Chapter 29: Wishful Thinking

  The second floor of Foton Trading Company on Taishan Road, Shanghai, Wang Tianmu, the person in charge of the Shanghai station of the Military Commission, was having a secret conversation with Fan Xuewen, a special envoy from Chongqing.

  Wang Tianmu was an old agent of the Military Bureau, and also a veteran in the entire organization. He was from Northeast China, tall and majestic, usually dressed in suits, white shirts with high collars, and silk ties, giving off a gentlemanly air. Normally he had a thick beard, until the Japanese army occupied Shanghai and the Military Bureau was forced to go underground, at which point he shaved off his beautiful whiskers that had accompanied him for many years.

  Fan Xuewen belongs to the Zheng Jieming faction, is a rising star of the Military Bureau, was recommended to go to Germany for special agent training, had just graduated and returned home, was reused, he was from Lintong rushing to Shanghai, earlier he was teaching in the training class, this time it was ordered by the Chongqing headquarters to rush to Shanghai on official business.

  Fan Xuewen brought a difficult task to Wang Tianmu this time in Shanghai. According to reliable intelligence, there are important figures from the puppet side who have made contact with the Chongqing side, and it is not ruled out that they have the intention of turning over. The Military Intelligence Bureau of Chongqing ordered the Shanghai station to be on high alert, ready to receive and safely withdraw relevant personnel from Shanghai at any time.

  But Wang Tianmu was unable to speak out at this time, because the previous assassination of "New Government" Foreign Minister Chen Zong and a series of extermination actions had gradually drawn the attention of the Japanese side to the Military Intelligence Bureau. Recently, the Japanese Special Service Agency Tokko and Mei organ jointly launched a large-scale crackdown on the Military Intelligence Bureau with the Shanghai Garrison Command. Although the effect was minimal, the activity space of the Military Intelligence Bureau had been greatly compressed. ?? Counter-attack Republic's Agent 29

  Moreover, according to reliable sources, the Japanese have decided to adopt a strategy of "using Chinese to control Chinese" in order to reverse this situation. They are preparing to set up a special operations organization for the puppet government, with its spearhead directly targeting the Military Commission and the Central Committee. It is said that they have already confirmed that the traitors Ding Mocun from the Central Committee and Li Shiqun, who was once a *** traitor and a Military Commission traitor, will be fully responsible for the establishment of this organization.

  For these two men, Wang Tianmu was not unfamiliar. Ding Mocun was originally a senior general of the Central Union, and had been on an equal footing with Dai Li before the Military Union was established. This man was good at socializing and had extensive connections within the National Government, with considerable prestige; while Li Shiqun was a thorough traitor, first betraying *** and then turning against the Military Union, but it must be admitted that he was indeed very capable, and had a deep understanding of the special operations organizations of various factions in China.

  The situation in Shanghai is deteriorating step by step, and the Shanghai station is already overwhelmed. At this time, if there is any carelessness, it may collapse completely. And at this time, headquarters issued such an order, if you want to complete it, you must face the Japanese Tokko, Mei organ, Kempeitai, as well as the two wolves, Ding and Li. Relying solely on a Shanghai station, that is undoubtedly extremely difficult.

  Looking at Wang Tianmu's worried face, Fan Xuewen couldn't help but comfort him with a few words. At the same time, he also told him that Zheng Jiemin had entrusted him to pass on a message, warning Wang Tianmu to be extremely careful. This mission had already been approved by Chairman Chiang, who was closely following its progress and instructing Wang Tianmu to come up with a foolproof plan to complete the task successfully. This would play a crucial role in increasing the influence of the Guangdong faction within the Military Intelligence Bureau.

  Wang Tianmu let out a long sigh, extinguishing the cigarette butt in the ashtray: "Qi Heng, my younger brother, I understand the reasoning you're talking about, but with a great enemy before us and Shanghai Station still having to respond to such a heavy responsibility with all its might, it's really an unwise move!"

  Fan Xuewen thought for a moment: "Station Master Wang, can we borrow the power of outsiders?"

  Wang Tianmu raised an eyebrow: "You're talking about the Green Gang?"

  Fan Xuewen nodded silently.

  Wang Tianmu smiled bitterly: "I've thought about it too, but at this time and day, do you think the concessions are still their domain? Huang Jinrong has closed his doors and won't come out, Du Yuesheng has fled to Hong Kong, Zhang Shoulin has defected to the Japanese, one family dominates, and the Black Dragon Society quietly begins to occupy the territory. The Shanghai Bund of today is under the command of the Japanese!"

  Fan Xuewen also fell silent.

  Wang Tianmu stood up, patted the wrinkles on his suit: "Alright, Qi Heng younger brother, these annoying things are still left to me to deal with. You go back and tell Director Zheng that I, Wang Tianmu, will definitely do my best. There's just one thing, if I have any difficulties and need to ask for help from above, please ask him to take care of it."

  Now that it's come to this, Fan Xuewen didn't know what else to say. A relaxed smile appeared on his face as he deliberately changed the subject. "Director Wang, how is that little brat that Director Zheng mentioned last time doing? He was a thorn in his side!"

  Wang Tianmu's figure paused, and he gave Fan Xuewen a cold look. He thought to himself: "You son of a bitch, you don't want to offend Lord Yun yourself, but instead you bring people to Shanghai and put this piece of crap on my head, thinking of using me to get rid of that little brat. You're dreaming!"

  But the smile on his face didn't change. "Don't worry, it's already been taken care of. I ordered him to take out Li Shiqun's top general Duan Baohu, with a deadline of one month, without backup or equipment. If the mission fails, he'll be court-martialed!"

  "Wasn't that the Shanghai Tiger who always had a dozen bodyguards with him wherever he went, and even brought two guns to bed when he was with women?"

  Wang Tianmu nodded and smiled: "You say, is there still a possibility of success for this task?"

  Watching Fan Xuewen leave with satisfaction, Wang Tianmu said to his deputy officer Cheng Peiguang who had just entered the house: "Get in touch with Liu Chongfeng of the Action Team and let him select ten reliable good men to be arranged in the warehouse under the company's name. Don't go anywhere for a month, be ready to die at any time!"

  Cheng Peiguang nodded in agreement, just about to leave, when Wang Tianmu called out to him: "Also, after the one-month deadline is up, if Duan Baohu is still alive, remove those two people from the Shanghai station's name list and let them fend for themselves. Additionally, send a telegram to Yong Gong at that time! Remember, this matter cannot be known by anyone else except you and me!"

  The coffee shop of Sanders. ?? The special agent 29 who counterattacked the Republic of China.

  Lin Xiaotang helplessly looked at Ma Qixiang in front of her: "Young Master Xiang, I still have things to do later, I really can't accompany you anymore!"

  Ma Qixiang himself drank a bottle of brandy, already slightly drunk. He raised his eyes to look at the night outside the window, then looked at Lin Xiaotang: "Xiaoqi, you really don't think much of me, do you? Accompanying me for a drink is so much nonsense. Don't worry, I really don't like men, I just find you pleasing to the eye and treat you as a friend!"

  Ever since the last time Lin Xiaotang impersonated Ma Qixiang's "boyfriend", he had washed his hair dozens of times in a row. For several days, Lin Xiaotang became the laughing stock of the entire cafe, but it was only later that he found out he wasn't the first person to do such a thing - many people at the cafe, including Shen Baozi, who had a similar physique, had also played the role of a fire extinguisher.

  According to Shen Baozi, Ma Qixiang is a rich second-generation, but he doesn't have that kind of spoiled habit. He has a strong Jianghu flavor on him and his relationship with Shen Baozi is especially good. He likes to help the poor and fight for justice, and of course, his favorite thing to do is to be a hero who saves beauties. As a result, he owes countless emotional debts. So every time he wants to get out of trouble, he needs to find a shield to block it. Over time, Ma Qixiang's hobby of "eating both men and women" has spread throughout Shanghai.

  But Ma Qixiang didn't mind this, his old man died early, so the position of the helm of the Ma family didn't fall to him, but fell into the hands of his second uncle. When his second uncle was alive, he would still give some money due to the incense and fire relationship, but after his second uncle passed away, his cousin took over the house, and how it would be at that time is unknown. So, as Mr. Xiang said, he is now drinking and getting drunk today, who cares about tomorrow's right or wrong!

  Lin Xiaotang is the only one who has played the glorious role of "Xiang Shao Ye's shield" without vomiting or retreating in defeat. As a result, he is also very tolerant of Xiang Shao Ye's temper. Now, whenever Xiang Shao Ye has some free time, he likes to come and chat with Shen Pangzi and Lin Xiaotang over a couple of drinks. But Xiang Shao Ye's free time basically means that except for when he is sleeping, all other times are considered free.

  To be honest, Lin Xiaotang didn't dislike Ma Qixiang either. At least he didn't have that superior feeling of a rich family's son, and he was quite straightforward in his words and actions. So, after meeting a few times, they became familiar with each other. As for Ma Qixiang coming to find Lin Xiaotang to drink, Shen Baozi didn't say anything? It can be seen that he and Xiang Shao are typical drinking buddies, as long as there is wine to drink, everything is fine.

  This made things difficult for Da Tou, as the work he and Lin Xiao Tang had originally shared was now all on his shoulders. Fortunately, Ma Qi Xiang was understanding and noticed Da Tou's dissatisfaction and Lin Xiao Tang's embarrassment. So every time he came, he would leave a bottle of wine or a few boxes of cigarettes for Da Tou, which made him happy and increased his work efficiency.

  Not today, after waking up at 7 pm, Ma Qixiang came to the coffee shop for dinner as usual.

  In the blink of an eye, summer has hastily departed, and autumn's chill is growing thicker in the air day by day. Having been in Shanghai for over three months now, Lin Xiaotang and Da Tou have gradually adapted to life in Shanghai, especially Lin Xiaotang, who after spending time with Ma Qixiang and Shen Pangzi, has surprisingly learned a standard Shanghai dialect that's so authentic it can pass off as the real thing, even locals can't tell the difference.

  Because it's the weekend, there are a lot of customers in the store, and the workload for washing dishes is also very large. Although Ma Qixiang just gave Da Tou another bottle of wine, Lin Xiaotang still couldn't bear it, so he excused himself to Ma Qixiang and hurriedly walked to the back kitchen.

  As soon as I entered the back kitchen, I saw a large crowd of people surrounding something. Shen Pangzi and Da Tou were among them. In the middle were two half-grown children, one was Xiao Chen's younger brother, who was a waiter, and the other was Lao Yang's son, who was a chef. The two children were clearly frightened out of their wits, with snot and tears streaming down their faces as they cried to Shen Pangzi. Shen Pangzi's face was deathly pale, his two fat fists clenched tightly.

  Lin Xiaotang asked around in the store and only then did she find out that Old Yang and Little Chen had been beaten up, both of them were seriously injured and had already been sent to the Shanghai-Nanjing Railway Hospital, but their family was really struggling financially, there was no way, so they could only come to ask colleagues for help.

  Shen Pangzi listened and didn't say a word, went back to the office and brought out a stack of banknotes, about 400-500 yuan, stuffed them into the hands of the two children: "Hurry up, first pay the medical expenses, if it's not enough, I'll think of a way, the top priority is to settle the person down first!"