Lin Mucheng and Ning Zhiheng looked at each other, and the room fell silent for a moment, the atmosphere becoming heavy.
After a long pause, Lin Mucheng finally spoke slowly: "As expected, there's no such thing as a pleasant banquet. It seems we won't be drinking to our hearts' content today! I knew you spies were hard to deal with. But, Zhiheng, even though you're a high-ranking official in the Military Intelligence Bureau, the head of the Second Operations Division, you can't just frame me for no reason, can you? I'm a colonel and brigade commander in the National Revolutionary Army. Without evidence, you can't convict me!"
Ning Zhiheng gave a wry smile, nodded, and spoke again: "Brother Mucheng, don't be anxious. I invited you here today with no ill intentions. My purpose is to have a good talk with you. Please let me tell you the origin of this matter."
Lin Mucheng had calmed down by now. Since Ning Zhiheng had brought up the matter, there would definitely be more to it. At this point, he could only deal with it as it came. So he nodded and said, "Then I'm all ears!"
So Ning Zhiheng stopped beating around the bush and began to recount the events of that year: "Three years ago, in this late autumn season, I had just graduated from the Whampoa Military Academy and was assigned to the Military Intelligence Investigation Department, which was the predecessor of the Military Intelligence Bureau. I was lucky; the first case I took on was a major case involving Japanese spies. We spent a lot of effort arresting the leader and all members of the Shadow Intelligence Group of the Japanese Special Higher Police."
Ning Zhiheng paused slightly at this point, carefully observing Lin Mucheng's subtle changes. He saw that Lin Mucheng's face was calm and normal, without any abnormality, but his right hand, which was resting on the table, was clenched into a fist, with the veins on the back of his hand bulging, indicating that he must be extremely nervous and shocked.
Ning Zhiheng continued, "The Shadow Group leader at the time, Windmill, couldn't withstand the torture and was electrocuted to death. However, another member, Puppet, eventually spoke up. He not only confessed to everything, but more importantly, he also revealed a deeply hidden Japanese spy whose code name was Flying Swallow!"
When Ning Zhiheng got to this point, Lin Mucheng could no longer remain calm.
"Flying Swallow"! What a distant yet real name! This name tormented him for so many years! He kept it buried deep in his heart, fearing that one day someone would call out this name in his ear, but that day has finally come!
Lin Mucheng took a deep breath, trying to suppress the fear in his heart, but it was no use. His heart was still pounding violently. After Huang Xiansheng, codenamed Puppet, was arrested, he could hardly sleep at night. He would stay awake until dawn every night. Many times, he would vaguely see a group of people breaking down the door and arresting him.
But as time went by, nothing happened, and he no longer received any messages from the Japanese. It was as if everything had returned to normal, as if it had all been a nightmare. He wished it had all been a dream!
Lin Mucheng initially thought he had escaped this calamity by sheer luck, and that the Japanese had abandoned him for some reason. He secretly rejoiced. Later, as the war broke out in full force, his troops went to the front lines and fought the Japanese with real swords and spears on the battlefield. He gradually put aside his concerns and threw himself into the battlefield. This memory gradually became blurred, but now he realized that he had already been exposed three years ago. He just didn't know why no one had come to arrest him.
“When I was in charge of this case, I learned that Fei Yan’s true identity was actually you! The eldest son of Lin Zhen, a veteran of our Baoding Clique. I didn’t know what to do. After all, I was also a member of the Baoding Clique. I hesitated for a long time, and finally decided to cover up this secret for the benefit of our Baoding Clique. For this, I did not hesitate to personally kill the puppet and make it look like he could not withstand the torture and died from his injuries.”
Upon hearing this, Lin Mucheng's eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at Ning Zhiheng. He couldn't be sure if what the other person said was true. If it was true, then the other person had undoubtedly pulled him back from the brink of disaster.
"Well? Brother Mu Cheng, do you still not believe what I'm saying? It's alright, just keep listening."
Although I decided to keep this secret for you, I still needed to investigate the Japanese spies behind you, so I decided to follow and monitor you. You don't know that for a long time afterward, I stayed by your side, and your every move was under my surveillance.
You live at No. 27 Yongfu Road in the north of Nanjing. Every morning at seven o'clock, you go to work at the Zhengnan Lake garrison. You have lunch at the division headquarters and do not go home. In the evening, you eat at a restaurant called "Hexiang Restaurant". Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, you go to the nearby "Lexiaoyao Dance Hall". Every weekend, you go back to your father's house for lunch, go to the Army Officers Club to play cards in the afternoon, and go to Lexiaoyao Dance Hall in the evening.
Every time you played cards at the officers' club, you liked to sit at the westernmost table, in the chair by the window, you know? I was sitting not far to your right, watching your every move.
Lin Mucheng almost jumped up at this moment. Ning Zhiheng's account was exactly the same as his life in Nanjing. There were even some details that he himself had forgotten, but Ning Zhiheng remembered them clearly.
Lin Mucheng couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. He no longer had any doubts about Ning Zhiheng's words. He knew about the Shadow Group, about the puppet, about his code name Flying Swallow, and that they had even been silently tracking and monitoring him for so long. He was really too oblivious to have known anything about it.
"You may not know this, but the Japanese did not really give up on you. Not long after, they sent a new senior agent, Snow Wolf, to try to reinstate you. However, they did not expect that I had been keeping watch in the shadows. Just as he was about to verify your identity, you fell into my hands. In order to protect your identity from being exposed, I had no choice but to kill him again. I was almost blown up for this, but luckily I survived.
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