Xister Kingdom Spy Operation III

Sitting on the train, the man deeply appreciated its convenience, and even though it was only for a short time, he developed a strong liking for the train.

He silently prayed that the mission would go smoothly, so that their kingdom could acquire Steam Engine Technology and upgrade its navigation technology. Perhaps in the Xister Kingdom would also have a convenient means of transportation like railway trains.

Upon arriving in Woodfort City, the man, disguised as a fur trader, got busy again.

After strolling around the largest fur trading market in Woodfort City, he found that the price of cowhides here was indeed cheaper than in Northwind City.

After some calculations, he took out some of the money he had with him and bought a considerable amount of cowhide, just like a normal merchant.

Later, he found a carriage company in Woodfort City and hired several carriages from them to transport the cowhides, along with himself, to Sea Song Town.

He planned to take a ship south from there, first returning to Sunset City in Suffolk County, and then boarding a passenger ship from Sunset City to the Liège Peninsula.

The process went smoothly, and the man breathed a sigh of relief upon arriving in Sea Song Town. He wasn't subjected to any unusual questioning, indicating that their operation was successful and there had been no leaks so far.

According to the plan, they should have already loaded the machine onto the ship and started transporting it back to China. Thinking of this, the man was very happy; all he had to do now was get on the ship and be safe.

However, just as he was asking the ship owner about cargo prices at the port, he was suddenly taken away by a group of people in black uniforms.

The ship owner, who was preparing to discuss cargo space prices with the man, was also quite frightened. He only breathed a sigh of relief after the men in black uniforms questioned him, took his statement, and led the man away.

"It's a miracle I wasn't implicated!"

The boat owner was also a frequent customer of the Two Rivers County and had a particularly strong impression of the men in black uniforms. They often had mysterious clients who were taken away by these men and never appeared again.

These people, who typically appear at dusk, are also known as the Night Demons of Two Rivers County.

However, everyone vaguely knew the identities of these Night Demons. They were most likely spies under the command of the Marquis Golden Sunflower, specifically used to capture spies who came to Two Rivers County, or people who harbored malice towards the Golden Sunflower Family.

The ship owner realized that the fur merchant who had asked him for prices earlier was no good person, so he stopped trying to sell the remaining empty cargo holds at the port and set sail with the ship, which was more than half empty.

He didn't want to get involved in this; it would be bad if those Night Demons came after him again.

A day later, in an interrogation room of the Internal Security Bureau, the spy from the Xister Kingdom, who had been disguised as a merchant, was awakened by being doused with water.

He groggily opened his eyes, and upon seeing the person in front of him, he jolted awake and quickly said, "I'll talk, I'll talk! Stop torturing me!"

The Internal Security Bureau officer looked at the spy who had already given in and smiled contemptuously, "Give in so quickly? You bunch of rats from the Xister Kingdom aren't very resilient!"

Then he immediately put on another face. "Tell me, where exactly did the Z72-1 small Marine Steam Engine that was taken from our Workshop in Northwind City go?"

"I'm not entirely sure either, but I do know that we'll transport it by land to Suffolk County by wagon, and from there it will be sailed back to the Xister Kingdom."

As for whether it departed from Sunset City in Suffolk County or another coastal port, I'm not sure.

"Go on, tell me everything you know!"

"... This is the entire plan that our captain told me before; I don't know anything else!"

The officer from the Internal Security Bureau, with a serious expression, wrote down everything he heard on a piece of paper, asked for some more details, and then left the room.

Upon arriving outside the room, he saw another internal security officer who was already waiting and immediately saluted. "Chief, what brings you here?"

Can I not come?

We've made such a huge mess, and we still haven't recovered the stolen Steam Engine. Even though we've arrested a bunch of people, where is that machine?

Did you get anything out of them? Let me see!

The Internal Security Bureau officer who had been in charge of the interrogation immediately handed the previous interrogation materials to the bureau chief and explained, "Based on the confessions of the people we have arrested recently, we have found that they probably did not know the specific operation plan either, or it was simply concealed from them by their superiors."

Their testimonies were consistent; they all said that the Steam Engine was transported by horse-drawn carriage overland, and that they had used various means to clear all the checkpoints along the way.

In reality, we dispatched a large number of people to block their carriages on land and found three carriages, which contained nothing but some suspected contraband.

The officers of the Garrison Army at the checkpoints, who had been bribed, all assumed they were just small-time smugglers trying to smuggle contraband.

Therefore, we believe that, like the statements of these spies, these three carriages are most likely a smokescreen to divert our attention.

They must have transported this Steam Engine through other channels, possibly by waterway southward via the Grand Canal Northwind City.

Moreover, their destination is unlikely to be a coastal port in Suffolk County; they might head further south, perhaps to the ports in the Eastern Sea Province, where our forces are weaker.

After listening to the interrogation and reviewing the interrogation records, the director of the Internal Security Bureau slammed the notebook shut.

He rubbed his forehead and said, "This is not good. If they had traveled by water, they should have already arrived in Eastern Sea Province by now."

Our Internal Security Bureau there is still too weak. Except for Qinghe County, which is the Duke's territory, where we have a branch.

In the other coastal counties, we have no people at all, not even troops stationed there, so there's no way we can complete the border blockade.

Forget it, our Internal Security Bureau probably can't do much more in this matter.

I immediately telegraphed the navy, requesting the garrison fleet in Qinghe County to patrol the coast of Eastern Sea Province and search for suspicious vessels, lest they actually allow the machine to be stolen.

The Internal Security Bureau officer nodded in agreement; he approved of his superior's plan.

Soon, the Internal Security Bureau issued an official notice to the Golden Sunflower Navy Department.

The Navy Department immediately understood the gravity of the matter upon learning of it. Although it was just a small Marine Steam Engine, the leakage of related technology would definitely reduce the navy's technological advantage.

If the Xister Kingdom uses Steam Engine Technology on a large scale, it will not only greatly enhance their shipping capabilities, but also put greater pressure on their navy.

After all, the Xister Kingdom Navy had not suffered heavy losses in the previous war and was still very large. Once the technology was upgraded, combined with the size of the Xister Kingdom Navy, it would be a terrifying opponent.

The Internal Security Bureau and the Navy reached a consensus that this matter could not be let go so easily; they had to find a way to intercept the stolen Steam Engine.

For a long time afterward, the Golden Sunflower Navy fleet stationed in Qinghe County, the territory of the Golden Sunflower Family in the Eastern Sea Province, began to patrol the waters of the Eastern Sea Province, inspecting ships bound for the Xister Kingdom in an attempt to find the Steam Engine.

This behavior caused chaos among ships along the entire route and even sparked protests from many passing merchants.

In particular, many of the merchant ships on those shipping routes belonged to the Vela Nobles. Fortunately, the Golden Sunflower Family, especially Victor, had a lot of influence within the Vela Nobles. Although everyone had grievances, they were not going to fall out over this matter, and no one refused the inspection of the Golden Sunflower Navy fleet.

Even so, the navy spent a month searching back and forth, but still couldn't find the machine.

One day, the Internal Security Bureau received a tip that the stolen small Marine Steam Engine had been found in an abandoned warehouse inside Northwind City.

When the Internal Security Bureau personnel arrived at the scene, they indeed found the ship 'Marine Steam Engine, whose serial number was exactly the same as the stolen one.

This dilapidated warehouse is only 500 meters away from the stolen Workshop, indicating that the stolen machine never left Northwind City and was even right next to the Workshop.

This discovery shocked the entire Internal Security Bureau, especially considering that the machine was found to have been disassembled and then restored.

The Internal Security Bureau immediately understood what the enemy had done: they had stolen the machine and had no intention of sending it back to the Xister Kingdom. Instead, they had organized personnel on the spot to dismantle the machine.

Those involved in this operation included not only spies from the Xister Kingdom, but also a number of technicians. These technicians not only disassembled the machines, but also drew all the parts, and after restoring them, they took away all the drawings and documents.

The Xister Kingdom's Spy Organization has no intention of transporting the machine back to the country; all their actions, including those of the undisclosed spies, are a smokescreen.

Moreover, judging by the timeline, those technical blueprints should have already been returned to the Xister Kingdom long ago.

This incident shocked the Internal Security Bureau, who had been deceived by the Spy Organization of the Xister Kingdom, which they had always looked down upon.

The head of the Internal Security Bureau understood that at this point, they had no choice but to swallow this bitter pill.

The Internal Security Bureau's duties are limited to internal security and counter-espionage tasks; it cannot send people to deal with those who steal these related technical blueprints.

Such intelligence gathering and assassination work can only be handled by the territory's Intelligence Department, and to mobilize the Intelligence Department's special operations team capable of carrying out such tasks, a personal letter from the lord is required.