Hsinking, 1939
Asia Asia
I'm bored...
Hey, let's do something.
Like what?
Brother!
The Treasure Island Expedition
What're you reading?
The Treasure Island Expedition.
Let's go on an expedition!
I would, but...
You're not allowed to run off.
Oh, yes.
The obi on that kimono was just gorgeous.
I'll say.
Hey, can we go on an expedition?
Sit still and be quiet.
But we're bored!
Hush. Be quiet!
Wash Room
Men's Toilet
As the embers of world war smoldered
in autumn of 1937,
the Imperial Army
Greater East Asia Cultural Society
established a clandestine spy training agency.
The histories, names, and even ages
of the elite men who pass its rigorous application process
are all treated as top-secret information.
They easily complete training exercises that push them
to their physical and mental limits.
Under the command of founder Lieutenant Colonel Yuuki,
they operate worldwide, within the shadows.
And so a brand-new intelligence agency was created.
Its name is "D-Agency."
Episode 6 - Asia Express
Anton Morozoff.
A second-class secretary working for the Soviet Union consulate in Manchuria.
About half a year ago,
we "burned" his history of lavishing money on
a Harbin nightclub girl.
Three days ago, Morozoff sent us
an emergency communication via a classified newspaper advertisement.
Given the large sum of money he requested,
we believed he had highly classified, top-secret info.
This program is a work of fiction. The characters, organizations, locations, laws, names, etc. being portrayed are unrelated to actual events.
The information was to be printed
on the newspaper he'd be carrying.
We planned to make the trade after meeting in the wash room
and confirming each other's identities...
SMERSH...
Death to spies, huh?
The Hanged Man...
Judas, the man who betrayed Jesus Christ.
The secret organization that mercilessly assassinates
traitors to the USSR.
Men's Toliet
In their minds, you either dedicate your life
to the revolution, or die.
Same as a certain group of zealots in the army
obsessed with the "military code."
Now that the assassin has the encoded newspaper message,
he'll likely get off next, at Mukden.
We arrive in...
A little over an hour.
From a timing standpoint,
it's most likely he met Morozoff in the wash room.
However,
Morozoff was fully aware that he was a traitor,
and feared being assassinated.
If that suspicious-looking fellow really was a SMERSH assassin,
Morozoff wouldn't have turned his back and left himself defenseless.
Did he do something to get Morozoff to drop his guard?
Or...
Hey, mister, are you a magician?
Nope, this is just a little hobby of mine.
Can you do any other tricks?
I'm afraid not.
Oh...
The tea was to die for...
Hey, mister, my brother's pretty amazing, too.
He knows everything there is to know about the Asia.
You don't have to tell him that. He doesn't care.
Our dad works for the South Manchurian Railway,
so I know a little bit more than other kids. That's all.
Oh, really?
Please, tell me about it.
Well, for starters...
The Asia's top speed is 110 kilometers,
so it can travel the 704.1 kilometers between Hsinking
Hsinking
Mukden
and Dairen in eight hours and twenty minutes.
Dairen
Stuff like that?
Wow, he was right. You know a lot!
See?
The railway's last special express before the Asia was called the Pigeon,
but it was a bit slower than the Swallow,
which was the special express that ran between Tokyo and Kobe
on the Tokaido main line.
Yeah, with the real birds, a swallow's a lot quicker than a pigeon, too.
So the South Manchurian Railway built this train, the Asia,
to beat the Swallow.
It's faster 'cuz it's more streamlined!
The Asia's average speed is 84.2 kilometers per hour.
It's the fastest train in the Orient!
Wow.
You really know your stuff.
Where are you boys disembarking?
Dairen.
We've got... six hours to go.
We got bored, so we're playing expedition.
Forty-five minutes until we reach Mukden.
Okay, boys, now I've got a riddle for you.
If I got off at the stop in Mukden,
how could I send a letter to the final destination, Dairen,
faster than the Asia?
Mister, weren't you listening?
The Asia's the fastest train in all the Orient!
Nothing can get there faster than the Asia.
You dope! Think about it a little.
Huh?
I know! An airplane!
Where are you gonna find an airplane?
You couldn't get to the airfield fast enough.
Oh, yeah...
I give up. How?
I've got a mission for your expedition.
A mission?
Today is July 25th.
Your mission is to find a person reading a newspaper
from the 24th, or the 23rd... one that's a few days old,
and secretly drop
this tarot card at his feet.
Once you drop the card, come straight back to me.
Understand?
He's in the third-class passenger cabin in front of this one.
When you come back, tell me what clothes he was wearing.
Once you complete your mission safely,
I'll tell you the answer.
We're not supposed to wander off, though...
Don't worry. We'll just say we're going to the bathroom.
The newspaper
containing the encoded information
was marked up with a special invisible ink.
A task too involved for a novice
like Morozoff to be able to pull off using today's paper.
He probably used one from a few days ago.
Brother, wait!
We found him!
He was in the third-class passenger cabin in car four.
We dropped the card, too.
Great job.
You remember what he was wearing?
A white...
A white jacket and black pants!
The lining of his jacket was black, too.
Thanks.
You boys make great scouts.
Can I buy you some drinks?
Really?
Hmm...
Tea is ready. Dining Car Service is available
I want lemonade.
What are you doing?!
I'm terribly sorry.
No, no, please don't be.
I was a bit bored myself, so the boys and I have been conversing.
Come on, back to your seats.
Aw, but he was about to tell us the answer to the riddle!
I promise I'll tell you later.
For now, you'd better do as your mother says.
Okay...
Twenty minutes to go.
We'll be arriving in Mukden shortly.
Departing passengers, please take care not to leave anything behind.
Ladies and gentlemen, for your own safety,
please stay seated until the train comes to a complete stop.
We'll be arriving in Mukden shortly.
Departing passengers, please take care
not to leave anything behind.
Excuse me. We'll be arriving in Mukden shortly.
Don't come out. Just listen.
The enemy's aware of our identity.
But he doesn't yet suspect the conductor, me—
How... did you...
Morozoff feared assassination, so it had to be someone
who could sneak up without arousing suspicion.
Someone like a conductor.
Relax. Unlike you, I'm not a killer.
Have a good sleep.
Damn you...
It's over,
Miss Elena.
Elena
Anton Morozoff wasn't alone.
You were fleeing the country with him, weren't you?
It's all set. No problem.
This info's worth a lot of money.
We'll escape to Japan, and from there, America.
Wash Room
Come, let's get back to our room.
Pardon me.
The assassin, who'd realized I was on board,
needed to buy time to kill Morozoff
and dispose of the evidence.
So you deliberately stood in front of your room, blocking the path between
the first-class cabin and the corridor to buy him the time he needed.
Luggage
Ladies' Toilet
In other words,
you were in cahoots with the assassin.
They threatened me...
No, you chose to sell him out.
You never had any intention of going to America.
Don't worry.
I'm not planning to turn you over to SMERSH.
But...
I expect you'll have to go to work for Japan.
The one thing faster than the Asia is the pigeon.
Huh?!
That's not the answer!
Even the Swallow is faster than the Pigeon!
And the Asia's speed of 80 kilos per hour beats the Swallow!
There are different kinds of pigeons out there.
Here...
Just watch.
Manchuria is a scheming country.
All the telegraph communication lines are monitored.
One has to assume their messages are getting intercepted.
Hsinking
Mukden
To guarantee both of our safety,
I needed a way to contact the D-Agency agent waiting
at the end of the line in Dairen that was even faster than the Asia.
Dairen
With a tailwind,
a carrier pigeon's speed can top 100 kilometers per hour.
With the winds at this time of year,
I calculated that a carrier pigeon could reach Dairen faster.
We learned details of the Soviet Union's next moves from Morozoff's info.
It turned out to be extremely valuable.
But the real problems start now that D-Agency has that intel.
Lately, I feel that the information we're working so hard to obtain
isn't being applied effectively.
Using the info is harder than obtaining it.
Against the hardheads of the Imperial Army's top brass,
no matter how hard Lieutenant Colonel Yuuki fights,
there's not much more we can accomplish.
Spies can only be effective in peacetime.
Once a war starts,
the meaning of our existence vanishes.
Oh, well.
All I can do is do what I can.
About the Soviet spy detained in Manchuria...
The intelligence made its way to D-Agency's hands.
And they let him leave with his life.
"Don't die, don't kill..." Them again?
They're like a rotten apple!
They're certain to have a negative influence
on the great Imperial Japanese Army.
Come on,
it's not such a big deal having an intelligence agency
acting in service to the Imperial Army's code.
Then they've given the approval?
Yes...
It's about time we had the D-Agency boys make their exit.
Preview
Wasn't there an artist who compared life to an ocean voyage?
You start rowing from a small stream, enjoy the peaceful scenery,
endure the wind, survive the storms...
And flow into the ocean.
What awaits beyond is boundless freedom.
Episode 7 - Codename: Cerberus