afterglow

Chapter 702 Extra: The Muxu War

"We are all soldiers. We fight behind enemy lines. Our bodies are our weapons." - Memoirs of a Swallow
The third year of the war, mid-November of 1941, in the western suburbs of Suzhou Prefecture.

The bleak autumn wind blew off the last few stubborn leaves, and the branches of the trees along the street became completely bare.

At night, the temperature dropped sharply, the villa by the Taihu Lake was shrouded in a light night mist, and the surrounding objects were hazy under the cold moonlight.

This villa is not a traditional Chinese classical courtyard, nor is it the modern improved courtyard that has become popular across the country in recent years. Its design and construction are pure European architecture - specifically, the neoclassical style.

The dark red roof, off-white brick walls, and marble-paved living room are furnished with soft carpets and sofas, with an exquisite crystal chandelier hanging above.

When the hand of the bronze wall clock pointed to five in the morning, the woman sleeping soundly on the bed in the second-floor bedroom suddenly opened her eyes.

The dream is broken.

She got out of bed, slowly walked to the window, pulled aside the thick curtains, and found that it was still dark.

"What a gloomy day," she said, yawning.

The woman here is named Dalia Zimina, and she belongs to the Intelligence Department of the Grand Commandery, codenamed: Musu.

After hesitating for a moment in front of the window, Qi Mingna went to the bathroom, turned on the faucet and filled the empty bathtub with hot water.

She took off her thin silk suspender pajamas, raised her legs and stretched them into the bathtub, slowly immersing her body until the warm water completely wrapped her body, feeling the buoyancy of the water on her body and the heat conducted.

The slight dizziness and confusion she felt when she woke up in the early morning quickly faded away, and she felt full of energy. After leaving the bathtub, wiping her body, and wrapping herself in a bath towel, Qi Mingna came to the floor-length mirror in the bedroom.

Standing on the soft wool carpet, she stared at herself in the mirror, admiring her figure and beauty.

I saw her golden hair falling down to her back, her chest was high and full, her waist was slim and slender, her legs were long and straight, and her skin was smooth and white.

She herself is obsessed with her own charming figure, which is so beautiful that even guys who have seen countless beauties cannot find any flaws in her.

Whenever Qi Mingna stood in front of the mirror, a strange question would involuntarily emerge in her mind - why did God give her amazing beauty? Would he rather make mistakes than take advantage of her talent?
Only power can protect such beauty, but unfortunately Zimina's family does not have the necessary power. She comes from an unknown worker's family in Yekaterinburg engaged in import and export trade.

In this way, beauty becomes a disadvantage that attracts disasters.

After the civil war broke out, Qi Mingna's father waited and watched for a while before deciding to take his family to seek refuge. For the citizens of Yekaterinburg east of the Ural Mountains, going to Khitan - or Ming Dynasty - was the best solution.

It was a difficult journey. Although she was lucky enough to pass customs and enter the country in the end, Qi Mingna's father died of typhus and her savings were almost gone.

In this difficult situation, an olive branch was offered to him - a very tempting high-paying job.

Although she didn't know the specific content, Qi Mingna knew that she might never have the same opportunity again. For the sake of her mother and siblings, she clung to the floating branches like an ant falling into the water, and took the job with trepidation...

It was not until later that she learned what the job actually was.

The subjects are extremely complicated, including Chinese, English, etiquette, infiltration, seduction, theft, makeup and disguise, spy photography, map identification, etc. The time is tight and the task is heavy, so you can imagine how stressful it is.

In just over a year, Qi Mingna transformed from an ignorant girl into a newly trained agent.

The Intelligence Department of the Grand Military Governor's Office described her as an ultimate beauty like a flawless jade and placed high hopes on her.

"Ding-dong-"

The sound of a car engine and the doorbell rang at exactly 6:15. Qi Mingna walked up and opened the door, only to see two young men and women in casual clothes standing outside.

The woman asked, "I'm here to pick you up. Are you ready?"

Qi Mingna nodded, and the three of them got in the car and left the suburban villa.

As the morning light begins to rise, a white car is driving on the road, and the sunlight shines through the treetops and into the car through the windows.

The man said as he drove: "We will leave in the next two days, but the original route is blocked. The Australian side has tightened its inspections. Three stations in Putrajaya (Brisbane) have been exposed at once. It's basically over."

Qi Mingna hesitated for a moment and asked, "Then how do we enter the country?"

"I can only go in two parts. First I will go to Indu, and then I will try to catch a ship to Australia."

"If this is the case, the original identity is useless."

"That's right, you have to change your identity." The woman turned to look at Qi Mingna and explained, "We found a new identity that roughly matches - British, 21 years old, born in Singapore, accountant at the post office."

Soon, several people arrived at the Intelligence Bureau's temporary office in Suzhou Prefecture.

The person in charge was a gentle middle-aged man who, at first glance, looked like a middle school teacher. He was reviewing files behind the desk.

"Are you here? Take a seat." Seeing Qi Mingna coming, he greeted her calmly and said, "At the moment, it is impossible to rebuild the Putrajaya intelligence network in the short term. The original priority task has been suspended indefinitely. Let's take root first, and then do something else depending on the situation."

"clear."

"This is your first time working alone. Australia is much more dangerous than the places you've been to before. Be careful. For espionage, success or failure lies in the details."

"Thank you, I will be back safely."

After the Nanyang Campaign to capture Malaya, Java and Borneo, the Intelligence Department of the Grand Governor-General's Office collected many valuable identities in the occupied areas to provide to intelligence personnel for use in performing their missions.

Ellie Tonkin, a British girl born in Singapore, is one of them. Her identity information was used by Qi Mingna to carry out the next task.

"Height 166 cm, weight 105 catties, born in Singapore in 1921, graduated from St. Margaret's Girls' School, worked as a post office accountant when the war broke out, and his uncle's family lives in Melbourne, Australia..."

On the train heading south, Qi Mingna seized every opportunity to remember Ellie's identity, and tried to figure out, simulate, and interpret her personality traits in her mind.

From the moment the mission begins, she must play her new identity perfectly - no flaws can be revealed in her cultural customs, geographical features, and growth experience.

The Intelligence Department of the Grand Governor's Office even provided Ellie's bank deposit bills and various real photos related to her.

After arriving in Guangzhou, Qi Mingna took a plane to the Assam region, the front line of the Indo-Asian Corps.

There, she disguised herself as a refugee, escaped from the Ming army's control area, and headed west to British India with the European refugees she met along the way.

Kolkata, Raipur, Nagpur... After several twists and turns, she finally arrived in Mumbai on a shaking and slow train.

Qi Mingna stayed in Mumbai for a week, during which time she submitted an application to the local municipal department to leave the country, hoping to go to Australia to join her relatives and spend this difficult time of war. In the eyes of municipal officials, the British Empire girl named Ellie had gone through hardships all the way from Malaya to India, and she could be regarded as escaping the clutches of the enemy, which was really sad.

"Poor girl, stay away from this damn war, God bless you."

Looking at "Ellie's" tired but hopeful eyes, the municipal officials issued her a relevant certificate.

Afterwards, Qi Mingna boarded the Carlisle cargo ship bound for Australia with dozens of other civilians.

Accompanying it were several cargo ships and escort vessels, which routinely transported supplies to Australia. According to London's plan, British Indies should send out one or two fleets every month to transport strategic resources such as cotton yarn, sugar, rubber, aluminum, and ball bearings to Australia via the South Indies Ocean route.

The fleet first passed through the Chagos Islands and then the Cocos Islands. During the journey, it was attacked twice by Ming army ocean-going submarines. A cargo ship fully loaded with supplies was hit by a torpedo and quickly sank, with no one surviving.

Qi Mingna witnessed the whole process - a towering column of water rose from the side of the huge cargo ship, thick smoke billowed out, and then disappeared on the sea in just a few tens of seconds.

This was more like an episode during the mission and she didn't feel anything about it.

Throughout the entire voyage, she kept thinking about one question - why did she do this risky job?
This is war time, and once exposed, the Australians will probably quickly execute the captured spies after interrogation.

For the motherland? This was obviously impossible, as the Russian Empire was still mired in civil strife, and he did not have much attachment or affection for his motherland.

Maybe I just want to protect my relatives and let them live a peaceful and harmonious life. She thought so.

The fleet docked in Perth, and Qi Mingna knew that crisis was everywhere from the moment she set foot on Australian soil.

In the inspection room on the first floor of the Port Authority building, several border control officers and employees carefully checked her documents and asked her questions, and the sound of typewriters echoed in the room.

The first few immigration checks went smoothly. The border inspection officer recognized the certification documents issued by the British Indian authorities and did not doubt her background.

"Wait, I have another question."

Just as the border inspection officer was about to stamp the document, a voice suddenly rang out.

In the corner of the room sat a man in a top hat and a suit. He had been reading a newspaper without saying a word, but now he interrupted.

"Miss Ellie, you are from Singapore. What a coincidence! I really like a cocktail that is popular among girls there - the Singapore Sling. It has the flavor of brandy and the scent of orange. What do you think?"

Qi Mingna's sixth sense made her feel extremely frightened at that moment - just like a person who was half asleep and half awake suddenly touched a cold and slippery snake.

Her intuition and training told her that this guy was most likely from MI5, the famous counterintelligence department of the British Empire.

"I like it too. It's wonderful to have a glass of it in the summer and autumn evenings." Qi Mingna responded quickly and hesitated in confusion, "But... orange flavor? The Singapore Sling cocktail doesn't use orange. It uses lemon."

The man said "Oh" and said lightly: "Maybe I remembered it wrongly."

The Singapore Sling is a cocktail invented by overseas Chinese, based on gin and brandy with lemon juice.

Qi Mingna instantly realized at that moment that the guy was deliberately setting a trap for her - if she had not raised any questions, then the origin of "growing up in Singapore since childhood" would obviously be problematic.

I had a brush with death, she thought to herself.

Finally, I passed the immigration inspection without any problems.

Standing beside the train platform in the western suburbs of Perth, Qi Mingna glanced sideways in the direction of the pier, then followed the crowd into the carriage...

Three months later, Valentine Air Force Base south of Brisbane.

Some beautiful new fighter planes arrived in groups from other places and were immediately engaged in air combat. It was said that they performed well and shot down several Ming army fighter planes in more than a week.

These new fighters are the medium-altitude version of the Spitfire VIII (Spitfire F-VIII), which are more suitable for the Pacific battlefield than the high-altitude version. Their main components are from the UK and shipped thousands of miles to Australia for assembly. After completing the adaptive training, the 410th Squadron and the 413th Squadron of the Royal Australian Air Force immediately joined the war to fight against the Ming Army Air Force's second large-scale offensive against Brisbane.

"Baby! I miss you so much!"

Warm greetings from young men and women were heard from a detached house in the town. As the Ming army ended its air offensive, the Royal Australian Air Force finally had a chance to rest. Lieutenant Robin couldn't wait to return to see his long-missed girlfriend.

"Honey, you are not hurt, are you? I have been praying every day this week that you can come back safely." Qi Mingna's eyes were full of surprise, and her eyes were mixed with pity and admiration.

"Of course, I promised you, Ellie, I will come back."

After arriving in Brisbane, Qi Mingna found a job at the Officers Club and found her target, Lieutenant Pilot Robin, in front of her without much effort.

This young immigrant from Northern Ireland has received higher education, is cool and confident, and most importantly, his character - he cares more about his reputation than lofty glory - Qi Mingna's judgment is very accurate.

So she carefully designed an encounter. Her outstanding appearance attracted attention, her manners were dignified and elegant, and her speech was serious yet humorous.

Not surprisingly, Robin ultimately lost miserably to the emotional offensive of this perfect girl.

The fullness and height under the thin pajamas are irresistible, the delicate skin feels like white jade, and the slender body seems fragile.

The two of them communicated deeply and sincerely, and the sexual pleasure lasted for a long time, so that both she and he were exhausted.

Qi Mingna thought the time was ripe. She was fully aware of Robin's background and character, and determined that a straightforward threat strategy was the most appropriate way to deal with him.

Therefore, Qi Mingna suddenly spoke without any warning, telling him without any concealment that she was actually working for the enemy.

"Are you kidding me, honey?"

"It's true. In the past five weeks, I have learned a lot from you about the air base and the various fighter squadrons. I have also copied down your action log. Robin, listen carefully. If you don't want to go to military prison, you must obey me from now on."

Confusion, astonishment, anger...Robin's emotions changed quickly.

He was so ashamed and angry that he slapped Qi Mingna in the face and cursed at her, but it was meaningless except for venting his anger.

"The evidence will be sent to the military police tomorrow morning. You have one night to make a decision." Qi Mingna stared at him and said directly to him, "You are not an Australian at all. You are a Northern Irishman from Belfast. Why did you pay for this land?"

She stepped forward, grasped his hand, and continued to seduce him: "Go to China, they will give you a lot of money, and after the war we will go to Switzerland or Constantinople together. I believe you still love me."

a week later.

A Spitfire VIII belonging to No. 410 Squadron of the Royal Australian Air Force went missing while on combat patrol. At the same time, the No. 410 Squadron ground crew also reported the theft of a maintenance manual.

(End of this chapter)