I Was Supposed to Go Undercover, So Why Did You Turn Death Row Into a Safe House?

From the start, a torture chamber.

The captured underground operative was covered in wounds, but clenched his teeth and said nothing. Section Chief Wu pulled out a red-hot branding iron, ready to force a confession.

Xiao Lin walked in with a teacup and kicked the brazier aside. “Section Chief Wu, the man’s wearing a Swiss Rolex. If you ruin it, are you going to pay for it? Let me see if I can squeeze some money out of him.”

He picked up an abacus, sat down in front of the prisoner, and began rattling the beads.

The others assumed he was calculating how many silver dollars he could extort from the prisoner, and at first the prisoner felt humiliated too.

But as the beads clicked crisply against one another, the prisoner's unfocused gaze began to sharpen.

He wasn't doing accounts. He was sending Morse code.

“The list has been destroyed. Our comrades have been moved. Just give me a quick death!” the prisoner shouted. “You want money? I'll give you all of it!” Then he charged headfirst into an iron pillar nearby.

Section Chief Wu flew into a rage.

Xiao Lin calmly hung the abacus back on his belt, removed the watch from the dead man's wrist, and tossed it to his subordinate Zhao San. “Take it to the black market and pawn it. Use the money to buy anti-inflammatory medicine for the front lines.”