Chapter 661: The Great Traitor

Song Xiwen's stubborn resistance undoubtedly demonstrated the firm faith and tenacious fighting will of a communist fighter. There are millions upon millions of people in the world; how many could do the same? This determination to break through the darkness without regard for one's own body is the most stirring to the heart.

But unfortunately, the situation is now a dilemma, and there is no way to rescue him. No matter how powerful Wang Yan is, he is still just one person. At this moment, there is truly nothing he can do. Being able to find out the situation and avoid making his side even more passive is already his maximum capability.

"Extra! Extra! Fierce battle at Nanhua Hospital in Hongkou last night, suspected Red Party action. Dozens of Japanese soldiers killed or wounded at the scene, no sign of the Red Party. Extra! Extra..."

Wang Yan, sitting in the car, looked at the newspaper in his hand, which contained a simple account of the shootout that happened last night. Reporters are truly capable; the Japanese had just lost men, and they ran over to poke their faces and ask for details, not afraid of the Japanese settling scores later. These are the reporters of this era who have ideals and persistence...

Qi Si, who was driving in the driver's seat, sighed. "With just those few people and those few guns, they dared to take the initiative to attack the Japanese headquarters. The Red Party is truly impressive; they only do big things!"

"Look, now you know how difficult it is for me? First, Dai Yunong sent Mao Qiwu to coerce and lure me, wanting to surround and kill me. Now the Red Party is even more ruthless; they want my life even more easily. If they are really provoked, they'll attack the Wang Mansion directly, and our lives will be forfeit." Wang Yan shook his head and sighed. "Alright, drive your car well. This matter has nothing to do with us. For principles, for beauty, for fame, for profit, for power—there is no trouble in the world, only mediocre people troubling themselves..."

He looked at the crowds outside the window and the newsboys shouting, his mind thinking about the intention behind the Shanghai underground party doing this.

It wasn't hard to guess, after all, he knew everything. The Shanghai underground party doing this was just to cover up the fact that they knew the truth, so they threw themselves into the net to resolve the passive situation.

Because if the Red Party didn't go to Nanhua Hospital to rescue him, it would expose that they knew Song Xiwen wasn't at Nanhua Hospital, which would cause the Japanese agents to transfer Song Xiwen's location. Then they would lose the Red Party's tracks again, which was extremely unfavorable. Now, pretending not to know the truth and falling into the trap, the Japanese agents were very likely not to transfer Song Xiwen.

People all have a certain inertia, and Japanese agents are no exception. Although it is an organization, the decision-makers are, in the end, people. Now that Song Xiwen is arranged in the sanatorium, the all-pervasive Red Party hasn't discovered him. If they move him rashly, and it's exposed because of the people involved and other related matters, what then? So seeking stability is the main thing.

In this way, they have grasped Song Xiwen's location. The Shanghai underground party can take advantage of Song Xiwen's recuperation to slowly arrange, find out Song Xiwen's specific situation, and then make further arrangements.

Even if the Japanese definitely continue to make a big deal out of Song Xiwen, it must be fake; they just need to pretend not to know and deal with it, just like this shootout.

According to the news reported in the newspaper, the Shanghai underground party organization also sent elite action personnel. Because they couldn't launch an attack directly on the Japanese, that would expose that they knew it was a trap in advance. So it must have been that someone tried to sneak in and was discovered, and had no choice but to open fire. It was under such circumstances that the Shanghai underground party was still able to retreat completely and cause dozens of casualties to the Japanese. Even if the moisture in the report is removed, a dozen or so casualties is not a big problem.

Actually, for this kind of action, the one who should have been dispatched was Wang Yan, this "Pei Min." If such a precious action expert was sent to participate in the action, the credibility to the Japanese would be even greater. But perhaps to ensure his safety, the Shanghai underground party organization didn't let him take action.

However, the combat power shown now is also considerable. If one has to explain it, it's not impossible that he was among the action personnel in this rescue. The previous blocking battle in the prison break also relied on environmental factors; the enemy was in the light, and he was in the dark. This time is different; there were many lights at Nanhua Hospital, and they were prepared in advance. They were fleeing and counterattacking; the main thing was to flee, not to strike. How many Japanese were killed wasn't important; it was important that the action personnel retreated.

The Shanghai underground party organization can be said to have used all its capabilities for Comrade Song Xiwen...

Matters to this point have basically nothing to do with Wang Yan. If there is, it's waiting for a period of time, finding out Song Xiwen's situation, confirming that the conditions for rescue are met, and needing him, this action expert, to participate.

The only place that needs to be wrapped up in this action is that he impersonated two people to go to Nanhua Hospital and the Army Hospital that night.

According to his conjecture, at Nanhua Hospital, the Japanese he impersonated was just a minor character with no presence, not attracting attention. Even if someone asked him how his body was, he would likely muddle through. And at the Army Hospital, the soldiers on guard were rotated, and they didn't dare to talk much on weekdays. He greeted Takahashi Masao, received a general nod in response, and swallowed the rest of his words.

The little nurse on the night shift was also warned. At most, they would exchange glances, but she would definitely not say anything she shouldn't. And Takahashi Masao's status was there, so no one would ask him so many useless questions; it was just a small cold. Even if the little nurse on the night shift went up and asked, "Takahashi-kun, is your cold better?" Takahashi Masao would likely look at the little nurse in confusion, which would make the little nurse remember what Wang Yan said earlier and think that Takahashi Masao was pretending to be stupid, and she would also tacitly understand.

This is, of course, the ideal situation. After all, everything has accidents, but he hasn't received any news yet, so it should be developing in a good direction. Or rather, there is a problem, but it's not big and has been solved by the comrades of the Shanghai underground party organization; otherwise, they wouldn't have thrown themselves into the net.

Not studying that much anymore, Wang Yan started a new day.

Going to the police station to see the situation, then contacting the foreigners to build relationships, and communicating with the other two Chinese police detectives. After all, the news that Mitchell is leaving has already spread, and along with it, the news that he is the next Inspector General of the Central Police Station. So now the other two Chinese police detectives are very sensible and are leaning toward him, starting to send him gifts and such.

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The one taking his place is, of course, his iron-clad old subordinate, He Shaohong. He has already been promoted; once he becomes Inspector General, He Shaohong will be the detective. Although he did suffer for many years under him, doing the work of a team leader while sitting in the position of a deputy team leader. But now, one radish, one pit; he has achieved a leap in the past half year, and He Shaohong has also achieved a triple jump. After all, looking at the two concessions, in less than a year, going from deputy team leader to team leader, and then to detective—this is unique, belonging to a player who has accumulated and waited for a late bloom.

Perhaps he was laughed at before, but now he has become a "father." After all, in the entire French Concession, there are only a dozen or so detectives; he has made it.

The sky outside is still overcast, and there is no proper work at the police station. He only went to the warehouse yesterday, so Wang Yan has nothing to do for the moment. Bored, he called Liu Yitong and made an appointment to drink tea at a teahouse on Father Jin Road, and asked about the recent events in the Youth League.

Just as he said before, that group of people in the Youth League can't do anything big. Now asking them to organize workers to strike, they don't dare; directly fighting the Japanese, they are even less capable. If they had that courage, they wouldn't have put him up as a brand.

So these people, in recent days, besides fighting for power and profit, have only helped to get some supplies and helped the Military Statistics Bureau find news. The actions are too small, and the Japanese are too lazy to pay attention to them; otherwise, this group of people, one by one, would have died long ago.

Liu Yitong is doing well, and the old man he worships is also a veteran, so he is also of the "Wu" generation. In addition, he himself is a detective in the French Concession and has a certain amount of power in his hands. Although the business he does is not big, he also raises a group of people under him. And now, to a certain extent, he is the intermediary for that group of people in the Youth League to ease relations with Wang Yan. So, adding all these things together, he still has a certain weight and considerable say.

He muddled through the work he did for the Kuomintang, but the fighting for power and profit was no different, but he didn't toss too much; after all, that was putting eye drops on Dai Yunong, looking for trouble for himself. But just the tossing within an acceptable range was enough to make the already chaotic Youth League even more chaotic, with internal infighting being fierce, not as united as when facing Wang Yan.

Wang Yan sipped the tea, listening to Liu Yitong talk about the recent situation, and asked with a frown, "Your state is not quite right; your face is a bit pale, and you look very listless. Why, are you thinking of changing your nature?"

Liu Yitong shook his head with a wry smile. "Look at what you're saying; I'm not like you. It's just that there are many things recently, and I've staked my life on you, getting involved in things I shouldn't have, and now I'm terrified all day long. I have to be spirited and careful, just afraid of one wrong step and losing my life."

"Don't worry, even if trouble comes, it will come to me first. You are still safe."

"Forget it, do you take me for a three-year-old? Dai Yunong even dared to move against you. Now that you are going to be Inspector General, he might not be able to take action against you, but killing me, this chicken, to warn you, this monkey—what can you do? The one who dies is me, not you. Of course, you can say whatever you want."

Wang Yan poured him tea with a smile. "I remember saying at the Guang Sheng Teahouse that I can do anything, but I can't pretend to be stupid, but in fact, I am smart while pretending to be stupid. Otherwise, having circled between the three parties for so many years, my ashes would have been gone long ago. If you can't be smart while pretending to be stupid, then you have to be truly stupid, don't be smart. Smart people generally don't live long. It's just that we are brothers; if you say this to someone else, you might really become a chicken, and a chicken sent out by someone else."

"Otherwise, why would I tell you? How do you know Liu isn't being stupid with you?"

The two looked at each other and laughed. Wang Yan changed the subject. "Heard about what happened last night?"

"Newspapers are sold everywhere; it's hard not to hear about it. The Red Party is amazing." Liu Yitong clicked his tongue. "Although the Military Statistics Bureau people are always carrying out sanctions, killing this one today and that one tomorrow. But they don't have the big actions of the Red Party. Look at them, directly killing into the Japanese nest and retreating completely."

"Yes, these people are truly not to be provoked. I see in the newspaper that the Japanese suffered dozens of casualties. I'm afraid it's that Pei Min of the Red Party who took action again."

Wang Yan nodded solemnly, shaking his head and sighing. "When I was a child, I fought with people everywhere, especially when I was twelve or thirteen. From then until now, it's been sixteen or seventeen years. So many years, I worked hard to get to this position, but I'm more afraid of this and that, not as happy as when I was fighting on the street back then.

'Doing things humans want to become immortals, born on the ground wanting to go to heaven'—although this is a curse, it couldn't be more appropriate for me. Before, I was chasing money, power, and beauty; that was wanting to become an immortal, wanting to go to heaven. Today I have become an immortal, gone to heaven, and damn it, only after arriving here did I know that there are bigger immortals above, and higher heavens beyond. Truly, there are people beyond people, and heavens beyond heavens.

So, Old Liu, you shouldn't be like this; you should learn more from me. You say you made yourself like this, why bother? You must know that life is short, and timely pleasure is the proper business."

"Then don't worry about it. Before I got to know you deeply, I was always quite happy. It was just since that garden villa of yours was bugged by the Japanese that my days haven't been easy. I've finally understood: you make others suffer while you have your own fun. You just said it yourself, you're going to send me out as a chicken. If I have my fun, just like you said, I'm afraid my ashes won't even be left."

Liu Yitong was a bit angry and frustrated. He sighed and asked, "This time the Red Party's action seems to be falling into the Japanese trap to save someone. I think there must be some important figure captured. You're close to that Wang Manchun, right? Didn't you ask her?"

"She hasn't come to find me for a while; I guess she's busy with this. I don't dare to ask blindly. What if something happens, and there's no one to take the blame, and it ends up on my head? Then how unjustly would I die? But she should come to find me today. Women, you know, need nourishment and need to vent the sorrow in their hearts. She should tell me herself."

The two chatted for a while longer. Wang Yan waved his hand. "Alright, I'm uncomfortable looking at you like that. Take a good rest for a while; health is important. Having life to earn money but no life to enjoy it—that's truly too sad."

"Hey, a life of toil, have to do it if it has to be done." Liu Yitong laughed. "But I really have to go. My daughter's birthday is today, and the little girl is waiting for me to buy her a gift."

"Look at that, why didn't you say so earlier? Family is the most important; go quickly. I'll have A-Si go to your house later. My niece is having a birthday; I, this uncle who has never met her, must express something."

"Forget it today, I'll invite you to eat at home another day to recognize people. Leaving now."

Wang Yan watched Liu Yitong leave with a smile...

There were fine beads of sweat on his forehead. Although he tried his best to control it, there was still a slight tremor, and his left arm was not natural...

The facts were as Wang Yan expected: Wang Manchun really came. It wasn't that she appeared at dinner time as usual, but it was already nearly eight o'clock when she called Wang Yan to meet at the garden villa.

Wang Manchun, who was a little depressed, was very involved. She felt more and more that the taste of this matter was much more satisfying than her killing people to vent her anger. She liked this feeling.

Still the usual post-event talk, Wang Manchun leaned weakly in Wang Yan's arms, letting him wind her hair around his fingers.

She wasn't honest either, her fingers drawing circles on Wang Yan's chest.

She said, "Heard about it?"

"It's all in the newspapers; it's hard not to hear about it." Wang Yan took the conversation naturally. "Is it that big figure you told me about last time?"

"Otherwise, what else could force the Red Party to take the initiative? More than half of the inpatient building at Nanhua Hospital is our people. We even deliberately released the news, which could be said to be foolproof. I didn't expect the Red Party to be so alert; they just opened fire and ran, wasting this good opportunity in vain."

"Was the person rescued?"

"If that were the case, would I still have the mood to come and find you? I would definitely be pointed at and scolded by Section Chief Nantian now."

Wang Manchun laughed. "But this failure doesn't matter; anyway, the person is in our hands. Now I can tell you—anyway, if you have the heart to ask, you'll know in two days—that person is a high-level member of the Shanghai underground party in charge of transport, who has the qualification to attend the Red Party municipal committee meetings. You say, if the Red Party dares to see death and not save, how will they lead the team in the future?

So, they can only be led by the nose by us. This time it didn't work, we have next time. And this time it wasn't without gains; we also found a Red Party contact point. But they ran away, and we couldn't continue to chase. In addition, they have been active frequently these past few days, and we have also captured some other people. It's only a matter of time before we open a breakthrough and wipe out the Red Party in Shanghai."

She said it very confidently, as if she had already won.

"Wish you success."

"Definitely success! Just wait and see."

To this, Wang Yan just laughed. That day would not come.

People like Song Xiwen, who have firm faith, backbone, and fighting will, are rare. But among the Red Party, there are many. Among the sparks that can start a prairie fire, there is no lack of hard bones. They have a good set of teeth; even if the light is fading, they must bite the enemy to death and not let go.

This is gratifying, but also very sad. Because the awakened are always the minority, and the majority follow whoever wins. These four hundred million compatriots—the sparks are still too few.

Moreover, there are those who pour water.

December 18, 1938, Wang Zhaoming took advantage of the "Baldy" flying to Xi'an to hold a military meeting and deliver an anti-Japanese speech, fled Chongqing, and flew to Kunming.

On the 19th, Wang Zhaoming, together with Zhou Fuhai, who had arrived and arranged things one step ahead, took his wife and a group of confidants and took a special plane to flee to Hanoi, Vietnam.

On the 20th, Chen Mu-bo also went to Hanoi from Chengdu via Kunming.

On the 22nd, Japanese Prime Minister Konoe Fumimaro issued the third statement on China policy.

On the 29th, Wang Zhaoming issued a telegram from Hanoi in response, declaring his willingness to negotiate based on the three principles of "good neighborly friendship, joint anti-communism, and economic cooperation," openly defecting to the enemy.

During this period, the "Baldy" sent telegrams many times, giving him a chance to turn back, but he should not...

The greatest traitor in China, thus begins... ===== CHAPTER 662 =====