That evening, Ono Matsunaga reported to Imai Yuji about the situation he had been tracking and monitoring Takasugi Hitoshi over the past two days.
“Starting yesterday, we have been closely monitoring Takasugi Hitoshi. He hasn’t been in contact with many people these past two days. Yesterday morning, he was at the United News Agency. He came out once to buy two packs of cigarettes at a grocery store across from the agency. At noon, he ate at a nearby restaurant with his assistant, Nomura. At 3 p.m., he went out to conduct interviews at the garrison in Shimonoseki. At 6 p.m., he had dinner with Mr. and Mrs. Yi Chengzhi, the director of the Nanjing Government Examination Institute Training Committee, at the Hexing Hotel. At 8 p.m., he returned home to rest.”
This morning I went to interview the military unit stationed in Xiaguan. Around noon, I took a rickshaw to the antique market near Xuanwu Lake, went into an antique shop called "Fangwaitang," and bought an inkstone. Afterwards, I went straight back to the United News Agency and didn't come out. An hour ago, I returned home and am currently under surveillance.
After listening for a moment, Yuji Imai analyzed, "We need to keep a record of everyone who has been in contact with Hitoshi Takasugi these past few days. In particular, the general store across from the United News Agency. When we used to set up infiltration missions, we would often set up contact points near the residences and workplaces of our intelligence agents. We need to investigate the background of this general store thoroughly. I think it is very suspicious."
Also, those around Takasugi Hitoshi, and those he frequently comes into contact with, should be considered as suspects.
There shouldn't be any problems with the garrison. The garrison at Xiaguan just changed shifts, so there shouldn't be any inside agents within the unit. I think this is just a routine interview assignment.
As for the director and his wife from the Nanjing government, I think it's unlikely they were accomplices. Accomplices usually don't meet for too long, and it's even less likely that the couple would appear together. They stayed together for two hours, which is not typical of intelligence activities.
And the most suspicious thing is that he took a rickshaw to the antique street today. He's the chief reporter for the United Daily News and has his own car. Why would he take a rickshaw to Xuanwu Lake? It's time-consuming and laborious, and the distance isn't short. He probably didn't want to attract attention. What was the name of that antique shop?
"Fangwaitang!"
"Fangwaitang! Yes, we need to pay close attention to it. It's very likely that it's his communication point for transmitting intelligence. We shouldn't alert him now."
The general store and Fangwaitang should also be closely monitored; there might be unexpected gains.
"Yes, sir!" Ono Matsunaga nodded in agreement.
Meanwhile, in a room in the city center, Xiao Hong was talking quietly with Lü Chengfeng.
Xiao Hong gave Lü Chengfeng a detailed account of everything that had happened that day, and concluded by saying, "Gao Shan is very alert. He noticed our warning signal and left quickly. There was indeed someone following him, which confirms that the Shadow's message was genuine. Chengfeng, you came from Shanghai. Do you know anything about this Shadow? How did he end up in Nanjing?"
Lu Chengfeng was specially transferred from Shanghai to Nanjing when the Nanjing underground party organization was rebuilt. He had a high rank in the Shanghai underground party organization before, so after being transferred to Nanjing, he directly became one of the eight members of the Nanjing group. Logically speaking, he could have known about the existence of the Shadow.
However, Lu Chengfeng shook his head when he heard Xiao Hong's question.
Xiao Hong suddenly realized that his question was indeed inappropriate. He could verify with the Shanghai authorities as ordered by Cheng Xingye, but it was not appropriate to ask Lü Chengfeng directly.
Lu Chengfeng's previous work experience in Shanghai, especially the confidential parts, did not need to be reported to Xiao Hong unless an investigation was conducted using organizational procedures.
At this moment, Lü Chengfeng spoke up, "Old Xiao, I really don't know anything about Shadow. We are not on the same intelligence line. Xiucai is very cautious in handling organizational relationships. According to what you said, Shadow must be his direct intelligence agent. He would not reveal anything about Shadow to anyone."
Xiao Hong didn't know if Lü Chengfeng was telling the truth, but since Lü Chengfeng answered like that, Xiao Hong couldn't ask any further questions. So he changed the subject and said, "Alright, let's wait for Shanghai to reply before we talk about this matter. Now let's talk about Gao Shan's problem. He's in a very dangerous situation right now. After what happened today, he must have realized it, but he doesn't know the specific reason. That's why you need to contact him. You also work at the United News Agency, so can you get in touch with him?"
Lu Chengfeng pondered for a moment. Although he also worked at the United News Agency, the agency was strictly managed with different levels and divisions of labor.
The Ryoden News Agency is an official newspaper under the administration of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Its leaders and key members are all Japanese, such as the president, editor-in-chief, chief editor, department managers, and chief reporter. These people are definitely Japanese intelligence agents with espionage backgrounds, and Takasugi Hitoshi is one of them.
Next came the ordinary Japanese staff, who were either journalists sent from Japan to China or Japanese expatriates recruited from China.
Finally, Chinese staff were recruited for various reasons, such as peripheral journalists, typesetting workers, printing workers, and other low-level personnel.
Lu Chengfeng thought for a moment and said slowly, "After all, the United News Agency is an official department with intelligence functions, and its internal management is very strict. The offices of Japanese and Chinese are separate. We cannot enter the Japanese office area, and we Chinese employees have separate offices. Although I was arranged to join the news agency by Takasugi, it was concealed in the process. So I never have any contact with Takasugi on the surface. If you want to contact him, you can only do so in the typesetting workshop, where he sometimes goes."
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