The meeting proceeded as scheduled until it ended, at which point everyone stood up. Zheng Hongbo said softly to Bian Ze, "Section Chief, you must be tired from your journey. We have prepared a welcome banquet for you, and we would be honored if you would join us."
Although the two had a deep friendship, he always addressed Bian Ze as Section Chief in public, and only when they were alone did he call Bian Ze Brother Xiang Nan, to show their close relationship.
Bian Ze frowned. He was a man of few words and old-fashioned manners, and he was quite disgusted by these formalities of officialdom. So he waved his hand and replied softly, "I am indeed feeling tired. Let's skip the welcome banquet!"
Zheng Hongbo knew Bian Ze's temperament, so he stepped forward and said in a low voice, "Brother Xiang Nan, everyone is frightened and uneasy by this matter. These people are your old subordinates, so we should appease them. If you don't attend this banquet, they will inevitably overthink things."
Bian Ze felt helpless after hearing Zheng Hongbo's words. It was customary for subordinates to host a welcoming banquet when their superiors made an inspection tour, especially for old superiors, who would do it deliberately.
If Bian Ze insisted on not going, it would indeed make these old subordinates uneasy. Thinking of this, Bian Ze reluctantly nodded.
Zheng Hongbo was overjoyed to see Bian Ze agree. He quickly gave Liu Pengsheng, the head of the general affairs department, a wink. Liu Pengsheng immediately came to Bian Ze and whispered, "It's the Fengxi Restaurant you used to frequent. The private rooms have already been booked. You can go there now."
Bian Ze nodded, then took the lead out of the conference room. Only after the others saw their superior leave did they dare to follow closely behind.
Ning Zhiheng and five others followed behind Bian Ze, getting into two cars and closely following behind.
Once in the car, Ning Zhiheng quickly opened the document bag, took out five documents, and the first step was to check the photos of these five people.
But to his surprise, none of the five people, including Yu Li, were the man in the portrait. Ning Zhiheng looked at the materials in his hand and pondered. It seemed that his previous guess had come true. There really was another traitor in the Shanghai military intelligence station.
The man in the portrait was not found at this high-level meeting of the Shanghai Military Intelligence Station, suggesting that he held a lower position.
Ning Zhiheng thought that he would contact people of lower status later. If he still couldn't find him, he would have to ask Bian Ze to investigate the files of the Shanghai station and find out the traitor.
Thinking of this, he carefully examined Yu Li's materials again. His background and resume were very clear. He was also one of the first members of the Military Intelligence Investigation Department, one of the core members of the Lixing Society. Otherwise, he would not have been able to climb to his current high position.
Would someone like that defect to the enemy? Unless he's like Huang Xiansheng and Yan Yichun, a Japanese spy who infiltrated China years ago, but China is so big with a population of 400 million, it would be lucky if even one person managed to infiltrate the Military Intelligence Investigation Department. How could it be such a coincidence that another high-ranking official managed to get in? That doesn't make sense!
At this time, it was not yet the outbreak of a full-scale war. After the devastating defeat in the early stages of the war, many people could not see any hope, or they became traitors in order to survive. Yu Li was in a high position and had no shortage of power or money, so why did he defect to the enemy?
There can only be one explanation: Yu Li was once arrested, and after enduring severe torture, he eventually defected to the enemy!
However, capturing such an experienced veteran agent is no easy task; it seems the Japanese have been planning this for a long time.
Just as Ning Zhiheng was reviewing the materials, the vehicle stopped in front of Fengxi Restaurant, and everyone crowded around Bian Ze as they entered the restaurant.
Zheng Hongbo found an opportunity to secretly call his trusted confidant, Hou Weizhao, the head of the intelligence department, to his side.
"Stationmaster, what are your instructions?" Hou Weizhao asked in a low voice.
Zheng Hongbo whispered, "Weizhao, during the banquet later, spend more time with the youngest man behind the section chief. Be courteous and build a good relationship with him. Find out what his preferences are. I'm afraid we won't get through this easily. The director probably doesn't trust us!"
Hou Weizhao was startled by the station chief's words and asked softly, "Does the section chief intend to pursue this matter further? Wasn't a warning already issued?"
Zheng Hongbo shook his head and sighed softly: "I suspect that the director suspects there are Japanese spies in our Shanghai naval intelligence station, so he is wary of us."
At this point, after looking around to make sure no one was there, he continued, "The agents sent by headquarters to carry out this anti-traitor operation have already entered Shanghai and haven't even met with us yet."
"That young man is no ordinary person. He's so young, yet he clearly outclasses Li Xin, a major. His rank must be at least major. Who could be such a young major at headquarters in Nanjing right now?"
Li Xin was Bian Ze's trusted confidant who had followed him for many years. They had met at the Shanghai station two years ago, and everyone knew that he held the rank of major.
Although Zheng Hongbo was based in Shanghai, he was not unaware of the news from the Nanjing headquarters. On the contrary, he would often try to find out about the Nanjing headquarters' movements through various channels. This was a basic quality of a seasoned official. Especially given the significant changes that had taken place in Nanjing over the past six months, he naturally had to pay close attention. Moreover, given his rank, it was easier and more direct for him to learn about these inside stories.
"Who could it be?" Hou Weizhao asked next. The station chief's words immediately put this intelligence agent on alert.
"It's most likely Ning Zhiheng, the rising action team leader from the Action Section. He's supposedly a recent graduate, extremely young, yet a top-notch tactician. He's probably here on an anti-espionage mission, but the section chief kept it from us. It seems headquarters is very dissatisfied with us, fearing another Yu Li!" Zheng Hongbo analyzed carefully. His insight was truly sharp. Bian Ze hadn't even realized that his simple action had exposed Ning Zhiheng. These veteran agents were no pushovers!
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