Shadow of Spies

Propelled headlong into the relentless currents of history, Ji Yu finds himself transplanted to the tumultuous prelude to WWII.

Once an ordinary civil servant in his modern existence, Ji Yu i...

Chapter 301 Decisive Evacuation

Ding Dahai himself had met Ning Zhiheng in person. After searching extensively, he finally found an old group photo of Ning Zhiheng in a photo studio near the Army Officer School yesterday and promptly sent it to Kawaguchi Ryosuke, the liaison officer of the arrest team.

Ryosuke Kawaguchi was unaware of Ding Dahai's concealed identity, and Ding Dahai was also unaware of the exact location of the arrest team. The two only met at fixed locations and times, which was, of course, due to the requirement of secrecy, to prevent the other from having the possibility of escaping if one of them had a problem.

He estimated that the arrest team should take action against Ning Zhiheng soon, and he was waiting for his next meeting with Kawaguchi Ryosuke.

Although Ding Dahai did not know the exact location of the arrest team, he always met with them in the north of the city. Kawaguchi Ryosuke should not have traveled a long distance to meet with Ding Dahai, so Ding Dahai had always judged in his mind that the arrest team's location should also be in the north of the city.

Now that he heard about such a major incident in the north of the city, his heart skipped a beat. Could it be that there was a problem with the arrest team? He had to find out the truth immediately in order to determine the next course of action.

So he forced himself to suppress his anxiety and asked, "In Nanjing, right under the emperor's nose, people still dare to engage in gunfights. They're really not afraid of death. Have the guys at the branch office found out anything?"

One of the police officers chuckled and stepped forward, whispering, "There's no need to investigate at all. I heard that the Military Intelligence Investigation Bureau issued a notice to the branch office there early this morning, saying that this is one of their arrest operations targeting Japanese spies."

Japanese spies! Ding Dahai had no more hope left. The only Japanese spies currently on mission in Nanjing were the eight members of the arrest team.

He decided to go to the scene of the incident himself to see if he could find any clues.

He dismissed his men, telling them to continue gathering information, while he himself rushed back to his home, changed into ordinary coarse clothes, and headed to the scene of the incident.

When they arrived at the dilapidated courtyard, they could see from a distance that the gate was sealed off with a large seal, and many uninformed citizens were pointing and talking about it around the courtyard.

"This is Old Cheng's dilapidated courtyard. Look at what it's become! I heard there's blood everywhere inside. Who would rent a courtyard where someone died? Old Cheng has lost everything this time."

"I told you, don't just rent your house to out-of-towners. Who knows what these people do? And look what happened, the police came knocking on our door!"

"How do you know they're police? They look like soldiers. Last night I heard gunshots like firecrackers. I peeked out of the yard and saw a huge crowd of people outside. They were even carrying several corpses out of the yard. I was so scared I didn't dare breathe."

"The police came this morning, didn't say a word, just put up a seal and left. Maybe it's something."

Hearing the whispers around him, Ding Dahai's heart sank. If what these people said was true, and there really were so many people surrounding the courtyard, then with the few men and guns of the arrest team, not a single person would be able to escape. Among them was Kawaguchi Ryosuke, whom he had contacted before.

Among the arrest team, only the liaison officer, Ryosuke Kawaguchi, had contact with him and knew his appearance. He could not guarantee whether Ryosuke Kawaguchi was alive. If Ryosuke Kawaguchi was not dead, could he withstand the torture and not confess?

Ding Dahai was secretly calculating in his mind. The current situation was extremely bad. This operation to capture Ning Zhiheng had completely failed, and the entire team had been wiped out. He himself was also facing the possibility of being exposed. Should he prepare to retreat?

But after spending so many years lying low, isn't it a waste? What should I do?

Ding Dahai was weighing the options in his mind when he saw a man standing about six or seven meters away to his side.

This person was dressed like an ordinary citizen, just like everyone else, watching the excitement with curiosity, listening to everyone's discussions, and occasionally chiming in with a comment.

But his eyes subtly scanned the crowd, secretly searching for something.

Ding Dahai had a good memory, and he suddenly remembered who this person was. This was an officer from the Military Intelligence Investigation Department, one of the officers who had appeared at the welcome banquet for Police Chief Liu Datong.

Ding Dahai, who had been secretly observing them all along, naturally paid special attention to these officers from the Chinese intelligence department, and thus had some memory of their appearances.

After Huo Yueze finished his work, fearing that some spies might still have escaped, he secretly sent two of his deputies with some team members to disguise themselves and hide in the surrounding area to see if any Japanese spies would return to inquire about the situation. If they were lucky, they might be able to find something else.

It must be said that Huo Yueze was also an excellent agent, meticulous in his attention to detail and leaving no room for error. However, he happened to encounter a Japanese agent with whom they had dealt before, and the hidden sentries they had set up were quickly recognized.

The person Ding Dahai recognized at a glance was Lu Xiu, the deputy captain of the second action team, but he did not notice Ding Dahai behind him.

Ding Dahai recognized Lu Xiu and immediately broke out in a cold sweat. He had been too careless to risk coming to check the scene himself. He hadn't expected that the agents of the Military Intelligence Investigation Bureau hadn't given up on the scene but had secretly laid a trap, waiting for him to walk right into it.

We must evacuate immediately! Ding Dahai slightly turned his body to face away from Lu Xiu, then used the bodies of the nearby citizens as cover to gradually create distance, before turning around and leaving the scene with a natural expression.

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