Chapter 142 Another Harvest

When Ning Zhiheng hurried back to the police station, some people had already moved faster than him. The Fourth and Fifth Action Squads had already brought their respective targets back.

For the sake of caution, they had even brought the targets' families back together for unified screening.

By the time Ning Zhiheng returned, the two action squad leaders were reporting the specific details of the operation to Zhao Ziliang and Xiang Yan.

Seeing Ning Zhiheng walk in, Zhao Ziliang asked, "How did it go?"

Ning Zhiheng spread his hands and said helplessly, "The target Zhou Wenbin has been captured, but no film or any items of value were found. As for Zhou Wenbin himself, based on my observation, the possibility of him being a Japanese spy is very low, and he showed no abnormal behavior."

Zhao Ziliang nodded and said, "Their situation is just like yours. The people were brought back, but not a shred of film or other items could be found in their homes."

However, he showed not the slightest bit of anxiety and said lightly, "It doesn't matter. There are still six targets left. Let's wait and see!"

The other action squads also returned one after another, and the situation was identical everywhere. Even the single-occupancy target whom Ning Zhiheng had held high hopes for was brought back, and neither film nor other items were found at his residence.

Now, only the Second Action Squad had yet to return. It was already one o'clock in the morning. Zhao Ziliang and Xiang Yan exchanged a glance.

"Lü Yang is an experienced veteran. Why has it dragged on for so long?" Xiang Yan said with some doubt.

"Sometimes, no news is good news! There must be unexpected circumstances. They should have made a discovery!" Zhao Ziliang, maintaining a steady mindset, said with a smile.

True to his word, just as his voice trailed off, Lü Yang was seen rushing back with a group of people. Behind him, the action team members were carrying four people, trotting all the way into the police station courtyard.

"Quick! Send them to the hospital! The bleeding is starting again. Bandages, hurry!" As soon as Lü Yang entered the courtyard, he shouted anxiously.

Medical personnel immediately stepped forward to bandage the four wounded people, staunch the bleeding, and provide emergency treatment.

Everyone hurriedly crowded around. Apart from two wounded action team members, there were also a man and a woman in pajamas with their collars torn open, clearly the targets they had set out to capture.

Knowing that these must be the real targets, Zhao Ziliang asked Lü Yang in a deep voice, "What are the exact details?"

Lü Yang hurriedly recounted the course of events. It turned out that the target of Lü Yang's squad was Meng Lesheng, the vice principal of Tongcheng Middle School, who lived with his wife, Kong Shulan.

Like Ning Zhiheng, Lü Yang had chosen to infiltrate directly for the arrest. He had sent the deputy squad leader and a few elite members to sneak in quietly, but upon entering the bedroom, they still alerted the target. Meng Lesheng put up a resistance but was quickly subdued.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, only to remember that Meng Lesheng's wife, Kong Shulan, was not in the bedroom. At that very moment, Kong Shulan, resting in the adjoining room, had heard the commotion and quietly crept over, suddenly firing several shots. Two team members and Meng Lesheng were hit instantly.

The action team members immediately returned fire and struck Kong Shulan as well. When Lü Yang and his men rushed in, the room was in complete disarray. Meng Lesheng and his wife Kong Shulan had both collapsed to the ground, and the two action team members' conditions were unknown.

Lü Yang immediately administered temporary emergency first aid to the four of them before rushing back in a panic, leading to the scene just witnessed.

Zhao Ziliang furrowed his brow, not expecting that this time they would capture a pair, both of whom had sustained gunshot wounds.

Lü Yang felt deeply uneasy, lowered his head, and said, "It was all due to this subordinate's improper handling. I am willing to accept punishment!"

With the operation turning out like this, if Meng Lesheng ultimately perished, he bore unshirkable blame and would certainly have to take responsibility, leaving him naturally apprehensive.

Without uttering words of reprimand, Zhao Ziliang paced back and forth a few times before suddenly asking, "Are there any results from the search?"

Lü Yang answered cautiously, "The incident happened abruptly. I brought the people back for medical treatment first and left some men behind. They are searching right now and will have results shortly."

Zhao Ziliang snorted and said irritably, "You don't need to put on a pitiful face. Whether it's a merit or an offense will only become clear afterward. If the people live, you have merit; if they die, you have an offense. When the time comes, I won't need to say anything—military law will handle it!"

At that moment, a medical worker hurried over to report, "Among our personnel, one is dead and one is wounded. Deputy Squad Leader Yu took a bullet to the chest and has died in the line of duty! Of the two suspects, the man took a bullet to the abdomen; his bleeding has now stopped, and he is temporarily out of danger. The woman took two bullets and has already died from excessive blood loss!"

Hearing this, Lü Yang was consumed by remorse, and the corners of his eyes grew moist. Although he had been mentally prepared, the pain of losing his comrade was still unbearable!

Waving his hand, Zhao Ziliang ordered Lü Yang, "Send the wounded man to the military hospital immediately for treatment. You will personally lead men to guard him strictly, ensure he stays alive, and await my orders at any time!"

Then, turning to Xiang Yan, he said, "Let's go to the scene. Until I see it with my own eyes, my mind won't be at ease!"

Instantly, all the officers followed behind Zhao Ziliang and rushed to Meng Lesheng's home.

By the time Zhao Ziliang and the others arrived, the search was nearing its end, with the action team members combing the house inside and out.

When a small, exquisite military radio was placed before Zhao Ziliang, the hearts that had been hanging in suspense finally settled.

Hard work pays off; all the toil had not been in vain. This radio ultimately confirmed the identities of Meng Lesheng and his wife Kong Shulan.

Touching the radio, a smile finally broke across Zhao Ziliang's tense face. With this radio, it was enough to prove that the Action Section's operation this time had been a success!

Xiang Yan excitedly ordered, "Continue searching! Search it inch by inch. Make sure you find the film and the cipher book!"

With the order given, everyone sprang into action, joining the ranks of the searchers. Ning Zhiheng did not lag behind either; this was a prime opportunity to expand their victory.

He had chosen the wrong person out of bad luck during the arrest, but he could not afford to miss out now. He carefully inspected the layout of the room and began searching step by step.

Every corner of the room had been searched multiple times, and even a safe hidden behind a secret door had been dug out.

"Hurry up and open it! The cipher book and film must be inside!"
"There's no combination! How do we open it? This thing is sturdy as a rock—not easy to deal with!"
"Damn it, this damn thing is impossible to crack. I heard the Intelligence Section has someone who specializes in picking these kinds of locks. If all else fails, we can have him transferred over!"
"Step aside! Have you lost your mind? Sending a ready-made merit to outsiders?"

For a moment, everyone chattered and argued noisily. In the end, Zhao Ziliang made the executive decision, bringing the discussion to a close: "What are you arguing about? A bunch of good-for-nothings! It's just a lump of iron; we aren't stealing it—just pry it open directly, won't you?"

Instantly, everyone set to work together, smashing and prying. After a great deal of effort, they finally managed to pry it open by sheer force.

Opening the safe, apart from the anticipated large amounts of cash and gold, there were two document bags and a small blue notebook.

Holding his breath, Zhao Ziliang carefully opened the small blue notebook, flipped through it for a moment, and finally broke into a radiant smile at the sight.

Seeing this, everyone's hearts settled completely. Xiang Yan hurriedly asked, "Section Chief, how is it?"

Laughing heartily, Zhao Ziliang waved the small blue notebook in his hand and said excitedly, "Just as we hoped! This is already the second cipher book we've intercepted!"

At these words, everyone cheered out loud. The Action Section had truly saved face this time. In the span of just a few months, the Action Section had successively cracked Japanese spy rings, confiscated two radios, and most importantly, seized two complete military-encrypted cipher books.

With this single feat, the Action Section's status within the Military Intelligence Investigation Department would rise another notch!

Even now, those haughty intelligence officers in the Intelligence Section did not dare to look down their noses or speak in cold, condescending tones when cooperating with the Action Section on cases. They only needed to casually drop a line—*just talking doesn't work; our Action Section actually gets things done!*—and those people would be instantly rendered speechless, their attitudes turning noticeably more humble. Once this case was over, one could only imagine what those intelligence officers' faces would look like. Just thinking about it made them look forward to it!

Zhao Ziliang picked up another document bag and opened it. Sure enough, it contained a roll of film. Smiling, he said, "This was our greatest contributor, the bait that hooked this big fish!"

This was false intelligence planted by the Intelligence Section and now possessed not a shred of value, so he casually tossed it aside.

Then he opened the remaining document bag, which contained a set of documents. After carefully translating two pages, Zhao Ziliang's expression turned grave.

Without saying much, he simply tucked the document bag away on his person and said, "Seal up all the seized items and bring them back. I will report directly to the Director tonight to request merits for everyone—especially Deputy Section Chief Xiang and Squad Leader Ning. This was a complete victory, and your contributions are indispensable. You've worked hard!"

Xiang Yan's mood at this moment was exceptionally elated. It had been a long time since he had personally cracked a major case, and this opportunity was too rare; it would write a heavy stroke on his military record.

As for Ning Zhiheng, needless to say, the biggest beneficiary of cracking this Japanese spy case was none other than him. The initial clue had been unearthed by him, the early-stage work had been entirely under his charge, and the two major targets had been locked down by his own hands. Coupled with his brilliant performance in the later stages of the case, no one could erase his credit. His top merit was securely in the bag, and it only remained to be seen how much further he could expand the fruits of victory. If he could unearth even more valuable members of the spy ring, that would be even better!

Thus, the arrest operation came to a successful conclusion. By the time everyone returned to the police station, Zhao Ziliang wasted not a moment, calling the Director directly to report their success. The Director on the other end was overjoyed and ordered Zhao Ziliang to report the specific details to him first thing in the morning!

Meanwhile, Xiang Yan also gave the order to release all the members of the other eight households they had brought back, as well as the five newspaper stand owners, while recalling all action personnel.