Unraveling the mystery
"Little Cannon, come out here right now! You come out here! Deng Cannon—"
The man's roar filled the entire courtyard. The temporary county committee staff stopped what they were doing and began to discuss among themselves. Who was it that dared to call Secretary Deng by his nickname? Chunmei stood on tiptoe and looked up. The man was wearing a blue-gray military uniform, holding a riding crop, and had an imposing air about him. Unfortunately, she didn't recognize him.
A comrade kindly reminded him that Secretary Deng had been interrogating prisoners all night and had just rested for a while; if it wasn't extremely urgent, he could come later...
"Prisoner? What kind of prisoner is he interrogating?" the man interrupted mercilessly, glaring angrily at the person who reminded him. "I just went to a meeting at the Central Bureau of the Soviet Area, and he detained all my soldiers. He might as well detain me too!"
A hush fell over the courtyard; no one dared to meet the gaze of the man with the thunderous voice. Only Chunmei felt uneasy. What right did he have to come demanding people? The soldier she had stabbed to death was undoubtedly one of the man's men.
Yesterday, Secretary Deng received a secret telegram from Shanghai stating that a traitor had emerged within the anti-counter-revolutionary team, and that the situation was ambiguous. Secretary Deng then detained everyone involved for centralized interrogation and investigation. There was no problem with their motives; at most, they would have to go through some procedural formalities.
A deep voice rang out: "Comrade Xia Lang, we don't detain people without cause. There are indeed some problems that need to be investigated."
All eyes turned to Zhao Fengnian, who appeared in a corner of the yard, leaning against a tree trunk. Even though his face was as pale as a sheet, the determination and confidence in his eyes still made him shine in the crowd.
Xia Lang snorted coldly, completely disregarding Zhao Fengnian, and demanded that he release the people immediately, or he would report them to the Central Bureau. Seeing his arrogant attitude, Chunmei rolled up her sleeves, ready to intervene.
Just then, Secretary Deng also came out, yawning sleepily, and joked, "You blind fool, don't you know there are bugs in your own team? I'm helping you catch the bugs, and you're yelling at me to kill them? You have no conscience."
"We, the Anti-Corruption Committee, will handle any issues ourselves; the county committee doesn't need to worry about it." Xia Lang seemed unmoved by this and remained firm in his stance.
Secretary Deng's smile faded, and he shook his head helplessly: "Comrade Xia, don't say things that are detrimental to unity. What happened last night was extremely serious and involved principles. I have already invited Comrade He Shuying from the court to come over. We will conduct the trial according to the law and let the evidence speak for itself."
It was Comrade He Shuying! Chunmei smiled slightly when she thought of that Mr. He. She felt an indescribable sense of familiarity. Everyone in the Soviet area knew that Mr. He was fair and just. He seemed serious but his words were actually witty and sharp, which made him very popular with the young comrades.
Upon hearing that the court would also intervene, Xia Lang fell silent. After a moment's thought, he requested to see one of his soldiers to inquire about the situation.
"No! The court requires us to strictly isolate those under investigation according to the law, so as not to involve unrelated people. If we interrogate a few more, Comrade He Shuying will be exhausted. You don't want to increase the interrogation time, do you?" Secretary Deng stared at the man in front of him, deftly deflecting the unreasonable request.
In an instant, Xia Lang's expression changed, and his tone softened slightly as he pleaded, "Secretary Deng, may I participate in the interrogation?"
"You can listen in from behind the window; we welcome other comrades to supervise," Secretary Deng said with a smile, dispelling his idea of directly participating in the interrogation.
Xia Lang's every attack felt like hitting cotton; his anger had nowhere to go. He kicked the tree trunk, sending down a few loose leaves.
"We'll let you know when the people from the tribunal arrive. There's no tea at the temporary office; please have some hot water first." Secretary Deng said kindly to the staff member without changing his expression, "Take Comrade Xia Lang to the reception room to rest, and then boil some water."
As soon as Xia Lang's figure disappeared around the corner, Secretary Deng immediately helped the swaying Section Chief Zhao. Their eyes met, and a worried mood spread from their furrowed brows. Chunmei was also affected and stepped forward to support her leader, her heart sinking.
Back in the break room, Section Chief Zhao said coldly, "We've only just begun our investigation, and some people are already getting restless."
Secretary Deng responded, “Their information channels are also part of our investigation. In the telegram that Comrade Wu Hao sent me, he instructed us to fight both flies and tigers, not to feel burdened, and to resolutely crack down on anyone who forms factions or cliques or acts as a protective umbrella for illegal activities. We are Bolsheviks, not outlaws.”
"It's tough!" Section Chief Zhao sighed and closed his eyes, seemingly exhausted.
"If it weren't difficult, why would we be assigned to handle it? I only returned a little over half a month before you, and I was immediately presented with a mountain of problems as soon as I took office. There were accusations of unfair land reform and cadres leading the smuggling of public grain. We grassroots comrades dared not speak out, and the masses were even more upset. There was even an old man who knelt in front of me begging me to uphold justice. When I heard that, my head exploded. Poor peasants were given barren land, and rich peasants were given fertile land. What kind of distribution is this?" Secretary Deng said indignantly.
Oh, is there such a way of dividing land? It's inevitable that village officials will seek benefits for their own relatives, but Chunmei's family of only two people also received one mu of fertile land and one mu of equal land. It seems that the officials in other villages are even more greedy than those in their own village.
“Someone sent word that I should stop, that it would offend too many people, but I refused to listen. Every day I went to the fields to survey and re-divide the infertile and fertile fields. When the county committee held a meeting, I threw the evidence in front of everyone. That’s what being realistic is all about. I also dealt with a group of cadres who broke the law and violated discipline. No matter how capable a person is, if their thinking is not unified, we don’t need them.” Secretary Deng waved his hand firmly.
Measuring hundreds of acres of land every half month must wear out so many shoes. Only then did Chunmei notice that Secretary Deng was wearing straw sandals instead of cloth shoes, and her admiration for him grew even stronger.
Section Chief Zhao, having regained some strength, replied leisurely, "You're really wasting your talents. I can't let down the organization's trust and leave the comrades in the White Area besieged on both sides. Originally, after escorting you all back to the Soviet Area, I should have returned to Shanghai to take up my post, but Comrade Wu Hao sent me back with a telegram to deal with the internal spies."
"You have to start cleaning from your own home. You have to have faith in the revolution. We have more comrades with principles and bottom lines than you can imagine," Secretary Deng advised, and Section Chief Zhao's expression gradually relaxed.
Suddenly, Chunmei cried out in surprise. At the prompting of the two leaders, she said embarrassedly that she had not returned to Ruijin as planned last night and did not know whether the spies in Ruijin had been caught.
Seeing that Section Chief Zhao's face darkened, Secretary Deng hurriedly tried to exonerate Chunmei, saying that the girl did not do it on purpose. She was knocked unconscious by the villagers halfway there. The villagers mistook her for a lone bandit and carried her to the temporary office of the county committee with a rope.
Fortunately, Secretary Deng discovered that Chunmei was a girl, woke her up in time, and showed her his identity. The two exchanged information. The villagers then reported that there were White bandits in their village, as well as several people wearing our military uniforms. They were confused about the situation and wanted to ask the county committee to come and take a look.
“It’s a good thing that our people are highly vigilant. Were the comrades who initially conducted reconnaissance in front of the spy station sent by you?” Zhao Fengnian asked suspiciously.
Secretary Deng shook his head, about to deny it, when a strong, resonant voice came from outside: "They're my men!"
"Oh, Mr. He is here!" Chunmei excitedly stepped forward and invited the teacher to sit down. He Shuying had a long beard with white hairs mixed in, wore black-rimmed glasses, a clean long gown, and carried a briefcase with frayed edges—a typical old-fashioned scholar's outfit from a county town.
After everyone introduced themselves, He Shuying explained, "Last night, it was our team members who tracked down Xie Gaosheng."
Without saying much, He Shuying took out two files and asked Zhao and Deng to review them. Chunmei leaned over and glanced at them.
The first case file contained a medical examination report. It was from a 27-year-old woman who reported to the court that her husband had been murdered by Xie Gaosheng, and that she had been severely beaten and locked in a dark room by him, waiting to be sold. Fortunately, she managed to break through the window and escape.
She revealed that she was actually Xie Gaosheng's lover, and that her husband was beaten to death during a fight with her. However, Xie Gaosheng also had a mistress in Wuyapo, and recently sent that family a gray donkey of unknown origin.
The second case file was a missing person report filed by the wife. Awang, a villager from Meihua Village, went to the market in Ruijin County. The last time his fellow villagers saw him was at Wuyapo. After that, he disappeared, and the gray donkey he took with him also disappeared.
"The gray donkey is at the spy station. I rode Awang's gray donkey. I don't know where it is now." Chunmei told the whole story in one breath.
Secretary Deng's expression hardened, perhaps realizing the significant investigative value of the gray donkey. He immediately stood up and instructed his staff to ask the villagers of Wuyapo for the gray donkey back. They were sure they were keeping it for themselves. If they refused to return it, they should say that the donkey had a disease and that not handing it over would infect other livestock.
Snap!
All eyes turned to the source of the voice. He Shuying slammed her hand on the table and cursed, "What a Xie Gaosheng! He's a hypocrite in public, but a devil in private. He even dares to collude with spies. The disappearance case is likely to turn into a murder case."
"I interrogated Xie Gaosheng yesterday. He's incredibly stubborn. He only admitted that he was friends with the homeowner and wanted to invite him for drinks, but he knew nothing else. When I pressed him for details, he screamed in pain." As he spoke, Secretary Deng took out a bright red "Soviet Area Entry and Exit Permit" from his desk drawer. "They're all genuine, currently in use, not counterfeit ones made by spies."
During the search, they seized a total of 8 official seals, 3 Soviet Area Entry and Exit Permits, 12 spies, 1 radio, 1 hand-cranked generator, and a number of weapons at the Wuyapo hideout, enough to equip our two companies.
Only personnel from the Central General Affairs Supply Department could issue the permit, and this was combined with the urgent encrypted telegram that Wu Hao had sent by express courier. After thinking about it all night, Secretary Deng finally sorted everything out.
Last night, there were three groups of people at Wuyapo: the special investigation team led by Zhao Fengnian, the special task force led by He Shuying to investigate Xie Gaosheng, and the action team of the Anti-Counter-Revolutionary Committee.
Zhao Fengnian, disguised as a White bandit, dealt with the secret agents inside the house. The special task force members tracking Xie Gaosheng discovered the White bandits inside and went to the Anti-Counter-Revolutionary Committee, the closest to Wuyapo, to request fire support. The Anti-Counter-Revolutionary Committee didn't have enough bullets, so they sent someone to request over a hundred rounds from the temporary county committee.
Meanwhile, the villagers of Wuyapo took a long detour to report to the temporary county committee because they distrusted the Anti-Counter-Revolutionary Committee. On the way, they encountered a young girl and arrested her along with the others.
Just as Secretary Deng was about to send a county committee staff member to notify the Anti-Counter-Revolutionary Committee to withdraw its team and not disturb their investigation, a messenger delivered an urgent encrypted telegram from Ruijin County.
Wu Hao gave him a top-secret message: there were a lot of "cells" in the Anti-Counter-Revolutionary Committee. "Cells" were traitors who had turned their backs on the law. They wanted to eliminate everyone in Crow Slope who knew about opium, including the opium dealers.
In the sweltering summer heat, Secretary Deng broke out in a cold sweat. He quickly organized all the armed guards of the county committee and personally led the team to Crow Slope.
"Luckily you arrived in time, otherwise I would have been going to meet Marx," Section Chief Zhao said with relief after surviving the ordeal.
"The revolution is not yet successful, and Comrade Marx doesn't want to see you. Besides, he's too embarrassed to compete with us for people. Now it's wartime, and we need good comrades like you even more," Secretary Deng joked.
Everyone burst into laughter. Jokes aside, they immediately exchanged information they knew, and Mr. He raised several points of doubt based on his criminal investigation experience.
First, Xie Gaosheng's timing in going to Crow Slope was too coincidental. He should have been sleeping at that time, but he went right after Section Chief Zhao went. It seems that someone deliberately timed it to give him a heads-up and guide him to Crow Slope.
Second, what is Xie Gaosheng's position in this opium industry chain? Why did he know the top-secret intelligence that the opium dens were destroyed, but did he not know the main opium dealers? Was he under the direct leadership of a high-ranking agent?
Third, Zhao Fengnian's trip to Wuyapo was a last-minute decision. How did the "cells" within the Anti-Counter-Revolutionary Committee receive information from spies in a timely manner? Who acted as the messenger inside?
"Any other situations you comrades can add?" Master He's earnest gaze swept over the group.
Out of classroom habit, Chunmei raised her hand high to ask to speak. With Mr. He's permission, she recounted in detail how she had made a hand-cranked phone call for help the night before.
Secretary Deng was the first to speak: "I know Sun Dadan. Although he likes to drink, he has always been very disciplined. He would never drink if he knew there was an arrest mission. Someone must have framed him."
"As soon as he left, they immediately replaced him with a female comrade who doesn't know anything. We're using a one-on-one hand-cranked telephone, not a dial-up phone. Even if the Central Military Commission is short-staffed, they wouldn't assign an amateur like that." Section Chief Zhao looked up in disbelief.
On the other end, Mr. He was so surprised that his Hunan accent came through: "It would be strange if they arranged it! That's a one-on-one hand-cranked telephone. They should know who's on the other end. After Sun Dadan was arrested, at most no one will care. They're clearly trying to buy time by doing this."
"Xiao Zhao, who knows about your arrangement for Sun Dadan to guard the phone?" Secretary Deng asked pointedly.
Section Chief Zhao then named several high-ranking military officials, as well as three company commanders and soldiers. These individuals are the backbone of our army, and the commanders and soldiers were personally selected by Wu Hao, so there shouldn't be any problems. Even the soldiers involved in the operation only learned about their mission after arriving at the mission location.
"That's strange. They're all reliable comrades, so the secrecy should be excellent," Secretary Deng said, propping himself up on his arm.
Section Chief Zhao fell into deep thought, then suddenly exclaimed, "Wait, there's another person—Zhong Tiancai, the director of the General Affairs Department of the Military Commission."
Every time a soldier needs to apply for firearms for a mission, he must get his approval. He may not know the specific mission, but he can estimate the approximate time and scale of each team's mission.
"Hiss~ Zhong Tiancai, that name sounds familiar. What's his relationship with Zhong Tianfu from the Central General Affairs Department's Supply Division?" Chunmei murmured curiously to herself.
Several people immediately glanced at the pass, only Chunmei was confused. Secretary Deng concluded that the opium cultivation in western Jiangxi had been going on for a year without any reports from the public or accusations from comrades. Besides the fact that the spies were deliberately sabotaging the operation, some of the people had low awareness, and there were also significant problems within our own ranks.
Even a three-year-old knows how profitable opium is. There must be serious corruption within our ranks. The fact that people like Xie Gaosheng have committed heinous crimes without attracting the attention of the central government indicates that there is an even bigger tiger above him.
"Heh, didn't the big tiger send someone to test the waters?" Section Chief Zhao looked out the window with a meaningful gaze.
"That's right! So we need to outrun them. Xie Gaosheng, you can stay put for now. Lao He, you go and examine the cells. I'll go and examine those special agents and the female agents," Secretary Deng quickly arranged.
“I’m going too. To be honest, there’s a big spy codenamed Zero lurking in our Soviet area. He might be a defector. He keeps leaking information, which is causing us a lot of trouble in our work in the White Area.” Section Chief Zhao struggled to stand up, but his injuries wouldn’t allow it, so he sat back down as soon as he stood up.
"What the hell! Are you out of your mind?! With us here, you should focus on recovering. I'm taking Xiao Meizi with me so she can learn interrogation techniques. Send someone else to assist Xiao Deng. That's settled." Without another word, Master He pushed Section Chief Zhao back onto the bed and covered him with the blanket.
Oh, Master He still loves to lecture people! Chunmei, unfazed, followed Master He away with light steps.
As the sky gradually darkened and the heat subsided, the shadows cast by the trees contrasted comfortably with the orange hues of the setting sun. Emerging from the interrogation office, Mr. He encountered Secretary Deng, who was holding a palm-leaf fan. Secretary Deng smiled, as if he had obtained some valuable clue.
"Chairman He, please wait."
Chunmei would never forget Xia Lang's annoying voice. He strode forward and flattered him, "Chairman He, with you, a modern-day Bao Gong, here to interrogate me, I feel particularly at ease. I wonder if there will be any results?"
"No comment." Master He said, and Chunmei knew that although he had been a teacher for decades, beneath his old-fashioned scholarly appearance was a warm heart. What he hated most were sycophants who flattered others and belittled others.
Unexpectedly, Xia Lang persisted and followed closely behind: "I also listened in. They don't actually have any major problems, just poor discipline. I'll go back and give them a good talking-to. They need to strictly follow the requirements of their superiors, including the Three Points of Attention and the Eight Disciplines, and I'll make sure they all memorize them."
Good heavens! How could a commander make such a basic slip of the tongue? Chunmei was so shocked she couldn't close her mouth. He had completely forgotten the Three Main Rules of Discipline and the Eight Points for Attention!
As expected, Master He's footing was firm, and his big beard trembled: "Those who teach others how to fish must be good at fishing themselves. Those who are not good at fishing but insist on being arrogant are nothing more than mediocre people who are muddle-headed and like those who try to find a sword by marking the boat. Don't mislead the younger generation."
Xia Lang seemed to have turned into a stone statue, standing there blankly with empty eyes. Seeing his silly look, Chunmei secretly laughed to herself, "Tsk tsk, don't mess with the Master. If you don't have any culture, you won't even understand his insults."
"Yes, your criticism is correct. Our quality needs improvement. I'll take them away now and conduct ideological training for all of us." Even though Xia Lang didn't understand, he still accepted the criticism with a humble attitude.
Master He was too lazy to say another word and turned to leave. Secretary Deng stretched out his palm-leaf fan to stop Xia Lang, who still wanted to pester him: "Comrade Xia, the investigation of the case cannot be rushed. Please go back and wait for news."
"What are you waiting for? I'm short so many people, who's going to carry out class struggle? Who's going to criticize and fight class enemies? Struggle involves bloodshed, not just talking." A provocative glint flashed in Xia Lang's eyes.
"Heh, let others bleed, but don't mention the sacrifices at all," Chunmei thought to herself. Secretary Deng beside her was still good-natured: "Well said, struggle is about shedding blood, but... it's best not to shed unnecessary blood. I'll help you catch the bugs, which is to minimize casualties in the struggle."
"Hmph, you bunch of pretentious scholars, what do you know about fighting? I'm warning you, if you don't release my men tonight, I'll report you to the Central Bureau." Xia Lang's voice became unusually sharp, like a shrew from the village entrance.
As the orange hue on the horizon faded, Secretary Deng covered his mouth, yawned, and pretended not to have heard clearly. He then said loudly, "You're leaving? Fine, take care."
Xia Lang choked, his face turning ashen, almost melting into the darkness. He flung his arm and ran out of the temporary county committee. Watching his disheveled figure, Chunmei almost burst out laughing. Serves him right!
A gentle breeze swept by, and the first rays of moonlight fell on the desk. Under the dim lamplight, the moonlight appeared even colder. Section Chief Zhao, wearing headphones, wielded his pencil with the grace of a dragon dancing across the paper.
Mr. He, who was the first to enter the room, pointed at the two of them and shushed them. The scene seemed familiar, and Chunmei realized that Section Chief Zhao couldn't stay idle and was using the enemy's radio to send and receive telegrams again.
After a short while, Section Chief Zhao took off his headphones and excitedly told everyone, "Good news! We caught the male homeowner from Crow Slope last night."
He initially refused to say anything, but when Section Chief Zhao instructed them to interrogate him, he revealed that Xie Gaosheng was his wife's lover. If he died, wouldn't that be a good thing for the two adulterers?
After hesitating for a moment, the male homeowner asked to become a witness for the prosecution. In his impression, Xie Gaosheng was very capable. He could always find a way to resell the scarce rice, grains, oil, and salt in the Soviet area to the White area and make a fortune. As his follower, the male homeowner had also drunk a lot of meat soup.
Later, Xie Gaosheng was no longer satisfied with smuggling and wanted to do something bigger. The male homeowner didn't know who he had contacted, but somehow his family became involved in cigarette dealing.
Although the cigarette dealers were ruthless, they were also generous spenders. Coupled with their cowardly nature and the fact that their wives were the heads of the household, they could only turn a blind eye. Their contact point was also a place where they recruited their wives as female spies.
However, Xie Gaosheng was not human. Making money and finding women could no longer satisfy his desires. He began to enjoy the pleasure of killing. At first, he even took advantage of the anti-revolutionary purge to frame and unjustly kill people he disliked.
The lack of restraint led him to become increasingly outrageous. Xie Gaosheng simply took advantage of his position to rob passersby from the countryside, labeling them as bandits. If they resisted, they would either have their hands or feet broken, or be beaten to death and left to be torn apart by wild animals in the mountains. Since they were outsiders, none of their relatives reported the crime.
The male homeowner was timid and wet his pants the first time he participated. He dared not go again, nor did he dare to report it, otherwise he would be the next to die. However, recently Xie Gaosheng took a fancy to a gray donkey at the Ruijin market. The homeowner happened to be passing by Wuyapo to rest, and Xie Gaosheng called him out to keep watch.
While the owner was washing up by the river on his way back, Xie Gaosheng, along with several strong men, forcibly pushed him into the water and drowned him. Xie Gaosheng then kicked the body into the river, and it is unknown where it drifted away to.
He recognized the donkey's owner's accent as being from Jiangxi, so he wasn't considered an outsider. It was only a matter of time before his family reported it to the police. The male homeowner went home and was plagued by nightmares, constantly dreaming of the gray donkey speaking familiar Jiangxi dialect, demanding he pay with his life.
Whether Xie Gaosheng wanted to silence him or just to annoy him, he simply sent the donkey to his house and told him to train the gray donkey properly. But his legs trembled at the sight of the donkey, and he didn't want to look at it again.
Secretary Deng slammed his fist on the table in extreme anger: "Damn it, this lawless 'two-faced person' must be severely punished!"
Master He sighed deeply. "The situation is not good for us now. We only have confessions, not a body, so we cannot convict them of murder. As for smuggling, we were not caught on the spot, making the investigation and evidence collection even more difficult."
"Don't we still have the opium supply line?" Secretary Deng confidently pulled a small notebook from his pocket. Except for the female agent who refused to speak, everyone else vomited some stuff.
The longest time the spies stayed in the cave was a year, and the shortest was only a month. Secretary Deng used the confessions of the less experienced spies to piece together some clues, and then used these clues to trick the more secretive veteran spies.
Finally, they obtained an important clue from the wounded ivy that had been rescued. They were able to evacuate from the cave in time because they received a encrypted telegram from Zero. Zero had also thoughtfully noted the number of combatants and the estimated arrival time, making it seem as if he were the commander.
As for the ivy, he was responsible for inspecting the goods in the industry chain. He stayed in the laboratory for a long time and did not receive guests, but he would gossip with his accomplices. Production was mainly handled by the boss who was killed.
As far as he knew, Zero had never been to the cave. Only on special occasions would he guide their work via telegram, as if he had a third eye.
Xie Gaosheng had only heard of the man's reputation before, and knew that Xie Gaosheng would occasionally bring a blindfolded young man to visit the warehouse. He had only caught a few glimpses of him from afar. He had more contact with the female homeowner, as they handled the raw material purchases and shipments through her. This led him to believe that the female homeowner was the real manager.
"No, the head manager should be Xie Gaosheng. I guess he's met the real Zero, so Zero wanted to kill him at Crow Slope to silence him. The others were just pawns to accompany him and mislead the investigation," Section Chief Zhao said decisively.
"All sorts of demons and monsters are showing their faces. During the transportation of a piece of meat, hands will always get a little oily. The length of the transportation route determines how many people's hands will get oily. In the end, a long and smelly sewer transportation chain is formed." Master He frowned.
"What's there to be afraid of? If the sky falls, there are tall people to hold it up. He's the one who complained. Make him keep his promise. Your referee department must conduct a thorough investigation and resolve this quickly!" Secretary Deng's tone was full of determination and resolve.
Master He's eyes lit up: "Alright, I'll go back and report to the tall guy right now and seek his support. Otherwise, that troublemaker Xia Lang might sabotage the investigation."
"That idiot Xia Lang was used as a pawn, even counting bullets for others. Foolish!" Secretary Deng cursed fiercely. "The female spy's husband and accomplices have all been slapped. I'll go and trick her later."
Seeing everyone so enthusiastic, Zhao Kejiu smiled for the first time in a long time: "I will immediately inform Wu Hao of the true identity of the head manager, so that our comrades in the White Area can also do their part."
This investigation was not only a test of personal faith and wisdom, but also a test of the values and rule of law of the entire base area.
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