Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 449 Third-party intelligence agents parachute into Shanghai; Yue Jinping, whom they haven't seen for two years.

Radio waves carried the secret back to Yan'an aboard a gunboat, and Fang Wen saw them off at the Fuping Water Airport dock.

As he watched the plane disappear into the distance, his thoughts drifted.

Fang Wen was confident that the secret function he had put into the semiconductor radio would have a significant effect at a crucial moment, given the painstaking effort he had put into it.

As for when, he didn't know, but as long as he kept this secret, it would definitely come in handy.

This inspiration came from a memory of the future. In those days, when the internet was highly developed, he had heard similar stories from online celebrities. He had heard that backdoors were hidden in those best-selling global technology products, such as printers and digital machine tools.

This is simply doing ahead of time what foreign intelligence agencies will do in the future.

Just then, Bai Yunfei spoke up: "Commander Fang, we need to ask you to carry out another nighttime airborne operation to send our three enemy personnel to Shanghai."

Fang Wen's method of airdropping intelligence personnel behind enemy lines eliminates intermediate steps, avoids various potential dangers, and allows for the delivery of small amounts of supplies during the airdrop. This method has become an excellent way to transport intelligence personnel behind enemy lines.

"Sure, will they parachute?" Fang Wen asked.

"I've trained in the flight regiment and jumped from gunships twice, so I've already mastered parachuting skills. All that's missing is you, the ace pilot who can fly long distances at night," Bai Yunfei replied with a smile.

Fang Wen nodded. "Alright, when do we set off?"

“I haven’t finished yet. There’s another group of people who want to use your night-flying skills to parachute into Shanghai.”

"There are others?" Fang Wen asked, puzzled.

Bai Yunfei explained: "It's an agency from the Nationalist government, the Investigation and Statistics Bureau of the Central Executive Committee of the Kuomintang and the Investigation and Statistics Bureau of the Military Commission of the Nationalist Government. They conveyed their request for assistance to you through our Eighth Route Army headquarters, and they also wanted to go to Shanghai."

Fang Wen did not answer, lost in thought.

Both departments were newly established: the Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics (Zhongtong) and the Military Bureau of Investigation and Statistics (Juntong).

Unexpectedly, his successful airdrop of intelligence personnel behind enemy lines attracted the attention of these two organizations.

Seeing that Fang Wen did not answer, Bai Yunfei said, "I know that you have a lot of conflicts with them because of Taishan Airlines. Aren't we in the same boat? We fought with them for so long, but now we have put aside our past grievances and fought against Japan together. Now is the time for the whole nation to unite in the war of resistance. We are all for the same goal. I hope you can put aside your grudges for the time being and send this group of people to Shanghai. This is very important to them."

Fang Wen nodded: "Okay, do they know how to skydive?"

"They said they had studied it."

"Here's a suggestion: intelligence work requires secrecy, so everyone should wear masks when boarding the plane so that no one knows what the other looks like. Also, I'll arrange the drop zone and the people who will meet you."

"You're in charge of arranging the backup?" Bai Yunfei was stunned.

“Yes, I still have some connections in Shanghai,” Fang Wen replied.

"Alright, I'll relay your request to my superiors and we'll need their cooperation."

After Bai Yunfei finished speaking, he went back to the office to send a telegram.

This matter requires cooperation from all three parties and cannot be decided overnight.

The results weren't available until the afternoon.

All three parties agreed to Fang Wen's plan to keep the identities of all parachutists confidential. As for the pick-up personnel and location, that was fine with Fang Wen, as long as the people could safely reach Shanghai and make contact with their respective undercover agents.

The time is set for the night after tomorrow.

After the mission to parachute in Shanghai intelligence personnel, Fang Wen couldn't help but think of the intelligence agency he had established.

Currently, the Taishan intelligence station in Shanghai is not very effective and does not meet the original intention of establishing the station.

Furthermore, Yoshida, a key figure in the Naval Affairs Department of the Ministry of the Navy in Japan, was not fully utilized.

It's time to consolidate this intelligence force.

How can we make good use of them to create greater value?

He has no idea yet.

But there is one thing we must be wary of: the Japanese have already used listening devices against us in Rangoon.

Will there be any breakthroughs in telegraph detection technology?

The intelligence station in Shanghai had to make changes to avoid being exposed by the Japanese when sending messages.

Therefore, while arranging for the Taishan intelligence station to be responsible for the support operation, he planned to have them take some precautions.

Subsequently, at a specific time in the evening, Fang Wen sent a secret telegram to the Shanghai intelligence station.

[The night after tomorrow, personnel carrying supplies will be parachuting into Shanghai. You are responsible for their reception. Once the landing site is confirmed, please call back immediately.]

[Furthermore, the Japanese army may have acquired radio detection technology; from now on, radio transmission practices need to be improved.]

Before sending the message, a safety zone must be established. Observation points should be set up at intersections within a 1000-meter radius of the sending point. If anything is detected, an alarm should be triggered using a Taishan walkie-talkie.

The Taishan walkie-talkie is a newly developed piece of equipment that can be used for short-range wireless communication. It will be provided to you by the personnel airdropping on the night of the day after tomorrow, who will be carrying supplies.

Xingye Lane, Catholic Church Street, French Concession, Shanghai.

Pedestrians wearing trench coats hurried through the drizzle.

The lime-carved human-shaped marks on the ground ahead were washed away by the rain, those marks representing an assassination that had just taken place not long ago.

Mr. Gu, the owner of Yongda Grain Store, was the former president of the Shanghai County Chamber of Commerce and a member of the Japanese puppet regime's "SH Citizens' Committee." He was shot by four masked youths at that very spot and died on the spot from his injuries.

Pedestrians stepped through the lime-stained water and turned into the adjacent stairwell door, opened it directly with a key, and then went through the stairwell to their second-floor residence.

After returning to his room, he took off his coat and hat, revealing his true face.
It was Qian Yinxing, the head of the Taishan intelligence station.

Since the Japanese army occupied Shanghai, although no Japanese troops have entered the French Concession, the frequent arrests by plainclothes teams have indicated that the area is no longer safe.

Therefore, the Taishan Intelligence Station abandoned its original secret base and dispersed its members to various locations to lie in wait.

He and Liu Yubao, as the station chief and deputy station chief, also went into hiding separately to avoid the situation where the entire intelligence station would be leaderless if they were both captured.

He pulled out a chair and sat down. Qian Yinxing poured himself a glass of water from the ceramic teapot on the desk in front of him and stared blankly at the drizzle outside the window.

The intelligence station is currently very idle.

The "miracle sterilizer" is no longer sold through this channel. Now, all that's needed is to send an intelligence summary report to the higher authorities every ten days.

Meanwhile, significant changes were taking place among intelligence colleagues in Shanghai during the same period.

The British and French intelligence brokers who once dominated the Shanghai intelligence circle have suddenly become less active.

These intelligence agents continued to sell international intelligence, but stopped collecting intelligence on China, proactively indicating to the Japanese army that they did not want to cause trouble.

Meanwhile, other intelligence agencies are rising in prominence.

An organization called the "Technical Research Institute" set up a station in Shanghai, which reportedly received Soviet intelligence resources.

Meanwhile, the Japanese also established a special intelligence agency within the diplomatic corps—the Iwai Mansion—headed by Iwai Eiichi, the deputy consul general of the consulate general in Shanghai.

The Wang Jingwei regime's secret agency No. 76 also operated in Shanghai, cooperating with the Japanese intelligence agencies.

There were also intelligence organizations left behind by the Nationalist government in Shanghai.

They are also the most radical.

Especially these last two months.

Numerous assassinations targeting Japanese and puppet regime personnel were carried out both inside and outside the concession, causing widespread panic among those who had defected to the Japanese.

Qian Yinxing was certain that even the shooting that occurred in this alley was carried out by the Kuomintang's intelligence agency.

Just then, the pocket watch in his pocket chimed crisply. Qian Yinxing put down his water glass and took out a telegraph machine from a hidden compartment in the wardrobe.

It was supposed to be the routine power-on time, but unexpectedly, it received radio waves.

After he finished recording, he translated the telegram.

Upon reading the telegram, Qian Yinxing couldn't help but feel excited; finally, he had something to do.

As for where the parachute will land?
The first thing that came to his mind was Gujiazhai Park, a park built by the French, which they also added a zoo to this year.

Qian Yinxing went there at night to make a deal with an information broker.

He had observed the situation inside Gujiazhai Park at the time. After 9 o'clock, there were only two park caretakers in the entire park. It was very quiet and very large, covering more than 100 acres.

Qian Yinxing, who had received skydiving training, immediately determined that the location was ideal for landing.

Immediately afterward, he sent a telegram to Fang Wen, and upon receiving permission, went out to gather people to begin preparations.

After the pick-up arrangements were completed, Fang Wen also received Bai Yunfei's instructions regarding airport pick-up personnel.

The intelligence personnel from all three sides heading to Shanghai behind enemy lines will board their planes at the air regiment's seaplane base and in Xi'an.

For this operation, Fang Wen chose the Water Tiger No. 4, which he often drove before.

On the morning of the departure day, after checking the fuel reserves and ensuring that there were no problems with the aircraft, Fang Wen and Gong Xiuneng boarded the plane and set off.

After takeoff, only Fang Wen and Gong Xiuneng were on the plane. Only then did Gong Xiuneng voice his reluctance: "Commander, why send those Kuomintang guys here? Haven't they ripped you off enough? How much profit did your airline give out? And now they're shutting it down without a second thought. They don't care about you at all."

Fang Wen, piloting the plane towards Yan'an, felt calm.

He knows history and he's on the right side, but others don't.

Moreover, this is a time for unity in resisting Japan. Bai Yunfei was right before; we cannot let personal grievances affect the war effort.

He smiled and explained, "Those who want to seize my property are some petty people who are high and mighty, while these intelligence agents behind enemy lines are going to Shanghai with their heads on the line. They are not afraid of death and they are going to Shanghai to fight the Japanese. I am willing to send them there. Things should be dealt with one by one, right?"

Gong Xiuneng nodded sullenly: "I'm not as insightful as you, the regimental commander. No wonder Master said I have no wisdom."

Fang Wen smiled without saying a word and continued piloting the plane.

Ten minutes later, the plane arrived at Wanghuai Lake.

That place used to be where Fang Wen trained in skydiving. Later, when the flight team was established, they also chose this place and set up the flight team's camp and seaplane base here.

When Fang Wen's aircraft appeared in the airspace, it immediately alerted the aircraft below, but after a moment, they realized it was a friendly military aircraft and lifted the alert.

They are extremely vigilant, befitting their composition as veterans of the Long March.

As the Water Tiger 4 circled in the air, Fang Wen picked up the microphone, adjusted the radio frequency, and made a call.

"Taishan is calling the flight squadron, requesting to land."

The ground control quickly responded: "Landing is permitted."

Immediately, Fang Wen lowered his altitude and landed on the water.

Three men in plainclothes, carrying suitcases, waited at the dock. After Fang Wen brought the plane ashore, they boarded it directly.

No outsiders were involved in the entire boarding process.

On the plane, the three put down their luggage, saluted Fang Wen, and the one in the middle said, "Due to the secrecy of the operation, we cannot reveal our identities. Please forgive us, Commander Fang."

Fang Wen returned the salute and took out a face towel: "I understand. On the next flight, I will also pick up Kuomintang intelligence personnel behind enemy lines to parachute together. You must keep each other's identities secret to avoid unnecessary trouble. I have prepared this for you."

The three of them took the face masks and covered their faces.

Fang Wen turned to the cockpit to start the plane and instructed, "Gong Xiuneng, talk to them, find out about their parachute situation, and distribute parachute packs."

After the plane took off, Gong Xiuneng spoke with the three men: "Are you sure you're okay with parachuting?"

"No problem, I've been trained in the flight regiment and can complete the parachute jump independently."

"That's good. The parachutes and flight kits are the same style, you should be familiar with them. Here, put them on you."

The three men took the parachute backpacks, put them on skillfully, and then sat quietly on the folding iron stools on the cabin wall.

Gong Xiuneng said nothing more and waited silently.

The plane landed at Xi'an Water Airport after flying for more than an hour.

A group of people were already waiting there.

Before opening the hatch, Gong Xiuneng hesitated and said, "Commander, the people outside, are they just using this as an excuse to lure you here and then take you into custody?"

The possibility was extremely slim, but Fang Wen still used his mechanical senses to observe the outside world.

Among those people outside was an acquaintance of his, Qiao Kang from the Wuhan station of the Military Intelligence Bureau.

This person acted as a go-between for Fang Wen when he went to Wuhan last time, but he didn't sell Fang Wen then, so it's even less likely this time.

"Open the door. It's alright," Fang Wen said.

Gong Xiuneng then opened the cabin door, placed the boarding board on the wooden platform of the dock, and looked outside warily.

Fang Wen walked directly to the cabin door and greeted Qiao Kang: "We meet again. Did I ask you to come see me off this time?"

Qiao Kang was a little embarrassed: "The higher-ups thought that since I have some connection with you, it would be easier to hand over the reins, so they assigned me."

Fang Wen nodded and looked at the five people behind Qiao Kang.

As he requested, they also wore masks so their faces could not be seen.

He then let the five people board the plane.

There were eight people in the cabin. Gong Xiuneng closed the cabin door, and Fang Wen prepared to say something before takeoff.

"I'll be in charge of the parachute landing in Shanghai, including the flight and the pick-up. The landing point is Gujiazhai Park, which is deserted at night and quite large. I'll fly silently at an altitude of 800 meters and guide you to the appropriate jump location, so you'll most likely land in Gujiazhai Park. After landing, use a short whistle as a signal; the pick-up team will come looking for you when they hear it. So, try not to wander around for twenty minutes after landing to ensure the pick-up team can find you. After the pick-up is complete, you'll be taken to your safe arrival point. How you then contact your respective organizations is up to you. Do you understand?"

Eight people replied: "Understood."

Fang Wen was about to drive when he suddenly stopped. He recognized a familiar sound from the voice he had just heard.

Why do I have this feeling?
With his enhanced body, his hearing is extremely sensitive; he's absolutely certain he's right.

The voice sounded like a familiar face I hadn't seen in a long time.

Yue Jinping.

Fang Wen turned around and walked to the second person on the right.

The person was wearing a mask, and their breathing was uneven.

"Is that you?" Fang Wen asked.

no answer.

Although there was no answer, Fang Wen felt even more clearly that it was Yue Jinping.

He looked at the others and said, "I have some personal matters to attend to. The flight is delayed. Everyone, please wait for me over there."

Everyone wisely went to the front of the plane, leaving Fang Wen and the masked man behind.

(Gu Family Residence Park in the French Concession, now Fuxing Park)
(End of this chapter)