The difference this time is that Shadow requested that a missing person notice be posted on the bulletin board at the east entrance of Qing Shi Tea House to confirm whether Fan Zhongfu is one of their own, instead of publishing a missing person notice in the newspaper as before, probably because there wasn't enough time.
Shadow planned to start the rescue tonight, but it was already past midnight. All the newspapers in Shanghai had already finished layout and would be shipped out for sale as soon as it got light. Using newspapers to communicate information was definitely too late. Time was of the essence, so Shadow had to take a faster approach.
Xia Deyan didn't linger any longer. He changed into black casual clothes, pulled out a pistol from under the bedside table, hid it on his waist, turned off the light, picked up his suitcase, and quickly left the house.
Two hours later, Xia Deyan and Lin Hanwen met at the designated emergency contact point.
Lin Hanwen spent the entire day yesterday in tension and anxiety. Fan Zhongfu, one of the members of the Standing Committee of the Municipal Party Committee, suddenly lost contact. When the news reached Lin Hanwen, he almost lost his composure. The disappearance of such an important high-ranking official was unprecedented in the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee.
Fortunately, the Seventy-Sixth Division was quite active, arresting prominent figures from all walks of life throughout Shanghai. The underground party organization was also well-informed, and he quickly discovered that Fan Zhongfu had fallen into the hands of the Seventy-Sixth Division.
Lin Hanwen was an experienced veteran of the underground party. As long as Fan Zhongfu was still in the hands of No. 76, he would not send anyone to rashly contact Fan Zhongfu's family to inquire about information, in order to prevent the enemy from secretly monitoring him and causing unnecessary losses.
So he used some connections to inquire about the situation from the sidelines, and finally learned about the situation through an insider at the police station. Only then did he confirm that Fan Zhongfu's arrest was not the only case. These well-known figures were all forcibly kidnapped by agents of the 76th Special Agent Unit to make a show of things for the upcoming Sixth Congress.
Upon learning this, Lin Hanwen secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Since it wasn't an action targeting Fan Zhongfu personally, it meant that Fan Zhongfu's identity hadn't been exposed for the time being, and the situation wasn't too bad. He only needed to keep a close eye on the development of the situation and be ready to deal with any emergencies.
Unfortunately, he didn't know the specifics of what happened during the arrest. Otherwise, with his experience, knowing the circumstances of Chen Hongmin's sacrifice would have immediately made him realize the seriousness of the problem and he would have already taken emergency measures.
It wasn't until the early hours of this morning that his direct subordinate, a farmer, requested a meeting via emergency contact. He didn't dare to delay in the slightest and rushed over immediately.
Lin Hanwen didn't know much about Shadow and Farmer. He only knew that they were both high-ranking intelligence agents transferred from headquarters. Shadow's identity was top secret, and after many guesses, he still couldn't confirm his exact identity. Farmer was specifically responsible for Shadow's communication work. Whenever he had news, it must be that Shadow had something to pass on.
"Old Xia, what happened? Is there news about Shadow?" Lin Hanwen asked as soon as he entered the room.
Xia Deyan's expression was serious. He opened the suitcase, took out the white paper, handed it to Lin Hanwen, and said, "Shadow sent this two hours ago. Take a look. He's waiting for our news to decide on the next move."
Lin Hanwen immediately took it and looked at it carefully. As soon as he saw the contents, he felt his scalp tighten and his eyes narrowed into slits. The worst situation had finally happened. Number 76 had already realized that Fan Zhongfu's identity was problematic and would soon begin to torture him to extract a confession. If it weren't for the smooth convening of the Sixth Congress, Fan Zhongfu would not have been able to save his life by now.
Xia Deyan saw Lin Hanwen's face suddenly turn ugly and knew that the situation was indeed bad. Fan Zhongfu must be his comrade, or even a comrade that Lin Hanwen was very familiar with, otherwise he would not have reacted so strongly as soon as he saw the content.
He asked, "So, is Fan Zhongfu one of our men?"
Lin Hanwen gripped the paper tightly, feeling as if it weighed a ton. He sighed softly and said, "He's not only our comrade, but also an extremely important member. We must do everything we can to rescue him."
Lin Hanwen did not tell Xia Deyan Fan Zhongfu's specific identity, but Xia Deyan understood his meaning. He said, "It seems that Shadow's information is accurate and timely. Don't worry. Shadow said in the letter that if it is confirmed that he is our comrade, he will carry out a rescue operation tonight. He asked us to pick him up at the west entrance of Dongsi Street at nine o'clock tonight. This is to rescue him before the enemy makes a move. The agents of No. 76 will get nothing."
Lin Hanwen frowned deeply, his spirits unwavering. He said in a deep voice, "I'm not worried about Lao Fan, but about Shadow! Rescuing someone from the headquarters of Agent 76 is no easy task! Moreover, Lao Fan's identity has already been exposed, and the enemy will definitely keep a close watch on him. Rescuing Lao Fan will be extremely risky for Shadow. You must know that Shadow is a senior intelligence agent assigned to our Shanghai Municipal Committee by headquarters. His identity is even more important than Lao Fan's. To be honest, I'm afraid that Shadow will be exposed because of this rescue operation. What if not only does he fail to rescue Lao Fan, but he also gets caught up in the mess? That would be a tragedy beyond redemption!"
Lin Hanwen, being a high-ranking member of the underground party organization with overall control, had to consider things much more comprehensively than others.
Fan Zhongfu's arrest was certainly a serious situation, but he believed that Fan Zhongfu's loyalty to his faith could withstand the enemy's cruel torture. Moreover, he had received advance notice and had begun to evacuate the personnel related to Fan Zhongfu's work line before the enemy made their move. Although the losses would be significant, they were still within acceptable limits.
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
