vncnus Chapter 31 Sometimes silence is sharper than words!
Chapter 31 Sometimes silence is sharper than words!
Zheng Yaoxian and Zhou Xiao stopped three steps behind her, without saying a word, just watching quietly.
Suddenly, Zeng Moyi's pen paused, and her expression subtly darkened—
Clearly, this telegram carries immense weight!
As she copied quickly, she subconsciously glanced up, her gaze fleeting across Zhou Xiao and Zheng Yaoxian's faces like a dragonfly skimming the water...
Zeng Moyi was copying down the contents of the telegram, her fingertips tapping the pen, but her gaze swept over Yao Xian and Zhou Xiao like a dragonfly skimming the water—not staring directly, but glancing sideways, as quick as the wind brushing across the surface of water, leaving no trace. But this light glance was actually to pinpoint their positions: Zheng Yaoxian was sitting at the third table by the window, while Zhou Xiao was leaning against the filing cabinet by the door.
She had just received a top-secret intelligence message and had to intercept it on the spot.
Having worked in the Military Intelligence Bureau's communications department for so many years, she knew very well: Zheng Yaoxian was as cunning as a knife, and Zhou Xiao was as alert as an eagle. The slightest carelessness could lead to utter ruin. Therefore, she had to figure out where their gaze fell, their posture changes, and even their breathing rhythm—not to guard against people, but against their shadows.
On the surface, she was an ordinary telegraph operator at the telecommunications office, but in reality, she was a member of the Yuan Nong group of the underground Communist Party in Chongqing, codenamed "Peanut".
She wasn't under Lu Hanqing's control, so she knew nothing about Zheng Yaoxian's true identity. No one in the Military Intelligence Bureau knew who "Ghost Six" was; only Cheng Zhen'er of the Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics's communications department held this trump card.
On the contrary, Zheng Yaoxian had heard the name "Peanut" from Lu Hanqing before. Although Lu Hanqing and Yuan Nong belonged to two different underground forces in the mountain city, they often communicated with each other in secret. Yuan Nong only knew that there was a person codenamed "Kite" infiltrating the high-ranking military intelligence, but he could never guess what that person's face was.
That one glance made Zhou Xiao and Zheng Yaoxian both slightly startled—they raised their eyelids and their gazes were fixed on her.
Ordinary people wouldn't notice, but a secret agent's nerves are naturally more taut than a string. That slight anomaly, lasting only half a second, is enough to arouse their vigilance.
Zeng Moyi remained motionless, her eyes lowered as she wrote rapidly, her knuckles taut and white, the pen tip sinking deeply into the paper, each character as if carved. Outsiders only thought she was writing with concentration, but who knew that this strength was the result of practice? With each stroke, a clear imprint was left on the paper underneath—this was her unique "rubbing technique," which she had practiced for two whole years.
Facing two formidable adversaries committing the crime right under her nose, a fine sheen of sweat appeared on the back of her neck, her heart pounded, and even her ears felt slightly hot. Yet, her face remained completely expressionless, not even her eyelashes trembled.
The telecommunications office was so quiet you could hear the pendulum ticking, yet there was a clearly invisible steel wire taut in the air.
Zheng Yaoxian glanced at Zhou Xiao and saw him staring at Zeng Moyi, then suddenly lowered his voice: "Back in military school, sending and receiving telegrams was your specialty, right? You were first in your class, I remember it clearly."
This isn't about technology; it's about muddying the waters.
Zhou Xiao replied casually, "It'll do."
"And look at the people here?" Zheng Yaoxian pointed to the room full of telegraph operators.
Zhou Xiao slowly looked around, his gaze lingering on Zeng Moyi's shoulder for a moment before he said, "No one who can enter this room is easy to deal with."
Zheng Yaoxian nodded and smiled, "Alright, let's stop here." He got up and left, his steps steady, without even a sway of his clothes.
Zhou Xiao followed closely behind, his leather shoes clicking crisply on the terrazzo floor.
As soon as the door closed, Zeng Moyi breathed a quiet sigh of relief, her fingertips still feeling a little numb.
She didn't know if she was being watched, but she had to get this intelligence—it held the lifeline of the underground Communist Party in Chongqing.
After transcribing the numbers, she stood up and handed the record sheet to the team leader: "Just received an urgent telegram from superiors."
"Hmm." The team leader took it and immediately flipped through the codebook to decipher it.
The telegraph machine spewed out only a string of cold, hard numbers; without a codebook, it was just a jumble of useless code. A codebook, however, was different; once decoded, it became instructions for life or death, advance or retreat. Zeng Moyi wasn't high enough rank to access the codebook, but she had handled so much intelligence that her sensitivity to numerical combinations was ingrained in her bones—she recognized the coding pattern of the five characters "Mountain City Underground Party" in that string of numbers at a glance. It was only because the rest was blurry that she had to painstakingly extract the entire string of numbers verbatim.
After handing over the paper, she casually tucked the next blank record sheet into her sleeve. The movement was natural, like tidying up loose pages.
The reason is simple: every number she had painstakingly copied had left an indentation on the back of the writing pad. When she got home, she gently smoothed it out with a pencil, and the entire text was revealed.
Deciphering? She has the ability. Given enough time and enough clues, she can turn black into red.
This is the entire process of the espionage operation.
On the other side, Zheng Yaoxian and Zhou Xiao returned to their office, took their seats, and just as they put their teacups down.
Zheng Yaoxian had a weight on his mind: Had Zhou Xiao actually seen it? If he spoke up to probe, it would be like revealing his own secrets; if he pretended not to hear, he would leave room for maneuver—silence is sometimes sharper than words.
Zhou Xiao, on the other hand, also felt a mix of emotions.
Of course he saw it. No matter how deeply Zeng Moyi pressed the pen, how her wrist turned, or how the paper trembled slightly, none of it escaped his eyes, honed by his "drastic change in facial features." This kind of "press mark theft" was the most basic yet most effective method used by old-school secret agents.
He was certain that Zheng Yaoxian had seen it, and saw it even more clearly than he had.
But the other party neither stopped her, nor asked her anything, nor gave her any meaningful glances, and didn't even look at Zeng Moyi a second time.
That's strange—they don't arrest anyone, don't investigate, and don't expose the truth.
It was as if nothing had happened.
If Zeng Moyi is indeed a Japanese spy, Zheng Yaoxian will not hesitate to take action against her.
People from the Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics?
It's even less likely that we'd stand idly by.
After all, the Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics (CBIS) had repeatedly set traps for Zheng Yaoxian. If he had any leverage over Zheng, he would not let go easily—he would tear off a few pieces of flesh before he would stop!
Neither a henchman of the Japanese puppet regime nor a spy for the Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics (CBIS), that leaves only one possibility—
Underground party!
Could it be... that Zheng Yaoxian is one of us?
The moment the thought crossed Zhou Xiao's mind, he felt a sudden jolt, and his fingertips went cold.
Someone from the telecommunications department was stealing intelligence, and he happened to catch them red-handed; yet Zheng Yaoxian remained calm, not even lifting his eyelids. This unusual calmness was like a thorn stuck in his heart, the more he thought about it, the more uncomfortable it became.
Of course, there is another explanation: Zeng Moyi was a setup by Zheng Yaoxian, a subtle test specifically designed to examine his insight and character.
But Zhou Xiao immediately extinguished the thought as soon as it arose.
He stared at Zeng Moyi's micro-expressions: sweat beading on her forehead, her Adam's apple trembling slightly, her fingers repeatedly rubbing the edge of the paper... It wasn't acting tension, it was genuine, palpable panic stretched to its limit.
If she can even fake this flawlessly, then she's not a secret agent, but a star performer on stage winning the Plum Blossom Award.
Zhou Xiao gradually became convinced that Zeng Moyi was very likely a member of the underground Communist Party, and Zheng Yaoxian was probably also caught in the same undercurrent.
Of course, this is all speculation, without any factual basis.
Whether Zeng Moyi is a genuine lesbian or a bait thrown by Zheng Yaoxian, Zhou Xiao will not expose her on the spot.
The two top experts sat facing each other in silence. On the surface, all was calm, but beneath the surface, undercurrents were surging and tensions were running high.
After a long silence, Zheng Yaoxian finally spoke: "Zhou Xiao, what's your opinion on Shanghai?"
"The heart of the world's intelligence network, the largest intelligence hub in Asia," Zhou Xiao answered crisply. "Countless secret reports sprout from there, and countless undercover agents are entangled there. The waters run deep and are incredibly murky."
"I'm planning to send you to Shanghai." Zheng Yaoxian's gaze was deep. "It's teeming with spies, the streets are full of undercover agents. Do you dare to accept?"
"I dare." Zhou Xiao paused, "I'll give it my all."
Zheng Yaoxian nodded: "Okay, you can go ahead and get busy."
"Yes, Sixth Brother." Zhou Xiao stood up and nimbly left.
Huichun Hall.
Lu Hanqing's public identity is that of the resident doctor of Huichuntang. His medical skills are superb, and seven or eight out of ten high-ranking officials and dignitaries in the mountain city recognize his prescriptions.
Today, a special patient came to Huichuntang—Zheng Yaoxian.
He sat down at the examination table, raised his wrist, and said in a low voice, "Doctor, please take my pulse. I've been feeling hot and my chest is tight lately."
Lu Hanqing placed his fingertips on the pulse-taking scale, concentrating on taking the pulse while subtly glancing around to make sure no one was watching, before asking in a low voice, "What happened?"
"It's extremely urgent." Zheng Yaoxian spoke very quickly. "This morning I ran into Zeng Moyi at the telecommunications office—she was copying intelligence."
Normally, Zheng Yaoxian would never show up at Huichuntang without permission. But in case of emergency, he would rather risk coming here. Fortunately, too many military and political officials sought treatment from Lu Hanqing, so no one would suspect anything.
"What?!" Lu Hanqing's brows furrowed sharply, but he quickly steadied his breathing. "Someone's watching us?"
"Yes." Zheng Yaoxian's eyes sharpened. "Zhou Xiao. He was right there at the time, his eyes never leaving Zeng Moyi for even a second. With his intelligence, there's no way he wouldn't have seen what she was doing."
"What's Zhou Xiao's background? Have you found out?" Lu Hanqing pressed. "You mentioned before that you wanted to develop a relationship with him, how's that going?"
"A couple of days ago, Boss Dai took me to the Zhazidong Detention Center," Zheng Yaoxian said in a low, hoarse voice. "He made me personally execute an underground party member, as a pledge of loyalty."
"And the result?" Lu Hanqing leaned forward, his voice tense. "Don't keep me in suspense!"
"He took the gun and fired immediately." Zheng Yaoxian stared at the table. "But Boss Dai gave him a blank—he didn't die, he was just terrified."
"Zeng Moyi is in danger!" Lu Hanqing's face darkened. "If Zhou Xiao is determined to pledge allegiance to the Military Intelligence Bureau, he could send her to the execution ground tonight!"
Zheng Yaoxian didn't respond to that question, but instead asked, "Has the organization made any progress in its background check on Zhou Xiao?"
"How can it be so fast?" Lu Hanqing smiled wryly. "It will take at least three months."
"I'm here to ask you to contact Yuan Nong immediately," Zheng Yaoxian said in an even lower voice. "Zeng Moyi has likely been exposed—it all depends on Zhou Xiao's choice."
"Wait until tonight is over. If she's safe and sound, it means Zhou Xiao didn't report her."
Uncovering the underground Communist Party members within the Military Intelligence Bureau was a major achievement that Boss Dai had always dreamed of. But if Zhou Xiao were truly a die-hard, he would probably be kneeling before Boss Dai right now, begging for credit and rewards.
"We need to proceed on two fronts simultaneously," Zheng Yaoxian said decisively. "Old Lu, you should arrange a meeting with Yuan Nong as soon as possible—have him tell Zeng Moyi that her identity may have been exposed and that we must be prepared to evacuate at any time."
"Then have Yuan Nong mobilize the guerrillas to provide support, plan the retreat route in advance, and prepare cover and a place to stay."