The passenger liner Princess Anne departed from Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and crossed the English Channel and bypassed the Strait of Gibraltar into the Mediterranean. After a few days of sailing, the steamer was about to enter the Greek port of Piraeus. This is the last stop of the Princess Anne in the Mediterranean, and then it will pass through the Suez Canal.

A man in his forties with a reddish-brown beard was now lying on his stomach in the first-class window of a passenger liner looking out of the beautiful Aegean Sea and the approaching paradise beaches.

Smirnov's nervousness is now a little more relaxed. Maybe he can really get away with it this time.

As a Finnish intelligence officer secretly sent by the Cheka, that is, the All-Union Security Committee, when he was sent back to China to prepare for an investigation a year ago because his superiors suspected him of embezzling the funds of the operation, Smirnov, who felt that something was wrong, gritted his teeth and surrendered to Finland.

As a result of Smirnov's whistleblowing, more than two dozen intelligence officers of the Soviet Security Council who were embedded in Finland were arrested. Soviet intelligence hated him to the core, but under the close protection of the Finnish security services, they never had a chance to attack him.

At the end of November 39, war broke out between the Soviet Union and Finland over territorial issues. In the beginning, the Finnish army fought valiantly and completely withstood the powerful offensive of the Soviet army. But with the Soviet offensive at no cost, the Finnish army began to be overwhelmed.

Smirnov also began to sit on pins and needles as the war situation developed. Perhaps the Soviets would have demanded that the Finnish government hand him over at the negotiating table. That's when he was in a big disaster.

Not so long ago, the Japanese military attache in Sweden, Onodera Daisa, secretly came to Finland. He met with Smirnov with the acquiescence of the Finns.

Onodera prescribes conditions. If Smirnov was willing to cooperate with the Japanese intelligence services and tell the Japanese all the information he knew useful to Japan, he would give him a large sum of money and would secretly send him to South America to live comfortably.

Smirnov was like a handful of life-saving straws. Then he quietly crossed the border to Sweden under the noses of the Finns. Later, escorted by Japanese intelligence officers, he crossed half of Europe to Amsterdam in the Netherlands. From here, I boarded the Princess Anne liner bound for the Far East.

Smirnov knew deep down that according to the tradition of Soviet intelligence organizations, a traitor like him would be hunted down to the end as long as he knew his whereabouts. Even if he fled to the ends of the earth.

Smirnov was trembling all the way, knowing that the guns of Soviet intelligence agents would be aimed at his head at any moment. But after escaping thousands of kilometers safely, his heart slowly relaxed. Maybe this time God left him a way to live.

The Princess Anne had to refill the port of Piraeus, refuel, refuel, refill food, and more. So stay here for half a day. Many passengers on the ship have already disembarked to the shore while there is still plenty of time.

Smirnov did not get off the boat, he just stood at the window and watched the view. The other two people in the first class cabin didn't move, they were Haruo Fukuchi and Shinichi Irimura. The two of them, along with Takeo Kondo and Wakamatsu Nakai, who are now on guard duty outside, were both sent by Onodera Daisa to protect Smirnov to Shanghai. Shanghai is also the end of the Princess Anne's voyage.

"The mission must be completed!" Onodera Osa said coldly as he gave the order to the four people.

From the time the four men followed Smirnov, the pistol never left him. The attendants aboard the Princess Anne also kept their distance from the five men with diplomatic passports. The first class cabin was a forbidden place for them, and the food and drinks were brought in by the four Asians in turn.

The Princess Anne's half-day resupply in the port of Piraeus was as quick as a blink of an eye for those who had run ashore to play. And for Smirnov and the four Japanese intelligence officers who protected him, it was simply like a year. The hot weather especially made Takeo Kondo and Wakamatsu Nakai, who were on guard in the corridor, feel drowsy.

A waiter in his twenties appeared at the end of the hallway with a large tray in his hands. The plate was full of grapes and cherries, as well as sliced watermelon. These things are supposed to be Greek specialties that have just been shipped from the port.

"I'm sorry, you can't go any further. Please give me the plate. Nakai Wakamatsu at the end of the door said to the waiter in English.

The waiter raised his slightly childish face under his golden hair and smiled and said a language that Nakai Wakamatsu did not understand. And then the step is still moving forward.

"No!" Nakai Wakamatsu stopped the waiter with open arms. You should understand such a simple English. And he reached out to take the plate from the waiter's hand.

"Be careful, Nakai! The waiter had never seen it. Takeo Kondo, who was on the other side of the doorway, shouted.

Just when Nakai Wakamatsu was stunned when he heard the shout, the waiter's face flashed, and one hand reached into the plate, grabbed a pistol, and aimed it at Nakai Wakamatsu's chest, which was two shots.

Nakai Wakamatsu fell to the ground in response.

As soon as Takeo Kondo pulled out his pistol, he fell to the ground softly after a headshot from a waiter.

Hearing the gunshots outside, Haruo Fukuchi and Shinichi Irimura hurriedly pulled Smirnov into the bathroom, and then the two of them pulled out their pistols and hid on the side of the door.

The door of the first class cabin is by no means penetrated by a pistol bullet. It depends on how the people outside break into the door.

Smirnov, who was hiding in the bathroom, looked like ashes. He had been exposed, and there was no way to escape from the omnipresent Soviet intelligence officers.

The waiter held the gun in both hands to the keyhole and finished all the bullets in the magazine. Just as he was about to step forward to hold the handle and open the door, there was a bang of gunshot, and a hole was punched in his face.

Nakai Wakamatsu, who was lying on the ground with blood on his chest, slowly put down the gun in his hand and closed his eyes.

When the security guards aboard the Princess Anne arrived, they saw only three bodies lying in the hallway.

In fact, he only had one chance to complete the task, and that was to be able to walk into the room. He's lost his chance when he's been spotted in the hallway. But he didn't run away. Haruo Fukuchi said.

Smirnov said with a shudder of his lips: "This is just the beginning. This will only end if I die. ”

"Now that it has been exposed, I use the ship's telegraph to send a message for help. I don't know if we'll be able to make it to Singapore. "Iri[] Mura Shinichi said.

"I asked the boat to keep as much food as possible in the room. Then the door was slammed shut and held on until Singapore! Haruo Fukuchi said through gritted teeth.