Chapter Sixty-Six: The Fox

Chapter Sixty-Six: The Fox

The next morning, at dawn.

When Bai Zeshao arrived at the Special Operations Office, he learned some news: last night, Liu Peiru had been taken away from his home.

Bai Zeshao was stunned upon hearing this. Liu Peiru was a key member of the Special Operations Office; for someone to take him away, the upper echelons must have given their approval.

What could have happened to prompt such urgent action, for Liu Peiru to be taken away in the dead of night?

Bai Zeshao couldn’t access information about this matter yet, but he knew he needed to start dealing with the issue of Lu Tiankang. When it came to finding someone, it was best to rely on the local kingpin.

With this in mind, Bai Zeshao dialed Sun Yanjie’s number. “Brother Sun, are you busy?”

“Busy with what? You know us well enough,” Sun Yanjie laughed. “Early in the morning—what brings you to call?”

“A few days ago you mentioned needing a permit for transporting goods. I managed to get it for you, thanks to Secretary Qian’s connections. But, Brother Sun, it’s only useful in our territory—you need to be careful. Times are chaotic,” Bai Zeshao said with a smile.

“Thanks, little brother. With this permit, our business can go a step further. I’ll heed your warning. You must have heard, yesterday in broad daylight the Reds openly got into a gunfight on the street,” Sun Yanjie said, sounding a bit rueful.

“I heard, but I don’t know the details,” Bai Zeshao replied, seizing the opportunity to ask what he’d been wondering.

“I’m not too sure either. By the time the police arrived, the Reds had already withdrawn, and the person they were fighting jumped into the river. The blood dyed the water red—what a scene... Sadly, when the brothers went in after him, the current had already carried him away. He’s likely dead.”

“Brother Sun, I need a favor. Find that person who jumped into the river—dead or alive,” Bai Zeshao suddenly said.

“What’s going on?” Sun Yanjie asked, curious after hearing Bai Zeshao’s request.

“Let me put it this way, Brother Sun: that person is likely an undercover agent from our office. There’s not much more I can say due to regulations, and our office can’t act openly yet. I trust you understand what I mean.”

“I do. Leave it to me, brother. But you know this won’t be easy—it may take some time,” Sun Yanjie replied heartily.

“No rush, I’m not too anxious.”

“That’s good. You don’t realize how much impact this incident has had. Even if you hadn’t said anything, our police bureau would be doing its utmost—the higher-ups have given orders,” Sun Yanjie laughed.

“Alright, let me know as soon as you hear anything, Brother Sun.”

“Will do.”

After hanging up, Bai Zeshao heard a commotion outside his room.

The Special Operations Office was usually quiet, so the early morning noise surprised him. He rose and walked outside.

“Monkey, what’s going on? What’s everyone looking at?” Bai Zeshao asked curiously, seeing people in the hallway craning their necks to look upstairs.

“Leader, you didn’t know? Just now, the Guard Squad searched Chief Liu Peiru’s office in the Intelligence Department and took a lot of documents,” Monkey replied.

As Monkey spoke, Bai Zeshao saw a group of uniformed men carrying stacks of files downstairs.

“Looks like something major has happened,” Bai Zeshao thought to himself. Then he heard the murmurs around him.

“Could Chief Liu be the hidden mole among us?”

“Who knows?”

“These days, anything can happen.”

“You never know what’s in a person’s heart—the ones who seem least likely to be Reds often are.”

“Hush, don’t say any more. Let’s go back.”

Listening to the whispers fading away, Bai Zeshao frowned. Where there’s smoke, there’s fire; rumors often turn out to be true in the end.

Now, with Liu Peiru’s arrest, everyone at the Special Operations Office was uneasy—even their speaking, walking, and breathing became cautious. In sensitive times like these, no one wanted to invite trouble.

“Could Liu Peiru really be one of us?” With this doubt, Bai Zeshao returned to his office.

...

That same morning, as Bai Zeshao went to work, Mr. Li disguised himself and left his lodgings. Bai Zeshao’s words last night, combined with his own judgment, led Mr. Li to decide it was time to try and contact the mysterious mole in the Special Operations Office.

However, Mr. Li didn’t have high hopes for this meeting. All along, the other party had initiated contact, and he had only passively received information.

There was no pattern to their communication—each time, the other party reached out through a dead drop, and all Mr. Li could do was visit it every couple of days to see if there was anything new.

In fact, sometimes Mr. Li doubted whether this so-called ally even existed. He didn’t know if the person was male or female; only the code name was known: “The Fox.”

Were it not for the accuracy of the intelligence received, he would have already requested a face-to-face meeting. Fortunately, as an experienced underground operative, Mr. Li understood that strict secrecy meant greater safety.

Arriving at the designated dead drop, Mr. Li placed a message written in invisible ink in a crack between bricks. After checking his surroundings and ensuring safety, he quickly left.

Not long after, a figure wrapped head to toe in clothing retrieved Mr. Li’s message.

Around one o’clock in the afternoon, while Mr. Li was resting in his room, someone gently knocked at his door.

The unexpected knock made Mr. Li instantly alert. Apart from Bai Zeshao, no one knew about this place, and Bai Zeshao’s knock wasn’t so careless and chaotic.

So Mr. Li loaded his gun and peered through the crack in the door. Only then did he open it—and found no one outside, just a letter lying quietly at the threshold.

He picked up the letter, carefully surveyed his surroundings, and only after confirming nothing was amiss did he return to his room and shut the door firmly behind him.