cicada

Chapter 1254 Intrigue

On Datong Street, in the Star Cafe, the clock on the wall showed nine forty-five.

Sitting near the street, Miyagi Toyotsugu, head of the Cabinet Intelligence Bureau's "Kappa" intelligence team, seemed to be drinking coffee leisurely, but in fact he was very anxious.

According to the plan, he and Yoshida Mamoru, who used the alias Zhao Dayang, set out from the safe house separately and took different means of transportation and routes to Datong Street.

The other party should arrive here around 9:30, meet him after confirming that there is no danger, and enter the Bank of Communications to withdraw money before ten o'clock, but the other party has not appeared until now.

Did Yoshida Mamoru encounter trouble on the way and fail to arrive on time?

Miyagi Toyotsugu looked at the wall clock, secretly became alert, and decided to wait until ten o'clock. When the time came, he would evacuate the mountain city regardless of whether Yoshida Mamoru showed up or not.

The reason they did not evacuate immediately was that all members of the Cabinet Intelligence Bureau had received strict anti-torture training. Even if Yoshida Mamoru was caught, it was impossible for him to not last even ten minutes.

By the time the Republic of China's intelligence agencies pried open Yoshida Mamoru's mouth, he had already been in Jiangcheng or even Shanghai accepting the imperial medal. It was a bit despicable to do so, but who doesn't want to live?

Besides, their families are all in their hometown. For the sake of their family's lives, he can only say "Red Bean Paste Simi Masai" to Yoshida-kun.

"Jingle Bell."

At this time, the door of the coffee shop was pushed open from the outside, and the bell hanging on the door made a crisp sound. Miyagi Toyotsugu secretly glanced at the person who came in and found a fashionable modern girl.

Under normal circumstances, he might have been interested in getting to know her, but at this moment he just wanted to take the money and leave, so he gently looked away and continued to monitor her with his peripheral vision.

The modern girl didn't stay long. She came in, made a phone call and left. She was wearing a ring on her slender white finger, and the huge gem sparkled in the sun. It was obvious that she was the mistress or concubine of a Kuomintang official.

The clock ticked, and when the minute hand pointed to "55", Miyagi Toyotsugu put the banknotes under the coffee cup, stood up, walked to the clothes rack, put on his coat and top hat, and strode out of the coffee room.

There was a constant stream of vehicles and pedestrians on the road outside. He looked to both sides and took a step in a random direction.

Fifty meters behind him, a dilapidated French Renault truck was driving quickly, spewing black smoke. When it drove next to Miyagi Toyotsugu, the exhaust pipe made a loud noise.

Miyagi Toyotsugu subconsciously tensed his muscles and wanted to bend down to find cover, but his good training made him resist this action that could easily expose his identity, and he turned to look in the direction where the sound came from.

A puff of black smoke was seen coming out of the engine compartment of the Renault truck, which slowly slid to the side of the road by inertia. Frightened passers-by turned their heads, then turned back when they saw that it was a car breakdown and continued on their way. Only a few children stood around the truck and watched curiously.

Miyagi Toyotsugu laughed at himself, wondering if he was too nervous. Even if the Military Intelligence Bureau could obtain a simulated portrait from Central University, he was disguised when he went out, and it would not be easy for the people of the Republic of China to find him among hundreds of thousands of people.

Thinking in his mind, he walked past a beggar who was kneeling on the ground begging and reached the truck compartment. Unexpectedly, two workers carrying wooden boards came out from the front of the truck, completely blocking the road ahead and the view of pedestrians.

At the same time, the beggar behind him suddenly swung the bamboo pole towards his calf. The bamboo pole with steel wrapped inside collided violently with the calf bone with a hum. Miyagi Toyotsugu felt a sharp pain and turned around to run away.

At this point, even if he was a fool he would not know that he was being targeted. If he wanted to survive he could only break through the encirclement from the opposite direction. He was very sure that the two workers in front of him were also Kuomintang agents.

But before he could turn around, several ordinary-looking pedestrians pushed him to the ground like hungry tigers pouncing on their prey. After pushing him down, they searched him, checked his collar and mouth, put a hood on his head, handcuffed and shackled him, and threw him into the car. The whole process was done in one go.

When these people were moving, there were two workers carrying wooden boards at the rear of the car blocking the view from behind. When they moved away, Miyagi Toyotsugu, the beggar and the others had already disappeared.

Only the children lying under the wheels witnessed it all. Wu Chunyang, who was dressed as a worker, touched the child's head, raised his hand and patted the car's fender, and the truck immediately started and drove towards Luojia Bay.

Inside the carriage, the tarpaulin blocked out all the light. Miyagi Toyotsugu had a cloth stuffed in his mouth and a hood on his head, so not a single ray of light could be seen.

Amid the bumpy ride, he heard a man's voice. The voice was young, but full of oppression, much like those of the bigwigs in high positions in Tokyo.

"What's your name? Don't use the name on the fake ID to deceive me. We are all professionals. There is no need to waste time."

Miyagi Toyotsugu remained silent. It was precisely because he was a professional that he could not speak. As long as he spoke, the other party would get clues.

However, he didn't understand how he was exposed. If Yoshida Mamoru had defected, the other party shouldn't have asked this question. Of course, this might also be a deliberate attempt by the Republic of China to trick him.

In short, the only thing he could do once he fell into the hands of the Republic of China was to remain silent. As long as Yoshida Mamoru was not caught, he still had value.

The contest unfolded in silence, and the carriage returned to a deathly silence. After a long while, the owner of the young voice snorted coldly. "Don't cry until you see the coffin. Check the handcuffs and shackles again. These Japanese spies have many tricks. This is our first contact with the Cabinet Intelligence Bureau, so we must not be careless."

"Yes, deputy seat."

After hearing this, Miyagi Toyotsugu, who was wearing the mask, felt a rush of blood to his head and his heart was filled with fear, both because of the Cabinet Intelligence Bureau and because of the word "vice-president".

The Cabinet Intelligence Bureau was a newly established agency and had no direct connection with the intelligence agencies stationed in China. It had been less than a year since it entered the Kuomintang-controlled areas to carry out missions. Why did the people of the Republic of China know his background?

There is a traitor inside the empire! And he must be in a very high position! Or Yoshida Mamoru confessed as soon as he was captured.

Both are possible. After all, they are facing Zuo Zhong, the most powerful intelligence officer of the Republic of China. Countless imperial warriors have died at his hands, so it is normal for Yoshida Mamoru to confess.

Damn non-citizens, Miyagi Toyotsugu allowed the Military Intelligence Bureau agents to check his handcuffs and shackles, and he wanted to kill Yoshida Mamoru, and, by the way, Osako Michimasa and some people in Tokyo.

Before carrying out the mission, these people solemnly assured them that the existence of the Cabinet Intelligence Bureau was top secret and absolutely foolproof.

In his anger, Miyagi Toyotsugu did not notice that the young agent who was checking the handcuffs and shackles had kept his fingers on his wrists. By the time he realized it, it was too late.

"Co-pilot, the target's pulse is beating violently, especially after you mentioned the Cabinet Intelligence Bureau." The young spy reported truthfully.

Miyagi Toyotsugu's temples were throbbing. Zuo Zhong was worthy of being known as the fierce tiger of the Military Control Commission. He was exposed when he was not careful. He was such a terrible opponent. No wonder the empire wanted to kill him as soon as possible.

Zuo Chong didn't know the second-year nickname the Japanese had given him. He sat on a wobbly ammunition box, glanced at Miyagi Toyotsugu, and then at his watch.

Jiangbei County.

When Miyagi Toyotsugu was pinned to the ground, a young man from Southeast Asia came to the door of the Jiangbei branch of the Bank of Communications. He was wearing a white Western dress and a Chinese overseas hat. After getting off the sedan chair, he gave the sedan bearer a tip of one hundred French francs.

Amid the sedan bearer's numerous thanks, the man walked into the bank hall, said to the assistant manager in Mandarin with a slight accent, "Withdraw the money," and then handed over a deposit slip.

The assistant manager took a look at the amount on the deposit slip, his eyes suddenly widened, and he hurriedly asked the other party to sit down, and asked the female employee to serve tea quickly. He seemed so eager that his head almost hit the ground.

After serving the God of Wealth, the fat assistant manager wiped the sweat from his forehead, took out a form and ink, handed them to Xiao Kai, and said with a flattering smile.

"Mr. Lu, don't worry. There are enough US dollars in the vault. You can withdraw them at any time. Here is the withdrawal voucher. Please use your seal and signature for inspection. Don't get me wrong. This is the bank's rules. I am not deliberately making things difficult for you."

Xiao Kai smiled and nodded, took out a seal from his pocket, dipped it in ink and stamped the bottom of the voucher, then wrote the three words "Lu Shusen" on the paper with a pen.

The fat assistant manager took the voucher back to the counter and contacted the head office. First, he wanted to check the authenticity of the deposit certificate. Second, he wanted to check whether the seal at the bottom of the voucher matched the seal size and gap retained on the base card. These could be done orally, and the signature was purely for record.

In fact, under normal circumstances, this kind of deposit certificate can be loaned out as long as there is a seal and deposit certificate, but the amount of 20,000 US dollars is too large, so the bank has to handle it carefully.

While waiting for the head office's reply, the fat assistant manager held the phone and kept nodding and bowing to Xiao Kai, which was also to observe the reaction of the person withdrawing money.

Xiao Kai was not nervous at all. He picked up the teacup and took a sip of tea. After finishing it, he frowned and put the cup aside, as if he was not satisfied with the tea, acting like a pampered rich young man.

The fat assistant manager said a few words to the person on the other end of the phone, hung up the receiver, and walked out of the counter carrying a brown paper bag. He handed it to the other party with both hands and gave a friendly reminder.

"Mr. Lu, everything is fine. Here is your $20,000. Do you want me to send guards to escort you back? The world has been a bit unstable lately."

Xiao Kai used two fingers to open the paper bag and roughly counted the money. After confirming the amount was correct, he lifted the hem of his suit to reveal his holster and Browning, and said meaningfully, "No need. I have this thing, which is enough to ensure my safety."

The fat assistant manager smiled awkwardly, walked to the door and raised his hand to see them off. Since the other party was unwilling, there was no need for the bank to put up a good show. Who wouldn't have a temper?

Xiao Kai strode out of the bank door and blended into the bustling streets of Jiangbei. Two hours later, he appeared again. He was wearing a long gown and had a thick beard on his chin.

He pushed the door open and walked into a small hotel. He took out his ID and handed it to the waitress at the front desk. He said in standard southwestern dialect, "Accommodation. I like quietness. I'll pick the innermost room on the second floor. By the way, when do you change shifts? Will there be no one on duty?"

The waitress picked up the ID issued by the Shancheng Police Station, compared the photo with the real person, threw out a key, lazily replied that she would change shifts in two hours, and continued to eat melon seeds.