RNP Chapter 16 Destroying the Corpse and Covering Up the Evidence
Chapter 16 Destroying the Corpse and Covering Up the Evidence
At No. 33 Binlang Road, there is a waste treatment plant. The incinerator here operates 24 hours a day, burning over 100 tons of waste every day. They need to hire people every day, but there aren't many long-term workers, and they often need temporary workers.
Many people have heard that garbage is burned here, and there are rumors that the smell is bad for people's health. Therefore, there are very few long-term workers. Only a few workers come to work every day if they are really desperate and have no other choice.
The stench of sourness mixed with burnt smells could be smelled from afar. Yan Shuo, dressed in faded coarse work clothes with a patch of black ash on his cuff, was stopped by the portly manager as soon as he entered the room—the manager had a half-smoked cigarette between his fingers, and his eyelids drooped as he glanced at him: "New guy? Don't you know the rules?"
Yan Shuo quickly pulled out a banknote and stuffed it in, his fingertips stained with some ash from the stove, and smiled honestly: "Manager Wang, please take care of me. My family is waiting for rice to cook."
Manager Wang stuffed the money into his pocket and ground his cigarette butt on the ground: "Be sensible. Night shift, keep an eye on the incinerator. It's an easy job, just the smell is a bit strong—don't be lazy, make sure it's thoroughly burned before calling for more fuel."
Yan Shuo agreed and walked towards the incinerator area.
The heat wave from the furnace, carrying a foul stench, rushed over. Several long-term workers squatted in the corner, some dozing in tattered cotton-padded coats, others munching on dry steamed buns. They only glanced up when they saw him coming.
"New here?" a worker with a scar on his face shouted. "This job is inhuman; we're risking our lives for a couple of silver dollars!"
Yan Shuo squatted by the stove, added a handful of coal, and mumbled, "It's better than going hungry."
Night shift, two silver dollars a day. The job is simple, just watch the stove, and when the food is almost done, call someone to add more fuel. It's basically garbage.
While no one was paying much attention and everyone was resting on the side, Yan Shuo would occasionally throw a corpse in. He had accumulated quite a few corpses over the past few days, but he was too lazy to dig them up or sink them in the river. If they were found after being thrown out, there would be even more trouble, so burning them would save him the trouble.
After disposing of all the remaining corpses, Yan Shuo waited until dawn to leave work. He received two silver dollars. "Great," he thought, "I only spent less than one silver dollar to destroy the evidence. That was a bonus for the manager and the team leader. I'll come back next time. It was really worth it."
Following the order of their contacts, Yan Shuo learned detailed information about the four groups: Bluebird, Black Knife, Yellow Dog, and Lone Wolf.
Bluebird Team (Function: intelligence gathering/transmission, telegram sending)
Intelligence agent Shen Yanqing, codenamed Mobi, infiltrated a foreign company in the French Concession as a clerk. He was skilled at extracting information about the transportation of enemy supplies from business contracts and could imitate seven different handwriting styles. He once forged a Japanese "supply transfer order" to deceive checkpoints.
Intelligence agent Lin Manqiu, codenamed Embroidery Needle, disguised herself as an embroiderer in a lane embroidery shop. She made contact with ladies from all walks of life under the guise of picking up goods, and extracted information about the home addresses and social schedules of Japanese and puppet military officers. She was so meticulous that she could identify customers from the patterns on their cheongsams.
Telegraph operator Su Ling, codenamed Bai Ling, hid in the attic of a tailor shop to send messages. Her method was fast and her signals were well concealed. Once, while the Japanese army was patrolling in a telecommunications detection vehicle, she sent messages continuously for 15 minutes without being located.
Liaison officer Xu Heng, codenamed Postman, travels the streets and alleys as a newspaper deliveryman, using newspaper creases as coded messages to transmit intelligence. He can memorize 30 sets of code words without missing a single one.
Black Blade Squad (Functions: Assassination, Sabotage, Theft)
Team leader Zhao Lie, codenamed Black Edge, was a former assassination instructor at the Central Military Academy. He was skilled in close-quarters combat with a short knife, and his attacks were always aimed at vital points. He once single-handedly killed two Japanese and puppet regime agents and escaped unscathed.
operative Chen Rui, codenamed Qingren, is an expert in lock picking and demolition. He can open a Japanese military warehouse safe in 5 minutes and once blew up a Japanese military oil depot in Hongkou.
Detective Zhou Hu, codenamed Xuanci, disguises himself as a rickshaw puller and is skilled at assassinating with poison needles. He can get close to his target in a crowd without being noticed.
Activist Wu Meng, codenamed Heavy Hammer, possesses immense strength and can control targets with a short stick. He once hijacked two boxes of pistols smuggled by the Japanese and their collaborators at the dock.
operative Zheng Fei, codenamed Swift Shadow, is a sprinter and is responsible for covering the rear after the operation. He can outrun Japanese patrols in alleys.
operative Wang An, codenamed Ghost Hand, can change his appearance within 10 minutes. He once impersonated a Japanese officer to infiltrate a barracks and steal a defense map.
Action member Li Gang, codenamed Iron Shield, is skilled in suppressing fire with a pistol and once covered the entire team's evacuation during a gunfight in the concession.
Yellow Dog Team (Functions: Infiltration and disguise, seduction and sedation, logistics)
Team leader Huang Mo, codenamed Yellow Dog, disguises himself as a market stall owner and keeps track of the movements of people in half of Shanghai's alleyways. He serves as the team's information hub.
Liu Kuai, codenamed Quick Knife, is a butcher in disguise. He is skilled with his knife and can conceal a short knife while chopping meat to kill his target at close range.
Zhang Duan, codenamed Short Blade, was a shoemaker in disguise. He concealed a poisoned blade in his shoe awl and once killed a Japanese puppet regime agent while repairing his shoes.
Liu Yan, a beautiful woman codenamed Yingyu, is a dancer at the Paramount Ballroom. She moves among Japanese and puppet military officers to extract information about military banquets and travel routes.
The beautiful Su Yan, codenamed Yanwu, is a secretary at a foreign firm who, under the guise of organizing documents, steals a map of the Japanese garrison's deployment in Shanghai.
The waiter, Ma Cha, codenamed Chazhan, works in the tea room of a grand hotel. He passes notes while pouring tea and monitors conversations between enemy agents in private rooms.
Waiter's money tray, codenamed "dining tray," is a Western restaurant waiter who uses serving dishes to observe the secret telegrams and documents carried by guests.
Liaison officer He Qiao, codenamed Thread, disguised as a needle and thread vendor, travels between various infiltration points to deliver supplies and codes.
Lone Wolf Team (Role: Long-range sniping, pinpoint elimination)
Sniper Gu Han, codenamed Lone Eagle, is a former Yunnan Army sniper. He can hit a Japanese officer's binoculars from 800 meters away and is skilled at hiding in clock towers/rooftops.
Jiang Ju, codenamed Han Ju, was a sniper with excellent eyesight in his left eye. He could identify the features of a target 500 meters away even on cloudy days. He once assassinated a Japanese intelligence officer.
Liaison officer Yin Ying, codenamed Yingxian, is a photographer in disguise. He uses the viewfinder to mark sniper positions and transmit target locations and evacuation routes.
Including Li Zhiyao and himself, their group had a total of 24 people, not counting informants.
With the lives and fortunes of so many people suddenly on his shoulders, Yan Shuo felt a little breathless.
After finishing get off work at dawn, Yan Shuo received two silver dollars and turned into the vegetable market at the alley entrance as soon as he left the garbage dump. Huang Mo, the leader of the Yellow Dog Group, was guarding the vegetable stall, holding a steelyard scale in his hand. When he saw Yan Shuo coming over, he weighed the cabbage for the customer while giving him a wink.
After the customer left, Huang Mo stuffed a scallion into Yan Shuo's hand and said in a low voice, "Brother Jie, there's been some progress on the matter of Huang Sitang that you asked about."
"Tell me about it." Yan Shuo pinched a scallion, pretending to pick a radish.
Huang Mo tapped the vegetable basket with the scale rod: "That old bastard recently booked a long room at the Peace Hotel and drinks with smugglers every day—Yingyu sneaked in last night and heard him say, 'The next shipment will go through Pier No. 3 at Wusongkou. The containers are branded with 'golden toad patterns,' and it's opium mixed with Western medicine. Also, he has a warehouse in the French Concession, in an alley on Avenue Joffre. The guards are two armed puppet policemen who change shifts at 3 AM and 5 PM."
He paused, then spat into his palm: "We haven't figured out the vault situation yet, but Yanwu has infiltrated his trading company as a secretary. She said there's an encrypted ledger in his desk drawer, and we need to find a chance to steal it."
Yan Shuo nodded: "Keep an eye on the warehouse guards, don't alert them—we'll make our move once Black Knife has figured out the dock route."
In the afternoon, Yan Shuo went to the abandoned warehouse at the dock. Zhao Lie of the Black Knife Group was leaning against the wall, sharpening a short knife. The blade gleamed coldly in the light.
Seeing him come in, Zhao Lie stuck his knife into his boot and said crisply, "I've figured out what's going on with the Asakusa Trading Company's containers. They're all branded with 'cherry blossom patterns.' They're being unloaded at the East Warehouse at Pier 7. There are four Japanese soldiers guarding them, and they change shifts every two hours."
"Can we sneak in?" Yan Shuo kicked the broken wooden box at his feet.
Zhao Lie scoffed: "Qing Ren has already made contact with the dockworkers, and he can sneak in and carry goods tomorrow—he said there are a few locked metal containers in the warehouse that look like they contain hard goods, probably sulfonamides."
He paused, then pointed towards the dock: "I had Xuanci keep an eye on the manager of the trading company. That guy goes to the dock every afternoon to check the goods and can find out the combination lock numbers for the warehouse."
In the evening, Yan Shuo met Xu Heng, the liaison officer and postman for the Bluebird Group, at the newsstand. Xu Heng was squatting on the ground sorting newspapers. When he saw Yan Shuo coming over, he handed him a folded-corner copy of the Shen Bao newspaper: "Brother Jie, we have news from undercover agent Xiao Lin. He's now a handyman at the 76th Division and can clean Wu Sibao's office—we need to give him a 'merit,' like reporting a fake contact point so he can 'catch' a 'Military Intelligence Bureau spy.' That way, he can be promoted to a gofer and get closer to the core."
"The fake contact point has to be convincing." Yan Shuo held the newspaper, his fingertips tracing the creases. "The location is chosen to be a dilapidated temple in Nanshi. Arrange for a brother to pose as a spy so that Xiao Lin 'coincidentally' bumps into it—afterwards, get Xiao Lin an alibi, for example, that he was buying cigarettes for Wu Sibao at the time."
Xu Heng nodded and straightened the newspaper: "Bailing has already prepared the false information. I'll have the postman deliver it tomorrow."