Espionage: You're tasked with spying, but you'll blow up the Special Higher Police?

Zhou Hongyi left Fusheng outside to keep watch, while he crouched low and cautiously made his way towards the half-collapsed earth god temple. The path was rugged and uneven, with pebbles and broken wood scattered everywhere. He had to be extra careful with every step, afraid of making a sound.

Upon entering the earth god temple, a musty, decaying smell hits you. The earth god statue that once stood there is now just a lonely base, surrounded by scattered candlesticks, some broken, and shattered bowls and plates, all covered in dust and cobwebs. As for the offerings inside, they had long since been taken away, leaving not even a trace.

Zhou Hongyi looked around warily. Suddenly, he half-squatted down and lowered his voice to the only remaining base of the Earth God statue, saying, "Comrade, I am the 'Four-Faced Buddha.' The organization sent me to help you. Can you hear me?"

He had barely finished speaking when a low cry was heard, followed by a dull thud as a head hit a wooden stake.

Zhou Hongyi frowned, quickly reached out and moved a piece of plaster aside, revealing a terrified face behind the wall.

It was a young woman whose face was covered in black ash, as if stained by war, making her original features unrecognizable. But Zhou Hongyi could still tell from her figure that the girl was no more than eighteen years old. Her body trembled slightly, and her eyes were filled with fear and unease.

"Young lady, don't move. I heard you're injured. Where are you hurt?"

Zhou Hongyi spoke softly, taking out the anti-inflammatory medicine he always carried from his pocket.

"I...I'm injured in my arm..."

The girl in the tunnel spoke very weakly, and it was clear that she was on the verge of physical and mental collapse.

However, Zhou Hongyi did not rush to rescue her. Instead, he pondered for a moment and said, "Miss, the Japanese army's sweep was in April, but it's June now. Have you been trapped here for two months?"

"I...I was originally a student at Tongji University...After the enemy's sweep, the school strictly forbade us from leaving campus...I only managed to escape last week...and then...I encountered an enemy search and was shot...My brother had told me before that the area under the local temple...was very safe..."

Zhou Hongyi fell silent, because he knew that although the Qingdong Massacre occurred in April, the cunning Japanese had returned to the area many times afterward, claiming that the sweep was over and using compensation and other means to lure out the previously hidden people, only to carry out another massacre.

This young woman must have been the one who was deceived. She thought the sweep was over and went home to check, only to be ambushed by the Japanese and nearly lost her life.

"Girl, this is anti-inflammatory medicine. Take it first. There are police everywhere outside, so you can't go out yet. I'll move you to a safe place at night when no one is around."

Zhou Hongyi handed over the anti-inflammatory medicine and lowered his voice again: "Hang in there, I'll bring some food tonight... Girl, remember, don't trust anyone before I arrive, and we need to come up with a secret code... Like this, I'll knock three times outside, you ask 'Who is this?' and I'll answer 'Four-Faced Buddha'."

The girl nodded vigorously, tears of gratitude glistening in her eyes.

Zhou Hongyi resealed the entrance, trying to restore it to its original state without leaving any suspicious traces. He walked out of the ruins and patted the somewhat mentally challenged policeman: "Your name is Fusheng, right? From today onwards, you'll be working with me. Our Second Division's Special Operations Team needs someone like you."

"Ah, team leader... team leader, yes, sir."

Fusheng looked at Zhou Hongyi with a blank and somewhat awe-inspiring expression, not knowing what this meant.

“It was wrong of me to hit you earlier. Now that you’re in my special operations team, you’re one of my brothers. You don’t need to call me ‘commander,’ just call me ‘brother.’ I’ll protect you, don’t worry about that. When you work for me, Zhou Hongyi, I don’t expect you to be highly capable. I only ask two things—to be obedient. Do what I say, and don’t touch what I tell you not to do. Understand?”

Zhou Hongyi looked at Fusheng with a serious expression in his eyes.

The policeman, who was clearly not very bright, nodded a few times to indicate that he understood, and a simple, honest smile appeared on his face.

Zhou Hongyi chose him as the first member of his special operations team for no other reason than that he was naive. Such people are the easiest to control; as long as you treat them equally and show them some emotion, the reward might even be their lives. In this complex and treacherous environment, Zhou Hongyi needed someone he could trust by his side.

As they walked out of the half-collapsed earth god temple, Zhou Hongyi waved to Captain Xu and his men not far away and shouted, "Nothing found, Captain Xu, let's go back. There's not a drop of profit here. Look at those refugees, they're all emaciated from hunger. The higher-ups are really something, why did they send us to Guanyintang while they went to the edge of the concession? There's so much more profit there, they might use the pretext of searching for Red Party members to steal things. No way, from now on, these lucrative assignments will fall to our Second Branch."

His voice carried a hint of dissatisfaction, but a subtle, profound meaning flashed in his eyes.

Xu Guodong agreed wholeheartedly, spat on the ground, and muttered, "That's right, our Second Branch now has Young Master Zhou. You should talk to Director Ding and ask him to assign us more lucrative jobs in the future. Hehe~ The brothers all remember your kindness."

Zhou Hongyi patted Captain Xu on the shoulder, a meaningful smile playing on his lips: "No problem, Captain Xu, we're all brothers, we'll share the good times together."

After saying that, he told the police officers who were still rummaging through the rubble to stop early.

Actually, Zhou Hongyi was mainly worried that these clueless police officers might accidentally discover the tunnel to the local temple and find the wounded hiding underneath. He could only come back that night.

These police officers may not be very effective in combat, but they are all very proactive when it comes to extorting money. Even when faced with these penniless refugees, they do not miss any opportunity to take advantage of them. Adhering to the principle of never leaving empty-handed, they take away all the little bit of money the refugees have.

Looking at the people whose eyes were filled with despair, Zhou Hongyi felt as if his heart had been struck a heavy blow, as if it were bleeding.

He told Fusheng and Captain Xu to leave first, then squatted down pretending to tie his shoelaces, but took advantage of everyone's inattention to pull out a handful of Yuan Shikai silver dollars from his pocket.

He looked at the silver coin in his hand, a resolute glint in his eyes. With a flick of his thumb, the coin traced a silver arc through the air and landed precisely in the refugees' dilapidated shack. This was the only thing he could do for these poor people. His abilities were limited, but even this small act of help was meant to bring a sliver of warmth to those suffering in dire straits.

Witnessing the tragic scene around Guanyintang, Zhou Hongyi was deeply shocked. He finally understood the anger and hatred he had only learned about in books before. Back at the police station, he did nothing but quietly settle Fusheng in, then rode his bicycle to buy more medicine.