Chapter Twenty-Seven: A Visitor from Home

After work, Song Yingge and his two companions headed straight for the Qinhuai River. To ensure Zhou Weijiang enjoyed himself, Song had specifically chosen a brothel as the venue for the farewell banquet. Only if Zhou were drunk would there be a chance to pry any information out of him.

Throughout the meal, Song kept the conversation lively and pressed Zhou to drink. Wang Zhen, having the lowest tolerance, was the first to pass out. Zhou Weijiang held up slightly better, but his awareness was beginning to blur. Seeing that the time was right, Song dismissed the hostesses and said, "Team Leader Zhou, I heard you captured a major culprit again today. Once this case is broken, a promotion to lieutenant colonel is surely just around the corner. Come, let me toast to your rising career."

"Haha, just good luck. Caught a Communist bandit. Bottoms up!" Zhou boasted heartily.

"These Communist bandits are like rats—truly hard to catch. I've nabbed plenty of Japanese spies, but I’ve never run into a single Communist," Song sighed.

"In our line of work, it’s all about luck. Maybe you'll catch one tomorrow," Zhou replied, his words still airtight despite being mostly intoxicated.

*What an old fox,* Song thought. It seemed impossible to get anything out of him today.

"I’ll take your word for it. Come, let’s keep drinking," Song continued to ply him with alcohol. After a few more rounds, the intoxication surged; Zhou staggered to the bed and collapsed, falling fast asleep. Watching Zhou snoring on the bed, Song felt a sudden urge to put a bullet in him. The meal had been a complete waste.

The next day, Song bought a copy of the *People's Livelihood News* as usual and leafed through it casually. His gaze paused slightly when he spotted an advertisement, and he then tucked the paper away with a nonchalant expression. He had been waiting day and night, and finally, someone from "home" had arrived.

"White Deer Bookstore, opening on New Year's Day. Sincerely inviting all scholars of Jinling to meet and share literary pursuits. Twenty percent off everything; buy soon."

It was a perfectly normal advertisement. Even the agents of the Secret Service would find nothing suspicious. According to his previous agreement with the organization, the "Deer" in "White Deer" referred to the "Lu" in Song’s codename, "Lushan." "Scholars" referred to the color of the clothing to be worn during the contact. "Twenty percent off" indicated the meeting time: eight o'clock in the morning.

"New Year's Day" stood for the first of twelve different contact signals they had agreed upon. Song’s emotions surged, but he remained calm on the surface.

When he arrived at the Fourth Intelligence Team, Sun Xi and the others were already waiting.

"Team Leader, Wang Sheng spent all day at the Caimao Car Dealership yesterday and went to a dance hall at night. Aside from the dancers, he had no contact with anyone suspicious. We checked the dance hall girl, too; she’s a local, and we found nothing unusual," Sun Xi reported.

"Keep watching him," Song said, then turned to Liu Dazhi. "What’s the situation on your end?"

"Wang Sheng is a native of Jinling, and his family was very poor. He was sold by his family when he was about ten. Last year, he returned to Jinling and reunited with his biological parents. We can’t find out where he went during those ten-plus years in between. Team Leader, I think this person is highly suspicious."

Missing for over a decade? Song immediately thought of Liu Yuezhen. Could this Wang Sheng, like Liu, have been undergoing training by the Japanese during those ten years?

"During the surveillance today, did Wang Sheng show any signs of counter-surveillance?" Song asked.

"No. His wallet was stolen in the dance hall today and he didn't even notice. His vigilance is very poor," Sun Xi replied.

Song nodded. "Zhang Ke, how about you?"

"I didn't find any clues at the second-hand market, but I did find something at a pawnshop. Two days ago, a man brought in a batch of jewelry. The pawnbroker thought the man didn't look like a good person and suspected the goods were stolen, so he offered a very low price. The man hesitated and ended up not pawning them."

"Go bring the pawnbroker back," Song ordered.

"I already brought him in yesterday and had him stay at a hotel in Xinjiekou for the night," Zhang Ke said.

"Good, you're improving," Song praised. With the help of the pawnbroker, Song sketched a portrait of the man. The man had distinct features, including a black mole on his lip, making him easy to identify.

"Photograph the sketch, make multiple prints, and have the patrolmen from every branch identify him," Song instructed.

"Yes, Team Leader," Zhang Ke replied and went to carry out the order.

After they left, Song wanted to go to the interrogation room to check on the comrade captured the day before. However, according to organizational regulations, doing so without orders would violate discipline. Still, most of the First Intelligence Team had not gone on missions today, which suggested that the comrade had not yet confessed.

Just then, Song received a call from Dai Li’s secretary, Cheng Shuli, summoning him to the conference room for an emergency meeting. Upon arriving, he found Wei Si, Jiang Yan of the Action Division, and the leaders of all intelligence and action sections present. Song quickly took his seat, wondering what major event had occurred.

"Distribute the information confessed by the Communist bandit captured yesterday for everyone to see," Dai Li ordered, and Cheng Shuli passed out the documents.

Song felt a jolt of tension. Had the underground party member broken under torture? But as he read the document, he felt a sense of strangeness. The file stated that the captive was an important member of the Jiangsu Provincial Underground Party and had revealed the location of the secret provincial committee stronghold. However, the prompt in Song's mind read: "Intelligence Value: White. Almost zero value."

There were two possibilities. The first was that the comrade was faking a confession to deceive Dai Li, though this was unlikely, as the Secret Service would certainly verify the claim. It was not something one could just bluff through.

The second possibility was that this "comrade" had been planted by Dai Li, intentionally allowed to be caught by Zhou Weijiang. Dai Li was setting a trap—an internal vetting process to fish out any potential underground party members within the Secret Service. If Song hadn't seen the true intelligence value, he might have been fooled. But now that he saw through Dai Li’s intentions, he had to aggressively boost his "loyalty."

"Director, I suggest we immediately seal off the headquarters. Before the operation, no one is allowed to leave, to prevent any leaks," Song said, jumping to his feet.

Dai Li nodded appreciatively. "Well said. Issue the order immediately."

"Director, we must also cut the telephone lines to isolate all contact with the outside. Furthermore, gather everyone in the auditorium, in groups of three to monitor each other. No one is to leave anyone's sight until the operation is complete," Song added.

"Proceed as you suggested," Dai Li said with satisfaction. If everyone were as diligent as Song Yingge, the Secret Service would surely flourish.