The Far East Bureau Interview (Part 1)

As the afternoon bells rang, a flock of white doves flew over the rooftops and landed on them like snowflakes, forming a pile of white snow.

Coo-coo~ A lone white dove perched on the windowsill, a pot of yellow roses in full bloom. Qingcheng turned her gaze back and glanced at the clock. The agreed time was more than fifteen minutes past. If he couldn't come today, it would be considered a failed rendezvous.

If we wait another five minutes, Comrade Wu Hao will risk going out during the day and will definitely take a longer route. Qingcheng doesn't want to give up this hard-won opportunity; she has something important to report.

Earlier, Yingqi had brought her a torn page, which seemed to have been casually torn from a work notebook. It had a strange pattern drawn on it, resembling both plum blossoms and auspicious clouds, but unfortunately, there was no accompanying text.

Yingqi explained that he recently wanted to take care of his master's belongings. When he disassembled the pipe and mouthpiece, he found this piece of paper. It was in a hidden place, so no one should have touched it. The note could only have been placed there by his master himself. Moreover, Yingqi suspected that the pattern was related to his master's death.

Yingqi didn't know, but Qingcheng did. His master was murdered by Xie Gaosheng for money. Xie Gaosheng himself admitted it and even handed over a stolen item—a gold ring. If Xie Gaosheng hadn't spoken before he died, his master's death would have remained a mystery.

It seems this kid deliberately held back. Where is this pattern trying to lead us? Could there be an agent of a higher rank than Zero?

Just then, a familiar knock came at the door. Great, they're here! Comrade Wu Hao led the way inside, panting, and said, "Sorry we're late. Time is short, you should hand over your work to Ya Mei first."

"Xiao He, wait a minute, let me have some water, I'm dying of thirst." Jiang Yun wiped the sweat from her forehead and leaned against the door, taking deep breaths.

Before Qingcheng could get up, Wu Hao had already handed her the water glass and poured her a glass of water as well. This made Qingcheng feel flattered. She took a sip and then began the handover.

Soon only her voice remained in the living room. The two men formed a circle, and Qingcheng handed Jiang Yun the schedule of the recent labor movement. "Our advantage is mainly that we have more people."

Currently, the main method is rotating strikes, with the leaders of the red unions taking turns to strike according to a schedule. As long as worker pickets are arranged in advance and security is ensured for workers and the families of worker leaders, the situation can be resolved. The schedule can also be adjusted as needed.

In addition, there are four Japanese-owned yellow labor unions. The foremen are about to be dismissed, and our comrades have been arranged to take their place. If this can be implemented smoothly, the yellow labor unions will become red labor unions.

"Okay, what are the arrangements with the military and police?" Wu Hao asked.

“The police will definitely cause trouble. They have deep connections with capitalists and spies. Although the constant warfare will keep them busy, we must be wary of their spies infiltrating the unions and turning our red unions into yellow ones.” Qingcheng took out another list. “This is the list of CC’s infiltrates into yellow unions. We can eliminate them if necessary.”

The two passed it around for a while, and Jiang Yun put it in her pocket.

Qingcheng continued, "Commander Xiong has received the transfer order from the Chairman of Jiangxi Province, and Chief of Staff Tang has also received the transfer order from the Nanjing Command. Based on the principle of 'it's better to do less than more,' they have made it clear that they will not interfere with the anti-Japanese strike."

"As for the newly arrived 19th Route Army, the main force has been transferred from Guangzhou to Shanghai, and the entire rotation will not be completed until at least the end of November. The Shanghai-Songjiang Command will hold a handover ceremony with the advance troops of the 19th Route Army at the end of this month. We will know the specific details after they arrive."

“Don’t worry about the 19th Route Army. Their commander and deputy commander are both patriots. I’ll handle it if anything goes wrong,” Wu Hao assured with a smile.

"By the way, do you need my help with things at the Green Gang?" Jiang Yun had previously become Qing Cheng's advisor, managing the finances of Rongtan.

Qingcheng pondered for a moment: "You'd better keep an eye on Master Wu. Don't be fooled by his cheerful demeanor in public. He actually drinks alone every night. Once his hometown of Jinzhou is occupied by the Japanese, he'll definitely be restless and want to go back to the Northeast to join the volunteer army. If no one is there to stand in front then, I might be exposed."

“Okay, I’ll try my best to talk to him. I should have tried to get closer to him.” Jiang Yun nodded in agreement, but her expression was not relaxed.

"He has a daughter, right? You can try to persuade him with family ties, and Gao Junxiao will help you too," Qingcheng patiently suggested.

"Wow! With his help, this will be much easier," Jiang Yun exclaimed in delight.

Wu Hao looked at Qingcheng: "It seems everything at home has been arranged. You'll be away studying for at least a month before you can come home, and it's very likely..."

"I know, everything is arranged." Qingcheng interrupted Wu Hao and replied with great certainty. The wedding was a major event in her life, but the expenses were related to the future of the entire Soviet area. The relative importance of each was self-evident.

After listening, Wu Hao lowered his head and smiled. He said helplessly, "Let me finish. How can a wedding be without a bride? What I mean is that your loved one will have to do the hard work of decorating the venue."

“Actually, there’s another male comrade going to the Fourth Bureau with you. Because you were busy with the labor movement and couldn’t get away, he went a week earlier than you. In case of a delay, you can give him all the materials you’ve prepared for your wedding.” Jiang Yun explained, “The bride can’t disappear, otherwise no matter how you explain it, it won’t make sense.”

Wu Hao patiently added, "Furthermore, do you know how many eyes are watching your wedding? Not to mention the socialites on the invitation list, there are also people like Xu Qiao and Dai Yunong who aren't on the list, all waiting for you to mess things up. If you're exposed, what will happen to your undercover comrades?"

"I was too reckless." Qingcheng's face flushed slightly. As everyone's superior, she had a responsibility to be accountable to her comrades online.

“Xiao He, we’re a team. If there are any difficulties, we won’t let you shoulder them alone. It’s just that doing revolutionary work inevitably means neglecting your family. I hope you can work on Gao Junxiao’s mindset in the future; he’ll understand,” Wu Hao said softly.

Reminded by her comrades, Qingcheng thought of Yingqi. She hurriedly told her comrades the information she had obtained from Yingqi, and at the same time took Wu Hao's work notebook and drew the strange pattern on it.

"Could it be something that confirms Zero's identity?" Kiyosumi said, pointing to the pattern.

Jiang Yun's face suddenly darkened. He glanced at Wu Hao before continuing, "It's no longer necessary. Zero's true identity has been basically confirmed. He is my missing cousin, the traitor Nine Ears. He impersonated a captured comrade and used our rescue operation to infiltrate the Soviet area again."

In the Soviet area, while the traitor was unconscious, Cai Tou compared a burn scar on his chest. At first glance, it looked like a typical torture wound, but upon closer inspection, he discovered that beneath the burn layer was a deformed, elongated scar, about the width of a dagger.

Cai Tou guessed that Nine Ears had applied a branding iron to cover the knife wound on his chest. Of course, this alone was not enough to confirm his identity.

Jiang Yun took a deep breath: "Because that traitor, like me, is a mirror image. On the coal truck, I didn't stab his heart, but his lungs. Lung damage and tuberculosis symptoms are almost identical, so he could impersonate Comrade Zhang who suffers from tuberculosis. On the contrary, this time when the scorpion kidnapped him, it stung his heart."

Huh? That's outrageous. A bitter taste welled up in Qingcheng's heart again; the real Lao Zhang was probably in grave danger. His reputation might even be affected by Nine Ears' impersonation.

The reason why Zero instructed Xie Gaosheng to murder the military doctor is quite simple: the military doctor probably discovered the wound in his lung and also discovered his secret of being a mirror image.

Kiyosumi quickly chimed in, "That's perfect! If we dig deeper, there might be more spies, even higher-ranking ones. At least two top spies have infiltrated by impersonating others, and I don't believe that only these two fabricated identities."

“That’s normal. Zero isn’t the first undercover agent, nor will he be the last. As long as the Nationalist government’s anti-Government stance remains unchanged, there will be a steady stream of agents entering the Soviet area.” Wu Hao closed his work notebook. “We’ll study the pattern later. Xiao He, if you don’t have anything else to do, we need to start applying makeup. We can’t be late.”

"Okay." Qingcheng took a French passport from Wu Hao. It had a forged photo on it, which was quite difficult to make up.

The two were making tense preparations inside the house. Gradually, their oriental features were concealed. In the end, Qingcheng put on a pair of tortoiseshell glasses, while Wuhao put on a brown curly hat, making them look like a Western couple.

“Remember, from now on we are a French couple here in Shanghai looking for business opportunities,” Wu Hao said in French, then gentlemanly opened the car door.

“Of course, sir,” Kiyosumi replied elegantly in French.

The car arrived at a quiet street lined with plane trees. The familiar street made Qingcheng look out, and sure enough, the Gao family's gate flashed past the window. She guiltily covered half of her face.

Thankfully, the car continued driving forward, leaving the villa with the fountain far behind, and Qingcheng finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Before long, a white three-story French-style house came into view, with lush green ivy covering the walls. However, it was surrounded by a tall black fence, so the style of the main entrance could not be seen, giving it a quiet and secluded feel.

Even without Wu Hao's introduction, Qingcheng could guess that this was the location of the Fourth Bureau of the Far East Intelligence Department of the Comintern.

A young man in a suit waved at the car. He had beautiful green eyes and light camel hair, and looked like he was from Northern Europe.

The young man opened the car door and said in fluent Chinese, "You've arrived, please come in."

A hint of doubt flashed in Wu Hao's eyes, but he still asked in French, "Do you speak French? We are Mr. and Mrs. Belland, invited by the homeowner, Mr. Charlie, to attend the salon."

The young man immediately switched to German: "Um, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I've mistaken you for someone else. I heard that you two have lived in Germany before, so you should be able to speak German, right?"

“Yes. What is your name?” Kiyosumi replied in German.

“I am Mr. Charlie’s secretary. My surname is Aristotle, but you can call me Jack. Mr. Charlie is currently chatting with some guests from Germany. Please remember to switch to the German channel.” Jack gestured for them to continue.

Wu Hao smiled noncommittally, then deliberately propped up his elbow and clearly and knowingly put his arm around her.

The two were then led to the back garden, which was covered by a huge trellis. Bunches of grapes hung naturally, their sweet fragrance wafting to their noses. Under the grape trellis, curtains fluttered, and a group of men and women were engaged in lively conversation around a white wooden table.

Kiyosumi glanced around but didn't see any Asian faces, which was different from what she had imagined. Kiyosumi had thought their first meeting would be in the office, but it turned out to be a salon meeting.

As Qingcheng and Wuhao approached, a well-mannered, tall European man walked over with open arms: "Oh, my friends, you've finally arrived."

“Good afternoon, dear Charlie.” Wu Hao gave him a warm hug; the two seemed very familiar with each other. “This is my wife, Phil.”

The man's gaze fell on her, and he smiled and shook hands with Qingcheng as if they had known each other for a long time: "It's an honor to meet you, beautiful Ms. Fei'er. You are even more elegant in person than in the photos."

Charlie's hands were warm and soft, and his smile was very friendly, making people feel instantly good about him. He introduced the Brenands to the people present, saying that they were businessmen from Marseille, France, who wanted to do some small business in China.

Everyone stood up to greet the new guest. Charlie patted the plump lady next to him and introduced her: "Miss Smedley is the correspondent for the Frankfurter Zeitung in China. She has a fiery temper, and even I dare not offend her."

Charlie's introduction was somewhat playful, eliciting a chuckle from the crowd. Miss Smedley rolled her eyes at him: "You're right, I'm a complete troublemaker, especially a smooth-talking gentleman like you. I'll spare no effort in creating trouble for you."

Charlie feigned surprise: "Oh, should I be afraid? Or should I seek an alliance with the Resistance?"

“You probably won’t have the chance.” Smedley turned around and extended her hand to Kiyosumi. “My dear, please call me Agnes. I’d like to establish a women’s alliance with you first. Would you be willing?”

“I’d be delighted. I look forward to causing you some beneficial trouble.” Kiyosumi winked slyly as she shook his hand.

After shaking hands with Wu Hao, Smedley laughed loudly, "Hahaha, Charlie, I like her."

"Alright, I'll express my deep affection later." Charlie then introduced a tall lady, "Miss Teltz, her brother is a military advisor at the Nanjing Radio Institute, and of course, she herself is also a very excellent electrical engineer. The handsome officer behind her is Hans, also a military advisor in Nanjing. They are an enviable couple."

The couple had typical Germanic features. During the brief moment of shaking hands with them, Kiyosumi noticed that Miss Tertz was wearing an emerald ring on her left hand. Westerners tend to be particular, and according to German custom, she should be engaged.

Before Charlie could introduce her, Smedley pointed to a well-dressed middle-aged man and introduced him: "This is Mr. Henry, our Mr. Charlie, who is rich but foolish. He is the most valued economic advisor. He knows the market rules in Shanghai like the back of his hand. Many top tycoons like to consult him. He is a real number magician."

Henry nodded slightly to Qingcheng and his companion, his gaze revealing a hint of scrutiny, which was quickly replaced by a polite smile. He spoke in German with a slight American accent, "It's a pleasure to meet you both. I hope your adventure in Shanghai will be fruitful."

“And there’s our Mr. Haddon, the young medical doctor. He has a private clinic on Nanjing Road. If you want to have a baby quickly, go see him; it might work wonders.” Smedley once again beat Charlie to the punch, preventing him from speaking. Charlie helplessly pursed his lips and looked into the distance to ease the awkwardness.

As the only person of color on the field, Haidem spoke fluent German: "Agnice, don't talk nonsense. My clinic is co-owned with others, and my specialty is not assisted reproduction, but infectious and prevalent skin diseases. I came to China to investigate prevalent tropical diseases of the East."

After hearing him rattle off a long string of unfamiliar words, Smedley wrinkled her nose and said, "Good heavens, you're using words we don't understand again. Please switch back to human language."

"Don't worry Agnes, the gorilla won't understand what he's saying either." Charlie finally found an opportunity to speak and couldn't help but tease Smedley again.

"No, gorillas can understand human speech. I keep three gorillas in my lab." The upright Haidem, whether he didn't understand or was doing it on purpose, his serious words caused everyone to burst into laughter.

During the break, Jack brought the juice tray to everyone, making sure everyone got some: "Ladies and gentlemen, have a glass of lemonade first. It's all juice that I squeezed myself."

Unable to refuse their hospitality, Qingcheng and Wuhao exchanged a glance, holding their cups but not drinking immediately. Any acidic substance could ruin their facade, so what was Chali thinking? There were outsiders here.