Eighth District

"Section Chief Kitagawa, I trust the information you gave me before wasn't the whole truth. Since that's the case, aside from Ming Jing's sudden exposure, did anything else go wrong?"

"Not at present."

Wang Yan sipped his tea with a smile and said nothing more. His meaning was obvious: this was directed at him.

"Mr. Wang, let me apologize once again. Please forgive me." Kitagawa Kosuke, seated on his knees, braced both hands on his thighs, straightened himself, and bowed his head, displaying Japan's fine traditions.

"Forgive you? Of course I forgive you. Section Chief Kitagawa, if I were in your position, I would have been suspicious too. The difference is that I wouldn't have asked outright. I would have watched quietly. I believe Mr. Iwai is well aware of that. Over all these years, there has never been any shortage of eyes around me. If I truly had a problem, Section Chief Kitagawa, I'm afraid we would never have come to know one another."

"Mr. Wang, don't overthink it. This is also for your protection." Iwai Eiichi smiled. "The incident came too suddenly and disrupted Kitagawa's arrangements. His expectations were too high, and when reality failed to match them, it was only natural for him to lose his composure."

"After making arrangements for so long, surely you didn't come away empty-handed?"

Kitagawa Kosuke sighed. "Of course we gained something, but as Mr. Iwai said, our expectations were too high. If things had developed according to plan, we could have gradually grasped the situation at the Red Party's Shanghai liaison station and destroyed their communication lines. But Ming Jing's sudden exposure disrupted our deployment. Although I have not yet received the results of the operation, I doubt we caught anyone important."

"If I'm not mistaken, you must have either turned