69novels Chapter 75 We tried everything, but the letter really was just an ordinary letter.
Chapter 75 We tried everything, but the letter really was just an ordinary letter.
Hongkou District, Shanghai: Headquarters of the Special Higher Police.
Inukai Gakufu and Mao Baoying, who were just about to personally lead a team to Kun County to arrest "Kunshan Longge", quickly turned back because they received a telegram from the Kunshan County Garrison Captain Matsui Daiwei via the county maintenance committee's radio!
The content is: "Kunshan Longge is a minor leader of the notorious gang 'Machete Gang' in Kunshan County. During the arrest, the Machete Gang collectively 'resisted arrest' and clashed with our squad in the street. Longge and his men were all killed on the spot!"
Unexpectedly, the street clashes sparked a "popular uprising" among the people of Kunshan County in China, who harbored extreme hatred for the empire.
Thousands of 'troublemakers' surged into the streets, wielding 'weapons' such as kitchen knives, wooden sticks, hoes, and sickles, and engaged in fierce clashes with our Imperial Japanese Army, resulting in the deaths of 5 soldiers and injuries to 19 others in our company........
"Baka! A bunch of idiots! Immediately have the captain of the Matsui Squadron stationed in Kunshan County and the soldier who shot and killed Long Ge arrested and interrogated thoroughly. We must find out whether it was a genuine 'accidental killing' or a deliberate act to cover it up!" Tsukamoto Kameichi ordered angrily after reading the telegram delivered by Inukai Gakufuku.
"This line's broken again. Let's go to the technical department; hopefully, those idiots will find something!"
Inside the laboratory of the technical department, the atmosphere was unusually heavy and... Dejected, the head of the technical department, Saburo Ono, stood in front of Kameichi Tsukamoto and Manabu Inukai, covered in sweat and looking ashen-faced. On the table lay the crucial "bloodstained letter".
"Section Chief, Chief Inukai," Ono's voice trembled, "I'm incompetent... We... we've tried almost every method known..."
"Give me the results!" Tsukamoto Kameichi interrupted impatiently, his eyes cold.
"Yes!" Ono shuddered and quickly replied, "We've tried everything: iodine vapor, fire, water immersion, acid and alkali reagents, ultraviolet lamps, and even the latest spectral analysis..."
They even tried comparing the differences word by word to see if there was any hidden "Morse code," but... this looks like an ordinary, casual letter!
"Baka!" Inukai Gakufu couldn't help but curse, "Is the thing that Fu Jingnian, the deputy stationmaster of Shanghai who had already received the news and was evacuating, was willing to risk his life to seize, just a piece of worthless waste paper as you say?"
This is impossible! There must be some secret we haven't discovered!
Ono said with a bitter face: "Chief Inukai, theoretically... if we use some very special black-and-white ink that requires specific triggering conditions to develop, it is possible... but we need to know the specific development method, otherwise it's like looking for a needle in a haystack."
Furthermore, preliminary analysis of the paper and ink stains, including their smelling by multiple military dogs, confirmed that no abnormal components were found…
Kameichi Tsukamoto's face was terribly grim. The breakthrough he had pinned his hopes on seemed to have turned into a complete waste of paper.
The clues seem to have all gone cold!
A suffocating silence fell over the office.
Kameichi Tsukamoto stared intently at the "bloodstained letter," his eyes filled with resentment and confusion.
Could it be that... we really made a mistake?
Was Fu Jingnian's action motivated by another reason? Or... was it just a coincidence of a failed operation within the Military Intelligence Bureau?
No! His intuition told him it wasn't that simple! There must be something wrong with that letter! They just couldn't find the "key" yet!
"Section Chief," Inukai Manabu broke the silence, a sudden flash of inspiration striking him, a glint of wisdom in his eyes, "Since we can't find a breakthrough from the letter itself, could we try a different approach? Investigate from... the recipient?"
"Hmm?" Tsukamoto Kame looked at him.
"Although Rongchang Trading Company was destroyed, its business records may still remain."
We can check with the post office to see if there have been any other returned letters recently, or...
Yes! That must be it, that must be it!
The fact that Deputy Station Chief Fu Jingnian, who had already successfully retreated, would return and personally lead a team to fight to the death to seize the intelligence, even knowing that there were tigers in the mountains, must mean that the intelligence was extremely important!
However, they were unsure when the intelligence would arrive; they only knew it was delivered via email!
At this very moment, this ordinary letter arrived, causing Fu Jingnian and us to misjudge the situation and believe that this email contained the important intelligence they were waiting for. That's why we were willing to risk our lives to seize it!
But the real intelligence either already arrived, or it just hasn't reached Rongchang Trading Company yet! Inukai Gakufu's mind suddenly clicked; the Black Dragon Society's number one strategist truly lived up to his reputation.
The whole truth was deduced almost instantly.
Tsukamoto Kame's eyes flashed with a sharp light: "Yosh! This is the right direction!"
Investigate immediately! Seal and bring back all of Rongchang Trading Company's accounts and communication records! Thoroughly examine them!
Especially recent email records, and particularly those from yesterday—not a single one can be overlooked!
"Yes, sir!" The subordinate immediately obeyed and left.
.....................
Two days later, at the British concession pier.
A luxury liner, the Queen, flying the Union Jack, is about to set sail for Hong Kong.
Han Zhenhua and Feng Chengcheng boarded the passenger ship, accompanied by eight capable members of the Green Gang, including A Qiang, and two maids.
Han Zhenhua, dressed in a well-tailored grey suit and top hat, looked like a young scholar on an outing. Feng Chengcheng, in an elegant dress, linked arms with him, her face radiating happiness and anticipation.
As Han Zhenhua watched the Bund of Shanghai gradually disappear into the distance, he finally breathed a sigh of relief, but his heart was filled with mixed emotions.
This departure was to avoid danger, but it also felt like an escape. He didn't know when he would be able to return, or what kind of situation he would face upon his return.
He subconsciously touched his inner pocket, where his crucial phone and charger were kept. They were his greatest asset.
"Zhenhua, look, seagulls!" Feng Chengcheng excitedly pointed to the seabirds flying in the distance, pulling him back to reality.
Han Zhenhua smiled and squeezed her hand: "Yes, seagull! Very free."
Ask the seagull!
What do you seek as you fly around...?
Look at the ebb and flow of the tide.
The tide comes and goes again.
"Then the waves roll on and never cease..."
Although he was humming a song, he wasn't feeling any "freedom or relaxation" at all. Instead, he was repeatedly replaying the series of events that had happened in the past few days. So many complicated events, thrilling and epic, and he hadn't received a single piece of information for three whole days!
I had completely underestimated intelligence work. I thought I was completely "out of the organization," with British citizenship, the protection of British sailors, and the aura of a renowned physics genius.
No matter how the Japanese investigate, they will never find him. While being a top agent, he can still enjoy dating, drinking, and continuing his physics research, and enjoy life to the fullest!
Use our intelligence to end this damned war as soon as possible. Once the war is over, "science and technology will be the primary productive force!"
Physics is the "frontier" of science and technology!
Sometimes I even fantasize in bed about having physics knowledge from over a hundred years into the future, even if it's mostly basic knowledge, but I have AI on my phone! I could cultivate a large group of top-tier physics talents in the country, and then the global "Third Industrial Revolution" would surely break out first in our Republic of China!
The British got there first the first time, and the Americans won the second time!
The third time, it will be 100% ours. Then, within 20 years, surpassing Britain and the United States will be a piece of cake!
Scholars from the Republic of China era could proudly say, "Our science and technology were at least fifty years ahead of Europe and America; you couldn't catch up even if you took your pants off!"
Lao Tzu would later become a revered "godfather" level physics expert, similar to Qian Xuesen and Yuan Longping, with large portraits of him prominently displayed on school walls...
But now it seems I was completely wrong!
Power! Manpower! Informants! Intelligence network! Your own strength!
These words had never appeared in his mind so clearly and so urgently before.
I can't keep going on like this, I need to build my own power, and I can't stay so passive anymore!
Otherwise, you won't even know how you died!