Backstab
A few cold flakes fell from the gloomy sky, sticking to my face with a cool sensation, like rain but not rain. Perhaps the air was too humid, creating the illusion of rain. Qingcheng disregarded the principle of single-line communication and sounded the alarm for Wang Renyong's family.
After a short wait, Ai Rui Rui poked her head out. Seeing that it was a comrade, she let Qing Cheng and Li Sheng go inside first. After carefully observing the surroundings, she carefully locked the black courtyard gate.
Old Wang was nowhere to be seen inside; he must have gone on a mission. However, Qingcheng only wanted to visit Ruirui today. She composed herself and immediately told Ruirui about the information they had obtained at the Laozha Police Station: there was a traitor in the Security Department, one dead and one alive, and Ruirui needed to verify it. Qingcheng knew that Ruirui was in charge of scheduling the important security work recently.
Chen Sijin, Wang Ahong, Rui Rui kept repeating the two names, her eyebrows furrowing. Seeing that Rui Rui seemed to have no clue, Qing Cheng added that the one who died was shot in the head by Secretary Yu during the chase.
Upon hearing this, Rui Rui recalled that the situation on the day of the provincial party committee meeting was extremely chaotic, and many security personnel had died. She had participated in the cleanup afterward, and indeed, one body had been found with its head blown open in an alley. However, that body did not belong to any of our people; no one recognized him, and he was eventually buried as a spy.
Things have become a bit tricky. There's no such person at all. Kiyosumi stroked her chin, recalling the conversation in the cell. Could it be that Xiao Tang from the police commission lied?
So Qingcheng inquired about the police commission, asking if there was a young man named Xiao Tang who had served as Secretary Yu's bodyguard.
Rui Rui confirmed that Xiao Tang was indeed a member of the police commission, and that he had not been exposed. If Secretary Yu hadn't had an urgent matter to discuss with him, he could have simply worked normally and avoided the limelight, without having to go to jail.
Li Sheng, standing beside him, also said that his intuition told him that Xiao Tang should be fine. Otherwise, Secretary Yu and his subordinates would have been in trouble long ago. Why would they help to retrieve the police commission's files and help investigate the traitor?
If Xiao Tang is innocent, then the problem lies with someone who participated in the provincial party committee's security work that day, because the traitor knows the corpse but can also pretend not to.
"How many of those who participated in the provincial party committee's security work that day are still around?" Li Sheng reacted faster than Qingcheng.
“Seventeen people,” Rui Rui replied immediately.
This scope is still too broad. Qingcheng raised a key point: "How many people have been party members for three years, or less than five years?"
“About two people.” Rui Rui’s eyes showed dissatisfaction. “What evidence do you have? Those who have been in the force for more than five years are seasoned veterans, more senior than the two of you. They shouldn’t be the first to be suspected.”
Even veteran comrades change. Zhang Tianhe's party membership is more than five years old. Qingcheng suppressed her dissent and adopted a version that Ai Ruirui could accept, not rushing to follow the organization's secret internal investigation procedures. She only requested that the security work for those two be suspended first, and of course, it would be best if all seventeen people were isolated.
Those who are innocent will clear themselves. If they are staunch Bolsheviks, they will not be afraid of a small isolation, and the organization will not wrong any innocent comrade.
Suspicion is like throwing a pebble into the middle of a lake; even the smallest pebble can create ripples. Rui Rui propped herself up on her arm and paced back and forth in the room.
The problem of having lurking spies seems easy to solve; all they need to do is learn from President Chiang Kai-shek and prioritize killing the innocent over letting the guilty go free. However, all comrades in the organization are equal, and respect is very important.
Qingcheng understood her concerns and patiently persuaded Ruirui that if the older comrade was the first to be suspected, he would definitely feel wronged, which would be detrimental to unity.
If we don't find that lurking parasite, who will dare to trust their comrades? From the day the revolution was born, it revealed helplessness and compromise from the inside out, from every pore.
Extreme environments, time and again, always force our comrades to use their greatest wisdom to overcome difficulties.
Under immense pressure to survive, lofty slogans are too pale; pragmatism is the first choice. Secretary Yu will seek out his former bodyguard, Xiao Tang, and Qingcheng will take Li Sheng to find Ai Ruirui...
True idealists are not otherworldly beings, but ordinary people who need to leverage the strength of their comrades, the media, gangs, and various other forces to turn their disadvantages into advantages.
The most pragmatic approach at present is to force the suspected individuals into hibernation and observe them secretly. If there are any lurking individuals among them, we will then take strong measures to purge the scum who are undermining the great unity from the revolutionary ranks.
"Alright, let's not distinguish between old and new comrades. We'll treat them all equally. Today, let's put those seventeen comrades into hibernation." Rui Rui nodded with difficulty in agreement. After marrying Lao Wang, her head was finally not so hard-headed anymore.
"Xiao Ai, did you assign work to these seventeen people today, or let them share a room with the comrades who participated in the security work today?" Li Sheng asked immediately.
After thinking for a while, Rui Rui frankly admitted that after the attack on the provincial party committee, Ren Yong forbade her from arranging their security work.
This relieved Qingcheng and Li Sheng. Fortunately, Lao Wang shared their thoughts and made a prediction early on.
But Rui Rui raised another issue: the seventeen people were scattered in various safe houses, and if they wanted to change accommodations, they would need to ask Father Tong to arrange it, so that they could be managed together under the guise of daily rotation.
Actually, changing accommodations isn't that urgent, and we shouldn't manage them all in one place to avoid alerting them. Qingcheng guesses that Lao Wang probably wants to keep them in check, not to move until the enemy makes a move, to see who can't hold back and reveals their true colors first. The hidden danger is that they can come into contact with other comrades.
Only Li Sheng, standing beside her, looked worried: "Xiao Ai, is there an important meeting today? I suddenly feel very uneasy and uncomfortable."
"Of course he is. Ren Yong has gone too, so don't worry too much." Rui Rui's tone was full of trust when she mentioned her husband.
Hearing that Lao Wang was also there, Li Sheng's anxiety did not ease; instead, he became even more serious. He had encountered this before: a lurking spy deliberately gave his roommate a laxative in order to participate in an important meeting. The spy would then jump out to fill the vacancy and secretly contact his superiors, trying to capture all the high-ranking officials. In the end, Li Sheng intercepted the spy's plan, thus averting a crisis.
"Rui Rui, quickly ask in the name of the organization inviting doctors to conduct a survey if anyone in those seventeen safe houses has suddenly fallen ill today?" Qing Cheng grabbed Rui Rui's hand and picked up the phone.
"Get vaccinated as soon as possible! We must take any sudden illness seriously." Li Sheng stepped closer, his head practically steaming.
Rui Rui pulled out her notebook and quickly dialed the number. After several unsuccessful attempts, Qing Cheng suggested combining it with the safe houses with security personnel on duty that day to filter out even fewer numbers. Unable to help, they sat on the sofa, anxiously awaiting the results.
Rui Rui called eleven safe houses in a row, and the comrades at the safe houses all said that no one was sick that day. To be on the safe side, Rui Rui called the remaining six safe houses as well, and the result was the same: no one was sick.
It seems Li Sheng's worries were unnecessary. Li Sheng touched his chest, his face still pale, as if his sixth sense had failed him for the first time, and he felt somewhat disappointed.
However, the situation is difficult right now, and no news is good news. Qingcheng patted Li Sheng on the shoulder to comfort him. Originally, Lao Wang also requested to attend the meeting, but it conflicted with his time to meet William. It shouldn't be a big meeting; Lao Wang can handle minor issues. After all, he's the organization's ace agent.
Rui Rui also promised to go to the site later to find Ren Yong and give him a heads-up to ensure the safety of today's conference.
Ring ring—
Why is the phone ringing in the safe house? The three of them looked at each other in surprise. Rui Rui was also taken aback. She guessed that it might be Wang Renyong or Father Tong calling her with work-related issues. She picked up the receiver with a puzzled look.
"Hey, young lady, are you the woman who was just interviewed by the Organization Department?"
"Yes, may I ask who you are?"
"I'm Lao Sun, the dorm leader of Safe House 622. Actually, there's a young man in our room who's sick, but he's shy and he's embarrassed to speak up because you're a woman. Could we find a male doctor to examine him?"
Li Sheng kept beckoning to Rui Rui, who immediately said sternly, "How can you hide your illness? I'll find a male doctor to examine you, so don't hang up yet."
The phone was then handed to Li Sheng: "Hello, Comrade Sun, just call me Lao Li. What are the patient's symptoms?"
"Hello Dr. Li, it's nothing serious... It's an old problem, Xiao Tian's hemorrhoids flared up again, and he's bleeding again, screaming in pain." Old Sun only spoke up when he heard there was a male doctor present.
"How old are you? Hemorrhoids can be serious or minor; severe cases require surgery," Li Sheng deliberately emphasized.
People are always afraid of surgery, and Old Sun immediately denied it, saying, "No need, no need. He's just a young man in his early twenties with a lot of energy, so there's no need to trouble the organization. Dr. Li, just prescribe some medicine to clear heat and detoxify him."
Rui Rui pointed to the name on the notebook as a hint, and Li Sheng followed Lao Sun's lead to get information out of him: "Okay, is that comrade Tian Ping? I have his previous medical records. What very hot food did he eat this time?"
"Yes, yes, that's the kid. Oh dear, the gluttonous boy and his two roommates killed a stray dog and made dog meat hotpot. Everyone else ate it and was fine, but he's in so much pain he can't get out of bed. I've already reprimanded them and made them each write a letter of self-criticism. Things are tense right now, so they can't run around." Old Sun said firmly.
With bloodshed and chaos outside, they still have time to beat dogs! Qingcheng shook her head helplessly. No matter how well the decision-makers formulate their plans, all sorts of unexpected problems will always arise at the execution level. Perhaps the spies have taken advantage of her gluttony.
Li Sheng spoke with the air of a senior proctologist: "Oh my, no wonder. Dog meat is considered toxic, how could he dare to eat it? He must abstain from certain foods recently, avoid spicy and stimulating foods, eat a light diet, drink plenty of water and get plenty of rest. Do some Kegel exercises when you have time. I saw on the record that he has to do security work today, did he ask for leave?"
"I've asked for him. The higher-ups have arranged for the young man in the same room to take his place. They're both veterans who have served for more than three years, so please don't worry," Old Sun assured him.
She only felt uneasy about meetings that were more than three years old. Qingcheng felt a chill run down her spine, and her actions preceded her thoughts. However, she didn't know the meeting location, so she had to turn back.
Looking at Rui Rui's furrowed brows, Qing Cheng pursed her lips and gave Li Sheng, who had just hung up the phone, a bitter smile. The bad news was like a sudden cold snap, freezing the budding hope once again.
“Xiao Ai, there’s a high probability that there’s a traitor in 622. Your phone might be being tracked by spies. You can’t stay in this house anymore. Move to another safe house immediately. Also, the people in the 622 safe house should remain in quarantine.” Li Sheng said solemnly.
“Yes, now is not the time to give up. Let’s call the venue and tell them to evacuate,” Kiyosumi comforted him.
With expectant looks from the two, Rui Rui picked up the phone again, presumably to call Wang Renyong, but no one answered after she waited for a long time, and her fingers, which were gripping the phone cord, gradually turned white.
Li Sheng, standing beside her, immediately said that the current situation was unclear, and it was possible that the meeting had started and therefore the outgoing calls had been temporarily cut off. Qingcheng echoed, saying that to avoid alerting the enemy, it was not advisable to publicize it widely. Rui Rui should burn the documents in the room and then secretly leave. She and Brother Li could go to the meeting to report, otherwise, something terrible would happen.
After hanging up the phone, Rui Rui grabbed Qing Cheng's hand and said, "Please, the conference is being held in room 311 of the Kinmen Hotel. Rooms 310 and 312 on either side, as well as the three rooms across the street, have all been booked. Go to room 310 and find Ren Yong. The warning number is..."
The sky was a bluish-gray, with leaden cumulus clouds, creating an oppressive atmosphere as if iron were about to rain down. The trembling engine spun rapidly, and the car came to a steady stop in a small alley next to the Jinmen Hotel. After circling around for a while, the two of them returned to Jing'an Temple Road in the former International Settlement.
Just as the car door closed, Qingcheng was suddenly pulled by Li Sheng to the corner. Ten meters away from them, Qingcheng saw a familiar face that they could not ignore—Zhang Chong.
CC's actions were incredibly swift! Zhang Chong was still wearing that light gray Zhongshan suit, his faint silhouette almost blending into the hazy Italian-style architecture, as if the dark clouds had disappeared into the clouds.
The cunning Zhang Chong summoned his men and ordered them to dress as civilians and move around normally. He also waved his hand to remove the surrounding stakes, clearly trying to mislead our lookout comrades.
Both of them sensed something was wrong, so they took a detour to investigate the area around the Kinmen Hotel. Kiyosumi casually took out a makeup mirror, and the number of enemies reflected in the mirror was more than they had imagined.
Moreover, both ends of the alley were blocked by the enemy, so even if they went in to notify them, they couldn't evacuate their comrades. Li Sheng felt that Qingcheng underestimated him. He guessed that the level of this conference was actually very high, and even Wang Renyong was only the security captain.
"Xiao He, there's probably going to be a fierce battle soon. Zhang Chong's tactic is to trap us, blocking our escape routes from both the front and back." Li Sheng turned his head.
“Even the best glutinous rice balls have thin skins. Look, there are only three people guarding it over there.” Qingcheng pointed to a protruding window with steam coming out of a pipe above it. It must be either the hotel’s boiler room or kitchen.
"Let's sneakily poke at it." Li Sheng's lips curled slightly.
"I guarantee I'll be exposed." Kiyosumi gave an OK sign.
After a moment of silence, Li Sheng tiptoed to the window and, taking advantage of the conversation between the two junior agents, swiftly stepped forward, strangled the lone agent unconscious, and dragged him around the corner.
The other two turned around alertly, but saw nothing, including their colleagues. They seemed to sense something was wrong, raised their pistols, and walked slowly towards the corner.
One of them boldly rushed out around the corner, which was empty; it was just an ordinary alleyway. He gave his companion a safe signal, and as the tension eased, he took increasingly larger strides.
Just then, a few wisps of smoke rose from the windowsill, as if someone was secretly smoking. The daring agent lowered his gun and yelled, "Get the hell out here right now, or I'll dock your pay..."
Before he could finish speaking, he was struck in the chin with a heavy punch, spitting out a mouthful of bile. Li Sheng, who was lying in ambush, snatched the gun and swiftly sent him to meet the King of Hell.
Hearing the strange noise, the other man tried to draw his gun again, but he couldn't find it anywhere on his waist.
Snap! The sound of the gun, now silenced, was crisp and short.
Dark red blood flowed from the back of the spy's head. Behind her, Qingcheng blew on the smoking gun barrel. She and Li Sheng quickly dragged the spies' bodies into the storage yard and covered them with a tattered rag basket.
After the two finished dealing with the body, the alley returned to tranquility, as if only a gust of wind had blown by. However, the anti-theft iron bars on the window frame posed a challenge for the two. Qingcheng had not anticipated that they would have to do both dry and wet work, and had not brought any equipment such as screwdrivers.
Li Sheng stepped forward and shook the security bars, but they didn't budge. They were welded very solidly. No wonder there were so few guards; the security bars were a natural obstacle. They tried their best and struggled for a long time before finally managing to puncture the bars, but unfortunately, the comrades still couldn't escape the hotel, nor could they sneak in to report.
If I went through the front or back gate, I would likely run into Zhang Chong, which would expose me. The fog before the storm gradually eroded my joy, replacing it with resentment.
"Xiao He, can you climb stairs?" Li Sheng asked seriously.
Climbing stairs? Oh, I see.
The second floor had ordinary glass windows without railings. Qingcheng tiptoed and understood Li Sheng's new idea: first, step onto the top of the protruding platform, and then climb over from the second floor. It was a good choice.
However, the platform was narrow, so the two of them could only climb up one at a time. Qingcheng stepped on Li Sheng's shoulders and jumped lightly onto the top of the protruding platform. A large cloud of steam poured out from her hands like a flood, covering half of the window.
Even through her trench coat, Qingcheng felt the heat was scalding; she guessed that the boiler room downstairs must be the one where the water was boiled.
With her collar turned up, Qingcheng carefully avoided the cloud of steam and quickly climbed into the second-floor window. Li Sheng then smoothly climbed onto the platform and climbed in as well.
Upon entering, the two discovered it was an employee changing room, with several waiter uniforms hanging on the wall. Hey! What a coincidence! Without further ado, Qingcheng and Li Sheng immediately changed into the uniforms.
After discussing for a while, they decided to split into two groups. Li Sheng went to the boiler room to find a way to turn off the steam so that the comrades wouldn't be breathed on by the steam when they retreated later. He also wanted to check out the hotel's other exits; they couldn't be too prepared and needed a Plan B. Qingcheng went up to the third floor to inform Lao Wang to retreat.
The third floor was quiet; there were no spies in the long corridor, and no one was coming or going. It was a good opportunity. Qingcheng pretended to push a small food cart, his eyes scanning the room numbers one by one. They had arrived at 310.
Do-do, do-do, do...
The gentle knocking sounded unusually loud at this moment, and Qingcheng's purpose was also very clear: she wanted to find Wang Renyong and inform him of the retreat.
"Who is it?" A young male voice came from inside the door.
"Room service, someone has ordered hot water," Kiyosumi said slowly.
After waiting for a while, the person inside replied definitively, "We have not ordered hot water service. You have made a mistake."
Ha, what's with all this fuss inside? They can't even understand the warning signals. Qingcheng tried to communicate again: "Sir, our supervisor has confirmed with your Mr. Wang that they just need a pot of hot water. If you don't want it, please have Mr. Wang cancel the order. I'm just an employee, please don't make things difficult for me."
This time, there was a clear murmur of discussion coming from inside the room. Qingcheng stood respectfully at the door with her head bowed; anyone who saw her would only think she was a room attendant.
The door opened with a square-faced young man. He asked Qingcheng to give him the hot water, but Qingcheng couldn't leave without seeing Lao Wang. So she pretended to comply, smiling as she took out a ticket book from her original uniform pocket and asked Mr. Wang to sign it for confirmation.
"Does it matter who signs?" The square-faced youth's tone became impatient, and his face fell.
"No, our supervisor is very meticulous. He checks handwriting, just in case the order was signed on behalf of someone else. The customers won't accept it when they pay the bill later." Qingcheng said pitifully, "The supervisor will deduct it from my salary, brother, please be kind and go slowly."
"Alright, give me the notebook, I'll have Mr. Wang sign it." The square-faced young man pursed his lips helplessly.
Judging from the young man's expression, Qingcheng realized that Wang Renyong was indeed inside. Too lazy to argue with him any longer, she used the power of her shoulder to push him into the room while handing over the ticket, and locked the door with one hand.
The room was a typical suite, and the living room was silent except for the dark muzzle of a gun pointed at Qingcheng, which made the evil fire in her chest rise.
They already mentioned Wang Renyong's name, and even if the security number was changed temporarily, the way they knocked on the door before was still a special code, right? The waiter would never knock like that, how can you not understand!
Perhaps it was because Qingcheng's aura was too strong, no one in the room dared to ask a question. Under everyone's gaze, she sat down on a chair by herself and couldn't help but sneer. Just three broken tortoise-shell pistols, trying to scare people? It's far worse than the situation she encountered in the Red Flower Society in Xuzhou, where there were dozens of rifles pointed at her.
The commotion outside the guest room, especially Kiyosumi's sudden, impulsive entrance, was impossible to ignore, and noises also came from inside.
"Don't you want to live anymore? What are you doing?" Wang Renyong's loud voice was particularly loud in the silent space. In fact, he was the noisiest one. Moreover, he was holding a handful of sunflower seeds, cracking and munching on them as he cursed.
They're almost at the top, and Old Wang is still eating sunflower seeds? I overestimated him. Qingcheng beckoned to Old Wang in an unfriendly tone: "Boss~ I need to talk to you!"
Wang Renyong grinned, revealing eight upper molars. He quickly told the others to put down their guns and opened his palm to Qingcheng, showing off his black and white striped melon seeds.
Who's in the mood for sunflower seeds?! Qingcheng, exasperated, dragged Wang Renyong into the inner room and chased everyone away.
From the moment he entered the house, Wang Renyong kept talking. He assumed that Qingcheng had just finished meeting William at the Public Concession Police Station and was just dropping by.
What a joke! I've never been one to switch missions, and I have no idea where they're meeting. Wang Renyong, are you just incredibly carefree, or incredibly carefree? Qingcheng resisted the urge to smear sunflower seed shells on his face and used the fewest words possible to report to Lao Wang that they were already surrounded by CC.
After hearing the report, the smile vanished from Wang Renyong's face, and he stood there dumbfounded. Qingcheng nudged him and said, "Don't just stand there like an idiot, go and inform your superiors."
Shh—Wang Renyong glanced outside consciously, and Qingcheng's scalp tightened. Could it be such a coincidence?
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