manynovel Chapter 20 Intercepting Intelligence and Night Raid on Huang 4 Hall
Chapter 20 Intercepting Intelligence and Night Raid on Huang 4 Hall
Yan Shuo walked halfway around the secluded alley, making sure no one was watching him, before bending down and crawling into the abandoned mailbox—a dead mailbox that had long been disused, containing the miniature probes and signal receivers he had previously set up.
He dismantled the equipment and completed the recycling.
He then turned into another, narrower alley, squatted down next to the courtyard of the listening receiver outside the intelligence headquarters, and turned on the transmission receiver.
He pulled out his cigarette case, took out a cigarette and put it in his mouth. He lit it with a "click" of his lighter, then slumped against the wall, stretching his legs out and swinging them around. He looked exactly like a good-for-nothing loafer.
Passersby who caught a glimpse of him and then glanced at the faint logo of the secret service headquarters deep in the alley assumed he was being followed by plainclothes agents. They quickened their pace and instinctively walked around him.
In the blink of an eye, a vacuum zone appeared within five meters of Yan Shuo.
He glanced at the departing figure and a cold smile curled at the corner of his mouth.
"Host, intelligence received." Xiao Zhi's mechanical voice sounded in his mind.
Yan Shuo flicked away the cigarette butt, stubbed it out with the sole of his shoe, dusted himself off, and swaggered out of the alley.
Just then, a rickshaw passed by at the street corner. He raised his hand and called out, "To Zhengjiaqiao in the French Concession, hurry up." The driver responded and pulled the rickshaw away.
Upon arriving near Zhengjiaqiao, one could immediately spot Zhang Duan sitting in a corner of a street-side tea stall, chatting idly with the tea owner, his eyes occasionally glancing towards the intersection.
Yan Shuo signaled the driver to stop, paid the fare, and walked straight towards the tea stall.
"Brother Jie!" Zhang Duan, with his sharp eyes, immediately stood up, his voice very low. He pulled out the stool opposite him, picked up the rough porcelain teapot on the table, and poured Yan Shuo a cup of warm tea.
Yan Shuo sat down, picked up his teacup, and took a couple of sips. The fragrant tea dispelled some of his fatigue. He got straight to the point: "How did things go?"
Zhang Duan moved closer to him, making a "success" gesture under the table with his fingertips: "All set! Huang Sitang's vault is hidden in the cellar in his backyard, and the key is in a hidden compartment in his bedside table. I've already had the brothers prepare three trucks, all with changed license plates. We'll move in tonight in the latter half of the night; it'll be foolproof."
"Okay." Yan Shuo nodded. "Pass the word down that everyone should meet at 1 a.m. at the abandoned house near Huang Sitang's house. Bring your weapons, move quickly and quietly, and don't disturb the neighbors."
"Alright!" Zhang Duan finished his tea in one gulp, took out a few copper coins and placed them on the table, then turned and disappeared into the crowd on the street.
Yan Shuo continued to sip his tea slowly, then lit a cigarette. After taking two puffs, he caught a glimpse of a figure out of the corner of his eye—the person was wearing an ill-fitting Zhongshan suit and a black top hat with the brim pulled down very low. He always unconsciously held the hat while walking, his steps hurried, exuding an indescribable eeriness.
"Red-labeled Japanese devils?" Yan Shuo narrowed his eyes, a question forming in his mind.
He stubbed out his cigarette, got up without making a sound, and followed.
This man is Hayato Yamashita, an agent of the Kiku Agency. He's here today to meet with his informant, Shizuka Maeda.
He was completely unaware that he was being watched. He made his way to the Haishan Restaurant and went straight to a private room on the second floor.
Yan Shuo followed closely behind, sat down in an empty spot at the top of the stairs, and called over a waiter: "Two small dishes and a pot of yellow wine, warm it up."
He casually flipped through the menu on the table, but his eyes were fixed on the direction of the private room. He saw Yamashita Hayato sit down, pick up the teapot on the table, pour two cups of tea, and neatly arrange a pair of chopsticks upright in one of the cups.
"Heh, this code word is so clever, it's like they're afraid no one will know it." Yan Shuo chuckled to himself, picked up the yellow wine brought by the waiter, poured himself a drink, and patiently waited for the contact to appear.
About ten minutes later, a soft footstep was heard at the bottom of the stairs.
Yan Shuo looked up and saw that the person was dressed almost exactly like Yamashita Hayato, also wearing a Zhongshan suit and a black top hat, but with a slender figure and a somewhat feminine gait, clearly a woman dressed as a man.
"This disguise is too crude." Yan Shuo frowned, thinking to himself, "In Shanghai, where Japanese spies are everywhere, how dare they be so perfunctory? Do they really think all Chinese people are blind?"
The person who came was Maeda Shizuka. She went straight into the private room, sat down, took out an envelope from her bosom, and quickly handed it to Yamashita Hayato under the table while the waiter was serving the dishes.
Hayato Yamashita took the food, skillfully tucked it into his sleeve, and then picked up another piece of food for her with his chopsticks. He smiled affectionately at her, and the two whispered something to each other, looking like a couple deeply in love.
Yan Shuo curled his lip, finding it even more ridiculous: if that's the kind of relationship, they could pass on information by holding hands while strolling down the street, so why bother with all this fancy stuff? It's just pointless.
The two ate for about half an hour, then walked out of the restaurant hand in hand, their steps unsteady and their eyes glazed over, clearly having drunk too much.
Yan Shuo followed them from a distance and saw them enter the Xianghe Hotel next door. When they registered at the front desk, he clearly saw the room number—311.
"Perfect timing." A cold glint flashed in Yan Shuo's eyes. He turned and walked into a phone booth on the street, dialing the Black Blade Group's secret number: "You guys come over here right now. Room 311, Xianghe Hotel. I ordered two good dishes. Come and eat quickly."
After hanging up the phone, he walked to a small coffee shop across the street, chose a window seat, ordered a cappuccino, and took a few old newspapers from the counter, casually flipping through them, but his eyes remained fixed on the hotel entrance.
Not long after, Zhao Lie arrived with three of his brothers.
The group pretended to be passersby, strolled around the hotel entrance for a while, and after confirming that nothing was amiss, went straight inside. Soon after, a very faint sound of fighting came from upstairs, and then Zhou Hu and Chen Rui came down the stairs carrying two bulging suitcases.
"Hey, gentlemen, what's this...?" The receptionist looked up curiously, about to ask a question, when Zhou Hu glared at her.
"Help take the luggage of the guest in room 311 downstairs." Zhou Hu said calmly, without stopping.
Seeing their unfriendly expressions and well-dressed appearance, the shop assistant assumed they were bodyguards from some company and dared not ask any more questions. He shrank back and continued to calculate the bill.
The group left the hotel, hailed several rickshaws, and quickly disappeared into the night.
Yan Shuo made sure no one was following him before finishing his coffee, paying the bill, and slowly leaving.
That evening, in an abandoned courtyard, Zhao Lie met Yan Shuo, his face showing some fatigue but unable to hide his excitement: "Boss, we got the information! The man's name is Yamashita Hayato, from the Kiku Agency; the woman's name is Maeda Shizuka, from the Shang Mansion. The two were exchanging intelligence. Yamashita Hayato gave us a list of personnel from our Shanghai Station's Fourth Operations Section, all new brothers who haven't officially started working yet."
Yan Shuo's fingers, holding the cigarette, paused, and his eyes instantly turned cold: "How was the intelligence leaked?"
"Yamashita Hayato confessed that he arrested one of our informants, and the interrogation revealed that he was Sun Qiang, a radio operator from the Fourth Operations Division. They found a codebook on him, deciphered several telegrams, and obtained the list." Zhao Lie sighed. "The new brothers have arrived in the International Settlement and are scattered and hiding. They will meet at Shangmei Apartment in a couple of days to assign tasks."
"So detailed?" Yan Shuo frowned, the cigarette butt falling from his fingers and grinding it on the ground with his foot. "What information did Maeda Shizuka give him?"
"It's information from a Communist courier. They're setting a trap at Wusheng Inn, apparently to capture a big shot codenamed 'Gardener,'" Zhao Lie added. "I asked them why they were exchanging intelligence, and they both said that Shang Mansion offered more money and preferred intelligence from our mountain city; Zhu Agency, on the other hand, valued Communist intelligence more and offered higher rewards."
"You believe that reason?" Yan Shuo rolled his eyes, his tone full of disdain.
"Of course I don't believe it!" Zhao Lie waved his hand helplessly. "We've interrogated them to death, and they still give this same answer. They don't seem to be lying."
"Whether it's true or not, this couple definitely has a lot of money hidden away." Yan Shuo's eyes hardened. "Search out all their private assets, then clean them up and bury them deep."
"Understood!" Zhao Lie nodded.
"Also, warn the brothers in the Fourth Operations Division," Yan Shuo said after a moment's thought. "Aren't they going to gather at Shangmei Apartments? Fire a few shots at a few intersections near the apartments, then make an anonymous call to the apartment front desk saying there's a bomb, just to lure them away and avoid a direct confrontation."
"What about the Communist Party? Should we give them a heads-up?" Zhao Lie asked.
"No need." Yan Shuo waved his hand, his tone indifferent. "They each serve their own masters; their affairs are none of our business."
"Okay!"
Yan Shuo glanced at his watch; the hour hand was already pointing to one in the morning. He stood up and patted Zhao Lie on the shoulder: "Time's up, let's move out!"
"yes!"
The night was as dark as ink, and Huang Sitang's mansion was eerily silent. Several dark figures scaled the wall like ghosts; they were Zhao Lie's team of agents. Holding silenced pistols, they cleanly and efficiently dealt with the security guards at the entrance, their movements so quiet they didn't wake anyone.
Yan Shuo followed closely behind and entered Huang Sitang's bedroom. Huang Sitang and his wife were fast asleep on the bed, completely unaware of the impending danger. Yan Shuo raised his hand to signal, and two team members stepped forward and covered their mouths and noses with pillows. After a moment, the people on the bed were still.
Su Yan skillfully found the cellar key in the bedside table. "Boss, found it."
Yan Shuo nodded and led the group into the backyard, opening the cellar door—inside was indeed Huang Sitang's vault, with gold bars and silver coins piled up like small mountains, along with several boxes of jewelry and ornaments, and several thick account books in the corner.
"Su Yan, put the account book away." Yan Shuo pointed to the account book. "Go back and translate it carefully. There must be evidence of Huang Sitang's collusion with the Japanese puppet regime in this book."
Su Yan picked up the ledger, flipped through a few pages, and frowned: "Boss, this is a coded ledger commonly used by managers in Zhejiang and Hunan. We have to slowly decipher it to understand it."
"Take it easy and get it done as soon as possible." Yan Shuo glanced at the ledger, the dense numbers and symbols giving him a headache. "Never mind that, just load the gold bars, silver dollars, and jewelry onto the truck first. Hurry up, we still need to move goods from the warehouse."
"clear!"
The team members had a clear division of labor and quickly emptied the vault. Ten minutes later, the group left the Huang residence and headed straight for Huang Sitang's warehouse. Three large trucks were already waiting there, and the team members swarmed in and began frantically moving supplies.
"Don't load any of that harmful stuff like opium, expired medicine, or substandard fabric!" Yan Shuo shouted from the warehouse entrance. "Load the valuables first: Western medicine, cloth, and grain!"
"Alright!" the team members responded in unison.
After the three trucks were fully loaded and the team members left one after another, Yan Shuo stayed alone in the warehouse. Looking at the pile of "garbage" left on the ground, he waved his hand and said, "Xiao Zhi, take it all away and recycle it directly."
A flash of blue light, and everything on the ground vanished without a trace. Yan Shuo dusted off his hands, turned, and walked into the night. The warehouse behind him was completely empty, not a single hair remained.