Back in time before the Jinling Evening News article was published, the afternoon sun shone warmly on people's bodies. In the meeting room of the Construction Committee, the agents at the Secret Service Headquarters were drowsy.
Among more than ten people, only one newcomer stood at the window and monitored the official residence. The remaining people either lay on the table or leaned against the wall and dozed off, not worrying at all about what would happen to the target.
After monitoring for so long, they have long been accustomed to following each other's material purchasers around the city every day. How could something go wrong? It was completely impossible.
However, the agent in charge of leading the team did not sleep. He was chatting with a middle-aged agent with a cigarette in his mouth. The two talked about Meng Ting asking them to go to the Central Hospital to find a surveillance point a few days ago.
"Boss, if Section Chief Meng knows that you haven't followed the order, I'm afraid he will cause trouble. Otherwise, you should discuss with the hospital and ask the dentists to give up their offices to avoid being criticized."
The middle-aged spy kindly reminded that when working in the agency, you can work openly and secretly, but you cannot openly oppose your superiors, otherwise you will be unlucky no matter how tough the backstage is. This is a rule that must be followed.
The leading agent sneered: "He's just a shitty section chief. If the section chief didn't transfer him from the Shanghai Police Department, he's just a stinky patrolman. He's so famous that he forgets how much he weighs.
Besides, do you think that the Central Hospital is a place where you can act wild if you want? The patients of those dentists are all senior officials of the government. If you just say a word, we will be in trouble.
So, just follow the director's order and keep an eye on the underground party here. Why bother asking for trouble and accidentally bumping into some big shot? Do you think Meng or even the director will stand up for these brothers? "
He lowered his voice and spoke his thoughts. Normally, such words should never be uttered by someone other than the Speaker, but why did the other party's brother-in-law serve as a staff officer in the Chairman's Attendance Room.
Besides, talking about the chief can quickly build relationships between people, but the premise is to grasp the right balance. Meng Ting, an empty-headed section chief with no real power in his hands, is the best target.
Sure enough, the middle-aged secret agent nodded: "That's right. Our Director Xu is not someone who is willing to take responsibility. Let's talk about what happened with Section Chief Liu Gui. Which of our brothers wouldn't be disappointed?
They all say that the Smiling Tiger is vicious. I think he did a good job in this. Business matters must be public affairs, and private matters must be private matters. If he hadn't paid for the cemetery, Lao Liu wouldn't even be able to lay him to rest. "
The two of them looked at each other helplessly when they said this. They had fallen to this point. Everyone knew what the problem was. They knew it from top to bottom and pretended not to see it.
They were discussing here, and the newcomer at the window carefully observed the official residence with a telescope, not daring to slack off for a moment, for fear that his negligence would cause underground party members to escape.
The instructor said during the training that if this happens, every one of the officers on duty will have to go to the prison to get together. He spent a lot of money to enter the secret service headquarters, not just to go to jail.
"I'm playing cotton."
“Old cotton is replaced by new cotton.”
At this time, the shouts of playing cotton rang out in the residential area. When a newcomer heard the sound, he looked over and saw two young people, a man and a woman, driving a carriage slowly approaching. The man who shouted earlier was a man.
This person's accent does not seem to be local, which is very common in Jinling in early winter. Many northern merchants will go around the streets and do small businesses at this time, most of them playing cotton and selling fur goods.
When the other party walked to the side of the official residence, the underground party material purchaser who had been monitoring the secret agent headquarters suddenly walked out of the main room, walked quickly to the gate, opened the courtyard door, and shouted loudly.
"Master, wait a moment."
"Xu~"
Hearing someone shouting to stop, the young man quickly tightened the reins and stopped the carriage. He jumped out of the carriage and walked towards the official residence. At first glance, he was a seasoned businessman who was used to doing business.
A newcomer was shocked when he saw this, and immediately turned back to report: "Sir, I noticed the situation. Two cotton players have arrived. It seems that the target wants to contact them. Do you need to send someone to check?"
"What? Don't even sleep!"
The leading agent gave a low shout and rushed to the window. He grabbed the telescope from the newcomer's hand and looked at it. He quickly saw the three people talking next to the carriage. Is this a meeting?
He pondered for a while and decided to continue observing. The director repeatedly warned not to alert the enemy, not to seek merit but to make no mistakes. The underground party may not be caught, but they cannot run away because of their mistakes.
That's going to kill your head.
And these two people should be fine. Playing cotton is a physical job, and one person cannot do it at the same time. It is normal for young couples to work together to make a living. This kind of combination can be seen everywhere in Jinling City.
At the same time, how many people could a carriage carry, and he and the others were not blind? The underground party in the official residence could not escape through this method, and they could not stay close for reconnaissance unless absolutely necessary.
After thinking about it, he waved his hand and made a little joke: "Keep resting. Those underground gangs may want to play cotton. That's right. In the future, they will be in prison. It will be comfortable to cover them."
After hearing this, the agents smiled, put the guns in their hands aside, and sat back in their seats. However, after being frightened, they couldn't sleep, so they chatted quietly in twos and threes.
The cotton players outside drove the carriage to the entrance of the official residence, built a simple bamboo shed, and took out the tools from the car. The underground party material purchasers took out several quilts from the house.
Seeing that the business is coming, the woman in the young couple skillfully removes the old yarn on the surface of the quilt and tears apart the cotton wool. Then the man hits the bowstring with a mallet. The bowstring goes up and down, vibrating the cotton wool evenly.
"duang~duang~"
There was a crisp sound of cotton playing, and not long after, several housewives came to watch the excitement. After observing for a while, someone immediately brought quilts from home and handed them to them.
Seeing this scene, the leading agent was completely relieved. It took two or three years to master this skill. Not everyone can do it. Pretending can't deceive those shrewd women.
He looked in the direction of the official residence again. After the underground party purchaser sent the quilt out, he returned to the house. As usual, the door and windows were closed, so he couldn't see what was going on inside.
Just in case, he did not hand over the surveillance task to someone new, but stood in front of the window himself. Being able to serve as the person in charge of a surveillance point, he still had a basic sense of vigilance.
After two or three hours like this, the sky gradually darkened and the wind became stronger. In this case, it was impossible to play cotton. In this business, the first reason is that I am afraid of fire, and the second reason is that I am afraid of wind.
So the young couple started to pack their tools. Naturally, the quilts that had been played and those that had not been played had to be returned to the guests first and collected tomorrow. The residents waiting aside took away their own quilts.
After sending everyone away, the man and woman knocked on the door of the official residence in the dusk. Then someone walked out of the main room and opened the door. Only vague figures could be seen in the dim light.
A leading agent immediately became more vigilant, watched intently as the target chatted with the cotton player, and then returned to the house with a few quilts, probably to get money.
This is expected. As the station of the intelligence agency, the underground party cannot let strangers into the yard. The risk is too high. Letting the other party wait outside is the best way to deal.
After a few more minutes, the sun finally set completely, and the darkest time of the day arrived. Under such lighting conditions, it was no longer possible to see clearly the official residence dozens of meters away with the naked eye.
The leading agent rubbed his eyes and hesitated to approach for reconnaissance. After all, an unknown person appeared. The next second he heard the sound of a door closing in the distance, and then the lights of the mansion came on.
He breathed a sigh of relief. Everything seemed to be normal. Then he looked outside the door through the light in the room. The two cotton players calmly cleaned up the waste cotton on the ground, and then drove away in the carriage.
The newcomer on the side asked: "Sir, the other party might be an underground party. Do you want to send someone to follow them? That carriage can't go very fast. You can keep up with them on bicycles. Let's see where they go."
"Need not."
The leading agent glanced at him and said meaningfully: "I know you are eager to achieve success, but the battle with the underground party is patience. How do you know this is not a trap set by the other party for us.
Once the other party knows that someone is following them, they will run away without a trace. At that time, it will be you or me who will bear the responsibility. Young man, you must learn to think about problems with your head. "
The newcomer's face turned red after being told that, for fear of offending his boss, he stood there obediently and said nothing. The others laughed and thought they wanted to make a contribution, which is understandable. They were also newcomers.
But you can't let so many people accompany you to take risks. No one is willing to gamble with their future, whether they are relatives or friends. It's so comfortable to stay and wait at the surveillance point. If something happens, it has nothing to do with you.
"Clang!"
But before they could relax for too long, a loud noise broke the calm. The door of a surveillance point was kicked open. The agents in the room reacted very quickly and immediately turned off the lights and hid behind the table.
It has to be said that after long-term training and actual combat, the personnel of a department are still very capable of saving their lives. This set of movements is so smooth that it can almost catch up with the average level of a new member of the intelligence department.
Soon, a figure came in and put his hands on his hips and shouted: "Are all the people dead? Is there anything going on at the official residence? Take action immediately and start arresting people. Whoever makes a mistake will be severely punished."
While the visitor was talking, someone turned on the lights in the room, and the bright light illuminated Xu Enzeng's dark face. Behind him stood the officers at all levels from the secret service headquarters, whose expressions were also not very good.
It turned out to be the director.
The leading agent's legs were already hanging out of the window. When he saw that it was Xu Enzeng who kicked the door, not an underground gang member who came for revenge, his body went limp and he fell to the ground, almost crying.
It's scary and scary.
He supported the wall and replied tremblingly: "Report to the section chief, there is nothing abnormal in the official residence. The other party's material procurement personnel did not go out today. They are in the room now. The lights were turned on a few minutes ago."
