Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 315: Spy Appears, Nighttime Search for Enemy Radio Station, Hangzhou Arrest Operation

The car stopped at the entrance of a narrow alley, and Sun Debiao and Sun Yehua, a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner, got out.

The alley was only 2 meters wide, paved with stone slabs, and not suitable for vehicles. The two walked to the traditional Chinese medicine shop in the alley.

Although the alley is narrow, it is bustling with people, and it remains lively even in the current war-torn situation.

The main reason is that this is a traditional Chinese medicine alley, where famous doctors set up their clinics to treat patients. Even when war was imminent, the diseases that needed to be treated still had to be treated.

After walking for a while, the two arrived at the Xinglin Pharmacy and went inside together.

A man in a short shirt who was following far behind did not enter the pharmacy, but instead sat down at a nearby tea shop.

Although he ordered tea, his eyes kept glancing at the entrance of the Xinglin Pharmacy.

Inside the Xinglin Pharmacy, Sun Debiao peered through the cracks in the wooden planks at the outside. Clearly, the man in the short shirt had followed him.

No wonder I felt something was off the whole way; it seems Japanese spies were following us.

Having been a bandit and having failed in a kidnapping attempt, Sun Debiao was no stranger to tricks like stalking, reconnaissance, and surveillance. Given the current situation, he was also very vigilant.

Therefore, he immediately explained the situation to Sun Yehua, who was busy preparing and making medicine with his apprentice.

"Mr. Sun, may I speak to you in private?"

Sun Yehua, who was instructing his apprentice to be careful when preparing medicine on his own, stepped out from behind the counter and went into the back room to talk with Sun Debiao.

"We've been followed by Japanese spies since we came back. They're probably after Jianqiao Airport, and they'll probably be looking for you soon."

Upon hearing that Japanese spies were coming to his door, Sun Yehua, though somewhat nervous, forced himself to remain calm: "What should we do?"

"They must want to know what we're doing at the airport. They probably won't show up while I'm here. I'll go out, find a way to shake them off, and then come back to you. By the way, do you have a back door here?"

"Yes, it's in the backyard, connected to another alley. Few people walk through it, and outsiders have no idea about it."

After giving his instructions, Sun Debiao left the pharmacy and drove away from the alley.

This time, he paid special attention, but the car that had been following him didn't catch up.

Clearly, the other party has set its sights on Sun Yehua.

He parked his car at the office and then jogged towards the alley where the pharmacy was located.

But this time, they went to the back of the pharmacy.

These pharmacies typically have a shop in the front and a living quarters in the back. Some families would even open a back door for family members to use when buying daily necessities. Xinglin Pharmacy was one such example.

The alley where the back door is located is a place known only to locals. If Sun Yehua hadn't explained it, Sun Debiao wouldn't have been able to find it.

Sun Yehua had been waiting at the back door for quite some time.

He said urgently, "After you left, someone went into the shop to investigate. They just looked around without saying anything and left. I reckon someone else will come, so I had my apprentice keep watch in front."

It seems the Japanese spies are about to make their move.

The two hurried into the house, and just as they reached the inner room behind the pharmacy, they heard a noise outside.

A guest has arrived.

The apprentice who was dispensing medicine stopped what he was doing and greeted them, "Gentlemen, what kind of medicinal herbs do you need? Or are you here to see my master for treatment?"

"Is your master here?"

"Yes, Master, a guest is looking for you."

The apprentice shouted loudly.

Sun Debiao whispered, "It might be them. Be careful and don't let them trick you into revealing the real situation inside the airport."

Sun Yehua nodded and walked out of the inner room.

There were three people outside, one in the lead and two behind.

The man in the lead smiled and said, "Dr. Sun, I have an illness and would like to see you."

"Please come with me to the examination room." As usual, Sun Yehua led the man to the examination room, took his pulse, and examined his complexion. "You don't have any serious illness, but your meals are irregular, and your spleen and stomach are weak. You need some nourishing medicine to regulate your condition."

The man laughed and said, "Dr. Sun, you are indeed a master. To tell you the truth, I don't have any serious illness. I came here just to make friends with you."

“Everyone who comes to my shop, whether to get medicine or treatment, is a friend. There’s no need to be shy,” Sun Yehua replied.

"Then I'll tell you the truth. I'm from the investigation team. Recently, someone reported that some pharmacies on this street are selling counterfeit medicine, so I'm here to investigate."

The man produced an identification document and also brandished his service weapon.

“I, Sun, have practiced medicine for decades, and I have never cheated anyone, young or old. I would never sell fake medicine,” Sun Yehua responded angrily. This was not an act, but a genuine reaction. A doctor is most resistant to such accusations.

Having gotten the desired effect, the man put away his identification and smiled, "I didn't say it was you. We're investigating right now. The person who reported it said that the counterfeit medicine was prepared by a local doctor after making house calls. So we need to investigate every pharmacy. Tell me about your house calls in the last three days."

So that was their real purpose: to find out what Sun Yehua did at the airport.

He calmly replied, "During these three days, I went to Jianqiao Airport to treat patients there."

The man raised an eyebrow. "Who are you treating? What illness does the patient have?"

“It’s a private matter for the patient, and I can’t comment on it. It’s none of your business, is it? If you want to know, you can go to Jianqiao Airport and ask.” Sun Yehua coldly refused.

The man said nothing, got up and led his team away.

After they left, Sun Yehua immediately went back to the inner room to discuss with Sun Debiao.

"What should we do? They are indeed asking about the airport, and I'm sure these people aren't from the inspection team. I know a lot of people from the inspection team who have been to my clinic."

"Don't worry, Hangzhou is our territory. No matter how bold the Japanese spies are, they can only operate in the shadows. I reckon they'll come looking for you again. I'll make the arrangements; you just need to cooperate."

After Sun Debiao finished speaking, he left again through the back door.

This time, he went directly to the airport to report to Fang Wen.

The three-day renovation at Jianqiao Airport gave Fang Wen a rare moment of leisure.

Unfortunately, it is wartime now, and because he has gone to the front lines, he can no longer relax and unwind in the streets of Hangzhou as he used to.

After all, with the continuous air battles in North China and Shanghai that resulted in the downing of Japanese warplanes, he was probably already on the Japanese intelligence agency's assassination list.

Therefore, he simply relaxed at the airport.

Unexpectedly, Sun Debiao came to report important information right at the beginning.

After listening to Sun Debiao's report, Fang Wen pondered.

What was the purpose of Japanese spies spying on Jianqiao Airport?
Jianqiao Airport now only has 4 fighter jets, which are probably coming for us.

Over the years, Fang Wen had dealt with Japanese intelligence agencies several times.

The sabotage incident by Japanese spies at Shanghai Airport, the rescue of Yue Jinping in the Tianjin Concession, and the Japanese female spy who called herself Aisin-Gioro Dongzhen.

This made him think of Yue Jinping again. When they parted in Wuhan, Yue Jinping had said that they should be treated the same way they had been treated, and that the spy who had left a scar on her face should be dealt with in the same way.

What has become of Yue Jinping? Is she doing well in Shanghai?
With his thoughts cleared, Fang Wen had a plan.

I am fighting on foreign soil, dealing with Japanese spies in Hangzhou. I need the local military and police to handle the operation; I am just an assistant.

He found the head of the airport security regiment and explained the situation to him.

Subsequently, the Hangzhou Garrison Command sent over an officer specifically in charge of this matter.

After listening to Fang Wen's explanation, the officer offered a suggestion.

"The Japanese spies are probably trying to sabotage or assassinate Jianqiao Airport. We might as well turn the tables and lure them out."

Following his line of thought, if the Japanese spy went to Sun Yehua again and asked him to cooperate with their operations, they could use this as a lead to capture all the spies hiding in Hangzhou. Fang Wen agreed with this idea; it was worth a try.

The key to this matter lies with Sun Yehua; he must withstand the pressure and accept the mission under certain dangerous circumstances.

In response, Sun Debiao left the airport overnight to discuss the matter with Sun Yehua, who eventually agreed to cooperate.

That very evening, a massive operation targeting Japanese spies was launched.

All parties are preparing, deploying personnel for observation, surveillance, and arrest, and are just waiting for the operation to begin.

After a night of preparation, they waited for the Japanese spies to reappear.

The people who were supposed to come arrived at noon the next day.

The man who came yesterday, who claimed to be from the investigation team, reappeared. This time, he went straight into the pharmacy and talked to Sun Yehua.

"Mr. Sun has practiced medicine here for many years. Has he earned enough to make a living?"

“No. The pharmacy is a small business. When neighbors are short of money, I sell the stock. Although I've made a little money over time, it's just enough to make ends meet. I can't even dream of settling down in this world,” Sun Yehua replied with a sigh. This was the truth. Coming from a family of traditional Chinese medicine practitioners, he upheld the spirit of healing the sick and earned a good reputation, but he didn't have much wealth.

The man placed two hundred yuan in legal tender on the consultation table and pushed it toward Sun Yehua.

"I'm using this to buy you a honest answer: who did you treat at Jianqiao Airport?"

Having already spoken with Sun Debiao, Sun Yehua had decided to cooperate, so he deliberately showed a hint of greed and accepted the money.

"It was for the pilots' medical treatment. They had been fighting for days and their bodies were not able to keep up, so I prescribed some tonics for them."

The man was very satisfied with this reply, and he took out two more small yellow croakers.

“If Mr. Sun agrees to one thing, all these material possessions will be yours.”

In times of chaos, gold is highly valued. It is currently the most valuable and easiest thing to carry. People with some wealth will hoard some gold as a preparation for emergencies.

This temptation is quite strong for ordinary people.

Sun Yehua originally wanted to accept it directly, but then suddenly realized that doing so would be somewhat abrupt.

He had been practicing medicine for many years and had seen a lot. He was also quite adept at dealing with people. He replied, "Such a high price for you must be no small matter. I'm afraid I can't afford it."

Seeing an opportunity, the man immediately persuaded, "It's nothing serious. I just want you to do one thing with this gold: add something to the medicine."

Sun Yehua was furious; this was the last thing he would allow, but in order to cooperate with the capture of the Japanese spy, he suppressed his anger and asked, "What do you add? If it's poison, I can't do it."

"It's not poison, but a drug that prevents the condition from improving or even worsens it, so that they can't fly for a certain period of time."

So this was the idea of ​​the Japanese spies: instead of taking action themselves, they would bribe the doctors and then sabotage the Taishan pilots' ability to continue fighting.

Sun Yehua said he would consider it and did not immediately agree.

After seeing off the Japanese spies, Sun Yehua rushed to the back room to inform Sun Debiao of the situation. Sun Debiao then drove to the airport to report to Fang Wen.

After listening to Sun Debiao explain the situation, Fang Wen couldn't help but sigh.

Fortunately, Sun Debiao acted promptly, and fortunately, Sun Yehua was an upright person. If it had been someone else who had been bribed, his pilots probably wouldn't have been able to continue flying for three days.

But how can we wipe them all out if they don't take action themselves?

Those who have revealed their whereabouts so far are just pawns that can be discarded; the real commander is still hiding in Hangzhou.

The officers from the garrison were at a loss; everything they had arranged the previous night had been completely ineffective.

Fang Wen, however, had a solution: using radio wave monitoring devices. Last time at Jinan Airport, he used the three-point positioning method to locate the Japanese spies' radio station, which led to the arrest of all the spies from Tianjin.

This time, however, it's a bit more difficult. Hangzhou is such a large city, so we need to narrow down the scope and limit the investigation area to a smaller region in order for the three-point positioning method to be effective.

Therefore, he spoke with officers from the garrison.

Upon hearing Fang Wen's words, the officers, who had been at a loss, were immediately invigorated.

Capturing a Japanese spy would be a great achievement for him, so he was naturally willing to cooperate fully.

He immediately agreed to Fang Wen's request.

Immediately afterwards, Fang Wen piloted the Shrike into flight, heading to Jinan Airport to bring back the monitoring equipment.

After bringing the equipment back, Fang Wen did not hand it over to outsiders to operate this time. Instead, he explained how to use it to Sun Debiao and Du Jiahuai, and had them work with him to monitor and locate the radio waves.

Subsequently, Fang Wen, Sun Debiao, and Du Jiahuai left with radio wave monitoring equipment and arresting personnel to search the city of Hangzhou.

Before we knew it, night had fallen.

Sitting in the car, Fang Wen was checking the radio wave monitoring equipment as he drove around the streets.

Within the quiet city of Hangzhou, radio signals began to appear.

The first signal was captured by the radio wave monitoring equipment.

Fang Wen immediately worked with Sun Debiao and Du Jiahuai to locate the signal in three points within the approximate range. The three drove around from different directions to monitor the source of the radio waves and finally determined the location of the target.

It was the Hangzhou Garrison Command's military radio station.

This signal source has been ruled out.

Fang Wen then began searching for a second signal source.

The source of the signal was quickly located; it was a local Hangzhou radio station broadcasting at night.

As a result, Fang Wen discovered a blind spot: he was only monitoring strong signal sources.

Military radios have high power output, and commercial radios also have high power output.

However, the radio equipment used by spies was miniaturized and not very powerful.

He then adjusted his search strategy, abandoning the monitoring of radio waves with high signal strength and instead looking for those with weaker signals.

After changing their approach, the car continued driving within Hangzhou city and soon spotted it again.

This location is on Zhongshan Road, a newly built bustling street in Hangzhou, which is also home to many of the city's government departments.

The faint radio waves appeared intermittently on this street.

Fang Wen, who frequently sent radio messages, keenly sensed something unusual in the radio waves. Only someone working in secrecy would send messages in this way.

Intermittent radio waves represent a specific code.

He could conclude that this was a spy radio station planted in Hangzhou by Japanese spies, and the person currently transmitting the message was very likely a high-ranking leader of the local spy organization in Hangzhou.

After making this discovery, he immediately communicated with Sun Debiao and Du Jiahuai. The three of them each took a car and used Zhongshan Road as the central axis to locate the positions in the east, west, and south respectively.

After locating the target using radio waves, the three researchers overlapped their own diagrams of the signal sources and discovered that the target was in the Finance Department's dormitory building.

In other words, the top leader of the Japanese spies was likely an official who had infiltrated the Hangzhou Finance Bureau.

Fang Wen then informed the officer in charge of the arrest operation of the situation.

Eager for the reward, the officer issued the order to proceed without hesitation.

Immediately, a team of police officers and soldiers rushed into the dormitory building and searched each room.

After searching, I couldn't find the radio station I wanted.

Without a radio, it's impossible to determine who the Japanese spy is, and this arrest attempt will be fruitless.

Has this operation failed?
Fang Wen had no intention of admitting defeat.

He decided to go upstairs and take a look for himself.

(End of this chapter)