Chapter 988: Both Temporary and Premeditated

The allusion of Midway belongs to a well-known little story. Decades later, if China's territory extended to this point, "AF lacks fresh water" would at least be an idiom.

The code story it contains is also easy to understand, so Qi Changye and the others understood Jiang Yuan's analysis all at once.

"So, the mimeograph factory is a place that Li Dianzhong often wrote in the code?" Qi Changye pondered and said: "Is it because he works here? No, the courier shouldn't expose his workplace to other members of the espionage team, and there is no need for multiple exposures. Looking at it this way, the mimeograph factory is the work target of the espionage team?"

After Qi Changye finished speaking, he looked at Jiang Yuan and then at Liu Jinghui.

Liu Jinghui said: "You are the one doing espionage; you have the final say."

"What's the use of me having the final say? It depends on what the facts are." Qi Changye first threw the pot, then said: "I will send your thoughts to the experts to listen to. Well, can you tell me the specific analysis?"

"I'll write it for you." Jiang Yuan's cryptography hadn't been recognized yet, and he wasn't in a hurry to show off, so he wrote a few pages of paper in a regular manner and asked Qi Changye to transfer it to the cryptographers of the competent department for verification.

Qi Changye was busy contacting the headquarters to update the information.

He couldn't know all the relevant intelligence either, and could only ask whatever he encountered.

After passing information back and forth several times, Qi Changye looked at Jiang Yuan deeply and drilled into an independent office again.

Half an hour later, Qi Changye walked out and said: "Confirmed, three does represent the mimeograph factory."

Jiang Yuan didn't ask how it was confirmed, but asked: "What's next?"

The words Jiang Yuan gave were more than one. In addition, this kind of simplest monoalphabetic substitution encryption, the more words you know, the easier it is to guess the meaning of other words.

And judging by the number of middle-seam advertisements Li Dianzhong sent out, the experts in Qi Changye's department should be able to parse out quite a lot of intelligence.

Qi Changye's tense expression relaxed because of a smile, shook his head, and said: "I don't know how you learned it. How long has it been, and you have become an expert who can decipher codes... Our people checked carefully, and Li Dianzhong's mimeograph factory really has business involving secrets."

"What business?"

"Printing materials for some units, including third-party units of secret research institutes, including propaganda materials, and also some materials for meetings." Qi Changye paused and said: "These third-party units themselves are not secret, but many of the leaders qualified to attend the meetings are cadres of the research institutes holding concurrent posts. The materials they use for meetings are not necessarily used for meetings of the third-party companies, but also include those used for meetings of the research institutes."

The third-party companies Qi Changye mentioned are equivalent to the peripheral companies of various units. The domestic atmosphere in the 90s was also hoping that children would work in national units, the so-called "formal" work. In the case of insufficient staffing in various units, some units established some peripheral companies to solve the employment problem of employees' children. What they did was not important, and whether they made money was not important. It was purely to solve the employment burden.

Under these circumstances, most of the business of these third-party companies can be said to be a mess. If you want to say the most serious one, it is holding meetings.

Not only do third-party companies need to hold meetings, but various research institutes, institutes, or company units also need to hold meetings, and they hold them very seriously. The closer the leaders are to the business line, the more materials they need to prepare. Even if they are not used, they must be prepared.

And in the case of generally insufficient funds, some leaders are also willing to save money, so they transfer the work of printing or mimeographing meeting materials to their own or related third-party companies, which belongs to the category of waste utilization.

It's just that I didn't expect that Li Dianzhong and his kind would also target the waste.

Afraid that Jiang Yuan wouldn't understand, Qi Changye specifically said: "The factory where Zhang Xiaoming was located is a factory directly under the ministry, and the scale is large, so it is responsible for many businesses in Beijing. Many relevant units of the ministry will also use their venues and personnel. Mimeograph factories like this third-party are often packaged inside."

"What kind of meeting will involve secrets?" Liu Jinghui asked: "If it's just the kind of digging for treasure in the trash, the harm of this espionage team shouldn't be too great, right?"

"It's hard to say now, because it's an espionage organization that hasn't been broken, so no damage assessment has been done." Qi Changye became more serious as he spoke, and then said slowly: "Let me give you an example. It is known that many achievement recognition meetings were organized in the factory at that time. Then theoretically, the mimeograph factory would mimeograph many documents and materials used in the achievement recognition meeting. It's not necessarily the core kind, but..."

"Is it already at the level of involving secrets?"

"Yes. And it also depends on the other party's awareness of confidentiality. For example, according to my inquiry, at that time, some local units came over, and some data and numbers were put in their brains. They were afraid of losing them on the road, so they didn't want to form documents and bring them all the way. But when they arrived here, they would ask the mimeograph factory to print some data into documents, because it looked better for the leaders above to see..."

Liu Jinghui's face changed: "This harm is very great."

"Yes. So, Zhang Xiaoming was likely not killed because he wanted to lay off workers, but because he wanted to lay off these third-party companies at the same time. Fortunately, Li Dianzhong was silenced by their own people." Qi Changye sighed: "The loophole is temporarily filled."

"This is not right." Liu Jinghui frowned instead: "If Li Dianzhong is such an important source of intelligence, even if it is dangerous, they would be reluctant to silence him. Is the mimeograph factory still there at that time?"

Qi Changye's brows also frowned: "Yes. After Li Dianzhong died, the mimeograph factory lingered for more than two years, and the scale became smaller and smaller, and finally withdrew with the third-party company."

"Right. Looking at it this way, it's unreasonable. If the order to Li Dianzhong to kill Zhang Xiaoming was to protect the mimeograph factory, it was to protect the source of intelligence. Then what is the use of protecting the mimeograph factory after Li Dianzhong died? This is putting the cart before the horse. Unless..."

"Does the mimeograph factory have another source of intelligence?" Qi Changye followed Liu Jinghui's rhythm, broke it, and couldn't help but frown. After a long time, he said: "The courier is exposed outside. Usually, it follows the core source of intelligence."

Being a courier is actually taking greater risks, and the reason for the existence of the courier role must be to reduce the risk of the core intelligence source. Otherwise, adding one more courier is just adding to the risk of the core intelligence source, which seems meaningless.

In fact, the entire espionage team exists to reduce the risk of the core intelligence source. Letting the core intelligence source do the least espionage work and transferring the risk of transferring intelligence and passing messages to couriers and spies is the significance of the existence of the espionage team.

And from this perspective, Li Dianzhong's death from a high-altitude fall is itself cutting off the risk, perfectly embodying the logic of the espionage team's actions.

The other party only needs to replace a courier and train them slightly to let the team continue to work.

"The source of intelligence is in the mimeograph factory..." Qi Changye frowned: "20 years. If the source of intelligence back then was older, maybe they have already retired. Among these people, there are quite a few who have gone abroad..."

"Actually, there is another problem that has never been solved." Jiang Yuan suddenly interrupted Qi Changye's thinking.

Qi Changye looked over naturally.

Jiang Yuan said: "Li Dianzhong went to Zhang Xiaoming's place to find something. From the on-site investigation, it doesn't look like a disguise; he was indeed looking for something seriously. And this also conforms to their behavioral pattern."

"This is not a discussion of plotting against a person and plotting against an object..."

"Both plotting against an object and plotting against a person." Jiang Yuan had been taking over this case for so long and had also thought about it for a long time. At this moment, he said quite affirmatively: "I think the killer himself had a plan to kill Zhang Xiaoming. So, plotting against an object is true, and killing is also true. Therefore, although Zhang Xiaoming came home suddenly, the killer's means were unusually decisive!"

"Makes sense." Liu Jinghui didn't understand on-site investigation, but seeing Jiang Yuan so confident, it was equivalent to immediately updating the information, adding this prerequisite to his reasoning, and immediately agreed: "Kill first, and things may fall into the hands of the police, so you must find things first, and then deal with Zhang Xiaoming."

Qi Changye followed their train of thought and said: "So, the killer ran into Zhang Xiaoming who came home suddenly, which was both a temporary decision to kill. But it was also premeditated."

"Yes, this can also better explain the confrontation between the two." Jiang Yuan posed a posture and said: "Zhang Xiaoming clearly thought it was an ordinary burglary, so he wanted to use intimidation or expulsion to drive the person out. He might have threatened the other party to put down things, otherwise he would shout..."

Jiang Yuan: "If Zhang Xiaoming knew the killer, his stance should have changed, and he would have been more prepared. I remember Zhang Xiaoming also received military training."

Factory workers in the 90s all received long-term quasi-military training, such as young people being organized into militia companies, militia battalions, the factory's own security and joint defense tasks, and it is not strange that sports meetings were held as military pentathlon and trained in advance.

Jiang Yuan thought while speaking and said: "This shows that although Li Dianzhong was an off-the-books employee in the factory, Zhang Xiaoming didn't know him. But Li Dianzhong decisively killed Zhang Xiaoming. I said before that he stabbed mainly in the chest, and Zhang Xiaoming's height is not low, half a head taller than Li Dianzhong. This is not a position stabbed in a hurry or by accident."

Jiang Yuan said here, looked at Qi Changye again, pulled the topic back, and said: "Then, what did Li Dianzhong look for? This thing is likely more important than Li Dianzhong's identity."

Qi Changye's eyes lit up: "Why?"

Jiang Yuan said: "Because Li Dianzhong was killing people at great risk. From the bloodstain analysis, when Zhang Xiaoming was stabbed to death, the blood sprayed from his body should have been sprayed on the killer. In addition, the killer's arm holding the knife should be the right hand, and it should also have been sprayed with blood, and then blood dripped down, indicating that the amount of blood was not small."

Jiang Yuan organized his thoughts and said: "Even if Li Dianzhong can use the flying claw, can wash the bloodstains, and can wear more clothes to cover the bloodstains, can he wash it clean? The smell is always there. In essence, he did this, it must be at great risk, and it is unlikely to leave the scene very safely."

Jiang Yuan paused and added: "I mean, Li Dianzhong might have left the scene safely, but leaving just like that, the risk was still too great."

Liu Jinghui instantly understood Jiang Yuan's logic: "If the bloodstain analysis is such a conclusion, Li Dianzhong must have made a decision at that time, he must kill Zhang Xiaoming."

Jiang Yuan nodded: "Yes."

Liu Jinghui nodded slowly: "Regardless of whether Li Dianzhong had the things he wanted in his hand at that time, not killing Zhang Xiaoming at that time, even if he took out a knife to threaten Zhang Xiaoming, he could not eliminate the risk. In fact, there were two thieves in the room at that time, and it was also possible to let Zhang Xiaoming dodge and leave. Zhang Xiaoming was delicate and expensive, and might not take too much risk for two little thieves."

Jiang Yuan agreed: "You can also give Zhang Xiaoming a knife, but don't kill him. Li Dianzhong has practiced, and he has a knife in his hand, so he should be sure, at least he doesn't have to stab the chest so extremely. At that time, Li Dianzhong can just go far away. He should have made a lot of money in his hand. It is always safer than being a wanted criminal for murder."

"If you follow this train of thought, Li Dianzhong killing people can only be to protect a more valuable target. Then it can only be the source of intelligence behind him." Liu Jinghui looked at Qi Changye: "This means that Zhang Xiaoming has something in his hand, he might not know it yet, which can threaten the source of intelligence."

Qi Changye understood the reasoning of the two, but considering the importance of the next order, Qi Changye confirmed again: "Li Dianzhong was silenced because of this, he sacrificed too much."

"He should have been prepared to let Wang Futing take the blame. He didn't also let Wang Futing pick the bag. Originally, silencing Wang Futing would have ended the matter." Liu Jinghui felt that this problem was too simple and said bluntly: "Wang Futing is a clever one. He ran away when he went back that day, which was beyond Li Dianzhong's expectation. In the end, he could only be silenced."

Qi Changye nodded slowly: "Wang Futing can become a vice president, and Li Dianzhong can't remember the codebook, which is quite reasonable."

"Li Dianzhong was only 20 years old when he died. It's normal for young people to have no experience. Even if he learned the flying claw and learned some Jianghu tricks from his uncle, the limit is just like this. In the end, he mailed the codebook, but was still silenced."

"It might have been threatened. Those who do espionage can sacrifice him, but they can't tolerate him running away privately." Qi Changye skipped this topic in one sentence and asked: "So, what did Li Dianzhong take away from Zhang Xiaoming's place?"

"I think it is very likely to be a document, report, or letter." Jiang Yuan took out the time table of Zhang Xiaoming summarized by the previous task force and said: "Zhang Xiaoming spent the past few days sorting out the people, things, and business in the factory, and then wrote many letters to some of his elders and friends. These letters were taken back. Now it seems that the purpose is mainly to ask for advice, but..."

"Zhang Xiaoming might have exposed the spy because of this?" Qi Changye was flushed with excitement.

Jiang Yuan said: "Possible. Or let the spy lose the source of intelligence?"

Liu Jinghui took over Jiang Yuan's words and said for him: "If we assume that this spy, or the source of intelligence of the spy, was in the management of the factory or mimeograph factory back then, is it feasible?"

Actually, after saying a lot, it was just for this sentence.

And the level of the factory where Zhang Xiaoming stayed back then was not low. 20 years have passed, and there are always people in the management who have made great progress—this has returned to the route of making great progress.

It's just that the scope is not limited to the residential area of Jianmen Academy.

"Can check and see." Qi Changye knew what they were worried about, specifically looked at Huang Qiangmin next to him, and added: "After so many years, the specific situation is very difficult to say." ===== CHAPTER 989 =====