Confucian Temple Crisis
The old Ximen, originally called "Yifengmen", was one of the city gates of old Shanghai and a well-known prosperous area in the Chinese-controlled area. The streets were crowded with people, and trams could only travel slowly here, creating a unique scene of people and vehicles traveling together.
Taiheng Lane is a typical old Shikumen alleyway with 72 tenants. Factory workers, dockworkers, company accountants, and post office typists are all residents here. The entire alleyway encapsulates the everyday life of ordinary people in a big city.
As expected, a place where all sorts of people mingle is the best place to hide. Li Sheng, dressed in plain clothes, sat in Yongmaochang, eating glutinous rice balls while thinking, and at the same time, he cautiously observed Taihengli across the street through the glass window.
Li Sheng's aggressive interrogation earlier was aimed at gaining more initiative. But Zhang Fengzi is truly a madman; he'll pester you relentlessly, pretending not to understand any excuses you make, and even going so far as to assure you that he won't steal credit, he just enjoys the feeling of making arrests.
Heh, I don't believe you for a second! However, Li Sheng really didn't have a particularly reasonable reason to send him away. There was nothing he could do; if he wanted to be the vanguard, so be it.
On the way to apprehend the suspect, Li Sheng and Zhang Chong agreed that they would each lead a team to guard the two ends of the alley. Li Sheng specifically chose the back alley, which was full of connections, while Zhang Chong would guard the front alley, which was closer to the main road.
After all, if the G Party runs away, it's because the terrain is too complicated and they are one step ahead. You can't blame me for not working hard, right?
At that moment, the glass door opened, and one of the scouts ran into the store to report that the target had been identified and Zhang Chong's team was ready to move in. Li Sheng remained calm, continuing to eat his glutinous rice balls. He told his men to be patient, explaining that the Red Team members were all agile and that if there was any danger, the CC team should go first while they observed the situation and focused on guarding the back alley.
Li Sheng felt he had to be a step behind. Since Zhang Chong's team was unsure which room the Red Team members lived in, Zhang Chong personally detained the traitor and made him recognize his face. If the traitor recognized his former teammate, CC agents would secretly follow him.
After confirming the building number and entrance of the person's residence, quickly surround the front and back doors. Then, find a junior agent to pose as a small vendor or post office worker and go to check if the person is home under the pretense of delivering something. If the person is home, the agents below will swarm in and make the arrest.
After calculating the time, they should surround the target. After finishing the last sip of soup, Li Sheng wiped his mouth. He needed to show his face at the scene, so he couldn't be too obvious about not doing his job properly.
As Li Sheng strolled leisurely down the alley, Zhang Chong's team rushed in, causing a commotion of chickens and dogs barking and making a racket.
A moment later, CC's men brought out a young man. The young man struggled and said, "Boss, you've arrested the wrong person. I'm just a vegetable vendor. I haven't broken any laws."
"The boss wouldn't mistake you for someone else. You've been betrayed by your former teammate Huang Gui." Li Sheng said loudly from the side, pretending to be gloating. In fact, he wanted to remind the red team members who hadn't shown their faces yet that anyone who recognized Huang Gui should hide.
Zhang Chong, who was bringing up the rear, scolded, "Li Ke, why are you wasting your breath talking to the Communists?"
Li Sheng smiled slightly and magnanimously remained silent. The red team member appeared helpless, and Zhang Chong didn't resort to force, easily catching him in the kitchen. However, Li Sheng knew that feigning weakness was a psychological tactic.
Zhang Chong, who was walking at the front, was still immersed in the joy of capturing the G party members. Little did he know that when the team member passed by the tailor shop at the street corner, his cuffed hands made a complicated gesture, which seemed to be some kind of code.
The old master who was originally operating the sewing machine suddenly turned sharp-eyed, his eyes darting around as he whispered something to the apprentice beside him. Li Sheng pretended to be blind and didn't see it, and silently found a sturdy cover.
Just as the Red Team members being escorted were only 5 meters away from the escort vehicle, several masked gunmen suddenly sprang out from the crowded throng and opened fire on the CC members, killing several agents on the spot.
Several quick-thinking team members immediately drew their guns and returned fire. Amidst the flashes of gunfire, the Red Team member who had been detained leaped several meters into the air and escaped their control. Just as the team members were about to give chase, the enemy's firepower concentrated again.
For a moment, the pressure of the fire was so intense that people couldn't lift their heads. On the other hand, Li Sheng, having anticipated the attack, had already taken cover behind a bunker and was happy to be a spectator.
However, he vaguely felt that something was wrong. Huang Gui seemed to have said earlier that Lao Ximen had more than one member. It was not like Zhang Fengzi's style to be so high-profile just to catch a grassroots member.
Before Li Sheng could think it through, Zhang Chong shouted at him, "Li Sheng, stop daydreaming and lead the team to chase after them!"
Li Sheng reflexively drew his sidearm, his relaxed nerves tightening again. He couldn't let this madman see any flaws. He quickly organized the investigators to spread out and encircle the area.
But the flow of people here was just too great, and cars were slower than oxcarts. In desperation, Li Sheng snatched a bicycle from a passerby and chased after it. Zhang Chong followed suit and snatched a bicycle as well.
The two ran side by side, chasing a tall teammate against the cold wind. Before their target had turned a few corners, Zhang Chong suddenly pounced and swiftly pinned the tall teammate to the ground. Li Sheng was stunned by the series of actions. Zhang Chong was mostly in charge of giving orders; he was such a dedicated person.
However, the opponent was no slouch either. With the gun pointed at his forehead, the opponent used his tall and muscular physique to forcefully twist Zhang Chong's wrists with both hands, turning the gun in an instant. Bang! The bullet went as expected.
Zhang Chong fought back fiercely, repeatedly striking his opponent's ribs with his elbows. However, his opponent's resistance was beyond his expectations. Even in pain, the opponent showed no intention of letting go, and the two became entangled like a twisted rope.
Faced with absolute power, the Secret Service's training is insignificant.
Bang—bang—
Bullets sparked golden light as they grazed the concrete. Li Sheng raised his gun and fired, but several shots missed. This wasn't because of his poor marksmanship; it was because you were all too close and were afraid of accidentally hitting someone. It certainly wasn't to make the scene more realistic.
As Li Sheng sprinted past, the tall team member easily broke free from the not-so-strong Zhang Chong, snatched the gun, grabbed Zhang Chong by the neck, and pulled him backward.
"Shoot! Shoot now! He'll get away if you don't!" Zhang Chong shouted hoarsely at Li Sheng, still working even while being held hostage.
madman!
"Shut up, you're a newbie, what use is a dead man?" Li Sheng wanted to finish off Zhang Chong in one go, but there was always a loophole when the bullet came out of his own gun barrel.
The three remained locked in a stalemate when suddenly the man pushed Zhang Chong aside and darted into the alley. He was incredibly fast and knew the area well, so Li Sheng chased after him until he was completely disoriented.
After circling around several times, he still lost track of the person. Li Sheng pretended to have exerted too much effort and leaned against the wall, panting heavily. He glanced at Zhang Chong's movements out of the corner of his eye, but Zhang the Madman didn't say a word. He just looked up and carefully observed the structure of the alley.
“We’ve lost him. Stop looking. He won’t show himself unless you leave,” Li Sheng said helplessly.
"Why didn't you fire just now?" Zhang Chong asked coldly.
Li Sheng was too lazy to answer such a stupid question. He turned his back and picked at his ear, but Zhang Chong kept complaining in his ear that the big guy was probably the captain of the third team.
She looked like a new bride scolding her husband. Li Sheng was disgusted by his own thoughts. His wife was virtuous. If Zhang Chong were like that, he would rather stay single.
However, this person had memorized the physical characteristics of several cadres from the Third Section, and it was likely not just the Third Section, but also all the cadres who had ever appeared at the Shanghai Station. Li Sheng felt he should re-evaluate the extent of Zhang Chong's madness, and a murderous intent began to rise within him...
"Report, the third line has been confirmed. The CCP is hiding in the back street of the Confucius Temple." The CC team members who suddenly rushed out interrupted Li Sheng's action of taking out the lead wire.
"Lead the way," Zhang Chong said expressionlessly.
Li Sheng roughly guessed that Zhang Chong's plan was to "stir up trouble" first, to confirm whether there were any Communist Party members here, and then use a staggered tracking technique, sending a new batch of team members to chase after each street corner. The people being tracked would easily become complacent, thinking they had shaken off their tails, while the spies could trace back to the stronghold and wipe them out in one fell swoop.
When they arrived at the back street of the Confucius Temple, the members of both teams were armed and ready to defend themselves, having secretly surrounded a bungalow.
From the outside, the bungalow is hidden among the trees and the view isn't great, but for the people inside, the street below has an unobstructed view, making it a truly secluded place.
His scouts rushed over to report to their superior. Inside the two-story house, there were about seven or eight Communist Party members. Apart from one woman, the rest were all young men. It could be determined that this was a safe house for the Red Team. The Communist Party had originally had a lookout post, but they had already taken it under their control.
After hearing this, Li Sheng froze on the ground like an ice sculpture, his mind a complete blank. The oppressive atmosphere around him made him extremely uncomfortable. Zhang Chong might have brought more than just one or two squads today; the situation was dire.
Under Zhang Chong's organization, the third-line team members, disguised as postmen, attempted to go upstairs and knock on the door to probe. Just as Li Sheng was about to send his men to guard the back door, a suspicious figure caught the team members' attention.
Before Li Sheng could even see the man's face clearly, his teammates rushed forward and tackled him, twisting the man's arm behind his back.
The man cried out in pain, but the team member did not let go. He pressed his knees against the man's waist and loudly asked, "What's your name? Who's online?"
What's wrong with the people in CC? Li Sheng pushed through the crowd and saw that the man was an old man over sixty years old, with white hair and beard, and his tattered cotton-padded jacket was full of patches. He looked like a poor laborer, but he looked familiar. Li Sheng felt like he had seen him somewhere before.
The old man, his voice trembling with tears, pleaded, "Boss, boss, you've arrested the wrong person! I'm just a rickshaw puller. Someone called our dealership to order a car, that's why I came here."
The team members lifted him up and pressed him to tell which auto shop he wanted. The old man said it was Lisheng Auto Shop near Xiaoximen. There was indeed such a shop nearby.
"Enough of this nonsense, let go! You guys are too scared to face a group of young men inside, yet you're out on the street bullying an old man. Your Section Chief Zhang really knows how to teach his subordinates!" Li Sheng spoke up to stop them.
CC's members were used to being arrogant. Li Sheng opened his eyes and looked closely. He suspected the old man was a member of the Communist Party. Based on the principle of "better to kill the innocent than let the guilty go free," he was ready to shoot the old man at any time. As he spoke, he even pulled out a gun and threatened Li Sheng.
Instantly, more than a dozen guns were pointed at the rioting CC team members, forming a standoff. The reconnaissance team were all regular soldiers, and they were not to be trifled with. Who told them to threaten their own superiors?
Zhang Chong, who had just finished making his deployment, also heard the strange noise. He walked over with a stern face and said, "Section Chief Li is joking. The Communist Party is everywhere. From an eighty-year-old man to an eight-year-old child, anyone can be their liaison. It's impossible to guard against them."
“According to Section Chief Zhang, why not just arrest everyone breathing on the street? That would surely uncover a lot of CCP members. Even without a plan, there’s a plan, right?” Li Sheng said sarcastically with a straight face. “Or we could just kill innocent people and report it. The numbers would look good.”
Neither side's officers were willing to back down, and the situation became increasingly tense. Zhang Chong's eyes flickered, and he suddenly grabbed the old man's hand to examine it carefully. It was a pair of hands covered with thick calluses, especially the tiger's mouth and the first and third joints of the little finger, which were indeed marks left by pulling a cart.
"See? He's just a coachman. Let him go." Li Sheng pulled the old man behind him. He had always disliked the CC team members for abusing their power and taking advantage of the situation to bully ordinary people.
"Don't point your guns at your own men." Zhang Chong waved his hand, and the CC team members lowered their guns first.
Under the bright sunlight, Li Sheng slowly spoke: "Let it go—it's still the same, you have to send someone to test the waters, and my people will guard the back window."
"Whatever." Zhang Chong casually tossed out a few words and went back to the front lines to oversee the battle. Li Sheng breathed a sigh of relief and waved for his men to guard the rear window. Fortunately, Zhang the Madman had no interest in anyone outside the Communist Party.
The old man bent down behind him, looking humble. His eyes were a little teary as he excitedly grasped Li Sheng's hand to express his gratitude. However, his calloused index finger brushed across Li Sheng's palm in a seemingly rhythmic motion. Li Sheng was startled and suddenly remembered that this old man was Comrade Xiao He's personal chauffeur, or rather, her personal courier.
So it really is one of us! Perhaps seeing that he didn't understand, the old man gestured in his palm again, and Li Sheng then noticed that the old man had written a single word: Abandon.
What to abandon? To abandon the arrest, or to abandon the plan to let the old man go? Li Sheng was completely confused and wanted to ask more questions, but suddenly his whole body felt like it was being struck by lightning, and he instinctively grabbed the old man and dodged behind a stone pillar.
Just as they took cover, the spot where the two had been standing was hit by a bullet. The CC member diagonally in front of them didn't have time to dodge and his head was shattered by the bullet.
Braving the hail of bullets, Li Sheng quickly glanced around and saw that the bungalows in front of him were already covered by fire. Bullets were kicking up dust from the asphalt road. It seemed that their probing had failed and they had begun a full-scale assault.
His blood and qi surged, and he wanted to find a way to save his comrades, but the old man held his wrist tightly and shook his head slightly. The old man was saying something, but the gunshots were too loud, so Li Sheng could only guess from his lip movements. The old man wanted to say: "I can't save them."
Why? He was one of the leaders of the action team, he could... Hah... He was completely exhausted. The exclamations of the scattered people pulled Li Sheng back to his senses. It was a foregone conclusion that his comrades would be arrested. If he rashly stepped forward, not only would he not be able to save his comrades, but he would also be suspected.
He had to save his own life, he had to remain undercover, and find a suitable opportunity to help his comrades again. Moreover, if Zhang the Madman were to escalate the war further, civilians would likely be injured by stray bullets.
Gunshots rang out all around. Li Sheng understood why Comrade Xiao He had specifically asked the courier to remind him. After bidding farewell to the old man, he returned to his current task—to arrest members of the Communist Party.
The pungent smell of burning asphalt made people nauseous. Li Sheng covered his mouth and nose as he weaved through the hail of bullets. There seemed to be a lot of weapons in that small building. Zhang Chong had already sent three groups of men to charge, but they hadn't taken it down yet.
“You can’t just charge in like that. They’re shooting from upstairs; they have a geographical advantage.” Li Sheng found Zhang Chong behind cover and carefully analyzed the situation.
"So what? We'll run out of bullets eventually, and then none of them will be able to escape," Zhang Chong said confidently.
Having no other choice, Li Sheng could only resort to provocation: "Yeah, if a few more ordinary civilians die and it's counted as part of your spoils, then you, Section Chief Zhang, will be all high and mighty."
“We’ve already set up a perimeter. Stop complaining and come up with some ideas,” Zhang Chong retorted.
It must be admitted that Zhang Chong is one of the few people who use their brains to work. Of course, he didn't mean it well. As arrogant as he is, he just disdains that his achievements have been inflated. Li Sheng then said, "Find a few people to go outside and light some braziers and find some blowers to blow the smoke up to the second floor."
Zhang Chong, who was standing next to him, was half-believing and half-doubting, so he asked someone to do it. Sure enough, someone couldn't hold it in anymore and ran to the window while coughing. As soon as the person jumped out of the window, he was handcuffed and taken to the car.
"Well done." Zhang Chong rarely praised anyone.
But Li Sheng couldn't laugh. He replied coldly, "We specialize in arresting people. If you didn't have some skills, how could you do this job?"
In order for the people to return to normal life, he had to act quickly. Under the cover of smoke, Li Sheng's reconnaissance team joined forces with Zhang Chong's team to launch a fourth assault. The two teams swarmed up the long, spiraling staircase.
The people inside weren't stupid either; they hid behind the door and fired in secret. Back and forth they went, and the spies didn't gain any advantage. Li Sheng and Zhang Chong hid in the hall on the first floor and could only observe the battle through the gaps in the spiral staircase.
Suddenly, the people upstairs threw out several metal lumps.
Li Sheng's mind raced. When he widened his eyes and saw what was coming, he reacted almost instinctively, grabbing Zhang Chong's collar and running towards the door. He then jumped and lay down on the spot!
boom--
With his head buzzing, Li Sheng felt a scorching heat wave pass by his back, accompanied by a powerful gust of air. It felt as if he had been slapped hard on the back by a bear, and he suddenly spat out a mouthful of hot blood.
The violent explosion shattered all the doors and windows, scattering glass shards everywhere—a scene no one had anticipated.
As for the spies who went upstairs first, without exception, they all went to the underworld.
How could this happen? The comrades ultimately chose to perish with the spies. Li Sheng weakly rolled over; the second-floor window appeared as countless double images. He pressed his lips tightly together, swallowing all the sobs mixed with the taste of blood, and facing the window, silently repeating, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."
A wave of pain washed over him. Li Sheng, his eyes red, glared at the unconscious Zhang Chong. Kill Zhang the Madman! Kill him!
A powerful belief helped Li Sheng sit up. His trembling hand had just pulled the safety lever when everything went black and he collapsed to the ground.
In a daze, Li Sheng heard the pattering of raindrops, one after another. He was too lazy to care about the weather outside. Even if someone told him that what he saw at night was the sun, he would accept it, because he could no longer distinguish whether he was in darkness or light.
At that moment, Li Sheng sensed someone approaching step by step. Who? No one answered. The person beside him remained silent, only the eerie breathing grew closer and closer…
Fear of the unknown drove him to struggle against the darkness with all his might. Finally, a blinding halo flashed by, and he uncomfortably shielded his eyes with his hand. The striped hospital gown he was wearing indicated that he was in a hospital.
A chorus of gasps rose from the surroundings. Secretary Wu was the first to appear, followed by some of his subordinates. They glanced out the window; it was pitch black, devoid of any color. Was it already evening?
After examining Li Sheng, the doctor who was called in said that he had suffered a slight internal organ concussion from the aftershock of the bomb and would be fine after a few days of observation in the hospital.
Seeing that Li Sheng was not seriously injured, his men began to talk about the day's search. It turned out that the place was a weapons depot of the Communist Party, but unfortunately, it had been almost completely destroyed. They couldn't even collect all the bodies, and only two Communist Party members who had jumped off the building and were injured were taken away.
Zhang Chong woke up earlier and visited Li Sheng. Seeing that he was still unconscious, she ignored the doctor's advice and insisted on being discharged from the hospital to go back to work.
Li Sheng was not surprised by Zhang Fengzi's behavior. He now felt a deep self-loathing. He felt responsible for the deaths of his comrades today, as he had driven them to their deaths. Ironically, he couldn't save those he wanted to save, but ended up saving those he didn't want to save.
"I'm sorry, visiting hours are over. The patient needs to rest." A doctor wearing a mask pushed a medical cart into the ward.
At Secretary Wu's request, all his subordinates left the ward. Secretary Wu then thoughtfully closed the ward door, intending to stay outside.
Everyone had left, and the pungent smell of disinfectant grew stronger in the closed ward. The doctor was making clanging noises, preparing something, but Li Sheng didn't care. He stared blankly out the window, where it seemed to be raining.
"Ah~ What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Section Chief Li, once you're healed, remember to treat me to a meal so I can share in your good fortune." The doctor suddenly sighed, her clear, feminine voice ringing out.
Recognizing that the doctor was actually Kiyosumi in disguise, Li Sheng retorted, "Heh, I almost died at the hands of my own people, do you want to share in that kind of good fortune?"
To ease the oppressive atmosphere, Qingcheng joked, "We got hurt by our own people, and now the National Government has to foot the bill and pay for our treatment. All things considered, we didn't lose out this time."
Li Sheng was amused by Qingcheng's optimism and laughed a few times. Then his face darkened and he boldly suggested, "We should fight back."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
