Spy game? Stop guessing, I really am an undercover agent!

Chapter 225 You are simply lawless

"What?" Wu Gengshu's brows furrowed suddenly. Chen Gongshu, nicknamed "Ruthless Scholar," was one of Boss Dai's four henchmen.

He once served as the head of the Kuomintang's Beiping station and assassinated Wang Keming, the chairman of the puppet North China regime. Last year, Wang's group used a speech as a pretext to fly directly from Chongqing to Yunnan, then transferred in Kunming to Hanoi, Vietnam.

After arriving in Hanoi, Wang published a telegram, in which he expressed an ambiguous attitude toward the Japanese and was extremely obsequious...

When this article was published in the newspaper, it instantly shocked the whole country, and some traitors, big and small, who were eager to make their moves, seemed to have found their backbone.

They unanimously supported Mr. Wang's actions.

The Military Intelligence Bureau received instructions from Boss Dai to select assassins to go to Vietnam to hunt down Wang.

Chen Gongshu, the team leader, finally found an opportunity after lying in wait in Vietnam for more than a month to plant a bomb in Wang's car.

Unexpectedly, the bomb did not kill the major traitor, but it did kill the secretary, Zeng Zhongming.

After narrowly escaping with his life, Wang immediately requested special protection from Japanese Foreign Minister Takeo Imai.

After reporting to the General Staff, Takeo Imai dispatched a guard team, half of whom were assigned to protect Wang's safety, while the other half were assigned to pursue Chen Gongshu's assassin squad.

After news of Chen Gongshu's failed assassination attempt and the numerous obstacles hindering their operation reached Shancheng, Boss Dai, after much deliberation, ordered them to retreat.

However, due to the arrest of the head of the Shanghai Military Intelligence Station, headquarters suspected that there were problems within Shanghai.

The telegram for the response was not sent to Shanghai, but was instead forwarded to Nanjing, where people were sent to Shanghai to make the response.

Wu Gengshu paused for a moment, then slowly said, "Have Hummingbird take some people to Shanghai. Remember, whatever you do, do not make any lateral contact with the people at the Shanghai station."

"Until Wan Tianmu's matter is clarified, anyone at the Shanghai station is a suspect."

In Jinling, in a quiet corner of an abandoned warehouse outside the Pukou Wharf.

Wan Tianmu ripped off the tattered felt hat that was obstructing his vision and gasped for breath. The biting early spring wind filled his lungs, but it did nothing to dispel the almost frozen chill in his heart.

The moment he left Tiger Bridge in the afternoon, the guard's "kind" reminder to "be careful outside" and Yingzuo's last words a few days earlier, "The air of freedom is deadly," lingered in his heart like venomous snakes.

He changed into a stolen, tattered, and stiff set of dockworker's clothes and deliberately smeared dirt on his face.

Kagesa did indeed "keep his promise" and release him, but he did not provide any cover for his identity or travel expenses.

This was part of a scheme to let him walk out of prison with an air of nonchalance and face the questioning gaze of Jinling Station.

Wan Tianmu was very cautious and changed his clothes after being released from prison.

He now needs to find an opportunity to prove his innocence before the people at Jinling Station find him!

But this is as difficult as climbing to the sky.

It can be said that all the contact points at Jinling Station became potential death traps the moment he stepped out of prison.

He dared not go to any strongholds and could only rely on his scattered memories of the city when he was the stationmaster of Jinling Station, wandering and hiding in abandoned factories, demolished shantytowns, and chaotic slums.

When hungry, they would steal some dried food and salted fish from the stalls; when thirsty, they would scoop up a few mouthfuls of water from the icy river. The physical exhaustion was bearable, but the mental torment and the ever-present sense of crisis were like maggots clinging to their bones.

As evening fell, a cold rain swept through Nanjing. Wan Tianmu huddled deep within the steel framework of an unfinished Western-style building, soaked to the bone and shivering.

Just as his consciousness was becoming somewhat hazy, a strange engine sound came from afar, sounding particularly muffled in the rain!

It wasn't a military truck! It was two black sedans with their headlights off and deliberately slowing down, gliding slowly like ghosts along the muddy road outside the construction site! The windows were closed and the curtains were drawn, but Wan Tianmu's hardened intuition was frantically alerting him!
He could feel the gaze from behind the tightly closed car window sweeping over the abandoned construction site like a searchlight!
Pursuers! It's the elimination team!

They've already gotten here?! Is it a coincidence? Or... a precise location?

Wan Tianmu held his breath instantly, pressing his body tightly against the cold steel bars and concrete cracks, not daring to let even a single extra drop of water fall. Cold rain streamed down his cheeks, mixing with sweat and blurring his vision.

His heart pounded wildly in his chest, almost bursting through his ribs. His hunters were terrifyingly efficient! This was no coincidence; behind them must be a network even more familiar with his habits and intent on killing him!

"Search carefully! Footprints! Traces! He must be hiding in this area!" A deep, muffled command came through the rain.

Footsteps splashed mud and water, and beams of light from several flashlights swept back and forth through the ruins like pale, venomous snakes, passing over the gaps where Wan Tianmu was hiding several times. The most recent beam almost grazed his scalp!

Cold sweat instantly soaked through the last remaining dry layer of his clothes. Wan Tianmu's right hand slowly reached for his waist, where a chipped bayonet he had picked up from beside the corpses in the street battle was tucked. The cold touch brought a tiny bit of a sense of security.

Just as the searchlights were about to pinpoint his hiding place—

"Boom!!!"

A deafening roar erupted from the nearby riverside warehouse district! Flames shot skyward, instantly tearing through the thick curtain of rain! The earth trembled violently!
It was an explosion! On a scale far exceeding that of typical acts of sabotage!

"what's the situation?!"

The calls to search for him instantly filled with shock and a hint of panic! Flashlight beams were immediately moved away from the rubble, shining towards the direction of the explosion! Footsteps began to converge in that direction!

Wan Tianmu didn't know who caused the explosion. Perhaps it was another anti-Japanese force active in the vicinity? Or perhaps it was an accident? But this sudden explosion became his only escape route!

Taking advantage of the chaos, he used all his strength, like a wounded but agile wolf, and under the cover of the light and noise of the explosion, he hunched over and moved as fast as he could through the muddy construction site in the rainy night!
The rain soaked his body, but he didn't care; all he wanted was to escape this locked-in death zone.

Jinling Special Service Committee Office
As Kageyama listened to his subordinate's report, a smug smile appeared on his lips.

After his subordinate finished reporting, he bowed slightly and left the office.

At this moment, Lieutenant Colonel Sonoda Kumakichi, the new government's military advisor sitting to the side of the office, slowly stood up and said, "Lord Kagesa, continue. The pressure is still not enough. Wan Tianmu is still harboring illusions about the Military Intelligence Bureau."

"Don't worry, he won't last long," Yingzuo said calmly. "Our people have been following him in the shadows. No matter where he runs, he can't escape my grasp."

“Too slow,” Sonoda Kumakichi said slowly. “I just received a telegram from Imai-kun.”

"That guy who almost got killed by a Kuomintang bomb in Hanoi, he doesn't trust anyone now."

"Imai-kun means to arrange for him to come back."

"The Military Intelligence Bureau hates this man to the bone. Before he returns, the Shanghai station must be completely eradicated."

Yingzu nodded slightly: "Then we need to push him a bit."

"What do you think about letting the Military Intelligence Bureau accidentally capture him, Mr. Sonoda?"

"Wouldn't that be a bit risky? What if the Military Intelligence Bureau doesn't listen to his explanation and just carries out the family punishment?" Sonoda looked somewhat worried.

"Kagesa-kun, you should know that in order to deal with Wan Tianmu, we have mobilized all the manpower of the Jinling Special Higher Police and the Special Affairs Committee, and deployed layers of control with Wan Tianmu's whereabouts as the core."

"For this operation, we mobilized more than two hundred people,"

"If we spend such a huge amount of manpower and resources and end up with nothing, neither of us will be able to explain it to the local community."

“I know very well,” Yingzuo said calmly, “but now that things have come to this, we have no choice but to take a gamble.”

"Wan Tianmu is now a stray dog, and the last straw that broke his back was the final judgment from the Military Intelligence Bureau."

"We must make him completely lose faith in the Military Intelligence Bureau before he will be willing to work for us."

"If anything goes wrong with the plan, I will take responsibility."

Sonoda frowned slightly, tapping her fingers lightly on the desk in front of her.

The muffled beeping made the atmosphere in the office extremely oppressive.

"Alright, Kagesa-kun is a professional intelligence officer, I believe your judgment is correct."

Sonoda stood up and said, "Resolve the Wan Tianmu matter as soon as possible. I'll cover for you at headquarters for now."

Shanghai, French Concession, Sixteen Factories Warehouse
The river wind howled, carrying salty, fishy vapors and the smell of rotting wood, crashing against the rusty barge skeletons on the shore.

The moonlight was fragmented by the thick clouds, sparingly casting down a few pale spots that barely outlined the twisted pipes, the collapsed brick walls, and the silhouettes of several piles of goods, half-covered by tarpaulins and resembling small mountains.

"Splash—" A soft sound of water was heard.

A medium-tonnage barge with a reinforced hull quietly docked at the makeshift pier.

Several burly and agile boatmen quickly jumped off the boat.

The boatmen lifted a corner of the tarpaulin, and by the dim light of their own portable lanterns, they could see rough-surfaced stones with a somber, iron-gray hue and even a hint of dark red—these were tungsten ore.

A barely audible car horn honked from afar, like some kind of secret signal.

Immediately afterwards, two dim yellow car headlights flashed briefly like ghostly eyes before going out.

An unassuming black Chevrolet sedan slid like a ghost into the shadow of the collapsed wall next to the abandoned pumping station.

The car door opened, and the first person to step out was a slightly thin man with sharp eyes, who gripped the hard object in his arms warily. Then, a foot wearing an exquisite suede ankle boot with a slender yet remarkably steady heel stepped onto the gravelly mud.

For a fleeting moment, moonlight pierced through the gaps in the clouds, illuminating the profile of the person who had just arrived.

Shen Qingyao wore an elegant cheongsam with a thick, dark woolen overcoat. Her fair face appeared particularly aloof under the cold light.

She walked calmly toward the pile of ore, her eyes sharp as needles, quickly scanning every corner of the scene before finally settling on Lin Yongren, the owner of the trading company.

“Mr. Lin, time is precious,” Shen Qingyao’s voice was not loud, but it clearly cut through the wind. “This is the last batch. Please check it. The quality is basically consistent with the contract.”

"I trust Miss Shen to get things done." Lin Yongren took a few steps closer, a light sheen of sweat on his forehead—not from exhaustion, but from a deep-seated tension.
"Of course, the most important thing in doing business is reputation. There are eleven tons and five hundred kilograms here, absolutely the right weight!" Shen Qingyao confidently showed Lin Yongren the quality and weight of the tungsten ore.

Lin Yongren examined several finished pieces; the quality of the ore from the top and bottom was almost identical.
"Ms. Shen, there's no problem with the ore. The supplies you need will be shipped on time in three days. Just notify the person there to pick them up then."

Lin Yongren extended his hand and said, "It's a pleasure to cooperate with you."

"It's a pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Lin." Shen Qingyao extended her hand to shake hands with him.
"call out--!"

A sharp, piercing whistle, like the howl of a vengeful ghost, suddenly shattered the deathly silence of the dock!

Immediately afterwards, "Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!" Several intense beams of light, too bright to look at directly, shot out from all directions without warning!

Behind the iron frame of the abandoned crane, in the collapsed pile of oil drums, in the dilapidated doorway of the pumping station... countless beams of dazzling white searchlights, like venomous snakes, precisely bit the key figures in the transaction!

Instantly, Shen Qingyao, Lin Yongren, and the pile of deadly ore were exposed to the bright, daylight-like center of the light field!
"Don't move! Put your hands up!"

Special Higher Police! Surrender and you will not be killed!

The fierce, short commands, mixed with Japanese and distorted Chinese, came from all directions.

The heavy crunching sound of military boots on gravel was as dense as hail! Dozens of dark figures, like demons crawling out of hell, armed with pistols and ropes, and exuding a chilling murderous aura, pounced out from all the corners where they had been lying in ambush!

"Damn it." Lin Yongren's face drained of color instantly, and he instinctively reached for his gun.

However, before he could draw his pistol, a short, stocky Japanese agent rammed into him like a cannonball, his knee slamming into his lumbar spine, while his iron-like hand snapped his wrist bone, which was halfway out of his pistol, with a "crack"!
Lin Yongren let out a miserable scream as he was forced down into the cold mud like a tattered sack, his face chafed by the rough gravel. Any of his men who made the slightest movement were immediately knocked down with rifle butts and bound.

Shen Qingyao's reaction was lightning fast! The instant the lights came on, her pupils contracted sharply, but her body instinctively made the most correct response.
Her left hand swiftly reached into the inside pocket of her coat and shoved the transaction list into her mouth.
"Trying to destroy the evidence?!" A cold female voice rang out behind her.

A gloved hand, wielding terrifying strength, precisely gripped Shen Qingyao's wrist and twisted it sharply backward! The knuckles emitted a teeth-grinding cracking sound!

The excruciating pain caused Shen Qingyao to groan, and her fingers instantly lost their strength.

Immediately afterwards, she was kicked hard in the left shoulder by a foot wearing a heavy military boot! The force was enough to break bones! Shen Qingyao lost her balance and staggered towards the pile of ore, her carefully styled hair being roughly pulled off.

"Hold her down!" Nan Tian shouted.

Two burly agents pounced on her from the left and right, pinning Shen Qingyao's arms behind her back like pincers, and forcefully kneeling her on the back of her knees, making her kneel down on the dirty ground.

Shen Qingyao forced herself to swallow the list.

"She really doesn't know what's good for her..." Nantian Yangzi's figure was elongated in the bright light, and her expression looked even more sinister and menacing as she looked at Shen Qingyao's empty mouth.

Her meticulously groomed, elegant face was expressionless at this moment, with only a slight twitch at the corner of her eye revealing her dissatisfaction.

Her gaze first swept over the disheveled Lin Yongren and several boatmen on the ground, and finally, like two icicles, it was firmly fixed on the face of Shen Qingyao, who was forced to kneel.

Nantian Yangzi looked down at Shen Qingyao, while several agents stepped forward and roughly ripped off the tarpaulins covering several piles of goods.

The heavy tungsten ore had nowhere to hide under the strong light, its dark red glow shining through its gray exterior.

A spy with a camera quickly stepped forward and snapped photos of Shen Qingyao and Lin Yongren, who had been pinned down, the mountain of ore, and the meticulously staged arrest scene. The white light of the camera flash froze everything in the frame.

Shanghai, headquarters of the Special Higher Police.

Chen Yang's car came to an abrupt halt in front of the Special Higher Police headquarters in an almost aggressive manner.

The Japanese military police guarding the car immediately tensed up and stepped forward with their guns to stop him. Chen Yang pushed open the door and got out of the car, not even glancing at the gun barrels, and walked straight inside.

"Halt! Identification!" the guard shouted in broken Chinese-Japanese language, his gun almost pressed against Chen Yang's chest.

Chen Yang suddenly looked up, his usually gentle and deep eyes now blazing with icy flames as he stared intently at the leading guard.

The pressure and anger in his eyes were so palpable that even the battle-hardened military policeman instinctively took a half-step back.

"Where is Nantian Yangzi? Tell her to come see me immediately!" Chen Yang's voice wasn't loud, but it pierced the guards' eardrums like an ice pick, carrying an unquestionable tone of command.

"Who are you? Section Chief Nantian is in his office. No outsiders are allowed." The agent clearly did not recognize Chen Yang.

Of course, Chen Yang wearing the uniform of the Land Transport Department might have made him hesitate, but he came immediately after receiving the call and didn't have time to change his clothes.

"She won't see me, huh? Then I'll go see him. Get out of my way!" Chen Yang waved his hand abruptly and barged inside.
Taking advantage of the guard's hesitation, Chen Yang strode across the front hall.

Several plainclothes agents who rushed to the scene tried to block him from the side, but Chen Yang suddenly swung his arm to deflect the attack, the force of which caused one of the agents to stagger a few steps.

He didn't physically assault anyone, but the sheer force with which he pushed the agent aside was a shocking provocation in the hierarchical headquarters of the Special Higher Police.

His leather shoes stomped on the cold terrazzo floor, producing a heavy, clear echo that seemed to vibrate the entire corridor.

Special Higher Police Headquarters, Office of the newly established Special Affairs Section 1 Chief
Nantian Yangzi was sitting behind her desk, holding a newly written preliminary report on the "successful capture of rebels Shen Qingyao and Lin Yongren," with a smug and cruel smile on her face.

The loud bang of the door being flung open made her look up sharply, her eyes instantly filled with wariness and anger at being disturbed.

When she saw that the person who came was Chen Yang, Nantian Yangzi's lips curled into a sarcastic smile.

She slowly put down the report, leaned back in her chair, and looked at the furious Chen Yang with a leisurely air, as if admiring a caged beast.

"Director Chen?" Yoko Nanda deliberately spoke in a teasing tone, "What a rare guest. But the Special Higher Police isn't your little West Road café; you can't just barge in like that."

She picked up her teacup, took a small sip, and acted with extreme arrogance.

Chen Yang stood in the center of the office, his chest heaving with intense emotions.

He ignored Nantian's sarcasm and asked, word by word, "Section Chief Nantian, I want to know where Shen Qingyao and Lin Yongren are?"

"Oh?" Yoko Nanta put down her teacup, raising an eyebrow in feigned surprise. "Mr. Chen is also concerned about these two rebels?"

"They colluded with criminals to smuggle tungsten ore, a vital strategic material, in an attempt to disrupt the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere order. They have been arrested by our Special Task Force in accordance with the law."
"I believe that they will soon pay the price for their crimes."

"Rebels? Smuggling?" Chen Yang's voice suddenly rose, and he took a step forward, placing his hands on Nan Tianyangzi's desk, looking down at her. A powerful sense of oppression instantly filled the small office. "You say they're smuggling rebels? Where's the evidence? Do you, Special Section One, handle cases based entirely on 'hearsay'?"

Nantian's smile slowly faded. She slammed her hand on the table and stood up, confronting Chen Yang across the table. Her voice became sharp and sarcastic: "Insolence! Chen Yang! Are you questioning the credibility of the Special Higher Police of the Imperial Japanese Empire?"

"They were caught red-handed at the transaction site, with the evidence irrefutable!"

"As for the charges, I say they are rebels, and they are rebels! This is the Special Higher Police! It's not your place to point fingers here!"

"Who do you think you are? How dare you question me?"

"Wasn't it you who tipped off Lin Xueli when he escaped last time? Don't think I don't know! You dare to barge in and yell today, believe me, I'll let you experience what it's like in an interrogation room with them?"

The air seemed to freeze, and their gazes collided in the air, as if sparks could fly.

The entire office was filled with a tense atmosphere, as if it could spiral out of control at any moment.

"Nantian, trying to play tricks on me? I'm afraid you can't handle it." Chen Yang's tone instantly turned cold.

"Director Chen, whether you are the head of the Land Transport Section or the director of the Nanjing Special Service Committee."

"It seems that none of them can interfere with the work of our Special Section One."

"Of course, if you could replace Lord Kagesa as the head of the Mei Agency right now, I might give you some face." Nantian's tone was full of sarcasm.

Just then, a knock sounded on the door, and Special Higher Police Commander Fujita Tsuyoshi pushed the door open and entered.

"Section Chief Nantian, what happened? Why is Section Chief Chen so angry?"

“Colonel Fujita,” Yoko Minamida said coldly, “Yesterday, Special Section One caught Chief Chen’s men doing business with the Red Party in the line of duty.”

“I now have reason to suspect that Section Chief Chen used the Imperial transport network to support the Red Party with supplies.”

"Section Chief Chen came to interrogate us; he must have something to hide."

"Section Chief Nantian, I advise you to watch your words." Chen Yang suppressed his anger, crossed his arms, and looked at Nantian Yangzi in a deep voice, saying, "How can you accuse me of treason without any evidence in front of a high-ranking officer like Colonel Fujita?"

"You are absolutely lawless..."

(End of this chapter)