Boss Dai did not reach for the report respectfully offered to him.
He stared straight at Lin Zhao, then suddenly laughed. "The newspaper stated quite clearly that the military police killed a total of twenty-seven undercover operatives this time."
"That matches the number of men we sent out exactly."
"And the Japanese made a great show of announcing in Shen Bao that they deployed two full-strength squads to surround these men from different directions."
"Director Lin, are you now telling me that one of our agents managed to escape an encirclement of over a hundred Japanese soldiers from two full-strength squads?"
"Do you think he's Superman?"
Lin Zhao replied, "Chief, I know it's hard to believe, but the agent who escaped left intelligence in the dead drop on Luban Road in the French Concession."
"He said he grabbed a local thug, changed into the man's clothes, and knocked over a kerosene lamp."
"He used a shed-the-shell escape, staging the scene to look as though he had accidentally knocked over the kerosene lamp after being shot, then slipped away in the chaos."
"Chief, whether it's true or not, at the very least, as long as one man survived, we can't call this operation a complete failure."
"You can also tell the higher-ups that we merely suffered heavy losses. That's an entirely different thing from total failure."
"Even if Director Xu wanted to target you, he wouldn't be able to find fault with that."
After a moment's silence, Boss Dai finally took the telegram from him and read it through twice.
"Buddy? Who's that?"
Lin Zhao had come prepared and answered without hesitation, "Buddy is the code name of Chen Fan, an agent of the Fuxing Society."
"He was born in the fourth year of the Republic, with his ancestral home in Peach Blossom Spring Town, Wuzhou, Zhejiang Province. He was discovered in Jinling in the twenty-third year of the Republic and joined the Fuxing Society's Operations and Training Department."
"He graduated after a year of study at the Operations and Training Battalion and currently serves in the Third Operations Team of the Second Battalion. This time, he was selected for an undercover assignment in Shanghai."
"Chen Fan? You don't mean the fellow who resold cigarettes and liquor in the barracks, do you?" Boss Dai seemed to remember something. "Yes, I think I have some recollection of him."
"He wasn't just good at business. He was good at escaping, too. The Operations and Training Section held three capture exercises, and he escaped every time."
"Even during lockdown, he could slip out of camp under the watch room's surveillance and get hold of cigarettes and liquor..."
Looking embarrassed, Lin Zhao nevertheless nodded. "You have a good memory, Chief. That's him."
"His family ran boats when he was young, and he accompanied his father, Chen Zhongming, on business from childhood. He speaks several languages fluently and is exceptionally skilled at disguise, infiltration, reconnaissance, social interaction, combat, countersurveillance, and apprehension."
"He started out as an independent black-market trader. People in that line of work deal with life and death year-round, so his sense for danger is extremely sharp."
"From what I know of him, I wouldn't find it strange if he were the only one among those men who could escape."
Boss Dai nodded, looking somewhat displeased. "Director Lin, how could you send a man with such talents into the field?"
Lin Zhao gave a wry smile. "Chief, he does have some unusual talents, and he speaks several languages fluently, but being able to speak them doesn't mean he can read or write them."
"If you actually wrote intelligence down for him, he wouldn't understand it."
"Surely we couldn't assign him an interpreter just to read and write for him..."
"Besides, he's notorious for his love of money and women. Back in Jinling, whenever he had a little money, he would sneak off to enjoy himself on the pleasure boats on the Qinhuai River. His favorite saying was, 'Let the wind blow away the eggshells; once the money's gone, you can rest easy!'"
"Greedy, lustful, ruthless, and capable of escaping an encirclement of a hundred men. He certainly has the makings of a good field operative." Using the information Lin Zhao had provided, Boss Dai quickly sketched out a picture of Chen Fan.
Lin Zhao agreed. "Chief, although he has his character flaws, his abilities certainly deserve praise."
"Still, his skills really are extraordinary. During training, he could sneak out of the barracks under tight lockdown, get cigarettes and liquor outside, and bring them back to resell to his classmates."
"To be honest, even I have to admit I couldn't match him."
"Hmm. Director Lin, you're known as the Fuxing Society's assassination expert. If even you think so highly of him, he must indeed have some ability." Boss Dai offered a rare word of praise.
With that, Boss Dai leaned back slightly.
"Director Lin, what do you think of Chen Fan as a person?"
Lin Zhao froze for a moment, then immediately caught on. "Chief, do you suspect there was a mole in this operation? You suspect Chen Fan?"
Given Boss Dai's temperament, it would have been strange if he did not suspect Chen Fan...
But Boss Dai did not admit it. He merely said evenly, "I didn't say that. But out of all those men, he was the only survivor. Don't you think there's something odd about that?"
Lin Zhao said solemnly, "Chief, I know Chen Fan fairly well. He may fall short in minor matters, but he doesn't fail when it comes to the greater cause."
"He's made quite a few contributions during his years in the Fuxing Society, and he's ruthless toward the Japanese. I don't think it's very likely that he's gone over to them."
Boss Dai glanced at Lin Zhao. "You certainly trust him."
"But some things can't be judged by appearances alone. As the saying goes, distance tests a horse's strength, and time reveals a person's heart."
Hearing the implication in Boss Dai's words, Lin Zhao suggested, "Chief, why don't I go and investigate personally?"
"If there's something wrong with Chen Fan, I'll deal with him myself."
"You? Wouldn't that be a waste of your talents?" Boss Dai shook his head. "You have other things to do."
"The Japanese invaders are pressing forward, and the situation in Central China keeps deteriorating. Our superiors are already planning to retreat to the southwestern rear."
"Soon, we'll have to help the various agencies withdraw to Wuhan."
"You can't leave at a time like this."
"Then what about vetting Chen Fan?" Lin Zhao hesitated.
Boss Dai tapped his fingers lightly on the desk. After a long while, he seemed to make up his mind. "Have Lin Su go!"
"Director Lin, I want you to take care of two things now."
"First, as for Chen Fan's file, the report submitted by the Second Department should still list him as killed in action."
"Open a separate classified file for him, raise its classification to the highest level, and take personal charge of it."
"Second, invalidate every intelligence contact channel in Shanghai. Have Chen Fan remain undercover where he is, and send Lin Su to verify his actions under the pretext of being his partner."
"If any actual signs of betrayal are found, execute him on the spot."
"If Chen Fan is confirmed to be clear, Lin Su will serve as liaison officer from then on and oversee his operations, with you as the team's direct commander."
"From now on, you'll be responsible for arranging their operations."
Boss Dai remained cautious. He was also afraid that if Chen Fan really did turn out to be compromised, he would never escape the charge of having misjudged the man.
Now that Chen Fan was already a dead man in the internal files, if he was compromised, they could simply kill him without anyone knowing.
If he was not, then he was the only elite servant of the party-state to escape this operation, a capable man in its service.
That would also make him a top talent cultivated by their Fuxing Society. Either way, they would lose nothing.
As for explaining it to the old man, Boss Dai believed he could still persuade him...
"Yes, Chief." Lin Zhao stood at attention and saluted.
Boss Dai rose. "To avoid unnecessary complications, stop using Chen Fan's old code name."
"Since he likes money so much, I'll give him a new code name: God of Wealth."
Lin Zhao nodded. "Understood."