My years of espionage

Chapter 2005 A Close Call (Seeking Double Monthly Tickets)
"Whether Zhou Changliu is hiding in Emerald Street is very easy to verify," Matsumoto Mayuto pondered, then said, "Arrange for people to secretly investigate, taking photos of Zhou Changliu and Tao Peipei with them."

"To avoid alerting Zhou Changliu and giving him a chance to escape, I suggest that we also make corresponding interception preparations around Emerald Street," said Nagashima Masato.

“You’ve thought this through very well; it’s definitely necessary.” Matsumoto Mayu nodded. “Let’s proceed with the arrangements.”

"Hai." Nagashima Masato looked at Honda Junto. "Honda, you will personally lead a team to conduct a secret search in Emerald Street under the pretext of the anti-smuggling team seizing smuggled gasoline, to confirm whether Zhou Changliu and Tao Peipei are hiding in the vicinity of Emerald Street."

"Yes, sir." Honda Junto nodded. "I'll go right away."

Then he asked, "Major, Hu Yingju..."

“You don’t need to concern yourself with Hu Yingju’s matter,” Matsumoto Mayu said, glancing at Honda Junto. “The military police will give my unit an explanation sooner or later.”

"Hai." Honda Junto quickly retreated.

……

Seeing Matsumoto Mayu's gloomy expression, Nagashima Masato knew that Honda Junto's question had upset Matsumoto Mayu.

However, he didn't say much. As his superior, Matsumoto Mayuto was also not very satisfied that they hadn't gotten revenge this time.

“Nagashima,” Matsumoto Mayuto said suddenly, looking at Nagashima Masato.

"Hai."

“You can’t leave everything to Honda over Emerald Street; you have to keep a close eye on it,” Matsumoto Mayuto said. “I’ve thought about it carefully, and your analysis is correct. Zhou Changliu is indeed likely to be near Emerald Street.”

“Hai.” Nagashima Masato said seriously, “I will stay at headquarters for the next two days and will not leave. I will respond immediately if anything happens.”

“Okay.” Matsumoto Mayu nodded. He could trust Nagashima Masato, who was quite capable.

……

Emerald Street.

Honda Junto changed into a customs officer uniform and, accompanied by two subordinates also dressed as customs officers, began searching around Emerald Street.

He has questioned more than a dozen citizens, and they all said they had never seen the person in the photo.

We arrived at the entrance of Qianmen Pastry Shop.

A thought struck him, and he stepped through the door.

"Never seen it before," the shopkeeper said, shaking his head after looking at the photo.

It was at this moment that Junto Honda noticed something unusual about the expression on the face of one of the men being questioned by his subordinates.

He pushed the shopkeeper aside and walked straight toward the waiter.

He stepped forward and grabbed the waiter by the collar.

"Boss, boss, he's still young and doesn't understand," the shopkeeper quickly stepped forward to beg for forgiveness.

"Tell me, have you seen these two people?" Honda Junto ignored the shopkeeper who was being stopped by his men and questioned the waiter fiercely.

"Boss, he..."

Honda Junto pulled out a gun and pressed it against the shopkeeper's forehead. "Order from above: investigate the gasoline smuggling case. Whoever solves the case will be promoted three ranks and rewarded with one hundred silver dollars."

He looked coldly at the shopkeeper, "What, are you going to block my promotion and wealth?"

……

"No, no, no, I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare," the shopkeeper waved his hands repeatedly.

"Answer honestly." Honda Junto looked at the man. "I have a bad temper. If you dare to lie to me, I'll shoot you."

The waiter was terrified and instinctively looked at the shopkeeper.

The shopkeeper nodded discreetly.

"Yes, I've seen it," the waiter finally said.

"When did we meet?" Honda Junto asked, overjoyed.

“It was yesterday,” the waiter said. “That man was walking past the door when I splashed water on him and he almost got wet.”

"Did you see a man or a woman?" Honda Junto asked again.

“It’s a man,” the waiter said.

"Where does he live? Tell me quickly," Honda Junto inquired.

"I don't know, how would I know?" The waiter shook his head repeatedly. "If the water hadn't almost splashed on him, I probably wouldn't remember that person either."

"This matter concerns my promotion and wealth." Honda Junto's expression was sinister. "If you dare to leak even a whisper of it, I'll skin you alive."

"Don't dare, don't dare."

The shopkeeper, bowing and scraping, sent the anti-smuggling team away as if they were plague carriers.

"Shopkeeper," the young waiter finally said anxiously.

"There's no other way. If we don't tell them, they really will arrest us," the shopkeeper said. "Luckily, it's the customs enforcement team. If it were..."

He looked around and said in a low voice, "If it's the Japanese or people from Yihe Road, then that would be a disaster."

……

Radish Ditch.

Wei Dechang hurriedly found Chen Hu, who was waiting for a reply at the teahouse.

"Big brother."

"What's the rush? Have some tea and tell me slowly." Chen Hu cautiously looked around, pushed a cup of tea in front of Wei Dechang, and said, "Find that scoundrel who stole my money and break his legs."

Wei Dechang understood, took a couple of sips of tea, and said, "Found him. That kid tried to run away, but the brothers held him down."

"Let's go." Chen Hu suddenly stood up. "Let's see how I deal with him."

"Something happened?" Chen Hu asked Wei Dechang in a low voice as they left the teahouse.

“Yes,” Wei Dechang said. “I’ve heard that there were shots fired in Luobogou yesterday, and a man named Hu Yingju was arrested.”

"Do you know who did it?" Chen Hu asked.

"I don't know the specifics, but some people heard someone speaking Japanese," Wei Dechang said.

"Alright." Chen Hu nodded and said in a deep voice, "Have all the brothers withdraw. They are not to appear near Luobogou again without orders."

"clear."

Chen Hu gestured for his men to disperse, then quickly went to the phone booth and made a call.

……

"Who is this?" Li Hao asked, picking up the receiver on the other end of the line.

Is Mr. Shi home?

You dialed the wrong number.

Li Hao hung up the phone, feeling anxious inside, but pretending to be calm on the outside. He went to the living room and found Fan Ge playing with Xiao Zhima and Xiao Bao.

Upon seeing Li Hao appear, Cheng Qianfan stood up, dusted off his clothes, and said to his wife, "I have something to do and I'm going out for a bit."

"Are you coming back for lunch?" Bai Ruolan asked.

"I don't know," Cheng Qianfan said with a smile. "Don't worry, I won't miss the afternoon's performance."

Hearing her husband say that, Bai Ruolan finally smiled a little, "I can't be bothered to go looking for some vixen."

"See, you've wronged me again," Cheng Qianfan said with a wry smile, shaking his head.

He kissed his son again, patted the little boy's head, and then left.

……

"Something happened?" Cheng Qianfan asked Li Hao as they walked.

"Something's happened." Li Hao nodded. "Chen Hu called; it was an alert. Xiao Ma has been arrested."

He seemed to be asking Fan Ge, but also seemed to be talking to himself, "Fan Ge, I believe that even if Xiao Ma is arrested, he won't betray Taozi, right?"

"Don't make assumptions." Cheng Qianfan's expression and tone were calm. "For us, we should never make assumptions, and we should never place our safety on hoping for something to happen."

"Notify Taozi to move immediately," Cheng Qianfan said to Li Hao.

"Move immediately?" Li Hao looked at Fan Ge and asked for confirmation.

"Immediately, right now," Cheng Qianfan said with a serious expression. "The enemy's reaction was faster than I expected."

“Most importantly, we have absolutely no idea how the enemy found out about Xiao Ma,” he told Li Hao. “This unknown is the most terrifying thing.”

"Faced with this unknown, it's never too much to prepare for the worst-case scenario." Cheng Qianfan took a deep breath. "Go quickly."

……

Emerald Street.

There was a knock on the door suddenly.

Xia Xiaoying's expression changed, and she looked at her husband.

Qiao Chuntao gestured for his wife to calm down. He tucked his pistol into his waistband and went to the door. "Who is it?"

"Mr. Liu, there's a phone call for you."

Recognizing the voice of the shopkeeper from the general store downstairs, Tao Peipei and Qiao Chuntao both breathed a sigh of relief.

"Who is looking for me?" Qiao Chuntao asked.

"A Mr. Wu."

"Okay, I'm coming right now."

……

"Mr. Wu, it's me, Liu Yilang," Qiao Chuntao said, picking up the microphone.

"Xiao Luo got hit by a car, come home quickly and check on him," Li Hao said.

Qiao Chuntao's heart skipped a beat. "Xiao Luo" means mule or horse. "Xiao Luo was hit by a cart" means that "Xiao Ma" was captured.

"Come home quickly" means to evacuate immediately.

"When did this happen?" Qiao Chuntao asked.

"yesterday."

"I understand," Qiao Chuntao said. Just then, he subconsciously looked at the road with a wary expression. His expression changed slightly, and he turned his body away from the road, saying, "I might not be able to leave here."

"what happened?"

"My stomach isn't feeling well, I'll try my best to get there."

"Okay, I understand. Take care."

"Take care of yourself."

Qiao Chuntao hung up the phone, thanked the shopkeeper, adjusted his hat brim, and leisurely returned home.

……

"Did Taozi answer the phone? Is it safe over there?" Cheng Qianfan asked.

“It was Taozi who answered,” Li Hao said, his expression extremely serious. “Brother Fan, Taozi said he’s been entangled on his end, and the enemy has already appeared on Emerald Street.”

Upon hearing Haozi's words, Cheng Qianfan paused.

"Did they give you any specific details?" he asked Li Hao.

“No,” Li Hao said. “Taozi must have sensed something was wrong, but he didn’t make a sound.”

Cheng Qianfan didn't speak; his expression was very serious. He was silent, deep in thought.

Despite his immense anxiety, Li Hao dared not urge Fan Ge.

Cheng Qianfan gritted his teeth, as if he was making some kind of decision.

……

Emerald Street.

Honda Junto arrived at Li's General Store.

"Never seen it before." The shopkeeper glanced at the photo and shook his head.

"Are you sure you haven't seen this before?" Junto Honda looked around the general store.

This general store has a telephone, which is very important for the hidden enemy. The enemy is now very cunning and has become proficient in using telephones for communication and warning. Obviously, the telephone in the general store on the street can be very useful.

"Never seen you before." The shopkeeper yawned, subconsciously picking at his ear, then, as if remembering he was facing the customs enforcement team, he smiled ingratiatingly and said, "Boss."

Honda Junto stared at the general store owner for a few moments, making sure the owner didn't seem to be lying, then nodded. "If you see these two people, remember to report it. There's a reward."

"Definitely, definitely." The shopkeeper nodded hurriedly, then couldn't help but ask, "If I really see him, there will be a reward."

“Of course,” Honda Junto said.

"That's great!" The shopkeeper said with delight.

Honda Junto nodded and left with his men.

……

Upstairs, behind the door.

Qiao Chuntao's expression was complicated, then she sighed, "I misjudged her."

This shopkeeper was clearly not as ordinary as he had previously thought.

However, regardless of which side the other party belongs to, being able to face the enemy's questioning and dare to cover for them is extremely dangerous.

What Qiao Chuntao admired most was how naturally the shopkeeper could lie when questioned, managing to fool even the most cunning enemy.

“If we can survive this ordeal, we’ll owe him a life,” Tao Peipei said, touching her stomach as she spoke. “It’ll be three lives.”

"There's no time," Qiao Chuntao said to his wife. "Let's go."

The two opened the door and quickly went downstairs.

When Qiao Chuntao and his wife passed the counter on the first floor, the shopkeeper was busy calculating accounts. He heard their footsteps but didn't look up at all.

After Qiao Chuntao and his wife left, the shopkeeper looked up and watched them turn into the alley as they went out. His lips moved slightly, as if to say, "Take care."

……

"How did it go?" Xia Xiaoying asked, looking at her husband who had returned.

She and Qiao Chuntao are currently in an alley.

The alley was narrow and cramped.

Although the alley has turns on both sides, both sides are dead ends.

Because of this, Qiao Chuntao hid her at the corner of the alley, which prevented the enemy from noticing or searching for a while.

Qiao Chuntao had just gone to the alley entrance to check the situation outside.

“The roads in and out are all blocked,” Qiao Chuntao said. “It’s almost impossible to get out without being discovered by the enemy.”

As he spoke, he silently inspected the spare magazine.

Then, he looked up at his wife, wanting to say something, but in the end he said nothing, only smiled.

Xia Xiaoying smiled too.

She looked at her husband and leaned on Qiao Chuntao's shoulder, "If you say anything that has caused me to be like this, I will really be angry."

As she spoke, she looked up at her husband and said, "I'm so glad you didn't say those things."

……

“That’s what I was going to say,” Qiao Chuntao gently stroked his wife’s hair, “but I thought about it and realized you probably wouldn’t like to hear those words. You’re very strong.”

"Yu Guo, we died fighting against the Japanese, and we died a worthy death." Xia Xiaoying said softly. "Yu Si, you and I are husband and wife, we will live and die together. I am very satisfied to be able to die together for the country."

Qiao Chuntao didn't speak, but just looked down at his wife, as if he wanted to remember her appearance firmly, for all eternity.

"If I had to say what I'd miss the most, it would be my child," Xia Xiaoying said. "I really can't bear to part with him. I've even thought about what to name him, wondering if he'll look more like you or more like me."

“Your father and mother are heroes in the War of Resistance against Japan, and so is your child, a little hero,” Qiao Chuntao said softly. “It’s best if it’s the two of us. This kid is smart; we won’t offend either of us.”

His heart was filled with such pain. He gently embraced his wife, and their eyes met, their faces smiling.

He and she were prepared to die together.

Just then, a car stopped at the entrance of the alley.

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(End of this chapter)