Chapter 138: Piercing the Fog

“Are there any other differences anywhere else in the newspaper?” Ning Zhiheng asked once again.

Zhang Wei carefully re-examined the newspaper and confirmed, “I only found this one place. All the other layouts are completely normal, and I can’t see any issues.”

At this moment, Xiang Yan spoke up, “Are you responsible for editing this section of anecdotes and hearsay?”

Zhang Wei shook his head and replied, “Our Minsheng Daily has two section editors. Besides me, there is also Editor Tian Liqun. Each of us is responsible for two pages, and this particular section is handled by him.”

Hearing this, everyone nodded inwardly. Everything fit together now. Xiang Yan continued to ask, “Has this kind of situation ever happened before?”

Zhang Wei lowered his head and thought for a long time, then frowned and said, “Changes to page content are actually quite common. As long as the formatting of each page isn’t altered, there’s generally no problem with the newspaper as a whole, so it doesn’t catch our attention. Even if we noticed it, we wouldn’t think much of it. So I’m very sorry, I really can’t remember.”

Everyone knew that such things certainly did not happen frequently; unless someone went looking for it intentionally, they would never notice!

“However!” Zhang Wei suddenly spoke up again. “The page contents were already finalized at two o’clock in the afternoon. At that time, I still had an impression of it. This anecdote section indeed had only two short stories. After that, I didn’t pay much attention, and I don’t know why it turned into three short stories now. I have no idea why Editor Tian made such a change at the last minute.”

“Are you certain that the section content still consisted of only two stories before two o’clock in the afternoon?” Hearing this, Xiang Yan immediately perked up and hurriedly pressed for confirmation.

Zhang Wei thought back carefully once more, then nodded and confirmed, “I am certain. At two o’clock, I roughly checked the page contents, and there were indeed two stories!”

Now everyone understood. At ten o’clock this morning, Su Yu had handed the film to Tian Liqun. After returning home, Tian Liqun went out shortly afterward to Erma Lane on Xicangqiao Street in the southern part of the city. After dropping the film into the dead drop, he headed straight back to the Minsheng Daily office, arriving right around three o’clock in the afternoon. Then, he temporarily altered the section content to send out the signal that the dead drop was activated. Everything fell into place logically and could be completely explained.

Xiang Yan nodded at Ning Zhiheng, who placed the stack of banknotes into Zhang Wei’s hands and said, “Mr. Zhang, thanks to your help today. However, you are a sensible man, and there are some things we prefer outsiders not to know. When you go back, please keep today’s events strictly to yourself. Otherwise, both of us will be in trouble. Don’t you agree?”

Looking at the thick stack of banknotes in his hands, how could Zhang Wei fail to understand the implication in Ning Zhiheng’s words? He smiled and said, “Understood! I understand! I still know the rules! He who takes money helps avert disaster! I will never mention this matter to anyone! It’s just a small thing, yet it has caused you gentlemen such expense. I accept it with a sense of shame! If there is ever anything you need me for in the future, please feel free to come find me!”

With that, he departed with a beaming face. Watching his retreating figure, Guo Xueyi couldn't help but laugh and scold, “This money-grubber hasn't had enough yet; he's still thinking about making more of your money!”

Ning Zhiheng turned back and said, “There’s no need to pay too much attention to such a minor character. Come, let’s discuss the details of the case again!”

Everyone gathered around. Ning Zhiheng pointed at the newspaper in his hand and said to Xiang Yan, “Section Chief, we can now be certain that Tian Liqun has already signaled the activation of the dead drop through the column in Minsheng Daily. That means we can be sure that tomorrow morning, when his superior sees this newspaper, they will quickly go to the dead drop to retrieve the film. Therefore, tomorrow in Erma Lane, we must make a major effort, set up a trap, and ferret out this superior!”

Xiang Yan nodded upon hearing this, but said with a hint of regret, “Although Erma Lane is not a main thoroughfare, the flow of people coming and going during the day is still quite substantial. How can we pinpoint the target of our suspicion?”

“That's right, we haven't determined the exact location of the dead drop, so the range of suspects is huge. We can't possibly arrest every single pedestrian who has walked down Erma Lane, can we? We wouldn't be able to process that many people!” Chu Guang also said with some puzzlement.

“Moreover, we can’t deploy too many men into the alley. According to your theory, Zhiheng, this superior must live nearby. Therefore, he is surely very familiar with Erma Lane, or he wouldn’t have chosen it as the dead drop location. Now, suddenly on the day the intelligence is retrieved, so many strangers appear in such a small space—how could there be such a coincidence? He will definitely become alert, and it’s very easy for us to be counterproductive!” Shao Wenguang was also quite worried. This problem was indeed very difficult to solve!

At this point, everyone was somewhat at their wits' end. If they couldn't deploy enough manpower inside Erma Lane, how could they monitor so many pedestrians? Yet, laying an ambush with too many men would easily alert the superior who was familiar with Erma Lane. They were truly caught in a dilemma.

Xiang Yan noticed that there was not much worry on Ning Zhiheng’s face. Instead, Ning Zhiheng was rubbing his forehead with his hand, his eyes slightly narrowed, wondering what he was thinking about!

“What is it, Zhiheng? It seems you still have a chest full of well-thought-out plans!” Xiang Yan was also feeling somewhat troubled at the moment. Although he was rich in experience, detailed judgment and analysis were truly not his strong suits. In this aspect, one had to admit that the Action Section was still slightly inferior to the elites of the Intelligence Section!

However, this did not include top-tier investigative experts like Ning Zhiheng. Carefully calculating in his mind, Ning Zhiheng smiled upon hearing Xiang Yan’s question and said, “I do have a preliminary idea. Allow me to state it for the Section Chief and everyone to critique!”

In truth, everyone had been waiting for Ning Zhiheng to speak. They had immense faith in his analytical and judgmental abilities, knowing that he could often dissect a case from different angles and find blind spots that everyone else easily overlooked.

“Very well, let me first state my perspective. Right now, we can basically only confirm that Tian Liqun used the newspaper to send out the activation signal. If Tian Liqun shows no abnormal behavior all the way until tomorrow morning, then we can be certain he sent the signal through Minsheng Daily.

For now, I will make a tentative assumption based on this known condition.

Finding the method Tian Liqun used to send the activation signal has already pointed us in a specific direction.

First of all, you must understand that although the number of people entering Erma Lane throughout the day will be large, among those people, very few are actually capable of reading Minsheng Daily every single day!

The cultural literacy level of the common people in our country is not high. Most citizens are illiterate, and at most they can write their own names. There won't be many who can read books and newspapers, which invisibly eliminates the suspicion of the vast majority of them.

Secondly, since we assume this superior is someone living nearby, he certainly will not disguise himself when going to Erma Lane, because he would inevitably run into neighbors and neighborhood residents. If these acquaintances saw that he had suddenly changed his attire, it would instead arouse their suspicion and backfire. Therefore, tomorrow he will definitely wear his usual clothing to Erma Lane and retrieve the intelligence without a sound.

Thirdly, this superior must be someone with a certain economic foundation and social status. The best way for this superior to notice Tian Liqun’s activation signal in time is to subscribe to a copy of Minsheng Daily every day. To an ordinary commoner, this money is not a small expense, but to a middle-class person with a certain financial capacity, it is entirely affordable.

If this superior’s cover identity were that of a rickshaw puller or a mason, subscribing to a newspaper every day would immediately arouse other people’s suspicion.

Therefore, I have sketched out such a person in my mind: this person is not only literate and financially secure, but his status is also such that subscribing to a copy of Minsheng Daily would not raise anyone’s questions. I lean toward government and corporate employees, or teachers and the like, and tomorrow he will definitely appear as his authentic self.

Thus, tomorrow we can use these conditions to sort and screen the pedestrians entering Erma Lane.

First, we can enlist local patrol officers who are familiar with the local population to monitor the two entrances and exits of Erma Lane from a distance. As long as they are local residents dressed in long gowns and Western suits, looking well-dressed, possessing a certain level of education, we will record them one by one.”

Every person must be identified by these patrol officers. Once their identities are confirmed, this step alone will filter out the vast majority of pedestrians. Then, we can investigate how many among these remaining individuals subscribe to Minsheng Daily every day. By cross-referencing the two, we can eliminate yet another portion of people, and the remaining individuals will definitely not be many! Once this scope is determined, the target will undoubtedly be very close to us!

Ning Zhiheng’s words instantly cleared away the gloomy fog that had filled everyone’s minds. His reasoning was grounded in evidence and laid out methodically. Starting from a simple newspaper, he extended a broad highway leading straight to the destination. Hearing his analysis, everyone felt as if the target was right before their eyes, within arm’s reach.

“Splendid! Zhiheng, your analysis is brilliant! What originally seemed like a ball of fog with nowhere to start has turned into something full of flaws under your analysis!” At that moment, Xiang Yan felt that even without waiting for the future, Ning Zhiheng was already fully capable of succeeding both him and Zhao Ziliang. Such a clear mind was top-tier even within the entire Action Section!

“Indeed, Zhiheng, with your explanation, it’s quite likely we’ll find this mysterious superior tomorrow. It truly clears away the fog with a single word; what seemed distant is actually right in front of us, just waiting to pierce through a paper window!” Shao Wenguang also exclaimed in admiration.

Shao Wenguang was a master of reconnaissance and shadowing, but judgment and analysis were indeed not his strong suits. This was one of the reasons why he had never been promoted: while he was competent in execution and could follow orders to accomplish missions well, he lacked decision-making ability and could not serve as a good commander!