Although Li Zhiqun could not be considered a qualified politician, he was definitely an excellent agent with an extremely keen insight into intelligence work. He quickly deduced several possibilities based on Cha Yutang's disappearance.

The first possibility is that Phillips himself discovered he was being followed and monitored, so he found out the mastermind, Cha Yutang, and finally eliminated Cha Yutang and his men.

Judging from the various signs described by Liu Jianzhi, this is the most likely possibility. Otherwise, the high-ranking officials in the concession would not have made it so obvious, without even a hint of concealment. Anyone with a discerning eye could see it.

However, one thing made him suspicious. Based on his understanding of these foreigners, although they were greedy, they were not so ruthless in their methods. If Phillips was really dealing with Cha Yutang, then the most likely thing he would do was to find an excuse to dismiss Cha Yutang from his post, investigate him, and imprison him.

Given Phillips's position in the International Settlement, it wouldn't have been difficult for him to do this; there was absolutely no need to kill anyone. Such swift and decisive action was reminiscent of the tough style of Chongqing secret agents.

Therefore, after a brief thought, Li Zhiqun came up with the second possibility: Phillips was definitely involved. It was very likely that he was the first to discover the follower, thus finding out that Cha Yutang's target was the Shanghai Intelligence Section. He then contacted the Intelligence Section, which took action to eliminate Cha Yutang. Phillips then stepped in to minimize the impact of the incident.

Of course, there is another possibility: that the Shanghai intelligence department discovered that Cha Yutang was being followed and monitored, and then informed Phillips, and the two sides cooperated to take down Cha Yutang.

Regardless of which possibility it is, the result is the same: the Shanghai Intelligence Section is highly likely to be involved.

The mere mention of the Shanghai Intelligence Section gave Li Zhiqun a headache. This intelligence department was incredibly powerful and virtually omnipresent. Once they were involved, things were anything but simple.

Li Zhiqun instinctively became extremely vigilant. He felt he should start from the source of the whole incident, figure out exactly where the problem occurred, and eliminate all possibilities. Mainly, he was also afraid that the problem might have occurred at his own intelligence headquarters again.

Upon hearing Li Zhiqun's question, Liu Jianzhi quickly and firmly denied it, saying, "Director, during the time you were away, Feng Sinian was kept in solitary confinement in the backyard. The people guarding him were all personally appointed by you and were the same people who arrested Feng Sinian in Nanjing. No outsiders were ever used. I can guarantee that no one was able to contact him."

At this point, he thought for a moment and said again, "I didn't find anyone trying to approach that courtyard. By the way, only the Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics agent that Section Chief Mi, no, Director Mi, captured was later placed across from that courtyard. However, he was detained for a very short time and was sent to Nanjing not long after. But he didn't have any contact with Feng Sinian."

After listening to Liu Jianzhi's account, Li Zhiqun pondered for a long time. If what Liu Jianzhi said was true, he could rest assured. What he feared most was that there would be another mole in the Special Agent Headquarters.

Previously, Hu Yunhe emerged, and as a result, several major operations were ruined by him, causing heavy losses to the personnel of the Special Agent Headquarters.

Then Xu Yongchang appeared and directly assassinated Wang Hanmin and Fu Shengyuan. The original plan to wipe out the Northern Military Intelligence Bureau in one fell swoop failed. The extent of the losses was incalculable.

Li Zhiqun's biggest concern right now is the "mole," so when Cha Yutang got into trouble, his first thought was to conduct a self-examination and self-correction, and to find the problem from within.

Li Zhiqun instructed again: "We cannot let our guard down. Send people to investigate again. Feng Sinian used to live in Shanghai and was a broker who made a living in the black market. Go to his former residence and the black market to investigate whether anyone has been inquiring about Feng Sinian recently. If so, it means that the problem lies with Feng Sinian, which means that the problem lies within our own ranks. I must make sure that there are no problems within our own ranks."

"Yes, I'll take care of it right away!" Liu Jianzhi nodded in acceptance and left.

Li Zhiqun watched him leave before letting out a sigh of relief. After calming himself down for a while, he pondered carefully. Cha Yutang's sudden disappearance had caught him off guard, and his original plan to return to Shanghai to continue investigating the Shanghai Intelligence Bureau had fallen through.

However, Li Zhiqun knew that Cha Yutang's investigation over such a long period of time would not have been without any clues. The only thing he could do now was to find these clues, and perhaps there was still a glimmer of hope to continue the investigation.

With that thought in mind, he picked up the phone and dialed the number.

"Xingchao, come to me now!"

Soon, Luo Xingchao knocked on the door and entered, saying respectfully, "Director, you wanted to see me!"

"Yes! Sit down!" Li Zhiqun nodded and waved for Luo Xingchao to sit down. He then asked directly, "Xingchao, I heard that some time ago, Sheng Zhiyuan, the chairman of the Shanghai West Chamber of Commerce, was assassinated in the street in the concession by Chongqing agents. Did you handle this matter?"

Luo Xingchao nodded upon hearing this and said, "Initially, I took over the case. Sheng Zhiyuan was murdered near Er Ma Road in the International Settlement. I received a notification from the International Settlement Police Station to go and identify the body and investigate the scene. My initial assessment was that it was the work of agents from the Shanghai Station of the Military Intelligence Bureau. After that, we handed over the case to the police station, and I brought Sheng Zhiyuan's body back. However, as soon as I returned, Captain Wu demanded to take over the case, and his attitude was very firm. I couldn't refuse, so I handed the case over to him!"

“Wu Shicai is such an idiot! He was swindled out of all his money and went crazy!” Li Zhiqun clearly didn’t want to bring it up again, and that wasn’t the point he wanted to ask.

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