Spy war in the Republic of China, peak undercover

Late at night in the Special High Section office, Lu Yang was looking through the latest interrogation records.

The densely packed pages record the torture suffered by nearly a hundred anti-Japanese patriots in Harbin Prison.

A special file caught his attention - an underground party member codenamed "Spark", who was arrested a month ago.

He was very familiar with this code name. The organization had specifically stated that "Spark" was an important cadre of the Northeast underground party.

Lu Yang put down the file, a serious look flashing in his eyes.

He stood up and walked to the window, looking at the night outside, thinking about how to pass on the message.

The next morning, Lu Yang went to the cafe on Central Street for breakfast as usual.

As usual, he folded the newspaper he had read and placed it in the trash can next to his seat.

Half an hour later, a cleaner passed by with a cart and collected the garbage neatly.

The cleaner is the courier Lao Zhou, and the secret signs in the newspaper will tell the organization the situation in the prison.

Three days later, Lu Yang found a movie ticket in his coat pocket.

The movie ticket is for the 7 o'clock show tomorrow night. This is the organization's code signal for him to go to the meeting.

The next night, Lu Yang showed up at the air-raid shelter in the alley behind the cinema on time.

"It's rained a lot recently." A hoarse voice came from the darkness.

"This is what spring is like in Northeast China." Lu Yang answered in code.

The other party handed over a matchbox: "The organization has received your intelligence and now needs more detailed information about the prison."

Lu Yang took the matchbox, knowing that it contained new contact information: "I will prepare it as soon as possible."

"Be careful," the other party said and disappeared into the darkness. The whole connection process took no more than a minute.

After returning to his residence, Lu Yang carefully studied the prison interrogation records in his hand.

In addition to "Spark", the prison also held dozens of underground party members and anti-Japanese patriots.

As an inspector of the Special High Section, he could use the opportunity of routine inspections to find out the specific conditions of the prison.

But this requires extreme caution, as any negligence in a detail may expose one's identity.

The moonlight outside the window was blocked by dark clouds, and a hint of determination flashed in Lu Yang's eyes.

The organization sent him here to play a role at the critical moment.

And now, that moment has finally arrived.

In his capacity as a Special High Section officer, Lu Yang conducted "routine inspections" of Harbin Prison for three consecutive days.

During each inspection, he would silently note in his mind the guards' shift changes, patrol routes, and weapon configurations.

On the morning of the fourth day, he went to the cafe again and ordered an American coffee.

The waitress was a young girl who accidentally knocked over the sugar bowl when she was adding sugar to his glass.

"I'm sorry!" The girl apologized hurriedly. When she bent down to clean up, a small note slipped into Lu Yang's sleeve.

Back in the office, Lu Yang opened the note. There was only one line of text on it: "Tonight at 8 o'clock, the same place."

As night fell, Lu Yang appeared in the air-raid shelter again, and this time a strange old man was waiting for him.

"I'm Lao Guan's liaison," the old man said straight to the point. "The organization has received the prison information you sent."

Lu Yang nodded and took out a detailed hand-drawn blueprint from his pocket: "This is the latest deployment map."

"The prison has four lines of defense," Lu Yang said, pointing to the blueprint. "The outer perimeter is made of barbed wire and guard towers, equipped with heavy machine guns."

The old man carefully noted every detail: "How is the defense strength?"

"There was a Japanese squadron of about 150 people," Lu Yang said, "and 20 special agents from the Special High Section, who were responsible for interrogation."

“Where are the weapons and equipment?”

"In addition to the heavy machine guns in each guard tower, there are six light machine guns distributed at various key points," Lu Yang pointed to the mark on the map, "The ammunition depot is here."

The old man pondered: "Where is the hardest part to break through?"

"The prison gate," Lu Yang said, "is under crossfire from two heavy machine guns. A frontal assault is almost impossible."

“So what do you suggest?”

Lu Yang's finger moved to the other end of the drawing: "But here, the entrance to the sewer is relatively weakly guarded."

"Sewer?" The old man's eyes lit up.

"Yes," Lu Yang explained, "this is an abandoned drainage pipe that leads directly to the prison basement."

"Does the guard know about this passage?"

“Yes, but they thought the pipe was too narrow for anyone to pass through, so they only posted a sentry at the entrance.”

The old man nodded and said, "Go on."

"The most critical thing is time," Lu Yang said. "At three o'clock every morning, the guards are the least relaxed, and there is a gap of about five minutes when the shift changes."

“How are you going to cooperate?”

"I can create an excuse to transfer some of the guards," Lu Yang said, "for example, setting a trap outside the city."

The old man pondered for a moment and said, "Your identity is too important to be exposed."

"But without an insider, it's difficult to open the iron gate," Lu Yang insisted, "especially in the special prison area where important prisoners are held."

Just then, footsteps were heard outside the air-raid shelter.

The two men immediately fell silent, and Lu Yang quickly put away the drawings.

The footsteps gradually faded away. They must be patrolling military police.

"The plan is set," the old man whispered. "The organization will notify you of the specific time."

"One more thing," Lu Yang added, "it would be best to create some chaos when you do this, like a power outage."

"That's easy," the old man said. "We have connections at the power station."

Before leaving, the old man handed Lu Yang a matchbox: "This is the new way to contact you."

Lu Yang returned home and carefully checked the matchbox, and found a small note hidden inside.

The note read: "Operation codename 'Dawn', awaiting further instructions."

In the next few days, Lu Yang began to prepare for the action.

He requested the prison to replace several guards on the pretext of checking preventive measures.

These adjustments may seem insignificant, but they are actually intended to create favorable conditions for action.

At the same time, he also specifically raised the issue at the regular meeting of the Special High Section, regarding recent intelligence that the Anti-Japanese United Army might be operating outside the city.

This "intelligence" paved the way for him to mobilize the garrison forces in the future.

Every night, he would carefully study the action plan and anticipate various possible unexpected situations.

As an underground party member who had been lurking for many years, he was well aware of the risks of this operation.

But in order to rescue "Spark" and other comrades, this risk must be taken.

The moonlight outside the window was gradually obscured by dark clouds, as if preparing for the upcoming action.

Lu Yang stood in front of the window, looking towards the direction of Harbin Prison, where a storm was waiting to come.