Chapter 22: Causing Trouble (Part II)

The wandering secret agent was a scout dispatched by the Party Affairs Office. As the appointed time drew near, the Party Affairs Office had grown increasingly anxious, prompting them to send out these scouts.

The agent moved vigilantly through the streets, eyeing one passerby after another. Such operatives, who originated from the streets, were often mistaken for professional pickpockets even if noticed, leading others merely to guard their wallets with caution.

Zhang Anping, however, had no intention of letting such a "suspicious character" off the hook. He saw an opportunity to seize the man; if the Party Affairs Office noticed the scout was missing and sent others to search for him, he would ensure they found them, thereby sparking a direct confrontation.

As the scout intently scrutinized potential targets, a hard object was suddenly pressed against his side, and an arm was hooked firmly around his shoulder. A cold voice whispered into his ear:

"Don't move!"

The scout stiffened, immediately stammering, "Brother, I must have accidentally crossed a line. I'll leave right now."

The man who had seized him was, of course, Zhang Anping. Ignoring the underworld jargon, Zhang Anping continued coldly, "Don't move! Come with me."

With a blade pressed against his side, the scout realized he had no choice. He didn't want to die young, so he followed Zhang Anping like a puppet, nursing a silent, seething rage.

They arrived at a custom tailor shop, which Zhang Anping had requisitioned as a base. Seven or eight trainees waited in the back room for orders, while Yu Xiuning acted as the shopkeeper’s daughter, working in the front.

Noticing the commotion outside, Yu Xiuning saw Zhang Anping ushering a man in and immediately feigned casualness, guiding them into the back room.

*Thud.*

Zhang Anping struck suddenly, delivering a sharp blow with his hand that knocked the man unconscious.

"This man is highly suspicious; he’s been circling the area twice now. Tie him up and gag him."

After giving his orders, Zhang Anping immediately returned to the street to continue his patrol. To ensure he had a believable cover story, he proceeded to "hijack" four or five more "suspicious" individuals. Though Zhang Anping knew they were innocent, he had to see the act through to the end, apologizing silently in his heart as he apprehended them. He knew these people would eventually be interrogated by the Secret Service and might suffer financial losses, but there was nothing he could do for now other than resolve to compensate them later.

Nine o'clock finally arrived.

There was no movement from the photo studio, which relieved Zhang Anping, who had been worried about Old Cen. He suspected that Old Cen must have taken the route to the right and retreated upon seeing the trainees led by Zheng Yaoxian.

Time ticked by.

Zhang Anping diligently apprehended five more "suspicious" individuals. By 9:20, the Party Affairs Office finally realized their scout was missing. Two squads emerged from the vicinity of the photo studio and began searching the streets.

Seeing this, Zhang Anping said confidently to his trainees, "The Party Affairs Office isn't hiding anymore? It seems they’ve run out of patience. If the Communists haven't been scared off, then they must be in our hands!"

...

Director Xu, who led the Party Affairs Office team, was nearly exploding with rage.

"Where are they? Wasn't it agreed that they would come at nine? Why, twenty minutes later, is there still no sign of them?!"

In underground party rendezvous, timing was critical; they rarely missed a deadline. If they were a few minutes late, it could be an accident, but twenty minutes was a clear sign that something had gone wrong. Now, with no one in sight, there was little hope left.

Facing Director Xu's interrogation, his subordinates trembled, afraid to answer. Seeing this, Director Xu vented his fury on the operative responsible for meeting the defecting photo studio owner, slapping him across the face and roaring, "Where are they?"

The agent stammered a pathetic excuse: "Perhaps there were too many people at the photo studio... they didn't come in."

The head of the team responsible for the raid on the photo studio panicked, realizing he was being set up as a scapegoat. He immediately retorted:

"I suspect something went wrong with our perimeter setup! I heard from my men that two scouts have gone missing. Could it be that the Communists noticed something and then..."

Director Xu was horrified and glared at the man in charge of the perimeter: "Is this true?"

"Director, I only just found out myself."

"You bastard!"

Director Xu was fuming. How could such a major issue have been kept from him? In a fit of rage, he kicked the team leader and snarled through gritted teeth: "Find them! Dig three feet into the ground if you have to, but find those missing scouts! And arrest all those students in the photo studio! Taking pictures for over an hour? There’s definitely something fishy going on!"

"Yes, sir!" the agents hurried to comply.

...

Xu Baichuan, who was overseeing the operation, saw the Party Affairs Office stop their surveillance and begin searching the streets. He realized the Communists weren't coming, and the Party Affairs Office had dropped the charade to search everywhere.

Perhaps the Communists had already been captured by Zhang Anping or Zheng Yaoxian, but the Party Affairs Office, having come up empty-handed, was now performing its final act.

He dared not be careless. He ordered his standby security squad to provide support and called headquarters to have the reserve action team sent over immediately. He had to call for reinforcements to prevent the Party Affairs Office from "stealing the fruit" of their labor. He had come to harvest the victory himself; if he were to lose it to someone else, he would regret it to his dying day.

Just as Xu Baichuan called for aid, a group of waiting agents burst out from the shops around the studio like hungry wolves, swarming toward the building. Realizing the Party Affairs Office was about to take their frustration out on the students, Xu Baichuan immediately ordered a whistle to be blown.

At the piercing sound, the hidden and disguised training class students emerged from all sides, rushing straight toward the photo studio.

Zhang Anping heard the whistle as well. Leaving seven or eight students to guard the "suspicious characters," he led the rest toward the photo studio.

Inside the studio, the aggressive agents of the Party Affairs Office had swarmed in from the second floor, windows, and doors, brandishing their guns and warning the students—who were still stalling for time—to stay put and submit.

The students had been instructed to secure the Communists first and then stall for a minute. But before the Party Affairs Office agents could act, no one had entered. In other words, there were no Communists, and the Party Affairs Office had not followed the script.

Seeing the Party Affairs Office burst in despite the lack of Communists, the students were bewildered. When the agents attempted to round them up, the students refused to comply.

"Damn you! Do you know who I am? You want to arrest us?"

One student shouted—it was Xu Zhongyi. Because of his cleverness, he had been placed in the "reconnaissance" group. Normally, he might have been timid, but with his arch-rival, Young Master Qi, right there, and with the support of his teachers and classmates outside, he wasn't afraid. Instead, he put on a bold front and spat viciously:

"Try arresting me! If the Party Affairs Office doesn't send me back respectfully, I'll take your surname!"

Faced with a reaction completely different from the expected script, the agents were stunned, assuming they had run into the son of some high-ranking official. Xu Zhongyi’s air of unshakeable confidence was impossible to fake, and for a moment, they hesitated to make a move.

A team leader walked in and, seeing that the students hadn't been subdued, was about to shout orders when a subordinate ran over in a panic:

"Captain, it's bad! Two groups of people are charging at us!"

"Captain, it's bad! There are people climbing over the walls and charging in from the back!"

Three groups of people?

The team leader was confused. What was happening?

While he was dazed, Zhang Anping arrived with his men, shouting to seize the initiative:

"Secret Service on duty! All bystanders, get out of the way!"

Secret Service?

The Party Affairs Office agents were incensed. How had the Secret Service suddenly arrived out of nowhere? Upon hearing it was the Secret Service, most of the Party Affairs Office agents lowered their weapons, fearing friendly fire.

However, one agent reacted slowly and kept his gun pointed at Zhang Anping. Zhang Anping didn't tolerate this; he stepped forward and slapped the man across the face—a heavy blow, but one he intentionally softened, as his cover was that of someone with poor combat skills.

The slapped agent was furious and aimed his gun at Zhang Anping’s head.

Zhang Anping sneered, "You dragged me in for interrogation last time, and now you want to arrest my students? The Party Affairs Office is getting more and more despicable! Not convinced? Go ahead and shoot! Shoot me right here!"

This was, in effect, a declaration of his identity. The agent pointing the gun at Zhang Anping was stuck in a dilemma, but someone behind him quickly stepped forward to pull him back. Last time, this "plague god" had caused every member of the Party Affairs Office to be docked a month's pay, and rumor had it that even their superiors had been reprimanded; they had been frantically searching for Communists to make amends ever since. This was a man they simply could not afford to provoke!

Yet, Zhang Anping pushed his advantage. Seeing the agent who had held the gun to his head retreat, he stepped even closer and roared:

"Get out of the way! Send your manager out here!"

In such situations, others would try to avoid conflict—of course, one wanted to reap the benefits, but one didn't want two intelligence systems clashing. Zhang Anping, however, had no such reservations. He could bully the Party Affairs Office with righteous indignation. After all, they had tortured him so brutally last time—and the incident had even been reported to the Generalissimo by his own aide. Even if he clashed with the Party Affairs Office, he was the one with the "moral high ground."

That was why Zhang Anping pushed step by step, even though his men were unarmed.

A team leader emerged from the photo studio and, seeing Zhang Anping’s aggression, immediately barked: "Zhang Shihao! That’s enough!"

"Enough, my ass! Did you have a hand in that interrogation last time? I'm settling the old scores and the new ones today!"

Zhang Anping rolled up his sleeves and marched toward the Party Affairs Office team leader. The man, not expecting Zhang Anping to be so bold, recalled the image of Zhang Anping being beaten to a pulp in the interrogation room yet refusing to utter a sound, and he couldn't help but step back twice.

Realizing he was showing weakness, he gritted his teeth, wanting to stand his ground to save face. But staring into Zhang Anping’s bloodshot eyes, he lost his nerve and stammered, his voice losing its edge:

"Zhang Shihao! What do you want? Are you trying to stage a rebellion?"

"Rebel, my ass! What do I want? I want to know what the hell you want! My students are just taking photos, and you won't leave them alone! Do you really think the Secret Service is easy to bully?"

Zhang Anping pressed forward. The agents of the Party Affairs Office were both furious and helpless. Since when had the mighty Party Affairs Office been humiliated like this? But facing Zhang Anping, they ultimately felt guilty.

"What do you want?"

An angry question came from behind. Several agents pushed through the crowd, and a refined middle-aged man wearing glasses strode in with a dark expression.

It was Director Xu of the Party Affairs Office!

Zhang Anping certainly wanted to point a finger at this man’s nose and act arrogantly. After all, since the founding of the Party Affairs Investigation Division, the department he led had constantly targeted the underground party, causing the deaths of countless martyrs.

But as an undercover agent, he knew there had to be limits. Zhang Anping didn't provoke him directly, only grumbling, "I want to take my students."

Director Xu glanced at the onlookers and said with a grim face, "Let's go inside and talk!"

"Fine, let's go!"

Zhang Anping walked in without hesitation. Ming Cheng grabbed his arm, worried: "Teacher Zhang!"

"It's fine, they won't do anything to me," Zhang Anping signaled for him not to be nervous, then strode into the photo studio.