After a moment's thought, Ono Matsunaga could only nod and accept the order. Having this achievement would be a satisfactory explanation for returning home; otherwise, returning to the country in such a disgraceful manner would be utterly shameful.
But he still asked, unwilling to give up, "What should we do with the suspicious individuals we were monitoring who are connected to Takasugi Hitoshi?"
Yuji Imai looked at Matsunaga Ono with surprise, not expecting him to be such a serious and meticulous person who hadn't completely given up even now.
After a moment of contemplation, Yuji Imai finally nodded and said, "Then I'll give you one more chance. Immediately arrest all the people you consider suspicious in the past two days, especially the staff of the nearby general store I mentioned before, and all the staff of that antique shop 'Fangwaitang'. Interrogate them as soon as possible and see if you can get anything out of them. Ono-kun, time is of the essence, let's act now."
Although Yuji Imai gave up investigating Hitoshi Takasugi, he had no scruples about other suspicious targets. He would not let go of anyone with even the slightest suspicion.
"Yes, sir!" Ono Matsunaga respectfully accepted the order and left with Abe Rikuzan.
The next day, Xiao Hong's courier boarded the train and arrived in Shanghai that afternoon. After getting off the train, the courier entered a tailor shop in the French Concession with ease. He exchanged a glance with the tailor and then went into a room in the back. The tailor followed him in.
The courier took off his long coat and handed it to the tailor. He then took another identical long coat from the rack and quickly put it on. The two nodded to each other without saying anything more, and the courier hurried out of the room.
The tailor touched the hem of the long robe, sensed the unusualness inside, nodded slightly, put on the robe himself, and left shortly after.
Two hours later, the long robe was delivered to Lin Hanwen. He used scissors to pry open the corner of the robe, took out half a piece of paper, unfolded it, and examined it carefully. Looking at the signature of the character "影" (Ying), he finally confirmed that it was indeed written by Yingzi himself.
Lin Hanwen had seen many of Shadow's handwritten letters before, and was especially familiar with Shadow's signature. He had been unable to contact Shadow, and this signature was the only way to identify Shadow.
He pondered for a moment, carefully tucked the half-sheet of paper into his body, packed it away, and got up to head to the city to see Xia Deyan in person. There were some things he needed to clarify.
When he appeared at Qing Shi Tea House, Xia Deyan was startled. He hurriedly signaled the shop assistants to keep an eye on the shop while he led Lin Hanwen into the back room.
Xia Deyan turned around and poured Lin Hanwen a cup of tea, placing it on the tea table before sitting down and asking Lin Hanwen, "You shouldn't have come here. What's wrong? Is there an emergency?"
Normally, Lin Hanwen would not come to Qing Shi Tea House on his own initiative. Only after receiving information from Shadow would Xia Deyan go to the dedicated contact point to report to Lin Hanwen. Today, Lin Hanwen's sudden arrival made Xia Deyan a little strange.
Lin Hanwen nodded, took out half a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to Xia Deyan, saying in a low voice, "The shadow has appeared in Nanjing!"
Xia Deyan was stunned upon hearing this. He quickly took the half-sheet of paper. It was obvious that the half-sheet had been torn off, and the content had been removed, leaving only a signature. He was very familiar with the signature of the shadow and recognized it at a glance.
He frowned immediately and asked urgently, "What exactly happened? Shadow has always contacted the organization through me, and that has never changed over the years. How did this signature end up in your hands?"
Lin Hanwen had not yet had time to inform Xia Deyan about the matter since receiving the telegram from Nanjing the night before last. He came today to discuss it in detail.
"I'm here today for this matter. Here's the situation: the night before last, we received an urgent telegram from Nanjing..."
Lin Hanwen then recounted the details and causes of the matter to Xia Deyan, and concluded by saying, "Now you have seen this signature, and it is indeed written by Shadow himself. This confirms that Shadow appeared in Nanjing and obtained important intelligence. Due to the urgency of the situation, he took the direct warning approach to notify Kuquan, the head of the Nanjing underground party organization. The Nanjing side confirmed the accuracy of his information and thus weathered the major crisis, sending a telegram to us to express their gratitude."
But here's the problem: they also demanded that we explain how Shadow knew Kuquan's cover identity. This is a very serious question. Kuquan's identity is crucial; it's always been a top secret within the Party. Even within the Nanjing Municipal Party Committee, only a very small number of high-ranking officials knew. Shadow has been in Shanghai all along; how could he possibly know?
"Old Xia, you've always been the Shadow's one-line contact with the organization. Can you explain that?"
At this point, Lin Hanwen paused for a moment and deliberately explained, "Of course, unless it involves major secrets, you don't need to explain. I will confirm it with Comrade Qingshan."
At this moment, Xia Deyan was also shocked by Lin Hanwen's words. Looking at Lin Hanwen's solemn expression, he couldn't help but spread his hands and said with a wry smile, "I really can't explain it to you. Don't misunderstand, it doesn't involve other situations. It's just that I really don't know why Shadow knows Kuquan's concealed identity. And even if you confirm with headquarters or Qingshan, they will give you the same answer, because I handled all of Shadow's cases. They definitely don't know more than I do."
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