Chapter 67: “I’m Sorry”
In a private room on the third floor of the teahouse.
Kawada Eikichi stood by the window.
Looking at the vast, mist-covered Qiantang River in the distance.
Looking at the bustling crowds below.
The cries of vendors, the shouts of laborers, and the sounds of conversation and laughter rose and fell one after another.
“Sanben-kun, what do you see?” Kawada Eikichi asked, wearing an intoxicated expression.
Without waiting for Sanben to answer, he pointed outside the window himself.
“I see the Empire of Japan conquering this land, conquering all of China. The great Yamato people will become the masters here. All of this will belong to us.”
“I see it as well.”
A gleam shone in Sanben’s eyes.
“These ignorant and incompetent Chinese, they do not deserve such fertile land. Faced with the Empire’s mighty military strength, these cowardly Chinese can only tremble in fear.”
Just then, two gunshots rang out.
Bang! Bang!
“Where was that shot fired?” Sanben asked urgently.
At the same time, he pulled Kawada Eikichi away from the window. That position was far too dangerous.
A cigarette hung from Cheng Qianfan’s mouth.
His teeth clenched tightly around it.
He immediately understood what that comrade who had opened fire was doing.
He was using his own life to warn those comrades from earlier!
Cheng Qianfan took a deep breath.
He struggled to control his emotions.
He looked toward Luo Six.
At that moment, the person he worried about most was Luo Six.
By now, Cheng Qianfan could already determine Luo Six’s identity.
This was one of his own comrades, a Communist agent hidden inside the Hangzhou Special Service Office.
He was afraid Luo Six would act impulsively.
Luo Six gripped his pistol.
His hand was trembling.
Not from fear.
But from overwhelming grief and fury.
He recognized the man being surrounded by the Special Service Office agents.
It was the husband from the couple he had previously contacted to deliver the warning.
So that was it.
So that was it.
So that was it.
They had no way to contact their superiors!
They could only send the warning in this manner!!
Luo Six hated himself!!!
Had he known this was the situation, he would rather have been the one exposed and sacrificed!
Thud!
While returning fire, Meng Qiang looked down at his lower leg.
Thud!
Another shot struck his shoulder.
He fell.
“Surround him!”
“Take him alive!”
“He’s a Communist!”
Cheng Qianfan appeared extraordinarily excited.
“Brother Luo? What a chance. If we can capture a Communist, we’ll strike it rich.”
“Let’s go take a look.”
The two men ran over with pistols in hand.
“Special Service Office, we’re on the same side!”
As they ran, they hurriedly shouted.
The Party Affairs Investigation Department agents glanced at the two of them.
Then, seeing more armed men rushing over while cursing loudly, they realized the pair were not lying.
The two pushed their way into the crowd.
They saw the gunman lying face down on the ground.
A large patch of blood covered his back.
He had been shot in the back as well.
“He’s beyond saving.”
An agent from the Party Affairs Investigation Department bent down, examined him, and shook his head.
“Bastard!”
He Huan squeezed through the crowd, cursing furiously.
The man’s lips were moving.
He was quietly saying something.
“What is he saying?” He Huan urgently asked.
“I think he’s saying...”
The agent knelt beside him and listened with his ear close to the man’s mouth.
He sounded uncertain.
“What is he saying?”
“He’s saying ‘I’m sorry,’ I think.”
The agent replied.
I’m sorry?
What did that mean?
Sorry to whom?
Luo Six gripped his pistol so tightly that his knuckles whitened.
His chest was filled with endless grief and hatred.
Only he understood what the man meant.
The husband had died, leaving behind a widow and an orphan.
This comrade had sacrificed himself and completed his mission.
In his final moments before death, all that remained in his heart was boundless guilt and concern for his wife and child...
Cheng Qianfan stood there.
Blood flowed across the ground at his feet.
He felt unable to breathe.
He thought of Old Liao...
“What happened?”
Wan Delong arrived with his men.
“What the hell is going on!”
The overweight captain of the Hangzhou Action Team of the Special Service Office, He Qichen, also arrived with his subordinates.
Because of the reckless disturbance caused by this Communist, Gao Lan and the others had long since escaped.
He Huan, director of the Hangzhou Political Department of the Party Affairs Investigation Department, was seething with rage.
Looking up and seeing the two groups approaching, he sneered.
“Captain He, your people...”
He Huan glanced at the panting He Qichen and suddenly revealed a look of realization.
“Well now, no wonder. I knew our people couldn’t have exposed themselves. He Qichen, tell me, why were your Special Service Office men here? It must have been your appearance that alerted the Communists!”
“You’ve got some nerve, He Huan. I haven’t even accused you of ruining our operation yet, and you’re already turning the blame onto us.”
He Qichen jumped up in fury.
“I’m telling you, He Huan, you’re in serious trouble. You let...”
“Captain He, mind your words!”
Wan Delong interrupted sharply.
He Qichen shut his mouth and glared viciously at He Huan.
“He Huan, Director He.”
Wan Delong sneered.
His words were almost squeezed through gritted teeth.
“For what happened today, your Party Affairs Investigation Department must give our Special Service Office an explanation!”
Then he said coldly,
“Withdraw!”
The members of the special training class action group silently followed Wan Delong away.
“Damn it all, withdraw!”
He Qichen also cursed as he gave the order.
One of his men quietly asked,
“Captain, what about...”
“What about what?” He Qichen snapped.
“After a commotion this big, what rat would still stay around?”
Cheng Qianfan was hesitating over which group to follow when he noticed Wu Yuanfang discreetly beckoning to him from a distance.
After the two groups had left, the Party Affairs Investigation Department agents remained standing beside the corpse, looking somewhat at a loss.
“Director, I think we may have disrupted their operation.”
One of the agents spoke quietly.
“Disrupted my ass!”
He Huan cursed irritably.
“They ruined our operation! The Special Service Office must answer for this!”
“Should we withdraw?” the agent asked.
“Withdraw my ass.”
He Huan waved his hand.
Then he frowned, crouched down, and stared at the corpse for a few moments.
“Find out who this man was, what he did for a living, how many people are in his family, and who he associated with. Investigate every last detail.”
“Yes, sir!”
“And...”
He Huan pointed through clenched teeth at the passenger vessel that had already docked.
“Gather everyone. Every single passenger on that ship gets investigated!”
Gao Lan had escaped.
But the important Communist figure aboard the passenger ship would not.
Cheng Qianfan followed Wu Yuanfang through streets that remained chaotic.
“Deputy Director Yu wants to see you,” Wu Yuanfang said quietly.
Cheng Qianfan nodded.
As they passed a teahouse, he happened to glance into the alley on the teahouse’s left side and saw a group of people hurrying along.
Suddenly.
Cheng Qianfan’s eyes lit up.
“Brother Cheng, what is it?” Wu Yuanfang asked quietly.
“Kawada Eikichi’s people!”
Cheng Qianfan could not conceal his excitement as he spoke through clenched teeth.
“Kawada’s people?”
Wu Yuanfang was startled and began to turn his head.
“Don’t look.”
Cheng Qianfan said quietly.
“They’re very alert.”
As he spoke, he pulled Wu Yuanfang along and continued walking.
“I’ll follow them. Go report to Deputy Director Yu immediately and gather men to surround them.”
“Alright!”
Knowing the urgency of the situation, Wu Yuanfang did not hesitate.
He nodded and patted Cheng Qianfan on the shoulder.
“Be careful.”
At that very moment, in Wupeng Alley, two streets away from Hua Shiliu Alley.
A woman with blood at the corner of her mouth and swelling on the right side of her face carried a small bundle on her back.
Her face was ashen.
Holding the hand of a five- or six-year-old boy, she boarded a black-canopied boat by the river.
“Sanni, another fight with your husband?” the elderly boatwoman asked.
“Mm.”
“Going back to your parents’ home?”
“Mm.”
The old woman shook her head and said nothing more.
“Mother, where’s Father?” the little boy asked.
“Mother’s taking you away first. Father will come find us.”
The black-canopied boat drifted along the waterway and passed beneath a stone bridge.
The woman looked into the distance.
On the bridge, pedestrians streamed back and forth.
A husband and wife walked across holding their child’s hand together, chatting and laughing.
“Father will come find us.”
The woman pulled her son tightly into her arms and spoke softly.
“He definitely will.”