Chapter Fifty-Five: The Special Commissioner

(With thanks to 160307112358795, Book Fan Ajiu, Scholar, 20171020084128137, Bingfeng o I Am the Best, 20180613230612796, skai, Carefree Cloud Returns, and the Southern Tiger King for their recommendations.)

Shanning, in a dimly lit room.

The burly man in black who had escaped earlier addressed the figure shrouded in darkness, “Captain, I’m sorry, tonight’s operation failed. Little Ono was killed, and Koji was captured.”

“Hmph. Then why did you come back?” The captain in the shadows spoke with barely concealed anger.

“Captain, I only returned to deliver the news. The one who ruined our operation was a young man. Here’s a sketch of him.” As he spoke, the man in black produced a portrait sketch of Baize Shao from his coat.

Having finished, the man in black glanced at the silent figure of the captain in the darkness. He knew all too well the consequences for members of the Black Dragon Society who failed their missions. Since the captain said nothing, there was only one path left for him.

“Captain, I can no longer serve the Empire.” With those words, he bit down on the cyanide hidden in his tooth and hanged himself.

The mysterious captain in the dark did not even spare a glance at the corpse on the ground. He merely picked up the sketch of Baize Shao, examined it carefully for a moment, and then quickly disappeared into the night.

The next day.

The body was soon discovered and reported to the police. Sun Yanjie was the first to notify Baize Shao: “Xiao Bai, all leads from last night’s events have been cut off. The Japanese man who escaped was found dead this morning, and the one you asked me to investigate—the source of all this—has also been identified. It was a local thug named Old Ghost.”

“Brother Sun, are you saying you found nothing?” Baize Shao asked gravely.

“That’s right,” Sun Yanjie replied.

“Thank you, Brother Sun.” After hanging up, Baize Shao frowned deeply, his wariness growing. He knew that although he hadn’t obtained anything, the Japanese would never believe that. Considering how ruthless they were even with their own, they would not let him off easily. He patted the pistol at his waist, feeling somewhat reassured.

Of course, Baize Shao reported the previous night’s events to Wu Zhengke. But when it came to the news of Japanese agents appearing in Shanning, Wu Zhengke showed no particular concern, only replying, “Before expelling foreign enemies, we must first bring order within. Sooner or later, we’ll have to fight the Japanese, but for now, our main target remains the Reds.”

To this, Baize Shao felt a deep sense of sorrow. At a time of national crisis, when young men should be sacrificing themselves for their country, they instead abandoned all sense of honor for petty gains and power struggles.

With a heavy heart, Baize Shao left the Special Service office and went across the street to buy a pack of cigarettes. As he smoked, he noticed a familiar face—Ah Hai—amongst the rickshaws gathered outside the office.

Though Ah Hai had not officially joined the organization, after careful consideration and with Mr. Li’s approval, he had become the liaison between Baize Shao and Mr. Li. Only the two of them knew of his true identity. For better cover, Ah Hai had also officially switched to working as a rickshaw puller. Upon seeing him, Baize Shao immediately realized that Mr. Li must have urgent business; otherwise, Ah Hai would not have appeared here.

Feigning nonchalance as he walked past, Baize Shao approached Ah Hai without slowing his pace, but his ears were keenly alert.

“Brother, Mr. Li is looking for you. There’s an urgent situation; you must go at once,” Ah Hai murmured rapidly, head down.

Receiving the message, Baize Shao strode straight back into the Special Service office, made an excuse to Wu Zhengke about changing his bandages, and then left with Ah Hai.

This time, however, Baize Shao did not go to Mr. Li’s usual hideout, but instead to a cinema. In the dim light, he sat close beside Mr. Li.

“Mr. Li, your wanted posters are still up all over town. Coming out like this is risky. Is something urgent the matter?” Baize Shao first expressed his concern before getting to the point.

“Headquarters has replied,” Mr. Li said quietly.

Hearing this, Baize Shao’s heart tightened. Any message from headquarters was bound to be serious, or Mr. Li would not have summoned him so urgently.

In the gloom, Mr. Li continued, “Recently, headquarters dispatched a special commissioner to handle affairs in Shanning. Based on the timeline, the commissioner should have arrived two days ago. If I’m not mistaken, wasn’t it around then that security in Shanning suddenly tightened?”

“Yes. I’ve also noticed that in recent days, checks on outsiders in the city have become much stricter. Even staying at an inn now requires an identity check. As a result, the police cells are filled with out-of-towners. Sun Yanjie has made quite a profit from it, too,” Baize Shao replied, picking up the thread.

“I called you here for this very matter. At present, we don’t know where the commissioner is, nor do we have a photograph—only a coded phrase for contact. I need you to use your connections to find out where the commissioner is,” Mr. Li said quickly.

“That’s rather difficult without a photo. Is it possible that, given how tense things are in Shanning, the commissioner’s journey was delayed?” Baize Shao frowned.

“That’s certainly possible, but we must prepare for the worst,” Mr. Li nodded.

“Understood,” Baize Shao agreed, glancing surreptitiously around. “Mr. Li, you go first—I’ll leave after you.”

“I know.”

Soon after Mr. Li left, Baize Shao also exited the cinema. But as soon as he stepped outside, he saw Mr. Li waiting for him and asked in surprise, “Mr. Li, why haven’t you left? Is something wrong?”

Mr. Li waved the newspaper in his hand, pointing to a missing persons notice and whispered, “The commissioner has sent a contact message. According to the notice, we are to meet tomorrow at 3 p.m. at the Deyi Restaurant.”

Baize Shao hadn’t expected such a swift turn of events; they had just been discussing the commissioner, and now the message was in the newspaper.

Thinking of Mr. Li’s current situation, Baize Shao asked with concern, “Mr. Li, who are you planning to send to make contact?”

“I’ll go myself. We still haven’t found the traitor in the organization. If the commissioner’s whereabouts are exposed, the consequences would be severe,” Mr. Li replied without hesitation.

“No, it’s too dangerous. I should go, not you,” Baize Shao refused Mr. Li’s offer outright.

“If I go—do you remember the plan I told you about a few days ago, to lure out the traitor?” Mr. Li’s voice suddenly rose in intensity.

“Mr. Li, do you mean to use this meeting as bait? But wouldn’t that be too dangerous? If the traitor really shows up, things could spiral out of control,” Baize Shao voiced his concerns.

“I’ll be fine, don’t worry. I’m off now,” Mr. Li said, tightening his hat and leaving.

Baize Shao stood where he was, finished his cigarette, and only after watching Mr. Li depart safely did he leave as well.