The Director had some doubts. Corruption was rampant within the Kuomintang, and even the Military Intelligence Bureau was not without such people. As long as he could get things done, the Director didn't care much about these things. In his view, embezzling money was not a serious crime.
Of course, this is on the premise that your superiors are unwilling to investigate. If they do investigate, it will be the perfect excuse to make an example of you.
Gu Zhengqi chuckled knowingly and explained, "Ning Zhiheng hasn't been in charge for a long time and wants to find someone to establish his authority. Besides, he's been using this crackdown to promote his old subordinates one after another. Bao Hong blocked his way and just happened to jump out, which is why he ran into the line of fire!"
Despite the turmoil within Operations Division Two, the true reasons could not be kept secret from those with a keen eye, and the truth was soon guessed.
The bureau chief shook his head and laughed, "I knew it! But this Second Operations Division is different from other departments. It's the territory of the Baoding faction. If Huang Zhongxin doesn't care, then we don't need to pay attention to him either. Let them make their accusations."
All matters of the Second Operations Division were to be directly managed by Huang Xianzheng, as agreed upon at the time. Furthermore, given the internal strife within the Baoding faction, even if the Director really wanted to intervene, he couldn't. At most, Huang Xianzheng would inform the Director, and the Director would simply nod and sign off.
The subsequent procedures were proceeding in an orderly manner. The case closure report, the commendation report, the execution approval of Bao Hong and others, the appointment of Nie Tianming, etc., were all completed quickly and efficiently under the operation of various parties. All parties were working hard to digest this drug case and anti-corruption event.
On the morning of the third day after Ning Zhiheng dealt with Bao Hong and others, a rickshaw was running briskly along a street in Yuzhong District, Chongqing. It soon arrived at its destination, dropped off the passenger, and the rickshaw driver took the passenger's receipt, bowed, smiled, and thanked him. After watching the passenger leave, he turned around to catch his breath, wiped the sweat from his forehead with a towel, and pulled the rickshaw a few steps to a street corner. He found a gap, put the rickshaw aside, rested, and waited for the next fare.
The rickshaw driver squatted on the side of the street, looking around, trying to call for the next customer, but the crowds of people came and went in a hurry, and he didn't attract a single customer for a long time.
The driver was clearly disappointed and sighed. But just as he turned his head, he suddenly noticed a middle-aged man walking briskly from the west side of the street.
The middle-aged man had short hair, wore a sharp suit and black leather shoes, and looked capable and energetic. He walked quickly to a newsstand at the street corner, said a few words to the stall owner, and the stall owner quickly picked up a few newspapers from the stall and handed them to him.
The middle-aged man took out his banknotes, paid the money, and walked quickly forward without delay.
From the moment the middle-aged man appeared, the rickshaw driver's eyes never left him. He carefully observed the man's appearance and build, and once he confirmed it, he was immediately invigorated. He watched the man enter the street and quickly took a few steps forward. But then he remembered his rickshaw, so he ran back, picked it up, and chased after the man in the direction he had gone.
However, the streets of Chongqing, a mountain city, are different from other places. They are all narrow roads paved with mountain stones. This particular street is even more crowded because it is a densely populated area. Both sides are lined with residences and shops with signs and storefronts. The large flow of people makes the already narrow street even narrower.
The rickshaw puller was already less convenient than a pedestrian, and he dared not make his presence too obvious, so he only dared to follow from a distance. At first, he could still see the middle-aged man's figure, but soon he lost track of him.
The driver was very anxious. He searched carefully for a while, but could not find it again. He stamped his foot, turned around and left, pulling the empty cart and running quickly towards his own cart shop.
"You've discovered Wei San?"
Upon hearing Liu Yong's report, Ning Zhiheng immediately stood up from his seat. Silver Fox was the highest-ranking Japanese spy he had discovered in Chongqing so far, and she had always been his most concerned target. If he could capture her, at least a large number of spies would be caught, and the gains would be no less than those from the drug case.
Liu Yong nodded and replied, "This morning, our people saw Wei San in the Tiandengbao neighborhood of Yuzhong District."
Next, Liu Yong gave a detailed report on the situation. It turned out that the rickshaw driver had known Wei San before. After spotting the middle-aged man in a suit, he quickly recognized him as Wei San, whom the shopkeeper had repeatedly asked him to find with a reward. However, he was a bit unlucky and lost track of him in the end, so he hurriedly ran back to report the news.
The message reached Liu Yong, who dared not delay and immediately went to the Second Operations Division to report to Ning Zhiheng.
Ning Zhiheng immediately ordered, "Go back right now and find a few more drivers who knew Wei Yong before. Find some clever ones and change their clothes so they can cooperate with our operation."
Ning Zhiheng and his agents, having never actually met Wei San, were prone to making mistakes when searching based solely on a half-body photo from a registration form. Therefore, they needed to arrange for some people who actually knew Wei San to assist in the search.
After receiving the order, Liu Yong quickly left to select suitable personnel. Ning Zhiheng immediately ordered Zhao Jiang to lead his team members, all in civilian clothes, to accompany him on the operation.
Silver Fox is far too important; Ning Zhiheng must personally investigate her whereabouts.
When everyone arrived near Tiandengbao Street, Liu Yong brought a rickshaw driver to Ning Zhiheng.
"Chief, his name is Gan Tuozi, and he's the one who saw Wei San."
This hunchback was not tall and had an ordinary appearance, but his back was indeed hunched, so people around him called him a hunchback.
Ning Zhiheng asked, "Are you sure that person is Wei San?"
Gan Tuozi followed Liu Yong cautiously. When Ning Zhiheng asked, he hurriedly nodded and replied, "It must be him. But this time he was wearing a suit and dressed very neatly, which is very different from before. Fortunately, I remember Wei San's appearance very clearly. This person is usually different from us. He never covers his head and always keeps his hair short."
Ning Zhiheng felt reassured; it seemed he hadn't mistaken the person. He then asked, "How did you find him?"
Gan Tuozi thought for a moment and said, "I got up early this morning and brought a customer over. I had just dropped him off when I saw Wei San walking over from that direction."
At this point, Gan Tuozi pointed to the street on the left: "He bought a newspaper at a newsstand at the street corner. After he bought the newspaper, I followed him to this street, but the road here is too narrow and there are too many people. I can't move fast with my rickshaw, and he disappeared in a while. That's when I went back to tell the shopkeeper."
Ning Zhiheng looked at the Tian Deng Bao neighborhood not far away. The noise and commotion there were incessant, making it a very chaotic place. There were many people and a lot of people coming and going. The buildings were crowded and densely packed, making it a good place to hide.
Ning Zhiheng instructed Zhao Jiang: "Spread out the people, form groups of four, and each group should have a driver. Set up the streets and alleys."
"Yes!" Zhao Jiang accepted the order and made arrangements. All the action team members followed Ning Zhiheng's instructions and quickly began to monitor the street.
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