Courtyard House: I, the eldest son of the Jia family, have returned from the battlefield.

After a long while, a sudden realization flashed in her eyes, and she murmured to herself in a voice so soft it was almost inaudible: "No wonder... Koizumi's downfall that time was so strange... It all started the day you stepped into the steel mill..."

The rest of the words were cut short by the sudden sound of footsteps on a stretcher.

Jia Dongming didn't look at her again.

He was carefully comparing the spacing of the handwriting on the two documents under the light, his pen scratching something on the workbook, as if the thrilling conversation just now was nothing more than an insignificant interlude in the autumn night.

The night was as dark as ink, but undercurrents were stirring in the steel mill's residential building.

Jia Dongming stood in the center of the Yang family's living room, his gaze calmly sweeping over Zhang Huizi, who was slumped on the floor.

The wooden floorboards creaked as two guards carried the stretcher through the door.

"Love the army,"

Jia Dongming turned his head to the side, his voice low but clear, "Take a few people and hand her over to Director Wang of Jiaodaokou Police Station."

After the handover, half the men will continue searching this area, while the rest will come with me to Mao'er Hutong.

Zhang Huizi abruptly raised her head, her previously pale cheeks flushing an unnatural red. "Mao'er Hutong?"

Her voice sounded like it had been sanded clean, "How could you possibly know..."

"I know more than that."

Jia Dongming turned to look at the deep night outside the window, his tone as calm as if he were describing the weather, "There is a secret passage in that underground room that leads to the courtyard next to Zhou Xudong's old residence."

You dressed up as an old lady and came out from there, took tram number three and circled half the city, finally changing clothes at the public toilet in Dongzhimen.

Zhang Huizi, do you really think no one can see through your tricks?

The last glimmer of hope in the woman's eyes was extinguished.

She watched as the security guard carried stacks of documents out of the study; the papers gleamed yellowed with age under the lamplight.

Those were secrets she thought would never see the light of day.

The corridor outside the door was already crowded with people.

The doors of each household were ajar, and suspicious glances peeked through the cracks.

When Secretary Zhang walked out of the Yang family's house with a livid face, the whispers suddenly stopped.

"Go back to sleep, everyone!"

Secretary Zhang's voice was low, yet carried an undeniable authority.

The crowd dispersed like the receding tide, leaving only an empty corridor and a few doors that were hastily closed.

Back in his living room, Secretary Zhang's wife rushed to greet him. "Old Zhang, people outside are saying..."

She was interrupted before she could finish speaking.

Secretary Zhang had already walked to the telephone.

He gripped the handle and cranked it a few times. Once the switchboard was connected, he said in a deep voice, "Please connect me to General Manager Kou's office in the Ministry of Industry."

The tens of seconds of waiting felt exceptionally long.

Finally, a gentle female voice came through the receiver: "Hello, this is the Kou residence."

"Sister, I'm Zhang Handong from the steel rolling mill."

Secretary Zhang unconsciously straightened his back. "There is an emergency that must be reported to General Kou. Please ask him to answer the phone."

After a moment's hesitation, the other party agreed.

After what felt like an eternity, a slightly hoarse yet still authoritative voice came from the other end of the receiver: "Comrade Han Dong, what's the matter that's so urgent?"

Zhang Handong took a deep breath: "General Manager Kou, ten minutes ago, our factory's newly appointed security chief, Jia Dongming, led a team to raid Director Yang's home."

Preliminary investigation revealed that Yang Weimin's wife was a long-time undercover agent.

There was silence on the other end of the phone.

Zhang Handong could picture the boss's furrowed brows at that moment.

Outside the window, the towering chimneys of the steel rolling mill stood silently in the night, while the seemingly peaceful night in this city was just beginning to be torn open.

The voice on the other end of the microphone carried a chilling, impending rage. Zhang Handong's spine tightened, and he carefully reported, "General Kou, the situation is like this... According to the intelligence provided by Jia Dongming, Comrade Yang Weimin's spouse, Zhang Huizi, has been confirmed to be a long-term Japanese intelligence chief within our ranks."

When I arrived at Yang's residence after hearing the news, I witnessed security personnel seizing a top-secret document that had just been delivered to our factory by the ministry that morning, along with a handwritten copy in the same handwriting, from his study.

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the line, followed only by heavy breathing.

General Kou was clearly processing this shocking information. Yang Weimin had been entrenched in the steel rolling mill for many years, his influence deeply entrenched. This thought made the veins on his forehead bulge. "Zhang Handong!"

His command was firm and decisive: "You must set off immediately and return to the steel mill."

Investigate thoroughly how many top-secret documents Yang Weimin secretly took home during his years in office.

Not a single one can be missed!

"Yes! I'll set off tonight."

Once the security department has completed its verification, it will immediately provide you with a detailed report.

Zhang Handong dared not be negligent in the slightest, his voice taut like a fully drawn bowstring.

General Kou, however, was not appeased. The recent purge of over a dozen spies at the steel mill was still fresh in his mind, and his old and new anger surged forth in quick succession. "Zhang Handong! Your steel mill just sent in a bunch of spies a few days ago, and now even the factory director's wife is their leader! I think your place is quickly becoming a den of bandits teeming with enemy agents!"

Almost simultaneously, deep in Mao'er Hutong, the night was torn apart by the roar of trucks.

Jia Dongming jumped out of the truck bed, his gaze as sharp as a cold blade. He first scanned the target courtyard from top to bottom, making sure it was deserted, before waving his hand to signal.

The fully armed team members rushed forward from behind, and the door lock broke open with a crash of metal.

The sound of hurried footsteps swept across the courtyard and headed straight for the inner room.

With his target clear in mind, Jia Dongming opened the bedroom wardrobe, tapped and pried at a certain spot on the bottom with his knuckles, revealing a dark, damp hole that exuded a chilling, underground aura.

He turned his head and gave a brief order: "Leave two men here to guard this place. The rest of you, follow me."

The steps were narrow and steep, and the beam of a flashlight sliced ​​through the thick darkness.

Jia Dongming fumbled around on the rough brick wall for a moment, then clicked.

With a soft sound, the dim light suddenly illuminated the underground chamber.

The first thing that catches the eye is two radios side by side on the table, and a meticulously marked map of Beijing.

"Section Chief! Over here!"

A team member pried open a wooden crate in the corner, his voice trembling with suppressed surprise, "It's all top-of-the-line stuff! There are rifles and pistols, two mortars, and crates full of shells!"

Immediately afterwards, a report came from the other side: "A large amount of grain reserves have been discovered, and canned meat is piled up to half a person's height."

Jia Dongming's gaze fell on a certain mark on the map, his fingertips unconsciously stroking the surface.

It wasn't until the third voice rang out that he was pulled back: "Section Chief, here... there are gold bars, several boxes of them."

Silver dollars and large sums of money, the quantity... is astonishing.

Despite having anticipated this, Jia Dongming's face still betrayed a strong sense of surprise and excitement.

He strode to the open wooden box, picked up a heavy gold brick, the cold touch lingered in his palm for a moment, and then he gently put it back.

He then walked to the box next to him, which was full of banknotes—aside from a few foreign exchange certificates, the rest were brand new ten-yuan bills and various other notes, roughly estimated to be over ten thousand yuan.

The only sounds in the sealed room were the faint crackling of electricity and suppressed breathing.

Jia Dongming glanced around, quickly made a mental calculation, and then pointed out two trusted confidants: "Zhao Gang, Zheng Tao."

You two are responsible for counting the gold, silver dollars, cash, and bills here.

After the amounts were verified, the cash and checks were packed separately into bags.

He paused, lowering his voice but making it clearly audible, "Once all the weapons and supplies are transported back to the factory, send the money and receipts to my office first."

The rest of the winter guards remained on the vehicle, with additional double-post guards assigned.

I will decide on a handling plan after reporting to the General Administration.

As soon as the words were spoken, a knowing glint flashed in the eyes of most of the team members, their excitement barely concealed.

Only Zhao Gang frowned, took a half-step closer, and lowered his voice to a whisper: "Section Chief, this is no small sum of money. If word gets out, and the higher-ups investigate..."

Jia Dongming raised his hand to interrupt him, his face showing a nonchalant, even slightly mocking expression: "Ten or twenty thousand, that sounds like a lot."

But if you divide it among all the brothers in our security department, each of us will only get a few dozen yuan for our hard work.

His gaze swept over the crowd, his tone turning cold, carrying an unquestionable air of authority: "Gold, silver dollars, foreign exchange—we'll hand them all over, and that'll be a meritorious deed."

But while those above are feasting, shouldn't the brothers running errands and risking their lives below at least get a taste of the spoils? So, tonight in this cellar, all we found were gold bars and silver dollars, were they all marked white? The rest, they never existed."

The flickering lights in the secret room cast long shadows of everyone, each with their own distinct expression, onto the mottled brick wall.

"Boss, where's the money? Are you seeing things?"

One of the guards suppressed his elation and deliberately dragged out his question.

"Absolutely! All you see here is glittering yellow and white; you can't find a single banknote!"

Immediately, someone nearby chimed in with a laugh.

Jia Dongming didn't reply, his gaze returning to the map spread out on the table. He ordered in a deep voice, "Don't just stand there, hurry up and load everything onto the truck."

"Section Chief, what should we do with these grain sacks and canned goods?"

Someone pointed to the mountain of food piled up in the corner and tentatively asked.

Jia Dongming glanced up and immediately frowned: "Hand it over? If we hand it over, how will it end up in our hands? Take it all back to the factory and send it directly to the logistics warehouse."

Instead of being discouraged by the reprimand, the guard who asked the question grinned and said, "Mingbai! I guarantee it will be handled flawlessly."

The bundles of banknotes would amount to tens of thousands of dollars. Divided among the people, each person would receive at least thirty or forty dollars.

This unexpected windfall acted like a shot of adrenaline, making everyone exceptionally quick and efficient.

In less than half an hour, the basement was emptied out, and everything was stuffed under the tarpaulin of the truck.

Based on the unexplored markings on the map and the locations that had already been destroyed, Jia Dongming had a clear idea of ​​what was going on: the remaining locations must be enemy spies that had not yet been exposed; and the location marked with a skull was most likely hiding their secret special ammunition.

He carefully folded the map and put it in his pocket, then looked around to make sure nothing was missing before turning and leaving the secret room.

With engines roaring, the convoy headed toward the steel rolling mill.

As soon as he jumped out of the car, a guard jogged up to him and said in a low voice, "Section Chief Jia, Secretary Zhang is waiting in your office."

Jia Dongming paused, then turned to Zheng Tao beside him and said, "Send the Dongxi in the bag directly to the logistics office."

You and Zhao Gang stay there and keep watch.

The rest of you stay put and wait for my return.

After giving his instructions, he strode towards the office building.

Pushing open the door to his office, he saw Zhang Handong and Zhao Jianguo sitting inside.

Jia Dongming immediately put on a hearty smile: "Secretary Zhang, I'm really sorry, we just led a team to raid a rat's nest, sorry to have kept you waiting."

Zhang Handong stood up from his chair, but his expression was not relaxed. He went straight to the point and said, "Section Chief Jia, you should know why I'm here."

Let's cut to the chase—just how serious is Yang Weimin's case?

Seeing that the other party was directly targeting Ming, Jia Dongming also put away his politeness and his expression became serious: "Secretary Zhang, it is not easy to say at the moment whether Yang Weimin has been completely dragged into this mess."

But it's undeniable how much intelligence Zhang Huizi obtained through him.

Based on this alone, do you think he can still exonerate himself completely?

Zhang Handong sensed the weight in her words and pressed further, "How...how did you get your hands on Zhang Huizi? I mean, how did you confirm that she was that Japanese spy chief?"

Jia Dongming was able to see through Zhang Huizi because of his "eagle eyes," which he never showed to anyone.

.

He kept this secret very well and naturally wouldn't reveal a single detail.

When asked, he simply replied seriously, "Following the trail from Zhou Xudong, all the clues eventually pointed to her."

Initially, no one knew about her relationship with Yang Weimin. It was only after multiple verifications that her identity was confirmed.

"This group is planning a major operation targeting several key departments."

To thwart this plot, tonight, under the unified command of Deputy Director Ma of the General Bureau, we launched a simultaneous crackdown on enemy agent strongholds throughout the city.

Although Jia Dongming spoke briefly, Zhang Handong already understood that this operation was directly deployed by the Public Security Bureau, which meant that the higher-ups already knew Zhang Huizi's identity.