Spy wars start with lurking Secretary Hong

Chapter 523 You! Are the leaker!
Zhou Yi gave a cold laugh devoid of emotion:
"Since Lieutenant Kubo has apologized, it means that our National Police Agency is still a place where reason prevails."

His voice, though not loud, was like a needle, precisely piercing the frozen air in the conference room.

Yoshio Miyagawa's cheek muscles twitched slightly, then quickly relaxed, adopting a businesslike expression.

He has to get his revenge.

"of course."

Yoshio Miyagawa followed the steps Zhou Yi had given him, his tone softening somewhat.

"As I just said, I only have suspicions about Captain Zhou."

"When you have doubts, you still need to provide evidence."

"Everyone, since we're talking about evidence, let's go through it properly."

Hong Zhi glanced around the room, his gaze lingering for a moment on the faces of Miyagawa Yoshio and Zhu Yi, before letting out a cold laugh:
"First of all, I agree with Captain Zhou's opinion."

He extended his index finger and pointed arrogantly at his temple.

"Anyone who doubts him knows there's something wrong with this place."

Upon hearing this, Yoshio Miyagawa and Zhu Yi's faces instantly turned ashen.

Gao Bin let out a slight dry cough, picked up his pipe, and took a slow, deliberate puff.

That brat, he even included him in the insults.

After all, he was one of the skeptics.

Hong Zhiyou, however, seemed not to notice Gao Bin's hint and continued his lawyer-like questioning: "Director Gongchuan, when did you hand the documents to Section Chief Zhu?"

Yoshio Miyagawa was quite displeased with the tone of his questioning. He straightened his suit and replied in a deep voice, "Nine o'clock yesterday morning."

"And then?" Hong Zhiyou asked again.

"Then I took a military plane back to Harbin to make specific mission arrangements."

"When will you arrive in Harbin?"

It was around 11 o'clock.

Hong Zhi nodded and turned to Zhu Yi: "Section Chief Zhu, is there a problem with the timing?"

Zhu Yi nodded stiffly.

Hong Zhiyou's gaze returned to Miyagawa Yoshio:
"Director Miyagawa, who did you assign to set up the surveillance? Did you leak the specific list?"

Yoshio Miyagawa frowned:
“At that time, I arranged for Section Chief Gao and Captain Murakami to monitor some of the people on the list.”

"Partial list?"

Hong Zhi smiled, leaned forward slightly, and his eyes instantly turned sharp.

"Please explain more clearly, Director Miyagawa. Which names are you referring to as 'partial list'? This is very important for us to deduce the source of the leak."

Yoshio Miyagawa's patience was wearing thin: "Apart from those two special agents who were in direct contact with the Provincial Committee, there were no red tickets!"

He almost said this through gritted teeth.

"it is good."

Hong Zhi snapped his fingers and smiled even more broadly.

"Could you please provide me with the surveillance footage from that time, Captain Murakami and Section Chief Gao?"

Captain Murakami looked at Yoshio Miyagawa, and after receiving his approval, immediately had his men bring over the notebook.

Gao Bin waved his hand, and a clerk from the Special Affairs Section quickly retrieved another file from the office.

Hong Zhi took the two records and quickly flipped through them.

The only sound in the meeting room was the rustling of papers turning.

He quickly closed the notebook and tossed it onto the table.

"Ladies and gentlemen, according to the records, the police and military police in charge of the surveillance, as well as the statements of people related to these people's residences and workplaces, it is confirmed that many of them were still within the surveillance range before 5 p.m. yesterday."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over everyone.

"That is to say, they only received the evacuation notice around five o'clock."

"Then, between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m., including the two special agents, they successfully escaped our sight and completed the collective evacuation."

At this point, Hong Zhi confidently extended his index finger and waved it in the air.

"The conclusion is that the intelligence leak likely occurred between 5 pm and 7 pm yesterday."

He turned to look at Zhou Yi, who had remained silent.

"Captain Zhou, may I ask where you were at that time?"

Zhou Yi remained as steady as a mountain, flicked his cigarette ash, and said calmly, "I was on the train at the time."

Hong Zhi pressed further, "Did you get off the bus at any point along the way?"

Zhou Yi shook his head. "No."

"The flight attendant and the passenger sitting next to me can testify; you can find out with a simple investigation."

Hong Zhi looked at everyone:
"Everyone, so you're saying that Captain Zhou had absolutely no chance of leaking information."

"At least, once he boarded the train, he had no opportunity to leak information."

Yoshio Miyagawa's face was so gloomy it could drip water.

He said coldly, "Is it possible that he made the call before he boarded the train?"

"Or rather, he opened the secret document?"
"They notified Hong Piao in advance, and then deliberately set the retreat time two hours before our operation in order to cover their tracks."
"I had the military police technical team check the sealing wax seal on this confidential document."

"Someone touched it before I opened it!"
“Captain Murakami can attest to that.”

He stared at Hong Zhiyou, turning the tables on him, "Section Chief Hong, is this also a sign of guilt, and not considered evidence?"

Hong Zhi smiled and nodded, "Of course."

"Our Special Operations Division of the Police Department is the place that values ​​evidence the most."

He looked at Zhou Yi again, "Captain Zhou, did you open it?"

Zhou Yi's face was righteous, and his voice was firm and resounding:

"As a police officer of Manchukuo, I am determined to fulfill my duties."

"From the moment I received the document from Section Chief Zhu, I put it directly into my briefcase and never opened it."

Zhu Yi chuckled dryly and said sarcastically, "When I handed it to Captain Zhou, it was sealed tightly."

"Captain Zhou also said that it was put in a bag and had not been opened."

"Did the sealing wax on this document crack on its own? Is it really haunted?"

Gao Bin, who hadn't said much until now, finally spoke up:

"Director Miyagawa, how long will it take the technical team to find fingerprint clues on the sealing wax?"

Yoshio Miyagawa replied, "I'm investigating, but I believe it will be soon."

Zhou Yi immediately stated, "I am willing to provide my fingerprints and cooperate with the investigation."

Yoshio Miyagawa sneered; this was the moment he had been waiting for.

"Regardless of the circumstances, there are signs that the sealing wax has been tampered with. From the moment Zhou Yi received the secret document, he was highly suspected of colluding with the enemy and leaking secrets."

"I think Section Chief Hong and everyone here have no objection to this, right?"

Hong Zhi nodded, surprisingly decisively, "Of course, I have no objection."

Yoshio Miyagawa felt a surge of energy; he felt the scales of victory were tipping in his favor.

He suddenly stood up and, with a powerful sense of oppression, boomed:

"This Director has decided that, in accordance with the Wartime Severe Punishment Regulations, the suspect shall be prosecuted as a guilty party!"

"Immediately detain and interrogate Zhou Yi!"

"This……"

The conference room fell into a deathly silence, followed by an barely suppressed commotion.

Lu Ming and Liu Kui's expressions changed drastically.

"Severe Disciplinary Regulations during Wartime"!
These words were like a death warrant, sending a chill down the spines of all the Manchukuo police officers present.

To put it simply, it's a one-stop service for arresting, interrogating, and executing without evidence or reason.

This sharp sword was usually used against the Red Tickets and the Anti-Japanese United Army, but occasionally it also fell on the heads of some unfortunate wealthy merchants and ordinary people.

However, it was rarely, if ever, used on members of the Manchukuo police system, especially the Special Service Section, a special police unit specifically tasked with arresting "Red bandits."

Let alone Yoshio Miyagawa, even when Saburo Shibuya and Wen-tung Ma were in office, they would never have easily invoked this clause to target people within the police system.

Otherwise, Hong Zhiyou and Zhou Yi would have been meeting the King of Hell long ago.

This was an unspoken understanding, a fragile balance between the Japanese and Manchukuo.

If Yoshio Miyagawa dared to use the regulations on a second-class police sergeant action captain today, he could use them on everyone here tomorrow.

People used to use this regulation very well, but now they feel a suffocating sense of being bound by it.

Lu Ming and Liu Kui subconsciously looked at Gao Bin, their eyes filled with surprise and inquiry.

Gao Bin coldly puffed on his pipe, his eyes lowered, ignoring their gazes and choosing to remain silent.

He was also eager to see what kind of quality Zhou Yi would be found out after being taken to the Japanese for a trial.

If Zhou Yi can get through this, it will be a relief for him.

If we can't survive and get killed by the Japanese, it doesn't seem like such a good thing.

After all, Gu Qiuyan and her granddaughter were always a powder keg.

Although Zhou Yi is a talented person, he is not someone who cannot be abandoned for the sake of the Gao family's safety and the stability of the police department.

Seeing everyone's silence, especially Gao Bin's lack of response, Miyagawa felt a surge of satisfaction.

When Shibuya Saburo was still around, he and Gao Bin had tried to probe Zhou Yi together, but they had all failed.

It seems that targeting Zhou Yi was the right decision.

He twirled his mustache and coldly issued the order:
"Captain Murakami, detain Zhou Yi immediately!"

Captain Murakami said "Hai!" and was about to get up.

Hong Zhiyou slowly raised his hand:
"Everyone, didn't you ever think of this...?"

"Perhaps, there really are ghosts?"

"The leak didn't originate with Captain Zhou at all."

"Or is it someone else's fault?"

Yoshio Miyagawa frowned: "What do you mean?"

Hong Zhi sat up straight and said sternly:

"Our attention was focused on the period after Captain Zhou boarded the train with the documents."

"But have you ever thought that Captain Zhou boarded the train at 1:45?"

"He left Section Chief Zhu's office around noon."

"This took nearly two hours."

"what happened?
Who else did he meet?

The expressions on Miyagawa Yoshio's and Zhu Yi's faces changed very subtly at almost the same instant.

Both of them felt a sudden tightness in their chests.

Sitting next to Zhu Yi, Cui Wannian felt a chill creep up his spine.

But he was a seasoned veteran who had been around for many years, and his panic was only momentary.

He quickly went through it in his mind.

First of all, I have never touched that document.

I wanted to touch it, but I didn't.

Secondly, whatever he and Zhou Yi said at the dinner table, as long as he denies it, Zhou Yi has no proof and can't do anything about it.

Thinking of this, his heart, which had been hanging in suspense, was put back at ease, and he even felt a bit calmer.

Yoshio Miyagawa and Zhu Yi quickly regained their composure.

They exchanged a glance and both understood each other's meaning from their eyes.

Even if Cui Wannian has problems, so what?
At worst, Zhou Yi will turn on them, and the two of them will fight like dogs.

The worst outcome would be to send Cui Wannian and Zhou Yi to the interrogation room together.

They weren't worried that Cui Wannian would say anything inappropriate.

Cui Wannian's precious son recently got a job at the Jiamusi Police Department through connections. If he dares to talk nonsense, he'll make his whole family pay with their lives.

Moreover, with Yoshio Miyagawa backing him up, Zhu Yi could easily deny ever instructing Cui Wannian.

Therefore, in their view, even if Hong Zhiyou really implicated Cui Wannian, it would only be a one-for-one deal.

By replacing Zhou Yi, a major threat, with Cui Wannian, who could be sacrificed at any time, they could gain merit and strike a blow against Hong Zhiyou.

No matter how you look at it, they win this battle.

Gao Bin silently observed the expressions of everyone on the field.

He took the pipe from his lips, breaking the brief silence:
"Captain Zhou."

Gao Bin turned his gaze to Zhou Yi, his voice not loud, but carrying an interrogation-like authority:
"Who did you see and what did you do between 12:00 and 1:45?"

He paused, his gaze deepening.
"You'd better explain in more detail; this might be your last chance to prove your innocence."

Zhou Yi's expression remained unchanged, and he nodded slightly to Gao Bin.

"Thank you, Section Chief Gao."

“At that time, I took the documents from Section Chief Zhu’s office and left the Jiamusi Police Department with Cui Wannian. Before heading to the train station, I had a meal with Captain Cui.”

Gao Bin's gaze slowly shifted to Cui Wannian.

"Captain Cui, is that right?"

Cui Wannian immediately stood up and nodded, saying:
"Yes, Section Chief Gao."

"Captain Zhou has come from afar and is handling such an important matter for our Binjiang Province. As the host, I should do my best to fulfill my duties as a host."

"So I treated Captain Zhou to a simple meal and some drinks."

"But we were just chatting and catching up. We absolutely did not touch his briefcase, let alone the documents."

After listening, Gao Bin turned to Zhou Yi and asked, "Is that so?"

Zhou Yi frowned and shook his head:

"It's not like this."

Upon hearing this, Cui Wannian's smile instantly froze.

Zhou Yi continued, a hint of coldness creeping into his voice: "To be honest, I ate this meal with trepidation. "At the dinner table, Captain Cui clearly told me that the specific content of this document was about the operation to arrest the 'Red Tickets,' and even mentioned that the targets included two special agents sent by the Manchurian Provincial Committee."

"I reminded him at the time not to say such things carelessly."

"Of course, I just thought he was bragging and joking when he was drunk, but I didn't expect that what he said would be completely consistent with the facts."

"It's just incredible."

Zhou Yi's voice echoed in the quiet conference room, each word like a heavy hammer blow: "Your so-called top-secret documents were never top-secret from the very beginning, let alone kept secret."

Gao Bin stared intently at Cui Wannian, his gaze sharp as if he wanted to pierce through him: "Captain Cui, is that so?"

Cui Wannian jumped up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, pointing at Zhou Yi's nose and shouting:
"Nonsense! Utter nonsense!"

"This is slander! Zhou Yi is deliberately framing me!"
"He wanted to drag me down with him so he could evade responsibility for leaking information!"

Yoshio Miyagawa tapped the table expressionlessly: "Captain Cui, are you sure you didn't say that?"

His voice was cold, revealing no emotion.

Cui Wannian immediately turned to Miyagawa Yoshio, looking like a loyal man who had been wronged.

"Director! I assure you, I absolutely did not say that!"
“I don’t even know what’s in the document, how can I say anything? Isn’t this just blatant slander?”
"This is just a despicable tactic that Zhou Yi came up with to shirk responsibility!"

At this point, he turned and glared at Zhou Yi, his face filled with indignation and heartache at being betrayed by a friend:
"Zhou Yi! I treated you as a friend, sincerely invited you to dinner, and treated you to the best food and wine. Is this how you treat your friends?"

Zhou Yi frowned slightly at Cui Wannian's disgusting performance but did not reply.

Yoshio Miyagawa snorted coldly and turned his attention back to Zhou Yi.

"Captain Zhou, the witness is now in a bad way for you."

"If you cannot produce evidence that Cui Wannian leaked secrets, then based on the current situation, you are still the prime suspect."

"You will be questioned immediately."

As soon as he finished speaking, the two military police behind Captain Murakami had already gripped their holsters and were ready to step forward.

The atmosphere in the meeting room became extremely tense once again.

Lu Ming and Liu Kui exchanged a glance, both seeing the seriousness in each other's eyes.

They all felt that Zhou Yi was probably in grave danger this time.

However, Zhou Yi's face still showed no sign of panic.

He simply bent down slowly and took out a black, palm-sized metal box from the briefcase at his feet.

It was a German-made portable tape recorder.

Everyone present, except for Hong Zhiyou, was stunned.

No one would have guessed that Zhou Yi would carry such a thing with him.

Zhou Yi placed the tape recorder on the table and pressed a button on it.

"Click" sound.

After a slight electrical noise, a smug, deliberately lowered voice came clearly from the tape recorder.

"Brother Zhou, do you know what this top-secret mission is?"

……

"Catch the red tickets! And, I heard there are two big fish inside, special envoys sent down by the Manchurian Provincial Committee!"

"This is an immense achievement..."

On the tape recorder, Cui Wannian's voice was still chattering on and on, boasting about his extensive information network.

The conference room was already deathly silent.

All eyes were focused on Cui Wannian's face, which had suddenly lost all its blood.

His lips trembled, his Adam's apple bobbed, but he couldn't utter a single word.

He pointed at Zhou Yi, his eyes filled with shock, fear, and disbelief.

He never dreamed that this seemingly respectable guy would be so insidious, secretly recording meals!

The recording has finished playing.

Zhou Yi turned off the machine, a cold smile playing on his lips.

"One should always be wary of others."

"Luckily I had a backup plan, otherwise today, I would be in a situation where I could never clear my name even if I jumped into the Yellow River."

Yoshio Miyagawa's face was so black it looked like you could wring water out of it.

He slammed his hand on the table with a loud bang: "Captain Cui! How do you explain this?!"

Cui Wannian trembled all over, his weak defense:
"It's fake...it's fake!"
"This is a forgery! It's a frame-up!"

Zhou Yi sneered, "Framed?"

"How about we send someone to Jiamusi now and bring the waiter from the restaurant where we ate to confront him?"

Upon hearing this, Cui Wannian seemed to have all his strength drained away, instantly becoming speechless and slumping into his chair.

Yoshio Miyagawa's gaze turned to Zhu Yi like a knife.

"Section Chief Zhu, how do you explain this?"

Zhu Yi's face was extremely grim, but he forced himself to remain calm:

"Director, I...I admit that I did mention the general direction of this operation to Captain Cui, with the aim of getting him to cooperate with Captain Zhou's work."

"But you know, I don't know the specific list at all, especially the names of those two special envoys!"
"You can't know these details without opening the file folder!"
"Those two people couldn't have escaped unless the person who opened the file tipped them off."

Zhu Yi is sacrificing a pawn to save the king.

Zhou Yi then delivered the final blow:

"Oh, I remember now. During the meal, I went to the restroom because I had a little to drink."

"My briefcase was left on the chair in the private room."

His gaze fell on Cui Wannian again.

"It is highly likely that Captain Cui opened my briefcase, disassembled the confidential documents, and peeked at their contents during the few minutes I was away."

"Nonsense!" Cui Wannian shouted.

"You surnamed Zhou, don't you dare make false accusations! I didn't even touch your bag!"

Yoshio Miyagawa frowned:
"Zhou Yi, this is just your guess."

"The current situation is that both you and Cui Wannian are suspected of opening the secret document."

A ruthless glint flashed in his eyes:
"Alright then, Captain Murakami! Arrest both of them and interrogate them in isolation!"
"Who is the real leaker? We'll find out everything when the trial begins!"

This is blatant shamelessness.

He was willing to sacrifice Cui Wannian to drag Zhou Yi down with him.

"Section Chief! Section Chief!"

Cui Wannian panicked completely. He looked at Zhu Yi pleadingly, "I really haven't seen the document! Section Chief, you have to help me!"

However, Zhu Yi kept his head down and remained silent, as if he had not heard the cries for help.

Zhu Yi had already figured it out in his mind.

Sacrificing Cui Wannian is the best option right now.

They could easily claim that this was a joint effort between Harbin and Jiamusi, who followed the clues and uncovered the mole lurking within the Jiamusi Police Department.

It was a great achievement for me as well.

He and Director Miyagawa are still the winners.

As for whether Cui Wannian lives or dies, who cares?
Seeing that Zhu Yi remained silent, Cui Wannian's face instantly turned ashen.

He got it.

He was sold.

He became Zhu Yi's stepping stone to climb the social ladder, a discarded unlucky fellow.

At this moment, Cui Wannian hated Zhou Yi, Zhu Yi, and Miyagawa Yoshio to the core.

These bastards, not a single one of them is any good!

They're all more cunning and ruthless than the last!

Especially Zhou Yi, damn it, he even brought a recorder with him when he went out to eat, he's the worst kind of villain!

"That's it, let's break up the meeting."

Just as Yoshio Miyagawa was preparing for a brilliant finale.

Hong Zhiyou, who had been leaning back in his chair watching the show, slowly began to speak:

"Director Miyagawa, I think there's no need to go through all that trouble with the interrogation."

"I may already have evidence of who the real leaker is."

Yoshio Miyagawa's heart skipped a beat, and an ominous premonition welled up inside him.

"What do you mean?"

Hong Zhi didn't look at him; he simply clapped his hands lightly in the direction of the door.

The conference room door was pushed open.

Ren Changchun escorted in a middle-aged man wearing a long gown, with a thin build and a mustache.

When the man saw the scene in the conference room, especially the rows of dark gun barrels, his legs went weak and he almost knelt on the ground.

It was none other than Master Jin.

The moment Yoshio Miyagawa saw Master Jin, he felt a chill run down his spine and knew something was wrong.

He glared fiercely at Taro Kubo standing behind him.

This idiot!

He was sent to silence the witnesses, but instead of killing them, they fell into Hong Zhiyou's hands!

It's over now.

If Master Jin opens his mouth, things will really come to a complete breakdown today.

Kubo Taro felt the murderous gaze of Miyagawa Yoshio and lowered his head in shame, wishing he could disappear into the ground.

Gao Bin raised his eyelids and looked at the trembling Master Jin.

"Who is this person?"

Hong Zhi stood up and walked to Master Jin's side:

"Uncle, everyone."

"This man is called Jin Si. He is a broker who sells information in the Harbin black market. He has connections everywhere and is quite influential."

"When our economics team was tracking the fund flow of a rising stock, we unexpectedly discovered that it had sold a piece of intelligence at a high price yesterday."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over Yoshio Miyagawa's ashen face.

"According to our overnight interrogation, the intelligence that Master Jin sold is the complete list of 'red tickets' we arrested this time, and it even includes detailed information about the two special envoys."

"The intelligence was released around 5 p.m. yesterday."

"Then, the red tickets completed their collective withdrawal."

"Master Jin confessed that the list he revealed perfectly matched this top-secret intelligence."

"Moreover, he confessed that this intelligence was specially leaked to him by someone in a rush."

Gao Bin immediately pressed, "Who is it?"

A fine layer of cold sweat had seeped out from the backs of Yoshio Miyagawa and the others.

Hong Zhi smiled with a hint of mockery: "Let's not rush to say that name."

He extended his finger and slowly analyzed, "Now, the answer is quite clear."

"First of all, Captain Zhou can be ruled out."

"After he left the hotel, Captain Cui took him directly to the train station. He didn't get off the train again and didn't have a chance to make a phone call to pass on intelligence."

"Moreover, Captain Zhou did not know at the time that the operation would be so urgent."

"According to a normal person's thinking, if he were a red voter, and suddenly learned of such important information, his first reaction would be to verify its authenticity, rather than to report it immediately."

"He had neither the opportunity to leak the secret nor the psychological preparation to do so."

"Secondly, Director Guo of Jiamusi was accompanied by the Jiamusi Military Police throughout the entire process, so there was no possibility that he committed the crime."

"Then, there aren't many suspects left."

Hong Zhiyou's gaze finally landed on Miyagawa Yoshio.

"Chief of Police Miyagawa, as the highest-ranking officer of our Binjiang Provincial Police Headquarters, entrusted with this important task by the Emperor and the Army, would surely not leak such crucial intelligence."

"After all, if this gets out, it would be tantamount to treason, a heinous crime of betraying His Majesty the Emperor."

"Director Miyagawa, am I right?"

With each high compliment he received, beads of sweat appeared on Yoshio Miyagawa's forehead.

He knew that Hong Zhi's words, seemingly giving him a way out, were actually a way of putting him in a difficult position with the most heinous charges.

Hong Zhiyou was no ordinary person; he also held the honorary title of advisor to the General Staff Headquarters of the Kwantung Army.

If they really use this matter to suppress him to the death and report it to the capital, even if he doesn't die, he'll be badly hurt.

The astute people present also noticed that something was wrong with Yoshio Miyagawa.

Gao Bin sighed inwardly.

Son of a bitch.

In their infighting and power struggles, they even sold out such crucial intelligence as the special envoy line of the Manchurian Provincial Committee.

This is no longer a simple power struggle; it's playing with the safety of the empire!

Yoshio Miyagawa forced himself to calm down and coldly smiled:
"Section Chief Hong is joking. Of course I would never betray the interests of the Empire."

He turned to Master Jin and shouted sternly, "Master Jin! You'd better wake up and see clearly before you speak! Who sold you the information? Tell us the truth!"

Hong Zhi waved his hand and chuckled, "Director Miyagawa, there's no need to scare him."

"Since it wasn't Captain Zhou who leaked the information, nor was it you, the loyal empire's director."

"Then, there's only one possibility left."

His gaze, sharp as a sword, shot towards Cui Wannian, whose face had already turned deathly pale.

"According to our interrogation, Master Jin obtained the information over the phone."

"And that phone call happened to come from Jiamusi."

"So, besides Captain Cui Wannian, I can't think of any other possibility."

(End of this chapter)