"By the way, Section Chief, how's the screening and rectification at the Shanghai station going?" Ning Zhiheng asked. So much time has passed; there should be some progress by now.
However, Bian Ze shook his head and said with a headache, "The screening work is not progressing smoothly. We have conducted a lot of investigations and finally narrowed down the targets to five people. We have tested them many times and even released false information, but we have gained nothing. They have not reacted at all. I don't know if something went wrong or if they have realized that we are screening them and have stopped all operations. We can only continue to monitor them."
Ning Zhiheng was powerless to do anything about this situation, since it wasn't his task. He had already completed his mission and needed to return to Nanjing immediately to report to his superior.
After their conversation ended, the two parted ways. Ning Zhiheng immediately bought train tickets back to Nanjing for the same day and, along with all his team members, including the Zuo siblings and Ji Hongyi, rushed back to Nanjing to report to the director.
Bian Ze also rushed back to the Shanghai military intelligence station, returned to his office, and immediately called Hou Weizhao, the head of the intelligence department.
"Section Chief, is there something you need from me?" Hou Weizhao asked respectfully.
Bian Ze took out the film and said to Hou Weizhao, "Weizhao, develop this film right away. By the way, are those five people still being monitored?"
Hou Weizhao quickly took the film; it was a very important item that Bian Ze was so serious about entrusting.
Then he answered, "They are still under surveillance, but everything is normal."
Despite knowing this was the outcome, Bian Ze was still somewhat discouraged and said, "This time, Zhiheng and I came to Shanghai together. We each had our own tasks. His mission to eliminate traitors was the most arduous and dangerous. However, in just half a month, without asking for any help from the Shanghai station, he went deep into the enemy's lair alone. With only a few team members under his command, he eliminated three traitors and killed more than ten Japanese agents in the heart of the enemy's territory. He returned unscathed without losing a single person and successfully completed the mission to eliminate traitors."
But what about me? Twenty days have passed, and the work has made absolutely no progress. The only mole we uncovered was thanks to Zhiheng. Tell me, how am I supposed to report this to the section chief when I return to Nanjing? How can I possibly accept this?"
Upon hearing Bian Ze's words, Hou Weizhao dared not say anything more and could only lower his head and remain silent, letting him vent his grievances.
Bian Ze had just met Ning Zhiheng today and was overcome with emotion. After saying this, he realized it was inappropriate, so he changed the subject and asked, "I asked you to secretly investigate whether these five targets had any recent injuries. How is your investigation going?"
Ning Zhiheng had previously proposed conducting a medical examination on all personnel at the Shanghai station to identify traitors, but this was not implemented due to Luo Xingchao's actions, as doing so would expose Luo Xingchao's identity as a double agent.
However, this method became applicable when the target was narrowed down to five people, since checking within a very small scope can control the leakage of information.
Therefore, when the investigation did not go smoothly, Bian Ze ordered a covert physical examination of the five targets. As long as recent injuries were found on their bodies and the targets could not explain the source of the injuries, the targets could be identified and arrested immediately.
Upon hearing Bian Ze's question, Hou Weizhao quickly replied, "We have conducted physical examinations on these five people using various means and pretexts, but we have not found any recent injuries on their bodies, and..."
"What's wrong?" Bian Ze asked.
Hou Weizhao hesitated for a moment, but finally spoke up: "I estimate that our actions have alerted the target, making the subsequent verification even more difficult."
Bian Ze couldn't help but feel a headache coming on. These five people were all intelligence agents from the Shanghai station, and their sharp reactions were far beyond those of ordinary people. They probably all noticed something was wrong.
"Section Chief, I suggest that since we can't find out anything in a short time, we should simply transfer them from their posts and put them under house arrest for now," Hou Weizhao suggested again.
"Alright, let's put them under house arrest for now! We have more important tasks to complete, and we can't focus all our energy on them," Bian Ze instructed. After all, the main task ahead was to investigate the Japanese garrison in Shanghai, which was of great importance and could not be neglected in the slightest.
An hour later, Bian Ze and Zheng Hongbo, the station chief of Shanghai Station, were discussing the reconnaissance of the Japanese garrison in their office.
The door opened, and Hou Weizhao strode in, holding two developed photos. He reported hastily, "Section Chief, the film is developed, but—"
"Just what?" Bian Ze asked.
Hou Weizhao pointed to one of the photos and said, "It's just one of the people in the photo; I've met him before."
_____________
This world is not as simple as we imagine. Demons, monsters, ghosts, and other strange creatures... these things really exist and have become integrated into our lives.
Especially at night, their unstable aspects will be magnified.
Daytime belongs to humans, while night... belongs to them!
A certain organization was thus established.
"Young man, join us and contribute your light and warmth to building a harmonious society!" — The Night Watchman.
"Night Players" is high quality and very satisfying!
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