Chapter 100: The Operation Succeeds

Upon hearing Cheng Qianfan’s words, the expressions of Wan Delong and He Qichen both changed, cold sweat breaking out across their backs.

Thinking of how Cheng Qianfan had just forced open the lock and directly pulled open the radio case, they felt lingering fear.

“Those bastards, too damn sinister.” He Qichen cursed, then even complained to Cheng Qianfan, “Cheng Wufang, you almost got everyone killed just now.”

Cheng Qianfan glanced at He Qichen and ignored him.

He could have chosen not to mention the matter.

However, Cheng Qianfan knew that he had displayed exceptional brilliance today. Mentioning it helped show a slight flaw in his performance, which was more in line with how a trainee ought to behave.

He himself was genuinely shaken as well. He had indeed been careless just now and insufficiently cautious.

The incident served as a warning to him. Intelligence work tolerated not the slightest carelessness. Had luck not been on his side today, the outcome would have been grim.

As for Wan Delong, he secretly became more wary of him. When he had opened the radio case, Wan Delong had suddenly stepped back several paces, positioning himself behind several agents and the counter.

He did not know whether Wan Delong had deliberately chosen not to warn him, or whether he had only realized the danger at the last moment and had no time to give a warning. The latter was probably more likely.

Nevertheless, Wan Delong’s use of his subordinates as shields chilled Cheng Qianfan’s heart and gave him a deeper understanding of the environment he was in.

Perhaps subordinates could be trusted to some extent. As for superiors...

As for He Qichen, not only had the man always shown subtle hostility toward him, but to be precise, He Qichen’s attitude toward Xiongzhen Tower had always been poor. The existence of Xiongzhen Tower greatly weakened the status of the Hangzhou branch of the Special Service Office. With such a supreme authority hanging over them, it was only natural that the Hangzhou branch felt dissatisfied.

Judging from his conduct, the man was narrow-minded. Better to keep one’s distance.

As a trainee in the special training class, Cheng Qianfan had no need to concern himself with He Qichen in the first place. The man had no authority over him.

Wan Delong, however, came over and patted Cheng Qianfan on the shoulder.

“Cheng Wufang, well done. If not for you today, a major disaster would have occurred. I’ll personally request credit for you from Deputy Director Yu.”

He had suddenly realized that there might be something wrong with the radio, but had no time to warn Cheng Wufang and could only instinctively protect himself.

Fortunately, there had been no problem with the radio.

He had breathed a sigh of relief.

What he had not expected was that the trap was not in the radio but in the codebook. He had been careless.

The caution Cheng Wufang had shown when recovering the codebook had genuinely saved everyone’s lives and protected the codebook as well.

Wan Delong did not consider himself a particularly broad-minded man, but neither was he so petty. He could still distinguish right from wrong.

Moreover, Wan Delong could tell that Deputy Director Yu was rather protective of Cheng Wufang.

In addition, he had learned that when the Section Chief had previously visited Xiongzhen Tower in Hangzhou, he had secretly met with Cheng Wufang.

A talented young man favored by powerful figures was not someone he needed to deliberately befriend given his own position, but showing a little goodwill would help establish a positive relationship.

And to be fair, he genuinely appreciated Cheng Wufang. During today’s operation, Cheng Wufang had indeed performed exceptionally well.

“I dare not claim any credit. It is all thanks to Team Leader Wan’s excellent command.” Cheng Qianfan spoke respectfully. This time, he made no mention of He Qichen.

Yu Ping’an clearly held a very poor opinion of He Qichen. Such a man wanted all the benefits and would immediately turn hostile at the first sign of trouble. Cheng Qianfan naturally had no need to flatter him.

At his current stage, falling out with He Qichen would bring more benefits than harm.

Most importantly, one had to keep pace with one’s superior.

“Old Wan, take a group of men and remain here,” Wan Delong instructed his deputy.

“Understood.” Old Wan was a taciturn man and replied in the same manner.

Hengrun Teahouse was one of the Japanese spies’ safehouses. If agents remained here, they might get lucky and catch additional Japanese spies who walked into the trap on their own.

However, the chances were slim. Although no shots had been fired during this operation, the commotion in broad daylight had still been considerable. It was difficult to avoid attracting the attention of interested parties.

Wan Delong led his agents as they escorted the bound and gagged Japanese spies and the collaborator Gu Changyou into vehicles and drove directly to Xiongzhen Tower.

He Qichen shot Cheng Qianfan a vicious glare. In the end, however, there was nothing he could do about him. With a cold snort, he took his men and left.

Cheng Qianfan glanced at Luo Six, who followed behind He Qichen and remained as taciturn as ever.

He thought of Wen Changjian. He had vaguely learned that the man had been absorbed into the Special Service Office, but since that arrest operation, he had never seen Wen Changjian again.

He wondered whether the existence of that traitor still posed a threat to the local Communist organization in Hangzhou.

Butterfly Flower should have relocated by now.

“Sir, can I leave now?” Ma Xiwen asked tremblingly.

Cheng Qianfan looked at him coldly. According to information Haozai had gathered, the man was hopelessly addicted to gambling and had even driven his own wife to death. Though cowardly and timid, he was by no means a decent person.

Nevertheless, today’s operation had owed much to him.

Cheng Qianfan had already learned that Ma Xiwen truly deserved his reputation as a lazy rogue. The mouthful of phlegm he had spat at Liu Tao had been a stroke of genius, directly drawing the attention of numerous Japanese spies. It could practically be called a major contribution.

Cheng Qianfan pulled several banknotes from his pocket and handed them to Ma Xiwen.

“You did well. This is an extra reward.”

“Thank you, sir. Thank you, sir.” Ma Xiwen accepted the money, his face splitting into a fawning grin as he bowed repeatedly.

“Off you go.” Cheng Qianfan waved his hand. He did not bother saying things like “live a proper life.” A gambler like this would never truly change his nature.

Looking at his own men, Cheng Qianfan took the stack of banknotes in his hand, removed half, and handed them to Haozai.

“Everyone worked hard. Go have some fun.”

“Thank you, sir.” The men were delighted.

An hour later, Cheng Qianfan returned to Xiongzhen Tower.

He immediately sensed that the atmosphere throughout Xiongzhen Tower was extremely tense, with staff hurrying about their business.

The Little White Building was under especially heavy guard.

Cheng Qianfan headed to the Little White Building. He intended to report personally to Yu Ping’an.

Wan Delong, who had returned earlier, had naturally already reported the details of the arrests.

But Wan Delong was Wan Delong, and he was himself.

This was the attitude a trusted subordinate ought to display.

Cheng Qianfan asked a guard to announce his arrival.

A short while later, Wu Yuanfang came out to escort him inside.

“Deputy Director Yu is in a meeting.” Wu Yuanfang led Cheng Qianfan to his own office and personally poured him a cup of tea.

“How could I trouble Vice Adjutant Wu?” Cheng Qianfan said with a smile.

“You brat, you’ve made one major contribution after another.” Wu Yuanfang joked. “At this rate, one day I might have to salute you.”

“Impossible.” Cheng Qianfan took a sip of tea. “Brother Yuanfang is one of Deputy Director Yu’s trusted men. I’ll still have to rely on your care and support.”

As he spoke, he set down the enamel cup and quietly asked, “That matter, was it successful?”

“Mhm.” Wu Yuanfang nodded. “General Xuan Chengwu personally stepped forward and personally arrested Luo Zhichuan, deputy commander of the 343rd Regiment, along with a batch of officers at the rank of major and above. Haven’t you noticed that all of Xiongzhen Tower is under lockdown?”

“General Xuan Chengwu wants to take the prisoners away, but Deputy Director Yu disagrees.”

As he spoke, he jerked his chin toward the outside.

“Don’t ask too much about it. Matters involving the military are beyond the likes of us.”

“Understood.” Cheng Qianfan nodded.

“Oh, right. Deputy Director Yu asked me to notify you to prepare yourself. You’ll be participating in this interrogation.” Wu Yuanfang’s voice was filled with envy.

Ma Xiwen left Hengrun Teahouse.

After running all the way, he finally stopped in the corner of an alley. Letting out a long breath, his legs went weak and he sat down on the ground.

He wiped the sweat from his forehead haphazardly with his sleeve.

Only after quite some time did he recover his composure.

Carefully glancing around, he finally reached into his pocket and pulled out a handful of silver dollars. He gazed at them greedily before quickly stuffing them back into his pocket.

He kept grinning foolishly.

“This time I’ll definitely win everything back,” Ma Xiwen muttered, his eyes shining.

At that moment, an agent who had been following him all along cursed under his breath.

“Damned gambling addict.”

Only then did he quietly leave.

More than ten minutes later, Ma Xiwen cautiously looked around, his expression turning incomparably grave.

He climbed to his feet, passed through several more alleys, climbed over a low wall, and emerged from another street corner.

Very soon, he disappeared into the crowd.