound and sped towards the target location.

Zhang Yi and his adjutant Jia sat in their office waiting for the good news.

Since they had nothing else to do, the two decided to play chess.

A wooden chessboard sits on the coffee table. Two people are locked in a fierce battle within this small space.

The room was quiet; the only sound was the clatter of chess pieces falling.

"Deputy Director Zhang, do you really think Shen Yanzhi is a Japanese spy?"

"You'll know right away."

"How do you say this?"

"The people from the Operations Department should be arriving soon. There might be a firefight. If these three are Japanese spies, then Shen Yanzhi is beyond doubt."

"That's true," Lieutenant Jia remarked, just as the phone on the table rang. Lieutenant Jia immediately jumped up, picked up the receiver, and listened intently. Zhang Yi's eyes, however, remained fixed on the chessboard, as if he were still pondering his next move.

"Mr. Dai isn't here. Is there anything I can help you with?"

It was Wang Xinheng's call.

"Ah!" Hearing the surging emotions on the other end, Deputy Jia realized something was wrong and immediately said, "Why don't you come over first? The director should be back soon." While answering the phone, Deputy Jia pretended to glance at Zhang Yi casually, but Zhang Yi kept his head down on the chessboard the whole time and didn't even look in their direction.

Lieutenant Jia put down the phone and stared at Zhang Yi, saying:

"Deputy Director Zhang, are we not going to log off? Why haven't Director He and the others made any moves yet? Should we call and ask them?"

"Sit down." Zhang Yi continued, still looking at the chessboard. "No news is good news. Maybe they're fighting right now. Move your horse, it's your turn. Looks like I'm going to win!"

With no other option, Lieutenant Jia sat down: "Keep bragging."

Zhang Yi glanced at him almost imperceptibly, wondering who had just made the call, but he could tell that Deputy Jia seemed a little uneasy. So who was on the phone, and what were they saying? Why was he acting so strangely?

(End of this chapter)