After much deliberation, Li Zhiqun finally nodded and said, "Alright, I will return to Nanjing as soon as possible to consult with General Yingzuo. I hope there will be a good outcome."
The next morning, Li Zhiqun called Luo Xingchao to his office and informed him of his return to Nanjing.
"Xingchao, I have important business to attend to back in Nanjing this time, so I'll have to leave the household chores to you again."
Upon receiving this notification, Luo Xingchao felt a sense of relief. For the past month, Li Zhiqun had been overseeing the work at the Special Agent Headquarters, which had kept him very busy. He was naturally quite pleased to hear that Li Zhiqun was leaving.
But he said with regret, "Director, why are you going back to Nanjing so soon?"
Li Zhiqun sighed and shook his head, saying, "The funding problem is still unresolved this time. I plan to go back to Nanjing to ask General Yingzuo for help. However, I will be back soon. I called you here because I have something to arrange for you."
"Please give me your orders!"
"While I'm away, you need to send some people to protect Xin Hong's safety. Chen Jinbao and his gang are restless; I'm afraid they'll cause trouble as soon as I leave."
Although Li Zhiqun had comforted Yu Xinhong verbally, he didn't dare to take any risks. Therefore, he still needed to ensure Yu Xinhong's protection. Most of his subordinates had ties to the Green Gang, so he couldn't just assign this task to anyone else. Luo Xingchao had been in charge of the Special Agent Headquarters during Li Zhiqun's absence. He was a former Japanese spy and a member of the Military Intelligence Bureau, and had nothing to do with the Green Gang. Li Zhiqun felt at ease entrusting Yu Xinhong with Luo Xingchao's protection.
Luo Xingchao was taken aback upon hearing this. He didn't understand Li Zhiqun's words, so Li Zhiqun had to recount the situation in western Shanghai. Finally, he said, "Chen Jinbao is going too far now. She's even interfering with the operations of the Special Agent Headquarters. I've been tolerant of her before because of my master, but she's only pushing her luck. This woman is stubborn, ruthless, and doesn't consider the consequences of her actions. I'm afraid she'll cause trouble while I'm away from Shanghai. Xingchao, you need to be careful."
Upon hearing this, Luo Xingchao frowned and said slowly, "Director, since this Chen Jinbao is so ignorant, there's no reason to guard against her for a thousand days. She's just a woman; we should get rid of her. We mustn't be so soft-hearted!"
If he wanted to gain more control in the Special Agents Headquarters, Wu Shicai, who controlled the operational forces, was his biggest obstacle. However, this operation against Wu Shicai failed because of Chen Jinbao's support, which Luo Xingchao always regretted.
This shows that with Chen Jinbao as Wu Shicai's backer, it would be difficult for him to deal with Wu Shicai. It would be better to use Li Zhiqun to get rid of Chen Jinbao and weaken Wu Shicai's power at the same time.
Upon hearing this, Li Zhiqun glanced at Luo Xingchao. In fact, he had had this idea in his mind ever since he learned that Chen Jinbao was tampering with things in the western part of Shanghai. The business in western Shanghai was his money bag, and Chen Jinbao's attempt to take advantage of this was already against his taboo. However, he couldn't make up his mind for the time being.
Seeing Luo Xingchao say the same thing, he hesitated and asked, "Won't doing this cause internal strife?"
When Luo Xingchao saw that Li Zhiqun was tempted, he was overjoyed. Li Zhiqun was extremely power-hungry and most afraid of others scheming to take away his power. Chen Jinbao was too domineering, which finally made Li Zhiqun want to kill him.
"Director, as the saying goes, 'Hesitation leads to chaos.' Besides, getting rid of Chen Jinbao might not necessarily cause chaos. There are so many senior members in this gang. If you just support one who is obedient, things will be peaceful."
Li Zhiqun sat in his chair without speaking for a while. Luo Xingchao knew that Li Zhiqun was already interested, so he didn't say anything more, lest he go too far. He then reported, "By the way, Director, we did some work on the investigation into Cha Yutang's disappearance, but the results were minimal. I only found out that the day before Cha Yutang disappeared, the American troops stationed in the International Settlement arrested a man. This man was arrested on the orders of Phillips. He was later detained in the military camp. After some interrogation, Cha Yutang and his men disappeared the next day, and no one has seen this man since."
Furthermore, Cha Yutang's residence and office were also searched by the American troops. Everything left behind fell into Phillips' hands. During this time, there was no indication that the Shanghai Intelligence Bureau had intervened. Phillips's identity was special, and he was in the International Settlement. I really didn't dare to take any risks, so..."
"Alright, I know the situation!" Li Zhiqun waved his hand. He had asked Luo Xingchao to investigate Cha Yutang's matter, but he didn't have much hope. Since the opponent had gone all out, they wouldn't have left too many loopholes. The whole thing was handled cleanly and efficiently. Now, after hearing Luo Xingchao's report, he was completely disheartened.
"Actually, I know that if it's really related to the Shanghai intelligence department, given their operational capabilities, it would be difficult for us to find their trail. Let's put this matter aside for now and talk about everything when I get back. Sigh, this trip back to Shanghai has been nothing but bad news. It's really giving me a headache!"
At this moment, Li Zhiqun couldn't help but feel disheartened. This time when he returned to Shanghai, Wu Shicai had caused a huge financial hole in the western part of the city, Cha Yutang, whom he had finally managed to recruit, had disappeared, Luo Xingchao had also returned empty-handed in the concessions, Liu Jianzhi's investigation in the black market had yielded no results, and the investigation work of the Shanghai Intelligence Bureau had repeatedly been thwarted and made no progress. All of this made Li Zhiqun very frustrated and helpless, and he couldn't help but feel somewhat dejected.
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