cicada

Chapter 1226 "Good Things"

At the surveillance point near the Jinlan Society, Wu Chunyang breathed a sigh of relief when he saw He Yijun escape safely, and said to Zuo Chong with a smile.

"Deputy Commander, it seems that Miss He has gained the initial trust of the target. This is the right move for us."

Zuo Chong observed Sima Linglong out of the corner of his eye, but he was not as optimistic as Wu Chunyang. All signs indicated that there must be a well-organized spy group behind the Jinlan Society.

The middle-aged man who went to investigate at the Hongdian opposite the Zhong Mansion, the suspicious person who appeared at the door of He Yijun's residence earlier, and the police chief just now, all of these people are members of this organization or spies developed by it.

The other party was able to grow to this scale right under the nose of their Military Control Commission, so one can imagine how vigilant they were. He Yijun's visit this time was at most a meeting, and was far from gaining their trust.

Thinking of this, Zuo Zhong asked Wu Chunyang one thing: "Chunyang, is the person who appeared in the red shop the same person as the suspicious person who appeared at the door of He Yijun's residence?"

"They are not the same person. I asked the brothers in the Red Shop to identify them. Their ages, heights, and looks are all different."

After answering, Wu Chunyang took out a photo. It showed an ordinary-looking young man with nothing special about him. He was the kind that you would not be able to find if thrown into a crowd of people.

This photo, taken with the latest German camera, is very clear. It shows the man standing in front of the store with his eyes slightly squinting. It was exactly the scene where he was monitoring He Yijun on the roadside as she was riding on the bus to the Jinlan Club.

Zuo Zhong took the photo and flicked it with his fingers twice, then raised his head and said calmly, "We have quite a few opponents. Have you found out the internal personnel situation of the Jinlan Society? How many staff members are there? Is their background clean?"

Although it was impossible to conduct close investigation, the Military Intelligence Bureau was able to roughly determine some of the circumstances by secretly reviewing the household registration information at the police station and questioning reliable insiders.

Wu Chunyang did not look at the information and answered directly: "In addition to Sima Linglong, there are a total of 9 staff members in Jinlan Club, all of whom are women, between 18 and 28 years old, and from different places of origin.

Their information is being collected externally, but since some places are Japanese-occupied areas, I am worried that the brothers have fallen into a trap set by the Japanese, so I did not request a completion time, and it will still take some time to find out.

We also found the military technicians who installed the telephones for the Jinlan Society, and drew a schematic diagram of the Jinlan Society's buildings based on their descriptions. We have already found a suspicious sign."

"Any suspicious signs?" Zuo Chong asked.

"The walls of the Jinlan Society's building have been specially treated, and their thickness far exceeds daily needs. In addition, Sima Linglong hired several groups of workers when building it, and replaced them every once in a while."

Wu Chunyang had a serious expression. Just from these two points, he could conclude that there was something wrong with Jinlan. Without any special needs, who would build the wall so thick and change workers so many times?

Especially the second point, that was a common method used by wealthy families in the Republic of China to build secret rooms and secret passages. There may be secret spaces within the Jinlan Society.

"Who ordered the military personnel to install the telephone?" Zuo Chong asked again.

"Commander Liu of the Garrison Command."

Wu Chunyang answered in a low voice. If that person was involved in the leak, who knows how much shock it would cause. He is the leader of the "Five Tiger Generals" of the Guo Army.

Zuo Zhong twitched the corner of his mouth. General Pig was really getting more and more powerful. He was just incompetent before, but now he was even involved in espionage.

Recalling the classic scene of "General Commander Gao Ming" in his mind, Zuo Zhong ordered: "Order the operatives in the Japanese-occupied areas to give up the external transfer. This time we have to retract our fists first."

Wu Chunyang understood and had the same concern. If there was a problem with the staff of the Jinlan Society, there would definitely be surveillance posts in their hometowns.

"By the way, has He Yijun's fake identity been confirmed?"

"Don't worry, Vice-Commander. From Malaya to Annan and then to Shancheng, from files to witnesses, I have made proper arrangements."

"Well, you have to work carefully. Tell the local brothers to keep an eye out for suspicious people, but don't pursue them without authorization."

"clear."

  After a few words, Zuo Zhong and Wu Chunyang ended their conversation. The recording equipment in the surveillance point kept making slight operating sounds. As long as it was a phone call, it could be monitored, including intercom calls.
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Inside the Jinlan Society.

Sima Linglong sat upright on a Victorian-style carved chair and lit a lady's cigarette. A maid stood beside her with her head down, reporting something to her.

“Our people have checked and found that the house where Shao Ying lives was purchased a few days ago. The funds came from overseas and were eventually traced back to a British bank in Malaya. The account name is the same as Shao Ying’s, and the account was opened two years ago.

Intelligence personnel in Malaya also confirmed the existence of the Shao family. They found a photo of Shao Ying in the archives of a local girls' school. The photo was being shipped via airmail and would arrive the day after tomorrow.

In addition, no suspicious persons were found at Shao Ying's residence or on the way to the salon, and there have been no recent changes in the residents and shops in Dexingli, but we have so few people that we cannot completely rule out the risk."

After speaking in standard Shu dialect, the maid lowered her head even more, waiting for Sima Linglong's order.

Obviously, just as the Military Control Commission had speculated, Sima Linglong was indeed an intelligence officer of a certain party, but it was still impossible to determine which faction she belonged to from these words.

The only thing that is certain is that the power behind Sima Linglong is very powerful. They were able to find the name and time of the account opening in the British bank from the house purchase records in such a short time. This is definitely not something that ordinary organizations can do. If the Military Control Commission had any mistakes in the preparation of the information, the identity of "Shao Ying" would be exposed. Zuo Zhong has always attached great importance to the construction of overseas intelligence organizations, and he received a huge reward at this moment.

After listening to the report from her subordinates, Sima Linglong tapped the cigarette between her slender fingers, the ashes falling on the smooth bluestone floor, and her voice rang out.

"Let's do this. We'll see how Shao Ying performs at the gathering in two days. If she's reliable, she's worth developing. The officials of the Fruit Party may say they're trying to save her, but deep down they still like the eldest daughter of a wealthy family."

There was some sarcasm in Sima Linglong's words. The maid next to her didn't dare to say anything more. She said goodbye quietly and left the room. Jinlan Club became silent again.

Time flies, and three days have passed in the blink of an eye.

He Yijun and Miss Kong Er walked into No. 14 Dexingli again. In the past few days, the two of them went shooting and riding horses every day. Their relationship became closer and they spoke more frankly.

"Shao Ying, you visited my home yesterday. Didn't my father say that he would do his best to help the Shao family's business in the government? Why did you come here again?"

Miss Kong held a cigar in her mouth and spoke with a haughty look on her face. Indeed, with the support of Minister Kong, even a fool could become wealthy.

He Yijun smiled slightly and did not answer. His eyes moved around and observed the architectural layout and personnel positions of the Jinlan Society. He memorized them quickly in his mind and walked quickly into the main room without stopping.

As soon as they entered the door, they heard a commotion. They looked and found that a group of women were surrounding a person. They didn't know what they were talking about, and they burst into exaggerated laughter from time to time.

"Miss Zhong, my nephew is the assistant manager of the Central Bank. He just came back from studying in France. He is a perfect match for you."

A fat lady was boasting about her nephew with her mouth wide open. Her ten thick fingers were covered with gold rings and she had a pair of two-finger-wide bracelets on her wrists.

"Yes, the one from Mrs. Li's family who entered the Central Executive Committee is the youngest member of the Wei Committee besides the Left Chief of the Military Control Commission. Her nephew is not much different."

"That's hard to say. What if Miss Zhong is interested in Commander Zuo? Oh, I heard that Commander Zuo has to kill someone every night before going to bed. Is that true?"

The other two wives of officials, who were also dressed in jewels and jade, started chatting nearby, and the topic of their conversation also involved Zuo Zhong. Miss Kong touched "Shao Ying" on the shoulder and introduced him with a wink.

“Deputy Director Zuo is a famous young talent in the government. He is from Zhejiang Province and is from a famous family. He is my uncle’s trusted subordinate and has a bright future.

If I didn't dislike pretty boys, my aunt would have introduced him to me a long time ago. Do you want me to introduce him to you? I promise I won't let you down."

He Yijun didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and dealt with the matter vaguely. She glanced at Zhong Xiao in the crowd with her bright eyes, feeling confused and wondering, could it be that the people in Jinlan Society didn't know about the relationship between Zhong Xiao and Bian Jichao?

Zhong Xiao, who was at the center of the topic, blushed, said a few words and then hid behind her, which caused even louder laughter.

While they were chatting and laughing, Sima Linglong lifted the door curtain and walked in from the side room. She first greeted Miss Kong Er, then introduced "Shao Ying" to everyone. Finally, she announced the start of the party, and the members each found a place to sit down.

During this gathering, Sima Linglong, who was doubtful, did not discuss any sensitive topics. She only talked about popular foreign cosmetics and clothes, and told members that they could purchase them through Jinlan Club if they needed them.

He Yijun sat next to Miss Kong Er and watched quietly. She was extremely low-key throughout the whole process and even followed the crowd and ordered a few tubes of lipstick, but that didn't mean she didn't notice.

Among the young members of the Jinlan Society, one looked at Sima Linglong anxiously and tried to speak several times but was interrupted by Sima Linglong.

The communication between the two was very covert and brief, and it would be difficult to detect without deliberate observation.

He Yijun went through the personnel information of the Jinlan Society and quickly remembered the name and information of this young member.

Xiang Fang.

The younger sister of a main division commander of the Guo army is a student like Zhong Xiao. She has a clean background and clear past experiences. What does such a person have to say to Sima Linglong?

He Yijun stopped looking at the other person and concentrated on the topic of the salon. She waited until the party was over and left together with Miss Kong Er, as if she did not see Xiang Fang and Sima Linglong walk into another room.

Returning to her temporary residence, she walked down the stairs into the study, checked the marks, took out the radio from under a raised floor, and sent a message.

More than ten minutes later, Zuo Zhong in the Military Control Commission headquarters looked at the telegram in thought for a long time, then smiled and picked up the phone.

"Hello, I'm Zuo Zhong, asking Team Leader Gui Youguang to come over to my place."

"Tell him something good has happened. Let him get a new uniform and a new haircut."

"Oh, you have a bald head and no hairstyle, but you can polish it to make it more shiny."

"Yes, immediately!"