Chapter 48 Zhao Ru

The International Friendship Club, later known as the Jinling Hotel, was initially planned and established by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Nationalist Government. It was first located at General Temple in Sanpailou, then relocated to North Zhongshan Road, and completed in 1936.

As a frequent gathering place for members of foreign diplomatic missions in China and domestic diplomats, it served as an important social venue for the Nationalist Government.

In the past, Chiyo Toyota had operated in covert concealment right here.

Determined to prevent the little Japanese from playing the trick of hiding in plain sight, Song Yingge decided to conduct a reinvestigation.

Upon arriving at the Jinling Hotel, Song Yingge sought out the manager and stated the purpose of his visit.

Acutely aware of the formidable reputation of the Special Service Office, the manager dared not cause any trouble and appeared thoroughly cooperative.

Acquiring the personnel files of all current employees at the Jinling Hotel, Song Yingge quickly skimmed through them.

During his previous investigation, his golden finger had not yet been upgraded, resulting in slow investigative efficiency and low accuracy.

This time, however, after reviewing the stack of files, Song Yingge could not help but recall a well-known adage: "A small temple breeds deep winds, and a shallow pond teems with turtles."

A modest establishment like the Jinling Hotel employed a total of only forty or fifty people.

Yet, among them, there were as many as two personnel files carrying the golden-tier rating.

Combined with the previously uncovered Chiyo Toyota, there were precisely three undercover agents lurking here.

On second thought, however, this made complete sense.

Members of diplomatic missions had always been among the best-informed individuals, and a single casual remark often carried immense value.

"Zhao Ru, twenty-five years old, employed in the twenty-first year of the Republic, supervisor."

Song Yingge retained a distinct impression of this person.

When he came to investigate Chiyo Toyota not long ago, he had questioned her as well.

At that time, Zhao Ru's demeanor had been entirely natural, and her words had been airtight, failing to arouse any suspicion from Song Yingge.

Never would he have imagined that she, too, was an undercover operative.

The question then arose: to which faction did Zhao Ru belong?

Surely she couldn't be a comrade yet again.

"Qin Song, twenty-two years old, employed in the twenty-fifth year of the Republic, restaurant waiter."

Hired last year, a waiter—these two characteristics perfectly matched Wang Sheng's description of a "runner."

Even so, Song Yingge could not confirm solely on this basis that he was a Japanese spy.

Further verification was still required.

Song Yingge tossed the employee files to Ye You and Gu Qiang. "Take a look and see who seems suspicious."

The two men pored over the documents for a long time, yet eventually had to voice a shared realization.

The personnel files of undercover agents were invariably far more flawless than those of ordinary people.

Trying to unearth suspicious clues based solely on paperwork was virtually impossible.

"Ye You, let's hear your thoughts." Song Yingge intended to test him slightly.

"I can't analyze anything out of this." Ye You answered quite candidly.

"Get a room ready for me; I am going to interrogate every single employee," Song Yingge instructed the manager.

A troubled expression crossed the manager's face. "It's almost mealtime right now, Officer. Do you think we could perhaps wait until the afternoon?"

Song Yingge's expression grew cold as he stared at the manager in silence.

Daring not meet his gaze for fear of provoking these baleful gods, the manager stammered, "I'll make the arrangements right away. Please follow me, the three officers."

Inside a conference room, Song Yingge sat behind the conference table while Ye You and his companion stood by the door.

"Next, Qin Song."

A short, somewhat effeminate-looking man walked in.

"Where is your hometown?" From the moment Qin Song stepped through the door, Song Yingge kept a close watch on his expression.

"The Northeast."

"What brought you to Jinling?"

"I fled as a refugee after the Northeast fell."

"How many family members do you have left?"

"Just myself."

The moment Qin Song's words left his mouth, Song Yingge fired off the next question without giving him any time to react.

"Have you ever attended school?"

"I studied for a few years."

"How old are you this year?"

"Twenty-two."

*"身長はいくらですか？"* (How tall are you?) Song Yingge suddenly switched to Japanese to ask about his height.

"One meter..." Qin Song blurted out, cutting himself off midway through the sentence.

However, it was already too late.

"You understand Japanese?" Song Yingge looked at Qin Song with a playful gaze.

Qin Song's fingers trembled slightly as he forced himself to maintain composure. "There are quite a few Japanese in the Northeast; I picked up a few phrases."

"Police officers deal in evidence; for us, suspicion alone is quite enough."

Before Song Yingge could give any orders, Ye You and his partner had already lunged forward and pinned Qin Song down.

"Dislocate his jaw," Song Yingge commanded.

Acting swiftly, Ye You grabbed Qin Song's chin and with a firm twist, dislocated it.

He then thrust his fingers into the man's mouth and swept around. "No poison found."

"Tie him up and take him away," Song Yingge ordered.

"Team Leader, you are truly miraculous." Ye You and his companion were filled with boundless admiration.

In their minds, capturing a Japanese spy was an exceedingly difficult task.

Yet in Song Yingge's hands, a suspect was subdued with merely a few casual words.

One could only conclude that even among top-tier agents, disparities still existed.

The three of them escorted Qin Song out of the hotel.

Before leaving, Song Yingge glanced at the hotel manager.

That single look nearly caused the manager to wet his trousers, as Qin Song was someone he had personally hired.

Once they were back in the car and had driven some distance away, Song Yingge spoke up, "You two escort him back to Caodu Lane and interrogate him immediately. I have other matters to attend to and won't be returning just yet."

After the car drove away, Song Yingge returned to the vicinity of the Jinling Hotel.

Qin Song was undeniably a Japanese spy, but as for Zhao Ru, Song Yingge remained somewhat uncertain of her true identity.

With no other choice, he had sent Ye You and the other man away to conduct the investigation alone.

Meanwhile, watching Qin Song being hauled away, Zhao Ru thought to herself, "This Song Yingge truly lives up to his reputation."

With just a few words, he had exposed Qin Song's identity. Such methods secretly startled Zhao Ru.

After finishing her shift at the Jinling Hotel, Zhao Ru changed into plain clothes and walked toward the vicinity of the Party Headquarters building at Dingjiaqiao, where the headquarters of the Investigation Bureau was situated.

Entering a restaurant, Zhao Ru chose a seat by the window and waited patiently.

After about half an hour, an ordinary-looking middle-aged man walked out of the building and spotted Zhao Ru as he passed the restaurant.

The middle-aged man entered the restaurant, walked straight to Zhao Ru's table, and sat down.

"Section Chief, this morning Song Yingge from the Special Service Office captured a Japanese spy at the Jinling Hotel," Zhao Ru said in a low voice.

"I've been hearing his name quite a lot lately. Has he suspected your identity?" The middle-aged man took a sip of tea, then spat out a tea leaf with a distinct sound.

"Your subordinate cannot be certain. If he truly suspects me, it might interfere with my mission." Remembering the look Song Yingge had given her earlier that day, Zhao Ru felt as though he had seen right through her.

"It's nothing. If you find that he is investigating you, simply reveal your identity," the middle-aged man said indifferently.

Although the two rival agencies harbored long-standing grievances and constantly undermined each other in the shadows, neither dared to tear off their masks and openly cross the line, lest they hand the other side a weapon to use against them.

Standing quietly in the corner, Song Yingge had heard their conversation clearly.

After the two departed, Song Yingge initially intended to head straight back to Caodu Lane, but as he watched Zhao Ru's retreating figure, he felt a nagging sense that he had overlooked something.

After mulling it over, he decided to follow her; there might still be hidden secrets surrounding this woman, Zhao Ru.

Upon leaving the restaurant, Zhao Ru boarded a rickshaw and headed in the direction of Drum Tower.