After listening to Luo Xingchao's account, Ning Zhiheng finally asked, "What were your methods of communication with the Japanese? Did you have a contact person?"
Luo Xingchao answered honestly, "They set up a liaison station for me. It's on the street next to the military intelligence station. A new grocery store has opened there. The owner is a middle-aged man. If there's any information, I go there to buy a pack of cigarettes and hand over the intelligence to them. The grocery store has a public telephone installed. If there's an emergency and I don't have time to notify them, I can just call the grocery store and communicate using the pre-set code."
Ning Zhiheng nodded and then asked, "You were arrested by the Japanese two months ago, but Deputy Station Chief Yu Li went missing a little over a month ago. His disappearance occurred after yours. Tell me the truth, did you betray Yu Li, leading to his arrest and defection to the enemy?"
Upon hearing Ning Zhiheng's question, Luo Xingchao trembled with fright and finally said, "I informed the Japanese when Deputy Station Chief Yu went to the Mengyuan Grand Theater in Hongkou."
At this point, he quickly argued, "The Japanese have been planning this trap for a long time. That actress from the Dreamland Grand Theater was carefully selected specifically to lure Deputy Station Chief Yu into the trap. She has been performing in various theaters in Shanghai for three months. I didn't devise this operation; I was just a small part of it. Even if I hadn't tipped him off, Deputy Station Chief Yu would have fallen for it sooner or later. It was just a matter of time!"
Luo Xingchao's explanation immediately revealed the real reason why Yu Li defected to the enemy. It turned out that the Japanese had indeed taken advantage of Yu Li's fatal weakness of admiring female actors.
"Tell me the whole story in detail," Bian Ze said in a deep voice.
"Yes, I also got involved later, so I know some things," Luo Xingchao quickly replied. "As far as I know, this was a trapping plan specifically targeting Deputy Station Chief Yu. The Japanese discovered that Deputy Station Chief Yu had a particular fondness for pursuing popular female singers, so they specifically found a female singer named Wen Qiyu. This Wen Qiyu was beautiful and had excellent singing and recitation skills, which was exactly the type that Deputy Station Chief Yu liked the most."
"What type? Be more specific!" Ning Zhiheng suddenly asked from the side.
Luo Xingchao knew that this Team Leader Ning was a meticulous person who never overlooked any detail, so he quickly explained, "The Japanese are very meticulous in their work. Through observation, they discovered that the actresses pursued by Deputy Station Chief Yu were mostly well-built, with a more heroic appearance, and they did not like the delicate and charming southern women. So they specially brought Wen Qiyu from Beiping at a high price as bait."
"The Japanese are incredibly meticulous in their work. I've known Yu Li for many years and I didn't even know this was the case, yet they were able to observe and analyze it so thoroughly!" Zheng Hongbo exclaimed in amazement. He had to admit that the Japanese preparations were indeed precise and thorough; no wonder Yu Li fell for their scheme.
"Continue!" Bian Ze instructed.
"Yes, the Japanese first arranged for Wen Qiyu to perform in major theaters in Shanghai, especially in the theaters in our occupied areas and the French Concession. As a result, he quickly attracted the attention of Deputy Station Chief Yu. Deputy Station Chief Yu pursued Wen Qiyu relentlessly, attending almost every performance and sending flowers backstage. When the Japanese saw that the time was right, they arranged for Wen Qiyu to perform at the Mengyuan Grand Theater in Hongkou District. At first, Deputy Station Chief Yu was vigilant and did not go to the Japanese-occupied areas, but later he couldn't resist and disguised himself and sneaked in twice. However, he was cleverly disguised and the Japanese did not discover him. So my instructions were to keep an eye on Deputy Station Chief Yu's whereabouts. More than a month ago, I discovered that he had disguised himself and gone out again, so I passed the message to the general store. The Japanese made careful arrangements and arrested Deputy Station Chief Yu. A few days later, Deputy Station Chief Yu reappeared, and I knew that he had also been turned. My task was changed to continue to monitor his behavior."
After hearing the entire story of how Yu Li was turned, the people in the room remained silent for a moment. This demonstrated the capabilities of the Japanese intelligence department and showed that they certainly had strong operational capabilities in Chinese-occupied areas, capable of conducting thorough investigations of Chinese agents. This made everyone even more worried.
Finally, Ning Zhiheng broke the silence and asked again, "Who in the military intelligence station knows that your hometown is Wuxi, and who knows that you went home to visit your family?"
Luo Xingchao was taken aback, and after hesitating for a long time, he said, "I've been at Shanghai Station for a long time. I go home to see my parents about once every two months. My colleagues all know about my situation, so the scope is quite broad!"
Ning Zhiheng asked again, "Why do the Japanese know so much about the agents at the military intelligence station? If it's easy to investigate Yu Li's fondness for female entertainers, then your situation is much more difficult to investigate. They know your hometown and that you regularly return home to visit relatives. I estimate that there must be someone within the military intelligence station providing information to the Japanese. Based on this information, the Japanese formulated separate entrapment plans, which is how they successfully turned you and Yu Li. This operation has been going on for three months, or even longer."
Ning Zhiheng turned to Bian Ze and said, "I suggest that we intensify our internal screening efforts and uncover the Japanese agents who have infiltrated our ranks."
Upon hearing Ning Zhiheng's analysis, the others in the room fell into a deathly silence, as if they had instantly plummeted to freezing point. Zheng Hongbo, in particular, had a very grim and ugly face, as if water could drip from it.
It is conceivable that this must have been a very meticulous defection plan implemented by the Japanese. The plan was detailed, the investment was huge, and the time span was long. How many military intelligence agents were caught in the trap is unknown!
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