Chapter 130: Confirming Identity

Su Yu picked up the document bag, opened it, and extracted an official letter sealed with red wax, complete with a stamped seal.

He emptied his teacup, refilled it with hot water from a kettle, and carefully placed the bottom flap of the envelope over the rim of the cup. After waiting about ten minutes for the steam to soften the glue, he produced a needle and meticulously pried open the bottom of the envelope, finally revealing the document inside.

Donning gloves, Su Yu carefully removed the paper. The cover page read, "Draft Proposal for Sino-German Military Supplies," accompanied by annotations in German. At the time, Germany was the primary source of military aid to China. The two nations were in a "honeymoon period," with the Nationalist government maintaining agreements with Germany for arms procurement and the training of military personnel. The German government had sent a large number of military advisors to China to instruct the Chinese army on tactics. Even the standard-issue equipment of the Nationalist forces was largely modeled after German weaponry; the Zhongzheng rifle was a copy of the German Mauser, and the standard hand grenade was modeled after the German M24. It is fair to say that before the War of Resistance, Germany provided significant aid to China—though China paid handsomely for it, and Germany needed the capital to rearm itself. It was, effectively, a win-win situation.

Now, with Germany preparing to provide further aid, this top-secret document lying right before him was a godsend.

Su Yu skimmed through the pages. It was an official letter from the German Foreign Ministry to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, sent via the German Ambassador to China. The contents were detailed, filled with German text, and specified the timeline, scale, types, and quantities of the aid. It was, in short, intelligence of immense value.

Suppressing his excitement, Su Yu took a camera from his drawer and skillfully photographed every page in rapid succession. He then carefully restored the document to its original order and returned it to the envelope through the bottom flap. He took a bottle of glue, diluted it slightly with water, and meticulously applied it to the seam, ensuring the fold was perfect. Using a lighter, he carefully dried the moisture. After a final inspection, he was satisfied with his craftsmanship; he was confident no one would notice anything amiss. He placed the letter back into the document bag, restoring everything to its original state, and finally removed his gloves.

He removed the film, placed it into a small, exquisite box, and tucked it away securely on his person. Just like that, he had stolen this vital intelligence without a trace.

He was elated at the success. Getting such a high-value top-secret document had been effortless. He knew this intelligence would earn him a handsome reward; the Japanese were, after all, very generous in such matters.

Su Yu had his own channels for transmitting intelligence, but checking his watch, he saw it was already eleven o'clock. Lunchtime was approaching, and he would not have enough time. He decided he would have to wait until the afternoon to place the film in the pre-arranged dead drop and signal that it was ready for collection.

Just as Su Yu was contemplating this, Secretary Chen, who had already left, was nearby, watching his watch and counting down the seconds. After about forty minutes, he walked briskly back toward Su Yu's office.

"Knock, knock."

Su Yu opened the door, surprised. "Secretary Chen? Why are you back? Did you forget something? Please, come in!" he asked curiously.

After entering, Secretary Chen looked embarrassed. He hesitated for a long moment before offering a forced smile. "Director Su, I am terribly sorry. I couldn't stop worrying after I left. Oh, please don't misunderstand! It’s not that I don't trust you, but the Minister mentioned this document is extremely important. I’ve been thinking, and I believe I should deliver it to Director Jin myself. It’s just a few extra steps; I shouldn't trouble you with it."

Su Yu realized immediately that the secretary had second thoughts about handing over the document. This worked perfectly; the intelligence had already been photographed, and if Chen took it back now, it would only serve to clear Su Yu of any suspicion.

He put on a show of slight displeasure, though he masked it carefully. "No problem at all. Actually, I also felt that it might be inappropriate for me to handle the transfer. I shall return it to you now."

With that, he retrieved the document bag and the receipt from his drawer and handed them to Secretary Chen. Chen took them quickly, apologizing repeatedly and insisting that his concern was not a lack of trust in Director Su, but rather a fear of being scrutinized by Director Jin. Finally, he added, "Director Su, one more thing: regarding the fact that I handed the document to you, I hope you won't mention it to anyone. That way, I won't be blamed by my superiors, and you will avoid unnecessary trouble. What do you think?"

Su Yu was overjoyed; it was as if someone had handed him a pillow just as he was falling asleep. He was just as anxious as the secretary to keep the transfer quiet. He readily agreed, promising that the information would never leave the room.

Secretary Chen backed out of the office, looking apologetic. Both men gave themselves full marks for their acting, and both had achieved their objectives.

The top-secret document in Secretary Chen's bag was, of course, a fake, carefully fabricated by the Intelligence Division. They had gone to great lengths, first creating obstacles to keep Director Jin Wenkang of the Second Department from reaching his office, and then using Secretary Chen—an undercover agent planted in the Foreign Ministry—to stage the performance that ultimately placed the document in Su Yu's hands.

The final act of the performance required retrieving the intelligence; otherwise, if Su Yu had actually delivered the fake document to Director Jin, the plan would have backfired.

Having succeeded in the elaborate ruse, Secretary Chen walked briskly out of the Foreign Ministry and arrived at a nearby residence, where Gu Zhengqi was waiting.

Seeing Chen enter, he asked, "Did it go smoothly?"

Secretary Chen nodded. "Section Chief, rest assured, everything went exactly as you expected. This Su Yu didn't have the slightest suspicion." He handed the bag to Gu Zhengqi, who passed it to his subordinates—specialists in forensic trace analysis.

The Intelligence Division's resources and talent were far beyond what appeared on the surface. The years of cultivation by the Director and Gu Zhengqi were not to be underestimated.

"You are an elite we carefully selected and planted in the Foreign Ministry," Gu Zhengqi said with a faint smile. "Su Yu is a layman, an untrained spy. If you couldn't handle him, it would have been a waste of my training."

"Whatever achievements I have, Zimo, are due to your guidance, Section Chief. I shall never forget that," Chen Zimo replied, standing at attention.

After they spoke for a while, the forensic team stepped forward. "Section Chief, the order of the documents is correct, but both of our secret marks show signs of having been touched. The bottom of the envelope shows signs of having been resealed. It was done very carefully, almost invisibly, but the adhesive used is different from ours. This document was definitely opened and then restored. It was handled with great care; if we hadn't prepared in advance, it would have been very difficult to detect."

"A spy!"

"A traitor!"

Gu Zhengqi and Chen Zimo said in unison.

"Section Chief, I request to be the one to carry out the surveillance. Using my cover, I can find a way to approach Su Yu, gain his trust, and uncover his accomplices and handlers!" Chen Zimo immediately volunteered. Having been a dormant piece in the Foreign Ministry, he did not want to miss this opportunity.

Gu Zhengqi shook his head, looking helpless. "Your mission is complete. Monitoring him is not your job. Don't complain! Regarding the next phase of the operation, it’s not just you—even our Intelligence Division cannot participate."

Chen Zimo was deeply disappointed, and upon hearing that even the Intelligence Division was barred, he was stunned. The Intelligence Division was the backbone of the Military Intelligence Investigation Department with vast authority; if they couldn't participate, what was going on?

"Section Chief, please clarify," Chen Zimo asked.

"Heh, it’s no secret. This case wasn't ours to begin with. It was the Action Division that uncovered the leads and did all the preliminary legwork, confirming Su Yu's identity days ago. You don't know this, but Zhao Ziliang of the Action Division has been very aggressive lately. Even if the Director wanted to help us, he couldn't be too obvious about it. It’s a miracle we even managed to get this part of the mission. The subsequent tracking and arrest are all for the Action Division to handle now! Sigh! A department director who is a Japanese spy—such a big fish, and we can't even see the case through to the end. It's a pity!"

Gu Zhengqi felt a pang of frustration. He sighed, feeling he should have pushed harder, for he could not bear the thought of watching Zhao Ziliang's smug face any longer.