Chapter 127: A Letter

Chapter 127: A Letter

After Sister Wang departed, Secretary He stared at the note left behind, her brow furrowed tightly. She still needed to verify the authenticity of the information contained within.

The method of verification was simple: meet with "Fox."

Before arriving in Shanning, her superiors had told her that if she ever truly needed assistance, she could attempt to contact Fox, even providing her with the necessary communication protocols.

Now, with a matter requiring Fox’s confirmation, Secretary He signaled for a meeting, confident that Fox would receive it.

As expected, it was not long before she received a letter detailing the time and location for their rendezvous.

Shortly after six in the evening.
Shanning Cinema.

Secretary He stepped into the theater, which was crowded with people. Just as she was wondering how to proceed, a figure appeared before her. "Follow me."

Secretary He steadied herself and followed the person away from the crowd.

After winding through several turns, they stopped before a door in a quiet corner of the cinema. The person who had led her there simply gestured toward the room and departed.

Secretary He scanned her surroundings before pushing the door open. The interior, however, left her momentarily stunned; the room was shrouded in darkness.

Only a single candle burned, illuminating a chair placed beside it. A figure sat in the chair, back turned toward her, exuding an air of deep mystery.

Secretary He guessed that this must be Fox, though the theatrical nature of the encounter took her by surprise.

"Do you have today’s Shanning Daily?" Fox asked, his voice strained and muffled.

"No, today’s issues have already sold out. I do have yesterday’s, would you like that?" Secretary He responded, reciting the prearranged line.

"No need, expired news is useless."

"That is true; once used, it is expired anyway."

The code phrase was cumbersome, yet they had successfully matched it.

"Comrade Fox, greetings. I am the new head of the Shanning underground organization. My surname is He," she said once the code was confirmed.

"Greetings, Comrade He. The report from above mentioned you wanted to see me. Is there something urgent?" Fox asked, without turning around.

"I have received intelligence suggesting that a shipment of Nationalist Party supplies has been intercepted by bandits. I need to know if this is true," Secretary He stated directly.

"It is true. The news only just arrived," Fox confirmed.

"Oh." Secretary He nodded, feeling a spark of excitement. She probed, "Comrade Fox, speaking like this is quite awkward. Would you consider—"

"No need. The time is not yet right. When the time comes, you will know who I am." Fox resolutely rejected her request for a face-to-face meeting. In the darkness, a bitter trace flickered across his lips.

Thinking of the things he had been forced to do while embedded within the Nationalist Party over these years, he found his own actions truly appalling. He wondered if the Red Party would ever accept him once his true identity was revealed.

Furthermore, because his security clearance was exceptionally high, for the sake of safety and the needs of future struggles, he could never reveal his true face.

Otherwise, he would have met Mr. Li long ago during the years they both spent in Shanning. If not for the explicit orders from his superiors, he would not have agreed to meet Secretary He, either.

"Very well, let us move on. I wish to inquire if there are any of our comrades among those who have access to information regarding these supplies," Secretary He pressed.

Fox was silent for a moment, then replied with a strange tone, "I do not know."

"Understood. I will take my leave."

After the meeting concluded, Secretary He departed immediately. She hurried to contact the military; now that the intelligence was confirmed, the next step was to coordinate a siege on the bandits and secure the supplies.

*Hoo!*

After finishing her communication with the military commanders, Secretary He let out a long breath. Checking the time, she saw it was already past eight in the evening. She couldn't help but recall the words Mr. Li had spoken to her before she left the base area.

Beyond the communication protocols provided by the organization, Mr. Li had also given her a way to contact Bai Zeshao. Secretary He was eager to meet this star pupil of Mr. Li's.

According to Mr. Li, this agent, codenamed "Crossing Pawn," was a progressive youth with a very proactive mindset and significant achievements within the enemy's ranks.

Just earlier, Secretary He had wondered if the mysterious "insider" she had been told about might be this very person.

Therefore, after meeting with Fox that afternoon, she had also sent a signal to Bai Zeshao, proposing a meeting at noon the following day at a coffee shop in the southern part of the city.

***

The next day, at noon.

When Secretary He arrived at the coffee shop at the appointed time, Bai Zeshao did not appear, and a sense of anxiety began to gnaw at her.

When a contact fails to show up as scheduled, there are only two possibilities: either they did not receive the message, or they have already been sacrificed.

Secretary He hoped for the former, lest Mr. Li be heartbroken.

By one o'clock, with still no sign of her contact, Secretary He left the coffee shop. However, she had a backup communication method with "Crossing Pawn"—a dead-drop mailbox. It was a dangerous method, as discovery could lead to disaster, but she decided to proceed with it anyway.

At the Special Service Bureau.

After finishing his work, Bai Zeshao strolled leisurely toward his home. However, as his gaze swept across a certain corner, his eyes narrowed.

He suspected he might have misread the signs, but after rubbing his eyes, he confirmed he was correct: it was the familiar signal indicating that his contact wanted to meet.

Unfortunately, it was already too late. Knowing he had missed the window, Bai Zeshao quickly changed his route and circled toward the secondary contact point.

When he saw the letter lying in the mailbox, his heart surged with excitement. The organization had finally sent someone to reach out to him.

Ever since Mr. Li had left Shanning, Bai Zeshao had never ceased longing to reconnect with the organization. Unfortunately, due to his status and the strict discipline of the party, he was forbidden from establishing lateral contact with the Shanning underground.

He had been forced to fight a lonely battle in the heart of the enemy. It was precisely because he had tasted this loneliness that he had been so thrilled to discover Sister Wang was a member of the Red Party.

After taking several deep breaths to calm himself, Bai Zeshao returned home and carefully opened the letter.

Indeed, someone from above had come to contact him. The time was set for one o'clock the following afternoon, and the location was the Deyi Restaurant.

The code phrase had not changed; it was the same one he had used with Mr. Li in the past. After reading the letter, Bai Zeshao burned it and lay down on his bed.

Despite usually falling asleep quickly, he found himself buzzing with excitement, unable to sleep for the rest of the night.