76 number.

"Ring ring..." The telephone on the desk rang urgently.

Li Qun answered the phone and said, "Hello?"

"This is Murata Takasuke. Li Sang, who did Liu Changhe sell the rice to? Have you found out?" Murata Takasuke's voice came through the phone.

Li Qun quickly said, "Commander Murata, please give us a little more time. Our entire 76th Division is currently investigating this case with all our might. I believe we will be able to find out where the rice went as quickly as possible!"

"Baka, Li Sang, don't try to fool me or use any rhetoric. Your tricks won't work on me. I order you to arrest Liu Changhe immediately and conduct the most brutal and severe interrogation to make him confess everything and find out where all that rice ended up. If there are no results within three days, you can forget about being the director!" Murata Takasuke's roar came through the phone.

"Hai, hai!" Li Qun involuntarily stood up at attention and answered, his body covered in cold sweat.

Only after hanging up the phone did Li Qun realize that he was completely soaked in sweat.

He took out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat from his forehead, thought for two seconds, then picked up the phone and dialed the action team's office number.

"Wang Dabao, come to my office now!"

A short while later, Wang Dabao knocked on the door and pushed it open to come in.

"Director, you wanted to see me?" Wang Dabao asked.

Li Qun said, "It's still about Liu Changhe. Has there been any movement from him these past few days? Have any grain transport convoys left his secret grain warehouse to take away rice?"

Wang Dabao shook his head and said, "No, ever since the people we sent to track and monitor them disappeared, no grain transport convoys have gone to that warehouse to transport rice. That secret warehouse seems to have been abandoned, and all the Green Gang thugs who were guarding the warehouse have also left!"

"As for Liu Changhe, he has too many hiding places. We know of at least three, and we have sent people to stake them out. As soon as we spot Liu Changhe, I will receive the news immediately. But several days have passed, and we still haven't found where Liu Changhe is hiding!"

After thinking for a moment, Li Qun asked again, "Where is You Shichang from the Grain Bureau? What has he been doing these days? Has the rice supply to the Japanese been restored?"

Wang Dabao replied, "You Shichang? I sent two people to keep an eye on him. The feedback they've received indicates that there hasn't been any activity these past few days. He's still going to work as usual. But strangely, the people from the Grain Bureau who were sent to the countryside to collect grain haven't collected much rice. They've only collected a small portion, mostly miscellaneous grains. So, until now, the Grain Bureau hasn't handed over a large amount of rice to the Japanese military logistics department."

Li Qun lit a cigarette, got up and paced back and forth in the office. "I just received a call from Murata Takasuke of the Special Higher Police. He gave us three days to catch Liu Changhe and find out where he transported the rice. Otherwise, I can't keep my job as director. Tell me, how do we catch Liu Changhe now?"

After hearing this, Wang Dabao frowned and thought for a full two minutes before coming up with a solution that was not a solution at all. He said, "The only way now is to arrest the people in the underworld who are well-informed, arrest Liu Changhe's men. Shanghai is only so big. Even if Liu Changhe is cunning and has many burrows, he can't completely hide his whereabouts!"

"He couldn't possibly be hiding in some secret place, never showing himself. As long as there are other people around him, someone must have seen them!"

Li Qun made a decisive decision: "Then arrest them. Anyone you think might know Liu Changhe's hiding place, you can arrest them. I don't care what methods you use, I want the truth of this case to be revealed within three days!"

"Yes, Director!"

Upon returning to Operations Department One, Wang Dabao immediately deployed the operation. A large number of agents from the 76th Special Forces were dispatched to the French Concession, the International Settlement, and the Chinese-controlled areas to search for well-informed individuals in the underworld. Upon spotting such individuals, they were immediately arrested. Even in the French Concession, they showed no restraint, completely disregarding the police officers of the French Concession. Some of the French Concession police officers, not wanting to get involved, pretended not to see anything, but not all of them were spineless. Two standoffs occurred between the police and the 76th Special Forces agents. Although the 76th Special Forces agents were arrogant, they did not dare to fire on the police officers in the French Concession and ultimately slunk away.

"Director, good news! We've caught a gossipmonger from the French Concession. After interrogation, he said he saw Fang, Liu Changhe's advisor, yesterday on the eastern section of Avenue Joffre!" That evening, Wang Dabao hurriedly called Li Qun to report.

Upon hearing this, Li Qun immediately ordered: "Send more men to the eastern section of Xiafei Road to inquire about Master Fang. This Master Fang is Liu Changhe's confidant. As long as we catch him, Liu Changhe will have no chance of escaping!"

"Yes, Director, I'll go arrange the manpower right away!"

Wang Dabao then mobilized a large number of local thugs, and by noon the next day, they had actually found out where Master Fang lived.

The arrest operation was immediately deployed, with more than a dozen plainclothes agents scattered around the residence, blocking all roads leading in and out of the area. As soon as Fang Shiye returned, the arrest could be carried out immediately.

At 8 p.m. that evening, a car stopped in front of a Shikumen house. The car door opened, and Fang Shiye, dressed in a long robe and mandarin jacket, got out of the car under the protection of two Green Gang thugs. The three walked toward the gate of the Shikumen house, but at that moment, a large number of plainclothes agents rushed out from the darkness and surrounded the three.

"Who goes there?" a Green Gang thug shouted, immediately signaling his companions to draw their weapons. The two drew their pistols, but before they could aim at the charging men, guns were pointed at their heads.

The agents from No. 76 rushed forward, confiscated the pistols from the two Green Gang thugs protecting Master Fang, and tied their arms behind their backs.

"Master Fang, it's really not easy to see you!" Wang Dabao said with a smile as he pushed aside the secret agents in front of him and walked up to Master Fang.

"Wang Dabao, it's you! What do you want?" Master Fang asked nervously.

Wang Dabao laughed and said, "It's not what I want to do, but what Liu Changhe wants to do. He's hoarded all the rice in Shanghai, which has left the Imperial Army without rice to eat. That's not right. You can't make money like this!"

"Well, I had no choice. The higher-ups gave the order, so I had to talk to Boss Liu. But Boss Liu is cunning and has many burrows; his whereabouts are unpredictable. So I had no choice but to ask Master Fang for help!"

"Master Fang, let's not beat around the bush. Where is Liu Changhe? Just tell me where he is, and I can guarantee that this matter has nothing to do with you. Once Liu Changhe is caught, I will release you immediately!"

"I heard you have three wives and 12 children. You don't want anything to happen to them, do you?"

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