Su Gaoyang made a decisive move, evacuating all personnel to a safe house and immediately reporting to Zuo Gang, the leader of the action team.
Upon receiving the report, Zuo Gang dared not take it lightly and quickly reported the situation to Yi Hua'an, who was in charge of intelligence work in the city. Yi Hua'an was Ning Zhiheng's personal secretary, and he immediately informed Ning Zhiheng.
"Yannan Street, Shuangxi Bookstore?" Ning Zhiheng was stunned when he heard Yi Hua'an's report.
He knew perfectly well that this location was the headquarters of the Shanghai intelligence station, and that Lian Jingtian's eventual disappearance here was definitely suspicious; it must have been someone from the Shanghai intelligence station.
But how did the Shanghai intelligence station find the Lian family's old residence? Just a few days ago, this property belonged to Japanese businessman Hiroshi Imagawa, but the Shanghai station bought it as the nephew of the former owner, Lian Liangchou. What's going on?
Even with Ning Zhiheng's extremely sharp mind, he couldn't figure out the real reason out of thin air, but he was certain that the other party wasn't Japanese, which made the danger much smaller.
The next morning, after Ning Zhiheng finished washing up, a Japanese maid dressed in a kimono brought him a sumptuous breakfast.
As Ning Zhiheng became the president of the Fujiwara Company, his status grew increasingly prominent, and his residence could no longer be as casual as before. Therefore, he selected cooks and servants from among the Japanese expatriates. In addition to his six bodyguards, there are now more than ten people in the villa, all of whom are genuine Japanese.
After finishing his breakfast with the help of his servants, Ning Zhiheng did not wear his usual sharp suit, but instead chose casual clothes to go out.
At this moment, his head bodyguard, Kimura Maki, who was already prepared, quickly stepped forward to greet him.
"Chairman!" Kimura Maki bowed deeply.
Kimura Maki, in his thirties, was Ning Zhiheng's personal bodyguard, specially selected from among many bodyguards. He was skilled in martial arts, a master of karate, and also a very good marksman.
"Kimura, I have things to do today. You don't need to come with me. Just wait at home for my call!" Ning Zhiheng instructed in a deep voice.
"Yes, sir!" Kimura Maki didn't dare to say more and quickly bowed in response.
They were very clear about their chairman's style of doing things; he never allowed anyone to disobey his words, and all they had to do was obey him unconditionally.
Ning Zhiheng strode out of his house, hailed a rickshaw, and got in.
The rickshaw turned through several streets before Ning Zhiheng signaled it to stop. He paid the fare and then walked a distance before entering an apartment building.
This is one of the intelligence department's safe houses, where Zuo Gang and the others are waiting for his arrival.
"Chief!"
Upon seeing Ning Zhiheng enter, everyone in the room quickly stood up.
Ning Zhiheng waved his hand to signal, then sat down in the main seat. After everyone else sat down, he asked, "I understand the situation. This Lian Jingtian should be a member of the Shanghai intelligence station."
"Shanghai Station?" Zuo Gang asked in surprise.
“Yes, Shanghai Station, but I can’t guess why they would buy the Lian family’s old house.” Ning Zhiheng nodded in confirmation, then turned to Su Gaoyang, “Have you seen anything unusual in the few days since you took over the house?”
Su Gaoyang quickly replied, "Reporting to the Chief, we have only been in charge of this residence for five days, and everything is normal. Then Jingtian suddenly came to the door. I was afraid that something might happen, so I immediately left the Lian family's old residence."
Are there any unusual circumstances at present?
"No, everything at the Lian family's old residence is normal, and I can't see any intentions from them," Su Gaoyang replied.
Ning Zhiheng nodded and said, "You did a good job. The first thing to do when you notice something unusual is to evacuate immediately. As the saying goes, it's better to be prepared than not. We are lying in wait behind enemy lines, so we can't afford to take any chances!"
Ning Zhiheng was very satisfied with Su Gaoyang's performance. He had great confidence in his subordinates and believed that they would not be targeted by the Shanghai Station. Besides, the Shanghai Station had no reason to cause trouble for his intelligence department.
"Yes, sir, there's something I'd like to report!"
"explain!"
“When Lian Jingtian came to the door yesterday, I could tell that he was indeed interested in buying this house. In fact, he had already found out that the resale price of the house was $14,000.”
Upon hearing this, Ning Zhiheng immediately realized the problem. Yi Hua'an handled the house in a very secretive way. Although it changed hands multiple times, he was the one who was transferring it from one hand to the other. Outsiders could not participate at all and would not know the transfer prices. Only when the house sale contract was registered with the municipal government could outsiders know the specific purchase price.
In other words, the other party went to great lengths to bribe relevant personnel in the municipal government and found out that the final transaction price was $14,000. This shows that the other party put in a lot of effort, did their homework, and came prepared.
If it's just a simple contact and test, buying a house is merely a cover-up, since the other party has no intention of buying the house at all, and it seems unnecessary to go to such lengths.
Furthermore, the intelligence department and the Shanghai station have no connection whatsoever. Even if the other side had noticed, there would be no reason for them to come knocking on their door.
Now, he's deliberately impersonating a descendant of the Lian family to come here. Could it be that the Shanghai station is really here to buy this old Lian family residence? Ning Zhiheng suddenly felt that this was very likely.
Yes, that must be it! Ning Zhiheng's intuition was extremely sharp and accurate; he vaguely felt that he had found the real answer to the problem.
So what is their purpose? Are they planning to establish a contact point in downtown Shanghai? Or does this house contain something they need?
Thinking of this, Ning Zhiheng decisively ordered, "Let's go to the Lian family's old residence right away. I want to see for myself what's different about this house!"
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