Chapter Fifty-One: Playing Cards

Chapter 51: Playing Cards

That night, Bai Zeshao brought the radio transmitter to No. 1 Chunhe Road. When Mr. Li saw the brand-new device Bai Zeshao had procured, he could not help but feel a surge of excitement within him.

To be frank, although he was the leader of the Shanning underground organization and quite adept at sending and receiving messages, this was his first time seeing such a new radio transmitter. He was genuinely delighted that Bai Zeshao had managed to acquire such a treasure.

Mr. Li immediately set to work, sending a lengthy message to his superiors. The content not only detailed his recent capture but also included some of his plans and requests.

Unfortunately, perhaps because the hour was so late, his message received no response.

At the same time, the Special Service Division’s communications room was still brightly lit, its staff hard at work. As Mr. Li was transmitting, the Division’s telegraph operator, responsible for monitoring Shanning’s radio signals, immediately noticed the new frequency—one they had never encountered before.

Especially at this late hour, with such a long transmission, it was almost certain that this was a Red Party station at work. The operator quickly reported the discovery, and the message reached Li Hongwei.

Li Hongwei came straight to the communications room and questioned the operator monitoring the signal. “Can you pinpoint the location of this transmitter? And have you intercepted any of their messages?”

“We can only determine a general area—it’s somewhere in the south of the city,” the operator replied, setting down his headphones with a hint of frustration.

Li Hongwei nodded calmly, not particularly disappointed. With current technology still lacking, it was almost impossible to pinpoint an enemy station’s exact location.

Moreover, the transmitter was operating in the southern part of the city—the most commercially developed area of Shanning. There were already over twenty registered business stations in that district, not to mention those that operated without registration; altogether, there must be more than thirty.

“Director, here is the intercepted message. We can confirm it’s from the Red Party, and the operator’s technique and frequency are very familiar—it’s the same lone Red Party station we’ve seen before,” the operator said, handing the transcription to Li Hongwei.

Li Hongwei glanced over the message and said, “It seems our old friend has returned. But who could this person be? As far as I know, the Red Party only has two transmitters in Shanning. We’ve already dismantled one, and the other’s operator doesn’t use this technique.”

“Director, could it be Mr. Li, the one who was recently rescued?” the operator speculated.

“It’s likely him. But where did he get his hands on a transmitter? Has the Red Party’s underground network really grown so powerful that they could obtain a radio in just a few days?” Li Hongwei found it difficult to believe.

After glancing once more at the intercepted message, Li Hongwei instructed the operator to closely monitor the newly appeared station, then returned to his office with the document.

Under the glow of his desk lamp, Li Hongwei attempted to decipher the message. Unfortunately, Mr. Li had rarely transmitted in the past, sometimes going a whole month without sending a single message, and he used a unique code system, different from the one used by the local underground organization.

Despite Li Hongwei’s best efforts, he made little progress. Frustrated, he locked the message in his office safe and retired to the adjacent bedroom for the night.

Time passed swiftly.

Three days went by, but Mr. Li still received no reply from his superiors. Meanwhile, Wu Jian had managed to sell off his batch of goods, and under Sun Yanjie’s arrangement, Bai Zeshao and Wu Yangbing met at the Rose Dance Hall.

“Let me introduce everyone—this is Wu Yangbing, Director of Logistics for the Garrison Command,” Bai Zeshao said, playing the role of intermediary as he introduced Sun Yanjie and Wu Jian.

“Bai, there’s no need for such formality here. Just call me Brother Wu,” Wu Yangbing said boisterously, sweeping his gaze over Sun Yanjie and Wu Jian before settling on Sun Yanjie. “You must be Captain Sun Yanjie.”

“You flatter me, Director Wu,” Sun Yanjie replied with a smile and a nod.

“We’re all friends now; we might even do business together in the future. No need for such courtesy. Come, let’s play cards. Perhaps you don’t know yet, but Brother Wu here is quite the expert,” Bai Zeshao said, grinning.

“Not at all, I’m just a casual player,” Wu Yangbing replied modestly, waving his hand.

Upstairs, in a private room, Bai Zeshao paused in surprise as he pushed open the door. Inside, a mahjong table had already been set up, and standing gracefully by each seat were four dance hostesses—all the most popular stars of the Rose Dance Hall.

To Bai Zeshao’s astonishment, among them was Achen—the famed performer who was rarely seen and renowned throughout Shanning. He couldn’t help but glance over at Sun Yanjie.

It was clear that Sun Yanjie had gone to great lengths for tonight, sparing no expense. After all, inviting these four top hostesses to accompany a card game was not only costly, but not something that could be arranged with money alone.

“Sun, you seem set on having us play until dawn,” Bai Zeshao joked.

“Haha, Director Wu, do you like the arrangement? Please, sit here,” Sun Yanjie said as he led Wu Yangbing to the seat of honor, right next to Achen.

“Ah, Captain Sun, a rough fellow like me doesn’t deserve such good fortune. I heard, back in the day, Bai here was publicly invited into Miss Achen’s private room, so this seat should be his,” Wu Yangbing said, and without waiting for a response, he pressed Bai Zeshao into the honored spot and took a seat beside him.

Seeing this, Sun Yanjie didn’t insist further. Sharing a look with Wu Jian, the two of them also sat down.

With a clatter, the tiles began to collide on the table, and with the hostesses present, the four men were particularly animated, each scheming from the very first hand.

Yet, Bai Zeshao could feel that Sun Yanjie and Wu Jian’s attention was not truly on the game. Much of their energy was spent discreetly guessing which tiles Wu Yangbing needed, then subtly discarding tiles to help him complete his hands. As a result, by the middle of the night, a mountain of cash had piled up in front of Wu Yangbing.

Wu Yangbing noticed Sun Yanjie’s maneuvering but said nothing. He understood Sun Yanjie’s intentions, and in truth, he too wished to befriend Sun Yanjie.

Mutual interest was at play—Sun Yanjie was happy to lose money, and Wu Yangbing was happy to win it.