Late at night, at the Spit Club in the Shanghai International Settlement, the most upscale card and board game club in the settlement, which operated on a membership system and was usually only accessible to staff of consulates of various countries and a small number of foreigners with status.
In a brightly lit room, two men sat facing each other, a chess set laid out on the table in front of them.
With his blond curly hair and tall stature, Phillips was leisurely watching the man opposite him, and couldn't help but tease him, "Chen, your chess skills have disappointed me for so long. I feel no sense of accomplishment playing against you!"
The person opposite him was Huo Yueze, the head of the intelligence department. His alias in Shanghai's intelligence circles was "Chen". Over the years, as the largest buyer in Shanghai's intelligence market, Huo Yueze's position was irreplaceable and unshakable. Phillips had been dealing with him for a long time and they were quite familiar with each other.
Huo Yueze was clearly having a bad time in the game. Hearing Phillips's teasing, he shook his head helplessly and said, "They're both chess, but they're worlds apart. It wouldn't be fair for me to teach you Chinese chess sometime!"
"Forget it then, I don't have time, and I won't give you the chance!" Phillips chuckled, showing no interest in the matter and not wanting to go looking for trouble.
Seeing that victory was hopeless, Huo Yueze simply conceded defeat and began today's formal talks. As two important figures in the intelligence community, their meeting today was naturally not as simple as playing chess; they had more important things to discuss.
Huo Yueze spoke first: "Alright, it's getting late, let's get down to business!"
Phillips shrugged slightly, signaling Huo Yueze to continue. He was somewhat surprised when he received Huo Yueze's invitation to meet, as today was not a day for intelligence chiefs to gather, nor was the meeting place a normal transaction. Therefore, he was puzzled by Huo Yueze's intentions.
Huo Yueze picked up a briefcase from the side, opened it, poured out a photograph, handed it to Phillips, and asked in a deep voice, "You know this person, right?"
Phillips was taken aback. He took the photo and looked at it. His eyes narrowed and his gaze sharpened. He nodded and said, "Chen, where did you get this photo?"
“The cell at the headquarters of Agent 76!” Huo Yueze replied calmly, while his eyes were fixed on Phillips. “Philips, you don’t need to doubt my purpose. I know this man is called Feng Sinian. He used to be one of your subordinates in the arms business. I’ve met him before.”
Phillips did not immediately answer Huo Yueze's question, but pondered for a moment before slowly saying, "You're right, his name is Feng Sinian. He used to be my subordinate. But why is he in cell number 76? And how did you get information about him?"
Huo Yueze knew what Phillips was thinking, so he simply stated frankly: "This Feng Sinian was personally arrested by Li Zhiqun two months ago. Initially, he was kept in the Shadow Agency and kept strictly secret from the outside world. It wasn't until the Shadow Agency moved to Nanjing that he was transferred to No. 76 and kept in secret ever since. Outsiders had no way to contact him. We had been monitoring Li Zhiqun's actions and that's how we got this information. Later, after some effort, we finally found out his identity. I'm here to inform you of this."
"Philip, why did Li Zhiqun arrest Feng Sinian? You should know better than I do. I need to know the reason!"
Phillips knew that Huo Yueze had no reason to lie to him. They had been working together for many years and had always had a pleasant working relationship with each other. Hearing Huo Yueze's question, he decided to tell him everything.
"Chen, to be honest, I sent Feng Sinian to Nanjing two years ago to contact the mole I planted there and manage an intelligence channel for me. I always thought he was still in Nanjing, but I never expected that he would be arrested by Li Zhiqun."
Huo Yueze immediately became alert. He looked at Phillips and asked in a deep voice, "Feng Sinian was involved in intelligence activities. Was he your intelligence contact? Nanjing! Just over two months ago, Li Zhiqun arrested him in Nanjing!"
At this point, he couldn't help but express his dissatisfaction with Phillips: "Philip, your intelligence channels are faulty. You didn't even notice that we'd been out of contact for so long. That's incredibly careless!"
Phillips could only give a wry smile and explain, "Chen, my intelligence management method is a bit special. The intelligence from each channel is personally transmitted by the liaison officer, without using a radio. Liaison officers like Feng Sinian only return to Shanghai after obtaining important intelligence to directly hand it over to me, confirm the authenticity and value of the intelligence, and then collect the mole's reward."
So normally, when we don't have intelligence, we don't contact each other at all. Sometimes it's normal for there to be a gap in communication. But you're right, this time, the gap has been too long. I haven't received any intelligence from Nanjing for a long time, and I was just preparing to send someone to investigate when I didn't expect that he would be arrested by Li Zhiqun.
"What do you think Li Zhiqun's purpose is? And what does Feng Sinian know?" Huo Yueze pressed.
Phillips pondered for a moment, then said, "Feng Sinian was just running errands for me before, he was insignificant. Moreover, since I arranged for him to participate in intelligence work, he has been staying in Nanjing and does not know the real inside story. So apart from my identity, he doesn't know much else."
Are you sure?
"Sure!"
"That's strange. You're an American diplomat. Even if Li Zhiqun knew your identity, he couldn't do anything to you. So why did he detain Feng Sinian in solitary confinement for so long and take it so seriously?"
This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com