Night Visit No. 24
Chapter Thirty-Four: A Night Visit to Number 24
The waning crescent moon appeared and disappeared in the thin mist, making the night sky, devoid of stars, even more profound and mysterious. In the distance, the lights of countless homes shone warmly in the spring breeze, while nearby stood mansions with red bricks and white walls. Occasionally, a stray cat with gleaming green eyes would dart across the empty path, but then all life was gone.
A passerby wrapped in a coat appeared from around the corner, walking steadily forward step by step on the stone bricks against the evening breeze. At this moment, a red light flashing in the darkness opposite caught her attention. She raised her head and half of her delicate face was revealed under her wide-brimmed hat. It was He Qingcheng.
In the darkness, the man leaned against the wall, smoking; the red dot was the faint glow of his cigarette. Realizing the cigarette-wielding driver was the contact, Qingcheng glanced left and right at both ends of the alley to make sure no one was following her before boldly approaching and asking, "Master, is this Wu's Car Rental?"
The other person didn't answer but carefully examined Qingcheng. He slowly exhaled the last smoke ring, threw away the cigarette butt, and extinguished the red glow with the sole of his shoe before slowly speaking: "Hmm, someone booked a rickshaw. It has a canopy and will be used at night."
The man in front of her seemed to be deliberately lowering his voice, which carried a strange sense of vicissitude. Qingcheng was pretty sure this man was a colleague sent by Wu's car dealership, so she immediately took out half a cigarette from her jacket pocket and handed it to the man, indicating that this was her tip for the evening.
"Damn it, Old Liu is such a pain in the neck, all he got as a tip was a cigarette butt. What a load of crap, is that supposed to be a beggar's pay?!" The man cursed, tucking half a cigarette behind his ear. "Young man, how can I help you?"
He swaggered under the streetlight with his hands in his pockets, and Qingcheng could then see that the man was wearing a car dealership uniform over a patched cotton-padded jacket, and his face was covered with a scarf. Strange, why cover his face? She didn't even know him; was it really necessary? Qingcheng's heart pounded; she was starting to doubt whether this man was reliable.
But since things had come to this, she had no other choice. She took out the floor plan she had drawn beforehand and told the man where the sentry posts were. She would sneak into 24 Ferguson Road at 10 o'clock to help him clear the area in advance.
The man nodded, pulled a gun from his waist, and asked, "You want a 'canopy'? The question is, do you know how to use it?"
"Even if you haven't eaten pork, you've still seen pigs run, right? I know that's a Ma brand pistol, a small-caliber one for self-defense." Qingcheng reached out to take it, but the man dodged her.
The man clicked his tongue in displeasure: "Tsk, so young, yet so arrogant!"
"Comrade, either give it to me or don't. I'm on a mission, don't waste everyone's time," Qingcheng said firmly, frowning.
"How dare you be so arrogant towards your senior? Then I'll have to teach you a lesson, called 'If you walk too much on the dark road, you'll encounter a ghost.'" Suddenly, the muzzle of a gun was pressed against Qingcheng's head.
The man's face was covered, so his expression couldn't be seen; only his cold gaze could be vaguely discerned in the dim light. Qingcheng looked at the contact person with a puzzled expression, dismissing all sorts of speculations in her mind, and could only wait for the other party to speak again.
The two were locked in a stalemate. The man seemed to feel that his intimidation was not enough, so he slightly twitched his thumb and pressed the safety button. His cold eyes revealed a playful meaning, as if he was trying to find out what Qingcheng's next reaction would be.
Time ticked by, and Qingcheng glanced at her watch out of the corner of her eye, inwardly cursing the other person for being a lunatic. How could the organization absorb someone like this?
Since force didn't work, she tried a softer approach. Qingcheng clenched her fist and forced a smile: "Comrade, this is my first time doing this kind of mission, I was too nervous. I apologize for my attitude just now. I'm sorry, I didn't know the rules. You are a senior and a magnanimous person, please don't hold it against a newbie like me."
"But I can't hear any sincerity in your words. Who did you come from? Don't you know how to teach yourself manners?" The cold muzzle of the gun bumped against Qingcheng's forehead, making her head throb.
"Wu's Car Dealership, senior, I promise I'll learn the rules properly from now on, please let me go." Qingcheng looked at the man with feigned grievance, but in her heart she was annoyed by the man in front of her. He kept rambling on and on without getting to the point, and he was still talking about the difference between superiors and inferiors. What an idiot.
"Young man, do you usually treat your colleagues and friends with this kind of two-faced attitude?" the man asked coldly.
"So, do you usually point guns at your friends' and colleagues' heads?" Qingcheng could no longer hold back her emotions and retorted sarcastically. When had she ever suffered such humiliation?
"Ha! Your flaws are just as prominent as your strengths. Give my regards to Comrade Lenin." Without warning, the man pulled the trigger...
There was no gunshot as expected, but a soft "click"—his gun was empty.
Sweating profusely, Qingcheng recovered from her shock and barely managed to support herself against the wall. She was now absolutely certain that the scoundrel in front of her was playing a trick on her. She was furious and wanted to go to the car dealership to complain about him, but then she suddenly realized that she didn't know his name.
"What, have you forgotten my name? Or did you not even ask?" The man spoke in perfect Mandarin as if he could read minds. "Just because I swore a few times when I came in, you despise me for being low-class and don't even bother to ask my name. Have you thought about that?"
After calmly reflecting on it, Qingcheng realized that what he said was indeed true, and that she had indeed been arrogant with preconceived notions. She dared not be negligent any longer, and clasped her hands in greeting, asking, "I was blind to your greatness. May I ask what your honorable name is, senior?"
"You'll know when the time comes. Remember, the only consequence of losing control of your emotions is death. I've 'killed' your temper for you this time; from now on, you'll have to manage it yourself," the man lectured as he loaded the magazine.
"Thank you for the reminder. As the ancients said, death can be as light as a feather or as heavy as Mount Tai, but I believe in materialism. When a person dies, they are dead. They will never see Comrade Lenin again. Ghosts and gods are just idealistic talk." Kiyosumi smiled briefly, the swirls on her cheeks disappearing in an instant. She was still somewhat unconvinced.
"Haha, our belief in materialism doesn't mean idealism is wrong. Idealism can also drive social change, so we should look at it dialectically. We'll discuss it properly next time. Here's the Miss Kara you wanted." The man said, pulling a small, exquisite camera from his cotton-padded coat pocket. Miss Kara actually meant a portable camera.
Kiyosumi, holding a camera slightly larger than a matchbox, complained, "Senior, is this Kara Baby? Can't you just give me the toy... Can I take pictures with this? There's no viewfinder. I'm afraid to turn on the lights later. Is there a flash?"
"It has all the functions you want. Miss Cara went through so much trouble to give birth to Baby Cara, and you're treating her like this. Miss Cara must be so upset she'll cry." The man joked, then suddenly changed the subject, "You don't know what you're missing! This is a German-made reconnaissance camera. I'll teach you how to use it."
He handed the reconnaissance camera to Qingcheng and patiently taught her how to use it, also giving her some basic firearms knowledge. Before leaving, the man reminded Qingcheng that this was an experimental testing camera, so its flash was not very sensitive and sometimes delayed; also, the 135 film only had 36 exposures, and Qingcheng needed to learn to prioritize and only photograph the most crucial documents.
After Qingcheng turned the corner, the man took off his cotton-padded coat and turned it inside out, instantly transforming it into a thick woolen overcoat. He then took off the coachman's vest, revealing a white short jacket underneath... The waning moon had completely disappeared into the twilight. The night wind carried a withered leaf, which tumbled in the air and drifted down with the rain.
Inside the room, several young men dressed in black Zhongshan suits were sitting around a table. Some were smoking and counting their chips, some were spitting into their palms, and some were vigorously shaking the dice. With a shout of "Open!", the man with the highest score became the dealer, and the others took turns drawing cards.
Just then, there was a knock on the door. Upon hearing it, the men immediately put down the dominoes they were holding, reached for their sidearms, and the leader gestured to the person closest to the door to open it, while the others quietly lay in ambush on either side of the door.
As soon as the door opened, a gentleman dressed in a neither-Chinese-nor-Western style stood with his hands behind his back. He smiled, revealing eight upper molars, which was quite comical. Everyone paused, immediately put down their sidearms, and the leader even warmly put his arm around the man's shoulder, but a hint of suspicion flashed in his eyes: "Oh, a rare guest, Mr. Wang, why are you sweating so much?"
"Please excuse me, Captain Liu. I was freezing from the rain. I just finished work and got home when it started pouring outside. I saw your lights were on and thought I'd come up and rest for a bit." Wang Renyong wiped his face and pulled out a large cloth bag from behind him, which looked quite heavy. "Don't say I didn't bring a gift. How can we play cards tonight without some good wine?"
"Hehe, my benefactor, welcome, welcome! We've just started this game of Pai Gow, why don't you join in and gamble a couple of rounds?" Captain Liu's eyes were full of surprise as he became even more enthusiastic towards Wang Renyong. The young man under his command also eagerly took the cloth bag, opened it, and saw a whole bunch of green wine bottles. He swallowed hard.
"No, if I lose money, my wife will scold me again when I get home. But why is it Captain Liu on duty today? Didn't you take the day off to be with your mother?" Wang Renyong took the hot towel handed to him by another underling.
Captain Liu, standing nearby, waved his hand and replied, "What's the use of asking for leave? They said if there's a mission, you have to go back to your post, otherwise you're not allowed to do it. Turns out it's a trivial matter. I'm working as a security guard in the building across the street now."
"Huh? Captain Liu of the First Action Team is working as a security guard? Are you being modest or lying to me?" Wang Renyong's face clearly showed disbelief.
Captain Liu's eyes were bloodshot, and he yawned helplessly: "For people like us who only get a fixed salary, our superiors are our bread and butter. If they ask us to look after their brother's house, who would dare not do it?"
"Captain, do you want a drink or not? We're still on duty." The young man under his command was still a bit hesitant.
Captain Liu raised his hand and slapped the young man on the back of the head, cursing, "You idiot, can't you even understand three or four? Of course, it's the older brothers who are drinking. You keep an eye on the other side and report any situation immediately."
"Oh dear, don't be so harsh on a little person. Give him a bite; I brought plenty," Wang Renyong said, acting as a good mediator.
"Go away, take it. Get back to work." Captain Liu impatiently tossed a bottle of liquor to the young man. The young man happily caught the bottle, looking somewhat envious at the others drinking and chatting, while he picked up his binoculars to continue his surveillance.
"What were your superiors thinking, making you a security guard? It's like using a cannon to kill a mosquito!" Wang Renyong said with some regret, while helping the young man open a bottle of unshaken beer and pour it into a glass. The young man gratefully took the glass and immediately took a small sip.
"It doesn't matter. The night shift allowance is alright. I don't care about titles anymore. What's the point of being a security captain or an action captain? Getting paid is the only thing that matters." Captain Liu mumbled through his cigarette as he continued playing dominoes.
“Captain Liu is a wise man, I admire him. That makes sense. As for Captain Wu from your third team, he went to the countryside to get engaged as soon as he received his bonus.” Mr. Wang chatted with Captain Liu.
"What? That Ah Wu has no skills whatsoever, he's just a debt collector. That beast even drove his mother out onto the street to save money. How could he possibly have the money to get a wife?" Captain Liu's tone was full of disdain for Captain Wu as he spoke, touching his cards to try and get some points.
Wang Renyong suddenly feigned a slip of the tongue, saying, "You didn't know, did you? I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I spoke out of turn."
"Brother Wang, you're getting tired of this. Don't just say half of what you mean." Captain Liu tossed a pair of dominoes into his hand.
"This is a family matter for your CC, and outsiders shouldn't interfere. Just pretend I didn't say anything. Hey, is your 8th mother's illness better yet?" Wang Renyong tried to change the subject.
“Much better. I also want to thank you for introducing a doctor to my mother. So, what’s the relationship between us? Tell me properly. What’s the situation with Team Three?” Captain Liu stared at Wang Renyong, refusing to let go.
After a few back-and-forths, Wang Renyong reluctantly said, "While you were on leave, the Third Team arrested a high-ranking CCP official, I think it was some boss surnamed Gong. He's already been extradited to Nanjing. The higher-ups gave him a huge bonus. Can you believe how lucky they are? Everyone in the circle is incredibly envious."
"Site, is the cloth shop owner surnamed Gong who is Da Wan? What about our operation data from last year? Who did you give it to?" Captain Liu asked, pointing to the young man playing cards across the street.
"Captain, I've filed all the operations from before the New Year in the archives," Da Wan replied.
"The archives, huh? I heard that Captain Wu's cousin works in the archives, and he was recommended to CC by his cousin," Wang Renyong casually revealed.
Seeing that Captain Liu's face was getting darker and darker, Wang Renyong pulled him aside and advised, "Hey, Lao Liu, don't be impulsive. Calm down. Think about it, being a security guard is at least safe. You can make money while sitting down. Captain Wu also faces life-threatening situations when arresting important people. They don't make money so easily. It's hard-earned money."
Upon hearing this, Captain Liu was so angry that he flipped the table and stood up, scattering the dominoes all over the floor. He roared, "Damn it! What a painstaking job! I've been following the line for so long, just waiting to wrap it up, and he's gotten away with it! Brothers, someone has stolen our credit and bounty! What are we going to do?"
"Get him!" the other henchmen shouted in unison.
"Don't go, you're on duty. He just got in through the back door, what can you do?" Wang Renyong "kindly" advised.
"So he has a back door? We have one too. Brothers, let's go to his house and teach him who the leader of the action team is." Captain Liu left two of his less senior subordinates behind, and the rest of the team followed him downstairs in a grand procession.
Wang Renyong also chased after him downstairs, but after a while he sighed and went back upstairs, as if he was blaming himself for not being able to persuade Captain Liu.
The young man who was looking through the binoculars, perhaps grateful for Old Wang's previous kind advice, said, "Mr. Wang, it's alright. Our Captain Liu just has a bad temper. Besides, it was indeed the Third Team that acted unfairly. It has nothing to do with you."
"You have a good attitude, young man. What's your name? I haven't seen you before." Mr. Wang had gotten up at some point and was already holding a wine glass, swaying to the young man's side.
"My name is Xiao Wan, and Da Wan is my older brother. The other one is A Qi. We've only been here for two months," Xiao Wan replied simply.
"Xiao Wan, A Qi, everyone has worked hard. I feel bad watching you all busy. Since I was the one who asked first, I'll watch the room for you for a while." After Wang Renyong's repeated requests, his two underlings could only let him watch the room for a bit.
Through the drizzle, Wang Renyong noticed a subtle change in the light on the second floor across the street compared to before, realizing they had reached the second floor. The rain today was bad for surveillance; he hoped they could make the most of this opportunity.
In the living room on the second floor of Xu Xi's mansion, Qingcheng and Song Li stood on either side of the decorative fireplace. Song Li shone a flashlight on the fireplace to give it a general idea. It was a typical decorative fireplace, without a chimney, with a circle of carved European-style wood patterns around it, and colorful glass mosaic tiles covering the center.
At first glance, there really wasn't anywhere to hide anything. Song Li tapped along the bricks again, but they all made dull sounds. Song Li whispered to Cheng, "Are you sure this is the place?"
“I’m sure. My eyeballs are spot on. The fireplace is almost parallel to the bedroom door, but on the floor plan, the fireplace and bedroom door are at a 45-degree angle. That means there’s almost an extra square meter of space behind it!” Qingcheng added. “You were injured here last time too. And I saw Zhang Lulu head straight for the second floor.”
“I checked, and his electricity bill is indeed abnormal. Xu Xi is often away filming, and he doesn’t have a live-in nanny, so the electricity bill shouldn’t be this high.” Song Li, who was standing next to him, glanced at the decorative fireplace, turned off the flashlight, and instructed, “I’ll go to the bedroom to check Xu Xi’s safe. You go to the study and look for the hidden door mechanism. Be careful with the windows, and it’s best to avoid them.”
Xu Xi's villa was only two stories high and not very large. The study on the second floor faced north, and it was a bit cold to stay there at night because of the rain. Qingcheng rubbed her hands together, hoping to warm them up.
This was her first time in this study. The curtains were drawn, and the light was poor. The wall next to the fireplace was the same wall with the bookshelves. Qingcheng turned on her flashlight and shone it across the dazzling array of bookshelves. Adam Smith's *The Wealth of Nations*, Walras's *Elements of Pure Economics*, and even an English translation of *Capital* were there.
Qingcheng was so shocked that she couldn't close her mouth. She never expected that Xu Xi would read "Das Kapital" and to openly put a red book on the bookshelf. Only Xu Xi in all of Shanghai would dare to do that. Then she thought that he was probably doing it to disgust his older brother.
Next to it were comic books and martial arts novels. Qingcheng wasn't surprised by these. Some books were clearly just there to fill space, with a thin layer of dust on their spines. He probably hadn't even read them after buying them. There was also a small four-petaled flower carved in the lower left corner of the bookshelf.
At this moment, Kiyosumi sensed something amiss. She went back and looked at it carefully again. She noticed that the spine of one of the books was slightly raised compared to the others, revealing a thin white edge, indicating that something was tucked inside.
Cheng Gan smiled, put on white gloves, carefully opened the book, and pulled out something tucked inside the spine. It was an old photograph with three people in it, all dressed as women.
Is this some kind of prank show?! Qingcheng squinted and tried to identify the person on the left who was laughing and making a peace sign. The one on the right with a restrained expression seemed to be Chen Yao. Hehehe, Brother Chen looks pretty good in women's clothing. He has a feminine appearance, so he looks especially good in women's clothes.
The person in the photo had particularly exaggerated makeup that made people want to laugh, but she felt like she'd seen that smile with eight upper teeth somewhere before. She couldn't quite place it, though. Below the photo was a line of small print: "Commemorative photo from the graduation party of the first class of Huangpu Military Academy."
It was five years ago, but Xu Xi was a student in the second class of the Whampoa Military Academy, Chen Yao was an instructor, and only the person in the middle was a student in the first class. Of course, he could also be Xu Xi's classmate who happened to be performing. Qingcheng put the photo back into the spine of the book and continued looking for the mechanism on the bookshelf.
There were a few drawers on the bookshelf. Suddenly, a loud crash caused one of the drawers to slip and nearly fall to the ground. Qingcheng was startled and quickly caught it. Then she noticed a thin green book stuck to the bottom of the drawer, with the title "Complete World Map" written on the cover.
The reference book was hidden so well; something was fishy. Upon opening it, Qingcheng immediately covered her eyes, silently chanting in her mind, a mix of emotions: "Don't look at what you shouldn't see, don't look at what you shouldn't see." Qingcheng cursed those lewd men inwardly for their obvious attempt to cover up their filth, then blushed and stuck the green booklet back on. She needed to process how she would look Xu Xi in the eye afterward.
After all that fuss, there was nothing to be found in the study, and she was exhausted and panting. Qingcheng turned off the flashlight and slumped into a chair, weakly pulling out a floor plan of the second floor from her pocket. Outside, the rain was pouring down, probably a heavy downpour.
She had searched everything movable on the fireplace, but where was the hidden door mechanism? The darkness and silence made her mind exceptionally clear. Zhang Lulu had come alone, so only one person needed to operate the hidden door mechanism.
They were having a salon downstairs at the time, and Qingcheng didn't hear any loud noises, only the sound of Zhang Lulu's high heels and something like dragging. Then Zhang Lulu's footsteps disappeared for a few minutes.
Yan Yan got injured when she was touching the decorative patterns on the fireplace, which triggered a remote alarm.
Thinking of this, Qingcheng no longer wanted to waste time in the study. She immediately opened the door and went to the decorative fireplace, whose outer frame was carved with grapevine decorations and unknown four-petaled flowers.
Wait a minute, the remote alarm indicates that this mechanism is very likely to be electric, and the probability of it being an electric switch is high. Kiyosumi immediately took out a compass from the drawer in the study, and finally, on a spot where a four-petaled flower was carved, the pointer started spinning wildly.
Qingcheng was secretly delighted. She thought that if Zhang Lulu was operating two places at the same time, she could only look within the distance between her outstretched arms. Moreover, Zhang Lulu was much shorter than her, so her arms must be shorter as well.
She estimated that Zhang Lulu's reach was within this area, deduced the range, and then Qingcheng found another identical four-petaled flower on the other side. She dared not press it directly, for fear of triggering the alarm.
Suddenly, Qingcheng remembered seeing a similar pattern while searching the bookshelf. She went back to the study and tried it, and sure enough, it could spin freely. However, the pattern was slightly raised than before. With a thought, she used both hands to pry the pattern off.
Behind the pattern was an electronic component with two wires, one red and one blue. One was presumably an alarm, and the other an electronic door. The technology below was beyond Qingcheng's capabilities, so she quickly called her cousin to take a look.
Upon seeing the exposed wires, Song Li immediately gave Qingcheng a thumbs up. Qingcheng then explained the electromagnetic changes on the fireplace to her cousin. Song Li ran to the fireplace, grabbed some tools, and fiddled with them for a long time before finally managing to peel off the two decorative patterns.
After comparing the three sets of components, they all belonged to the same circuit, but it was unclear whether they were connected in series or in parallel. Qingcheng thought to himself that Xu Qiao was indeed a mechanical and electrical engineer. If this alarm switch were widely adopted, he would earn no less than Nobel.
Song Li seemed to have seen this kind of thing before, and began cutting the wire with ease. Qingcheng was both excited and worried at the moment. She was afraid that if her cousin's hand trembled, the alarm would suddenly go off. The thunder and lightning outside exacerbated her anxiety. She held a flashlight behind her cousin, her heart feeling like it was about to jump out of her chest.
A very faint "click" came from inside the fireplace. The sound of this mechanism would be easy to miss during the day, but late at night, with no one around, the sound was exceptionally clear in the empty room.
A hidden safe was spun out from the half-wall of the fireplace covered in glazed tiles; no wonder there was no hollow echo. Song Li pushed it hard, and it was exactly the dragging sound Qingcheng had heard earlier—it matched perfectly. Immediately afterwards, Song Li pulled a medical stethoscope and a thin, long metal tool with a hook at the end from his bag.
The sight of this display made Qingcheng hold her breath and could only watch in disbelief. It was the first time she had ever seen such technology, and she was incredibly shocked. She wondered how a doctor's stethoscope could be used like this, and what was that long little hook? Was it for unlocking locks?
Time ticked by, and sweat beaded on Song Li's forehead. Finally, after a deathly silence, she opened the safe. Inside, there were many documents and a box-like object. According to her cousin, it was a small wire recorder with a tape inside.
"Go to the bathroom on the first floor, pull the shower curtain, and then take the photos. Use this." Song Li tidied up the documents and handed them to Qingcheng, along with a standard karaoke machine, before sending her downstairs.
These documents contained what she had been dreaming of. Qingcheng readily agreed, but she did not go downstairs immediately. Instead, she stopped on the corner staircase.
She also wanted to hear what secrets Xu Qiao had that she had to record and save.
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