Spy wars start with lurking Secretary Hong

Chapter 511 Boss Dai's Secret Order

The ominous premonition in Jia Huizi's heart transformed into a chilling sense of impending death, instantly gripping her throat.

She took a half-step back in a panic, her voice sharp and trembling:
"Captain Murakami, is there some misunderstanding?"
"Zhiyou personally promised me that as long as I sign and put my fingerprint on the document, I... I can be free!"

Captain Murakami's face remained expressionless as he picked up his teacup and slowly took another sip.
"Madam, there is no misunderstanding."

He put down his teacup with a soft sound.

"Aren't you very free now?"

"Section Chief Hong personally picked you up from the Security Bureau and personally took you home. He gave you your freedom and did not break his promise."

"I was just carrying out a task that had nothing to do with him."

No.

Do not!
Jia Huizi finally realized that she had been tricked.

From beginning to end, she was just a pawn on Hong Zhiyou's chessboard.

A pawn used to bring down her father and squeeze out the last bit of value from him.

Her face was drained of color, and her lips trembled.

That man spoke the gentlest words and the most beautiful love confessions, yet he paved a dead end for her, leading her to hell.

"Men are all liars!"

She closed her eyes in despair.

Captain Murakami didn't bother to look at her again, and simply raised his hand slightly.

boom!
boom!
Jia Huizi screamed and fell heavily onto the cold cement ground. Blood gushed from her chest, and her unfocused pupils reflected the gray sky. She died without closing her eyes.

Captain Murakami glanced indifferently at the corpse and ordered, "Take the body away."

"In addition, search this house again very carefully, leaving no corner unchecked."

"Yes!"

The soldiers accepted the order.

……

Police Department, Economic Division Chief's Office.

Hong Zhiyou was leaning back on the sofa, taking a nap with his eyes closed, enjoying the long-lost tranquility.

Tuk Tuk.

There was a knock on the office door, and then it was pushed open a crack from the outside.

A head popped in, its face plastered with a fawning smile.

"Section Chief Hong."

It's Lu Ming.

Hong Zhi glanced at him, smiled, stood up, and took two wine glasses from the wine cabinet.

"Old Lu, come in and sit down."

He poured Lu Ming half a glass of red wine.

Lu Ming accepted the wine glass, flattered and surprised, and carefully took a sip, his face showing an exaggerated expression of enjoyment:
"Hey, Zhiyou, you have no idea how suffocated I've been these past few days."

"That heartless bastard Ma Wendong is finally dead! Good riddance!"

The thought of how he had served Ma Wendong so diligently only to lose his position in the Security Bureau and almost be implicated made Lu Ming grit his teeth in hatred.

Hong Zhi smiled and clinked glasses with him: "Have you heard about the bombing on Yuchun Street?"

Lu Ming was taken aback, then nodded and said, "I heard about it. It was in the newspaper. It said that a homeless man went to steal from a quartermaster's house, but accidentally detonated a grenade and was killed."

Hong Zhi took a sip of his drink and smiled, "That homeless man was someone I found."

"That wasn't the quartermaster's house, but Ma Wendong's private residence in Daowai."

Lu Ming's smile froze instantly, and the hand holding the wine glass stopped in mid-air.

Hong Zhi glanced at him and continued, "You should be glad that Ma Wendong didn't take you away."

boom!
Lu Ming felt as if he had been struck by lightning; his blood seemed to freeze at that moment.

He immediately realized that Hong Zhiyou was pointing fingers at him: Hong Zhiyou knew everything, and whether or not he would settle scores later depended entirely on his mood.

A chill ran down my spine and straight to the top of my head.

Lu Ming froze, and quickly forced out an awkward smile that looked worse than crying.

"Yeah yeah!
"Ma Wendong is a jinx. Anyone who gets close to him is truly cursed for eight lifetimes."

"It's still more promising to follow you, my brother."

"As the saying goes, when brothers are of one mind, their strength can break metal. From now on, wherever you point, I'll go. If you even frown, I'm a son of a bitch."

Fine beads of cold sweat appeared on his forehead, a testament to his loyalty.

As they were talking, the office door was pushed open again.

Ren Changchun walked in expressionlessly. He glanced at the restless Lu Ming but didn't say a word.

Hong Zhi gestured that it was alright: "Changchun, is there something you need?"

Ren Changchun then reported: "Reporting to the section chief, we have just received a message from the military police."

"Captain Murakami has already executed Jia Huizi on the spot at Ma Wendong's official residence, in accordance with the severe punishments in wartime."

"Also, Captain Murakami requests that you go to the military police headquarters now."

Lu Ming's expression became even more panicked, and the wine glass in his hand fell to the ground with a loud crash, shattering into pieces.

"Jia...Jia Huizi was executed?"

He looked at Hong Zhiyou in disbelief.

That's Jia Huizi!
Hong Zhiyou's lover!

With Hong Zhi's current power, protecting her would be a simple matter of a word.

But he just stood by and watched her get killed?
He can kill even his lover without hesitation, so what am I in his eyes?
Lu Ming's heart sank into an icy abyss.

At this moment, he finally saw the smiling young man in front of him clearly.

He is both a living bodhisattva who can elevate someone to heaven in an instant and a living Yama who can plunge someone into hell in an instant.

Thinking of this, Lu Ming was drenched in cold sweat.

Hong Zhiyou, however, seemed oblivious to Lu Ming's loss of composure and didn't even comment on Jia Huizi's death.

He just smiled coldly, picked up his coat and the suitcase containing the money from the sofa, and walked straight out.

……

Gendarmerie.

In Captain Murakami's office, several military police officers were busy taking inventory of the items.

The once spacious desk was now piled high with all sorts of gold and silver jewelry, antiques and calligraphy, as well as bundles of cash, a dazzling array that made one's eyes dazzle.

These were all assets looted from Ma Wendong's official residence.

When Murakami saw Hong Zhi enter, he immediately greeted him with a smile.

He pointed to the mountain of valuables on the table and said with a headache, "Brother, you've finally arrived."

"You're good at handling these things, so what do you think... how should we do this?"

He wanted to keep it, but didn't have the guts; handing it over, however, felt unwilling.

Hong Zhi smiled, placed the suitcase on the table, and opened it with a click.

He took out stacks of cash he had just withdrawn from the bank and neatly stacked them next to the pile of jewelry.

The brand-new banknotes were piled up into a small mountain.

Captain Murakami was completely dumbfounded.

His eyes widened as he pointed at the pile of money: "Where...where did all this money come from?"

Hong Zhiyou said calmly, "Ma Wendong's private property."

Murakami gave him a deep look, his tone complicated, "Excuse me for being blunt, Mr. Hong, you can keep this money for yourself, no one will know."

Hong Zhiyou shook his head, picked up the baton on the table, and gently fiddled with the pile of banknotes.

“I am different from Ma Wendong.”

"He was a representative of the South Manchuria Railway Group's interests, while I was a pure businessman."

"Businessmen believe in making money through harmony and sharing the profits."

At this point, Hong Zhi raised his baton, smiled, and pointed at Murakami:
"I can earn less, but I absolutely cannot let my friends and brothers not earn money."

"My principle is to make as many friends as possible and as few enemies as possible."

Murakami looked at Hong Zhiyou with eyes full of admiration and respect.

Hong Zhi used a baton to gently pull out 20,000 yuan from the pile of money and pushed it aside.

He sneered and said, "Didn't Ma Wendong always pride himself on being honest and incorruptible?"
“Perfect, let’s leave these 20,000 yuan to Momomura Jiro, who came all the way from Tokyo. It’s a small token of my appreciation on behalf of his brother.”

Next, he divided all the cash on the table into seven portions:
"Commander Kato will get one, Section Chief Yamanari will get one, you will get one, I will get one, and Director Miao of the Security Bureau will also get one."

"Keep these two copies for now."

"One copy is for the incoming high-ranking official of Binjiang Province, and the other is for the future Director-General of the Police Department."

As he spoke, he took out more than a dozen thick stacks of the thickest banknotes from one of the stacks and pushed them in front of the village.

"Murakami-san, this is yours."

Murakami looked at the mountain of money in front of him, and his breathing became a little rapid.

He had never seen so much money in his life.

"Brother, this...this is too much."

He was a little nervous and didn't even dare to reach out to take it.

Hong Zhi patted him on the shoulder and laughed, "This is nothing."

"The gold mining is now on track, and once the profits come in, the future money will only increase."

Murakami finally couldn't hold back and revealed a wildly joyful smile: "If I keep working like this for a few more years, I can go back to Tokyo and become a tycoon!"

Hong Zhiyou also smiled.

"Of course, making my friends rich is my lifelong wish."

Murakami rubbed his hands together, and after the initial excitement, he glanced at the few portions of money that had been distributed away with a touch of reluctance.

He lowered his voice and asked, "Excuse me for being blunt, brother, but you're spending money... a bit too much."

"As far as I know, Commander Kato, Miao Futian, and Section Chief Shanming did not contribute much to bringing down Ma Wendong this time."

"Don't you think it's a waste to give them so much?"

Hong Zhi understood that Murakami wanted a larger share.

He smiled and patiently explained, "Brother Murakami, that's not how you do it."

"Although Commander Kato and his men did not show any effort on the surface, they, like you, chose to passively cooperate with Ma Wendong's various demands, insisting on evidence and procedures in everything they did."

"It was precisely this attitude that caused Ma Wendong to run into obstacles everywhere and have his hands and feet tied."

"At least on the surface, he can't do anything to me. That's a huge favor."

Hong Zhi paused, his eyes becoming deep: "More importantly, it's a hot potato for just the two of us to handle so much money!"

Others will be envious.

"Believe me, no one knows more about money than me."

"The more we distribute, the more friends will stand by us. The safer we are, the more money we keep in our pockets."

He looked at Murakami and gave an example:

"It's like having a hundred dollars in your pocket, which you can spend as you please without anyone interfering."

"But if you have ten thousand yuan in your pocket, but there are robbers all around you who are eyeing you with predatory intent, even if you hold the money tightly in your hand, can you feel at ease?"

After listening, Murakami bowed deeply and said, "Hong-san, you are absolutely right."

"Money can be earned slowly, but if you lose your life, everything is over."

He truly admired Hong Zhiyou.

What makes this young man so terrifying is not only his ruthlessness, but also his extraordinary vision and perspective.

"Yes, who doesn't know how to give gifts and money?"
"The key is to make people feel at ease taking it, so that they won't have nightmares about it. That's the most important thing."

As he spoke, Hong Zhi pointed to the dazzling array of antiques and calligraphy on the table.

"I have a friend who likes these things."

"I don't want this money. In exchange, I'll take all of these things. You don't mind, do you?"

Upon hearing this, Captain Murakami immediately nodded.

"of course."

For him, this was exactly what he wanted.

These bottles and jars are for display, not for consumption.

Especially for soldiers like them, who could be transferred at any time, carrying around a bunch of fragile antiques would be a burden, far less practical than cash.

"I'm entrusting Ma Wendong's younger brother, Momomura Jiro, to you."

Hong Zhi casually tossed the baton onto the table.

Murakami understood immediately, a cruel smile spreading across his face: "Don't worry, I will personally hand over these twenty thousand dollars to him."

He ordered the military police to find several wooden crates, carefully packed the antique paintings and calligraphy one by one, and then personally supervised the loading of the crates onto the car.

For the next period of time, Wei Huanzhang was reinstated, and a new police chief had not yet been appointed, so Harbin returned to its usual tranquility.

Hong Zhiyou also managed to steal a half-day of leisure, staying at home to accompany Xu Yunying, living a comfortable and peaceful life.

……

September 13, 1939.

Moon Festival.

Hong Zhiyou got up very early and personally carried the wooden crates full of antiques from the garage onto the truck.

Futai Leather Goods Store.

Hong Zhi got out of the car and went inside. Wu Jingzhong was checking accounts with someone and waved to Xiao Jia, a waiter standing nearby.

"Hey guys, could you please move the stuff from the car to the backyard?"

Xiao Jia responded and quickly ran out.

Half an hour later, Wu Jingzhong, who had shed his shrewd and calculating demeanor in his long robe, strolled leisurely to the backyard.

When he saw the bottles and jars scattered all over the ground, as well as the unfolded calligraphy and paintings, his eyes widened in astonishment.
"Where...where did all these treasures come from?"

Hong Zhiyou sat on a stone bench, a cigarette dangling from his mouth, and said lazily, "I got it from the last raid on Ma Wendong's house."

"I'm giving them all to you as a Mid-Autumn Festival gift."

"How's it going? Is it interesting?"

Hong Zhi had a lot on his mind, and he was making his own plans.

Anyway, these things will be transported to Hong Kong sooner or later, and all of Lao Wu's property will eventually become his own.

Now that I'm taking it out, I can both make him happy and have this expert help me with free management. Why not?

Wu Jingzhong walked quickly to a large blue-and-white porcelain jar, carefully stroking the cool surface of the bottle, and clicking his tongue in amazement.

He turned around abruptly and shouted into the store.

"Little Jia!"
"Go to the antique shop and bring Liu Chaofeng over here! Tell him to bring his tools, and hurry!"

Hong Zhi glanced at him sideways, a half-smile on his face: "What, you still don't trust me?"

Wu Jingzhong quickly pulled him to the corner of the wall, chuckling awkwardly and lowering his voice: "Hey, what do you know, kid?"

"The world of antiques is a deep and complex place, and most people don't understand it."

"We need to estimate the price and then pick out two decent ones to give to Boss Dai."

"He likes this kind of food."

"You can't be sure who his informants are."

"Eating too much alone will make you bloated and die."

"He's stingy, you can't afford to offend him."

Hong Zhi nodded: "Okay, you handle it."

"When you're about to claim credit, just don't forget to give me a heads-up."

Wu Jingzhong patted his arm with satisfaction, but the smile on his face suddenly disappeared, and his expression became serious.

"Come here, I have something important to tell you."

The two walked to a secluded corner in the backyard. Wu Jingzhong's voice was low and icy:
"Wang Tianmu from Shanghai has betrayed us."

"The stations in Beiping and Jinhai have basically been taken down."

“Pei Jisan, the deputy stationmaster of Jinhai Station, has also defected, and the stationmaster, Zeng Che… has been arrested.”

Hong Zhi frowned slightly.

"So fast?"

Chen Jingyu's concerns from a few days ago are still fresh in our minds, but we never expected them to become a reality so quickly.

Wu Jingzhong said, "I know Zeng Che. That young man is a genuine rich kid. He risked his life to do this kind of work. He's just after the Japanese."

He let out a long sigh, a rare look of admiration and regret appearing on his face.

"I heard that the Japanese captured him and used every means at their disposal, including severe torture, but he didn't utter a single word."

"To be honest, since he started arresting me, I haven't had a full night's sleep for days."

"If things get any worse, I'll have to ask you to run away with me."

Hong Zhiyou pursed his lips.

You old fox, it would be a miracle if you called me when you were trying to run away.

He frowned and asked, "Boss Dai is so powerful, didn't you ever think of saving Station Chief Zeng?"

Wu Jingzhong's eyes were filled with helplessness and insight:
"Boss Dai is a man who values ​​people highly, but he doesn't."

"But if you're not the one who can make money in his hands, he'll just talk the talk but won't actually walk the walk."

"Of course, bloodletting is also done."

"He was still willing to do things like having the anti-traitor squad kill a few traitors as a sacrifice afterward."

Hong Zhiyou's heart sank. This was indeed Dai Li's style. No matter how capable Zeng Che was, he was far inferior to a scoundrel like Ye Ziming.

"What can we do then? Just stand by and watch Station Chief Zeng get murdered?"

Wu Jingzhong was waiting for this sentence.

Upon hearing him ask the question, Wu Jingzhong's expression suddenly turned serious, and his entire aura changed.

"Military Intelligence Major Hong Zhiyou, listen to my command!"

What's going on here?
Hong Zhiyou stood up straight, his expression serious.

Wu Jingzhong said, word by word, "Boss Dai has ordered you to rescue Comrade Zeng Che at all costs!"

Damn it, I didn't check the almanac before I went out, and now I'm in the line of fire.

Hong Zhi snorted coldly:
Forget it.

"He's telling you to do whatever it takes, isn't he?"

"What's the price? Real money? Or my life?"

"The Japanese may have already set up a trap, just waiting for us to fall into it."

"Boss Dai is all-powerful; if he doesn't take action, why should I walk right into his trap?"

Wu Jingzhong's face hardened, and his voice became stern.

"This is an order!"

Hong Zhiyou then resorted to shamelessness: "Whoever wants to go can go, don't send me."

"If I die, who will make money for you?"

He was already cursing under his breath.

Others would rather die for their fellow Daoists than for themselves, but you old geezer are pushing your own son-in-law into a fire pit!
Upon hearing this, Wu Jingzhong's serious face instantly broke into a smile, and he quickly put on an apologetic one:

"Zhiyou, don't be in a hurry."

"Think about it, if we weren't really out of options, would I let you take this risk?"
"Boss Dai is a vengeful person."

"He asked you to go, would you dare not go?"
"Unless you stay in Manchukuo for the rest of your life, or burn incense and pray to Buddha every day, hoping that the Japanese will never be defeated."

"Even if you have Japanese people protecting you, are you sure your boss won't send someone to secretly execute you?"

At this point, Wu Jingzhong lowered his voice again and said mysteriously, "I've heard that your lover Huizi in Tianjin is going to marry a big businessman recently, isn't she?"
"Perfect, you can use this as an excuse to go there, it will be perfectly legitimate."

"Boss Dai is a man who cares a lot about his reputation."

Whether the matter can be accomplished or not is another matter; at the very least, you have to show your attitude and be present.

"You're just going there as a formality."

"If we can save them, we will try our best to save them."

"Station Chief Zeng is a good man. Just the fact that he didn't betray us while he was being tortured inside is enough to make you come all this way."

"If there's really no way to save him, don't force it. Preserving your own life is the most important thing."

Hong Zhi patted his forehead, feeling a sudden headache.

Damn it, Dai Li.

I'll put up with you for a few more years.

Just wait and see if it explodes or not, then you're done.

……

(End of this chapter)