By 11 p.m., all the officers in charge of the operation had returned to report to Ning Zhiheng.
Sun Jiacheng spoke first: "Team leader, we found that of the four targets, three of them, Operations Staff Officer Ding Hong, Dong Fengyang, and Bai Xiangqi, got some food at the canteen after the meeting, ate together, and then returned to their rooms without going out. However, target Sun Yushu did not go to the canteen but left the command post alone."
Shen Xiang chimed in, "He went to a small tavern called Yuehe and drank alone there for forty minutes. He also brought back a pot of wine. During that time, he only had contact with the tavern owner, and we didn't notice anything unusual. Afterward, he went straight back to his dormitory at the command post. We are now monitoring the owner of Yuehe Tavern, but as far as we know, this tavern owner has been running the business here for many years and does not have the capacity to provide support to the target at any time."
"You haven't had contact with anyone else?" Ning Zhiheng asked again to confirm.
“No, only the hotel owner. We’re still monitoring him. Should we arrest him?” Shen Xiang asked.
"Let's continue monitoring. The Japanese spy will definitely pass on the intelligence tonight, but we don't know how. Judging from the Japanese's usual behavior, there must be a carrier pigeon with the mole. We just need to find this carrier pigeon, and then everything will be clear," Ning Zhiheng instructed.
“Team leader, I have a thought,” Shen Xiang said, unable to contain his doubts. “Since they are spies in this kind of combat army, they are highly mobile because they frequently change their locations. You also said that their liaison officer needs to be ready to move with them at any time. Isn’t that a bit cumbersome? Is there another possibility that they don’t need a liaison officer and may be able to send intelligence directly using a radio? This is very rare in intelligence warfare and violates security principles. However, special circumstances should be treated specially, and we cannot generalize.”
Shen Xiang's words stirred something in everyone's hearts. What he said made a lot of sense and might not be a bad idea.
After listening, Ning Zhiheng remained silent for a while. He carefully considered Shen Xiang's analysis. He had to admit that this was a possibility, and a very high one at that. However, Ning Zhiheng ultimately rejected the idea. He slowly got up, paced around for a few steps, and shook his head, saying, "The Japanese wouldn't let such an important high-ranking spy take this risk. After all, carrying a radio and sending telegrams directly is a very dangerous thing. Besides, you've all seen the temporary residences of these operations staff officers. It's just a simple dormitory. Their military luggage is just a rattan box, making it very difficult to carry a radio. Moreover, he's only separated from his colleagues by a wall, so the sound of sending and receiving telegrams can't be hidden from anyone. Furthermore, if someone suddenly comes to his door while he's sending a telegram, it will interrupt his sending and receiving. I still lean towards the initial judgment that he has a carrier pigeon with him, but this carrier pigeon is moving with him."
At this point, Ning Zhiheng said, word by word, "It is very likely that they are staff members in the command post. They need to meet two conditions: first, they need to be able to carry a radio, and second, they need to have a hidden location that is convenient for sending messages."
Zuo Gang, who had been silent until now, finally spoke up: "But the other three operations staff officers did not have any contact with the outside world. It was quite late after the meeting, so the three of them went directly to the canteen together. I saw them staying together the whole time, so it was hard for them to do anything to each other. We have also been monitoring the cook who was in contact with them. He's currently sound asleep in his room, snoring away!"
“Yes, and they went directly to the canteen after the meeting. The mole didn’t have time to record the intelligence on paper and pass it on, and the three of them didn’t have that option either,” Shen Xiang added.
“However, there is a strange phenomenon,” Sun Jiacheng continued, “Around nine o’clock, Bai Xiangqi went out for a walk by himself. During the walk, he did not contact anyone. He just stopped in one place for a while, smoked a cigarette, and then came back. I left someone to keep watch where he stopped to see if there was any news.”
“This situation is very important,” Ning Zhiheng immediately pressed, “Is there anything wrong with his behavior?”
Sun Jiacheng was specifically responsible for tracking Bai Xiangqi. He recalled carefully and then said, "When he went out, Sun Yushu had just returned from drinking outside. The two exchanged a few words. Bai Xiangqi felt stifled in the house, so he went out for a smoke and a walk. It only took about twenty minutes."
Ning Zhiheng raised his hand to look at his watch. It was 11 p.m., but none of the four suspected targets had made a move. Could it be that his judgment was wrong, and the mole was not among these four people?
Just then, there was a knock on the door, and an action team member pushed the door open and entered.
"What is it?" Ning Zhiheng asked.
"Team leader, I was staking out the spot where Bai Xiangqi stopped for his walk. Just ten minutes ago, a figure appeared. He groped around on the ground for a while, picked up something, and then quickly left. I followed him to the second room on the west side of the third row at the back of the command post, and then rushed back to report." The team member spoke very quickly, but his narration was clear, which invigorated everyone.
Who would go out to collect stones in the dead of night? It must be a carrier pigeon!
After listening to the team member's account, Sun Jiacheng recalled it carefully and suddenly said, "Bai Xiangqi only smoked one cigarette at the time. Because the cigarette pack was empty, he just threw it on the ground and left."
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