Chapter 040: Pinpointing the Flaw

On December 21, 1928 (the seventeenth year of the Republic, the third year of Showa), Chen Jiehua, having completed a telegram exchange with Zhou Yongsu at his family home in Miyazaki, did not hastily depart.

Now, Chen Jiehua realized that throughout his journey, he had acted on intuition without systematic reminders or constraints, leaving numerous vulnerabilities. The behavior of Okamura Ninji made it clear: he and Dufei had already exchanged information. The “Uncle Okamura,” who once only doubted his financial strength and source of medicines, now supported Dufei in confirming his identity. This indicated they had found a fatal flaw in him. Otherwise, considering Okamura Ninji’s current position, his main office work was hectic; together with Dufei, two men in their forties at the height of their careers, there was no need to treat a minor figure with such caution.

Where was the problem?

First, during that year, his main activities were in Lushun and Fengtian, primarily pharmacy operations and the expansion of drugstores, with no contact with Dufei. Why, then, did Dufei pay attention to him, even to the extent of sending agents to America to investigate? If the small spy at the time had been sent by Okamura Ninji, it would not have been surprising, but it happened to be the 20% probability. That spy’s story seemed true: Dufei sent him to investigate the "scale of the pharmaceutical factory and economic sources." Was it because of the numerous drugstores, the robust financial strength, or some abnormal economic activity?

Abnormal—what would be considered abnormal in the eyes of people of that era? He understood now! Abnormal economic activity—he was handing money to the city’s military police! This was inconsistent with a merchant’s nature; the method of winning favor was too obvious.

His sole focus had been to rapidly establish a network, to control the military police from underground, but he hadn’t considered—why would a merchant, also a Japanese soldier with a powerful background, need to act this way? When things are unusual, there is always something amiss. Dufei must have started investigating him because of this.

Yet, based on this alone and the issue of economic sources, it shouldn’t have warranted Dufei returning home to orchestrate such a grand scheme to verify his identity. This meant that after he left Manchuria, Dufei must have uncovered another crucial suspicion.

Lying in bed feigning sleep, Chen Jiehua mentally retraced the events. In the northeast, his greatest move had been to kill Sakurada Takeshi for Liu Junze. That incident was indeed impulsive, but seemingly reasonable. No, no! He understood now—Dufei must have traced the matter back to the military academy! He and Liu Junze had no deep ties, merely ordinary classmates; careful questioning would reveal they had little interaction during their studies.

For an ordinary classmate, to risk killing a colonel on the second day as a new recruit was highly unreasonable—an excessive display. The military academy! If the chief of military law, Nagatomo Tsunao, was still at the academy, Dufei could also investigate Chen Jiehua’s mysterious disappearance. And then, there was the mysterious disappearance of Kawamoto Daisaku!

It was over—both cases were bizarre, and both linked to him.

So that was it! He had been traced all the way because of Kawamoto Daisaku. The killing of Kawamoto was forced, not an excessive act, but his subsequent handling had been careless. Had he thought it through, he should have disposed of Kawamoto’s body near headquarters—the authorities would find the corpse and investigate the cause of death, which would have been preferable to probing a mysterious disappearance.

The path of a spy was truly perilous.

Now, although Dufei and Okamura Ninji had confirmed his identity, their doubts remained unresolved: first, the mysterious disappearance of two men; second, his economic sources in America.

They would undoubtedly continue their investigations.

In America, upon reflection, there were many vulnerabilities. The first was Lucas: if that spy could trace the pharmaceutical factory, others could too. Lucas knew little of his secrets, but the initial development of penicillin remained a major question. Where did the first batch of miraculous penicillin go?

It was impossible to silence Lucas, unless he were ruthless enough to eliminate the entire research team, which was clearly unfeasible.

The second flaw was the stock agreement signed with two American pharmaceutical companies. This was not a pressing concern at present; on American soil, the Japanese would not gain much ground. But this vulnerability needed to be watched, as Japan would undoubtedly continue sending agents to America, and the drug transport channels required maintenance—especially the captain, chief mate, and crew of that ship. One never knew when, after drinking in a bar, someone might blurt out too much.

Other issues concerned his transactions in the eastern region, all conducted under aliases, making them difficult to trace.

The disappearance of two men was particularly troublesome.

Chen Jiehua’s own disappearance was long ago; Dufei and Okamura could ask the teachers at the time, but only Nagatomo Tsunao had handled the matter. Simply because he hadn’t killed Nagatomo back then, if Nagatomo were to die suddenly now, his own exposure would increase, making it not worth the risk. It was better to let the mistake stand.

The next danger was Zhao Yiyue—this reckless youth; where had he gone? Okamura or Dufei could follow the clues to find him, but Chen must not seek him out. If Okamura or Dufei caught wind of his search, trouble would arise.

Finally, the most dangerous points were Liu Junze and Zhou Yongsu—both knew his true identity. Liu Junze was not too worrisome, having withstood inhuman interrogations before.

But what about Zhou Yongsu?

If Dufei acted without scruples and directly arrested Zhou Yongsu for interrogation, subjected him to torture, Zhou might not withstand it. If he revealed or betrayed Zhao Shiyu, leading to Zhao’s arrest, that would be Chen’s fault.

After circling his thoughts twice, Chen Jiehua realized he had cornered himself into a dead end.

The first flaw, Lucas, was far away in America, merely an ordinary manager; the second, Zhou Yongsu, was his greatest weakness. He had to ensure Zhou quickly vanished from Dufei’s sight.

Two plans presented themselves: first, they were currently rescuing comrades from the Manchurian provincial committee who had been arrested. Once rescued, Zhou could escort the comrades out of the northeast region to the core of the organization; second, simply send Yongsu to America, replacing Lucas and becoming Chen’s contact there, severing Dufei’s reach. Clearly, this was the most reliable option.

Having clarified the causes and effects and devised remedial measures, Chen Jiehua ceased his performance at home, took leave of the clan leader and Aoki Seigen’s mother, and went by train to Kobe before transferring by ship to the port of Lushun.

He would first see how to rescue people and arrange for Zhou Yongsu to leave the northeast as soon as possible.