The Spy

Chapter 27 He Accepts Favors
Wu Shaoshu came to the office quickly. He came to Tianjin to do something, but things didn't go well from the start. He was very depressed.

"Stationmaster Wu is here, please take a seat."

Xu Zhanjie invited Wu Shaoshu to sit down and talk. Wu Shaoshu was not his subordinate, but the station chief appointed by the director himself.

"There is something I want to tell you. There is a traitor in Tianjin Station. We need to find him."

Before Wu Shaoshu could say anything, Xu Zhanjie suddenly dropped a bomb, and Wu Shaoshu was stunned for a moment. It was no small matter to have a traitor in the intelligence department. There was a traitor in Tianjin Station. Given his current situation, he would be punished at best, or lose his job and go to jail at worst.

"Confirmed?"

Wu Shaoshu asked hurriedly. He was not stupid enough to ask who the traitor was. Xu Zhanjie had said very clearly that he wanted to find the traitor to prove that he did not know the identity of the traitor now.

"Someone sneaked into my office."

Xu Zhanjie nodded, and Wu Shaoshu's face instantly fell. Has anyone ever sneaked into Xu Zhanjie's office?
Not only was there a traitor, but he was so bold as to break into the office of the intelligence chief at the headquarters and steal information.

"Qingyun, come and talk to Stationmaster Wu."

Xu Zhanjie turned around and said, Xu Qingyun nodded immediately: "Stationmaster Wu, you know that I can read footprints. Today the teacher tested me and specially assigned a few questions. As a result, we made an unexpected discovery."

"You discovered footprints outside of the test, and concluded that someone had entered Section Chief Xu's office?"

Wu Shaoshu immediately replied that he was not a good-for-nothing to be the station chief. At that time, the combat effectiveness of the Military Control Commission was not bad, but it was slightly lacking in experience.

After all, it was established too recently and lacks practical experience.

"You are right, that is exactly what you said."

Xu Qingyun smiled and nodded. At this time, he was the acting captain of the intelligence group of Tianjin Station. Wu Shaoshu was his boss's boss, so he had to save face.

This traitor case obviously made Wu Shao Shuming even more upset, and we couldn’t make things worse for him.

Xu Zhanjie didn't say anything and just kept looking at them. He was a shrewd man and could see that Xu Qingyun did it on purpose to save face for Wu Shaoshu.

He is at the headquarters and knows the department best.

The police station's arrest of the Japanese spy was not Wu Shaoshu's fault, so the director would not punish him for it; at most he would be unhappy.

As a leader, Wu Shaoshu cannot escape the responsibility for this traitor case, but everything has its pros and cons. If Xu Qingyun helps him find the traitor, bad things will turn into good things. After all, he has been here for a short time and the traitor is not his responsibility.

Find out the traitor and make amends.

If he could gain greater results through the traitor, such as finding the real Japanese spy, Wu Shaoshu would not only be exempt from fault, but would be meritorious.

Everything depends on subsequent developments.

Xu Zhanjie made up his mind to hand the case over to Xu Qingyun, and he would assist. If it was done successfully, Wu Shaoshu would owe Xu Qingyun a favor, which would be of great help to Xu Qingyun's future work at Tianjin Station.

With the increase in gains, the favor owed by Wu Shaoshu will be even greater. With his presence, Xu Qingyun, the acting captain, can not only be promoted but also rest assured in Tianjin Station.

After all, he is his student, and the relationship between teacher and student is second only to that between father and son in this era. Xu Zhanjie is now considering the gains and losses from Xu Qingyun's perspective.

"Chief Xu, I failed to discipline my students strictly and allowed a traitor to appear in the station. I apologize to you."

Wu Shaoshu felt bitter. If it were normal times, he could conduct an internal investigation, but Xu Zhanjie was in Tianjin at that time, and he was the first to discover the existence of the traitor. There was no way he could hide this matter from the headquarters.

"Stationmaster Wu, you are too polite. You just arrived, and the responsibility for the traitor is not yours. The most important thing right now is to find the traitor. Don't worry, I will report the matter to the headquarters after the investigation is thorough." Xu Zhanjie said with a smile. He understood what Wu Shaoshu was worried about.

In the eyes of others, once the matter was reported to the headquarters, the director, who was already unhappy, would probably be punished immediately and might even be taken back to Nanjing.

Xu Zhanjie knew that the director would not do this, but Wu Shaoshu was not sure.

"Thank you, Chief Xu. You will be my great benefactor from now on."

Wu Shaoshu was overjoyed and didn't care that Xu Qingyun was beside him. He thanked him solemnly. If Xu Zhanjie didn't report it, there would be more room for manipulation of the matter.

After saying that, Wu Shaoshu glanced at Xu Qingyun. He understood that Xu Zhanjie did this for this young man.

Before, he had wondered whether Xu Qingyun's arrival at Tianjin Station was a blessing or a curse. Now, it seemed that having him as a bond would at least bring him and Xu Zhanjie closer, which was not a bad thing.

"Let Qingyun handle the case. We will cooperate with him and correct him in time if there is anything wrong."

Xu Zhanjie took the opportunity to claim the right to handle the case. With him around, Xu Qingyun could have full control over the case handling process, and he could intervene at any time if there was anything wrong.

"Okay, let's do it. Qingyun, tell me how you want to investigate, and we will fully cooperate."

Wu Shaoshu nodded quickly. He understood that this was a condition that Xu Zhanjie helped him hide. It was understandable that he wanted to create an opportunity for his students to make meritorious contributions.

Moreover, if the truth is really found out, Xu Qingyun is from his Tianjin Station, so he has made equal contributions.

"Thank you, Station Master. The traitor was cunning and knew how to cover up his tracks. He wore shoe covers on purpose, but the size of his feet is difficult to change. From the footprints I can tell that he wore normal shoes, which are probably between seven and seven point eight inches."

Xu Qingyun said softly that when he was investigating a case in his previous life, he had encountered someone who deliberately wore big shoes on his small feet to conduct counter-reconnaissance.

But they don't understand the characteristics of footprints. When small feet wear big shoes, the traces left are not normal. The real foot size can't be seen unless a lot of things are placed under the shoes. In this case, the shoe prints will be abnormal. If you make an estimate, you can also figure out the approximate size.

Wu Shaoshu's eyes lit up: "I understand what you mean. If we use the feet to find someone, those who match the size are suspects, and the others can be temporarily excluded."

"Stationmaster Wu is very wise. This is what Qingyun meant."

Xu Zhanjie gave him a thumbs up, which made Wu Shaoshu feel a little embarrassed. Both of them were foxes who had practiced for decades, and he understood that Xu Zhanjie praised him deliberately to give him face and to get better treatment for his students in the future.

He appreciates this favor.

"Based on the shoe prints, the teacher and I deduced that the traitor entered the office at noon when there were few people around. The teacher's office was locked, and he didn't have the key, so he must have been able to open the lock, or he could have been able to make a key."

"Be proficient in lock picking, or have a chance to steal the key, so there won't be too many people. Qingyun, your ideas for handling the case are very good, let's do it this way."

Wu Shaoshu couldn't help but nod. The two items combined would greatly narrow the scope of the investigation.

The lock used in Xu Zhanjie's office is not an ordinary one. It is impossible for ordinary people to open it without leaving any trace.

"Stationmaster, we will investigate anyone whose feet match our size to prevent anyone from hiding the fact that they can open locks."

Xu Qingyun reminded quietly that everything that should be checked must be checked and no details should be missed.

"I understand. I'll immediately have someone check to see if anyone left after noon. If there's no one, that's even better. We'll investigate the suspects by category."

Wu Shaoshu felt as if he had suddenly become enlightened. Xu Qingyun's direction of investigation was correct. If he continued investigating in this way, it might be possible to find the traitor.

(End of this chapter)