Mountain city, sand magnetic area.
Zuo Chong, wearing a handkerchief and a coarse cotton coat commonly worn by local villagers, walked around the city a few times and stopped, carrying a bamboo basket and knocking on the back door of a house.
It was already December 1939, which coincided with the Winter Solstice. Many people chose to visit relatives and friends on this day, so his dress was not conspicuous at all and did not attract anyone's attention.
Following the knock on the door, Song Minghao opened the door from the inside, stood at the door and exchanged a few words before inviting Zuo Zhong into the courtyard, looking around and closing the door behind him.
After entering the door, Zuo Zhong shook his shoulders and took off the heavy bamboo basket from his back and handed it to Song Minghao. He raised his chin in one direction and asked in a deep voice.
"Old Song, how are you? Did you find any problems?"
This is the surveillance point of the second office. It is only one road away from the suspicious phone found during the number verification. The location is very close and the observation field is very good.
After leaving the telephone office last time, Gu Qi, who was still determined not to give up, applied for a surveillance operation. After all, this was the only clue at present. It would be a pity not to investigate.
"Some discoveries were made."
Song Minghao took the backpack and nodded, accompanying Zuo Zhong into the house while introducing the relevant circumstances of the suspicious phone call.
“According to the installation receipt, the owner of the phone is a staff member of a German foreign company, but according to the investigation, there is no such person in the foreign company at all.
The house was just rented two and a half months ago. We contacted the owner from the side, and the other person said that the renter was a middle-aged man with all the documents.
Director Gu asked someone to conduct an external investigation and found that the names and addresses in the documents were all fake, and the photos were deliberately blurry and difficult to identify.
I also checked the registration at the police station. At that time, the person provided an insurance policy issued by a foreign company, and the police officer in charge approved it without seeing any problems.
This bastard was very cunning and left almost no valuable clues. He must be a professional agent and have logistical support.
Those police officers come into contact with documents and declaration forms every day, and if they can successfully deceive them, the other party is definitely not using low-end products sold on the black market. "
With that said, Song Minghao opened the door and saw several surveillance personnel standing on the short ladder, monitoring the outside world through several small holes high in the wall.
Gu Qi was among them. When he noticed that the deputy director was coming, he quickly slid down the ladder and called a little agent to take over.
"Vice seat."
Arriving next to Zuo Zhong, Gu Qi saluted and said hello, exchanged a few words with Song Minghao in a low voice, and then continued to introduce according to what the other party said.
“The renter told the landlord that he wanted to install a telephone when signing the lease, which was a good thing. The landlord took the initiative to provide some help and everything went smoothly during the installation process.
In addition, neighbors in the surrounding area said that renters are rarely seen in Pingshi, but in today's world, more trouble is worse than less trouble, so no one reported it to the police station.
I also sent a brother to check the electricity consumption records. The rental house had almost no electricity consumption in the past two and a half months, which corroborated the neighbor's testimony. But one thing was strange.
When I checked the number information before, it was clear that someone on the other side answered the phone. This was contrary to the results of the investigation. I thought the other party might have tampered with the phone line. "
No one is in the room, but someone answers the phone?
Zuo Zhong frowned. It was indeed a bit strange, but this was a spy story, not a supernatural story. It was probably as Gu Qi guessed that the other party connected the line privately.
In this era, there was no pulse recognition technology. There was a separate telephone line between each telephone and the telephone exchange. As long as the line was connected at any position on the telephone line, the purpose of making a call could be achieved.
The problem is that the private phone cannot answer the call unless the other party changes the line themselves, cuts off the phone line that originally led to the rental house, and leads it to another place.
After thinking about it, Zuo Zhong asked Gu Qi if he had sent anyone to check the route. As long as he found the private route, he could still find the target.
"Six people were sent, all wearing telephone exchange uniforms."
Gu Qi gave an affirmative answer, then looked at his watch and replied: "They should be back soon. If the person is found, Gui Youguang's action team may be needed to help with operations. These people are difficult to deal with.
Judging from the investigation, the other party behaved very professionally. The operatives of the Second Division are better at counterintelligence. They may not be able to catch anyone alive. "
Just as he was talking, the little agent who went to check the line came back disguised as a toll collector and reported some not-so-good news.
"Deputy, Virgo, we checked carefully and found no private lines."
"What, no?"
Gu Qi and Song Minghao exclaimed, how could this be possible? Could it be that something was wrong, or they answered the wrong number that day, and they were a little confused.
Zuo Zhong was not surprised. Since he had guessed that he was a professional agent, how could his opponent leave such a big loophole.
Moreover, if you want to receive calls from other places, there is more than just a private line.
A flash of light flashed in his eyes, he brought three teacups and two chopsticks from the kitchen, walked to the table and waved for Gu Qi and Song Minghao to come over.
When the two of them came to the side, Zuo Zhong placed the tea cup on the table in a triangular shape, and connected the three with two chopsticks to form a "ㄥ" shape.
After finishing, he pointed to the top teacup and two chopsticks and asked a simple question.
"Lao Gu, Lao Song, look, we regard this cup as a telephone exchange, this chopstick as a regular telephone line, and the other as a private line. Do you understand what I am saying?"
"clear!"
Gu Qi and Song Minghao didn't understand the deputy director's intention of doing this, but they still gave a positive answer. It was just a simple demonstration of the sand table, which was very common in handling cases.
He noticed their doubts, but Zuo Zhong didn't explain. Then he raised his hand and pointed to the second and third cups, and spoke slowly.
"Then these two cups are two independent telephones. One is the suspicious phone found by the second office, represented by A, and the other is the phone actually used by the other party, represented by B.
We previously speculated that B privately connected to A's line, and A and B were on the same line. Now that we have found out that this is not the case, there are only two possibilities.
Either there is someone at the top of the telephone company who made false information on the installation receipt. This is unlikely. That would be easier to expose and make it easier for us to follow the clues.
Moreover, the telephone office is crowded with many professionals and even if there is an internal line, it is difficult to do anything. This leaves only one possibility - there is something wrong with the line itself! "
Having said this, he pressed the chopsticks representing the private line with his fingers, glanced at Gu Qi and Song Minghao, and pushed it up slightly.
The "ㄥ" shape instantly changed into a "∧" shape. The top is the telephone exchange, and both phones A and B are connected to it by a separate phone line.
Before it was over, he stretched out two fingers and placed them on the two chopsticks respectively. He crossed his hands suddenly and changed the positions of the chopsticks left and right.
Hearing this, Gu Qi suddenly realized, suddenly patted his leg, and said with bright eyes.
"I understand, the real location where the other party answered the phone is at B's address. The rental house and B's phone number inside are just a cover-up, so that they can shift things around."
Song Minghao also figured out what was going on, and also greeted the other party and made a suggestion.
"MD, these bastards are really cunning. When we catch someone, I must let them experience the many skills of our military.
By the way, deputy seat, since the line has been replaced, the installer is the biggest suspect. If you find this person, you will also find phone number B. "
Listening to the two scolding their opponents, Zuo Zhong took a deep look at Gu Qi and Song Minghao, crossed his arms and looked forward, and said with a half-smile.
"Haha, that's right. Money can make all the difference. As long as there is money to be made, there will always be people willing to take risks. Lao Gu, what should I do next? I don't need to teach you anymore, right?"
Gu Qi shook his head. The deputy director had already said this. If they still didn't know what to do, they would be worse than the Central Commander-in-Chief.
He immediately puffed up his chest and raised his hand in a military salute: "No, the phone installation receipt has the installer's information. If you find the person and follow the clues, you can find the location of the phone."
"Well, go ahead."
Zuo Zhong waved his hands and watched the two of them leave, sighing in his heart. Everyone has the right to choose their own destiny, but some roads are the road to life, and some roads are the road to death.
Han Liang, Han Liang, as an old friend, I will do whatever I can to help. Now it depends on your own luck. I hope you and I will have the chance to meet again.
One squadron has already left. If the other party leaves again, except for the military commander's men, he will really be alone.
A few hours later.
Gu Qixing hurried back and reported a piece of good news with a smile: "Reporting to the deputy seat, according to your instructions, we successfully found the installer and arrested him on the spot.
This kid couldn't help but be frightened. He peed his pants as soon as he was pressed to the ground. Someone paid him a lot of money to bribe him and asked him to secretly switch the phone lines of A and B.
But when line A was connected to the foot of Geleshan, the other party let him go first, so you may need to coordinate with the garrison and ask them to send troops to search the mountain along the telephone line. "
Gele Mountain.
Upon hearing these three words, Zuo Zhong, who was resting on the sofa with his eyes closed, suddenly stood up, strode out, and at the same time gave a serious order.
"Withdraw all personnel, and I will contact the garrison headquarters. No one is allowed to approach Geleshan without my order.
In addition, everyone should supervise each other and strictly implement confidentiality procedures. You and Lao Song will accompany me. We must lead by example. "
"Yes! Deputy seat."
Gu Qi and Song Minghao couldn't help but be moved by the deputy director's high integrity. They admired him and quickly followed him. After leaving the house, the three of them got in the car and left.
At the same time, in another corner of the city, in that mysterious place, Xing Hanliang and a group of people were squatting on the ground, skillfully assembling radio stations and weapons.
Outside the window, the cold wind whistled sharply, and the rickety telephone line extended through the woods to the room. A person nodded while holding the phone.
"Yes... I will leave for my hometown in three days..."
