Chapter 66: Gunshots at the Wharf

Luo Six quietly wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Seeing Cheng Wufang sitting in a chair against the wall, basking in the sun, with everything seemingly normal, he let out a long sigh of relief.

“Xiao Cheng.”

“Brother Luo, you’re back. Feeling better now?” Cheng Qianfan asked with concern.

“I’m back. Got it all out. Feeling great now.”

Luo Six smiled.

“Nothing happened, right?”

“No.”

Cheng Qianfan replied, his expression still dull and wooden, but his heart stirred.

On the hem of Luo Six’s jacket was a paint stain about the size of a thumb.

Where had he gone?

How had he gotten paint on himself?

Cheng Qianfan silently committed it to memory.

At that moment, in the management office of Selling Fish Bridge Wharf, He Qichen stood by a window with binoculars.

When he spotted a group of people in the distance, he revealed a look of surprise.

“Why are they here?”

In the distance, three automobiles were parked.

The window of the middle car rolled down, and He Huan stuck his head out while a plainclothes detective reported to him.

“Director, the men have all been deployed,” the detective said quietly.

“Have you found Gao Lan yet?”

“Not yet.”

“Keep watching closely.”

After pondering for a moment, He Huan added,

“Focus on the wharf. Gao Lan is here to receive an important Communist figure. When the time comes, we’ll take them all in one sweep.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Tell everyone to stay alert. Anyone who becomes negligent and lets the enemy escape will be severely punished.”

“Yes, sir.”

Inside a black-canopied boat on the river, Yu Ping’an sat cross-legged.

Beside him was Zhao Yansheng, who remained vigilant at all times.

Wan Delong, an instructor from the special training class and leader of an action group, lifted the boat curtain and entered.

“Any sign of Kawada Eikichi?” Yu Ping’an asked gravely.

“No.”

Wan Delong shook his head.

“Could it be that he isn’t coming?”

“Probably not.”

Yu Ping’an shook his head.

“Qiqiao Flower’s intelligence has always been accurate. Kawada Eikichi must have important business here. He doesn’t know we’ve already put him under surveillance. There’s no reason for him to suddenly change his plans.”

Wu Yuanfang hurriedly boarded the boat and handed Yu Ping’an a slip of paper.

After taking one look, Yu Ping’an’s expression changed.

“What a crafty Kawada Eikichi.”

Yu Ping’an snorted coldly.

“Deputy Director Yu, what happened?”

“Qiqiao Flower has sent word. Kawada Eikichi isn’t at Kawaki Company. He must have disguised himself and left long ago.”

“Deputy Director Yu means that Kawada Eikichi already arrived at the wharf in advance?”

“Most likely.”

After thinking for a moment, Yu Ping’an ordered,

“Notify everyone. Kawada Eikichi is at the wharf. Search.”

“Yes, sir!”

Luo Six sat restlessly.

He saw that Gao Lan and his men were still lingering at the wharf.

It was too dangerous.

He did not know why Gao Lan’s group had come here.

He only knew that Selling Fish Bridge Wharf was extremely dangerous today.

If the agents discovered Gao Lan and the others, they would never escape.

Luo Six knew Gao Lan.

Gao Lan did not know him.

However, that was not why he had not directly warned Gao Lan.

He was a secret Communist agent planted inside the Special Service Office in Hangzhou.

According to organizational discipline, his foremost mission was to remain undercover.

Without orders from the organization, he could not expose himself on his own initiative.

Making contact with the couple in Hua Shiliu Alley and warning them was already the only thing he could do.

That was the emergency contact channel the organization had reserved for him.

Just then, Luo Six caught sight of a figure out of the corner of his eye.

An icy chill instantly ran down his spine.

It was He Huan, director of the Political Department of the Nationalist Party Affairs Investigation Department, a butcher whose hands were stained with the blood of countless comrades.

Why was He Huan here?

Had he come for Gao Lan and the others?

What should he do?

Luo Six felt as though he were sitting on a bed of needles.

An impulse rose within him to sacrifice himself if necessary and warn Gao Lan to withdraw immediately.

But strict organizational discipline restrained him from doing so.

Cheng Qianfan crushed his cigarette butt against the wall in the corner.

He noticed Luo Six’s line of sight.

Following it, he saw the same group of people he had been suspicious of before.

Was Luo Six one of them?

Were they members of the Hangzhou Special Service Office?

Cheng Qianfan immediately rejected that possibility.

Although Luo Six was trying his best to control his emotions, Cheng Qianfan still caught something unusual.

Concern and nervousness showed in Luo Six’s eyes when he looked at those people.

Not from the Hangzhou Special Service Office?

Then who were they?

Japanese agents and collaborators?

Communists?

Woooo, woooo.

The whistle of a passenger ship sounded across the river.

It was signaling the shore that it was preparing to dock and requesting the wharf management office to make preparations.

Meng Qiang was drenched in sweat as he darted through the crowd.

He desperately wanted to find his comrades and warn them.

But there were simply too many people.

He had no idea which ones were his comrades, nor how many agents were hidden among them.

At that moment, he noticed the three automobiles parked in the distance.

The car doors suddenly opened.

Several men got out.

A few men in duckbill caps hurried over and quietly reported something to the man standing in the center.

He could not hesitate any longer.

Meng Qiang’s hand trembled.

His teeth ground together with a creak, creak.

“Director, we’ve spotted a person suspected to be Gao Lan.”

The detective looked excited as he reported to He Huan.

“Keep him under close watch. Do not act rashly.”

He Huan was equally excited.

Just then, a gunshot rang out with a Bang!

Startled, He Huan immediately crouched down.

The men around him instantly drew their pistols and formed a protective circle around him.

“Where was that shot fired?”

At the management office window, He Qichen was equally startled.

Inside the black-canopied boat, Yu Ping’an was shocked.

“Damn it! Who acted without authorization?”

Cheng Qianfan, who had been sunning himself, was also startled by the sudden gunshot.

He immediately bent down, pressed himself against the wall, drew his pistol, and began observing his surroundings.

Luo Six’s heart jumped.

He too drew his pistol.

Damn it, had the agents started their operation?

The bustling wharf descended into chaos with that single gunshot.

People scrambled for their lives.

Following the direction of the shot, Cheng Qianfan saw a medium-built man holding a Mauser pistol.

The man fired another shot into the air.

Not far away, more than a dozen men in Zhongshan suits were closing in and forming an encirclement.

Bang!

The man fired a shot at them.

With all his strength, he shouted hoarsely,

“Run! Run! Comrades, run! There are agents here!”

Cheng Qianfan’s eyes widened.

Instinctively turning his head, he saw that the people he had been suspicious of appeared stunned.

One of them reached into his pocket, seemingly preparing to rush forward and attempt a rescue, but someone beside him grabbed and restrained him.

“Let go of me.”

The comrade who had bought the buns growled.

“Save him! Save him! He’s our comrade!”

“Withdraw!”

Gao Lan gritted his teeth and ordered.

“Captain Gao!”

The eyes of one of the men beside him turned red.

“I said withdraw!”

Gao Lan clenched his teeth.

His eyes were frighteningly red, and his face was twisted.

“That’s an order!”

“Ah!”

Someone slammed a fist hard against the wall.

The group withdrew rapidly.

Their figures blended into the fleeing crowd and quickly disappeared.