Chapter 68: Caught A Big Fish
Shanghai, French Concession, Cotton Mill Road.
Late April, the Jiangnan plum rain season arrived as expected.
This damp weather was so humid it involuntarily bred irritability.
Special Higher Police Affairs Action Team Major Ando Shinichi stood in a concealed corner on Cotton Mill Road, rainwater dripping from the edge of his military cap, soon forming a small puddle beside his leather boots.
He raised his hand to check his wristwatch: 2:17 a.m., thirteen minutes until the time intelligence indicated the big fish would appear.
“Major, all positions are in place.” Special Higher Police Affairs Investigation Team Lieutenant Sato Take reported in a low voice, his lenses reflecting faint lights from afar in the darkness.
Ando Shinichi nodded slightly, his fingers unconsciously stroking the Nambu Pistol at his waist.
The big fish they were capturing tonight was named Yu Zuobai, Battle Supervisor of the Loyal Salvation Army Training Regiment First, codename Candle Shadow.
To figure out this person’s whereabouts, the Special Higher Police Affairs had no choice but to activate the inside contact buried in the Loyal Salvation Army.
Two days ago, after sending the final piece of intelligence, the inside contact completely lost contact.
The intelligence stated that at 2:30 a.m. today, an important figure would go to the area near Cotton Mill Road for a rendezvous.
As for the name of this important figure, the inside contact did not mention it; the Special Higher Police Affairs Investigation Team analyzed based on previous intelligence from the inside contact.
This important figure should be Yu Zuobai.
Thus, a carefully designed capture operation was secretly launched under the arrangement of Action Team Major Ando Shinichi.
“Remember, take him alive.” Ando’s voice seemed pulled from an ice cellar. “Your Excellency Fujita needs to know exactly what the Loyal Salvation Army’s purpose is in entering Shanghai.”
“Hai.” Sato Take bowed slightly and led several Investigation Team members to ambush at the rendezvous point.
The remaining Action Team Members tacitly ambushed on both sides; as soon as there was movement in the middle, they could cut off the front and rear routes, guaranteeing that tonight’s big fish could not escape their grasp.
The rain grew heavier, pattering on the surrounding leaves.
Ando Shinichi narrowed his eyes, gazing through the rain curtain at the end of the street.
According to the inside contact’s intelligence, that important figure would ride a rickshaw passing here to a safe house ahead to hand over important documents.
The inside contact only knew the intelligence involved some gold, but exactly what gold it was, his position was insufficient, and he truly could not figure it out.
“Clatter clatter clatter”—from afar came the sound of wheels rolling over the wet road surface.
Ando Shinichi’s pupils contracted slightly as he slowly raised his right hand; all the ambushing Japanese devils immediately tensed up.
The sound drew nearer; a rickshaw slowly entered view, its canopy tightly covered, making it impossible to see how many people were inside.
“Prepare.” Ando Shinichi’s right hand slowly clenched into a fist.
When the rickshaw was still twenty meters from the ambush point, Ando Shinichi’s fist suddenly swung down.
“Action.”
In an instant, six fully armed Japanese devils rushed out from alley mouths on both sides, three Type 38 rifles simultaneously aimed at the rickshaw puller.
The rickshaw puller stared in terror, not yet able to react, when Sato Take from the other side lunged forward in one stride, pressing his muzzle against the man’s temple.
“Stop! Special Higher Police Affairs investigation.”
Hearing “Special Higher Police Affairs,” the rickshaw puller jolted in shock and instinctively yanked the brake hard; the rickshaw jolted violently and stopped. Almost simultaneously, the curtain was flung open, and a black shadow tried to jump out the other side to escape.
Sato Take shouted sternly: “Stop him!”
“Bang!”
A gunshot pierced the rainy night. The escapee fell to the ground, clutching his right leg in agony as he curled up.
At this point, Action Team Members also closed in from front and rear; Squad Leader Lieutenant Nakamura cursed as he stepped forward, smashing the man’s back hard with his rifle butt, then dragged him to the middle of the road like a dead dog.
Ando Shinichi signaled two Action Team Members to control the still trembling rickshaw puller, then walked to the captive and shone a flashlight directly on his face.
It was a Chinese man in his thirties, dressed in a suit, but now his face was covered in mud and water, his glasses askew on his nose bridge.
“Your Excellency are the Loyal Salvation Army’s Battle Supervisor, Yu Zuobai, Mr. Yu,” Ando Shinichi sneered, speaking fluent Chinese: “Mr. Yu, I’ve long admired your name; we’ve finally met.”
“Cough cough cough.” The captive coughed violently, trying to shield his eyes from the blinding light: “I-I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m Zhou Wentai from the Shanghai Chamber of Commerce—you’ve got the wrong man.”
“Impossible?” Ando Shinichi’s smile vanished instantly; he squatted down, roughly yanking open the man’s suit jacket and groping in the inner pocket.
The next moment, he pulled out a small gray cowhide wallet.
Flipping open the wallet, there was indeed identification as Vice President of the Shanghai Chamber of Commerce in the interlayer, with a photograph matching the man before him.
Lieutenant Nakamura leaned in and whispered: “Major, the intelligence may be wrong.”
Ando Shinichi stood up, rainwater dripping from his chin.
He stared at the man on the ground claiming to be Zhou Wentai; the fear in the man’s eyes seemed genuine, but the ivory ring on his right ring finger caught his attention.
“You almost fooled me.” Ando Shinichi closely examined the disheveled middle-aged man.
“Zhou Wentai—what a good identity.” Ando Shinichi said slowly: “I admit you’re not Yu Zuobai, but you’re not Zhou Wentai either.”
“If I remember correctly, you should be the Acting Station Chief of the Shanghai Military Statistics Bureau Station, Hu Xinmin.”
“Mr. Hu, although the Special Higher Police Affairs doesn’t have your real photograph, you were too careless; during the last assassination of New Government Central Executive Committee member Huang Xiangu, you were photographed firing by a newspaper reporter.”
“I’m certain the ring on your hand is identical to the one in the photograph.”
Hu Xinmin’s expression changed slightly upon hearing this, but he still shouted loudly: “Taijun, you’ve got it wrong. I’m really not Hu Xinmin; I’m Zhou Wentai from the Shanghai Chamber of Commerce.”
“Hmph, no tears without a coffin. Back at the Special Higher Police Affairs, you’ll surely tell me everything I want to know.” Ando Shinichi sneered, then waved his hand: “Take him away.”
“Major Ando, what about this man? Should we take him back for interrogation?” Lieutenant Nakamura pointed at the rickshaw puller already slumped on the ground.
“Taijun, I-I just took money to run an errand. I’m a good citizen. I really don’t know anything!” The rickshaw puller suddenly struggled, crying out in local dialect.
“No need to bring extra people back.” Ando Shinichi said calmly.
The rickshaw puller seemed to breathe a sigh of relief upon hearing this, but the next moment, Ando Shinichi directly drew his Nambu Pistol and fired at the rickshaw puller’s forehead.
Bang—a gunshot rang out, and the rickshaw puller fell to the ground, his eyes full of disbelief, as if asking, didn’t you already agree to let me go?
Holstering the pistol, Ando Shinichi got into the black van at the corner; rainwater washed the car window, and through the blurred glass, he watched several Action Team Members stuff the man claiming to be Zhou Wentai into another vehicle.
His intuition told him that tonight’s harvest might be more valuable than expected.
