Tang Shan Hai liked to sit in that large armchair, drinking brandy and smoking cigars. For long stretches of time, he said nothing, letting only the shifting light filter down through a round ventilation hole high above. The Military Command’s Shanghai station had been utterly destroyed. While Chongqing had not blamed Tang Shan Hai, he felt responsible for failing to save the station. He spent an eternity smoking his cigar, while Xu Bicheng silently placed a cup of hot coffee on the table in front of him. After smoking half of the cigar, Tang Shan Hai carefully snuffed it out with a cigar cutter. He looked seriously at Xu Bicheng and said, "We can’t wait for reinforcements from Chongqing any longer."
"What do you mean?" Xu Bicheng asked earnestly.
As he adjusted the tie at his collar and stood up, Tang Shan Hai said, "Zeng Shu and Su Sansheng need to die. Otherwise, the Japanese and Wang Jingwei will think the party has no one left."
Tang Shan Hai was like a solitary nail, driven deep into the heart of Shanghai. Until the new Military Command forces arrived in the city, the only strength he had was Xu Bicheng and a pair of pistols for each of them. Tang Shan Hai did not allow Xu Bicheng to participate in the operation. Three days later, near Jisifeier Road, in a narrow alley, he spotted Zeng Shu and Su Sansheng, apparently arguing about something. Holding a black umbrella that concealed his face, Tang Shan Hai passed by them. Su Sansheng had sensed a man walking past but only realized, too late, that the weather was clear and there was no need for an umbrella. By then, Tang Shan Hai had already lifted the black umbrella and quickly fired shots at both men. Zeng Shu was hit twice, but Su Sansheng dodged the bullets, bursting through a wooden door in the alley and escaping inside. When he emerged with his gun drawn and ready, the alley was empty. Only Zeng Shu lay there, convulsing in a pool of sticky blood, like a grasshopper whose head had been cut off.
Chen Shen, leading Bian Tou and a group of agents, was rushing toward the scene. From above the narrow alley, one could see clearly as Chen Shen turned into the alley just moments before Su Sansheng bent over Zeng Shu with a smirk. Zeng Shu, still twitching, heard the distant footsteps and strained to utter two words through the blood bubbling from his mouth: "Help me."
Su Sansheng leaned down and said, "If you want me to help you, then why have you been hogging the station chief position for so many years?"
Blood foam spilled from Zeng Shu’s lips as he struggled to say, "Help… me."
"Fine, I’ll help you," Su Sansheng said, standing up straight. A gunshot rang out, and Zeng Shu stopped twitching.
A minute later, Chen Shen rushed into the alley, followed by a line of agents like a school of fish. Breathless, Chen Shen stood face-to-face with Su Sansheng. Bian Tou knelt down to check Zeng Shu’s pulse, then stood and shook his head at Chen Shen.
Su Sansheng holstered his gun and said to Chen Shen, "The Military Command still has forces in Shanghai."
That day, Chen Shen found a black umbrella in the alley. It reminded him of the rainy night when he and Tang Shan Hai stood outside the Sassoon House. Three tarpaulin-covered military trucks had been waiting at the entrance, and Tang Shan Hai had been holding a black umbrella in the rain. Chen Shen signaled to Bian Tou, and two agents immediately dragged Zeng Shu’s body away, leaving a dark trail of blood on the ground like the trunk of a felled tree.
Su Sansheng followed Bian Tou and the others out of the alley, but Chen Shen remained standing there, lighting a cigarette. Leaning against the wall, he kept his gaze fixed on the black umbrella. When he finished smoking, he stubbed out the cigarette on the brick wall, picked up the umbrella, and closed it. Using it as a cane, he walked toward the bright mouth of the alley.
Chen Shen had become acutely aware that Tang Shan Hai, who had defected from Chongqing, could only be one of two things: either a Military Command undercover agent or a Communist infiltrator within the secret service headquarters. But regardless of which side he belonged to, during this period of cooperation between the Nationalists and the Communists, Tang Shan Hai was an ally, not an enemy.
Su Sansheng had a close call, but soon after his success in the purge of the Nationalist Military Command’s Shanghai station, his commendation came through. Acting on Li Shiqun’s orders, Bi Zhong Liang promoted Su Sansheng to the position of Second Squad Leader in the Direct Action Squad. Not long after, Major General Tadamasa Igusa, head of the Japanese secret service in Shanghai, granted Su Sansheng permission to establish the East Asian Political Research Institute. This meant that Su Sansheng now had his own domain. To celebrate, Bi Zhong Liang hosted a banquet at the Shanghai Hotel, arranging three tables for the Direct Action Squad and a few key figures from the 76th Bureau to demonstrate his support for Su Sansheng’s achievements. Sipping his wine, Bi Zhong Liang expressed his hope that more individuals like Su Sansheng would rise from the Direct Action Squad, and he genuinely conveyed his joy at Su’s promotion. It was clear that Bi Zhong Liang had had a bit too much to drink, as he wobbled when he walked, but his words were carefully measured, leaving no room for error. Chen Shen had been supporting him the whole time. After Su Sansheng left, Bi Zhong Liang had Chen Shen help him into a private room.
In the pitch-black, unlit room, Bi Zhong Liang smoked his first-ever cigarette. He asked Chen Shen for it, and Chen Shen lit it for him. The small, glowing embers of the cigarettes flickered in the dark. Bi Zhong Liang, despite the appearance of being drunk, had returned to his usual calm demeanor. He said soberly, "Damn, we’re licking blood off the blade here."
Bi Zhong Liang instructed Chen Shen to keep an eye on Su Sansheng. He feared that Su’s rapid rise to power might overshadow him, potentially leading to his removal by headquarters. Bi Zhong Liang also told Chen Shen to watch Tang Shan Hai closely, even though Li Shiqun, the head of the secret service, believed that Tang Shan Hai’s defection was genuine, given the gift he brought to headquarters. However, Bi Zhong Liang remained wary of Tang, feeling he wasn’t entirely trustworthy. He also shared that because of fears that Chongqing might send assassins after Su Sansheng, headquarters had agreed to let Su operate from a rented office outside. This location, a hidden red-brick house, was kept secret even from Bi Zhong Liang. To him, all of this was a signal that Su Sansheng was on the verge of being further elevated.
At that moment, Su Sansheng sat in a black Buick, flanked by another car for protection, disappearing into the night like two fish slipping through dark waters. From that point onward, Su Sansheng preferred to observe the night in Shanghai from the shadows. It was as if he had injected himself with a shot of adrenaline, his bloodshot eyes watching every inch of the darkened city. He reminded himself that it was time to adopt a more reclusive life. Though the Military Command’s organization had been decimated, it still had the strength to target Zeng Shu and himself. Su Sansheng resolved to begin investigating the hidden hand behind these threats starting the next day. Who could the assassin be? Faces quickly flashed through Su Sansheng’s mind, and one of them was undoubtedly Tang Shan Hai. He had been left with a strong impression of Tang that day at the Sassoon House, where, dripping wet and smiling like a lapdog, he stood before Tang Shan Hai, who puffed on his cigar with aristocratic grace. Su Sansheng chuckled silently in the darkness, recalling how Tang’s demeanor had made him feel distinctly uncomfortable.
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