Chapter 21: Making Trouble (Part I)

Once the assignments were settled, the three men began their preparations.

Although Zheng Yaoxian appeared as calm as usual, he was inwardly anxious. The Bureau of Party Affairs had dispatched several action teams, clearly indicating the high level of importance they placed on this arrest. The Jixing Photo Studio was undoubtedly critical.

However, Zheng operated on a single-line contact basis, with Lu Hanqing as his only superior. Lu’s own connections were within the Special Committee, and whether coordinating with the Municipal Committee or the Provincial Committee, it would take time—it was impossible to warn his own people at the photo studio immediately.

The most crucial issue was that since the studio had already been discovered, he could not be certain if it was due to a traitor or enemy surveillance. Directly alerting the studio was the most inadvisable course of action. After much deliberation, he decided to fish in troubled waters during the arrest, using other means to signal the organization. As for the comrades inside the studio, he... was powerless to save them.

Compared to Zheng Yaoxian, Zhang Anping had already pinpointed where the problem lay: the photo studio. Teacher Cen had instructed him to disguise himself and go to the studio today, but now that the Bureau of Party Affairs had obtained the intelligence, it was impossible for the leak to have come from Teacher Cen. Therefore, the issue had to be with the studio itself.

He had to find a way to stop Teacher Cen from going there. He couldn't reach Cen Anyan by phone, and he couldn't leave his post. As Niu San reported, a flash of insight gave him a solution: deploy all the trainees to create a cover, allowing him to signal Teacher Cen. Since he had previously given Cen Anyan portraits of all the special training class students, and Cen had a good memory, if the teacher encountered a crowd of familiar faces at the rendezvous, he would surely not risk approaching.

...

All 268 trainees of the special class had changed back into their former attire. Once they shed their military uniforms, they looked, by any measure, like a group of students. Zhang Anping handpicked a group of "sharp" students under his own command, responsible for sealing off the left side of the photo studio at the critical moment.

Though it seemed random, he had actually selected those trainees he suspected of being fellow underground agents. As the person in charge of the vetting department, he knew their files well, and combined with his daily observations, it was easy to narrow down the range. This was only possible because the trainees were still so green; if they were all old foxes like Zheng Yaoxian, he would have been helpless without cheating.

He acted this way primarily out of fear that his naive undercover comrades might act impulsively and try to warn the studio—if the studio was already compromised, a warning would be nothing more than walking into a trap. As for Zheng Yaoxian, he had no such worries. "Brother Six" had been undercover for seventeen years, and even after Liberation, he would remain flawless while living alongside the Shadow; he would certainly not leave any evidence behind.

...

Time: 8:10 PM.
Location: Taiping Road.

A group of students marched along the road. When they spotted the Jixing Photo Studio, a female student called out, "There's a photo studio! Classmates, let's take our pictures here!" The others readily agreed. With excitement, the students swarmed into the studio.

In the shops surrounding the studio, the secret agents tasked with surveillance were stunned. How did so many students suddenly appear? One agent asked the shopkeeper, "What should we do? Should we chase them away?"

"Chase them, my foot!" the shopkeeper barked. "Are you trying to tip them off? Go out, walk around, and tell the studio to act normally and handle them like regular customers!" The agent, disguised as a servant, nodded hurriedly. Similar instructions were relayed to the other agents. No one suspected the students; in fact, any normal intelligence officer would subconsciously assume that an underground party rendezvous would never involve such a massive, noisy spectacle. This was precisely why Xu Baichuan had agreed to Zhang Anping’s suggestion. It was an unconventional move—even he wouldn't suspect a group of students.

...

Time: 8:23 PM.

The disguised Zhang Anping had arranged his sixty-plus trainees in the surrounding area. He was currently observing the street from a window seat in a café with four trainees. Perhaps because he had grown fond of being a teacher, he whispered, "All of you, try to spot the Bureau of Party Affairs' hidden sentries. Let's see who can find the most!"

The four trainees began to observe intently. After a while, Zhang Anping called out, "Ming Cheng, you start."

"Those two rickshaw pullers are definitely them. That fruit stall owner should be one too, as well as the two people in front of the stall. The person reading the paper by the newsstand, the newsstand owner, and..." Ming Cheng pointed out over a dozen individuals.

"Yu Zecheng, what do you think?"

"Everything Ming Cheng mentioned is likely correct. Furthermore, that car has been parked on the side of the road for a long time; I suspect the people inside are also agents."

Zhang Anping didn't commit to an answer and asked the other two, "Do you have anything to add?" The two shook their heads, indicating everything they had noticed had already been covered.

Zhang Anping prompted them: "Look at the floor above. See the window of the building opposite the studio? It’s been left slightly ajar, pointing directly at the studio, and it doesn't move even when the wind blows." The four trainees were enlightened, feeling a surge of admiration for their teacher—to notice such details, he was truly worthy of the title.

Zhang Anping then asked, "Looking at our 'colleagues' out there, what are your thoughts?" The students pondered. Ming Cheng was about to speak, but Zhang Anping stopped him. Staring at the street, he said, "If we can spot the Bureau's scouts from here, what about the Communists?" He continued to himself, "If the Communist contact is observing the street, they will definitely notice these unprofessional scouts!"

The four trainees were startled. "Teacher, what should we do?"

"I will go find Teacher Xu," Zhang Anping said. "You keep watching. If you see any suspicious pedestrians, keep a tight eye on them!" They nodded, and Zhang Anping stood up immediately. After leaving the café, he went to find Xu Baichuan, who was in command of the "Yellow Sparrow" operation.

Coincidentally, Zheng Yaoxian arrived at the same time. Xu Baichuan was puzzled. "Why are both of you here?"

Zheng Yaoxian spoke first. "Fourth Brother, those bastards from the Bureau of Party Affairs are incredibly unprofessional! My trainees easily picked out eight or nine of their hidden spots. If a Communist agent comes by and observes for a while, they'll be doomed!"

Zhang Anping found it ironic; he and Zheng Yaoxian truly shared the same mind! The solution they had devised was identical. Zhang Anping chimed in, "Brother Zheng is right. My trainees also spotted them. I’m worried that this will cause an exposure."

In reality, the Bureau’s surveillance was professional enough; without a god's-eye view, one wouldn't normally find them. That Zhang Anping’s trainees could spot them was due to his own "contribution"—he had forced them to look for them. It was like a presumption of guilt: assume they are guilty, and every action is scrutinized and amplified. Zheng Yaoxian had undoubtedly used a similar method.

Xu Baichuan, who was managing the overall situation, had also spotted the agents early on. He hadn't thought it was an issue before, but after their warnings, he realized the danger—if the trainees could see them, an experienced underground agent certainly would. However, the truth was that given limited time and no prior suspicion of the studio, these scouts were hard to detect—unless one happened to catch a clear blunder, like a rickshaw puller refusing a fare.

Still, the relatively green Xu Baichuan didn't doubt further. He muttered, "Are we going to let the Communists slip right under our noses?"

Zheng Yaoxian suggested, "Fourth Brother, how about this: Anping and I will take men to block both ends of the street. If we see anyone acting suspiciously, we’ll grab them quietly first, no questions asked!"

Xu Baichuan hesitated. "Grab them? Wouldn't that be a bit too loud?"

Zheng Yaoxian assured him, "As long as it's done discreetly, it won't alert anyone else!"

Zhang Anping agreed, "A normal person would be stunned into silence if suddenly grabbed, but a Communist would likely scream to attract attention. If someone starts shouting, there's a nine-in-ten chance we've caught the real target! A little noise won't hurt."

"Fine!" Xu Baichuan gritted his teeth. "Let's do it! Old Six, Anping, you both must be cautious."

"No problem," both replied.

Just as they were about to leave, Zheng Yaoxian called Zhang Anping back, handing him his own pistol. "Brother Anping, you have little experience. Take this! Stay safe!"

Zhang Anping didn't refuse and thanked him sincerely, but after a quick glance, he cursed inwardly: *You old fox, Zheng! You’re trying to set me up!*

He had mastered firearms in the system training ground. One look at the Browning 1900 and he saw the issue—Zheng had tampered with the safety; the risk of an accidental discharge was through the roof! Clearly, Zheng’s original plan was to use an accidental shot to signal the target, but after seeing the Bureau's scouts, he had changed his approach to the "arrest" method. And upon seeing Zhang, he had decided to make him the scapegoat. *Old Zheng, oh Old Zheng, you call me brother so affectionately, but you don't hold back when it comes to backstabbing!*

Zhang Anping certainly wouldn't take the fall. Before holstering the gun, he went through the standard drill—ejecting the magazine, checking the chamber, reloading, and toggling the safety.

Xu Baichuan praised, "Brother Anping, that move shows you're very familiar with firearms."

Zheng Yaoxian felt like he had just swallowed a fly, but he feigned admiration, claiming he probably wasn't as good a shot as Zhang. Zhang Anping modestly dismissed the praise, holstered the weapon, and left.

...

Time: 8:38 PM.

Since Cen Anyan had said 9:00 PM, Zhang Anping estimated he would arrive ten to twenty minutes early. From this moment on, it was the most tense and dangerous period. Though he appeared calm, he was sweating bullets, terrified that Cen Anyan might be careless and fail to notice the students wandering the street.

He had chosen the left side because it was the direction Cen would arrive from, acting as a patch for the plan. But he couldn't rule out the possibility of Cen coming from the right. He prayed that if Cen did come from the right, he would either be "arrested" by Zheng Yaoxian or recognize the dozens of trainees "strolling" about.

Time ticked by. As the rendezvous time approached, the tension in Zhang Anping's heart tightened. While observing the street, he suddenly spotted a familiar face.

It was an agent from the Bureau of Party Affairs! The man was pacing back and forth, his shifty eyes making him look like a common pickpocket. Zhang Anping replayed his memory and quickly identified where he had seen him—this agent had entered the interrogation room when Zhang himself was being tortured by the Bureau.

*Isn't this a perfect suspect?* Zhang Anping thought. *I was just worrying about not finding a target!*

He said to the four trainees beside him, "See that man? He’s paced back and forth twice now. He might be trouble. Ming Cheng, go notify our people; if the arrest fails, have them block him! Yu Zecheng, follow me, we’re going to make an arrest! Remember, leave the actual grabbing to me; you just block his escape route. Don't let him get away."