Kitaoka Ryoko nodded to everyone, then turned and followed Kimura Maki out of the hall. They soon arrived at Ning Zhiheng's private room. Upon reaching the front door, Kimura Maki opened the door and gestured for them to enter.
"Team Leader Kitaoka, the Chairman has some matters to attend to. Please wait here for a moment."
Kitaoka Ryoko was taken aback for a moment, but quickly nodded and stepped into the room.
Maki Kimura closed the door from the outside and stood guard outside the gate.
The spacious room was empty. The house was furnished in an antique style, with expensive sandalwood furniture. Bookshelves and desks were on the west side of the room, while a clean and tidy tea table was set up on the east side, with an exquisite tea table in the middle.
A set of exquisite tea utensils was placed on the tea table, and a wisp of steam was still rising from the spout of the purple clay teapot, indicating that the tea had been brewed.
The room was filled with the subtle aroma of sandalwood and tea, and dappled sunlight streamed through the openwork carved windows, creating an atmosphere of understated elegance and tranquility.
Kitaoka Ryoko looked around the room, then sat down on a chair and waited for Fujiwara Tomohito to arrive.
In a nearby room, Ning Zhiheng, dressed in a black kimono, looked at Iwai Nosuke and asked in a deep voice, "You mean that Kitaoka Ryoko went to the French Concession this morning and retrieved the bodies of twelve members of the undercover team?"
Iwai nosuke nodded and replied, "Yes, according to Kitaoka Ryoko, the Shanghai intelligence department of the Chinese special agents raided the infiltration team last night, and all members were killed. Kitaoka Ryoko's last infiltration team in the French Concession was also wiped out, which made Kitaoka Ryoko very depressed. You can tell that her mental state is very bad."
Upon hearing this news, Ning Zhiheng was overjoyed. Huo Yueze had done a good job this time. He had previously ordered the intelligence department to find the last infiltrator team, and now Huo Yueze had lived up to his mission and completed the task. He believed that he would soon receive a report from him.
Iwai Nosuke continued, "Later she said that the undercover team had been wiped out and the investigation into the Fujiwara Company had been forced to stop. She simply wanted to negotiate directly with you and ask for your support."
Ning Zhiheng frowned and asked, "So, this undercover team was monitoring the Fujiwara Company's activities in the French Concession? What did they find out?"
Iwai no Naoki shook his head: "I didn't participate in the investigation in the French Concession, so I don't know the specifics, but Kitaoka Ryoko was carrying a briefcase with some documents inside, and the contents should be of some value."
What else did she say?
"Kitaoka Ryoko also said that if this negotiation fails, she will release Hirayama Jiro, give him weapons and support, and assassinate you and Kagesa Hiroki to completely mess up the situation in Shanghai, and wait for General Tsuchihara to return to deal with the mess."
"What?" Ning Zhiheng clenched his fist immediately, his sharp gaze shooting towards Iwai Nosuke.
"She's incredibly audacious. Is this Keiji Tsuchihara's doing?"
“It shouldn’t be,” Iwai nosuke said, flustered by Ning Zhiheng’s words. “I suspect it was Kitaoka Ryoko’s own unauthorized action. She’s been acting very erratically today.”
This woman is truly insane. It seems she's prepared to fight to the death if threats fail. However, this drastic measure of cutting off her supply lines is indeed ruthless and not without merit. If executed properly, it might actually achieve her goal.
However, since Ning Zhiheng knew the other party's plan, he had to prepare for the worst. Although he was quite wary of the old spy chief Tsuchihara Keiji, Ning Zhiheng could not care less about what Kitaoka Ryoko had done when the time came.
"She only brought you with her?"
"Yes, General Kagesa's control over the agency is becoming more and more secure. She doesn't dare to use the people in the agency now, so she brought me here alone. Chairman, what should I do?"
Ning Zhiheng pondered for a moment, then said, "Kitaoka Ryoko has quite the nerve, but Mulan Academy is a public place, so it's really not appropriate for me to do anything to her here."
At this point, he looked up at Iwai nosuke and said in a deep voice, "Iwai-kun, I am very satisfied with your performance. Today I will talk to Kitaoka Ryoko first. If she can stop herself from going to the other side, I will give her a chance. If she still insists on going her own way, then I will have Kimura cooperate with you. You will follow his arrangements."
"Yes, sir!" Iwai nosuke bowed and accepted the order.
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