Chapter 51: Zhao Ru's Dying Struggle

Song Yinge handed Liang Xue over to Sun Xi for interrogation, while he himself led Ye You and the others to Zhao Ru's residence. After a thorough search, they discovered a substantial amount of valuables.

Coming from an impoverished background, Zhao Ru had no way to explain the source of these riches.

The money for which she betrayed her cause would ultimately become the evidence of her treason.

Shortly after, Song Yinge and his men arrived at the Jinling Hotel.

Upon seeing Song Yinge, the manager was overly eager to please, beating around the bush as he inquired about Qin Song's situation.

"You're showing such deep concern for Qin Song—could you perhaps be a Japanese spy as well?"

At these words, the manager waved his hands frantically, no longer daring to probe.

"Where is Zhao Ru? Take me to her." Seeing that the manager had become compliant, Song Yinge gave his orders.

"At this hour, she should be dining in the employee cafeteria," the manager replied.

When the group reached the cafeteria, they spotted Zhao Ru just as expected.

Seeing Song Yinge and his men arrive with aggressive momentum, Zhao Ru was momentarily baffled by the situation.

"Foreman Zhao, a single day apart feels like three autumns." Song Yinge walked up to her side.

"Officer, is there something you need?" Zhao Ru asked.

Song Yinge abruptly pressed Zhao Ru down onto the dining table. "My visit today is to invite Ms. Zhao to take a trip with us to the Special Service Office."

Zhao Ru struggled twice, but she was no match for Song Yinge. Realizing the truth at last, she understood that Song Yinge had come to arrest her.

"A double agent—I truly admire you," Song Yinge murmured softly, leaning close to Zhao Ru's ear.

"How could you possibly know?" Zhao Ru's face turned pale with terror.

"The Drum Tower Park," Song Yinge offered a reminder.

"You followed me yesterday?" Zhao Ru found it hard to believe.

As a seasoned operative, she was intimately familiar with anti-surveillance techniques. When she went to the Drum Tower yesterday, she had performed numerous anti-surveillance maneuvers. Had anyone been following her, it would have been impossible for her to remain completely oblivious.

"Your vigilance is far too low; tracking you took no effort at all." Song Yinge read her thoughts.

Left speechless, Zhao Ru was struck dumb.

More than twenty minutes later, Zhao Ru was escorted into the interrogation room on Caodu Lane.

"Since you could be bought off by the little Japanese, you're presumably not made of particularly stern stuff. Shall we follow protocol, or will you confess right away?"

Leaning back in his chair with his feet propped up on the desk, Song Yinge wore a leisurely expression.

***

"I belong to the Kuomintang's Investigation and Statistics Bureau. Years ago, acting on orders from my superiors, I feigned acceptance of the Japanese recruitment drive and became a double agent. But from beginning to end, the only authority I have ever served is the Investigation and Statistics Bureau."

Cornered in a desperate plight, Zhao Ru found a lifeline for survival.

Whether she had truly been recruited or not no longer mattered.

As long as this narrative was corroborated by the Investigation and Statistics Bureau—fearing that the Special Service Office might expose their own vulnerabilities—they would be forced to acknowledge it.

Facing this seemingly impenetrable defense from Zhao Ru, Song Yinge remained entirely unruffled. "Do you really think this will save your life?"

"And why not? Do you honestly have another trick up your sleeve?" Zhao Ru wore the look of someone who had already secured victory.

"Do you truly believe the Investigation and Statistics Bureau has no operatives of our own? If they dare to back this claim, the charge of deceiving the sovereign will most certainly fall upon them."

In truth, this assertion was a bluff; Song Yinge had no real knowledge of whether the Special Service Office had planted deep-cover agents within the Investigation and Statistics Bureau.

Yet this did nothing to diminish its effectiveness in shaking Zhao Ru's resolve.

After hearing these words, Zhao Ru's expression lost its previous firmness.

"Besides, what kind of place do you take the Special Service Office to be? Whether through coerced confessions or fabricated evidence, once we secure your signed statement, the people from the Investigation and Statistics Bureau will never dare to gamble on it." Song Yinge delivered the fatal blow.

Zhao Ru's complexion crumbled as she realized Song Yinge was right.

Her alibi was flawless, but if Song Yinge denied them any chance to coordinate their stories, she was destined to lose this game without a shadow of a doubt.

"Before my patience runs out, put away your little cleverness. That way, you might at least salvage some dignity."

Song Yinge unlocked the shackles on Zhao Ru and placed pen and paper before her.

Picking up the pen, Zhao Ru clenched her teeth. "Remember your promise."

As an intelligence operative, she knew all too well the horrors of torture and doubted she could endure it.

Even if she somehow survived it, what then? The end result would still be death.

"A promise made is a promise kept," Song Yinge readily agreed.

Twenty minutes later, holding Zhao Ru's signed and thumbprinted confession, Song Yinge entered Dai Li's office.

"Director, I have not failed my mission. Zhao Ru has confessed to everything." Song Yinge presented the document.

Dai Li examined it meticulously. "Ha, I wonder what expression those people at the Investigation and Statistics Bureau will wear when they see this confession."

"It will surely be a magnificent sight," Song Yinge replied.

For a moment, the office was filled with a joyful atmosphere.

***

Returning to the interrogation room, Song Yinge sought out Sun Xi. "Has Liang Xue confessed?"

"She says she won't open her mouth until Qin Song is dead," Sun Xi said with a helpless expression.

"Have you used torture?" Song Yinge asked.

"We did, but it was useless. She's just as stubborn as Liu Yuzhen and Wang Sheng." Torture, which had always proven infallible, seemed to have lost its power against these individuals, leaving Sun Xi completely at a loss.

Song Yinge stroked his chin. "Bring Wang Sheng into Liang Xue's interrogation room and torture him right in front of her."

Sun Xi's eyes brightened. "That is an excellent method."

Moments later, Sun Xi dragged the foul-smelling Wang Sheng and tossed him like trash before Liang Xue.

"He is dying. Do you want to save him?" Stepping onto Wang Sheng's face, Song Yinge asked Liang Xue.

Though Wang Sheng had lost consciousness, his mouth kept muttering, "Number 18, shall we go watch the sunset together?"

"Did you hear that? He still wants to watch a sunset with you once more. Can you truly not grant him this final wish?"

Her eyes swimming with tears, Liang Xue still refused to speak.

Raising three fingers, Song Yinge instructed Shen Wei, "Three hundred cuts. I want you to carve him three hundred times while Liang Xue watches."

Shen Wei drew a small blade. "No problem, but I'll need a doctor present, or else he might not last through the three hundred cuts."

"Very well. Sun Xi, fetch a doctor." Turning back to Liang Xue, Song Yinge said, "He didn't have to die, nor did he have to suffer torture—it was your obstinacy that doomed him. He loves you dearly, yet you seem not to love him at all."

"Oh, Wang Sheng, Wang Sheng, your love is utterly worthless. I almost feel sorry for you," Shen Wei chimed in from the side.

Soon, the doctor arrived at the interrogation room, and Shen Wei tested the edge of his blade against Wang Sheng's skin. "Let's start with the legs."

"Ms. Liang Xue, don't blink. Look closely—such a magnificent spectacle comes only once in a lifetime," Song Yinge remarked.

When the blade finally pierced Wang Sheng's flesh, Liang Xue could no longer hold back. She cried out hysterically, "I'll talk! I'll talk!"

Gesturing for Shen Wei to halt, Song Yinge waved his hand. "You had better speak quickly. My patience is considerable, but if Wang Sheng isn't treated soon, I'm afraid he won't last much longer."

"Liu Guoquan, head of the First Section of the Accounting Division under the Ministry of Military and Political Affairs' Quartermaster Department—I recruited him a year ago, and he has provided massive amounts of classified intelligence." Liang Xue exposed a major catch.

The Accounting Division of the Quartermaster Department controlled the deliberation of military supply utilization, alongside military budget planning, auditing, and disbursement.

Occupying such a critical position, Liu Guoquan was privy to countless classified secrets.

Driven solely by selfish desires, he had continuously fed classified intelligence to the Japanese side, causing an incalculable amount of damage to the nation.

Such a man deserved to die a hundred times over without a shred of pity.