Four days passed, and all the work proceeded normally. Huo Yueze sped up the transportation of supplies and finally cleared out all the transportable materials from these warehouses.
Meanwhile, Ning Zhiheng's investigation began to make progress. That evening, in Ning Zhiheng's room, two student soldiers were giving him a report.
"You mean this delegation from Shandong is suspicious?" Ning Zhiheng asked.
Student soldier Zhang Zixiang nodded and said, "That's right. Our group has been in Guanyang Town for the past two days. There are three comfort groups in Guanyang Town. We tried to make contact with them. The other two groups were very enthusiastic towards me and even persuaded us to join them and prepare to go to the countryside and villages to spread anti-Japanese propaganda."
Only this Shandong delegation acted very indifferently when we met them. I tried to join them, but they immediately refused, saying they would soon be leaving the front lines to return home.
Another student soldier, Chen Guangzhi, continued: "When we were talking to the other two groups, they said that the Shandong comfort group had arrived at the front line earlier than them, and they were not willing to do joint propaganda with them. They had very little contact with them and were somewhat difficult to get along with. In other words, they were somewhat xenophobic. So we tried to join them, and as soon as we opened our mouths to say that we wanted to join, they immediately rejected us."
After listening to their reports, Ning Zhiheng carefully analyzed the situation in his mind. It was indeed very suspicious. Pudong is located in the southeast of Shanghai. Geographically speaking, the Shandong delegation should have passed through the urban area of Shanghai first, which was the central battlefield where the fighting was most intense. Moreover, the urban area of Shanghai has a large population and good economic conditions, making it the most suitable place for propaganda and fundraising.
Many of the comfort delegations gathered there, so the comfort and support delegations from the north usually did their propaganda work in downtown Shanghai and there was no need for them to go around to the right-wing front line of the battlefield in Pudong.
According to the results of the investigation in recent days, the condolence and support groups staying in Pudong are generally from southern regions, such as Zhejiang, Jiangxi and Hunan, because they can enter Pudong directly without having to take a detour.
Why is this delegation from Shandong? Could it be because their accents are northern and they can't pass for a southern delegation, leaving them with no other choice but to do this?
It's important to know that during this period, most of the Japanese agents who were fluent in Chinese spoke with a northern accent, and very few spoke with a southern accent.
Furthermore, they had little communication with other support groups and refused to let other students join, clearly out of fear of being exposed by too much contact with others.
Considering the above-mentioned anomalies, there are too many suspicious points about this delegation, and it seems there is a problem. I must personally investigate.
Early the next morning, Ning Zhiheng, along with Sun Jiacheng and forty team members, all dressed in civilian clothes, headed to Guanyang Town.
Upon entering Guanyang Town, Ning Zhiheng, still dressed in his student uniform, led Zhang Zixiang and Chen Guangzhi ahead, while Sun Jiacheng and the other team members scattered and followed at a distance.
This town is located at the western end of Yangjing District. It is a relatively large market town with a dense population. Led by Zhang Zixiang and Chen Guangzhi, they quickly found the place where the delegation would stay.
Zhang Zixiang pointed to a large courtyard in the distance and said, "This courtyard is their hideout. I only contacted a few people; I don't know the exact number of others."
Ning Zhiheng nodded. He carefully observed the courtyard and estimated that it could accommodate at least twenty to thirty people. However, the gate was tightly closed and there was no movement inside.
Ning Zhiheng did not approach rashly, but only observed from a distance. If this was the plainclothes team's hideout, then there must be sentries observing nearby. However, this was a densely populated town, surrounded by houses, with too many places to hide. Ning Zhiheng was not confident that he could find the sentries. In order not to alert the target, he could only observe from a distance.
"They remember you. Don't linger around here," Ning Zhiheng ordered Zhang Zixiang and his companion. Knowing that meeting with these people would arouse suspicion, the two quickly nodded in agreement and hurried away.
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