Spy war in the Republic of China, peak undercover

When Lu Yang kicked open the car door, his right leg suddenly felt numb.

Looking down, he saw a shuriken lodged deep inside his thigh, the poisoned edge of the blade already beginning to turn blue.

On the platform, three men in railway overalls were making the initial stance for ninja darts.

"Interesting..." Lu Yang gritted his teeth and pulled out his shuriken. "The 'Plum Mechanism' has even activated the Koga Ryu." He leaned against the wall of the carriage, panting, his vision blurring. In a trance, he heard Monkey's familiar voice: "Brother Lu! Over here!"

Lao Hei and five guerrillas rushed out of the freight car, temporarily suppressing the platform with fire from the Type 99 light machine gun. Monkey supported the staggering Lu Yang and said, "We saw the signal flare at Suzhou Station and jumped on the train... This is the antidote!" He pulled out a small porcelain bottle. "Sister Qinglan gave it to me. She said it can cure common Japanese poisons."

Lu Yang swallowed the bitter pill and suddenly grabbed Monkey's wrist: "What else did Qinglan say?"

The monkey scratched his head: "She said... that 'Moon Viewing' is actually a dish?"

Inside the French Concession police station, Inspector Chen carefully opened the envelope with a paper cutter. Inside was a faded photograph: a young Qinglan, dressed in geisha attire, kneeling in a teahouse. A man in a suit opposite her was visible only from behind, but the jade ring was clearly on the table. On the back of the photo was written in German: "Operation Mondschein 17.07."

"Operation Moonlight on July 17th..." Inspector Chen suddenly started coughing violently, and his handkerchief was stained with blood.

As the pill entered his throat, a pungent warmth quickly spread throughout his limbs, temporarily suppressing the numbness brought on by the shuriken poison. Lu Yang took a deep breath, his vision clearing slightly, but the sharp pain in his leg still reminded him of the urgency of time. Lao Hei's Type 99 light machine gun roared, temporarily suppressing the firing point on the platform, and the clatter of gravel and shell casings rang out.

"Retreat! To the east freight yard!" Lu Yang growled, and with two precise backhanded shots, he shot down two "bandits" who were trying to outflank him. Monkey supported him, and using the cover of the train car, they quickly moved eastward.

Just as they were about to leave the main battlefield, the three Koga-ryu ninjas reappeared like ghosts, silently leaping from the car roof and forming a triangle formation to block their path. Their cold samurai swords glowed dimly in the light of the kerosene lamp.

"Old Black! Cover!" Lu Yang pushed Monkey away, ignoring his leg injury and twisting his body at an incredible angle. The gunshot rang out. The ninja on the far left fell to the ground, but the other two swords had already slashed towards him. At the critical moment, several muffled gunshots came from an unexpected direction—from a window on the other side of the train! The two ninjas froze, blood splattering from their chests. They looked at the source of the gunshots in disbelief and then collapsed to the ground.

Lu Yang was startled. He looked in the direction of the sound and saw a figure in a conductor's uniform quickly retreating back to the window. Their movements were clean and efficient, clearly those of a professional. Friend or foe? Before he could even think, Lao Hei and the rest of the group had already rushed over.

"Brother Lu, hurry up! The Japs are surrounding us again!"

The group covered each other and rushed into the pitch-black cargo yard. Behind them, Major Kobayashi's roar echoed in the night sky: "Waste! You can't even catch a wounded Aoki! Search! Dig three feet deep to find him!" He looked at the body of the Koga-ryu ninja on the ground, his face livid - this was the support he had invited through special channels within the "Plum Agency", and it was destroyed so quickly.

Their temporary base was an abandoned silk warehouse on the banks of the Suzhou River. The damp air was filled with the smell of mold and motor oil. Lu Yang leaned against the cold wall, ripping open his trouser leg. The skin around the wound had turned black. The antidote Qing Lan had given him had clearly only temporarily delayed the onset of the poison, not eradicated it.

"Yuejian... is it a dish?" Lu Yang chewed over the information brought by the monkey, his eyes sharp as a knife. "Monkey, think carefully, did Qinglan give any other hints? For example, tone or expression?"

Monkey tried hard to recall: "Sister Qinglan's expression was quite serious at the time, not like she was joking. When she handed me the medicine bottle, she seemed to have deliberately rubbed the bottom of the bottle with her thumb... Yes! There seems to be words engraved on the bottom of the bottle!"

Lu Yang's heart moved, and he took the small porcelain bottle from the monkey. In the dim light of the flashlight, he felt around on the rough bottom of the bottle and found an extremely fine incision - a faint "Dong" character.

"East Wind..." Lu Yang's pupils shrank slightly, and he remembered the key code name in the "Spark" plan - "Wait for the East Wind." 2 Could it be that Qing Lan was trying to imply that the "Moon Viewing" operation was related to the "Spark" and that the opportunity (East Wind) was about to come?

"July 7th...Moon Viewing Banquet..." Lu Yang connected all the clues together: Qinglan's photo, the German "Operation Mondschein" (Moonlight Operation), the date, "Moon Viewing" on the jade ring, Xiaolin's pursuit, the disguised Japanese army, the Koga-ryu ninja, and the seemingly nonsensical sentence "Moon Viewing is a dish" and the "East Wind" engraving on the bottom of the bottle.

A bold hypothesis formed in his mind: the so-called "Moon Viewing Operation" might refer to a secret mission to be carried out on the evening of July 7th, under the guise of a "Moon Viewing Banquet" (a moon-viewing banquet). This mission was most likely related to the final stage of the "Spark" plan. The banquet location? It was likely at Warehouse 17, Area B, Third Wharf, associated with the "Zhongbeishan Trading Company," or perhaps a high-end club using this as a cover. The "cargo" on the manifest might be the key to this operation, possibly weapons, poison, or even a key figure.

"Old Black," Lu Yang said in a deep and powerful voice, "Immediately send someone to investigate two things: First, which high-level banquets were attended by all high-ranking Japanese and puppet officials and important expatriates in Shanghai on the evening of July 7th, especially those that might have involved 'moon-viewing' themes. Second, closely monitor all movements at Warehouse 17, Area B, Third Pier, and the Zhongbeishan Trading Company."

"Yes!" Lao Hei took the order and left.

"Monkey, take two people and find a way to contact Zhou Qing." Lu Yang looked at Monkey and added, "Tell him the situation is urgent and ask him to find out the current situation of Inspector Chen of the French Concession Police Station at all costs. If you can't get in touch with him, or if you confirm that Inspector Chen is in trouble, report back immediately. He must know whether Inspector Chen is safe and whether the photo conveys a deeper message. Inspector Chen's coughing up blood gave him an ominous premonition.

Meanwhile, in a nondescript apartment in the French Concession, Qinglan was tending to the wound on her arm in front of a mirror. A bullet had grazed it, leaving a fiery scar. She used sulfa powder procured from the black market, her movements expert and calm. Traces of the previous struggle remained on the floor. She had successfully escaped the "Spider Web," but at the cost of exposing the safe house she had used for six months.

She took out a microfilm from the hidden pocket of her cheongsam and put it into a seemingly ordinary Marlboro cigarette. Lighting another cigarette, Qinglan walked to the window and looked at the occasional rickshaws and cars passing by on the street below.

She did send the photos, but that was only part of the plan. The real key information, hidden on the film, documented the core of the "Moon Viewing Project"—a list of high-ranking Japanese and puppet officials attending the banquet, and the true nature of the "cargo": not weapons or poison, but a specially cultivated new type of bacterial weapon capable of causing a large-scale plague, codenamed "Moon Plague." Matsumoto—or rather, Aoki, now a high-ranking member of the "Ume Agency"—planned to quietly spread this bacterium at the banquet through food and drink or the air, targeting the Nationalist government's undercover agents present and some dissidents he wanted to eliminate.

Qinglan, codenamed "Nightingale," has spent years lurking beside Matsumoto, acquiring this intelligence at a tremendous cost. She must deliver this intelligence to the person who can truly prevent this catastrophe before July 7th. Inspector Chen is the first step, but she knows the police station alone is far from enough. She needs to contact Lu Yang; only he might have the ability and courage to forge ahead into that deathly feast, despite the heavy siege.

She picked up the phone on the table, hesitated for a moment, and finally dialed a long-forgotten number. The phone rang for a long time before it was picked up. A lazy and charming female voice came out: "Hello? Who is this?"

"It's me, Nightingale." Qinglan's voice was very low. "I'm looking for the Tailor. I have something urgent to do."

There was silence on the other end of the line for a few seconds, then a chuckle. "He doesn't meet everyone. But, for the sake of our old friend... Bund Park, 10 o'clock, bring your own roses."

After hanging up the phone, Qinglan watched the sky darken outside the window. A storm was brewing, and she had no way out. She had to meet the mysterious "tailor." He was her last remaining trump card in Shanghai, a figure who wielded vast influence and an unfathomable intelligence network.

Lu Yang's reconnaissance team quickly returned with preliminary information. On the evening of July 7th, the Japanese Consulate General in Shanghai would host a grand "Moon Viewing Garden Party" in Hongkou Park, inviting nearly all high-ranking Japanese and puppet officials in Shanghai, business leaders, and some pro-Japanese Chinese politicians. Meanwhile, security at Pier 17 was significantly heightened, with numerous plainclothes officers and marines patrolling the area. Warehouse Area B was designated a restricted area.

Even worse news came from Zhou Qing—Inspector Chen had disappeared. He was last seen in the police station office, where he vanished without a trace. The office showed signs of a struggle and a cleanup. Zhou Qing used all his connections but found no leads.

Lu Yang's heart sank. Inspector Chen might have met with disaster. The photo and the information it might contain might have fallen into enemy hands or been destroyed forever. The only thing he could be sure of was that the "Moon Viewing Garden Party" in Hongkou Park was extremely suspicious and might very well be the true stage for "Operation Moon Viewing."

"Brother Lu, our men spotted some strange 'workers' while scouting the perimeter of Hongkou Park," Monkey brought back new intelligence. "They were setting up the venue, but their movements and eyes were murderous, like... spies."

Lu Yang walked to the window and watched the mist rising from the Huangpu River in the distance. He knew he was stepping into a carefully laid trap. Major Kobayashi's pursuit, the emergence of the Koga Ryu, the disappearance of Inspector Chen, the heavily guarded docks, the eerie garden party... all pointed to a vast conspiracy. And Qinglan, where was she now? Was she also in danger?

He touched the gun at his waist, then the cold jade ring. The words "Moon View" on the inside of the ring now seemed to hold a mocking tone. He remembered Matsumoto's profound parting words: "Remember, the real weapon is always hidden where the enemy least expects it."

Could it be that... the real "weapon" isn't the cargo at the dock, but... Qinglan herself? Or perhaps, some secret she possesses?

Lu Yang's eyes fixed, and he smiled coldly at himself in the mirror. No matter what trap the enemy had laid, on the evening of July 7th, in Hongkou Park, he had to break through it. To prevent a possible disaster, and also to find Qinglan.

He turned to Lao Hei and Monkey and said, "Prepare for action. Target: Hongkou Park's Moonlight Garden Party. We're going to be the guests."

At night, the Bund Park evokes the faint sound of a steam whistle from the Huangpu River, a damp breeze lingering in the air. Qinglan, dressed in a modest dark cheongsam, clutches a rose she'd just bought from a street vendor, observing her surroundings warily. A few couples sit sporadically on park benches. The lights of the Bund buildings in the distance cast a vibrant shadow, yet beneath this moment of tranquility, undercurrents surge.

Just after the appointed time, a figure in a well-tailored black suit and a wide-brimmed hat quietly appeared in the shadows of the trees behind her. The brim of the hat was pulled low, obscuring his features. Only the graceful lines of his jaw and the meticulously crafted bow tie were visible. It was not what she had expected.

"'Nightingale'?" The voice was low and had a strange metallic quality, and it was impossible to tell whether it was a man or a woman.

Qinglan didn't look back, but placed the rose on the bench beside her: "'Tailor'?"

"Did you bring the things?" the figure asked in a flat tone, as if talking about the weather.

Qinglan took the specially made cigarette out of the cigarette case and placed it on the rose petals. "This contains a microfilm that records the core content and target list of the 'Moon View Project', as well as information on the 'Moon Plague' biological weapon. The garden party at Hongkou Park on July 7th will be the location of the operation. I need you to deliver it safely to Chongqing, or... give it to Lu Yang."

The shadow was silent for a moment, as if assessing something. "Lu Yang… the Military Control Commission's 'King of Hell'? He's in a difficult situation right now. I heard he just went through a fierce battle in Suzhou, and both the 'Mei Agency' and 'that person' want him dead." This confirmed Qing Lan's concerns and revealed the Tailor's astonishing intelligence network.

"That's why I need your help." Qinglan's voice was filled with a subtle urgency. "This is a conspiracy that could cause a major disaster in Shanghai. It must be stopped."

"You know my rules. Equivalent exchange." The shadowy figure finally stepped closer. In the dim light, he could see he was wearing a pair of leather gloves. "This time, I don't want money."