usatvline Chapter 1976 Using yourself as bait
Chapter 1976 Using yourself as bait
Chapter 1976 Using yourself as bait
“Pan Qingyu tried to secretly throw away the pen, and the pen hit the wall with a sound, which caught my attention,” Hijikata Juro said.
"What was Pan Qingyu's reaction when you picked up the pen?" Oda Hideto asked.
“His face was anxious, and he looked a little scared,” Hijikata Juichiro said.
"So, you think there's something seriously wrong with this pen?" Hideto Oda asked.
"Isn't that right?" Hijikata Juichiro answered subconsciously. "If there was nothing wrong with the pen, why did he secretly throw it away, and why was he still acting the same way after it was discovered?"
Hideto Oda didn't speak; he frowned in thought.
He felt that something was wrong with this whole thing.
He examined the pen repeatedly, but there was nothing special about it.
Unless there is one possibility, which is his guess about Yokoyama Akima, that the pen itself is an ordinary pen, but it can be used as a token of love.
However, the more Oda Hideto thought about it, the less likely it seemed. He had no evidence to support his feeling; it was purely intuition.
“Take me to the place where you captured Pan Qingyu,” said Oda Hideto.
"Hai."
……
West Shanghai.
Hideto Oda rubbed his chin, staring intently.
“Pan Qingyu was right here. He secretly threw away his pen.” Hijikata Juro pointed. “The pen was left in that spot. It made a sound when it hit the wall, which caught my attention.”
“No, no.” Hideto Oda shook his head. “Something’s not right.”
He pointed to the wall and said, "If Pan Qingyu really wanted to secretly discard the pen, he wouldn't need to discard it towards the wall. The pen would make a sound when it hits the wall. It's unlikely that an experienced underground Communist Party member would make such a mistake."
As he spoke, Oda Hideto pointed to the left, "There's a patch of grass there. Even if he quietly dropped the pen there, it would disappear into the grass without a sound, and wouldn't attract your attention at all."
“Captain Oda is right,” Hijikata Juichiro said thoughtfully. “That’s true. If he had thrown the pen into the grass, I probably wouldn’t have noticed this detail.”
However, after thinking for a moment, he added, "Could it be that we're overinterpreting this? Perhaps Pan Qingyu was so panicked when he was arrested that all he could think about was losing the pen, which led to this foolish mistake?"
"Do you think that underground party members like them, who are lurking in Shanghai and have to be on guard against our arrest every day, would make such a basic mistake?" Oda Hideto asked, frowning as he looked at Hijikata Juichiro.
……
"I was too superficial in my thinking," Hijikata Juichiro said with a look of shame.
"Since Pan Qingyu wouldn't make such a foolish mistake, why would he do it?" Oda Hideto pondered, rubbing his chin.
"Could it be that fountain pens aren't as important as we think?" Hijikata Juichiro pondered, then said.
"The pen isn't important?" Oda Hideto was taken aback at first, then he had a look of sudden realization. "That's right, the pen isn't important. It might just be an ordinary pen. Pan Qingyu's only purpose in doing this is to draw your attention to the pen."
“As for why he’s drawing your attention to the pen, it means he’s deliberately hiding something else.” Oda Hideto’s eyes gleamed with excitement. “He’s protecting something else, something truly valuable.”
……
"What could it be?" Hijikata Jujuro asked.
"It could be a piece of paper, a document, or an object; in short, it's something extremely important and highly confidential to Pan Qingyu and the Red Party," said Oda Hideto.
"Did you search and check this area at the time?" he asked Hijikata Juichiro.
"A simple search, not a thorough one." Hijikata Juichiro's expression changed. He knew that if everything was as Captain Oda Hideto said, he had fallen for Pan Qingyu's deception.
"Immediately mobilize manpower to search this area," said Hideto Oda. "Pan Qingyu was secretly arrested, and the Red Party may not have received any news yet, which means that the thing Pan Qingyu hid is still there."
He said with a serious expression, "We must find it, even if it means digging three feet into the ground."
"Hai."
……
The Fifth Police Precinct of Shanghai, formerly the Mailan Police Station.
Zhao Shuli had a cigarette between his teeth and was playing cards with his men.
"Let's go." Zhao Shuli threw down the two cards in his hand forcefully, rubbing his hands together happily. "Give me the money, give me the money."
"Boss, I'll owe you for now."
"I owe you a huge amount." Zhao Shuli tapped his subordinate on the head. "Da Qingzi, tell me how much money you owe me?"
Just then, the telephone on the desk rang.
An officer stepped forward and picked up the phone.
"Section Chief, phone call." Bai Ruihua called out to Zhao Shuli, holding up the phone receiver.
"Help me play cards." Zhao Shuli stood up, stretched, and walked over to pick up the phone.
……
"Which one?"
"Oh, it's Boss Liao." Zhao Shuli's heart skipped a beat, but he smiled and said, "Alright, see you later. But let's make it clear beforehand, this time it's my treat."
"Haha, alright, that's settled then, see you in a bit." Zhao Shuli chuckled as he put the phone receiver down.
"Boss, are we going out?" Da Qingzi asked after glancing around.
"Do I need to ask your brother Qingzi for permission to go out?" Zhao Shuli said irritably.
Everyone burst into laughter.
"Alright, I have to go out. While I'm gone, Bai Ruihua, please stay here." Zhao Shuli called out.
"Section Chief."
"Keep your eyes peeled."
"Yes."
"Go buy some cigarettes and get some food and drinks for me to come back." Zhao Shuli handed the winnings to a police officer and strolled out of the office building.
……
Police officers along the way greeted Zhao Shuli. This former detective from the Central Police Station of the French Concession was already quite familiar with everyone and was also very good at getting along with people. He had only been at the Mailan Police Station for a few days and had already become one of the locals.
Zhao Shuli nodded with a smile, a cigarette dangling from his lips, and walked at a leisurely pace.
But he was extremely anxious.
The call was from Comrade Yi Jun!
This is against the rules.
Or rather, this is not a normal means of communication; it is only used in extremely urgent situations for emergency contact.
Zhao Shu couldn't figure out what had happened, but he knew it must be something very important and urgent.
The call was made personally by Comrade Yi Jun.
This shows that the matter was kept extremely confidential, to the point that Comrade Yi Jun had to contact him personally and did not arrange for any other comrades to handle it.
In addition, Zhao Shuli was not without a trace of worry in his heart.
There is another possibility that Comrade Yi Jun called personally: that something went wrong on his end, such as attracting the enemy's attention and the organization issuing a warning to him.
However, after thinking about it for a moment, he was inclined to believe that the phone call just now was not an alarm call.
Comrade Yi Jun is an experienced veteran. If we want to warn him, we can communicate using code words that both of us can understand.
……
Mai Lan District, Tai Fook Yun Tea House.
Zhao Shuli met with Comrade Yi Jun in private room number three of room A.
"Mr. Liao, I'm late, please forgive me," said Zhao Shuli.
"I apologize for the hasty call," Comrade Yi Jun said politely as he quickly stood up.
After the waiter served a pot of tea and a few plates of snacks, he closed the door behind him as he left.
"What happened?" Zhao Shuli asked in a low voice.
"It's still about Comrade Zhang Yingzhuo," Comrade Yi Jun said.
"what happened?"
"The organization has just learned of a situation," Comrade Yi Jun said. "Comrade Zhang Yingzhuo should have just received an intelligence report before he went missing."
"Is intelligence important?" Zhao Shuli asked.
“The intelligence itself is not important.” Comrade Yi Jun nodded with a serious expression. “It is a contact between Comrade Zhang Yingzhuo and a comrade with a very secretive and important identity. The two of them are in single-line contact.”
……
“Intelligence is a routine means of confirming security,” he told Zhao Shuli. “However, if intelligence falls into the hands of the enemy, it will pose a direct threat to this hidden comrade.”
Zhao Shuli immediately understood.
Comrade Zhang Yingzhuo and that comrade on the secret front maintained a single-line contact for a long time. For security reasons, the two would most likely rarely meet.
Or rather, the two would not meet directly unless it was a crucial moment.
The intelligence communication that the two maintained was, more accurately, a way to confirm security.
"Does the organization suspect that this intelligence has fallen into the hands of the enemy?" Zhao Shuli asked.
"It's impossible to tell," Comrade Yi Jun said, shaking his head. "Although I believe that with Comrade Zhang Yingzhuo's experience and reaction, he would destroy the intelligence immediately, it's hard to say whether the intelligence has fallen into the enemy's hands."
"Is the intelligence content ordinary, or will it attract the enemy's attention?" Zhao Shuli asked.
"I don't know," Comrade Yi Jun shook his head and said. "I only know that such a comrade exists. This comrade has a one-way communication with Zhang Yingzhuo, and even I don't know the true identity of this comrade."
He knew what Zhao Shuli meant by asking this question. If the intelligence content was normal, then even if the enemy discovered it, it might still attract their attention.
"We can't gamble," Comrade Yi Jun said with a serious expression. "The enemy is far more cunning than we imagine."
……
"I understand." Zhao Shuli nodded. "I will secretly investigate the situation."
“No, you don’t understand,” Comrade Yi Jun said.
Zhao Shuli's expression suddenly became extremely serious; he understood what Comrade Yi Jun was trying to say.
"On behalf of the Anti-Enemy Work Department, I request that you comrades provide all possible assistance," Comrade Yi Jun said earnestly.
"Okay." Zhao Shuli nodded. "I will report to the organization."
Comrade Yi Jun nodded, knowing that Comrade Zhao Shuli understood his meaning.
……
"Captain Oda, nothing was found."
"Report: No findings found."
"not found."
The military police officers reported to Hidetoshi Oda one after another, and found nothing unusual.
"Captain Oda," Hijikata Juichiro asked, frowning, "Could it be that our judgment is wrong?"
“Impossible.” Hideto Oda shook his head. He had been pondering this for a while, and the more he thought about it, the more inclined he became to believe that his judgment was correct.
He glanced around and frowned.
"Do you think it's possible that what Pan Qingyu is hiding isn't near where he dropped the pen?" Oda Hideto asked Hijikata Juichiro.
“We can’t rule out that possibility,” Hijikata Juichiro thought for a moment and said, “But what is his purpose in doing this?”
“Draw your attention here,” said Hideto Oda. “If you find his discarded pen here, you’ll be overjoyed. Even if you later realize something is amiss, you’ll only suspect that Pan Qingyu discarded the item nearby and won’t focus your attention elsewhere.”
"From the moment Pan Qingyu discovered us to the moment I ordered his arrest, less than a minute had passed," Hijikata Juro said thoughtfully. "How could Pan Qingyu have thought of so much and made these arrangements so promptly?"
……
“Hijikata.” Hideto Oda looked at Hijikata Juichiro with a serious expression. “Our opponent is the Red Party, which has over a decade of experience fighting against the National Party. Don’t underestimate your opponent. You must understand that a Red Party underground party member who is not good enough could not have infiltrated under our noses for so long.”
“Hai,” Hijikata Juichiro said, “but I really can’t understand how Pan Qingyu managed to hide the thing right under our noses.”
He told Hideto Oda, "When he discovered we were following him, I immediately ordered his arrest..."
"Wait a minute." Hideto Oda interrupted Juichiro Hijikata. "You mean, he discovered you were following him, and then you promptly ordered his arrest?"
“Yes, Captain Oda,” Hijikata Juichiro said. “It’s recorded in the files, and I just reported it to you.”
“No, no,” Hideto Oda said, shaking his head. “We’ve overlooked a detail.”
"What details?" Hijikata Juichiro asked.
“We only focused on what happened after Pan Qingyu discovered he was being followed and was arrested,” said Oda Hideto. “Don’t you find it strange? According to our current analysis, Pan Qingyu is a Communist Party member with extremely rich experience in underground operations and a very quick response in emergency situations.”
He said to Hijikata Juichiro, "But he let you discover that he found out you were following us..."
……
“I understand what you mean,” Hijikata Juichiro nodded and said. “He can easily pretend he didn’t notice us.”
"In other words, he deliberately pretended to have discovered your following him, intentionally trying to lure you into arresting him," said Hideto Oda.
Both of them changed their expressions.
For Pan Qingyu to go to such lengths as to use himself as bait to lure them into making a capture, he must be covering something up. And what he's covering up, or rather, what he's protecting, is something extremely important, or perhaps—
Protect someone?!
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(End of this chapter)