noffsinger Chapter 608: Sea Snake Evacuation
Chapter 608: Sea Snake Evacuation
French Concession, Zhongxingli.
Chang Le, disguised as a man, walked out of the alley and waved to hail a rickshaw. He was wearing a plaid suit, a white shirt and a tie inside, a linen gray coat outside, a black top hat, and a small mustache on his lips.
Ten minutes later, Chang Le got off the bus at a row of clothing stores.
After paying the fare, she walked two hundred steps along the street, checking from time to time to see if there was any tail in front and behind her. After making sure there was no tail, she turned and walked into a clothing store.
The shopkeeper, who was standing at the counter calculating the bills on an abacus, asked without looking up, "What kind of clothes would you like, sir? We can make custom suits and cheongsams."
Chang Le walked to the counter, took out a piece of paper, handed it over, and said, "Boss, is the suit I ordered half a month ago ready?"
The shopkeeper looked up, his eyes suddenly widened, his expression changed slightly, and then returned to normal. He picked up the note, glanced at it, and said with a smile, "It's Mr. Huang. Your custom-made suit is ready. Come with me!"
Chang Le nodded and followed the shopkeeper into the inner room.
After entering the inner room, the shopkeeper closed the door and asked impatiently, "What's wrong with you? I sent you the contact code three times in a row, why didn't you get in touch with me?"
Chang Le took off his hat and placed it on the table. He pulled out a chair and sat down. "What do you want from me?"
The shopkeeper took a deep breath, sat down and said, "It's all about Wang Tianshui's rebellion. Songhu Station received intelligence in advance, and only one stronghold and three people were captured. Most of the people were relocated. It was a blessing in disguise. But Hebei Station and Tianjin Station were in a terrible situation. Only a part of them had time to escape, and the rest were captured. This was only because the headquarters sent a secret telegram to notify them in time, otherwise I'm afraid those two stations would have been completely wiped out!"
"We received news that a major incident occurred at noon on the day Songhu Station received the intelligence. Someone reportedly killed several guards and escaped from the Special High Section prison. At first, headquarters thought it was the work of Higanbana, but the person who answered the phone at Songhu Station said it was a woman who called. So headquarters sent a telegram to ask us if we had made the call in time."
Chang Le pulled a cigarette from his suit pocket, shook it, and took out a cigarette, putting it in his mouth. He then took out a match, lit the cigarette, and took a few puffs before saying, "That's right, it was me who called and informed Liu Wanxiong! Because of this, Nakano had long suspected me, and I was arrested and taken to the prison interrogation room, where I suffered all kinds of torture!"
"Later, when I escaped, I was shot again. I have been recovering from my injuries during this period, so I didn't see your contact signal."
The shopkeeper's face lit up with relief. "I knew it was you who had passed on the information in time, but I couldn't get in touch with you for a while. I was so worried. Headquarters was also very anxious. They sent several secret telegrams urging us to find your whereabouts! They even activated other secret channels to inquire about you with the Special High Section."
"By the way, you were taken to the Special High Section prison and interrogated by the Japanese. How did you escape? Are the guards in the Special High Section prison useless?"
Chang Le took a few more puffs of his cigarette, exhaled smoke and said, "Of course someone helped me. That person killed several guards outside the cell and threw the key to open the door, a pistol, and a dagger into my cell. But the other party didn't show up. There was only the back of a figure wearing a Japanese army coat!"
"There was an explosion on the third floor of the Special High Section office building at the time, and most of the Special High Section agents were not there. Those who were not there must have been transferred away by that person. The explosion in the office building must have been the other party's masterpiece. All of this was done by the other party to prepare for my rescue and escape!"
"It turns out that person's methods are very effective. Without his arrangements, no one would be able to escape from the Special High Section prison!"
"I suspect... that person is most likely... Higanbana!"
The shopkeeper's face changed again after hearing this, then he nodded and said, "Higanbana is indeed very powerful. I'm afraid he's the only one who has the ability to rescue you from the Special High Section prison. I'm afraid it's nine out of ten that he really did it. That makes sense!"
"You said you were shot when you escaped? What happened?"
Chang Le said: "When I came out of the Special High Section prison, I changed my clothes. It happened that all the Japanese spies were attracted by the explosion on the third floor. I took the opportunity to kill the two guards at the prison gate, quickly walked to the office building, killed a driver, and stole a car. But at this time, I was discovered by the action team leader Araki. I had no choice but to drive to force the gate. I was shot by the Japanese guards at the gate and was unfortunately shot."
The shopkeeper asked about some subsequent events, and Chang Le answered them one by one, but she concealed the existence of Zhang Yunhe. Zhang Yunhe was her man, and she didn't want to involve her man.
Ten minutes later, the shopkeeper finally said, "Okay, I'll report the situation to headquarters. If there's a secret message from headquarters, I'll contact you immediately!"
The next morning, Chang Le saw the contact sign at the door of the clothing store and immediately got out of the car to meet the store owner.
At the shopkeeper's signal, Chang Le followed him into the inner room again.
"The superiors called to say that you have been exposed. There is no point in staying here anymore. It will be very dangerous. So we ask you to return to the headquarters to report on your work and receive an award, and then assign you another task. As for me and the radio operator, we will continue to stay here and lurk!" After the shopkeeper finished speaking, he handed the secret message to Chang Le.
Chang Le took the telegram, took a look at it, then struck a match and burned it.
She looked up and asked, "How do I leave?"
The shopkeeper said, "Right now, the train station and the ferry terminal are full of Japanese spies. Your portrait is posted everywhere. It's impossible to leave safely by these means of transportation. You have to find another way. Just wait a few days and I will arrange your evacuation!"
After listening to this, Chang Le shook his head and said, "No need. I'll figure out the retreat myself! You guys...be careful. I hope to see you again!"
The shopkeeper nodded: "Okay, have a safe trip, and feel free to contact me if you need anything!"
In the evening of that day, at the westernmost Japanese checkpoint in Songhu, which was the last checkpoint leaving Songhu, there were 30 Japanese soldiers stationed at this checkpoint.
At this intersection, there were four circular fortifications equipped with two light machine guns and one heavy machine gun, and barracks were built on both sides of the road.
There was a long queue in front of the checkpoint, all of whom were people who wanted to leave Songhu. There were men carrying baskets, women carrying baskets, gentlemen in long gowns carrying briefcases, and nobles riding in cars.
In the queue of people leaving, there was an old woman with a hunched back, leaning on a cane and carrying a basket. This was exactly the image Chang Le was dressed up as.
She was still very confident in her disguise skills and planned to leave Songhu from here, but when she saw an acquaintance at the checkpoint, she could no longer remain calm, because the acquaintance standing at the checkpoint with the agents was her former colleague, Araki, the captain of the Special High Section's operations team.
If it were any other spy, she would be confident that she could deceive the other party, but Araki was different. Araki was too familiar with her and was the one who pursued her the most in the Special High Section. Even if her disguise skills were amazing, she would never be able to escape Araki's eyes.
After seeing Araki, Chang Le immediately and quietly left the queue, turned around and slowly walked back.