Ning Zhiheng finished dealing with the opium investigation at 8 p.m., and Yu Cheng brought the target back once again.

"Chief, Hou Xiangchen has been brought back. We arrested him on his way home. The operation was very discreet and did not alert anyone."

Ning Zhiheng waved his hand and said, "You don't have much time. Organize an interrogation of him immediately, and at the same time, secretly search his residence. I estimate that this person holds a high position in the intelligence team. Hurry up and get him to talk."

Yu Cheng nodded and accepted the order, then turned and left quickly. However, this interrogation of Hou Xiangchen did not go smoothly. He had interrogated Ji Anmin with great ease and without any difficulty, but Hou Xiangchen was completely different from Ji Anmin. After two hours of interrogation, Hou Xiangchen still had not reported to Ning Zhiheng.

Ning Zhiheng had been resting in his office these past few days. He was getting anxious as he kept track of the time, so he got up and went downstairs to the interrogation department.

Pushing open the door to the interrogation room, Yu Cheng saw that the interrogation of Hou Xiangchen was still ongoing. He turned around and saw Ning Zhiheng's arrival, so he quickly went to greet him.

"Chief! What brings you here?"

Ning Zhiheng looked at the scene in the interrogation room. Hou Xiangchen was covered in blood and tied to a wooden stake, with a rag stuffed in his mouth. Several burly men were still whipping him, but the man's head was drooping, his face down like a dead man.

Ning Zhiheng frowned and asked, "Is the interrogation not going well?"

"Reporting to the Chief, things aren't going well. This guy is a die-hard. We've tried all sorts of torture, but he just won't open his mouth. He almost bit his tongue just now. It looks like it will take some more time."

“Impossible, you don’t have time!” Ning Zhiheng said decisively, his dissatisfaction evident on his face.

"You arrested Ji Anmin at noon today, which was already a bit abnormal. Now you've arrested Hou Xiangchen as well. By tomorrow morning, the staff of Yuanze Trading Company will definitely find out about their disappearance. We can't silence so many people. If we alert the other accomplices and they all break free, the effectiveness of this case will be greatly reduced."

"Old Yu, listen to me. Hou Xiangchen has spoken. If we find Zhang Fangwen's whereabouts, we can crack both cases in one fell swoop, which would be a great achievement for us. But if we mess this up and watch the big fish slip through our fingers, you know how much we'll lose. Don't blame me for being ruthless then."

Ning Zhiheng is now very dissatisfied with Yu Cheng. As a veteran who has always been at the forefront of intelligence, his performance is far from satisfactory. When investigating the air raid case, he ignored Yi Dong's previous abnormal behavior and missed Gu Zhengqing, an important suspect. Later, when tracking Gu Zhengqing, he missed his whereabouts, which led to Zhang Fangwen discovering him and risking to sneak into the Huaqing Hotel. She killed Gu Zhengqing right under Yu Cheng's nose to silence him and then calmly left.

Subsequent investigations into Zhang Fangwen yielded no results. It was Ning Zhiheng who painstakingly analyzed the case and located Yuanze Trading Company, which led him to order Yu Cheng to arrest Ji Anmin and Hou Xiangchen.

Even so, Yu Cheng's work is still dragging on and unclear, and he has not yet apprehended the suspect.

Ning Zhiheng couldn't help but secretly think that these intelligence agents in the rear were far inferior to those frontline agents who were lurking far away in enemy territory, their lives hanging by a thread, in terms of both temperament and attitude.

Infiltrating Japanese-occupied territory, the agents faced constant danger to their lives. A single misstep could mean no return, forcing them to be extremely vigilant and utilize all their intelligence and wit to deal with the ever-present risks around them, leaving no room for complacency.

However, the agents stationed in the rear lacked this awareness. Perhaps they were experienced and highly skilled, but fundamentally they did not take it seriously enough. There was a serious problem of laxity and reliance on others. In fact, there are many things that can be done well if one is willing to put in the effort.

No wonder that despite having the home-field advantage and ample resources, the Military Intelligence Bureau was able to thoroughly investigate Chongqing by Japanese spies over the past year, even threatening the safety of Chiang Kai-shek. In the end, they had no choice but to risk bringing Ning Zhiheng back from Shanghai to take over this mess.

Ning Zhiheng's words silenced Yu Cheng, who immediately bowed his head and loudly promised, "Don't worry, give me two more hours. If I can't get him to talk, I'll bring my head to you."

Ning Zhiheng's cold gaze lingered on Yu Cheng's face for a moment before he turned and walked towards the door.

"I've been in the office the whole time, waiting for your report!"

Yu Cheng watched Ning Zhiheng's retreating figure, his back drenched in cold sweat, feeling immense pressure. He knew Ning Zhiheng's style of doing things well. Years ago, because Yu Cheng was slow in his work, Ning Zhiheng had reprimanded him several times, and in the end, he had to ask Gu Zhengqi to plead for him before letting Yu Cheng off the hook. Now, working under Ning Zhiheng again, that feeling once again made Yu Cheng feel immense pressure.

It can be said that working under Ning Zhiheng, a superior, is a huge test for subordinates. If you can't keep up with his pace, you simply can't survive.

Yu Cheng breathed a sigh of relief and turned to the people in the room, saying, "You all saw it. If we can't get him to talk today, the Chief will blame us, and we won't be able to live a normal life from now on."

Yu Cheng showed no mercy and no longer cared about Hou Xiangchen's life, quickly putting Hou Xiangchen in the electric chair.

As the saying goes, it's easy to die bravely, and some people can resolutely choose death in a moment of life-or-death decision. However, endless torment and pain are enough to erode a firm will.

Hou Xiangchen was the same. Two hours later, when he could no longer bear the boundless pain, he finally spoke up and confessed everything.

After obtaining the confession, Yu Cheng immediately knocked on Ning Zhiheng's office door.

"Chief, Hou Xiangchen has spoken!"

"Tell me quickly!"

"Hou Xiangchen is the real Japanese spy, his real name is Inoue Takahiko, and he is the leader of the Hump Group, a Japanese intelligence team. Ji Anmin is just the lowest-ranking member. The main task of this group is to infiltrate new members into various government departments through several local spies who have been turned over. One of these members, using Ji Anmin's local connections, spent a lot of money to infiltrate the police station and become a patrol chief. Now their members have grown to nine. The list is here. There are four Japanese spies, and the rest are traitors and agents. Two of them are in the police station, and one is in the commerce bureau. They are all low-level leaders..."

"Have you found the radio station?"

Yu Cheng quickly said, "The radio station isn't in his home; it's kept in a secret room at Yuanze Trading Company. Since Hou Xiangchen has complete control over the trading company, it's not difficult for him to do this."

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