Chapter 189 I Went Mad During the Republic of China (5)
Zhou Jue squatted down, rolled up his trouser leg, and found a small package wrapped tightly in oilcloth tied to his calf with a cloth strip. She carefully untied it, opened the oilcloth, and found two thin strips of paper inside.
"This intelligence was obtained at the cost of 'Thrush's' life." 'Steel Nail's' voice lowered, filled with profound grief.
“She was the highest-ranking comrade we had planted within the Japanese Special Higher Police in northern Hebei. Three days ago, she was exposed; in her last contact, she transmitted these two pieces of intelligence.”
Zhou Jue held the two light pieces of paper, yet they felt incredibly heavy. She could imagine how the comrade codenamed "Painted Eyebrows," after being exposed, protected this secret in the face of torture and death, and ultimately delivered it out.
"The first one!"
Steel Nail's eyes became extremely solemn: "We have a traitor within our ranks! The intelligence intercepted by Thrush shows that this traitor handed over a list of our underground comrades to the Special Higher Police. However, the Japanese are very cunning. They did not immediately arrest him, but instead planned to play the long game and catch a big fish. They want to use this traitor to uproot our entire intelligence network in northern Hebei!"
Zhou Jue's heart sank. A list meant that countless comrades would face the danger of exposure and sacrifice. Although the Japanese were not making any moves, they must have already deployed spies around them. If the intelligence was not sent out, more comrades would be exposed.
"Who is the traitor?" Zhou Jue asked.
Steel Nail shook his head, his face full of pain and resentment: "I don't know. Comrade Huamei sacrificed herself before she could find out. All she knew was that this traitor's code name was 'Cuckoo'."
Du Juan, Zhou Jue memorized this code name.
"What about the second intelligence report?" Zhou Jue suppressed his anger and continued to ask.
"The second document is about a top-secret military operation plan of the Japanese."
Steel Nail's breathing became rapid. He gripped Zhou Jue's wrist tightly with astonishing strength: "Hua Mei has learned that the Cherry Blossom North China Garrison is planning a large-scale military operation. They plan to use the pretext of a soldier's 'disappearance' at Lugou Bridge southwest of Beiping in early July to force entry into the city for a search. If refused, they will use this as an excuse to launch a full-scale attack!"
Zhou Jue's mind went blank, as if he had been hit hard by a heavy hammer.
In early July, a soldier went missing in Wanping City...
Isn't this just like the Marco Polo Bridge Incident?!
Those few lines of text in the history textbook had now transformed into a bloody intelligence report, vividly presented before her.
She always thought it was a sudden, premeditated invasion, which is why we were unprepared. Little did she know that before the incident occurred, some of our comrades had already uncovered the enemy's plot and risked their lives to send the message out!
Looking at the note in his hand, and then at the dying steel nail in front of him, Zhou Jue had an uncontrollable thought: In the original history, did the steel nail die here? So, this top-secret intelligence that could have given advance warning ultimately sank without reaching Old K or Yan'an?
"This intelligence must... must be delivered to Old K immediately!" Steel Nail coughed up blood, but his eyes burned with a final glimmer of light.
"Tell him to immediately notify the 29th Army in the city and have them prepare for battle! At the same time, report to Yan'an immediately! The Japanese are about to make their move! They're about to launch a full-scale war!"
"How do we hand over the work?" Zhou Jue asked.
“Go to Beiping, to Xizhimen, and find a teahouse called ‘Juyuande’. Every afternoon at three o’clock, there will be a gentleman wearing a long gown, gold-rimmed glasses, and holding a copy of the ‘Beiping Morning Post’ drinking tea by the window. Go over to him and ask, ‘Sir, is this newspaper today?’ If he answers, ‘The newspaper is yesterday’s, but the tea is freshly brewed,’ then he is Old K.”
Steel Nail finished speaking in one breath, as if he had exhausted all his strength. Now he could only gamble that this woman who had suddenly appeared was really a member of the organization!
Zhou Jue memorized the intelligence and handover method, then bent down, preparing to carry the steel nail on his back.
"What are you doing?" Steel Nail looked at her warily.
"I'll take you away." Zhou Jue's answer was simple and clear: "I'll find a place for you to settle down."
"no!"
Without a second thought, Steel Nail refused, pushing Zhou Jue away agitatedly: "I'm dying! In this state, I'm just a burden! I'll drag you down! Intelligence! Intelligence is the most important thing! You go! Don't worry about me!"
"I can save you." Zhou Jue was telling the truth. With the spiritual spring water and modern medicine, she would never allow any comrade to die in front of her.
"I said, no!" Steel Nail was as stubborn as an ox. He took out a dagger and held it to his neck, his bloodshot eyes staring intently at Zhou Jue.
"If you take me away today, I'll die right in front of you! People like us, from the day we joined, our lives aren't our own! It's worth it to use my worthless life to help my comrades prepare in advance! Go now!"
He roared, blood seeping from his neck. His unwavering determination to sacrifice everything for his beliefs deeply moved Zhou Jue. She admired his spirit of self-sacrifice, truly, from the bottom of her heart.
but……
Looking at his tragic "I'll die if you don't leave" expression, Zhou Jue was at a loss for how to react.
A troubled and conflicted expression crossed her face. She sighed and said, "Alright, take care. I will definitely complete your mission."
Seeing that she had finally "come to her senses," Steel Nail smiled with relief, and the grip on the porcelain shard loosened: "Go quickly... tell the comrades for me... I... did my best..."
Before he could finish speaking, Zhou Jue's figure suddenly loomed large in front of him. Then, a numbness shot through the back of his neck, followed by an irresistible force. His vision went black, and he completely lost consciousness.
Zhou Jue withdrew his hand and easily caught the limp body.
"Sigh, they really forced me to do it." She muttered to herself, then with a thought, she put Comrade Steel Nail into her spatial storage.
Before setting off, she took some time to renovate her space.
The first Starry Sky Box was specially divided into small individual rooms, each a few cubic meters in size, lined with soft mats, kept at a constant temperature and humidity, and filled with oxygen. It was specifically designed to "carry people" in emergencies, especially to rescue wounded comrades.
As for the third secret box, she placed it in a large open space, intending to use it to store Japanese soldiers for easier interrogation.
Zhou Jue looked at the steel nail lying on the mat in the single room, and then ordered the system: "System, keep an eye on him for me, let him get a good night's sleep, and don't let him wake up and cause trouble."
[Okay, host, vital sign monitoring is now activated. Please rest assured.]
Zhou Jue clapped his hands, "Done."
Having done all this, without further delay, he sped off towards Beiping.
The night was as dark as ink, and a lone starlight streaked across the sky.
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