Luo Xingchao's analysis also makes some sense. The Shanghai intelligence station did indeed have a lot of external forces to act as the agents' eyes and ears. As the action team leader who had been active in Shanghai for a long time, Cui Guangqi naturally had a lot of power and connections at his disposal. Only he himself knew the specifics.
Upon hearing this, Yuji Imai felt an even greater headache. The case of Choi Kwang-ki's disappearance was becoming increasingly complicated, and his work at the Special Higher Police Headquarters was too demanding for him to focus his energy on the disappearance of a traitor.
Yuji Imai looked at Luo Xingchao and said, "Alright, Mr. Luo, we'll investigate Cui Guangqi's disappearance slowly later, but I estimate that there's a very high chance he's dead. I'll have Wen Hao follow up on this case. Your task remains the same: continue monitoring any unusual situations that occur in the Detective Department. I don't want to only find out after something goes wrong. You still need to work hard, understand?"
Luo Xingchao quickly stood at attention and replied, "Yes, sir! Don't worry, team leader, I will keep a close eye on every suspicious person and won't let you down!"
Yuji Imai then questioned several more agents from the Detective Agency before concluding his investigation.
It seems there won't be any results in the short term, so Imai Yuji handed over all the remaining investigation work to Wen Hao.
"Wen Sang, the case of Cui Guangqi's disappearance is entirely in your hands. Find out the truth as soon as possible. As for the position of deputy director, it will remain vacant for now. After all, Cui Guangqi has only been missing for a short time. You must report the progress of the case to Takeshita-kun in a timely manner. Do you understand?"
"Yes, sir! I will report it immediately!" Wen Hao nodded and accepted the order.
"There's one more thing. You need to send capable people to continue investigating this case of electrical smuggling by Chenguang Trading Company. We absolutely cannot let a single vacuum tube or battery leave Shanghai. Even if the case involves Japanese trading companies, we must investigate it to the end. If you need support, I will send agents from the Special Higher Police Headquarters to help!"
"Yes, yes, this subordinate will certainly comply, will certainly comply!" Wen Hao agreed repeatedly.
At this moment, he secretly rejoiced. Cui Guangqi's disappearance had turned a bad thing into a good thing, allowing him to seize absolute power in the Detective Department. With his methods, as long as he took the time to reorganize the team, he could establish absolute authority in a short period of time, and from then on, the Detective Department would only have his voice!
As for investigating Choi Kwang-ki's disappearance, judging from his tone, Imai Yuji is also pessimistic about Choi Kwang-ki's fate. He dares not disobey Imai Yuji's orders, but he is responsible for maintaining the proper balance.
With Wen Hao and others seeing them off, Imai Yuji and Takeshita Shinya got into the car.
"Team leader, do you think Cui Guangqi is still alive?" Takeshita Shinya asked.
Yuji Imai shook his head and said, "It's not certain yet, but our intuition tells me that he has probably been murdered. Although Choi Kwang-ki is not of much value to us, and we can support another one if one dies, what I'm worried about is whether our old rival has returned?"
"An old rival?"
"Yes, an old rival!"
In the days that followed, Wen Hao continued to send people to search for Cui Guangqi's whereabouts. As for the phone call tracking, following Imai Yuji's instructions, the detectives traced back from the time of Cui Guangqi's disappearance and quickly found a public phone in a small shop. However, the shop owner said he didn't remember clearly, only vaguely recalling that the man who made the call wore a top hat, an overcoat, and sunglasses, making it impossible to see his face clearly.
The investigation by the Criminal Investigation Department quickly stalled. As time went on, everyone knew that the hope was slim, and Wen Hao also ended the investigation, focusing his energy on tracking down the smuggling case.
On the very night that Ning Zhiheng eliminated Cui Guangqi, he reported the results to headquarters and also sent a telegram to Huang Xianzheng, explaining why he had taken the risk of eliminating Cui Guangqi. Huang Xianzheng was terrified to learn that Cui Guangqi had almost exposed Ning Zhiheng's identity, but he was also relieved and naturally did not blame Ning Zhiheng.
Things were going smoothly, but the replies from headquarters and Huang Xianzheng to Ning Zhiheng gave him a real headache.
In these two telegrams, the director ordered him to return to the Wuhan headquarters as soon as possible to report for duty, and the deputy director also urged him to return to discuss the upcoming promotion of the Military Intelligence Investigation Department and the personnel arrangements for Ning Zhiheng.
Judging from the content, both the Director and Deputy Director Huang wanted Ning Zhiheng to return to headquarters to serve as the head of the Operations Division. The Director's intention was quite clear: to prevent Ning Zhiheng's development in Shanghai at the cost of losing the position of the head of the Operations Division, and to ensure his position as the head of the Military Intelligence Investigation Division.
Deputy Director Huang was considering the interests of the entire Baoding faction and the significant role that the power of the head of the action department played in consolidating the Baoding faction's position.
However, Ning Zhiheng had no intention of going back, and he didn't take the position of head of the action department seriously.
His work in Shanghai is going very smoothly. In less than a year, he has opened up a large number of businesses in the French Concession and the International Settlement. He has also placed a large number of intelligence agents, led by Ji Hongyi, in the Green Gang. It can be said that no matter what happens in the entire concession area, it will be difficult to escape his notice.
Within the Japanese sphere of influence, there were infiltrators like Shinya Takeshita and Xingchao Luo in the Special Higher Police, Colonel Takashi Katsuta trusted the Military Police Headquarters, and Ishikawa Takeshi and his officers supported and responded to him. He himself also began to infiltrate the upper echelons of Japanese society in Shanghai.
Furthermore, they control Asia's largest intelligence market and have established smuggling channels. They have everything they need: manpower, money, and resources. How could they possibly hand over such a prime location, a position they built from scratch, to someone else?
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