Chapter 143: The Search

Wang Kangnian glanced at Xiao Si and said nothing.

If there was anyone among his subordinates whom he trusted most, it was Xiao Si.

Xiao Si’s elder brother had been Wang Kangnian’s close friend.

The two had also been classmates at the Nanjing Branch of the Huangpu Military Academy.

Xiao Si’s elder brother had “sacrificed himself” on the front lines of the anti-bandit campaigns in Jiangxi.

For many years, Wang Kangnian had taken good care of Xiao Si and his parents.

After graduating from middle school, Xiao Si began working under Wang Kangnian.

During his school years, Xiao Si had actually excelled in science subjects.

He was extremely meticulous in his work.

Two years earlier, he had become fascinated with photography.

Through self-study, his photography skills had advanced by leaps and bounds, surpassing even the veteran specialists of the Party Affairs Investigation Department.

At first, Wang Kangnian occasionally regretted bringing him into the intelligence profession.

Later, however, he was surprised to discover that the boy truly had a talent for it.

Ignoring everyone’s reactions, Xiao Si took two quick steps to Wang Kangnian’s side.

“Section Chief, there’s something under the sole of your right shoe. Don’t move. Yes, don’t move.”

Hearing this, everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Two agents stepped forward to support Wang Kangnian.

Another bent down and carefully held Wang Kangnian’s right shoe in place, helping him pull his foot out of it.

Xiao Si picked up the shoe and examined the sole.

There, stuck to the bottom, was a piece of paper.

Only one corner protruded from beside the heel.

Without careful observation, nobody would have noticed it.

The others looked at Xiao Si.

The bespectacled fellow certainly had sharp eyes.

Wang Kangnian took his shoe back and stared at the paper fragment on the sole.

It was the remnant of a half-burned sheet.

Part of it had mixed with the ashes on the wet floor and fused to the heel.

Another small portion of the paper remained attached to the sole.

Because it had become wet, the writing had already blurred somewhat.

A thoughtful look appeared in Wang Kangnian’s eyes.

This was no ordinary piece of paper.

It appeared to have been cut from a newspaper.

Wang Kangnian looked at the door and the brazier.

A rough reconstruction of events formed in his mind.

The Communists had burned documents.

Pressed for time, they had not checked whether everything had burned completely.

They had casually stirred the ashes with a stick, perhaps even with their fingers, poured water over them, then opened the door and fled.

When the door opened suddenly, a gust of wind entered.

One fragment that had neither burned completely nor been soaked by water was lifted by the wind and blown onto the ground beside the brazier.

There, it landed in some splashed water and gradually became soaked.

While examining the brazier, he had stepped on the small piece of paper.

Had Xiao Si not possessed such keen eyesight, nobody would have noticed it.

Most likely, after he left, the fragment would eventually have been crushed, fallen away, and disappeared.

No one would ever know that it had once enjoyed intimate contact with the sole of the Shanghai Special District Operations Unit Third Team leader’s shoe in the Party Affairs Investigation Department.

“Find a way to determine which newspaper this came from. I want to see the original article,” Wang Kangnian told Xiao Si.

“Leave it to me...” Xiao Si nodded.

Wang Kangnian turned to Ding Naifei.

“Go bring him here. I’ll interrogate him personally.”

Ding Naifei looked completely bewildered.

“Ah Hai! Ah Hai! Didn’t you capture Ah Hai right at the beginning? Has your brain stopped working?” Wang Kangnian could not help cursing.

The more he looked at Ding Naifei, the more displeased he became.

“Has your brain stopped working!”

Lu Dazhang slapped Fei Ming hard across the right cheek, leaving him completely stunned.

“The C... Communists.”

Clutching his face, utterly confused, Fei Ming pointed into the distance and stammered.

Two minutes earlier, after the gunfire had been silent for quite some time, Lu Dazhang had finally led his men cautiously out of the alley.

The moment they emerged, they saw a black-clad figure with a black cloth covering his face in the neighboring alley.

As agile as a monkey, the figure vaulted over a wall and instantly disappeared.

Seeing this, Fei Ming had excitedly grabbed his gun and prepared to give chase.

Lu Dazhang immediately smacked him across the back of the head.

Still unsatisfied, he followed up with another resounding slap.

“What Communist?” Lu Dazhang cursed in a low voice. “Shut your mouth.”

Then he turned and asked the others, “Did any of you see anything just now?”

“No.”

“I didn’t see anything at all.”

“Fei Ming, maybe your eyes are playing tricks on you.”

“Fei Ming, that’s not good. You’re still so young and already that weak.”

The constables all chimed in, their expressions utterly sincere.

Their performance was so convincing that even Fei Ming began doubting himself.

Had he really imagined it?

Lu Dazhang felt pleased.

The team he led was still a smart one.

Except for Fei Ming, this blockhead.

He did not know whether the figure had been a Communist.

Nor did he want to know.

The gunfight earlier had been terrifying.

Gunfire had erupted continuously, and grenades had exploded twice.

Based on his experience, at least seven or eight people had died in that battle.

In his eyes, that Communist was not an opportunity for merit.

The bastard was a soul-harvesting ghost.

Whoever touched him would suffer.

Whoever wanted to arrest him was welcome to do so.

As for Lu Dazhang, he wanted nothing more than to stay as far away from such a dangerous man as possible.

Clearly, his subordinates shared the same thinking as their inspector.

The team remained easy to lead.

Except for this stubborn mule.

“Kid, I’m warning you. Don’t spread stories about things that never happened. If you start spreading rumors again, you’ll regret it,” Lu Dazhang threatened.

“Inspector, it’s about time. We can head over now.”

Old Hat sniffed forcefully.

The smell of gunpowder in the air was gradually fading.

“Let’s go.”

Lu Dazhang waved his hand.

Several constables walked in front.

Only then did he start moving, positioning himself in the middle of the group.

Although the constables were somewhat dissatisfied, none of them said anything.

Officials cherished their lives.

Hiding in the middle was perfectly normal.

If they themselves were inspectors, they would do exactly the same.

“Section Chief, we found this.”

A subordinate handed Wang Kangnian a sheet of paper bearing a footprint.

Wang Kangnian took it and examined it.

He felt somewhat disappointed.

It was not an important document.

It appeared to be one page from an investigative report.

However, Wang Kangnian did not casually discard it.

Instead, he read it very carefully.

In his view, any written document found in a Communist safe house possessed value.

Perhaps some important clue was hidden within it.

“The Communists are investigating child labor conditions?”

“That certainly fits their style.”

“They spend all day trying to win over poor people with small favors and stir up popular sentiment.”

After reading it carefully, Wang Kangnian arrived at his own conclusions.

At that moment, one passage on the page caught his attention:

“There was a twelve-year-old girl working at Huacheng Cigarette Factory.

Her sick mother and young sister depended on her wages to survive.

Because of a minor mistake, the girl was beaten, verbally abused, and dismissed from her job.

She begged for mercy, but to no avail.

After returning home, she was so terrified by the dismissal that she lost her senses.

Three days later, she died.

According to the doctor, she had literally been frightened to death.”