The only gain was that the two Chinese agents who attempted the assassination outside the door were killed on the spot, but with no survivors, there was no possibility of continuing the investigation.
The assassination had a significant impact, leading to a temporary halt in the talks between the two sides, and thus another citywide search began.
However, unlike in the past, this time the Special Agent Headquarters No. 76 officially took the lead in the search. Their Green Gang members were all local street thugs who knew the area well, and the search was far more thorough than before, quickly clearing out the entire city.
The agents of No. 76 were familiar with the local situation and knew exactly which households had migrant workers. In particular, they took all those who had entered Shanghai in the past month to the secret service headquarters and detained them. Only after the local guarantors paid a ransom could they be released.
In a short time, a large number of suspicious persons were arrested in the prison at No. 76 Jessfield Road. Ding Mo and Li Zhiqun were greedy by nature. At the beginning of the organization, they were short of funds. They could use these people to extort some money and also identify the real anti-Japanese elements.
Their methods were extremely vicious, but they were indeed very effective. Soon, during the arrest, they encountered a genuine anti-Japanese organization. These people did not have their identification checked and were unwilling to surrender, so they opened fire and fled. However, the city of Shanghai was now surrounded like an iron barrel, with military police and secret agents patrolling the streets and alleys.
All those who resisted were either killed or captured; in the end, none escaped the clutches of the enemy.
On a street in western Shanghai, the window of a two-story house was smashed, and two figures darted out of the room.
Immediately afterwards, several gunshots rang out from behind. One of the fleeing men was shot twice in the back, screamed in agony, and collapsed to the ground.
The man running ahead heard his companion's screams and turned around. He was shocked and hesitated whether to turn back to help when sirens blared in the street. A large group of people rushed in from both sides of the street. The leader, a middle-aged man with a fierce face, was Wu Shicai, the captain of the guard brigade of the No. 76 Special Agent Headquarters.
Dozens of gun barrels were pointed at the man in an instant. The man sighed, and the agents rushed forward and pinned him to the ground. The arrested man was quickly taken back to the intelligence headquarters for interrogation.
In the newly built interrogation room of the secret service headquarters, a man was suspended in mid-air, with only his toes dangling on the ground, his body beaten until it was bloody and mangled.
Just then, Wu Shicai brought the man back to the interrogation room. Looking at the scene before him, he asked, "Who is this person? Did you get anything out of him?"
The person in charge of the interrogation was Ma Heng, the leader of his Green Gang subordinates. Seeing Wu Shicai's question, he quickly replied, "These were captured from the secret passage in Mantoujiao Hutong. I captured four, and the interrogation has been completed. They are members of the Three Principles of the People Youth Corps, which are peripheral members of the Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics. The main members are in the International Settlement. These are the few left in the city. Captain, how's your harvest?"
Mantou Hutong was a slum in the city. Its complex terrain, numerous secret passages, and chaotic population made it a blind spot for the Japanese searches. However, it could not escape the eyes of the Green Gang. This sudden search yielded a great deal of results.
Wu Shicai chuckled and pointed to the man behind him, saying, "When we were arresting them, these three escaped. We killed two of them, leaving only this one. But he's definitely a big fish. We found a gun in the house, but we don't know what kind it is!"
Upon hearing this, Ma Heng grinned, revealing his dark yellow teeth.
"Brother Cai!"
"Hmm..." Wu Shicai snorted!
"No, Captain, these few people are enough for us to report to the director and the others. But these people are real anti-Japanese elements, and we don't have any money to burn. Today we also caught a few big fish, all well-known merchants in the western part of the city. Should we use some tricks to squeeze some money out of them?"
Wu Shicai's eyes lit up when he heard this. He was the most greedy person. He would cheat, swindle, kill, and commit arson for money. He was willing to do anything!
Originally, he was in the Green Gang because he couldn't get any profits from the casinos and had a dispute with several leaders about how to divide the spoils, causing chaos and making it impossible for him to stay. Later, when Ding Mo and Li Zhiqun asked Li Yunqing for help, Li Yunqing went along with it and handed Wu Shicai and his gang over to Ding Mo.
He used to be mindful of the rules of the Green Gang and was somewhat lenient with the locals. Now, with guns and men, and the protection of the Special Agent Headquarters and the Japanese, the already audacious guy has become even more reckless.
Hearing that his men had arrested local wealthy families, he knew that his chance to make a fortune had arrived. Without the slightest hesitation, he said ruthlessly, "Then don't be polite. Anyway, this large-scale search is on the orders of the Japanese. These are all suspicious individuals. Don't hold back. You must extract a hefty sum from each of these wealthy families. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
