Chapter 194: The Director’s Great Delight

The alley ahead was his residence.

Liu Bo subconsciously looked toward the left side of the alley entrance.

The ground there was slightly elevated and offered the best field of view. If someone were lying in ambush waiting for his return, that would be the ideal observation point.

His gaze met that of a man in short work clothes who was sheltering from the rain and smoking a cigarette out of boredom.

Liu Bo’s heart skipped a beat.

He withdrew his gaze and pretended to continue walking forward.

After confirming that he had not alerted the watcher, he suddenly turned around and sprinted away.

The watcher, a cigarette dangling from his mouth, was stunned.

Several seconds passed before he reacted and shouted:

“Liu Bo’s running! Grab the Communist!”

Bang!

First came a single gunshot, followed by a much fiercer burst of gunfire.

“Idiots! Take him alive! Take him alive!” Ding Naifei roared.

Before he had even finished speaking, a shot fired by Liu Bo in return grazed past his right ear, giving Ding Naifei a tremendous fright.

“Fire! Fire!” Ding Naifei shouted furiously.

Then, suppressing his anger, he added:

“Don’t shoot vital areas.”

Cheng Min put away her umbrella and placed it by the door.

The young shop assistant Yang Xin, with a measuring tape hanging around his neck, was lowering his head and working an abacus while calculating accounts.

He slightly raised his head, barely lifting his eyelids, and forced out a routine smile.

“Miss, what style of clothing would you like made? There are samples hanging on the wall. Please have a look.”

Cheng Min politely nodded.

With her arms folded, she enthusiastically examined the sample garments hanging on the wall.

Five or six minutes later.

“This one.”

Cheng Min pointed at a dark green short-sleeved qipao made of semi-spun fabric.

“You have excellent taste, Miss. This is the newest design by our shop owner.”

Seeing that business had arrived, Yang Xin set down his abacus, made a mark in the ledger, and said happily.

“What color would you like?”

“Light blue?”

“Light yellow?”

“Or bright red and purple?”

Cheng Min considered for a long time.

Twice she chose light yellow.

Then she chose light purple.

Then she changed her mind and selected light yellow again.

In the end, however, she still chose the dark green color of the sample garment.

“This way, Miss. We’ll take your measurements.”

Cheng Min glanced at Yang Xin.

“You misunderstand, Miss. Our proprietor personally measures female customers inside.”

Yang Xin smiled awkwardly and explained.

Cheng Min nodded, lifted the curtain, and gracefully entered the back room.

“Shaoyao!”

“Sister Jiashang.”

Cheng Min and Xiong Jiashang embraced warmly.

Afterward, they carefully looked at one another, excitement shining in their eyes.

Xiong Jiashang had a rather masculine-sounding name, but she was actually a tall, thin woman.

She appeared to be in her fifties and looked somewhat aged, though she possessed an exceptional bearing.

“So you’re called Cheng Min now?”

Xiong Jiashang looked her over and nodded with satisfaction.

“It’s a good name. Have you seen your younger sister and younger brother?”

“I went to the girls’ school and looked at Xiaoye from a distance,” Cheng Min said.

“As for Qianfan... I didn’t go see him. He’s a police officer now. It’s too dangerous.”

Deep inside, Cheng Min blamed herself.

She blamed herself for failing to fulfill her parents’ instructions and take care of her younger brother.

When she thought about how Cheng Qianfan had become a police officer, and had even personally arrested Communists, although it was later confirmed that the Communist he arrested had been a traitor, that alone was enough to reveal Cheng Qianfan’s current political leanings.

Sister Jiashang poured a glass of water for Cheng Min.

Her expression also became grave.

Cheng Min’s heart tightened.

“Comrade Cheng Min, I have some very unfortunate news to tell you.”

Xiong Jiashang’s expression was sorrowful.

“More than a month ago, Nationalist agents executed six of our comrades at Longhua, including Comrade Xie Wenzhang.”

The light in Cheng Min’s beautiful eyes seemed to freeze.

It felt as though a knife had sliced through her heart.

Xie Wenzhang was the nephew of her husband Xiong Jiahua.

Xie Wenzhang and his pregnant wife, Comrade Ge Cuimin, had arrived in Shanghai together.

Because of betrayal and an intelligence leak, the couple had been arrested at the docks by the enemy.

Over this period, the Jiangsu Provincial Committee and the Comintern had continuously attempted to rescue Xie Wenzhang and Ge Cuimin, but without success.

The Nationalist authorities had even refused to admit that they had arrested the young couple.

Only yesterday, Cheng Min had received a notification forwarded by the Jiangsu Provincial Committee instructing her to make contact today at Wenhua Tailoring Shop on Avenue Joffre.

She had never imagined that her contact would be Sister Jiashang.

Xiong Jiashang was the cousin of Cheng Min’s husband, Xiong Jiahua.

Looking at Sister Jiashang, who was suppressing her grief while her fingers trembled involuntarily, Cheng Min could no longer hold back.

She stepped forward and embraced this unfortunate yet great woman.

The fallen Xie Wenzhang was Sister Jiashang’s son, and the only child she had with her husband.

Sister Jiashang’s husband, Xie Tianhua, had been killed at Longhua during the April 12 Incident.

Nine years later, her son Xie Wenzhang had died at the same Longhua execution ground where his father Xie Tianhua had heroically given his life.

Meanwhile, her pregnant daughter-in-law Ge Cuimin remained in the enemy’s prison and could be murdered at any time.

Cheng Min could imagine how much pain Sister Jiashang was enduring.

“What’s going on?”

Cheng Qianfan frowned.

“What is the Military Justice Department doing? How did they let Xiao Zhenzhong escape?”

After the Special Service Office discovered Xiao Zhenzhong’s collaboration with Japan, agents had been dispatched to arrest him together with military justice personnel from the National Revolutionary Army Security Regiment stationed in Shanghai.

However, for some unknown reason, word leaked out.

Xiao Zhenzhong received advance warning and escaped.

He was currently hiding in the residence of a Japanese businessman named Hashimoto.

He rarely went outside and had hired numerous highly skilled bodyguards for protection.

Punishing him would not be easy.

Song Fuguo felt deeply embarrassed.

Although Cheng Qianfan was criticizing the Military Justice Department, the Shanghai District of the Special Service Office also bore considerable responsibility for Xiao Zhenzhong’s escape.

“There are several issues now,” Song Fuguo said gravely.

“First, we need to determine exactly what intelligence Xiao Zhenzhong provided to the Japanese.”

“Second, how many people within the Security Regiment are collaborating with Japan?”

“Third, when, where, and by what means was Xiao Zhenzhong recruited by the Japanese? What codename does he use, and what position does he hold with them?”

Cheng Qianfan nodded, expressing agreement with Song Fuguo’s assessment.

Song Fuguo was a veteran intelligence operative with tremendous experience.

Although he could not entirely escape leadership responsibility for the two recent incidents, his leadership ability and contributions could not be denied.

“I need all information on Xiao Zhenzhong.”

After thinking for a moment, Cheng Qianfan continued.

“His personal relationships. Who is close to him, and who has conflicts with him.”

“In addition, his hobbies, habits, whether he enjoys opera, antiques, or Western curiosities, what dishes he likes, what tea he drinks. The more detailed, the better.”

“And gather as much information as possible regarding his physical condition.”

Cheng Qianfan continued.

“I want his hospital records and examination reports.”

Watching Cheng Qianfan calmly and methodically issue orders, Song Fuguo did not become angry.

This was not Cheng Qianfan being disrespectful.

Nanjing Headquarters had ordered Song Fuguo’s Intelligence Section to cooperate with Cheng Qianfan’s unit.

Seeing a young man he had always admired grow to such a level, Song Fuguo felt a slight bitterness, yet also considerable satisfaction.

After finishing, Cheng Qianfan smiled.

“Section Chief Song, do you see anything that needs adjustment or correction?”

“It’s very thorough.”

Song Fuguo nodded.

“I’ll arrange to obtain the relevant materials as soon as possible. Do you need anything else?”

“Help me prepare a place for interrogation.”

“Fine.”

Song Fuguo nodded.

At the entrance to an alley, the vehicle slowly came to a stop.

Song Fuguo quietly got out and disappeared into the night.

Cheng Qianfan continued driving.

About ten minutes later, he arrived at Huanlong Road.

There he exchanged coats with the waiting Li Hao.

He returned to the back seat while Li Hao took over driving.

At an alley entrance on Avenue Joffre, Haozai got into the car and sat in the passenger seat.

Route Père Robert, Zhou Ru’s residence.

A knock sounded at the door.

After the correct password exchange and hearing the team leader’s voice, Zhou Ru opened the door.

She glanced at Li Hao and Haozai, who had arrived together with Team Leader Cheng Qianfan, then nodded.

Zhou Ru had previously met Haozai once, but she had never met Li Hao.

However, she asked no questions.

If the team leader believed she should know something, he would tell her.

If he had not told her, then she should not ask.

“Team Leader, the radio has been set up.”

Zhou Ru led Cheng Qianfan into the inner bedroom.

During the last two contacts, Cheng Qianfan had personally transmitted messages to Hangzhou.

Clearly, the contents were highly classified.

Li Hao stood guard at the bedroom door.

Haozai guarded the outer room behind the entrance.

Meanwhile, Zhou Ru sat at the desk in the outer room writing.

She had long since become accustomed to this arrangement.

Cheng Qianfan’s handwriting was exceptionally beautiful.

As the fountain pen moved across the paper resting on a flat wooden board, strong and vigorous characters appeared.

“To Deputy Director Yu of Hangzhou, and forwarded to Director Dai in Nanjing.”

“Today, Japanese agent Yingzuo Eiichi tested me. He is highly satisfied. Henceforth there is no longer any Miyazaki Kentaro. There is only Cheng Qianfan, impersonated under Japanese arrangements using the identity of Miyazaki.”

“Thus it can be concluded that the Japanese no longer harbor any suspicion toward me. The operation has succeeded.”

“Additionally, regarding the Communist Liu Bo. He has been under surveillance for more than a month, and no significant suspicious targets have been discovered. He is extremely cautious and currently appears to be engaged in obtaining intelligence from Japanese personnel.”

“He has frequent contact with Yingzuo. Therefore I fear attracting his attention and compromising my undercover security. I have now decided to close the net.”

“Your subordinate, Cheng Wufang, Year Twenty-Five of the Republic...”

Cheng Qianfan stopped writing and carefully reviewed the message.

This was the third telegram he had sent to Hangzhou and Nanjing Headquarters over the past month.

These three telegrams progressively reported the process by which he was now impersonating Cheng Qianfan under the identity of Miyazaki Kentaro.

This was the story Cheng Qianfan had chosen to let the Special Service Office know.

The result was true.

The process was a mixture of truth and falsehood.

In the first telegram, he reported to Nanjing that he had discovered someone following him.

The two fought.

After capturing the man, he discovered that the person was none other than the Japanese Miyazaki Kentaro, whose identity Cheng Qianfan had previously impersonated in Hangzhou.

Cheng Qianfan immediately interrogated him.

Miyazaki Kentaro confessed that Yingzuo Eiichi of the Shanghai Special Higher Police Section had ordered him to conduct the surveillance.

The purpose was to observe Cheng Qianfan’s behavior and mannerisms for use in an impersonation operation.

The man was not a true intelligence operative.

Afraid of death, he revealed numerous details.

Unfortunately, Miyazaki Kentaro was severely wounded, having suffered a stab wound to the chest, and ultimately could not be saved.

Upon receiving this telegram, Nanjing was greatly encouraged.

An order was immediately sent instructing him to impersonate Miyazaki Kentaro and claim that Miyazaki had killed Cheng Qianfan, thereby carrying out the plan of using Miyazaki’s identity to impersonate Cheng Qianfan.

In that telegram, Dai Chunfeng had written:

“If you find this difficult, you are permitted to reconsider and decline this mission.”

This was because Dai Chunfeng clearly understood that ordering Cheng Qianfan to impersonate Miyazaki Kentaro and then, as Miyazaki Kentaro, impersonate Cheng Qianfan was extraordinarily dangerous work.

The smallest detail could expose him to Yingzuo Eiichi.

The operation carried immense risk.

Cheng Qianfan’s reply to Nanjing had been:

“Loyal to the Leader, loyal to the Director, loyal to Party and Nation. I shall not shrink even from ten thousand deaths.”

This was the only choice and answer Cheng Qianfan could make.

The Director had given him an opportunity to choose.

At the same time, he had also provided the only acceptable answer.

According to reports, this reply deeply moved the Director.

Afterward, he began his operation of impersonating Cheng Qianfan under the identity of Miyazaki Kentaro.

Today’s third telegram was reporting to Hangzhou and Nanjing that he had successfully gained Yingzuo Eiichi’s trust.

In the eyes of the Japanese, he was now Cheng Qianfan impersonated by the Japanese Miyazaki Kentaro.

The story Cheng Qianfan reported to the Special Service Office had a true outcome, but the process contained both truth and fabrication.

Naturally, he could not report the real circumstances to Hangzhou and Nanjing.

The truth would expose too many of his secrets.

It involved his earlier killing of Miyazaki Kentaro.

Furthermore, his arrangement of having Li Hao and others impersonate him to deceive the Japanese agents assigned by Yingzuo Eiichi appeared harmless, but would in fact arouse suspicion within the Special Service Office.

Those enormous Western oil paintings could not possibly have been completed in only a few days.

They had been Cheng Qianfan’s earlier preparations, stockpiled for emergencies.

This could easily lead the Special Service Office to wonder:

Why had he prepared such things so far in advance?

There was no way to explain that completely.

Given the intelligence and cunning of Dai Chunfeng and Yu Ping’an, they would certainly draw connections.

Moreover, people such as Pidan, Amao, and Adai were all hidden assets under his control.

He did not want them exposed to the Special Service Office.

There were also many seemingly insignificant details that might reveal numerous secrets about Cheng Qianfan.

Therefore, he needed to construct a story that was ninety percent true and ten percent false, while producing an outcome that was entirely accurate.

Cheng Qianfan took a deep breath.

In his mind, he automatically converted the text into cipher code.

Putting on the headphones, he began transmitting.

Beep-beep-beep.

Hangzhou, Xiongzhen Tower.

Inside the telegraph room, Section Chief Sun received the telegram paper from the operator.

His expression became serious.

Immediately, he personally delivered it to the Small White Building.

Soon afterward, Wu Yuanfang accepted the telegram paper from Section Chief Sun and knocked on the door of Yu Ping’an’s office.

“Deputy Director Yu, encrypted telegram.”

Yu Ping’an accepted the message.

After a quick glance, his expression immediately became grave.

“Guards!”

Yu Ping’an pressed the call bell.

“No one is to approach the office.”

Wu Yuanfang and the guard who had entered both responded with a sharp “Yes!”

With solemn expressions, they withdrew and closed the door.

Yu Ping’an took out the codebook and quickly deciphered the telegram.

“Thus it can be concluded that the Japanese no longer harbor any suspicion toward me. The operation has succeeded.”

Upon reading that sentence, Yu Ping’an was overjoyed.

He lit a cigarette and paced while thinking.

A moment later.

Yu Ping’an took out another codebook of even higher classification, used for communication with Headquarters in Nanjing.

He converted Cheng Qianfan’s telegram back into cipher form.

He then added a telegram of his own.

After encoding both messages, he sent them together to Dai Chunfeng at Special Service Office Headquarters in Nanjing.

Nanjing, Xufu Lane, headquarters of the Special Service Office.

Mao Shun hurriedly approached, telegram in hand, and knocked on the door of Dai Chunfeng’s lounge.

“Director.”

Mao Shun respectfully presented the telegram with both hands.

“Urgent telegram from Deputy Director Yu at Xiongzhen Tower in Hangzhou.”

Dai Chunfeng gestured for Mao Shun to leave.

He personally took out the codebook and deciphered the telegram.

First he read the telegram from Cheng Wufang that had been forwarded through Hangzhou.

Dai Chunfeng was delighted.

A trace of excitement appeared on his face.

“Excellent!”

Now, in Japanese eyes, Cheng Qianfan was already dead.

The current Cheng Qianfan was the Japanese Miyazaki Kentaro.

From the moment he received Cheng Qianfan’s first telegram, Dai Chunfeng had recognized an opportunity.

An opportunity for Cheng Qianfan to penetrate the Japanese organization.

He had immediately formulated the plan requiring Cheng Qianfan to impersonate Miyazaki Kentaro.

The real Cheng Qianfan would impersonate Miyazaki Kentaro.

The dead Miyazaki Kentaro would impersonate Cheng Qianfan’s corpse.

However, Dai Chunfeng also knew that although the plan appeared perfect, its chances of success were extremely low.

Cheng Qianfan was not sufficiently familiar with Miyazaki Kentaro.

There was a very high probability that the Japanese would see through the deception.

If that happened, exposure and death would await him.

That was why Dai Chunfeng had used wording that allowed Cheng Qianfan to decide for himself.

This was the choice he offered to a young fellow townsman from Jiangshan whom he greatly appreciated, and to the descendant of an old acquaintance.

Had it been anyone else, he would simply have issued a direct order.

Execution would have been mandatory.

Of course, in Dai Chunfeng’s mind, there was only one acceptable response:

Absolute loyalty and immediate execution of the mission.

If Cheng Qianfan proved afraid of death, then he would have no further value in Dai Chunfeng’s eyes.

Allowing him to remain alive somewhere would be the best outcome he could hope for.

Cheng Qianfan’s reply had been:

“Loyal to the Leader, loyal to the Director, loyal to Party and Nation. I shall not shrink even from ten thousand deaths.”

That genuinely pleased and moved Dai Chunfeng.

Afterward, he had remained constantly concerned about the matter.

However, Cheng Qianfan’s side, or more accurately “Miyazaki Kentaro,” had been under close scrutiny by the Shanghai Special Higher Police Section and could not send messages promptly.

Now, Miyazaki Kentaro’s impersonation of Cheng Qianfan had been regarded by the Japanese as a complete success.

Only then had Cheng Qianfan been able to evade Japanese surveillance and report the results.

A plan whose chances of success had been minuscule had actually succeeded.

Naturally, Dai Chunfeng was overjoyed.

If there was one slight dissatisfaction, it was this:

It had been the Japanese who arranged for Miyazaki Kentaro to impersonate Cheng Qianfan, rather than Dai Chunfeng arranging for Cheng Qianfan to impersonate Miyazaki Kentaro.

Though these appeared identical, they were fundamentally different.

In the former case, the Japanese held the initiative.

For example, at present the Japanese had merely arranged for Miyazaki Kentaro to impersonate Cheng Qianfan, allowing the fake Cheng Qianfan to continue operating within the French Concession.

That meant Cheng Qianfan remained Cheng Qianfan.

He was still that police officer in the French Concession.

His identity was simply one approved by the Japanese, ensuring they would no longer suspect him.

Or, put another way, he now had opportunities to passively obtain Japanese information and intelligence.

In the latter case, the Special Service Office would hold the initiative.

Cheng Qianfan, as Miyazaki Kentaro, would join the Japanese intelligence organization.

Under those circumstances, Dai Chunfeng would attach tremendous importance to him and arrange extensive support from the Special Service Office.

With such assistance, the fake Miyazaki Kentaro could continuously gain promotions and advancement within Japanese intelligence, becoming the Special Service Office’s ace agent hidden inside the Japanese apparatus.

These were two completely different situations.

In the former, which was the current reality, Dai Chunfeng had little opportunity to exercise active direction and initiative.

Of course, Cheng Qianfan’s safety was much greater now that he had obtained Japanese trust.

In the latter situation, which Dai Chunfeng regretted being unable to realize, Cheng Qianfan would need to infiltrate Japanese intelligence and continually seek advancement.

Dai Chunfeng would possess significant authority to direct his activities.

However, that would also mean greater difficulty and far more dangerous work.

What a pity.

Dai Chunfeng shook his head.

Now he could only hope that the Japanese were satisfied with Miyazaki Kentaro’s impersonation of Cheng Qianfan and would eventually transfer “Miyazaki Kentaro” back into the actual Japanese intelligence organization.

Only then could his undercover value be maximized.

Nevertheless, despite his slight disappointment, that stemmed only from greater ambition.

Objectively speaking, Cheng Qianfan’s successful impersonation of himself through the identity of Miyazaki Kentaro, convincing the Japanese that he truly was Miyazaki Kentaro, was already an exhilarating success.

“Even when viewed across the entire history of espionage worldwide, this would qualify as an extraordinarily unusual and remarkable case.”

That was the evaluation offered by Qi Wu after he hurried over upon hearing the news.

“Qi Wu, Yu Ping’an has proposed eliminating the name Cheng Wufang and assigning Cheng Wufang a new codename. What do you think?”

In an excellent mood, Dai Chunfeng smiled as he spoke.