“This contact point has never had any problems before. Should we observe for a while before making a decision?” Raymond Shaw said. He told Ray Yu that he had already sent Grace Hale to “look after” Howard Clark.

“Revolutionary work cannot rely on luck. Haven’t the bloody lessons of the past been enough to make us vigilant?” Ray Yu said angrily.

“All right, I’ll make arrangements right away. What should we do about Old Clark?” Raymond Shaw nodded solemnly. As a veteran Party member, he was well aware of the consequences of becoming complacent.

“Haven’t you already assigned someone? We can’t casually suspect our own comrades, but even more so, we can’t let a single traitor slip by! No matter what measures we take, our comrades will have no complaints.” Ray Yu said with great seriousness.

“How about this: today I’ll stay with Howard Clark, and go to the second contact point in the evening.” Raymond Shaw said thoughtfully. Howard Clark was also a veteran underground Party member, and deep down, he didn’t want to believe Howard Clark could be a traitor. But given the current grave situation, he had no choice but to be extra cautious. Recently, the Party organization on Guxing had suffered repeated destruction, and Howard Clark himself was already under suspicion.

“That’s fine, but you must be careful to maintain secrecy.” Ray Yu reminded him.

Chapter 11: The Objective

After being urgently relocated, Howard Clark was actually quite pleased. If it weren’t for his injuries, he would have already contacted Shawn Benson. If he had stayed at the Delicious Restaurant, he would have had no chance to communicate with the outside world. After the transfer, there was only one person taking care of him, and he had time alone every day.

After arriving at the new place, taking advantage of Raymond Shaw’s absence, Howard Clark wrote down all the new intelligence he knew. At dawn, the arrival of Grace Hale made him even more secretly delighted.

Grace Hale had a kind of blind admiration for him, which he could use to have her deliver messages for him. Before leaving Guxing, he had already discussed several methods of contact with Shawn Benson, including situations like now, where he couldn’t appear in person and had to rely on someone else.

“Xiao He, could I ask you for a favor?” Howard Clark suddenly said.

“You’re a veteran comrade, just say what you need—no need to be so formal!” Grace Hale replied happily. Having something to do was the only way to prove her value. She had returned to Guxing precisely to do more for the Party.

“After the surgery, I always feel hungry. I haven’t had the soup dumplings from Sijimei in a long time, and I’m really craving them…” Howard Clark said, a bit embarrassed.

“You just had surgery, of course you need to eat more. I’ll go buy them for you right away.” Grace Hale said immediately. She felt she had been careless—not even thinking of such a simple thing. What she didn’t realize was that the Delicious Restaurant could also make soup dumplings, or anything else Howard Clark wanted to eat.

“Could you also bring back the last three days’ copies of Wen Hui Bao?” Howard Clark added. This was his real goal.

Howard Clark wasn’t sure where Grace Hale would buy the newspapers, but he hoped she would go to the newsstand next to Sijimei. The newspaper boys on the street wouldn’t have three days’ worth; only the newsstand would.

Grace Hale had barely left when Raymond Shaw arrived. Seeing Raymond Shaw, Howard Clark was taken aback. He could understand Grace Hale coming to look after him—after all, she was a passionate young revolutionary. But Raymond Shaw was the head of the contact point and, in public, the manager of the Delicious Restaurant. Why would he come to visit during the day?

Moreover, the look Raymond Shaw gave him was very complicated, making him feel uneasy. After his betrayal, Howard Clark had become extremely sensitive to everything. Now, he just wanted to finish his task quickly and start enjoying his wealth and status.

“Where’s Xiao He?” Raymond Shaw’s mood was very different as he saw Howard Clark again.

“I wanted to eat Sijimei’s soup dumplings, so she volunteered to go buy them.” Howard Clark avoided Raymond Shaw’s sharp gaze, speaking a bit guiltily.

“If you want soup dumplings, you could have come to my place. The only difference is the reputation—taste-wise, it’s just as good.” Raymond Shaw said. Since he ran a restaurant, why go out of your way?

If it weren’t for that note, he might not have cared. But now, every decision Howard Clark made seemed to have some ulterior motive.

“I really didn’t think of that.” Howard Clark said, embarrassed.

Raymond Shaw gave Howard Clark a deep look, then quickly left the small courtyard. He followed the route to Sijimei, hoping to catch up with Grace Hale. As soon as he reached the first intersection, he saw Grace Hale sitting in a rickshaw.

From a distance, Raymond Shaw saw Grace Hale. Just as he was about to approach, he suddenly noticed a suspicious-looking bicycle following behind her at a steady pace. This shocked Raymond Shaw, and he immediately pulled back.

The cyclist was a young man in his twenties, dressed in blue. If you weren’t paying close attention, it would be hard to notice he was tailing her. Grace Hale lacked experience in underground work and had no idea she was being followed. After getting out of the rickshaw, she didn’t even look back and went straight to knock on the courtyard door.