Spy wars start with lurking Secretary Hong

Chapter 497 Killing three birds with one stone

The iron door to interrogation room number three was pushed open, and a strong smell of blood and sweat wafted out.

A police officer in a white shirt was tied to a rack, covered in blood, his head drooping, unrecognizable as human.

Liu Kui was sitting arrogantly in the chair next to him, smoking a cigarette with a disdainful look on his face.

Hong Zhi narrowed his eyes and recognized the person on the rack.

Zhong Fa.

He's a seasoned veteran in the office, known for his ability to extort and demand bribes, and he's as slippery as an eel when it comes to navigating between different departments.

I never expected to fail today.

Upon seeing Gao Bin and Hong Zhi enter, Liu Kui immediately stubbed out his cigarette and stood up.

"Section Chief, Zhiyou."

Gao Bin didn't even glance at Zhong Fa on the rack. He walked straight to the table and sat down, with Hong Zhiyou following suit and sitting down beside him.

Gao Bin picked up the notebook on the table and flipped through it, his voice devoid of emotion: "What's your explanation?"

Liu Kui pointed at the half-dead Zhong Fa and grinned, "Section Chief, this bastard has confessed."

“Last night when he was on duty, he did sneak into interrogation room number one and talk to Liu Ping.”

No sooner had he finished speaking than Liu Kui slapped Zhong Fa hard across the face, jolting him awake.

"Damn it, the section chief is asking me a question, so get your ears up!" Liu Kui cursed.

Zhong Fa trembled violently, letting out muffled whimpers as blood and saliva trickled down his chin.

"It's...it's Cao Zhiqing."

"He...he promised to give me one hundred Conde coins so I could go in and deliver a message to that woman."

Gao Bin's gaze darkened: "What did you say?"

"She just kept insisting that she and Mrs. Zhou were classmates and had even participated in intelligence training together in St. Petersburg."

"Section Chief Cao also told me to tell her that after the matter was done, he would give her a large sum of money to ensure that she could leave Harbin safely," Zhong Fa said.

"boom!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Kui was so angry that he kicked Zhong Fa in the stomach.

"You stupid bird!"
"The section chief is personally interrogating the prisoner, and you dare to pass on messages for him for a hundred bucks?"
"I think you are tired of living!"

Zhong Fa let out a shrill scream, his whole body curled up like a shrimp, and he kept begging for mercy.

"Section Chief, please spare me! Section Chief Liu... I'll never do it again... I was just confused for a moment..."

Gao Bin waved his hand, his face expressionless.

"okay.

"Put him down and let him be dealt with as needed."

As they walked out of the interrogation room, Hong Zhiyou followed behind Gao Bin and asked, "Uncle, this Liu Ping was originally brought over from Beiping by Cao Zhiqing. Why did he go to the trouble of spending money to have someone deliver a message?"

Gao Bin sneered and slowly filled his pipe with tobacco from his pocket.

"What else could it be?"
"They fabricated false evidence because they were feeling guilty and afraid that Liu Ping might change her mind at the last minute, so they didn't dare to lie to us."

He lit his pipe and took a deep drag:
"You can't believe a single word these smugglers who make a living by selling information can say."

That's because you haven't met a professional like Lao Xie... Hong Zhi clicked his tongue: "Then you've probably wasted your money."

"White flowers?"

Gao Bin snorted, a fierce glint in his eyes.

"I've never suffered such a loss in my life."

As he spoke, he pushed open the door to another interrogation room at the end of the corridor.

Inside the room, Liu Ping was curled up in a chair, dozing off with her eyes closed.

Hearing the door open, she sat bolt upright with a start.

Upon seeing that it was Gao Bin, she forced a fawning smile and asked anxiously, "Section Chief Gao, I've said everything I needed to say... Could you please let me go?"

Gao Bin walked in, pulled out a chair and sat down, his signature sly smile on his face.

"Originally, I planned to leave you in the living room."

"After all, skilled telegraph operators like you are very rare these days."

"But you are a very dishonest person."

Gao Bin tapped his knuckles lightly on the table as he continued, "I don't like people who are full of tricks."

Liu Ping's face turned deathly pale instantly, and she hurriedly protested, "Section Chief Gao! Everything I said is the truth, I swear to God!"

Gao Bin smiled and shook his head:
What you said does sound very real, and the details are very accurate.

"But actually, it's all just acting."

"None of the evidence you're referring to can withstand scrutiny or be verified."

Liu Ping panicked completely, her voice trembling: "How could this be! You...you can go ask Vice Dean Mosileschi, I know his address, he can testify for me!"

“I’ve already asked.”

Gao Bin interrupted her calmly.

"He's an alcoholic. As long as there's alcohol, he'll say whatever you ask him to say."

"As for the old Wen you drew..."

Gao Bin sneered, "If I could easily capture the key figures of the Manchurian Working Committee, what would I need you for?"

Liu Ping's lips trembled, her mind went blank, and for a moment she didn't know how to answer.

Gao Bin's gaze suddenly sharpened.

"It's true that you and Gu Qiuyan are classmates."

"But she's not 0326 at all, and she's never received any so-called intelligence training, right?"

"No!"

Liu Ping screamed like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

"Section Chief Gao! I swear to God! We really are..."

Gao Bin raised his hand to stop her screaming, and the smile on his face disappeared completely.

Your integrity is worthless to me.

"I've never liked to torture women. But if you continue to be disobedient, I don't mind giving it a try."

His voice was soft, but it carried a chilling chill.

"Tell me, why did you collude with Cao Zhiqing to fabricate false evidence to slander Mrs. Zhou?"

"I didn't! Section Chief Gao, I really didn't!" Liu Ping was still making a last-ditch effort.

Gao Bin completely lost his patience. He stood up and looked down at her.

"Zhiyou, you interrogate her."

"Make sure she tells me everything she should and shouldn't say."

After saying that, he walked out without looking back, leaving Hong Zhiyou and Liu Ping, whose face had turned ashen, alone.

Hong Zhi leisurely sat down in the spot where Gao Bin had just been, crossed his legs, and sized up the woman in front of him.

"Ms. Liu, what you're saying now is no longer important."

"Because no one will trust a fickle person."

"You first betrayed the Red Ticket, and now you've betrayed the Military Intelligence Bureau. Do you still have any credibility?"

"And as far as I know, when you were detained in Beiping, quite a few people went to your house to give you money, right?"
"In addition, your current statement is full of loopholes and you can't produce any substantial evidence at all."

"So, there's no point in you clinging to Mrs. Zhou any longer."

"That would only lead to certain death."

Hong Zhiyou's words were like a cold knife, cutting into Liu Ping's heart again and again.

She looked at Hong Zhiyou in despair, her voice trembling with tears: "What should I do? They promised to send me back as long as I come to Harbin to testify..."

"The guy who tipped you off, Zhong Fa, has already been arrested."

Hong Zhiyou calmly dropped a bombshell.

"If you're still so stubborn, forget about going back to Beiping, it's hard to say whether you'll even be able to walk out of this door alive."

He leaned closer and lowered his voice.

"Do you know how much money my uncle spent to bring you from Beiping?"

"Three thousand Kant coins, plus five gold bars."

"And now you've given me a bunch of nonsensical, fake information that's completely worthless, and you still expect to live?"
"Miss Liu, isn't your plan a bit too shrewd?"

Liu Ping completely broke down. "What should I do? Please show me the way."

"Simple."

Hong Zhi leaned back in his chair and spread his hands:
"You and Gu Qiuyan are just ordinary college classmates."

"The so-called intelligence training in St. Petersburg was all a lie that Cao Zhiqing forced you to fabricate."

He looked into Liu Ping's eyes and said, word by word.

"Of course, you were all in cahoots, weren't you?"

Liu Ping is now like fish on a chopping board, with absolutely no choice.

Her survival instinct made her nod frantically, like a chick pecking at rice.

Yes! Yes! That's right!
"Yes...it was me who took the money! It was Cao Zhiqing! He made me say that!"

"Very good, you are very smart."

Hong Zhi nodded and took out a brand-new interrogation record from his briefcase.

"Now that you've figured it out, let's go through the normal procedures."

"This is the interrogation record. Take a look, and sign it if there are no problems."

"In addition, please cooperate by making an interrogation recording based on this material."

Desperate to survive, Liu Ping had a vague feeling that this might lead to even bigger trouble, but for now, it was her only way to live.

With trembling hands, she took the pen, signed her name on the record, and then, as Hong Zhiyou had requested, recited the story of being "coerced and lured by Cao Zhiqing" into the recording equipment with great emotion.

Having obtained the confession and the audio tape, Hong Zhiyou smiled with satisfaction.

He stood up and patted Liu Ping on the shoulder.

"Miss Liu, don't worry."

"Later, I will personally arrange for someone to take you back to Beiping."

Liu Ping, as if grasping at a lifeline, thanked him profusely, tears streaming down her face, saying, "Thank you... thank you, Section Chief Hong! Thank you so much!"

Hong Zhiyou took the statement and the audio tape and walked into Gao Bin's office.

Gao Bin carefully reviewed the interrogation transcript and listened to the recording again, a sinister smile appearing on his face.

"very good.

"Make a copy of this record and submit it to the Special Higher Police for filing."

"Keep the original; I need to go to Cao Zhiqing in person to check the accounts."

He tapped his pipe heavily in the ashtray.

"Damn it, they've tried to fool me. This time, I'm going to make them bleed a lot!"

Hong Zhi asked, "Uncle, what should we do with Liu Ping?"

Gao Bin sighed deeply, leaned back on the sofa, and rubbed his aching temples.

"Oh, I must have owed you living ancestors something in my past life."

"You little brat, you made me lose money and almost ruined my life..."

He waved his hand impatiently halfway through his sentence and stopped talking.

"This Liu Ping is fickle; if she stays, she'll be a menace sooner or later."

"But if we execute them secretly according to wartime regulations, it will cause too much of a stir, and I'm afraid it might arouse suspicion from some people."

He looked at Hong Zhiyou, his eyes turning sinister.

"Don't you have a group of desperados under your command?"
"Have them impersonate Kuomintang agents and kill this woman."

“Perfect timing. Isn’t that damn ‘Iron-Blooded Youth Assassination Group’ from the Military Intelligence Bureau quite active lately? Let’s put this score on them.”

Hong Zhi nodded: "Understood."

Gao Bin paused in thought.

He calculated that Gu Qiuyan was five months pregnant, and the baby should be born in another four or five months.

We can't worry about irrefutable evidence now; we just have to grit our teeth and bear it for the next few months.

Sigh, if he had known that the woman was carrying the Gao family's child, why would he have spent so much money and effort to put on such a thankless show?

Now look what's happened! He's really in deep trouble! Coming to his senses, Gao Bin added, "Zhong Fa can't stay in the police station any longer."

"I had the military police wait at the station to pick up Liu Ping and take her to Beiping."

"Have Zhong Fa deliver it."

"By the way, let Zhang Shunan from the Thought Division drive the car."

"When this kid is on duty, he spends all day playing cards. His uncle works at the city hall, so it wouldn't look good for him to be fired openly."

"This is a good opportunity to get rid of him."

Gao Bin's eyes remained completely calm, as if he were talking about something trivial.

"Having one of them drive and the other escort is in accordance with procedure."

"The person you're looking for will make their move on the way."

Hong Zhi nodded, indicating that he understood.

This move is called killing three birds with one stone.

They dealt with the traitor Liu Ping, eliminated the traitorous Zhong Fa, and also took care of the troublesome Zhang Shunan, a crony with connections.

My uncle's methods are still so shrewd.

Hong Zhiyou got up, preparing to leave.

Gao Bin called him back, his tone now more serious and solemn.

"I don't care if you're seeing other women outside, you little brat."

"But next time, if any girl gets pregnant with one of our Gao family's children, she must report to me and your aunt immediately, so that this kind of nonsense doesn't happen again."

His tone softened, carrying a concern characteristic of an elder.

"So that we can be mentally prepared."

"At the very least, they can still help out secretly."

Hong Zhi looked like he was receiving a lesson:

"Understood, Uncle."

……

eight pm.

The night in Harbin was shrouded in a thin layer of mist.

A black sedan quietly drove out of the secret passage at the back door of the police station and merged into the traffic.

As Zhang Shunan drove, he hummed a little tune, his hands tapping lightly on the steering wheel in rhythm.

In the back seat, Liu Ping huddled in a corner, her hands cuffed behind her back, her face filled with fear and confusion about the future.

When the car drove onto a bridge.

"Squeak!"

A screeching sound of brakes pierced the night sky.

A car suddenly veered out from the side, blocking their path completely.

Zhang Shunan hadn't even had a chance to curse.

Two dark submachine guns peered out from the opposite car window.

"Ta-ta-ta-ta!"

Flames spitted out, and a dense barrage of bullets instantly riddled their car with holes.

Glass shards flew everywhere.

Zhang Shunan and Zhong Fa didn't even utter a sound before their heads exploded and they collapsed limply to the ground.

Liu Ping, sitting in the back seat, let out a short scream before being torn apart by a bullet.

The car door was pushed open.

A man wearing a trench coat and a top hat came down.

Xiao Guohua lowered the brim of his hat, walked quickly to the wrecked car, and shone his flashlight on the back seat.

After confirming that it was indeed Liu Ping, he raised his gun expressionlessly.

"boom!"

"boom!"

"boom!"

He then fired another shot at each of the three corpses in the car.

After doing all this, he quickly got back into his car, the engine roared, and it soon disappeared into the deep night.

……

Zhou family.

"Jingle Bell……"

The phone rang urgently in the quiet room.

Wearing his pajamas, Zhou Yi picked up the receiver, listened for a moment, and then replied in a deep voice, "Okay, I understand."

Gu Qiuyan sat up in bed and asked nervously, "What happened?"

Zhou Yi put down the phone, a faint smile appearing on his face:

"The police department was attacked on the way to the train station while escorting Liu Ping."

"Liu Ping is dead."

Gu Qiuyan was taken aback at first, then let out a long sigh of relief and relaxed completely.

She gritted her teeth and said bitterly, "Serves you right!"
"Traitorous dog!"

"Tonight, I can finally get a good night's sleep."

Zhou Yi looked at her, his tone slightly teasing: "Now you see?"

"Gao Bin is so eager to have a grandson."

Gu Qiuyan pursed her lips and didn't say anything, but her heart was filled with mixed feelings.

……

at night.

A secluded alley in Harbin.

Hong Zhiyou helped Cao Zhiqing, who was completely drunk, as they staggered along.

"Hey……"

Cao Zhiqing hiccuped and mumbled, "Finally... finally we've made it through this ordeal."

He pulled a thick envelope from his pocket and stuffed it into Hong Zhiyou's hand.

"Brother, this money... is for Section Chief Gao."

"Please... say a few good words for me in front of him."

Hong Zhiyou weighed the envelope in his hand, but didn't even glance at it.

"rest assured."

Cao Zhiqing patted his chest, still shaken, and forced a dry laugh:

"From now on, I absolutely cannot take any more jobs from the police department."

"That's fucking terrifying."

Hong Zhi smiled and helped him lean against the wall: "Take care."

"I won't give it away."

That night, in the early hours of the morning.

A towering fire illuminated half the night sky.

Cao Zhiqing and his henchman, Xiao Wu, along with all the documents in the house, were reduced to ashes in the fire.

……

The next day.

Hong Zhiyou had just opened his eyes when he felt a weight on his body.

Xu Yunying pressed herself against him like a kitten.

Hong Zhi gently pinched her small nose and said with a smile, "How do you have so much energy every day?"
"They don't eat enough at night, but they can still get up earlier than the chickens in the morning."

Xu Yunying proudly raised her chin: "I sleep a lot during the day."

"When you're not home, I have nowhere to go but to sleep."

She suddenly leaned close to Hong Zhiyou's ear and said mysteriously, "By the way, I have some good news for you."

Hong Zhi became interested.

"What?"

"Logically speaking, I should be on my period in the next couple of days."

A blush rose on Xu Yunying's face. "But it's not time yet."

"I suspect... it's been implanted."

Hong Zhiyou sat up abruptly, his face beaming with joy: "Really? Should we go to the hospital for a checkup?"

Xu Yunying shook her head.

"Let's not."

"If you don't get pregnant, there are so many gossipy people in the hospital who know you, it would be a huge embarrassment."

"Let's observe for another month and see."

Hong Zhi thought about it and felt that it made sense.

He pulled Xu Yunying into his arms and kissed her hard on the forehead.

“Okay, it’s up to you.

"My great hero!"

……

early morning.

Police Department, Office of the Chief of the Special Affairs Section.

When Hong Zhiyou pushed the door open and came in, Gao Bin was rubbing his temples, looking exhausted.

"Uncle, did you not sleep well again last night?"

Gao Bin raised his eyelids and waved his hand weakly.

"Don't mention it."

"Because of Gu Qiuyan's matter, your aunt nagged me all night."

"Ugh, my head is throbbing terribly right now."

He picked up a newspaper from the table and handed it over.

"Look at this."

Hong Zhiyou took it and saw that the front page headline was about Takuichi Omura again, with the whole article advocating militarism and using the same old clichés to denigrate the Soviet Union.

Gao Bin lit his pipe and took a deep drag: "Recently, there have been occasional clashes between Japanese and Mongolian soldiers on the border."

"If things continue like this, the Japanese are very likely to advance northward from within Mongolia."

"I heard that the border guard forces and the 23rd Division are already reinforcing their troops there."

"Looks like we'll still have to fight."

Hong Zhi looked at the newspaper and gave a faint, cold laugh: "Go ahead and fight."

He's been waiting for this battle.

He put down the newspaper and said, "By the way, Uncle, I need to take some time to go to Tokyo in a few days to visit some friends. I may need to ask for a month or two off."

Gao Bin looked at him with some curiosity, "Going to Tokyo at this time?"

Hong Zhi nodded.

"Yes, there are some business matters that I need to take care of."

He needed to visit Tokyo and invest in Kojiyama Naoto before the Japanese army suffered a major defeat in the Battle of Khalkhin Gol.

That guy is currently unemployed in Tokyo because he was framed by Ma Wendong.

Investing now would be like sending charcoal in snowy weather.

If we can help this future chairman of the South Manchuria Railway Company to succeed Takuichi Ōmura ahead of time, then the gold mine that was stolen from him can be taken back in a perfectly reasonable way.

……

(End of this chapter)