Chapter 43: Intent to Kill [Bonus Chapter for 800 Followers!]

After stopping in his tracks, Zhao Xuan looked at Zhou Mei and replied expressionlessly:

"Let's go strictly by the book. I hope the intelligence Madam Zhou has brought this time is accurate."

"Very well, I do love going by the book. As for the intelligence, you can rest assured—it is infallible."

Inside the office of the head of the Telecommunications Department, Dao Yan stood by the window, lifting a corner of the curtain as she frowned deeply at the courtyard.

Zhao Xuan and Zhou Mei had left with the operations team. What on earth were they up to?

What kind of mission had Ding Moqun given them, anyway?

Dao Yan was extremely annoyed right now. She was Ding Moqun's own niece, yet an operation was underway and she knew absolutely nothing about it.

If it had only happened once or twice, Dao Yan wouldn't have thought much of it.

But this was happening time and time again—especially the recent mission to escort the Canary to the execution ground, where Ding Moqun hadn't treated her like a niece or one of his own people at all.

*(With the codename Fenghailan compromised, coupled with the Young Tiger incident, it is clear that Ding Moqun has indeed stopped trusting those around him.)*

*(That damned Pangolin! Didn't I warn the Chongqing headquarters before that there was definitely a spy working for Ding Moqun planted right inside the upper echelons? Did they just ignore it? Now that my codename has been exposed, my undercover work is becoming increasingly difficult.)*

Thinking to herself, Dao Yan silently sat back down at her desk.

Yesterday, Dao Yan had met with her handler and learned that the one who had exposed her codename was none other than Pangolin, the spy embedded in Chongqing. At that exact moment, she had wanted nothing more than to tear Pangolin to pieces, while simultaneously cursing Chongqing's inaction.

*(No, I cannot sit here and wait for my doom. Since Ding Moqun doesn't trust me, I will fight for my own position!)*

With this thought, Dao Yan stood up with a face as cold as frost and walked straight into Ding Moqun's office.

"Uncle, why is it that even Zhao Xuan gets to go on missions, while I am kept completely in the dark? Uncle, I don't care, I want to go out on a mission too!"

"I saw him leave with Zhou Mei. She must have brought back some crucial intelligence this time; otherwise, Uncle, you wouldn't have dispatched an entire squad from the Operations Department to assist them."

This was the persona Dao Yan always maintained in front of Ding Moqun: her customary, unyielding arrogance!

Ding Moqun had anticipated that Dao Yan would come to find him. If she hadn't stormed in, that would have been the moment for him to truly start wondering.

Seeing Dao Yan rush over to act spoiled while expressing her dissatisfaction and anger, Ding Moqun secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

This kind of behavior was precisely what proved she was still his niece!

Dao Yan herself had a clear understanding of this dynamic, and she could gauge the boundaries perfectly. This was why she had been able to maintain her cover as the head of the Telecommunications Department for over a year.

"Xiaodao, how old are you to still be acting like a little child? You are already the head of the Telecommunications Department; why do you care so much about earning merits?"

"Besides, is A-xuan an outsider? He is your husband. You were the one who agreed to marry him in the first place, which makes us all family. His achievements are your achievements as well."

"Furthermore, the Telecommunications Department should focus on telecommunications duties. Fieldwork and operations are the responsibilities of the Intelligence and Operations Departments."

Dao Yan curled her lip, folded her arms in dissatisfaction as she sat in the chair, and turned her head away.

"Uncle, you know me. How could I ever just sit still?"

The more willful Dao Yan acted in front of him, the less suspicious Ding Moqun became.

After all, she was his only remaining family. Ding Moqun chuckled and said with indulgent fondness:

"Alright, the Telecommunications Department won't have to stay idle for much longer. This time when Jiang Li went to Jinling, he managed to persuade the superiors to allocate two radio-locating trucks for our Unit 76, along with a supply of cipher machines."

"When the time comes, you can take your people and drive all over the city to hunt down those rats hiding in the sewers!"

A jolt of shock went through Dao Yan's heart. The combination of a radio-locating truck and a cipher machine was an absolute lethal weapon for detecting telegraph signals.

Once these devices were deployed, it would spell an unprecedented catastrophe for underground intelligence operations.

Despite the panic inside, Dao Yan let out a haughty huff, then instantly switched to a beaming smile. She jumped up, hurried behind Ding Moqun, and began massaging his shoulders.

"Uncle, I knew you were the best to me!"

"Since that's the case, I suppose I can wait a little longer."

With that, Dao Yan decided to make a swift exit.

Ding Moqun, who had been enjoying his niece's shoulder massage, watched as she bolted away like a gust of wind, and could only shake his head with an amused, helpless smile.

"This girl!"

......

On Baoshan Street, parked on the curbside not far from the cinema inside a black Ford sedan, Zhao Xuan occupied the driver's seat while Zhou Mei sat in the passenger seat. Their gazes remained fixed on the entrance of the movie theater.

"Su Bai, a graduate of the third training class who previously operated undercover in Jinling, must have arrived in Shanghai quite recently."

"He has spent years following the legendary Military Statistics agent Chen Chuyin. Now that he has appeared in Shanghai, it is highly likely that Chen Chuyin is here as well."

"This Chen Chuyin is arguably the most qualified candidate to take over as the head of the Shanghai Station after Song Yunshan. Therefore, I suspect the Military Statistics Shanghai Station has been re-established. Perhaps we can use Su Bai as our breakthrough point to dig out this newly built station."

Zhou Mei's eyes shone brightly, her tone growing increasingly excited as she spoke.

And the more Zhao Xuan listened, the more thrilled he felt inside!

Although outwardly Zhao Xuan maintained his usual icy expression, leaning casually against his seat with his chin resting in his hand as he stared at the cinema entrance, a lethal intent had already taken deep root in his mind!

This Zhou Mei truly could not be allowed to live!

Zhao Xuan simply couldn't fathom it: with a brain this sharp, how on earth had Zhou Mei ever been captured by Unit 76 in the first place?

Or perhaps her mind had only become this shrewd after defecting to the Japanese devils?

Regardless of the reason, Zhou Mei had to be eliminated as soon as possible.

"They're coming out!"

"Su Bai had a particular fondness for novelties like movies back during his training days. I never expected that after a few years, he still hasn't shaken that habit."

As she spoke, Zhou Mei extended her hand out of the car window and gave a signal to the agents keeping watch in the surrounding area.

Seeing Zhou Mei call off the tail, Zhao Xuan asked with a hint of confusion:

"What? We're not arresting him?"

Zhou Mei smiled faintly, a playful and mocking glint in her eyes.

"Chen Chuyin is not someone who can be captured so easily. In broad daylight, the moment Su Bai is arrested, Chen Chuyin will definitely be alerted, and then our lead on Su Bai will become useless."

"Let's just keep waiting here. Su Bai will definitely return tonight, and when he does, we'll go properly meet him at the Paramount."

Frowning deeply, Zhao Xuan questioned Zhou Mei while simultaneously activating his scanning mode.

"You're so certain he'll go to the Paramount tonight?"

Hearing this, Zhou Mei shook her head with a slightly awkward smile.

"Not entirely certain, but I am betting that since Su Bai can't break his habit of watching movies, he certainly hasn't broken his habit of seeking entertainment."

"I've already asked around. The leading lady in the movie Su Bai just watched is performing at the Paramount tonight. Don't you think he'll go?"