Chapter 032: An Investigation from Senior Brother

At that moment, Lucas, having heard the gunshots, rushed out and found Chen Jiehua.

"Oh, my—"

"Stop with the 'oh, oh, oh'! Hurry up and find me a rope, help me tie this guy up and drag him inside!"

Lucas went back into the factory, found a rope, and together with Chen Jiehua, bound the Japanese spy. Chen Jiehua stuffed a piece of his own torn clothing into the spy's mouth, and they dragged him down to the basement of the secret laboratory.

Before entering the basement, Chen Jiehua told Lucas to activate the electric fence and keep watch above, not to join the interrogation.

"Oh no! Why is the electric fence not working?!"

Sure enough, Lucas found the fence was powerless—it seemed the spy had cut the wire.

Since this man was a Japanese spy, Lucas was essentially cleared of suspicion! It was perfectly normal for him not to react to the first gunshot, and then to come out after the next two. If he hadn’t come out, that would have been suspicious.

Chen Jiehua considered that there was no need to be overly paranoid—otherwise, he’d truly have no assistants left! Trust the people you use, and don’t use those you doubt.

In the basement of the secret laboratory, Chen Jiehua found a hook and hung the Japanese spy from it, his feet dangling in the air (if his feet touched the ground, many trained agents could suddenly muster deadly force—Chen Jiehua wasn’t so foolish). He then removed the cloth from the spy’s mouth.

"I’m going to stop the bleeding first, so don’t kick me! If you struggle, I’ll cut your legs off!"

Chen Jiehua brandished a scalpel in front of the spy as he spoke, making a few threatening gestures.

He spent some time staunching the bleeding in the spy’s legs, wrapping them with bandages.

"Tell me, who sent you here?"

"It’s fine, I know you won’t reveal it so quickly. You have to hold out, right? Otherwise, it’d be hard to explain once you return—I understand!" (Japanese—the following conversation with the spy is all in Japanese.)

"So, let me guess. You just nod or shake your head."

"Army General Staff Department, Section Two?"

"Navy General Staff Department, Section Three?"

"Foreign Ministry Intelligence Division?"

"None of them? Could it be the South Manchuria Railway Investigation Department? No, no—even if they took an interest in my pharmacy and wanted to investigate the source of my medicines, it wouldn’t be so soon!"

"Stop guessing, I’ll tell you!"

The spy realized the man before him was Aoki Seigen, a fellow countryman. From the fact that he’d stopped his bleeding and was speaking Japanese, he could deduce that Aoki Seigen had already guessed his identity.

So after careful consideration, the spy decided to confess—there was no point in suffering, with the bullet still lodged in his leg.

"Don’t speak! Let me guess! If you dare to say it, I’ll cut you!"

The spy was bewildered—he wasn’t even allowed to answer! What kind of interrogation was this? Why did he keep threatening to cut people?

In reality, Chen Jiehua had already narrowed down the options. With the major agencies eliminated, there were only two possibilities left: Okamura Ninji, an eighty percent likelihood; and Doihara Kenji, a twenty percent probability.

Uncle Okamura might have suspected him as soon as the first shipment arrived in Tokyo. In his eyes, Aoki Seigen lacked the ability to procure an entire shipload of pharmaceuticals from distant America. And then there were two more shipments to the Northeast!

Chen Jiehua, eager to expand his pharmacy network, had been too reckless—he underestimated the greed, envy, and deductive abilities of those around him.

Realizing his mistake, Chen Jiehua didn’t want the spy to speak the name aloud.

He hoped it would be the remaining twenty percent chance—his nominal senior, Doihara Kenji. The first shipment arrived in March, the pharmacy opened in early April, and by mid-April, through the swift-runner network, he discovered Doihara Kenji.

But in truth, the scoundrel must have arrived earlier. The long expansion of the pharmacy network had piqued Doihara’s interest—or his vigilance.

First, he surely had channels to know that Aoki Qiao was the grandson of Aoki Nobumitsu—which meant he’d naturally monitor his junior’s performance. He knew Aoki Seigen’s solitary temperament, and Aoki Qiao’s conduct over the past six months did not fit that personality.

And so, the cycle returned to its origin—the real problem was Chen Jiehua’s recklessness. He had overreached and brought disaster upon himself.

Now the focus wasn’t on who sent the spy, but on what the spy had discovered. Would he say? Of course not.

So, the second question: to kill or not to kill? There was no need to even consider.

This spy could not be left alive.

Yet, killing him was a thorny matter. He couldn’t be killed here, or in some hidden place—if his death was mysterious and unnoticed, it would doom Lucas. Lucas would survive at most three months.

Therefore, the spy had to return to a place with other Japanese—to die naturally.

Chen Jiehua calculated: if he released him, four hours would be enough for him to reach the Japanese organization here. But how could he ensure the spy died among his own, or in a crowd?

It was truly a headache.

"Lord Aoki, please stop racking your brain! This was Chief Doihara’s arrangement! He sent me to investigate the scale of your pharmaceutical factories in America and your sources of income!"

Seeing Aoki Seigen pacing and appearing troubled, the spy thought he was still guessing, and suffering for it.

He couldn’t stand it any longer—this fool! I can’t hold it in anymore. Even if you really cut me, I’ll tell you! I simply can’t take it!

He had no idea Chen Jiehua’s headache was from figuring out how best to kill him.

"Eh?" Chen Jiehua looked at the spy dangling from the hook with genuine surprise. It seemed that uncle could still be relied upon.

Doihara Kenji, the senior by name, had tried to approach him last time, but eventually chose to avoid him. Yet life is always thus—the things you desire most elude you, while those you wish to avoid always end up right in your face.

If you wish to fight, then fight!

But now the primary concern was to settle on how this spy would meet his end.

"Don’t talk nonsense! Doihara is my senior! Why would he travel so far to investigate me?"

"I told you, Chief Doihara just wanted me to check the scale of Lord Aoki’s pharmaceutical factories on the American West Coast and your sources of income."

"So, you found out—the factory was swallowed up by Pfizer! The source of income is gone as well!"

"Just report honestly when you return. When I go back, I’ll explain everything to Senior Doihara."

"If he has the energy to investigate me, he might as well send you all to protect my business! Now look—there’s nothing left!"

With the misunderstanding resolved, Chen Jiehua naturally stepped forward, released the spy from the hook, and gave a bow—a gesture of apology for the suffering caused by the misunderstanding. "Thank you for enduring it."

"Lie down, I’ll help you remove the bullets."

Chen Jiehua helped the spy onto the lab table, used a scalpel to extract the two bullets, then administered a bottle of penicillin and re-bandaged the legs. (In that era, handguns were not powerful, so extracting bullets from the leg wouldn’t affect walking—no need to dwell on it!)