owlsbooks Chapter 6 Espionage
Chapter 6 Espionage
As night deepened, the hustle and bustle of Qinghe Town's wharf had long since faded away, leaving only the monotonous sound of the river lapping against the shore and the occasional bark of a dog in the distance.
In the shantytown, the laborers, exhausted from a day's work, snored loudly, and the air was filled with the stench of sweat and the fishy smell of the river.
Lin Mo sat up silently from the communal bed, as if a ghost hadn't disturbed anyone around him. He changed into the relatively intact black outfit he had salvaged from the soldiers' corpses, neatly tied his hair back, and blended into the shadows.
The clues he discovered the day before yesterday were like cat claws scratching at his heart. The mystery of the missing goods had to be solved as soon as possible. This was not only related to whether he could gain a foothold in the canal gang, but it might also involve some power or information that he needed.
He moved like a gecko along the edge of the shack area, avoiding the scattered patrols of the canal gang members, and soon arrived at the dock area. The cargo yard, bustling during the day, was now empty and silent, with only a few flickering lanterns casting dappled shadows in the night wind. The Jia-class warehouse area remained a key area of security, with two canal guards carrying water-splitting spikes, leaning against the warehouse doors on either side. They appeared relaxed, but their eyes occasionally swept around, maintaining a basic level of vigilance.
Lin Mo's target wasn't the most heavily guarded Warehouse A, but rather the adjacent Warehouse C. Based on his observations during the day, Warehouse C mainly stored moderately valuable, fast-moving goods such as cloth, medicinal herbs, and ordinary porcelain. The guarding was relatively lax, with only one gang member dozing at the entrance. More importantly, behind Warehouse C was an area piled with scrap wood and miscellaneous items, right next to the abandoned pier where he had noticed something unusual.
He circled around to the back of Warehouse C, crouching low, moving almost parallel to the ground. The musty smell of the discarded timber effectively masked his odor. He hid behind a pile of tattered fishing nets, his sharp eyes scanning the back wall of the warehouse and the direction of the pier.
Time passed slowly, the moon rose high in the sky, and the mist on the river seemed to thicken. Just when Lin Mo thought there would be no harvest tonight, a very slight creaking sound came from the back door of the C-class warehouse.
The small door, rarely opened, was slowly pushed open a crack from the inside. A dark figure peeked out, looked around warily for a moment, and then slipped out. Immediately afterward, another dark figure followed, and the two of them together carried a heavy sack out of the warehouse.
By the dim moonlight, Lin Mo recognized the two men as the gang members who had been in charge of inventorying the goods in Warehouse C at the dock during the day. One was named Li Si, and the other Wang Wu; they usually seemed quite honest and unassuming. Now, however, they moved swiftly, their eyes gleaming, a stark contrast to their daytime personas.
They carried the sacks, not heading towards the main entrance of the dock, but directly towards the abandoned pier. Upon reaching the pier, they checked again to make sure no one was around, then together they sank the sacks into the unusually dense area of water plants. The sacks entered the water, creating only a small ripple, which was quickly covered by the water plants, as if they had never existed.
After doing all this, the two quickly retreated to Warehouse C, closed the back door, and everything returned to silence.
Lin Mo held his breath, a cold smile playing on his lips. Just as he suspected! The mole was among the gang members guarding the warehouse; they had used their positions to smuggle goods out of the warehouse and hide them in the water.
This method is indeed insidious; who would have thought that the lost cargo had never actually left the dock waters?
He didn't act immediately, but continued to wait patiently. Two low-level gang members alone could never have the audacity or ability to steal goods systematically and over a long period; there must be someone instigating it.
About the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the faint sound of splashing came from downstream. Several dark figures emerged silently like water ghosts; they were the same group Lin Mo had seen the night before. They expertly infiltrated the hiding place, and one of them dived into the water, quickly pulling out the sack that had just sunk. The others spread out around to keep watch, their movements professional and their teamwork seamless.
Just as they were preparing to sneak away again with the goods, the small door of Warehouse C opened once more. This time, it wasn't Li Si or Wang Wu who came out, but a slightly overweight middle-aged man wearing a silk jacket. Lin Mo had seen this man a few times during the day; he was a minor manager in charge of cargo scheduling at the dock, surnamed Qian, and the gang members all called him Manager Qian.
With a fawning yet nervous smile on his face, Manager Qian quickly walked to the edge of the pier and whispered to the leader of the shadowy figures, "Master Liu, this is tonight's 'goods'—ten bolts of top-quality Sichuan brocade."
The man in the water, known as "Master Liu," had half his face above the water. He had a strong profile and sharp eyes. He glanced at the sack, nodded slightly, and said in a hoarse voice, "Yes, the usual, money and goods settled." He gestured for his men to toss a small cloth bag to Manager Qian.
Manager Qian took the cloth bag, weighed it in his hand, and his smile widened: "Thank you, Master Liu! Don't worry, everything is in order here, there won't be any problems."
Master Liu snorted coldly: "The gang's been cracking down lately, so you'd better be careful and don't leave any evidence. We'll let you know when the next 'goods' are coming."
"Yes, yes, I understand, I understand." Manager Qian nodded and bowed repeatedly.
Having read this far, Lin Mo understood.
This was a chain of operations involving collusion between an insider and a mysterious external force, using waterways to secretly transport stolen goods. Manager Qian abused his power, arranging for his trusted confidants to secretly transport selected goods out of the warehouse at night, hide them in the water, and then have Liu Ye and others, who were excellent swimmers, retrieve them under cover of darkness.
The entire process bypassed numerous checkpoints and inspections on land, remaining completely undetected.
Just as Manager Qian was about to turn around and leave, and Master Liu and the others were about to take the goods away, a sudden change occurred!
A splash came from a reed bed further downstream. Immediately afterwards, a sharp whooshing sound rang out!
"Whoosh!" A crossbow bolt shot out like a venomous snake, its target aimed directly at Master Liu in the water!
Master Liu reacted extremely quickly, suddenly plunging downwards. The crossbow bolt grazed his scalp and embedded itself in a wooden post of the pier behind him, its fletching still trembling.
"There's an ambush!" Liu Ye's voice rang out, filled with shock and anger.
Almost simultaneously, several figures leaped from the surrounding shadows, wielding steel knives, and attacked Liu Ye and his group in the water, as well as Manager Qian on the shore. These people moved swiftly and coordinated perfectly, clearly having been prepared in advance.
Manager Qian was terrified. He screamed and tried to run into the warehouse, but was kicked to the ground by an ambush and a steel knife was immediately placed against his neck.
The battle in the water intensified. Master Liu and his men were clearly skilled fighters; though startled by the sudden attack, they remained calm, drawing their short blades and engaging the attackers who had jumped into the water in fierce combat. Water splashed everywhere, blades flashed, and the muffled groans and clashing weapons were particularly jarring in the quiet night.
Lin Mo remained hidden in the shadows, coldly observing the sudden escalation of the conflict. The attackers clearly outnumbered them and, having come prepared, quickly gained the upper hand. Liu Ye's men were repeatedly cut down in the water, their blood staining the river crimson. Although Liu Ye himself was highly skilled in martial arts, agile in the water, and ruthless with his sword, having killed two attackers in succession, he was also overwhelmed by the onslaught and sustained several wounds.
"Who sent you?" Master Liu shouted sternly as he fought back.
One of the attackers, who appeared to be the leader, grinned maliciously: "We'll ask him when we get to the King of Hell!" He then intensified his attack with his steel knife.
Lin Mo's mind raced. Who were these attackers? Was it an internal purge within the Canal Gang? Or a double-cross? Judging from their skills and teamwork, they didn't seem like ordinary gang members; they were more like highly trained thugs or... people from the military?
Just then, the leader of the attackers, seemingly confident of victory, shouted at the struggling Liu Ye, "Put down your weapons, tell us your origins and contact person, and I'll spare your life!"
Master Liu spat out a mouthful of blood, his eyes flashing fiercely: "Dream on!"
"Then don't blame me for being ruthless!" The leader's eyes turned cold, and he was about to order a full-scale attack.
Suddenly, a dark figure darted out from behind the pile of discarded timber like a large bird, moving with astonishing speed! Its target was clear: the subdued Manager Qian!
The attacker who had restrained Manager Qian felt a blur before his eyes, a sharp pain shooting through his wrist, and the steel knife slipped from his grasp. Before he could even see the attacker's face clearly, he was struck hard in the chest, sent flying backward, crashing into the warehouse wall before slid down limply.
The sudden dark figure was Lin Mo. He grabbed the limp Manager Qian as if he were a chick, and with a flash, he disappeared into the deeper darkness, vanishing into the complex shadows of the dock's buildings in a few leaps.
All of this happened in the blink of an eye. By the time the attackers reacted, Lin Mo and Manager Qian had already vanished without a trace.
In the water, taking advantage of the opportunity, Master Liu suddenly dived into the depths, escaping the encirclement. He desperately fled downstream with the current, his figure quickly disappearing into the dark river surface. The remaining attackers looked at each other, their faces turning extremely grim as they saw the mess on the ground, the escaped Master Liu, and Manager Qian, who had been rescued by the mysterious man.
"Chase them! They can't have gone far!" the leader roared in exasperation, leading his men in pursuit of the direction Lin Mo had disappeared in.
Meanwhile, Lin Mo, along with the terrified Manager Qian, quietly left the dock area and returned to a secluded corner near the shack district.