The news of Ji Xiangqing's assassination quickly reached No. 76. Li Zhiqun, who was in charge of promoting the Central Reserve Bank's currency, immediately sensed something was wrong when he heard that the deceased was a specialist from the Shanghai branch of the Central Reserve Bank.
He immediately led his men to investigate the scene. When he came downstairs, he called Luo Xingchao out as well, and the two of them rushed to the scene together.
At the entrance of the alley where the incident occurred, local patrol officers were maintaining order at the scene. As soon as Li Zhiqun arrived, they quickly went up to report the situation.
Li Zhiqun ignored him and waved his hand, signaling Luo Xingchao to go and listen to the report, while he personally investigated the traces left behind.
After inquiring about the situation, Luo Xingchao turned to Li Zhiqun and reported, "Director, these patrol officers are quite capable. They went to great lengths to find two witnesses. According to them, the perpetrators were two people who attacked Ji Xiangqing with a pistol. There was also a car that was there to pick them up. In the blink of an eye, they completed the assassination and got out of the car. They were very quick and must be experienced."
At this point, Luo Xingchao lowered his voice and continued, "Director, I sense something amiss here. Could it be that Chongqing's special agents have left the foreign concession?"
Li Zhiqun nodded upon hearing this and said in a cold voice, "It should be them. It seems that these people have started to operate in the city again."
After the liaison point was discovered, the Chongqing agents quickly hid in the foreign concessions. Their assassination targets were always traitors and officials who entered the concessions, and they did not operate in the city.
As for the two assassination cases that caused a great uproar before, Li Zhiqun knew very well that the murder of Chen Jinbao had nothing to do with the Chongqing agents. He had personally designed and carried out the case, which was just a scheme to frame Chen Jinbao.
As for Fu Sheng'an's death, the subsequent investigation revealed that no Chongqing agents were involved in the entire process; the servant himself carried it out. Li Zhiqun did not believe the newspaper speculation that it was caused by Chongqing agents' instigation of a defection.
Fu Shengan has been a traitor for quite some time now. He's been a servant for many years. If he really wanted to eliminate traitors for the country, he would have done it long ago. How could he have waited until now? This wouldn't have happened without a major conflict of interest or unforeseen events. The problem is most likely with the servant himself.
Therefore, these two cases had nothing to do with the Chongqing agents. It was just that Li Zhiqun went along with it and pinned the blame on the Chongqing agents. The other party acquiesced, since the dead were all traitors, and they could get credit for nothing, so why not?
This time, however, Li Zhiqun knew perfectly well that it must have been done by Chongqing agents. He had dealt with Chongqing agents for many years and could tell at a glance.
"These guys aren't going to cower anymore; they've finally shown their faces," Li Zhiqun said viciously.
"This indicates that the Chongqing agents will have further operations in the city. Ji Xiangqing's death is just the beginning," Luo Xingchao said with a serious expression.
Pointing at Ji Xiangqing's corpse, Li Zhiqun analyzed, "This was aimed at the Central Reserve Bank. I believe there will be other assassination attempts in the near future. It's only fair to retaliate. I'll teach them a lesson and not let those guys in Nanjing laugh at me!"
Luo Xingchao's heart skipped a beat. He knew Li Zhiqun's personality best; he was vindictive and would definitely retaliate. He had to report it immediately.
Thinking of this, he asked in a low voice, "Do you need me to handle this?"
He was prepared to take over the matter and obtain further intelligence, but Li Zhiqun shook his head: "The next operation will all be in the concession, so we still need to use Green Gang disciples who are familiar with the situation. Wu Shicai is best at this kind of thing."
Luo Xingchao couldn't help but feel a little disappointed, but he still smiled slightly and nodded, saying, "Yes, Captain Wu hasn't taken any action for a long time, so it's good for him to get moving."
Upon hearing this, Li Zhiqun felt the same way. Wu Shicai had been neglected and suppressed for a long time, and it was time to give him a second chance. After all, he was a trusted confidant from the early days of his career, and it was not a good thing to keep ostracizing him.
The group returned to No. 76. Luo Xingchao went back to his office and, sure enough, soon saw Wu Shicai being summoned by Li Zhiqun. They talked for a long time in the office before Wu Shicai left excitedly.
Luo Xingchao saw everything and understood the situation, so he quickly passed the intelligence to the liaison point.
Upon receiving this news, Ning Zhiheng knew that this was a signal that the Shanghai station had begun to take action. The two sides would then engage in a fierce battle over the promotion of the China Reserve Coin. All he could do was try to warn the Shanghai station and minimize losses. He couldn't get involved in anything else, and he didn't want to be drawn into it.
A telegram was drafted and sent to the Chongqing headquarters. Soon, alerts were received at the Siliang branch office and the Shanghai station.
Chen Hongchi was well aware that this operation was of great importance and he could not back down in the slightest. Not only did he not stop, he also decided to intensify the attack.
Just as Li Zhiqun was meticulously planning and preparing to counterattack, the Shanghai branch of the Nanjing Central Reserve Bank was attacked by a bomb. During normal business hours, a time bomb exploded at the counter in the bank lobby, killing and injuring the Shanghai branch's business manager and several bank employees on the spot. Many customers were also affected, and the Reserve Bank was suddenly on high alert, with few customers.
Li Zhiqun was furious. The Shanghai station acted so quickly. He hadn't even had a chance to retaliate before they came knocking on his door again. He immediately decided to launch his attack ahead of schedule.
That evening, several Central Bank employees who had just finished get off work walked out of the gate of the Chongqing government's Central Bank in the International Settlement. A car sped up, and the secret agents inside opened fire, leaving the employees lying in pools of blood.
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