Chapter 20: The Arrest of Liu Yuezhen

"Team Leader, I'm sorry, I messed up," Zhang Ke said, his face full of shame.

While tailing Sugiyama Hiroki yesterday, Zhang Ke’s lack of experience had led to him being discovered. Without any formal training, his professional espionage skills were naturally amateurish. However, while skills can be cultivated, loyalty is much harder to come by.

"It’s fine. Learn from your mistakes. There is an internal training course this month; you should attend it when the time comes," Song Yingge comforted him.

"Thank you, Team Leader. I will work hard."

Zhang Ke had previously been a lowly patrol officer, doing all the dirty and exhausting work, secretly mocked by others as a "stinky-footed beat cop." Later, Song Yingge promoted him and transferred him to the Intelligence Division of the Secret Service. The Intelligence Division was not a place just anyone could enter; it was a position of low rank but high influence. Previously, when his superiors saw him, they would nod and bow, having to call him "Officer." For an ordinary person, this was a meteoric rise. Given such benevolence, how could Zhang Ke not be deeply grateful to Song Yingge?

After Zhang Ke left, Sun Xi asked, "Team Leader, should we continue to watch Sugiyama Hiroki?"

Song Yingge felt a headache coming on. Sugiyama Hiroki worked at the Japanese Consulate and could not be arrested, let alone interrogated under torture. By alerting him, he would surely lie low for a while and would not contact any latent agents in the near future. If he closed the net now, Song Yingge was unwilling to accept it. Having run around so much, to only catch three Japanese spies linked to Liu Yuezhen was a poor return on investment. Of course, this was only Song Yingge’s perspective. If other intelligence teams encountered this situation, they would have already been clamoring to charge in and make arrests. Japanese spies were not easy to catch, let alone three of them. It was a case of feast or famine.

"I refuse to believe there is no way to handle this Sugiyama Hiroki!"

Song Yingge decided to tail Sugiyama Hiroki personally, searching for any flaws in his routine. If even that yielded nothing, it would not be too late to arrest Liu Yuezhen and the others then.

The day after Song Yingge began tailing Sugiyama, earth-shattering news arrived: Generalissimo Chiang had been placed under house arrest in Chang'an the previous day. Dai Li flew back to Jinling from Yangcheng overnight. Upon hearing the news, Song Yingge went to see Dai Li immediately.

At this moment, Dai Li’s eyes were swollen, and he appeared deeply troubled. "Director, please pull yourself together," Song Yingge said. As a privileged department, the Secret Service’s entire existence depended solely on Generalissimo Chiang. If anything were to happen to him, the Secret Service would cease to exist, and Dai Li would once again be like a piece of duckweed.

"The responsibility for this lies with me," Dai Li blamed himself. It had to be said that this was a serious failure in Dai Li’s intelligence work. He should have been in deep trouble, but he was saved by the incompetence of his peers. The Secret Service was originally a subordinate organization of the Revival Society. Later, with the Generalissimo’s support, it grew steadily, while the founding elders of the Revival Society gained nothing. After the Generalissimo’s crisis, those elders used the pretext of an armed rescue to defect to He Yingqin. During the subsequent purge, when comparing the two, Dai Li became the big winner because of his "meritorious service in saving the leader."

"Human plans are no match for heaven’s will. At this point, only by risking everything can there be a glimmer of hope. I, Yingge, am willing to accompany my uncle to Chang'an," Song Yingge suggested. Since Dai Li would go to Chang'an to save the leader anyway, he might as well say it now to earn a favor.

"You mean I should go to Chang'an?" Dai Li’s eyes brightened upon hearing this.

"To serve the sovereign and save the leader is a subject’s duty," Song Yingge said. Dai Li was a gambler at heart and had once been deep in debt due to gambling. This time, he decided to bet once more—not with money, but with his life.

After meeting with Dai Li, considering the current restlessness within the Secret Service, Song Yingge decided to arrest Liu Yuezhen and her cohorts immediately to prevent further complications. Calculating the odds, the Action Division, led by patrolmen disguised as police officers, raided the premises under the guise of a fire safety inspection, capturing the unarmed Liu Yuezhen and Dujuan in one fell swoop. The arrest of the night-soil collector, however, hit a snag. Because the Action Division failed to secure him immediately, the man realized escape was hopeless and committed suicide by swallowing poison. But since they already knew his superiors and subordinates, the courier was of little value, and his death was of no consequence.

In the Cao Du Alley interrogation room, Dujuan had no training; she only worked for the Japanese because of her daughter. When the "Cao Du Alley special" reached the second course—the iron plate—she could no longer hold out. However, she knew very little, having only started relaying information for Liu Yuezhen after Ma San’s incident. After a round of questioning, it was just a waste of time, yielding no valuable intelligence.

When interrogating Liu Yuezhen, she admitted to being a Japanese spy but remained tight-lipped about everything else. Song Yingge knew she had already resolved to die.

"Do you know how many of your compatriots have lost their lives because of the intelligence you stole?" Song Yingge asked.

"Compatriots? When my mother and I were nearly starving to death, where were these compatriots? Those who bullied us were compatriots. Those who helped me were Japanese. Why should I betray my benefactors for the sake of these compatriots?"

Even under torture, Liu Yuezhen’s will remained firm. Someone who had been taken away by the Japanese in childhood and subjected to over a decade of militaristic education and brainwashing was incredibly stubborn and difficult to break. Fortunately, there weren't many spies like her.

"If your compatriots did nothing for you, what about your mother, Dujuan?" Song Yingge asked. Liu Yuezhen remained silent.

"Will you continue to keep your mouth shut for your Japanese benefactors, or will you confess for the sake of your mother? She owes you nothing. If it weren't for you lurking in the Yingchun Pavilion and having her relay information for you, she wouldn't have been implicated. She lived a hard life, but at least her life was secure. Since you keep talking about 'benefactors' and claim to be so grateful, will you save your mother’s life?" Song Yingge said.

Liu Yuezhen remained silent.

"I finally understand what it means to be a whore and still want to set up an arch of chastity. So, in your eyes, if the Japanese are good to you, it’s a kindness, but if Dujuan is good to you, it doesn't count, is that it?" Song Yingge laughed in frustration. She was clearly a traitor, yet she used "repaying kindness" as a facade to make herself look righteous. Though Liu Yuezhen had a pitiful background, it could not be a justification for her aiding the enemy. If she had no choice as a child, she had a choice now. Yet, she chose to be a dog for the Japanese. Traitors are more detestable than the Japanese themselves.

"Where is Zhang Ke?" Song Yingge shouted.

"Team Leader, I am here," Zhang Ke hurried forward.

"Practice your skills on Dujuan. Run her through every torture method we have. I don't care if she lives or dies," Song Yingge commanded.

"Yes!" Zhang Ke replied.

The fact that she still used "repaying kindness" as a pretext showed there was still a shred of shame left in her heart. Song Yingge didn't believe that if he tortured Dujuan right in front of her, she could remain indifferent. The reason he wanted to pry open Liu Yuezhen’s mouth was because he was interested in her experience of being taken away by the Japanese for training. They wouldn't have trained her alone; she must have had classmates. If he could grasp information about those who had trained with her, it might prove very useful in the future.