Project Deep Blue

In the misty kitchen, Qingcheng, wearing an apron, fanned the stove. When the casserole began to bubble, she lifted the lid, and a cloud of white steam dissipated, filling the room with a sweet aroma.

She took out a small bowl, ladled some soup into it, tasted it, and turned off the heat with satisfaction. Gao Junxiao was coming to return the umbrella tomorrow, so she should make the broth today and take the extra to Ai Ruirui's house later. They were all comrades, so she should be generous and help her have a good birthday.

Just then, an irregular knocking interrupted her thoughts. A typical little boy of five or six years old stood obediently at the door, sucking on a candied hawthorn. He handed the envelope to Qingcheng and then skipped downstairs.

The letter was written in Wang Renyong's handwriting, and read: "Giant salamander arrives in Shanghai. Pick up people at the West Station at 6:15. See you at Jade's house." Below were a few words, train number, and a photo of a man.

It's said that Comrade Giant Salamander was one of the earliest veterans to infiltrate the enemy ranks. Kiyosumi had only heard of him but never seen him. She glanced at the soup pot, decisively took off her apron, and left the kitchen to begin preparing for the evening's mission...

The West Railway Station was less bustling at night. Only a few people were quietly waiting for the train to arrive outside the station. Everything was as ordinary as any other ordinary night. A young man dressed in thin clothes held a small leather suitcase covered with cigarettes and enthusiastically called out his wares.

Finally, the train from Nanjing to Shanghai slowly pulled into the station with its whistle blowing. Passengers in the second and third class carriages got off one after another and left the station. Only the doors of the first class carriages remained closed for a long time, until a few young spies dressed in shorts scrambled to open the carriage doors.

A well-dressed lady got off the car first, glared disdainfully at the few petty spies, and walked away with her head held high. Following closely behind her were probably her servants, who carried three heavy leather suitcases and also looked at the spies with disdain.

Several more well-dressed gentlemen came down one after another, almost all of them with angry faces, loudly cursing the secret agents.

After a long while, the last passenger on the train finally stepped off. To his surprise, two junior agents respectfully carried his suitcase. He had a rather plump belly and looked quite imposing. He wore a pair of round glasses on his round face and a dark blue silk long gown and mandarin jacket, making him look like a cultured and wealthy merchant.

"Cigarettes for sale! Old Knife brand, Pagoda brand, Fairy brand, Beauty brand cigarettes—" The young man selling cigarettes called out even more enthusiastically after the first-class carriage door opened.

After the group exited the station, one of the agents asked obsequiously, "Station Chief Li, where are you going? I'll take you there."

"Is this something you should know? Have you finished your own tasks? Get back to work!" The wealthy businessman suddenly snapped and waved his hand, forcing the agents to obediently leave.

Watching the spies scatter like headless flies, the wealthy merchant adjusted his hat brim and was about to hail a rickshaw when a young cigarette vendor approached and asked, "Sir, would you like some cigarettes?"

"No." The wealthy businessman refused decisively, not even glancing at the young man.

“Sir, I have genuine Baby Brand cigarettes.” Upon hearing the young man’s words, the wealthy merchant stopped in his tracks, turned his potbelly, and carefully examined the young man from head to toe.

"Young man, is it the kind of box with a doll printed on it?" The target glanced at the pocket watch on his chest, his eyes darting around as if he were thinking about something.

"Yes, yes, the kind of doll with a red bib and a topknot." The young man replied with a smile. This young man was none other than He Qingcheng in disguise. She really wanted to beat Wang Renyong to death, so she gave him a few keywords and let him improvise. Now that she had given the keywords, she didn't know if he would recognize them.

"Fine, give me a pack, but I don't smoke cigarettes. You can break it down into tobacco and put it in my pipe." Seemingly to make things difficult for the young man, the wealthy merchant pulled out a shiny pipe.

"Yes, sir, this way please. I'll go get the lever." Kiyosumi politely accepted the pipe and led the wealthy merchant away into the night.

At the alley entrance, Qingcheng habitually bought a copy of the "Shenbao" newspaper, then led Da Ni to the familiar black lacquered gate and knocked on the brass ring. As expected, it was Ai Rui Rui who opened the door. Qingcheng couldn't help but mutter to herself: "That Wang Renyong is so lazy, he never comes to open the door."

"Old Li! Come in quickly." Ai Ruirui pulled the giant salamander into the house with her eyes shining. Qingcheng had never seen her so hospitable before. Every time she opened the door for her, she had a sour face as if she owed her millions of taels of silver.

A ruby-colored cake box sat on the coffee table in the living room, and the sound of running water drifted in from the kitchen. It seemed I had misjudged Old Wang; he was busy in the kitchen. Then came the clanging and banging…

The giant salamander and Qingcheng frowned simultaneously upon hearing the sound, exchanging a glance. What was Old Wang up to? Qingcheng gave Xiao Ai a look, signaling her to go check it out. Xiao Ai shook her head repeatedly, only exchanging pleasantries with the giant salamander, telling Qingcheng to ignore Old Wang.

The sound continued, and Qingcheng, unable to suppress her curiosity any longer, pushed open the kitchen door and asked, "Friend, what are you doing?"

"Stop killing the fish." Wang Renyong sat on a small stool wearing a white apron, his tone full of impatience.

"Is that how you kill fish? Anyone who didn't know better would think you were killing someone." Kiyosumi couldn't help but tease him, seeing his face and hands covered in fish scales and fish blood splattered all over the floor and walls.

"Nonsense! I always kill people quietly, without leaving a trace. Besides, killing fish is much harder than killing people." Wang Renyong wiped the sweat from his forehead with his wrist and got up to pour out the basin full of fish blood.

Ignoring Old Wang's absurd logic, Qingcheng leaned helplessly against the doorframe and asked, "If you can't do it, why don't you just ask the fishmonger to kill it for you?"

"Who said I can't? It's just that this grass carp is too big, and it's not fresh anymore since the fishmonger killed it. Smoked fish is meant to be eaten freshly killed." Wang Renyong angrily grabbed the fish and threw it into the sink, but the fish wasn't quite dead yet and jumped up, splashing water all over Wang Renyong.

Seeing this, Kiyosumi Ninja smiled, rolled up her sleeves, held the fish down with one hand and picked up a cleaver with the other, slapped the fish twice to stun it, and instructed Wang Renyong: "No matter how big or small the fish is, stun it first before killing it."

After Qingcheng gutted the fish, she handed the cleaver to Wang Renyong. Wang Renyong was stunned by the smooth movement and stared blankly for a few seconds before taking the cleaver and excitedly saying, "Not bad, young comrade, you are now qualified to fight me."

"Stop bragging. Comrade Giant Salamander has arrived. You should at least give him a proper welcome." Qingcheng said, throwing the dead fish into the pool and rubbing her hands with ginger to remove the fishy smell.

In the living room, Wang Renyong warmly hugged Li Shifa, also known as Da Ni, and then cheekily touched his belly, excitedly asking, "Old Li, how many months along are you? When are you due? Hey, where's your mustache? Why did you shave it off? You used to look like a clerk, now you look like a rich landlord."

“You used to be like a clerk, now you look like a rich landlord.” Li Shifa didn’t answer him, but instead imitated Wang Renyong with an even more vulgar tone and exaggerated expression, using the other man’s spear against him. Qingcheng laughed heartily on the side.

Wang Renyong couldn't save face: "Hmph, you're so boring. Let me introduce you, this is Comrade He, who's new to our Second Section."

"Hello, Comrade Li Shifa. My name is He Qingcheng. I'm so glad you understood what I meant," Qingcheng said with gratitude, extending his hand.

"Oh, nice to meet you. I know you're a student recommended by Sister Cai to study in France. How did you end up with Wang Renyong? Why don't you come to Nanjing with me, and I'll personally teach you?" Li Shifa said, shaking Qingcheng's hand while taking a jab at Wang Renyong.

"Hey, hey, hey, why are you trying to poach people right in front of me?" Wang Renyong deliberately separated the two of them. "Besides, you're under the Second Section now, so I'm your superior."

"Then you should act like a superior. You must have given Comrade Xiao He some random keywords again. I could tell it was your doing as soon as I heard it," Li Shifa retorted, not to be outdone.

“A few comrades were arrested this morning. The train station is now a key search area for spies, so I have to be careful. Also, the giant salamander is the same as the Chinese giant salamander, you understand?” Wang Renyong gestured the shape of a Chinese giant salamander, smiling and revealing eight upper molars.

As Qingcheng watched the two of them come and go, she knew that their relationship was not just good; they were probably very close comrades back in the Soviet area.

Soon after, the Qi couple arrived with gifts. Kiyosumi was thrilled to see her long-admired female idol and greeted her warmly, but when she turned around and saw so many comrades gathered together, she felt somewhat uneasy.

The organization stipulates that everyone must maintain a single-line contact; outside of their own upline and downline, they cannot gather together to prevent being caught in a coordinated attack. Is Wang Renyong leading the way in violating these rules in an attempt to face punishment?

Before Qingcheng could come up with anything, Lao Wang forced her to go to the kitchen and cook a birthday feast for Ai Ruirui with him.

"Wang Renyong, I still have work to do in a while. Could you make me a bowl of rice with soy sauce first?" Rui Rui asked softly as she stood at the kitchen door.

Wang Renyong wiped his hands as he walked out of the kitchen and performed a little magic trick on Ai Ruirui, suddenly conjuring a small chestnut cake from his previously empty hands.

Under everyone's gaze, Ai Ruirui bit her lip, trying her best to avoid eye contact with Wang Renyong. After a while, she stammered as she accepted the cake and said a barely audible thank you.

When Lao Wang returned to the kitchen, Qingcheng pretended to be working and said in a half-joking manner, "I bought Ruby's cream cake and Kaisiling's chestnut cake at the same time. I didn't know Section Chief Wang was such a tycoon. My apologies."

"What do you mean by 'local tycoon'? Do I own land or a house? I am a genuine proletarian revolutionary fighter, a good son of the Party, and a good partner of the people," Wang Renyong boasted without any restraint.

"Oh, you think you're so authentic? You've plastered so much gold on yourself, you're practically a golden statue." Qingcheng retorted mercilessly to Wang Renyong's shamelessness.

"If I become a golden body, you can melt me ​​down into gold bars and hand them over to the organization as my party dues," Wang Renyong said, winking and continuing Qingcheng's words.

"Hahaha, not bad! My birthday is next month too, why don't you buy me a cake? After all, I'm almost a golden statue, what's a few extra bucks?" Qingcheng joked, glancing at Lao Wang.

"Go away, you won't let Gao Junxiao buy it, is he just for show?" Old Wang retorted immediately.

"What are you talking about? Is this about the cake? Do you think I can't afford a cake myself? This is a testament to our comrades' revolutionary friendship. You have to treat all comrades equally. How can you show favoritism?" Qingcheng said meaningfully, looking towards the door.

"I can't believe it. Just thinking about your boyfriend makes me angry," Wang Renyong said, viciously chopping the fish in half.

"What's wrong? How did he offend you? Aren't you two good friends? You even worked together to unite people for half a year." Qingcheng felt that Lao Wang was just making trouble for no reason.

"I'd like to ask you how far you've progressed with the unity efforts? Last time you went to headquarters, besides making contact, you were just declaring sovereignty and telling that vixen to stay away from your Mr. Gao." Old Wang's hands didn't stop as he carefully sliced ​​the fish, and soon he had finished a whole bowl of slices.

"You're wronging me. Do I need to declare my ownership? Gao Junxiao is so smug and boastful! He wants to drag me out and brag to everyone he meets. I only found out when I got there that the whole headquarters knows he has a writer girlfriend." Qingcheng felt goosebumps rising on her skin.

"Brilliant! With your talent, all those who want to put women around him will have to give up. The only things left to win him over are money, power, and faith. We need to step up our game too." Wang Renyong asked while pouring oil, "What documents have you shown him recently?"

"The Hunan peasant movement, the importance of mastering military manufacturing, the development of the Chinese bourgeoisie, the various ways imperialism invaded China..." Qingcheng was interrupted by Wang Renyong before he could finish speaking. These were all basic documents; they needed to move on to more advanced topics.

Wang Renyong suggested that Qingcheng show Gao Junxiao the newspapers *Frontline* and *Guide* next time, and directly analyze the Party's work line for him. Qingcheng shook his head, indicating that it was inappropriate. Some articles in these two newspapers were too radical, but several bigwigs spoke very thoroughly about revolution. He suggested that Qingcheng could select some moderate articles and try showing them to Gao Junxiao.

“I still have a few out-of-print copies of ‘New Youth’. Take them to him; he’s from Peking University and likes reading that.” Wang Renyong said, stirring the soy sauce.

"Take it easy, you can't rush things. I have a feeling he's suspicious of my motives. Last time, he deliberately made me compete with his men in marksmanship, subtly probing who my teacher was. I could only force his attention to his men." Qingcheng also took out fermented bean curd and red rice to make a bright sauce.

"No need for all that trouble. Men, hehe, just be more friendly and enthusiastic next time you meet, and I guarantee he won't have time to wonder who you are. For example," Wang Renyong said in an exaggeratedly coquettish tone, "Brother, your hands are so cold, let me warm them up. I feel sorry for you, brother. Oh dear, I'm so scared, brother, hold me tight."

This is just a honey trap. Qingcheng wiped away the tears of laughter and quickly stopped his performance: "Section Chief Wang, although you have brought me joy, I still want to beat you up. Can you be normal for once?"

Then Wang Renyong put away his exaggerated expression and said earnestly, "It's only a matter of time before Gao Junxiao discovers your identity. It's not about whether he has the ability to know, but whether he wants to know. If he doesn't want to know, even if there's a mountain of evidence in front of him, he will continue to deceive himself."

"Section Chief Wang, do you know what kind of person I hate the most?" Qingcheng asked herself while washing the squid, "A person who tells the truth! Even the most intense feelings will fade one day. Will he still tolerate me then?"

“Don’t panic, you have a lot of advantages. Gao Junxiao really wants to marry you. He bought a painting from my gallery this morning, probably to give to you.” Wang Renyong said angrily, “Ugh~ I’m so angry about this. That son of a bitch bought my store’s prized possession, the only genuine Monet painting. I didn’t expect him to be an expert.”

"Hey, putting aside whether he's an expert or not, did you get my permission to rip him off?" Qingcheng gave an extremely "friendly" smile. The genuine work is hanging there, isn't it for sale? This unscrupulous merchant has the nerve to complain even though he didn't manage to rip anyone off.

"What's the rush? He hasn't given you his salary card yet, it's not like he's spending your money." Wang Renyong racked his brains to trick Gao Junxiao, and suggested, "Either you be a shill and let me trick him once, and I'll buy you ten chestnut cakes and give you a painting by a contemporary master."

"Heh, you're just putting money back from your left pocket to your right. Don't you have anything else to do? Can't you do something worthwhile?" Qingcheng was exhausted by Lao Wang's childish behavior.

"There really is something important here. Otherwise, would I have called so many people here just to celebrate Rui Rui's birthday? How naive." Old Wang saw that the oil in the pan was hot enough and put the fish fillets into the pan one by one. The pink fish fillets rolled in the sizzling hot oil, gradually turning golden and crispy, emitting a fragrant aroma.

After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, they shared a sweet cream cake. Wang Renyong asked Mrs. Qi for a letter of introduction, then asked Rui Rui to keep Sister Xu company for a while, while he took Li Shifa, Qi Kejun, and Qingcheng upstairs for a meeting.

Once everyone was seated, Wang Renyong ripped off the white cloth from the wall, revealing a corkboard covered with thumbtacks and photos: "Today I'm going to talk to you about Project Deep Blue. The project is divided into three parts: diving, exploration, and mining."

To help everyone understand, Wang Renyong pointed to Xu Qiao's photo and began to explain that he was assigned by the Chen brothers to establish "Central Investigation Sections" in various agencies, which were actually intelligence departments, and Xu Qiao was the actual head of the CC Investigation Section.

The plan was to have three comrades infiltrate the Central Investigation Department simultaneously. Originally, their only task was to help the organization intercept sabotage activities by spies against our party. However, an unexpected event occurred. Wang Renyong tapped on a photo of a foreigner. Robert was an intelligence dealer who made big deals. He had made a deal with Xu Qiao.

To be precise, Xu Qiao made a deal with a Japanese man, with Robert acting as the middleman. The details of their transaction are unknown, but he paid the price of a coal mine. Originally, the price was agreed upon, and both parties were happy.

Interestingly, Xu Qiao played a trick. The mine he gave away was in a very bad location. The coal mine in the contract was in Tongshan District of Xuzhou, a place that has been a coal-producing area since ancient times. However, the mining rights of those coal mines had already been sold to Germans and large domestic capitalists for joint development and mechanized operation. How could they possibly sell them back to the Japanese?

"Could it be a small, out-of-the-way coal mine? The Japanese are taking advantage of it," Qi Kejun analyzed.

“Do you think the Japanese are garbage collectors? They have huge appetites. Besides, there are still many small coal mines in Zaozhuang that haven’t been contracted out, and the quality is even better. Given the Japanese’s meticulous nature, they should prioritize finding bargains in Zaozhuang’s coal mines,” Wang Renyong replied.

"In other words, Xu Qiao may have exchanged an empty mine for intelligence, and the Japanese agreed to it. Then the Japanese have ulterior motives," Kiyosumi said in surprise.

“It’s unlikely to be an empty mine. There might be some thin or deep layers of copper, iron, or tin ore that are difficult to mine and have some profit value. However, if it is indeed a copper or iron mine, then the situation is very serious.” A look of worry appeared on Li Shifa’s round face.

Wang Renyong nodded in agreement. At this moment, he drew his hand to a map of Japan. Japan is an island nation, a small country with a small population and scarce resources. Their leaders are racking their brains to seize our country's natural resources, especially coal and metals.

Through the mining contracts that Qingcheng retrieved, Wang Renyong followed the trail and discovered that one of the shareholders of the shell company that signed the contracts was named Kobayashi Shiro, who was the younger brother of Kobayashi Ichiro. Kobayashi Ichiro was one of the major owners of the Shanghai Commercial Daily in China, and according to reliable sources, he was also a front man for Captain Mukayama of the Japanese Navy.

The crux of the problem lies in the fact that the military has gotten involved. The organization needs us to find out what that intelligence is, and to thoroughly investigate the coal mines in Xuzhou to find out exactly what the Japanese want to do on our land!

Wang Renyong wiped the thin layer of sweat that had seeped out from his anger with his sleeve, calmed himself down, and said, "Now, let's assign tasks."

Let's start with the "diving" mission. Wang Renyong opened the letter of introduction he had just received from Mrs. Qi and explained that Mrs. Qi, surnamed Xu, was Xu Qiao's distant cousin. This letter of introduction was given by the Xu clan chief to Qi Kejun, the clan's son-in-law.

With Comrade Qi's knowledge and the exam questions he has memorized, passing the Radio Management Bureau's exam should not be a problem. After the results are released, Comrade Qi can take the job introduction letter from the Xu clan chief and smoothly start working. This way, there is a high probability that he can directly get close to Xu Qiao, since they are family members who know each other well.

He needed to climb the corporate ladder as much as possible after joining the company, gain Xu Qiao's trust, and seize the opportunity to extract the secret of that intelligence.

Comrade Li Shifa was a veteran of the CC, and many of the CC's mid- to high-ranking agents were his disciples. After the other two comrades joined the team, he would package their identities and personalities, and appoint Old Li as the team leader for the "undercover" mission to help them rise to higher positions.

Ultimately, they would monopolize Xu Qiao's intelligence network and use their advantageous position to find out who instructed Xu Qiao to make deals with the Japanese.

When it was He Qingcheng's turn, Wang Renyong sighed. He had originally planned to have Qingcheng replace Song Li, but due to unforeseen circumstances, she had contacted Song Li ahead of time and prematurely exposed her identity, so she couldn't go to CC now.

Fortunately, Kiyosumi's status as a reporter for a major newspaper allowed her to obtain a large amount of external intelligence in advance. Therefore, Wang Renyong decided to have Kiyosumi join him on an "exploration" mission to investigate the secrets of the Xuzhou mine and the Japanese from the outside.

Of course, her efforts to unite the people could not be relaxed. The headquarters seemed to be a monolithic entity, but it was actually a microcosm of the current Nanjing government. The eldest and second eldest were in cahoots but had different dreams and were constantly at odds with each other. When it came to choosing sides, people like Gao Junxiao, a powerful centrist, were naturally the object of everyone's desire to win over.

"Oh. What about Song Li? She's my cousin. Should we contact her later?" Qingcheng knew she was originally going to take her cousin's place, so she couldn't help but think of her. She was her aunt's daughter, a cousin.

“Of course we should contact him. Song Li’s transfer back to Nanjing this time is to return to the General Staff’s communications department, where the intelligence is extremely valuable. Although you can’t access him for the time being, can we still maintain the relationship?” Wang Renyong said confidently.

"Comrade Renyong, since Xiao He isn't going to CC, then we're short one person, aren't we?" Qi Kejun asked, adjusting his glasses.

"Comrade Qi, don't worry. I've selected a young man from among my former students. He's also a progressive youth who joined the Party after April 12th." Li Shifa patiently explained, "We can't cram everyone into East China. I've already recommended him to take the exam at the Tianjin Radio Bureau's office. The Action Section will hold the exam for a week straight. We'll have a meeting together after he passes."

Wang Renyong continued, "After the diving team infiltrates, we will meet at a fixed time each month. Team leader Li Shifa will report to me. However, if there is an extremely urgent situation that requires temporary contact with me, we will ask the junior comrade to come to me."

"Okay, Comrade Xiao He, from now on you will be our emergency contact person." Li Shifa extended his hand, and Qingcheng immediately shook it.

Qingcheng turned her head and asked, "Section Chief Wang, how can I find you? You're so elusive."

"Go find Rui Rui later and memorize all the transportation stations in our Second Division. I'll also give you a set of emergency passwords. Go to the nearest transportation station and send the emergency passwords," Wang Renyong said.

"But my memory is so-so, please don't make things difficult for me. I can only remember the addresses of a few major stations at most," Kiyosumi said with a mournful expression.

“You have to memorize it even if you can’t. Didn’t you memorize your codebook in just two days?” Wang Renyong glanced at her.

"Those are numbers... Okay, I'll give it a try." Kiyosumi reluctantly accepted the task.

"Whether we can find the ore depends on the efforts of everyone," Wang Renyong said solemnly, looking around. "Comrades, keep going!"

For the victory of the revolution, and for our beloved motherland to no longer be bullied by foreign powers, let's go!