The next day, at the agreed meeting point, Xia Deyan handed two microfilm rolls and a letter to Lin Hanwen.
"Look, Shadow delivered it last night. They got the blueprints so quickly! It proves that Shadow's intelligence capabilities are unmatched; he never lets us down!"
Xia Deyan spoke with a mix of excitement and satisfaction. As Shadow's one-way liaison, he felt genuinely proud of every achievement Shadow made.
Lin Hanwen glanced at the contents of the letter and his heart skipped a beat. He forced himself to calm down and then took a magnifying glass to examine the two microfilm rolls carefully, afraid of missing anything. After a long while, he finally looked up at Xia Deyan and asked uncertainly, "I really can't believe that Shadow succeeded like that?"
The blueprints and film that Xia Deyan brought left Lin Hanwen somewhat dazed, and he didn't recover for a long time.
Since receiving orders from his superiors to search for the whereabouts of the blueprints at all levels in South and Central China, he has mobilized all available resources, even issuing orders to top intelligence agents like Shadow and Bat.
Given the difficulty level of this mission, he knew very well that this would be a tough battle in his intelligence career, and he might even have to pay a heavy price for it, or pay the price and still gain nothing. To be honest, he was mentally prepared for this.
But just ten days after the order was issued, Shadow delivered the blueprints to him so easily. All his previous mental preparations were like a punch that had been waiting for a long time, but it hit empty air, leaving him feeling quite uneasy!
"You can't believe it either, can you? Haha, I was stunned at first too. How did Shadow get his hands on such high-level top-secret information so quickly? The intelligence said that Hong Kong was investigating hard, with various forces gathering and the situation was serious. But who knew that the blueprints had already entered Shanghai and ended up in Shadow's hands? It's unbelievable!"
Lin Hanwen scratched his head and said in confusion, "That shouldn't be the case. The Japanese are also looking for blueprints now. Could it be the British? It's hard to say. It's possible they're trying to cover something up. But how could Shadow be associated with the British? Isn't he undercover at No. 76?"
Xia Deyan, however, remained confident in Shadow as always, and said with a smile, "Didn't we also judge before that Shadow is not fighting alone? Judging from the intelligence he has collected over the years, he must have developed a considerable intelligence force around him. To give a recent example, he obtained the Qingdao secret agreement almost immediately after the meeting ended. This is enough to show that he has his own intelligence sources within the Japanese intelligence agency, and the level of secrecy is very high, so we cannot judge him by ordinary standards."
“Yes! Every piece of information he provides is refreshing my understanding of him. I can see him less and less now!” Lin Hanwen shook his head, feeling deeply moved.
Since Shadow's connections shifted to Shanghai, only he, as the leader, knows how much he helped the underground organization. It can be said that Shadow's contributions to the achievements of the Shanghai underground party organization today are indispensable.
Not to mention the huge financial support, Lin Hanwen also relied on Shadow's intelligence capabilities more and more. It was precisely because of his affirmation of Shadow's intelligence capabilities that he decided to use Shadow to participate in this operation to find the blueprints. Now that the mission is completed, he is actually feeling anxious because the progress was too smooth. Thinking about it, it is really a bit funny.
He looked at the roll of film in his hand and chuckled self-deprecatingly, "This went too smoothly, which made me feel uneasy. To be honest, before, we were clueless and had no leads. We were also trying to steal food from under the noses of the Japanese and British. I didn't have high hopes for this mission. I'm really curious how he managed to do it."
Xia Deyan laughed and said, "What's difficult for the unskilled is easy for the skilled! What seems difficult to us is a piece of cake for Shadow. Old Lin, your decision was right. By establishing two-way communication with Shadow, our work has a clear direction and we can work with purpose. This has greatly improved our efficiency. Look, we've won the first battle!"
Xia Deyan's words made Lin Hanwen laugh out loud. He said, "You're right. That's what I was thinking before. We were always passively waiting for Shadow's news, and there were many important tasks that we couldn't convey to him. Shadow's role couldn't be fully utilized. Now there's no problem. Old Xia, it seems you're going to be busy from now on, haha!"
Xia Deyan's spirits lifted upon hearing this, and he nodded repeatedly; both of them were extremely excited.
Two days later, in the eastern part of Shanghai, at the Mulan Academy, inside Ning Zhiheng's residence, He Siming was also reporting to Ning Zhiheng on some follow-up developments regarding the blueprints.
"According to news from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a fierce conflict broke out between the Japanese and the British in Hong Kong. The cause was the disappearance of a British intelligence officer. The British suspect that the Japanese were responsible, and in response, they have launched a major crackdown on Japanese intelligence forces in Hong Kong. It is said that almost all of Japan's peripheral forces in Hong Kong have been eliminated, resulting in significant losses!"
Upon hearing this, Ning Zhiheng couldn't help but laugh and said, "The Japanese intelligence network in Hong Kong was already weak, and after suffering such a heavy loss, they are probably doomed."
He Siming nodded and said, "That's right. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs handled things poorly this time and was severely reprimanded by the General Headquarters. They are under a lot of pressure. Moreover, according to their sources, the British attitude is firm and should not be fake. The missing British intelligence officer must be a key figure in this matter. The blueprints are most likely on his person."
As expected, everyone's attention is now focused on Scott. Ning Zhiheng nodded to himself and said, "That's for the best. Let them go looking for it. In the end, it will all be for nothing. Let's wait and see."
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