Chapter 23

Everything is ready except the east wind—how did it suddenly get swallowed up?

Let us rewind the time.

After contacting her superiors, Sister Qian came to the rented room opposite Zhang Anping’s place, placed the flowerpots, and sent out the signal for a meeting.

That very night, Zhang Anping stealthily slipped into the room across the street.

"Comrade Anping, the organization in principle agrees with your general plan, but you must discuss the details with me seriously—I am not joking with you! The subsequent plans and actions must be reported to me in detail, without any concealment, and you must not act arbitrarily again! Do you understand?"

Sister Qian’s tone was harsher than ever before.

Not daring to play cute, Zhang Anping answered earnestly, "Sister Qian, I know the gravity of the situation and will not act recklessly."

"Tell me the upcoming plan in detail. If I find any problem anywhere, you must not conceal it from me! To cooperate with your plan, the organization will mobilize numerous intelligence teams and many underground comrades. Even the slightest oversight will cause incalculable consequences to their safety, understand?"

"I know," Zhang Anping replied solemnly, and then detailed his own plan.

After listening carefully, Sister Qian pointed out a problem: "Li Ya occupies too large a share in your plan!"

"He is a double agent. If his degree of participation is too high and his share is too heavy, once he reacts, it will be detrimental to your safety!"

After saying this, Sister Qian stated firmly, leaving no room for Zhang Anping to object: "Hand over to me these pieces of intelligence to be revealed through Li Ya's mouth. I will have other teams handle them."

Zhang Anping objected: "Sister Qian, this will affect the safety of our own comrades!"

"In this plan, the higher the participation of our comrades, the higher the probability that you can clear your suspicion once the enemy reacts—Comrade Anping, we are underground front workers, and our line of work carries danger anytime and anywhere! Should we give up our work simply because there is danger?"

Faced with Sister Qian's rhetorical question, Zhang Anping was speechless.

The predecessors knew full well that the road was rugged and dangerous, but for the sake of their ideals and the light, they never gave up. Only then could there be the prosperous age of later generations as you wished!

Sister Qian then took over several missions that required the Shanghai Special Group to disseminate information.

After the modifications, the bulk of the plan was essentially completed by the underground party—this was also in preparation for a future comeback.

As the saying goes, the more the underground party participates, the more persuasive it will be when a reversal is needed.

"Anping," Sister Qian omitted the title of comrade this time, looking at him earnestly:

"If—and I mean if, if you can no longer hold your ground against the Shanghai Operation Office and the Shanghai Station, you must pass the information through our people. The organization has prepared a backup plan for this. As long as you get the information out, we have a way to completely clear you of suspicion within 12 hours."

Completely clear of suspicion?

Zhang Anping’s expression tightened as he said, "Sister Qian, actually, from the very beginning, my plan has had a key point for turning defeat into victory."

"You mean the name?"

Zhang Anping nodded.

Throughout the entire plan, the most critical point was the name.

In all the methods used by the underground party to "frame" Zhang Anping, the name used was [Zhang Shihao].

This was actually the biggest bug. Once this bug entered the eyes of the top brass of the Secret Service and the Party Affairs Office, the so-called "framing" would collapse on its own.

Because the higher-ups of the Secret Service and the Party Affairs Office all knew that Zhang Shihao was actually Zhang Anping's alias.

But the crucial thing was that the people below did not know!

Neither the Shanghai Station nor the Shanghai Operation Office knew—and this was the core of the comeback.

Sister Qian had noticed this long ago, but the problem was human nature!

If the Shanghai Operation Office of the Party Affairs Office and the Shanghai Station of the Secret Service joined forces to arrest Zhang Anping and subject him to torture, it would be like betting everything at the gaming table. Under such circumstances, would they be willing to let Zhang Anping make a comeback?

Would they dare to let Zhang Anping make a comeback?

"Anping, you must remember, when secret agents are trying to protect their positions, to describe them as frantic is putting it mildly! Do you understand?"

Zhang Anping certainly understood.

Chen Moqun was a prime example—could a veteran agent like him not know that the success rate of attacking the East Asia Common Culture Academy with insufficient preparation was low?

He knew it!

Yet for the sake of official rank and power, he resolutely ignored the lives of his subordinates and risked igniting that building which housed billions of words of documents.

If not for the intervention of the Special Group, and if not for Director Dai silencing him at a critical moment, the Japanese at this moment would probably be making exorbitant demands with an arrogant attitude at the negotiating table!

"Remember, do not harbor a shred of wishful thinking. Rather overprepare than underestimate the enemy!"

...

After bidding farewell to Sister Qian, Zhang Anping returned to his room.

Zeng Moyi was not yet asleep. Seeing Zhang Anping return, she did not ask what they had discussed with Sister Qian, but instead opened the cabinet and took out Zhang Anping's makeshift bedding.

Looking at the busy Zeng Moyi, Zhang Anping suddenly said, "Comrade Moyi, stop for a moment and sit down."

Puzzled, Zeng Moyi placed the bedding on the bed and sat at the table. Seeing Zhang Anping's stern expression, she immediately realized a major event might have happened.

"Anping, what happened?"

Taking a deep breath, Zhang Anping said, "In a few days, the two of us might face imprisonment."

Actually, according to his original plan, he intended to send Zeng Moyi to Nanjing—under the pretext of delivering confidential letters to Li Bohan.

After much deliberation, however, he ultimately abandoned the idea.

For no other reason than to avoid leaving any loopholes.

Because if Zeng Moyi inexplicably disappeared to evade torture by the Party Affairs Office and the Secret Service, it would eventually remain a hidden danger during future reviews.

This hidden danger could be big or small, but if it caught the eye of someone with ulterior motives, it would ultimately be detrimental to his undercover work—his own life was a trivial matter, but the people and matters involved behind him were far too numerous!

Just like Gu Shenyan, who preferred to be shot by the Military Statistics Bureau as a corrupt official rather than bear the title of a martyr!

As a loyal underground party member, how glorious was it to bear the title of a martyr?

Yet he dared not!

Because behind him lay an entire network!

Zeng Moyi's expression turned solemn. "Comrade Anping, please rest assured. I pledge to you with my party spirit that no matter when or where, and no matter what kind of torture I face, I will never betray the organization!"

The young woman spoke with extreme resolve, not even asking questions like why they shouldn't evacuate.

And in another timeline, she had indeed done exactly that!

In the flower of her youth, she ultimately fell before the muzzle of a gun.

Unable to help himself, Zhang Anping grasped Zeng Moyi's delicate hand and whispered, "I'm sorry."

Zeng Moyi shook her head and whispered softly, "You don't need to say sorry. You are an outstanding underground party member, and I believe you have your reasons for doing this."

"The Shanghai Operation Office of the Party Affairs Office and the Shanghai Station of the Secret Service may join forces to arrest me, and you might get caught up in it as well," Zhang Anping reined in his emotions and said:

"Remember, no matter how they interrogate you, you can only say what you know and are allowed to say in your capacity as a member of the Telecommunications Section!"

"Most crucially, you must never reveal my real name, understand?"

Though she did not understand the reason, Zeng Moyi nodded earnestly to indicate she had memorized it.

Seeing Zeng Moyi looking at him with worry, Zhang Anping chuckled softly, "Actually, the problem isn't as serious as you think. If we win this time, it will be a winner-take-all situation."

"Smile."

At these words, Zeng Moyi smiled faintly, pressed her hands over Zhang Anping's, and remained silent for a long time.

...

In the following days, Zhang Anping remained as busy as ever, setting goals and devising plans for the various teams of the Special Group.

As the days passed, Zhang Anping also learned from Sister Qian that more and more information had been successfully grasped by the Shanghai Station and the Secret Service.

That night, Zhang Anping met Sister Qian once again.

"Anping, after tonight, we need to temporarily sever contact."

Sister Qian's words brought a smile to Zhang Anping's face. Instead of being nervous, he relaxed and said, "Is the fish about to take the bait?"

"Yes!"

"One of our comrades has been captured. Probably tomorrow, he will confess all the information he knows, including information about the grenade production line."

Zhang Anping's gaze narrowed. He looked at Sister Qian and said word by word:

"Sister Qian, this wasn't part of our plan!"

He spoke very slowly, without even a hint of anger audible in his voice, but Sister Qian still perceived the raging fury in his eyes.

Sister Qian knew that the reason for Zhang Anping's anger lay in the capture of this comrade.

The grenade production line had always been in Li Bohan's hands.

Yet the captured underground party member would confess information about the grenade production line. There was only one possibility—this underground party member's capture was intentional, and the information confessed was deliberately meant to be fed to the enemy.

In other words, this underground party member was actually a "sacrificial pawn"!

"Comrade Anping, I hope you understand that when a plan begins to be implemented, and countless people are risking their lives for this plan, some costs are prices we simply have to pay!"

"If necessary, I can also be that sacrificial pawn!"

After taking a deep breath, Zhang Anping cursed, "Damn the Kuomintang!"

...

Director Huang and Wang Shi'an were exchanging intelligence.

First was Wang Shi'an, who stated:

"Zhang Shihao returned from the United States this July. Currently, he should be between 27 and 30 years old."

"His file is at the Nanjing headquarters, and fearing that I might alert his accomplices, I haven't pulled it."

"His specific experiences in the United States are unclear, but according to what is known, he stayed there for about four years—during this time, he continuously remitted money to the underground party in the capacity of a 'mass.' According to a list confiscated from the underground party, he remitted about 3,000 US dollars per month. I suspect he might have connections with overseas Chinese in America, and the money was obtained from those Chinese."

"After returning to China, he joined the Secret Service, initially as a doorman. Because he discovered Japanese espionage photography, he was appreciated by our Director, promoted as a member of the Special Training Class Preparation Office, and later taught in the Special Training Class. Not long ago, he was appointed as the deputy leader of the Shanghai Special Group, and his rank was raised to captain."

"During his time in the Special Training Class, he was arrested once by your Party Affairs Office on suspicion of being a communist, and reportedly subjected to torture, but he did not admit to being a communist during the interrogation. He was locked up for a day before being brought out by our Director. Afterward, he spearheaded an operation involving trainees, which inadvertently disrupted your side's operation to arrest communists."

"A few days ago, my men swept through a communist stronghold and found several party application reports among the burning remains. The applicant on one of them was Zhang X-hao, and the middle character was illegible because it was burned."

"The day before yesterday, my men captured a missing crew member. They claimed they had been locked up for five days without abuse, and after five days were released and signed a confidentiality agreement—a confidentiality agreement that happens to be a contract invented by him."

"Yesterday, my men captured a communist. Through interrogation, he confessed everything, and one piece of intelligence should be related to him."

Director Huang showed a curious expression.

Without hiding anything, Wang Shi'an continued:

"This communist participated in a material transfer a few days ago, and during the transfer accidentally heard someone say, 'This time we owe it all to Comrade Number Ten. If not for Comrade Number Ten, we might have missed the news about this production line.' This communist believes 'Number Ten' might be the code name of a mole, but based on my deduction, the so-called 'Number Ten' is actually 'Shihao'."

"Director Huang, that's all my intelligence. What intelligence do you have on your side? Don't hold back, we agreed to share!"

Director Huang frowned and said, "I don't have as much as you've grasped."

"My colleagues at the headquarters told me that Zhang Shihao is called the plague god at our headquarters. He is tight-lipped about the specific reasons, but he told me that Zhang Shihao has a very stubborn backbone, and the interrogation experts at headquarters could do nothing with him."

"Of course, it's also possible that it was because there was no evidence. When headquarters arrested him back then, it was mainly because he uttered some radical remarks, but because of his stubborn backbone, he was suspected of being a communist."

"Because there was no evidence, he was eventually taken away by your Director."

"What you said about him disrupting our headquarters' arrest of communists is true, but his reasons were fully justified, and afterward he practically killed a communist with his own hands, so my headquarters colleagues told me this person is definitely not a communist."

Wang Shi'an was suddenly enlightened. "Your headquarters doesn't think he's a communist? Is that why you've always been reluctant to move against him?"

"Yes!"

"Then what about now?"

"I want to see the communist you captured yesterday. If what he said is true, according to discipline, I have the right to arrest him!"

Wang Shi'an nodded and said, "Alright!"

"By the way, don't breathe a word of this when we go out. I have seven people transferred here from the Special Training Class, and I'm not sure if any of them are Zhang Shihao's confidants."

"I understand."

(If all goes well, I can probably grind out three more chapters!)

(End of this chapter)