In a restaurant near Hubu Street in Wuhan, Miao Yongyi sat with a cup of coffee in his hand, took a sip, and looked out at the flow of people.

Nearly two months have passed since they began their mission to find Miyahara Ryohei. They expanded their search area, checking all the nearby neighborhoods, but this man has vanished without a trace, like a drop of water disappearing into the ocean.

Miao Yongyi and his team members' patience had also been worn down.

Sitting opposite him, Qiu Zishi glanced at his watch and said, "Captain, the mission is making no progress. It seems we can't complete it. The Japanese are almost at the city gates. I heard that the telecommunications personnel evacuated yesterday. Do you think we should evacuate too?"

Miao Yongyi also sighed. The Battle of Wuhan had been going on for several months, with both the Chinese and Japanese sides deploying millions of troops to fight each other and suffering heavy losses. However, they had not been able to stop the Japanese advance. It seemed that Wuhan would have to be abandoned, and his trip to Chongqing was inevitable.

As for the task of finding Miyahara Ryohei, Ning Zhiheng didn't have much hope. Judging from the current situation, there was a high chance that Miyahara Ryohei had left Wuhan, and his current efforts were futile.

However, as the captain and the one carrying out the mission, he couldn't discourage his subordinates, so he said softly, "We don't need to rush. We're all alone with no ties. Once the evacuation order is given, we can get on the vehicle and leave. But we still need to continue the mission. Maybe there will be another chance in the end."

Qiu Zishi nodded and didn't say anything more. He reached into his pocket and took out a pack of cigarettes, intending to smoke one to relieve his fatigue. But when he opened it, he found that there was only one cigarette left. He looked at Miao Yongyi.

Miao Yongyi smiled and said, "You don't need to give way to me, I don't smoke anyway."

Qiu Zishi chuckled, put the cigarette in his mouth, lit it, took a deep drag, stood up and said, "I'm going to buy a pack of cigarettes. I'll be changing shifts soon, and I can't stand without cigarettes."

After saying that, he left the restaurant and walked quickly toward a small shop not far away.

"Shopkeeper, two packs of Hademen, please!"

"Okay, here you go!"

After taking the cigarette and handing over a banknote, Qiu Zishi turned to leave, but at that moment, a man walked in from behind, and the two bumped into each other.

"I'm so sorry, I really apologize!"

Before Qiu Zishi could speak, the man opposite him apologized repeatedly. Seeing that the other party was very polite, Qiu Zishi didn't take it to heart, waved his hand, and stepped out of the small shop.

The man's voice came from behind: "Shopkeeper, please get me a long hemp rope, the kind that's specially packaged."

Qiu Zishi suddenly stopped in his tracks. In the brief moment he had passed by, he had glanced at the other man without paying much attention. But now it suddenly dawned on him that the man's appearance bore a striking resemblance to Miyahara Ryohei in the photograph!

Miao Yongyi sat in the restaurant for a long time without waiting for Qiu Zishi to return, and he couldn't help but feel anxious. The intelligence agents were very strict about time management, and they had a plan for what to do at what time. Now he and Qiu Zishi should be going to relieve the other two agents. Qiu Zishi must have been delayed by something.

Miao Yongyi stopped waiting, got up and left the restaurant, and walked quickly toward the nearby shops. However, he did not see Qiu Zishi in the shops. Just as he was about to ask the shopkeeper, he saw Qiu Zishi walking briskly from another direction.

Miao Yongyi quickly went up to him and asked, "Is something wrong?"

"We've found our target!" Qiu Zishi said excitedly in a low voice.

Miao Yongyi was overjoyed upon hearing this. He nodded in acknowledgment, and the two returned to their nearby car, started the engine, and soon arrived at the foot of an office building.

"It's right here. I ran into the target while buying cigarettes at the shop. I've confirmed it's him, and then I followed him all the way here," Qiu Zishi said, pointing to the office building across the street.

Miao Yongyi looked at the office building and said with relief, "We already checked this place last time. It seems we overlooked it. I didn't expect you to be so lucky. It's like finding a needle in a haystack!"

"Captain, you stay here and keep watch. I'll go gather the others. We can't let him get away this time!" Qiu Zishi said.

"good!"

That evening, at Ning Zhiheng's official residence, Miao Yongyi handed Ning Zhiheng a document containing investigation materials.

"Found it?"

Ning Zhiheng took the materials, glanced at them, and immediately perked up, asking a question.

Miao Yongyi said with a smile, "Found him. Miyahara Ryohei, using the alias Lü Huaqing, works as a clerk at a company called Maochang Trading Company on the third floor of this office building."

I applied for the job six months ago, and the timing was perfect. I'm single, so I rented an apartment nearby. We've already set up surveillance points and are monitoring me day and night.

Ning Zhiheng put down the materials in his hand and said with satisfaction, "Yongyi, you have the most important thing for a professional agent, which is perseverance. Never give up until you achieve your goal. These two months have not been wasted. Well done!"

Ning Zhiheng always encouraged Miao Yongyi. He knew that Miao Yongyi was quite capable, otherwise he wouldn't have been among the top students in his class at the Whampoa Military Academy. What he lacked was experience. As long as he gave him the opportunity, he would grow very quickly.

Hearing Ning Zhiheng's praise, Miao Yongyi was overjoyed. He said with a smile, "Actually, it was all luck. We checked that company once, but Lü Huaqing, also known as Miyahara Ryohei, had a sudden illness and rested for a long time, so we overlooked it. You were right, we took ninety-nine steps and were just one step away from finding it. Fortunately, we found it in the end!"

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