My spy diary

Chapter 696 A Bolt from the Blue (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

"who?"

Dai Chunfeng had just finished reporting from the Chairman's residence and was resting with his eyes closed in the back seat of a car moving at a steady speed. Suddenly, with a screeching sound of brakes, the car came to an abrupt stop. Dai Chunfeng, thrown forward by the inertia, was startled and shouted angrily:

"What's going on? How are you driving?!"

"Mr. Dai, someone is stopping the car!" The guard alertly drew his pistol and jumped out of the car.

"Who?"

"Director, it's me!" a voice answered urgently.

"Wang Xinheng?"

Dai Chunfeng was startled. He lifted a corner of the car window curtain and, seeing that it was indeed Wang Xinheng, immediately relaxed, signaling the guards to step back and calling out, "Come here, what happened?"

The hurried pace and surging emotions left Wang Xinheng slightly out of breath:

"Chief, something's happened!"

Seeing the terrified look on Wang Xinheng's face, Dai Chunfeng's heart sank. An ominous premonition rose in his mind, and he asked in a deep voice:
"But what happened to Project Lone Boat?"

Wang Xinheng nodded dejectedly, about to speak, when Dai Chunfeng stopped him with a gesture. He glanced warily at the guards surrounding the mansion and gestured for Wang Xinheng to get into the carriage. At this moment, the news was like a bolt from the blue for him; he was furious and wanted nothing more than to berate Wang Xinheng. However, he restrained himself; he couldn't let this matter spread, especially not to the Chairman's ears, since he had just boasted about it in front of him.

Thinking of this, he tried to calmly ask Wang Xinheng:
"What exactly happened?"

The streetlights cast dappled shadows, and the dim light shone through the car window onto Wang Xinheng's face, making it appear somewhat unpredictable.

In the passenger seat, Wang Xinheng carefully organized his words to recount everything:
About half an hour earlier, as agreed, he personally boarded the plane to contact the head of the special agents sent to Yan'an using a dedicated radio and code, but the radio could not be connected. Wang Xinheng sensed something was wrong and, unwilling to give up, repeatedly called the secret radio carried by the agents, but there was no response.

Dai Chunfeng listened without saying a word, and after a long while, he asked in bewilderment:
"Can't get in touch with you? What do you think?"

Wang Xinheng said with a bitter expression, "I think the chances of survival are slim."

"Sigh, I've been making the best plans and preparing for the worst, but I never expected things to still go wrong," Dai Chunfeng sighed. Wang Xinheng found it all rather nonsensical and was trying to figure out what Dai Chunfeng was thinking when he heard him continue, "What about Yu Bin's group of Catholics?"

"We can't get in touch with them either."

Dai Chunfeng stared out the window, saying nothing.

The car was unusually silent.

Wang Xinheng observed his expression. Based on his understanding of his boss, he should be furious at this moment. However, his boss was too calm, so calm that it was abnormal, as if he did not recognize him.

But the more this happened, the more terrified he became. He figured even a harsh scolding would be better than remaining silent. He thought to himself:

"Does my boss suspect me?"

Honestly, and putting himself in the other person's shoes, he doubted himself. After all, he had been in charge of the Lone Boat Project from beginning to end, and outsiders rarely heard of it. Even if they did, they only knew the belly of the fish, not the inside. Yet, such a top-secret plan had still been leaked. Wang Xinheng racked his brains, searching every possible avenue, but still couldn't figure out where the problem lay.

Dai Chunfeng did indeed have this suspicion, but he wouldn't easily voice it. These days, he was deeply suspicious that Zhang Yi was a mole within the high ranks of the Military Intelligence Bureau. The reason he hadn't taken action against him was twofold: firstly, he lacked concrete evidence, making it difficult to explain to his superiors and subordinates; secondly, Zhang Yi still had value to him, and it wasn't time to discard him once the birds were gone. Now, however, it seemed that Wang Xinheng was more suspicious than Zhang Yi.

Seeing that Dai Chunfeng remained silent, Wang Xinheng felt extremely uneasy and forced himself to speak:
"Director, I am willing to cooperate with the investigation."

"Yes, we need to investigate, but the question is, where do we even begin?"

Although Dai Chunfeng spoke calmly, Wang Xinheng caught a fleeting glint of murderous intent in his eyes. His heart skipped a beat, and overwhelmed with fear, he mumbled:
"I will go back and sort things out, going through everyone involved, until I find the leaker."

“Under the protection of three trees, what can’t one obtain? And then what?” Dai Chunfeng was clearly dissatisfied with this answer. He reached up and touched his livid cheek, saying in a gloomy tone, “Family scandals should not be aired in public. Why make such a fuss over something like this? Stop the car!”

The car suddenly stopped. Seeing that Dai Chunfeng had given the order to leave, Wang Xinheng had no choice but to say:
"Then I'll go back first."

Dai Chunfeng remained silent, watching him push open the door, get out of the car, and walk out.

Although it was night and the air was slightly cool on the street outside the window, Wang Xinheng felt restless all over. He stared listlessly at the car in the distance, absentmindedly longing to walk back, his dejected expression impossible to hide.

Behind him, the car had already started and was slowly driving forward in the opposite direction, getting further and further away from him.

He figured he had no chance of regaining Boss Dai's trust. Thinking this, Wang Xinheng's face turned extremely grim. Just as he was about to despair, suddenly, the car stopped.

Hearing the noise, Wang Xinheng didn't dare to turn around. He gritted his teeth and continued walking forward.

In less than a minute, the car reversed and stopped next to Wang Xinheng.

The car door opened, and surprisingly, Dai Chunfeng was driving. He got out of the driver's seat, gestured for Wang Xinheng to drive, and then climbed back into the back seat.

"Drive, I'll take you somewhere."

Seeing Wang Xinheng get into the car, Dai Chunfeng said something and then closed his eyes again. Wang Xinheng found this comforting, but was completely confused, feeling uneasy and suspicious. However, he dared not ask and could only go along with what Dai Chunfeng said:

"Yes."

The car started again and slowly drove off. The deserted street was eerily quiet. Wang Xinheng, the driver, was as nervous as a frightened bird; even the stray cats passing by made his heart skip a beat. He had no idea where Dai Chunfeng was taking him, or who was waiting for him there.

He drove with a serious expression, occasionally glancing at Dai Chunfeng in the back seat. The car bumped slightly as it moved forward. Dai Chunfeng's eyes were slightly closed, as if he had fallen asleep. The car continued on its way, and as they passed an intersection, Dai Chunfeng suddenly spoke:
"Turn left!"

"Yes!"

Following Dai Chunfeng's instructions, Wang Xinheng drove the car, making left and right turns, circling along the Jialing River, and finally stopped near a teahouse that had already closed.

Not far away, there was a residential area consisting of densely packed bungalows, which looked particularly quiet.

It was late at night, and in the quiet darkness, almost all the residents were asleep, leaving the entire residential area in complete darkness.

Dai Chunfeng got out of the car and looked at Wang Xinheng, who looked completely bewildered:
Do you know why I brought you here?

Wang Xinheng shook his head honestly. Dai Chunfeng took a photograph out of his pocket and handed it to him:
"do you know it?"

Wang Xinheng took the photo and examined it carefully by the moonlight. It was a bright and beautiful woman, and his eyes widened in surprise.
"Chen Kaiyan, this is not Zhang Yi." He was even more suspicious. What did Boss Dai mean by this?
"I'm not talking about her, but the person he lives with."

Dai Chunfeng pointed into the darkness, "This man is Chen Songnian, around forty years old. His public identity is a tea merchant, but there is evidence that he is a deeply hidden underground Communist Party member. This is a seed that was discovered by accident, originally..."

He sighed, patted Wang Xinheng's shoulder heavily, and said earnestly, "Xinheng, you are the person I trust most. Now I'm entrusting him to you. From this moment on, you will only report to me and monitor the records. I need to know everything about him, including his identity, appearance, characteristics, activity patterns, activity locations, personality and hobbies, relatives and friends, people around him, and detailed information about everyone he has contacted. Any questions? If you need any support, just say so."

This surprised Wang Xinheng, and Boss Dai's words also pleased him. Although it wasn't a public praise, it at least expressed forgiveness, and was at least a form of encouragement and trust. He immediately straightened up:
"Thank you for your trust, Director. There are no problems at all. I will certainly live up to your expectations and do my best to investigate him thoroughly. You gave me a seed, and I will return a towering tree to you."

Seeing that Wang Xinheng had regained his fighting spirit, Dai Chunfeng smiled and said:
"Okay, I'm looking forward to it. You've been working day and night on the Lone Boat Project these past few days, your eyes are bloodshot. Go home early. I'll give you a day off tomorrow. It's the Mid-Autumn Festival, spend more time with your family. I'm going back now."

"Take care, Director."

"Director Wang," Dai Chunfeng stopped, thought for a moment, then turned back and whispered, "Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!"

"Thank you, Director." Wang Xinheng was deeply moved, touched that Dai Chunfeng, in this situation, uttered a blessing for his subordinate that he could have easily omitted.

But can we really be happy this Mid-Autumn Festival?

Dai Chunfeng thought that as long as the mole within the bureau remained, he would have no peace of mind. To make the mole reveal himself, he now had no choice but to use Chen Songnian as a test. With Chen Kaiyan inside and plainclothes officers from the Supervision Office outside, if Chen Songnian showed any abnormality, Wang Xinheng would be implicated.

At the headquarters of the Military Intelligence Bureau, Yang Rong and He Zhiyuan walked quickly through the building's corridor with solemn expressions, arriving at Dai Chunfeng's office door. Without even knocking, they pushed the door open and went inside.

Zhang Yi, who was playing chess on the sofa, immediately stood up and looked at the two of them with hopeful eyes:

"How about it?"

Yang Rong and He Zhiyuan exchanged a glance, and the latter said:
"Our men raided several addresses, but all were met with resistance. We can now confirm that these individuals are indeed suspicious, and the intelligence was accurate."

Upon hearing this news, Zhang Yi instantly felt relieved, but He Zhiyuan's expression was not good. He continued:
"But we never expected this."

Zhang Yi frowned as he looked at him, while Deputy Jia waited anxiously for his next words.

Under their watchful eyes, He Zhiyuan sighed and recounted the details of the arrest that evening.

First, there was the Yuxing Trading Company. Plainclothes officers from the operations department silently infiltrated the residence of the owner, Su Manqing, only to find she wasn't home. Interrogating the shop assistants, they learned the owner had gone to meet the deputy director of the Military Affairs Department that afternoon and hadn't returned all night. While searching Su Manqing's residence, the plainclothes officers also urgently searched for the deputy director's whereabouts. After finally locating the deputy director at the Central Hotel, the agents immediately went to arrest him. However, upon breaking down the door, they found only the deputy director's body and an empty briefcase. Su Manqing had vanished without a trace.

Secondly, there was Aimin Dental Clinic in Ciqikou. They tricked Wei Tingshan into opening the door under the pretense of buying painkillers, but Wei Tingshan saw through their ruse, and a fierce gunfight immediately broke out.

Finally, there was the residential area for employees of the Central Daily News. Suspected Japanese spy Lin Mowen was caught red-handed there.

Zhang Yi's expression darkened as he listened to He Zhiyuan's report, while Deputy Jia kept sipping water.

He Zhiyuan looked at the two of them and continued:
"Su Manqing's whereabouts are unknown. Wei Tingshan resisted stubbornly and was killed. Although Lin Mowen was caught red-handed, he bit off his tongue."

Zhang Yi was speechless: "So you mean there's not a single useful one left?"

He Zhiyuan said with a dark face, "Yes."

"How could this happen?" asked the adjutant, frustrated.

Faced with Jia's questioning, He Zhiyuan smiled wryly and said, "...It was dark, and things got a bit out of control."

Lieutenant Jia understood that He Zhiyuan's words were meant to be a tactful explanation for his poor command, but being a bookish man, he still insisted on asking:
"How could this happen? It shouldn't be like this. I thought I was going to catch a big fish, but instead..."

Hearing what Lieutenant Jia said, He Zhiyuan felt a surge of anger and muttered a curt remark:
"What's done is done, there's no going back. If the Director blames me, I'll take full responsibility. As for Su Manqing, she's likely to try to escape from the mountain city. I've already had people set up surveillance at the train station and other major transportation routes. If she dares to show up, she won't be able to escape."

After saying that, he got up and started to walk out.

Just then, the office door was pushed open, and Dai Chunfeng walked straight in.

He Zhiyuan stopped, and Zhang Yi and the others immediately stood up as well:

"Director."

Dai Chunfeng's expression was grave: "I have already consulted with the Chairman; we will take action against Shen Yanzhi immediately." He then looked at his adjutant, Jia, "Is there anything unusual in the surveillance footage over there?"

Lieutenant Jia: "Everything is normal."

Dai Chunfeng nodded and looked at He Zhiyuan:
"Arrest them, but keep them alive."

"Yes." He Zhiyuan stood at attention, answered resolutely, and then walked away quickly.

Yang Rong glanced at Dai Chunfeng: "Director, if there's nothing else, I'll head back now."

Dai Chunfeng nodded. Zhang Yi also offered to take his leave, but Dai Chunfeng gave him a wink. Zhang Yi immediately understood. After Yang Rong and Deputy Officer Jia had left, he closed the door and turned to Dai Chunfeng, asking:
"Director?"

Dai Chunfeng gestured for him to sit down, his expression unusually stern: "Have you heard of Project Lone Boat?"

Zhang Yi immediately realized something and pretended to recall:
"Is this a follow-up to Project Thunder?"

“Not bad!” Dai Chunfeng raised an eyebrow meaningfully. “It seems everyone guessed it. If he couldn’t even do this much, he would be too slow-witted.”

Zhang Yi frankly stated, "I only know one side of the story."

Dai Chunfeng smiled, then his expression turned serious: "To tell you the truth, the so-called 'Lone Boat Project' is actually a covert infiltration plan. We dispatched a total of 24 well-trained agents this time. Unfortunately, the intelligence was leaked, and I just learned that all 24 of them have gone missing. I underestimated the Red Party. The show had barely begun, and before the gong even sounded, the curtain had already fallen."

Zhang Yi stared wide-eyed in shock: "How could this be?"

Dai Chunfeng's face was somewhat gloomy: "The mole, I've basically figured out who he is now." As he spoke, he gave Zhang Yi a meaningful look, "I suppose you already have a name in mind, right?"

(End of this chapter)