Chapter 706: I Want to Report

The dog spy at Number 76, unaware of what had happened, was also startled by this show of force.

Chen Yongren, however, acted as if he hadn't heard, and continued walking inside on his own.

Li Qun and Ding Mo still didn't know what was going on outside; they were talking in the office.

Ding Mo is essentially a three-surname lackey, and Li Qun, this dog, is no different; thus, in a sense, the two of them are like-minded scoundrels.

Although both work at Number 76, they are wary of each other and don't trust each other much.

Although Li Qun shows respect to Ding Mo on the surface, Ding Mo is well aware that real power at Number 76 lies in Li Qun's hands, and the everyday respect is merely for show.

Both fellows could also sense that the Japanese seemed to be gradually losing trust in them, intentionally or unintentionally trying to weaken their authority and influence.

So the two temporarily halted their thoughts of internal strife; if they didn't stick together now, they would both be doomed later.

But Li Qun never expected that Ding Mo also had his own little plans.

Ding Mo had long been dissatisfied with his role as the open boss and covert second, but given the circumstances he had no choice but to comply; he was also thinking about his own future escape route.

One can't always be a traitor; having multiple paths means multiple lives.

If the little Japanese actually lose…

At least they could fabricate an excuse of having contributed to the war of resistance.

Li Qun had no idea of Ding Mo's little thoughts, and with a grim dog-like face he said: "Last night's incident caused quite a commotion; we'd better be on guard lately, lest the Japanese turn us into scapegoats and hand us over."

Having followed the Japanese for years, this dog knows their temperament well; any scapegoat they could throw out, don't expect them to take it on willingly.

Upon hearing this, Ding Mo also wore a constipated expression, thinking: "If the Japanese sincerely want you to take the blame, can you easily shirk it?"

Just as Ding Mo was about to speak, he heard some movement outside the courtyard.

Li Qun obviously noticed this as well; the two exchanged a glance, then hurried to the window and poked their heads out to look outside.

Then they saw a group of Japanese soldiers surrounding Number 76, with a familiar figure in the courtyard.

Li Qun frowned; this Japanese person looked somewhat familiar.

The next second.

Li Qun's face changed drastically: "Oh no, Yuan Chief, it's him who brought them!"

Ding Mo's expression also looked somewhat unnatural.

Yuan Chief?

Isn't he the protagonist from yesterday's banquet?

Immediately afterward, both of them silently thought, "Uh-oh."

With such a show of force, Number 76 was obviously being made a scapegoat by the Japanese again.

Damn, how many times has this happened? They really treat Number 76 like a chamber pot.

In their hearts they had cursed the Japanese countless times; now they could no longer sit still, they rushed out, and upon seeing Chen Yongren, the interior of Number 76 was in chaos, with chickens flying and dogs jumping, a complete mess.

A few sharp-eyed dog spies, seeing Ding Mo and Li Qun approach, immediately shouted at the top of their lungs, their voices tinged with sobs: "Director Li, Director Ding, please come save us!"

"What's going on?"

"Please quickly explain to the Locust Army that we're on your side."

A bunch of dog spies seemed to have found a savior, chattering away.

Zhongyuan Shen, however, was annoyed; he raised the sidearm at his waist and smashed it hard into a nearby unlucky dog spy, clanging a few times until the spy's head was bloody, then he coldly snorted, "Seek death!"

The remaining spies, seeing this, all shrank their heads and dared not speak further.

Seeing this, Ding Mo and Li Qun felt a jolt.

No need to ask; it's obvious that the 'Yuan Chief' has come to cause trouble.

Ding Mo put on a placating smile and spoke in Japanese: "Chief Commander, since you've come, why didn't you give us advance notice so we could prepare?"

"Oh? Director Ding, your Japanese is quite fluent." Chen Yongren deliberately sized up Ding Mo.

At a glance, the relevant information about this dog appeared before Chen Yongren's eyes.

Huh?

Upon seeing this dog's current situation, Chen Yongren became interested.

Who would have thought that this dog Ding Mo had so many little schemes, even knowing how to find an escape route for himself.

This is indeed a usable point; gradually bringing Number 76 under my control is far better than handing it over to the Japanese, and even if I later leave Songhu, I can still stay informed about what's happening here.

In the future, planting people in Songhu, transmitting intelligence, rescuing captured comrades, and assisting hidden brothers will become easier.

I have no usable people here myself; since Ding Mo has this idea, I might as well support him.

If the opportunity arises, I could meet Ding Mo under a false identity and pretend to 'turn' him.

Chen Yongren then turned his gaze toward Li Qun.

This dog is always thinking about how to bluff his way through.

Damn the bluffing—I'll take your life first!

Hai! Ding Mo repeatedly bowed, his smile widening: "To better serve the Locust Army, I naturally need to study Japanese well."

Li Qun also hurriedly echoed in Japanese: "Yes, Chief Commander, our loyalty to the Locust Army is absolute."

"Is it to better serve the Locust Army, or to better leak information to the resistance?" Chen Yongren glared at the two before him and demanded sternly.

Just as his words fell,

Zhongyuan Shen and Anteng Zhongsi immediately stepped forward and firmly held down Ding Mo and Li Qun.

"Chief Commander, it's a misunderstanding, all a misunderstanding."

"We are loyal to the Locust Army; how could we do anything wrong against it?"

Ding Mo and Li Qun hurriedly argued.

"Yesterday's explosion at the Zhongzhong Hotel—if not for someone deliberately leaking information, an inside job, how could they have infiltrated the venue!" Chen Yongren said contemptuously: "Do you mean to say this has nothing to do with you?"

"Wronged, sir, we really don't know." Li Qun felt a pang of panic inside.

But Chen Yongren couldn't be bothered to listen to their excuses; with a wave of his hand, he directly had the relevant people taken to Cell 76.

After a round of tight screening, the personnel suspected of leaking information inside Cell 76 had already been brought to the interrogation room.

The head of the Confidential Office, Jin Dabao; the secretary chief, Yang Jie; the intelligence office head, Wang Lu, and the secretary of the chief's office, Zhang Zhaosheng, as well as the various team members below who had the opportunity to come into contact with intelligence.

And most importantly, Ding Mo and Li Qun.

The two groups were held in adjacent cells.

With so many people, the interrogation naturally had to proceed slowly.

Ding Mo and Li Qun were held individually in a cell, while the rest were quickly rounded up and thrown into a large cell, roll call taken one by one.

The first unlucky one was Jin Dabao.

Zhongyuan Shen showed no mercy, and before long he had beaten Jin Dabao into a bloody pulp.

"Chief Commander, this guy's mouth is too tough; he still refuses to speak." Zhongyuan Shen said in a low voice, pointing at Jin Dabao on the ground.

Chen Yongren glanced wearily at Jin Dabao, then waved his hand impatiently.

Zhongyuan Shen immediately understood, and then began interrogating the second unlucky one, Yang Jie.

Just like Jin Dabao's fate, he didn't know anything about the leak, shouting his innocence, but it was of no use.

Of the 38 torture methods in Cell 76, after the first— the tiger bench— was over, Yang Jie's lower body was crippled, his lower legs completely broken, and his head lolled as he lost consciousness.

Seeing the number of people in the neighboring cell dwindling, Ding Mo and Li Qun could hardly bear it.

"Your Excellency, Your Excellency, please report to the Chief Commander immediately—I have important information to expose!" Li Qun shouted at the top of his lungs.