Chapter 144: The Communist Party Special Branch

Wang Kangnian carefully studied the page in his hand.

As for the tragedy described on it, he felt a slight trace of sympathy.

But only that.

The nation was going through difficult times, and ordinary people did indeed live hard lives.

Still, had things not always been this way for thousands of years?

What mattered most now was eliminating subversive elements and centralizing authority.

He believed that under the Leader’s wise guidance, the people’s lives would improve in the future.

What ordinary people needed to do was endure, behave honestly, and refrain from causing trouble for the National Government and the Leader.

He noticed that the writer had clearly been emotionally agitated while recording the death of the child laborer.

Wang Kangnian’s finger lightly traced over the handwriting.

He could feel the rough tears in the paper.

The writer had pressed so hard while writing in anger that the fountain pen nib had scratched through the paper.

What did this indicate?

It indicated that the incident had deeply affected this Communist.

It was entirely possible that he had personally investigated the case.

Even if he had not investigated it himself, that did not matter.

From the writer’s emotional reaction, Wang Kangnian judged that he would certainly not ignore what happened afterward.

Given the Communists’ usual “hypocritical benevolence,” they would never stand by and watch the dead girl’s mother and younger sister starve, freeze, or die from illness.

Therefore, keeping watch on the dead girl’s family might yield unexpected results.

Wang Kangnian felt somewhat encouraged.

“Investigate this girl from Huacheng Cigarette Factory. Find her family’s residence and keep it under constant surveillance.”

“Yes, Section Chief!”

One of the subordinates respectfully accepted the page.

At that moment, Ding Naifei returned, his expression dejected as he clutched his wounded shoulder.

Wang Kangnian glanced behind him.

Nothing.

There was no sign of Guo Qing.

Nor was there any sign of Ah Hai.

A bad feeling immediately arose within him.

“Where is he?” he asked coldly. “Where is Ah Hai? Where is Guo Qing?”

“Reporting, Section Chief, they’re... gone.”

Ding Naifei forced himself to make the report.

“We found Guo Qing’s corpse. Ah Hai is gone. And...”

“And what?”

“Guo Qing’s service pistol is gone too. I suspect that Communist killed Guo Qing and took his pistol.”

“Bastard!”

Wang Kangnian flew into a rage.

He raised his hand to slap Ding Naifei.

However, seeing the miserable sight of Ding Naifei clutching his wounded shoulder, as well as the looks from the surrounding subordinates, he forcibly restrained his anger.

Ding Naifei was a deputy whom he relied upon heavily.

The man had already been slapped once today.

Being slapped repeatedly in front of the subordinates would damage his authority.

More importantly, Ding Naifei valued his reputation above almost everything else.

Resentment might inevitably grow in his heart.

“Tell me everything,” Wang Kangnian said, withdrawing his hand and speaking with a dark expression.

“Start from the beginning and explain every detail.”

Seeing the slap withdrawn, Ding Naifei secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

If he got beaten again in front of everyone, he would truly lose all face.

Wang Kangnian glared at him.

Ding Naifei immediately began recounting the entire sequence of events exactly as it had happened.

Throughout the report, Wang Kangnian repeatedly interrupted him to ask detailed questions.

When Ding Naifei finally finished and saw Wang Kangnian deep in thought, he dared not disturb him and quietly withdrew to one side.

Today had been a complete disaster for him.

For reasons unknown, something had gone wrong with Guo Qing’s cover.

Ah Hai had suddenly discovered his identity and launched a surprise attack.

Panicking, Guo Qing had fired a shot.

That shot had alerted the three people inside the house.

They had immediately burned documents, opened fire to resist arrest, and escaped over the wall.

Up to that point, although there had been some complications, the arrest operation had still been proceeding fairly smoothly.

Ding Naifei’s arrangements had not contained any major mistakes.

The three men had been trapped in the alley with virtually no possibility of escape.

Moreover, according to Ding Naifei’s account, one of the younger Communists had revealed the identity of the group’s leader in a moment of panic:

Minister Wang.

His surname was Wang? Or perhaps Wang as in the similar-sounding surname?

A Communist minister.

The Communist organization maintained strict discipline.

Generally speaking, only senior members of the Shanghai Municipal Committee or the Provincial Committee held positions with the title of minister.

Hatred welled up inside Wang Kangnian.

This had been a big fish.

He had practically had it in his grasp, only to watch it escape.

The feeling was like being halfway through the wedding night when someone knocked you unconscious with a club and the bride got dressed and ran away.

The root cause of everything was the Communist who had appeared later:

The man had killed Guo Qing, seized his pistol, wielded two guns by himself, and carried two grenades.

Single-handedly, he had rescued four Communists from the encirclement of more than a dozen Party Affairs Investigation Department agents.

Then he had escaped successfully himself.

This was the greatest defeat of Wang Kangnian’s intelligence career.

He could already imagine how furious Wu Shanyue, chief of the Shanghai Special District Operations Unit, would be upon hearing of this incident.

Compared with the fury of his superiors and the disciplinary punishment that might follow, the sense of humiliation was even worse for a proud man like Wang Kangnian.

Humiliation!

Utter humiliation!

“Deputy Section Chief Ding, you’ve really brought honor to our Party Affairs Investigation Department,” Wang Kangnian said mockingly, consumed by anger.

“I am incompetent. Please punish me, Section Chief.”

Ding Naifei lowered his head.

“Punish you? Who do you think you are?” Wang Kangnian snorted. “I will personally request punishment from our superiors regarding this matter.”

Ding Naifei raised his head.

His eyes were filled with shock and gratitude.

“Section Chief!”

“Crying like a woman, what kind of behavior is that?”

Wang Kangnian directly slapped him.

This slap was heavier than any before.

Yet Ding Naifei felt not the slightest resentment.

“Tell me,” Wang Kangnian said, pulling out a cigarette case.

He placed one cigarette in his own mouth and directly stuffed another into Ding Naifei’s.

“What do you think of this Communist who appeared out of nowhere?”

Ding Naifei sniffed.

Fumbling hurriedly, he took out a lighter.

First he lit Wang Kangnian’s cigarette, then his own.

Drawing deeply, he exhaled a thick cloud of smoke and clamped the cigarette between his teeth as he sank into thought.

Wang Kangnian did not interrupt him.

Ding Naifei was a veteran agent of the Shanghai Special District Operations Team of the Party Affairs Investigation Department.

His seniority actually exceeded Wang Kangnian’s.

“Section Chief, I have no recollection of this man.”

Ding Naifei shook his head in frustration.

“I don’t think I’ve crossed paths with him before.”

“Old Ding, among our old enemies, is there anyone who matches this Communist?” Wang Kangnian asked.

“Section Chief, you mean...”

Ding Naifei’s eyes widened.

Then he slapped his thigh.

“That’s it!”

Unfortunately, the movement pulled at his shoulder wound.

The pain made him bare his teeth.

The man was agile, an excellent marksman, and possessed formidable individual combat ability.

Among the Communist organizations, there was one department known for producing such operational experts.

The most likely source was the Party Affairs Investigation Department’s old adversary, the Shanghai Special Branch.

Wang Kangnian had only been transferred from the Nanjing Party Affairs Investigation Department to the Shanghai Special District five months earlier.

His understanding of the Shanghai Special Branch was indeed inferior to that of Ding Naifei, a veteran Shanghai agent.

Thus Wang Kangnian pointed out the direction of thought, while Ding Naifei, who usually pretended not to enjoy thinking, did the actual analysis.

“That’s right. It has to be those people.”

Ding Naifei gritted his teeth.

“I never imagined that after last year’s massive dragnet, there would still be fish that slipped through the net.”

“You are more familiar with our old friends than the rest of us,” Wang Kangnian said, his expression stirring slightly.

“Based on what you know, who is this man most likely to be?”