"It's a shadow!"
Cheng Xingye took the crumpled paper out of his sleeve, unfolded it, and handed it to Lao Xiao. "Old Xiao, I worked in the base area before the war. You've worked here the longest. Have you heard of this Ying?"
"film?"
Upon hearing this name, Xiao Hong's expression changed. He quickly took the letter and examined it carefully.
"Investigation: The Tokyo Special Higher Police recently dispatched two Japanese agents to Nanjing to arrest a member of the Japanese Communist Party. The Nanjing Special Higher Police is currently tracking and investigating Takasugi Hitoshi, the chief reporter of the United News Agency. Please confirm his identity. If he has any contact with the organization, you should respond immediately. This is a matter of great importance and should not be taken lightly. Please verify my identity with the Shanghai authorities. Film!"
The entire text was written in Song typeface, with beautiful curves and upright characters. Only the last signature was a flowing "shadow" character, which Cheng Xingye and Xiao Hong had never seen before. It was very distinctive and beautiful!
Ning Zhiheng issued a warning, but he was afraid that Cheng Xingye might not know his identity and that there was no basis or source for it. If the other party questioned the authenticity of the information and ignored this important intelligence, it would be troublesome. So after careful consideration, he gave the other party his code name and asked him to contact the Shanghai underground party organization to confirm it, so that everything would be safe.
Cheng Xingye stared intently at Xiao Hong. He had picked up on some clues from Xiao Hong's tone earlier; this intelligence chief must know something!
Xiao Hong carefully read the contents of the letter, his brows furrowed, and he pondered for a long time. He knew some of the information, and Cheng Xingye was now the head of the Nanjing underground organization and his superior, so there were some things he should be informed of.
Xiao Hong finally nodded and said, "I worked under Comrade Qingshan's leadership in the early days. I know the code name 'Shadow'. It refers to an old intelligence agent personally led by Comrade Qingshan. At that time, it was during the period of cooperation between the two parties. Our party's intelligence work was not as rigorous as it is now, so I knew Shadow's identity."
However, the struggle environment became increasingly brutal. During the White Terror period, our intelligence agents were almost all lost, and Shadow was killed by Kuomintang agents in an operation. So Comrade Qingshan selected an old comrade to succeed Shadow as the second Shadow. This person was also my old comrade-in-arms. However, we were separated into different intelligence lines later, and I never saw him again.
But years later, just before the outbreak of the war, this old comrade was also killed by Kuomintang agents. For a long time, I never heard that code name again. However, before the evacuation from Nanjing, the comrade in charge of the radio station in the organization had an accident, and I was in charge of the radio station for a period of time. I saw this code name in the telegrams to headquarters, and that's when I learned about the existence of the third Shadow. Comrade Qingshan handed over the Shadow's organizational affiliation to headquarters, but Comrade Qingshan never mentioned this code name or situation to anyone, not even me. So I don't know the specifics. But according to this message, the third Shadow should be working under the leadership of the Shanghai underground party organization. But why would he suddenly come to Nanjing to warn you this time?
Upon hearing Xiao Hong's introduction, Cheng Xingye realized that there was indeed a person called "Shadow." It was not uncommon for code names to be replaced in underground party organizations. Sometimes, when an intelligence officer was killed or left for various reasons, it was common for the successor to use the original code name in order to ensure the continuity of work and to confuse the enemy. For example, he himself had taken over Wu Quanjiang's code name, "Bitter Spring." Therefore, he was not surprised by the change of "Shadow's" code name.
Suddenly, Xiao Hong remembered something and quickly asked again, "How did the shadow warn you? What did it look like?"
"It was delivered directly to me by a child." Cheng Xingye recounted the events of the day in detail. "According to the child, it was just a young man with a scarf covering his face. You know what? When I first saw this message, I was terrified. It's unbelievable that someone could find me directly!"
Xiao Hong was also astonished after hearing his account, and said repeatedly, "This is impossible. You are the head and main leader of the Nanjing underground organization. Concealing your identity is a top secret. Even within the organization, only a handful of people know that you are concealing your identity. In our eight-person group, only Cheng Feng and I know. It is even more impossible for the Shanghai side to know. How did Shadow find you?"
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