Exposed thread

The sweltering heat scorched the city, and a layer of oil rose from the ground, looking like freshly spilled sesame paste, still steaming in waves.

The houses in the distance looked bigger. Qingcheng's face was flushed red from the sun, burning and painful, but she dared not use an umbrella to avoid attracting attention. The heat wave pushed her to knock on a house.

The door opened a crack, and Qingcheng quickly slipped inside. It was Jiang Yun who opened the door, and he congratulated Qingcheng on ascending to the position of Rongtan with a smile.

Even the composed Jiang Yun teased her, leaving Qingcheng both amused and exasperated. Before she could retort, Wang Renyong, leaning on his cane, came forward and said in a servile, obsequious manner, "Oh~ isn't this our dashing and renowned Master Xia? Please have a seat! In the future, I'll have to rely on you when I'm in Shanghai."

Qingcheng rolled her eyes at him, annoyed: "If you had eaten a few more bites of food, you wouldn't be this drunk."

"I only dared to eat after you arrived. Are you hot? Here, let me fan you. I hope that you will not forget me when you become rich and powerful." Old Wang took out a palm-leaf fan from his waist and fanned himself vigorously.

"It's easy for you to talk when you're not the one suffering," Qingcheng asked coldly. "I was almost driven to my death. I'll give you the wealth and honor of selling my soul. Do you want it?"

Across from him, Wang Renyong exclaimed in a high-pitched voice, "Of course I want to! Fortune favors the bold! But I know my own limitations. Sister Gui is blind to everything, and I'm afraid I won't catch her eye. I'll be content to be a dutiful secretary who serves tea and water."

"I'm afraid I'll shorten my lifespan if I hire a secretary like you." Qingcheng couldn't stand his affectation and got goosebumps all over her body, making a move to kick him.

Wang Renyong used his cane as a fulcrum and dodged backward: "Hehe, you can't hit me. You think you can prolong your life with your tall and strong bodyguard? I know what he knows, and I know what he doesn't know. Wu Hao used it and said it was good."

"You just have to put him down, huh?" Qingcheng glanced at him sideways and said, "Then I'll give him your information. You run away, he chases. Let's see if he can catch you. I'll just satisfy your competitive tendencies a little."

After saying this, Wang Renyong pretended to squeeze out two tears and swayed like a folk dancer: "Heavens~ you are so cruel. We have known each other for a while, how can you change your mind so easily? The world is going to the dogs, and people's hearts are no longer what they used to be. I should have known better than to bring you into this business. It's true that teaching a disciple can starve the master."

He's already limping, yet he's still going around in circles. Even if the enemy doesn't break his leg, it'll be broken sooner or later anyway. Qingcheng was too lazy to waste any more words with Wang Renyong: "Stop disgusting me. Rui Rui will be here in a bit."

With a fatal blow to the throat, Wang Renyong braked suddenly, nearly being thrown off balance by the momentum. Fortunately, Jiang Yun reacted quickly, catching the nearly fallen Wang and helping him onto the sofa.

Wang Renyong clutched his back, looking limp, and turned to look at himself in the glass: "You, you, you, why didn't you say so earlier? I wasn't even dressed up."

His preening pose by the window made everyone inside laugh. Qingcheng teased, "What are you planning to do now that you're all dressed up? Try to sneak away and meet your sweetheart?"

“Who is the needle, who… me, hey, you little comrade, you’ve gone astray in the Green Gang.” Wang Renyong was so angry that he was incoherent.

"What are you thinking? I just thought there were too many of us, and it wouldn't be appropriate for you to talk to me alone. Who knew you were so full of lowbrow ideas? You've wasted all of Wu Hao's efforts in training you." Qingcheng blinked innocently.

“Exactly. If you’re thinking in the wrong direction, it means you haven’t thoroughly studied Marxism-Leninism. Go stand in the corner and reflect on your mistakes.” Jiang Yun handed over two glasses of cold water.

The two took turns criticizing him, and Wang Renyong lost his temper and reluctantly drank a few sips of water. Qingcheng smiled, took the cool boiled water, and sipped it a few times, finding it refreshingly cool.

It's been some time since Lao Wang moved out of the Xu residence, but the situation is still far from optimistic. The spies are keeping a close watch, and Wang Renyong has to move every three to four weeks. I heard that Rui Rui is also protecting an important representative, so the couple can't reunite at all. If I can arrange a short meeting for them, I'll consider it the best I can do.

After some lighthearted banter, the conversation got down to business. Jiang Yun brought the results of the investigation in the Soviet area: the initial investment for the establishment of the tungsten mining company was top secret, and only industrial capitalists on our whitelist would be contacted. Boss Qian was already on the whitelist.

Moreover, Jiang Yun has confirmed that the two negotiators who contacted Boss Qian were indeed our comrades. Boss Qian is very supportive of the tungsten mine project. If the raw materials become cheaper, he is willing to reduce the price of 80% of his best-selling products by half and even gave him ten small yellow croakers as a deposit on the spot.

This money is crucial to the launch of our project. After signing the letter of intent, the representatives rushed back with Xiaohuangyu. They had just arrived in the Soviet area yesterday, and they were unaware of what happened after the signing.

"While in the study, did Mr. Qian receive any phone calls? Or did he mention any important people?" Old Wang asked.

Jiang Yun shook his head: "He didn't make a phone call. He originally wanted to bring a business partner, someone on the whitelist, but unfortunately, he didn't come. It should be Boss Jin."

This, in turn, confirms that Boss Jin was not lying, but it also means that Boss Qian was murdered as soon as he left, which could be a third serious leak of information.

"That's right!" Jiang Yun exclaimed. After the negotiations, Boss Qian asked the representative to change his son's job. His son was a technical talent who studied radio and wanted him to stop going to the front lines to fight. He spoke earnestly, as if he had been worried about this for a long time.

The representatives didn't know Xiao Qian, but they said that our officers and soldiers were equal and that no one should be given special treatment. However, if the children were in the Soviet area, they could help carry letters. We support normal correspondence between relatives.

"Didn't his son retreat to the Soviet area with the Fourth Division? He was already in the rear." Kiyosumi said with surprise.

“That’s why it’s strange. We’re not like the Nationalist government conscripting men, sending everyone, regardless of their ability, to the front lines as cannon fodder.” Wang Renyong interjected, “Everyone has their own expertise. We can be very useful to valuable technical talents like Xiao Qian.”

Jiang Yun was puzzled for a long time about why Boss Qian was so worried. Who told him that Xiao Qian was carrying a gun on the front line?

So Jiang Yun spent several nights compiling a list of people involved in classified information at the Wuhan Congress, as well as attendees and security personnel at the Shanghai Jinmen Hotel. There was always a group of people involved in both high-level leaks, and based on experience, Zero was infiltrated among this group.

The number of attendees at the two conferences was too large. After deleting a few leaders who were definitely not problematic and peripheral couriers of too low a rank, there were still more than 100 people on the list. After further screening to include those who knew the tungsten mining company and related departments, there were still 27 people. However, none of them were from Xuzhou, or even Jiangsu.

Old Wang lay sprawled out and grumbled, "A professional intelligence officer impersonating someone from another place is nothing."

"It's alright, we have experts in disguise to deal with him. Short-term disguises can be flawless, but long-term disguises always have flaws." Kiyosumi smiled meaningfully.

Old Wang knew she was praising his wife, and grinned smugly: "Putting aside the pretense, there's something else I don't understand. Why did Boss Qian have to die? He was Zero's money bag. As long as Boss Qian sourced goods from the Soviet area, he would have to keep supplying Zero. His death is like killing the goose that lays the golden eggs, cutting off his own source of income."

“There are two possibilities. The first is impulsive killing, such as when the toll is increased or Zero asks him to do something and the negotiations break down. The second is premeditated killing, where Zero feels threatened and is worried about being exposed, so he eliminates Boss Qian to protect himself,” Jiang Yun offered two points of analysis.

Qingcheng denied it, saying, "It wasn't an impulsive killing. According to the police investigation, Mr. Qian was shot twice in the back, and the scene was cleaned up very thoroughly, leaving not a single hair behind. It's clearly the work of a professional killer. Moreover, Mrs. Qian and the servants slept exceptionally well that night and didn't hear any noise. It's very likely that they were given sleeping pills beforehand."

“Even so, the exposure theory doesn’t hold water. Zero has always controlled Boss Qian through Zhang Renjiu, and Boss Qian didn’t have that opportunity.” Wang Renyong shook his index finger in disagreement.

"Either Zero wants to sabotage the tungsten mining business and make other whitelisted merchants afraid to trade with the Soviet area, in order to achieve the goal of blockade," Jiang Yun hypothesized.

“It’s easy for the enemy to disrupt trade in the Soviet area. They just need to make Zhang Renjiu refuse to ship the goods,” Wang Renyong mocked. “Heh, it’s not that I look down on Zero, but he’s a dog spy who eats from two sides. Expecting him to be selfless and wholeheartedly serve the National Government is like asking a dog not to eat shit or a fly not to be attracted to filth.”

Are there any other reasons? Old Wang and Jiang Yun talked at once but couldn't reach a conclusion. Qingcheng's lips curled into a barely perceptible smile, and then her calm voice rang out: "Comrades, it's not Zero who's about to be exposed, it's me."

"Huh?" The two exclaimed at the same time, their eyes turning to Kiyosumi in unison.

The atmosphere froze for a moment, then Old Wang suddenly straightened up, his expression serious: "Don't joke around. If you're really exposed, I'll arrange for you to be evacuated back to the Soviet area immediately."

Qingcheng smiled noncommittally: "Looking at Boss Qian's murder case alone, everyone is definitely confused, but when it is put into a larger plan, it becomes an indispensable part."

"How so?" Old Wang asked, eager for Qingcheng's explanation.

In fact, from the moment the opium denounced Da Yantian, Qingcheng declared war on Zero. The opium den was shut down, Comrade Zhao Fengnian was temporarily sent back to Jiangxi, Lu Wei promptly turned to the light, and the corrupt officials were collectively destroyed. With Zero's caution, he must have realized that the organization was investigating him and had already obtained certain evidence.

At that time, he was not sure of the source of the intelligence that the organization had seized the tobacco fields. He only vaguely felt that it was related to Shanghai. Even though he knew that the tobacco fields had been seized, he still chose to go through the channels. His intentions were obvious to everyone. The Four Kingdoms Flour Mill was the fishing hook he had thrown out.

If the transaction goes smoothly, that would be ideal. But if something goes wrong, he can pinpoint that there's definitely an organized mole in Lao Sun's line of work. He can get a reward just by leaking the information to CC or the ten-man group, so he won't lose anything.

Of course he knows how to fish, and so do we. Who knew that Sister Gui would interfere and disrupt both of our plans? Coupled with Lao Sun's "death," Zero is probably confused again. Does Sister Gui want to kill Mr. Da, or does Sister Gui have members of the G Party around her who are using her as a pawn?

In desperation, he found his agent in Shanghai—Zhang Renjiu. Zhang Renjiu and Sister Gui were already at odds. The incident at the Four Kingdoms Flour Mill not only cut off Zero's source of income but also blocked Zhang Renjiu's.

If you cut off someone's source of income, they'll cut off yours in return. Zhang Renjiu is also eager for revenge. The two hit it off immediately; anyone who can influence Sister Gui must have been in close contact with her recently.

Before they could even investigate anything, Sister Gui forcibly convened a meeting of a thousand people. Everyone who supported Sister Gui was suspected of being a member of the CCP, and based on the principle of "better to kill the innocent than let the guilty go free," she also took the opportunity to purge her political enemies. Zhang Renjiu was blinded by rage. If Ms. Xia hadn't changed leadership at the last minute, she would most likely have had to take the fall for Qingcheng.

However, Zhang Renjiu needs money to kill people and seize power, and he happens to be broke. Zero can't just stand by and watch him do nothing, so he finds his own money bag—Boss Qian.

Killing Boss Qian may seem like killing the goose that lays the golden eggs, but in reality, it was more beneficial than harmful to the spies. There were at least three advantages. First, it disrupted trade in the Soviet area. Because Boss Qian's son was in the Soviet area, he was determined to provide support to the Soviet area in exchange for a better life for his son.

Killing him would serve as a warning to the other merchants on the whitelist, who would either become more reliant on Zhang Renjiu or abandon their trade with the Soviet Union.

Secondly, they extorted a huge sum of money for Zhang Renjiu to squander on bribes and favors. It's likely that Zero would receive a cut. Moreover, with the money, Zhang Renjiu would be motivated to find the mole; as long as the mole remained within the Green Gang, identifying the target was only a matter of time.

That day, Qingcheng appropriately revealed to Mr. Du that he was selling radios and was a money-grubbing broker. This not only reassured Mr. Du that he could protect him but also help him block information. The Eight Outer Gates of the underworld are also very powerful intelligence agencies.

Upon hearing this, Wang Renyong and Jiang Yun nodded repeatedly, as this was largely in line with their discussion. Qingcheng raised three fingers and continued her story.

Third, if Xiao Qian knew about his father's death, it would definitely affect his work efficiency. Xiao Qian followed the Fourth Section back to the Soviet Area and continued to work as a communications officer under Section Chief Ouyang. He was the one who had been listening to the agents' shortwave communications earlier, and he also contributed greatly to deciphering the telegrams from Crow Slope later. It can be said that Xiao Qian was a frontline fighter in the battle against Zero.

“Actually, his job has just been reinstated. Because of his capitalist family background, Xiao Qian was interrogated several times before, and he wrote a whole bunch of confession reports. If it weren’t for Ouyang and Fengnian protecting him at all costs, Xiao Qian would be gone.” Jiang Yun sighed. “I suspect that the previous interrogations were all instigated by Zero.”

"Don't blame everything on Zero. Some of us were indeed wrong, terribly wrong! When Wu Hao and I get back, we'll have to teach them a lesson." Old Wang Renyong pointed at the ceiling and shouted angrily.

Jiang Yun lowered his head sullenly and fell silent. Qingcheng patted his shoulder encouragingly: "The situation is complicated now. I suggest that Ouyang and the others pay more attention to Xiao Qian and give him some psychological counseling. Otherwise, Zero will take advantage of the situation and use despicable means to shake Xiao Qian's revolutionary confidence. Lu Wei is a cautionary tale. We can't push good comrades into the enemy's arms."

As for why the target of the murder was not Boss Jin, or some other boss, the answer lies in Boss Qian's hometown. Zero and Lao Sun are both from Xuzhou, and they must have known each other through channels such as hometown associations or relatives. In other words, Boss Qian is very close to Zero's true identity.

“That’s right. There are only so many people coming and going in our small town. After doing some research, I found out that Boss Qian and I are related. If we’re going by seniority, he should call me uncle,” Jiang Yun said seriously.

"Haha, shouldn't Xiao Qian call you grandpa? Let's go back to the Soviet area next time and tease him." Wang Renyong showed his eight front teeth, his expression extremely irritating.

“Go on, we’re talking about serious business.” Jiang Yun looked at Qingcheng with concern. “So you’re trying your best to avoid becoming the altar master, not only because you don’t want to sell your soul to the devil, but also because you’re worried that Zero will be targeting you.”

Kiyosumi nodded in affirmation: "Yes, things have already come to this, so worrying is unnecessary. The important thing is to have a strategy to deal with it."

"What's your plan?" Old Wang craned his neck to inquire.

"There's a palm strike that comes down from the sky. I wonder if Zero can catch it." Just as Qingcheng finished speaking, the alarm sounded outside the door, and the rhythmic knocking stopped after two rounds.

Rui Rui is here! Old Wang excitedly rubbed his hands together, ran a few fingers through his hair, and Qingcheng thoughtfully handed him a cane, afraid that he might twist his other leg.

The awkwardness from their long separation vanished the moment they embraced tightly. Rui Rui nestled in her husband's arms, and Old Wang's back trembled. He wished he could meld his wife into his entire being. Qing Cheng could only see her shiny black hair and her equally clenched arms.

With the person he had been longing for right in front of him, it was like a rare cool breeze in the sweltering heat. Old Wang felt refreshed and his mind worked even faster. He immediately understood that Qingcheng meant for CC and the ten-person group to put pressure on Zero.

When exploitation comes from absolute power, people don't even have the possibility of saying "no," and Zero is no exception. Kiyosumi has only one goal: to tear apart Zero's disguise.

She will throw out two completely opposite baits, one for CC and the other for the ten-person group to capture. Zero can either do neither or offend one side. As long as he makes a choice, time will automatically switch to our side.

“Great, this plan is perfect. Go for it! The organization will provide you with all the necessary support.” Wang Renyong said excitedly.

“I’ll handle the external work, but we’ll have to rely on Comrade Emerald to carefully screen the internal documents.” Qingcheng looked at Rui Rui with trust. “Xiaoyun, show Rui Rui the list you’ve identified. I want to know which regions it would be easier for people from Xuzhou to impersonate people from.

Rui Rui took the list and looked at it carefully, one by one. After a while, she said with a troubled expression, "Theoretically, anyone who has been trained can impersonate someone. Xuzhou City is in the south, but its lifestyle and accent are closer to those of the Central Plains. If it were Fengxian or Peixian, the customs would not be much different from those of Shandong, and one could easily blend in with people from Shandong, Henan, and Anhui."

"Um... I... I have something I'm not sure if I should say." Jiang Yun stammered, unlike her usual decisive self.

With everyone's encouragement, Jiang Yun confessed that his sixth sense told him that Zero had a strange sense of familiarity. He might know the real person, but he had no conclusive evidence. He only knew that after the great calamity in Xuzhou City, the large opium field appeared in the Soviet area. The timing was too coincidental.

"You don't suspect it's your traitorous cousin, do you?" Wang Renyong squinted and leaned closer. Jiang Yun nodded solemnly, after all, his body hadn't been found at the time.

"Oh dear, why didn't you tell me about such an important clue sooner?" Wang Renyong slapped his thigh. "Cai Tou is in the Soviet area, right? Quick, quick, let him go and identify it!"

"Renyong, don't be anxious. I don't have any evidence. If I guess wrong and mislead everyone's investigation, it might alert the enemy." Jiang Yun pressed Wang Renyong down. Wang Renyong pouted and obediently shrank back into the corner.

Kiyosumi glared at Lao Wang with disdain: "Are you stupid? Zero definitely has to change his appearance, otherwise he would have been recognized by acquaintances long ago."

Suddenly, Rui Rui said softly, "We can give it a try."

The three of them asked in unison, "How do we try?"

“There are two things that people can’t hide: a cough and a sense of taste. Changing one’s taste requires an extremely long adaptation process. The stomach knows better than the brain where someone is from.” Rui Rui slowly looked at Jiang Yun. “People from your area like salt and spice. If you were given boiled vegetables from Jiangnan every day, you would probably lose a lot of weight.”

Jiang Yun and Wang Renyong exchanged a glance, and Wang Renyong raised an objection: "There are choices. The Soviet area was under economic blockade, and the daily diet consisted only of pickled vegetables and sorghum rice. Jiangxi also lacked salt, so as long as we could fill our stomachs, that was fine."

“There are always more solutions than problems. Don’t forget that when Secretary Yu was being hunted down, he was still thinking about dipping his food in Shanxi vinegar. Zero’s situation in the Soviet area is definitely more stable than Secretary Yu’s,” Qingcheng reminded him.

Rui Rui continued, "Taste is not just about sour, sweet, bitter, and spicy; it also includes preferences for staple foods and fruits and vegetables, as well as preferences for aromas. It seems that people in the Southwest love spicy food, but the varieties of chili peppers and the spices used have strong regional characteristics. There are numbing and spicy, fragrant and spicy, sour and spicy... Sometimes, just by smelling it, people can tell if it tastes like home."

When it comes to disguise, Kiyosumi is worried about something else: it's not just time that changes one's sense of taste, but also disease.

Her father was born in Hunan and loved spicy food when he was young. However, he later developed a respiratory illness and would cough up blood whenever he ate spicy food. To take care of him, the whole family's diet was changed to be mainly bland. Even though her father loved spicy food, he had to change it to save his life.

Similarly, since that traitor suffered a fatal wound, even if a highly skilled doctor treated him, there would still be some aftereffects, and he probably couldn't touch spicy food anymore.

“Yes, yes, yes, how come I didn’t think of that?” Wang Renyong was very excited. “Rui Rui, almost two-thirds of the people on Xiao Yun’s shortlist are from the Southwest. So, does that mean we only need to test the remaining third?”

“No, everyone Xiaoyun screens out needs to be tested.” Rui Rui denied it outright. “Qingcheng reminded me that if I were patient zero and had suffered serious injuries, I would lie and say I had other illnesses to cover up the aftereffects of the serious injuries. Even if you’re from Sichuan, you can’t force a patient to eat spicy food.”

“Let’s take it one step at a time. The Southwest isn’t all spicy food; we still need to have a feast. How about we divide the people on the list into groups: one table for the Southwest, one for the Central Plains, and one for the Jiangnan region? Regardless of whether they are the traitors or not, let’s narrow down the scope first, and then conduct a more in-depth investigation.” Jiang Yun drew three circles on the paper.

“We need to pay close attention to people who claim to have pre-existing conditions,” Old Wang interjected.

"It would be best to have a few specialty dishes on each table, with seasonings that are only available locally," Kiyosumi added.

After discussing it, the four of them unanimously decided to resolve this hidden danger as soon as possible, otherwise the consequences would be dire.