Chapter 25: Phantom Shadows

“Who’s there?” Li Wensheng shouted toward the doorway.

“Boss, it’s me, Xiaoshan. I’ve come to wish you a happy New Year.”

Li Wensheng frowned, rose, and walked out of the main hall to open the courtyard gate.

“Boss, happy New Year! I wish you good health and thriving business in the coming year,” Xiaoshan congratulated him with a cheerful smile, handing Li Wensheng a slip of paper.

Li Wensheng took the note and replied with a smile, “Thank you, Xiaoshan. I wish you every success and happiness in the New Year. Come in for a cup of tea!”

“No, thank you, boss. I still need to visit Boss Guo to wish him a happy New Year, so I won’t trouble you further.”

Li Wensheng’s pupils contracted slightly.

Xiaoshan mentioned Boss Guo, which meant the note had been sent by Guo Liang.

Now, with Jinling city in such turmoil, could Guo Liang still expect him to carry out some mission?

“All right then, go about your business, but be careful. The streets aren’t safe these days.”

“Understood, boss, thank you!”

After Xiaoshan left, Li Wensheng immediately closed the gate and unfolded the note.

“Go at once to the vicinity of the East Asia Hotel. Observe and photograph everyone who approaches the hotel!”

Dai Yunong had instructed Wang Huichun to send a telegram to Jinling, ordering a period of silence—no missions to be executed.

Guo Liang had received the telegram accurately and had originally planned to comply, intending to send Li Wensheng the order to suspend the mission to assassinate Meng Xinqi.

But after hearing the traitor’s shouting that morning, a new idea flashed in his mind: to uncover that man’s identity.

If he could truly discover who that man was, even if Dai Yunong held him accountable for disobeying orders, he could sell the intelligence at a high price to someone else and flee abroad.

So, after much deliberation, he decided to send Li Wensheng to observe the East Asia Hotel.

If Li Wensheng died at the hotel, that would be a stroke of luck.

Dai Yunong had parachuted Li Wensheng into Jinling, assigning the rank of captain to someone only an army lieutenant—too strange.

Dai Yunong must have arranged some mission for Li Wensheng, yet hadn’t informed him, the station chief of Jinling. The likelihood was high that the mission targeted him.

He belonged to Deputy Director Zhou Yaoting’s faction, and Zhou Yaoting and Dai Yunong were at odds.

If Li Wensheng died at the East Asia Hotel, he could report up the chain: Li Wensheng acted on his own initiative and met a tragic end. With no written record of the order, even if the higher-ups investigated, nothing would turn up.

If Li Wensheng survived and photographed the man, that would be another favorable outcome.

If Li Wensheng survived but failed to photograph the man, it didn’t matter—he lost nothing.

To ensure Li Wensheng would carry out the task personally, Guo Liang ordered Xiaoshan to deliver the note and leave immediately, then lay low elsewhere for several days—under no circumstances let Li Wensheng find you to relay orders to Qin Chi and the others.

Li Wensheng had come alone, with no personnel. Though he could contact Qin Chi and the others himself, time was too tight; with the order issued, he was compelled to act on his own.

Guo Liang’s plan was clever, but Li Wensheng paid the task little mind.

Go to the East Asia Hotel and photograph himself? Absurd!

As for consequences for disobeying orders? At worst, he would return to Chongqing, accept Dai Yunong’s reprimand, and be demoted. Such trivial matters paled beside the current crisis!

After burning the note, Li Wensheng began pondering how to break the deadlock—he couldn’t stand by while the citizens of Jinling died because of him.

Around four in the afternoon, the sky suddenly darkened, as if a heavy rain were imminent.

Still at a loss, Li Wensheng stepped out of the main hall, gazed at the gloomy sky in a daze, then returned to his room to don a suit before heading out.

Though he wasn’t sure what to do, there was no way he could allow a thousand innocent citizens to be executed by the invaders. He decided to first observe the East Asia Hotel; what to do afterward, he would decide later.

The streets of Jinling were deserted. Kato hadn’t deployed the military police throughout the city; instead, he stationed them all inside the East Asia Hotel, ready to seize the man the moment he appeared.

Though the streets were empty, spies abounded in the surrounding buildings: Central Bureau agents, Party operatives, and foreign spies who had rushed in overnight from other cities.

All were watching the East Asia Hotel, eager to see if the man would appear.

Li Wensheng reached the mouth of Jinling Street, glanced inside, hesitated briefly, then stepped in.

It wasn’t long before he approached the East Asia Hotel, and immediately caught the attention of Central Bureau agents, Party operatives, and foreign spies.

In the Central Bureau group, a man in his thirties, upon seeing Li Wensheng, spoke up, “Old Ma, take a photo!”

A man in his forties beside him was about to raise his camera when a younger man addressed the thirty-something, “Captain, I’ve seen this man before. He’s with the Bureau of Military Affairs.”

The captain paused, turning to ask, “Are you sure he’s Bureau of Military Affairs?”

“Absolutely, Captain. Last year in the metropolis, I happened to meet him. He was then deputy captain of the Bureau’s station, quite famous in the city—spies from all factions had heard of him.”

The young man, seeing the captain’s interest, continued, “His name is Li Wensheng, trained at the Bureau’s academy, known as ‘Ghost Shadow.’”

“That nickname wasn’t self-chosen, nor was it an official Bureau codename. It was given by spies from all factions in the metropolis.”

Now the captain grew even more curious. “Tell me in detail.”

“Captain, all the spies in the metropolis called him ‘Ghost Shadow’ because his mission success rate was one hundred percent. During his operations, no one ever caught sight of him—he appeared and vanished like a phantom, hence the nickname.

I know of him because he once ran into us during an assassination mission. He eliminated the target, captured our men, and contacted us to confirm their identity. I accompanied Captain Xu to the Bureau to retrieve our personnel—that’s when I met him. The descriptions from our men revealed he was the elusive ‘Ghost Shadow.’

Later, Captain Xu investigated further and learned his name was Li Wensheng. His record wasn't truly flawless—his first mission in the metropolis failed. But over the next year, he carried out fifteen missions of all sizes, succeeding every time.”

The captain’s eyes widened like copper bells. Between one hundred percent and ninety percent, there’s a significant difference numerically—but for an operative, it’s negligible!

Every mission for a spy is fraught with risk.

Especially in the metropolis, a nexus of intelligence and espionage, with tangled factions and the Far East Intelligence Center—the risks are doubled. Each mission is like placing one’s head on the gambling table.

After his shock, the captain asked quietly, “What does he think of us in the Central Bureau?”

Hearing how formidable Li Wensheng was, he considered recruiting him—the Bureau would be wasting such talent.

“Captain, I really don’t know. I only met him once,” the young man replied uneasily.

Then, recalling something, he quickly added, “But I’ve heard our comrades discuss ‘Ghost Shadow,’ saying that if they’d achieved so much, they’d have been promoted to a major by now, maybe even become a captain. Yet, when Captain Xu looked into him, Li Wensheng was still an army lieutenant, serving as deputy captain.”

The captain’s eyes lit up, smiling. “Looks like he has no connections in the Bureau—so many achievements yet still just a lieutenant. When he comes down, go find him. Tell him I’d like to talk.”

“Yes, Captain!”

While the Central Bureau group conversed, Li Wensheng used a wire to open the locked, empty photo studio and slipped inside.