Chapter 93: Reporting

Doctor Gu, who had suddenly become wealthy, had not only paid off his debts.

He had also bought a second-hand Ford automobile. Every day after work, dressed smartly in a suit and leather shoes, he would drive his own car to the women’s nursing school to show off, deceiving several naive female students who had little experience of the world.

This piece of intelligence invigorated Cheng Qianfan and directly dispelled his concern that the doctor might be a Communist comrade.

Not a Communist.

A Special Service Office agent?

Unlikely.

He believed that his investigation of Gu Changyou should already have been reported to Xiongzhen Tower.

If Gu Changyou really were a Special Service Office agent, then because of the military connections involving Gu Changyou’s brother-in-law, Yu Ping’an would have directly ordered him to stop investigating Doctor Gu.

Then what was he?

An informant for a local warlord?

A Party Affairs Investigation Department agent?

A Japanese spy or collaborator?

Cheng Qianfan leaned toward the last possibility.

Half a year ago.

This was an extremely important point in time.

Cheng Qianfan lightly tapped the tabletop with his finger.

His intuition told him that this point in time was inevitably connected to Doctor Gu’s brother-in-law, the “deputy regimental commander.”

Most likely, the Japanese had used Doctor Gu as an intermediary to establish contact with the deputy regimental commander and obtain military intelligence.

Unfortunately, investigating a military officer was beyond the authority of Cheng Qianfan, the “temporary leader” of a “temporary examination team.”

If he wanted to investigate that man, he could only report the matter to Yu Ping’an, the deputy director of the Special Training Class.

So be it.

Cheng Qianfan pondered silently.

The matter had already developed fairly clear leads.

Some of his suspicions and deductions now had relatively sufficient grounds.

It was no longer appropriate to continue investigating secretly on his own.

It was time to make a report.

In addition, regarding Liu Tao, the proprietor of Hengrun Teahouse, surveillance by his subordinate agents over the past several days had revealed nothing suspicious.

The man’s daily routine appeared highly regular.

The teahouse, his home, the warehouse, and the opera house.

Those were basically the only four places he frequented.

Even the people he met were mostly business associates.

Everything seemed normal.

Yet in Cheng Qianfan’s view, that was precisely what made it abnormal.

This man’s movements were so regular.

Previously, he had rarely visited hospitals.

Furthermore, intelligence indicated that he had always enjoyed good health.

However, beginning six months ago, he had established contact with Gu Changyou and hired him as his personal physician.

Afterward, Gu Changyou began visiting Hengrun Teahouse frequently for tea.

For some unknown reason, approximately twenty days earlier, Gu Changyou seemed to have become wealthy again.

After that, he stopped visiting Hengrun Teahouse altogether, leading to the incident where Boss Liu went to Guangji Hospital and specifically requested Doctor Gu.

Combining all this intelligence, Cheng Qianfan had already constructed a fairly clear chain of relationships and interests in his mind.

Haozai entered the tavern.

As soon as he reached the second floor, he saw Cheng Qianfan sitting by the wall near the window, drinking wine and eating dishes.

He surveyed the surroundings before walking directly over.

“Why are you only getting here now? I’ve been waiting for ages. Sit down.”

Cheng Qianfan picked up a pair of chopsticks and handed them to Haozai.

Then he passed over the wine flask, indicating that Haozai should pour himself a drink.

Haozai picked up a fennel bean and drank a mouthful of wine.

“Agent Six called the boss.”

Haozai said quietly.

Agent Six was the codename Cheng Qianfan had assigned to Doctor Gu.

The boss referred to Boss Liu.

“What did he say?”

Cheng Qianfan picked up a peanut.

The peanuts marinated in black vinegar had a pleasantly sour taste.

“Agent Six said he’s going to the boss’s place tomorrow and that he’s bringing the next batch of pills.”

A sharp glint flashed through Cheng Qianfan’s eyes.

Tomorrow.

It would be time to close the net!

“Pass orders to all the brothers. Maintain strict surveillance on these two men.”

Cheng Qianfan took a sip of wine and smacked his lips.

“Be careful. It’s better to lose track of them than to alert them.”

“Yes, sir!”

“After this operation succeeds, I will personally recommend all of you for commendations.”

Cheng Qianfan patted Haozai on the shoulder.

“Thank you for your guidance, sir!”

Haozai said in a low voice, inwardly overwhelmed with excitement.

He was not stupid.

At this stage, the agents under Cheng Qianfan’s command had already begun to sense that something was going on.

Some even guessed that this was a secret mission arranged by high-ranking superiors.

However, discipline within the Special Service Office was strict.

They dared not discuss it openly, nor dared they leak a single word.

They understood the importance of keeping their mouths shut.

Now that they had heard their superior was willing to seek merit rewards on their behalf, they were naturally excited.

If the superior got to eat the meat, being able to drink a little of the soup themselves was already excellent.

Qijia Alley.

Hengrun Teahouse.

“Endo-kun, it seems there is good news?”

One of the teahouse’s regular customers had been invited by proprietor Liu Tao into a private room to drink tea.

“The doctor called. He’ll deliver the medicine tomorrow.”

Endo Hiroshi’s tone was excited.

“Really?”

The regular customer also looked delighted.

“The military conference records and the hydrographic materials, have both been obtained?”

“Not certain yet.”

Endo Hiroshi shook his head.

“It wasn’t suitable to explain everything clearly over the phone. However, based on my analysis, the conference records are almost certainly secured, and there’s also a strong possibility regarding the hydrographic materials.”

“Oh?”

“Gu Changyou is an extremely greedy man. Give him money and he’ll do anything.”

Endo Hiroshi sneered.

“His deputy-regimental-commander brother-in-law is equally greedy. Officers like that are hardly uncommon in the Chinese military. Against such an army, one Imperial regiment could destroy several of their divisions!”

“Excellent, excellent.”

A smile bloomed across the regular customer’s face.

“Endo-kun, these two pieces of intelligence are extremely important, especially the hydrographic materials. You have performed very well in this mission. I will recommend you for merit.”

“This Chen Linsheng truly deserves to be called the student I had high hopes for. Excellent, excellent.”

Yu Ping’an let out a long breath, a smile spreading across his face.

The progress of this batch of trainees had been slower than that of the previous class, which had left Yu Ping’an very dissatisfied.

Fortunately, good news had arrived today.

Chen Linsheng had successfully identified C-3, becoming the first trainee to complete the examination with outstanding results.

This improved Yu Ping’an’s mood somewhat.

“Is Cheng Wufang still investigating that doctor?”

Yu Ping’an took a sip of tea and asked teasingly with a smile.

Now that he was in a better mood, he had the interest to joke about Cheng Wufang, whose luck had been rather poor.

“Yes.”

Wu Yuanfang nodded.

“These past few days, Cheng Wufang’s team has been continuously investigating that doctor.”

“This kid.”

Yu Ping’an smiled and shook his head.

Then he took another sip of tea.

Suddenly, he set down the teacup.

“Give me the report.”

He realized that he had overlooked something.

He had always held Cheng Wufang in high regard.

The young man was highly talented.

Even Director Dai had praised him as someone naturally suited for intelligence work.

Cheng Wufang did not know that he had drawn the “empty slot.”

Therefore, there was naturally nothing wrong with his persistence in investigating.

What Yu Ping’an was curious about now was why Cheng Wufang remained fixated on this doctor.

It was impossible that he would cling to this person for no reason.

Could there be something suspicious hidden within?

Wu Yuanfang immediately took out the report file and handed it to Yu Ping’an.

Just as Yu Ping’an opened the file and prepared to read it carefully, there came a knock on the door.

“What is it?”

Wu Yuanfang walked to the door.

Without opening it, he called out.

“Adjutant Wu, please inform Deputy Director Yu that Cheng Wufang requests an audience regarding an urgent matter.”

From outside the office came Cheng Qianfan’s voice.