Chapter 24: The Undercover Agent's First Trial (Part I)

Guanwang Temple, in the office of the Chief of Staff that had never been occupied.

Director Dai sat in his chair with a cold face, glaring at his three daring subordinates. Zheng Yaoxian and Xu Baichuan hung their heads nervously. Seeing this, Zhang Anping stepped forward and said respectfully, "Chief, this matter was my idea; it has nothing to do with them. Whatever punishment you deem necessary, I will accept it."

The Director, who was also his uncle, spoke sternly: "Zhang Shihao! You know you were wrong, do you? Do you have any idea what the consequences would be if a standoff between the two agencies occurred? What if an accidental discharge caused casualties?"

Zhang Anping lowered his head and admitted his fault. After the Director finished his scathing lecture and finally calmed down, he said, "The three of you acted without authorization. I am fining each of you two months' salary. Do you have any objections?"

The three men, feeling as if they had been granted a pardon, naturally voiced no objections. The Director then dismissed them, but as they were leaving, he called Zhang Anping back—which came as no surprise, as the Director would not have come to Guanwang Temple at all if not for him.

Once Zheng Yaoxian and Xu Baichuan were out of earshot, the Director’s tone softened: "Anping, do you blame your uncle?"

Zhang Anping immediately shook his head, playing along, and replied humbly, "I know you have my best interests at heart."

"As long as you know that—you were far too bold! Do you know what kind of people the Party Affairs Bureau is trying to capture? You dared to interfere; weren't you afraid of the consequences?" the Director lectured. "You were lucky this time. The Party Affairs Bureau has been trying to reconcile with me, which is why they let you off. If not for that, do you think you could have walked away unscathed?"

"Uncle, I didn't expect the situation to be like this," Zhang Anping said with a bitter smile, then added innocently, "If they attached such importance to it, why was their internal security so lax? My informant heard them so easily! I even turned those four guys who arrested me last time into my informants."

The Director realized then why his nephew had insisted there was no need to hand over scapegoats when the Party Affairs Bureau had requested it—he had already flipped them! Looking at Zhang Anping, he praised him sincerely: "You are truly cut out for this line of work!"

"You're too kind, Uncle!" Zhang Anping chuckled.

"Don't let it go to your head," the Director cautioned. "Do you think any of the suspects we caught are Communists?"

Zhang Anping shrugged. "Hard to say, fifty-fifty." He paused, then added, "The Party Affairs Bureau is quite incompetent when it comes to making arrests—by which I mean, they are very poor at it. Their hidden sentries and scouts were so obvious that even my students could spot them. If we were after an experienced Communist tonight, they would have noticed the anomalies long ago!"

"So the trail has gone cold?"

"Not necessarily! Perhaps the Communist is among the sixteen we caught."

The Director nodded and abruptly asked, "Anping, if I put you in charge of interrogating them, how would you handle it?"

Finally! Zhang Anping felt a surge of excitement. He had wanted to oversee the interrogation of these "suspects" from the very beginning, at least to ensure these innocent people suffered less. He had been wondering how to bring it up, and now the opportunity had fallen right into his lap.

He feigned surprise, pondered for a few seconds, and replied, "If I were to interrogate them, I would start with intimidation. Of course, an experienced Communist wouldn't give anything away, but at least we could rule some people out. For the rest, we conduct background checks and keep a close watch on those with leftist tendencies."

"Those who frequently disappear or go on 'business trips' should also be treated as high-priority subjects."

"We observe them for a few days. If no flaws appear, we release them—to play the long game and catch a bigger fish."

The Director picked at his plan: "That’s too slow, and there’s no guarantee you’ll catch a Communist. They might just slip through your fingers."

Zhang Anping explained, "If one of these suspects is the person we are looking for, their status is worth our effort. If they slip away under our watch, that might actually be a good thing. The hardest part about the underground party is that we don't know their true faces. A Communist whose identity has been exposed is not difficult to capture."

"Then I will leave this task to you. What support do you need from headquarters?"

"No support needed! Let the students handle it; it’s a good opportunity for them to practice."

The Director laughed, "In other words, you aren't actually confident, are you?"

Zhang Anping gave a sheepish laugh and admitted, "My actions on the street were cautious, but anyone observant could have seen what I was doing. Uncle, I didn't realize it was a 'big fish' at first; I just wanted to stir up trouble and cut in."

"You're a wise one, telling me the truth!" The Director laughed heartily. If Zhang Anping hadn't admitted that, he would have been disappointed. To him, ability was secondary; loyalty and honesty were paramount. If Zhang Anping couldn't be candid, then... well, he would just treat him like any other relative.

Hearing this, Zhang Anping finally let out a sigh of relief.

After giving more instructions, the Director concluded the conversation. He didn't leave immediately but inspected the students' dorms, humorously remarking, "You students are tired, so I won't give a speech. Study hard, and I will personally award your ranks upon graduation!"

The students were delighted by his "considerate" nature. Watching this, Zhang Anping thought to himself: *Young ones, you're enjoying this a bit too early!*

After the Director left, the students chatted excitedly, but the teachers breathed a collective sigh of relief. Those foolish students had no idea how terrified their teachers had been!

Zhang Anping and the other teachers returned to their office, yawning. As soon as they entered, Xu Baichuan grabbed Zhang Anping’s hand and said gratefully, "Brother Shihao, we owe this to you!"

Whether it was standing up to the Party Affairs Bureau’s Director Xu or handling their own Director, Zhang Anping had decisively taken the heat, which deeply moved Xu Baichuan. He reminded himself once again: Zhang Anping is a man worth befriending!

Zhang Anping looked embarrassed. "This was actually my own selfishness, and it got everyone's salary docked. Once this is over, I’ll treat everyone to a meal at Anle Restaurant to apologize."

His humble attitude was well-received by the others.

Once the pleasantries were over, Xu Baichuan asked, "Brother Shihao, the Director has put you in charge of handling these suspects. How do you intend to proceed?"

Zhang Anping feigned helplessness. "Brother Baichuan, I’m just a newcomer. I need you and Brother Zheng to support me—we caught them together, so don't leave me to handle this alone."

Xu Baichuan thought to himself: *Brother Anping is a stand-up guy! He takes the blame himself but shares the benefits!*

Zheng Yaoxian was naturally more than happy to help—if those "dog secret agents" were left to handle the interrogations, who knew how much the innocent people would suffer!

An interrogation team was formed in the office, led by Xu Baichuan with Zheng Yaoxian and Zhang Anping as assistants. The other teachers did not participate. They lacked the seniority and were not mid-level officials in the Secret Service, so in a system that valued seniority, they had little say—which was why Zhang Anping had intentionally revealed his relationship with the Director earlier.

Without a backer, climbing the ladder was too slow!

Of course, by chance, the interrogation by the Party Affairs Bureau had actually gained him more respect—no one questioned his seniority or gossiped about his connections anymore, because Zhang Anping had proven himself.

Even so, Zhang Anping remained humble before his elders and never acted arrogant because of his background. Just like now, he didn't hoard power and prioritized sharing.

Xu Baichuan understood that the Director was using this case to test his nephew. It was fine for him to be nominally in charge or to assist, but if he were foolish enough to take full control, it would be counterproductive. Although he was the leader of the team, he handed the actual work over to Zhang Anping and instructed Zheng Yaoxian to assist him well.

After Xu Baichuan and the other teachers left, Zheng Yaoxian said, "Brother Anping, here is the list of suspects caught tonight! Should the interrogations start tonight or tomorrow?"

Zhang Anping took the list and replied, "Tomorrow. Let them stew for a night first."

He scanned the names of the sixteen suspects and was shocked to see the name Cen Anyan. In a flash, he adjusted his expression and said, "Cen Anyan? That wouldn't happen to be Teacher Cen, would it?"

Zheng Yaoxian asked curiously, "You know him?"

"The surname Cen is rare, and so is the name. I suspect it's the one I know—why was he arrested?"

Zheng Yaoxian thought for a moment. "I recall it was Lu Qiaoshan who found him suspicious."

*Lu Qiaoshan?*

*Hmph, a man destined to be shot, daring to arrest my superior!*

Zhang Anping felt a surge of cold fury, but on the surface, he said, "Suspicious? Then we must investigate thoroughly! I was the one who asked my father to help him find his job. If there’s a problem and he was caught by someone else, I’d have a hard time explaining it. Brother Zheng, please keep a close eye on this one; I was planning to use him for something."

Zheng Yaoxian nodded, though he felt a chill. This man was exactly like his uncle—friendly on the surface, but secretly planning to exploit everyone.

"Let's put his matter aside for now. Brother Zheng, how about we pick some students to help us with the legwork?"

"That’s a good idea. I see you care quite a bit about the students; you decide."

Zheng Yaoxian had no objections.

Zhang Anping then wrote down a list of familiar names: Li Ya, Gong Shu, Ming Cheng, Chen Peng, Lu Qiaoshan, Li Bohan, Xu Zhongyi, Qi Siyuan, Yu Zecheng, Lin Nansheng, Zhao Jianzhi, Song Xiao'an, Sun Dapu, Yu Xiuning, Gu Yufei...

*[Ming Cheng is already one of us, Gu Yufei is uncertain, Xu Zhongyi and Yu Zecheng haven't joined yet, and neither has Lin Nansheng...]*

Zhang Anping felt his own side was severely understaffed, but the work of subversion was a long road. He needed to get two or three helpers from old Cen—he wouldn't need to reveal his identity to them; he could just pretend not to know.

Zheng Yaoxian suggested heading back to rest, leaving Zhang Anping alone to contemplate the list.

*[I need to find a perfect way to get old Cen out of this, and use the opportunity to make contact with him openly...]*

After thinking for a while, Zhang Anping smiled. He had a plan!