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

Zhou Hongyi chuckled inwardly. Even without the Eye of Insight, he was 100% certain that the bearded man was bluffing him.

“Hey bro, are you brainless or do you think I’m as brainless as you? Sure, it would be much easier for me to get close to and kill those two people, but so what? What would happen after I killed them? Wouldn’t someone else fill their place? Once the new people fill their places, where would I get new information? Once they’re dead, all the advantages I have now will be gone. It’s like killing the goose that lays the golden eggs. I can’t do something that stupid.”

The bearded man stared at him silently for a few seconds, then chuckled and scratched his head, saying, "That's right, what Young Master Zhou said makes sense. By infiltrating their ranks, you can obtain a lot of information that others can't, which is indeed more effective than killing them. By the way, I saw you coming out of the Paramount today, and you were walking quite close to that Man Yu. Are you also trying to get close to her to extract some information from her?"

Upon hearing the other person mention Manyu, Zhou Hongyi's eyes flickered, as if he had thought of something. He asked directly, "Brother, I really didn't know about this. If I'm not mistaken, you seemed to have also sneaked into the Paramount last night, but I saw Miss Manyu today purely for personal reasons. Everyone appreciates beauty, right?"

The bearded man was stunned for a moment. He probably didn't expect that Zhou Hongyi would recognize him yesterday. He couldn't help but be a little suspicious and stared at him for a while.

"It seems that Young Master Zhou is truly dedicated to resisting the Japanese and did not reveal my whereabouts yesterday to your brother-in-law... In that case, I have nothing to hide. Manyu from the Paramount Ballroom has recently been getting very close to a high-ranking Japanese officer, which is why I want to get close to her."

"What? Could it be that high-ranking official isn't from the Shimazu clan?"

With a mysterious smile on his face, the bearded man shook his head and said, "Shimazu is at most a pimp. The person who is having an affair with Manyu is someone else, and she holds a higher position than Shimazu."

"Is there such a thing?"

Zhou Hongyi recalled that when he opened the Eye of Insight in the dance hall, he seemed to see a name on Manyu, a Japanese name, but he did not pay attention to it at the time. Could it be that the guy who was really having a secret rendezvous with Manyu was him?

"Young Master Zhou, to be honest, I approached Manyu to find out the whereabouts of that high-ranking Japanese official. If the opportunity arises, I'll take him out; if not, I can still get some useful information from Manyu. That's the gist of it. So, how about joining me? It'll be a way to vent our anger for the innocent people who have lost their lives!"

Zhou Hongyi fell into deep thought, but his head was still throbbing, still under the influence of the side effects of the [Eye of Insight].

He thought for a while, shook his head and said, "Brother Chen, this matter is of great importance and must not be acted blindly. Here's what I'll do: allow me a few days to inquire carefully. As long as I can find out the itinerary of that high-ranking Japanese officer you mentioned, I can try to approach him from the side. If there is a real opportunity, I, Zhou Hongyi, will not hesitate to take it."

"Alright! Young Master Zhou, then we'll do as you say. No matter what information you find, whether you decide to take action or not, let me know."

"Notify you? How can I notify you? Where can I contact you?"

The bearded man revealed a mysterious smile once more, and said, word by word, "You only need to draw an 'X' on the corner of the wall in the alley behind your police station, and I will naturally appear to contact you. I apologize for any offense I may have caused today, and I hope you will forgive me, Young Master Zhou."

"I don't mind, but at least take me home."

After parting ways with Chen Gong, Zhou Hongyi did not return home until very late.

Zhou Pan'er asked Wang Ma to make him a bowl of noodles. After eating, he collapsed onto the bed and fell into a deep sleep.

Zhou Hongyi didn't open his eyes until 5 a.m. the next day. At this time, his mind was incredibly active and clear, and he had fully recovered.

Recalling his conversation with the bearded man last night, he decided to return to the Paramount Ballroom tonight to use his [Eye of Insight] to thoroughly investigate the secrets surrounding Manyu. It seemed there were still quite a few secrets to uncover about this top dancer and socialite of the Paramount Ballroom.

Of course, before that, Zhou Hongyi needed to prepare a song for the other party, which was also a good opportunity to quickly get closer to the other party.

For him, who is known as a walking encyclopedia of Chinese songs, songwriting is a piece of cake. He composed two songs in less than ten minutes.

After finishing writing the song, Zhou Hongyi got up and did some strength training in the yard, then took the sheepdogs for a run around the neighborhood.

After returning home, he took a shower, changed his clothes, and ate breakfast before riding his beloved bicycle to work.

The police station was as noisy and bustling as usual today, with people coming and going.

Zhou Hongyi sat in his spacious new office, with his feet up on the desk, looking at the day's newspaper.

There wasn't much to read in the newspaper; most of it was entertainment news and gossip, including a beauty pageant ad.

[The Miss Rose pageant is open to all women aged 16 to 26. Outstanding performers will be signed by major entertainment venues and provided with makeover services... Do you want to become the brightest star on the Bund? Then come on over! Don't hesitate, don't be afraid, this is your time!]

"These rich people really know how to have fun. With the situation so chaotic, they still have time to hold beauty pageants? It's truly a case of the rich feasting while the poor rot..."

Zhou Hongyi muttered a complaint, casually tossed the newspaper aside, picked up the tea he had just brewed that morning, took a sip, and his mind was already conjuring up all sorts of unexpected scenarios that might occur that evening.

A short while later, Fusheng, with his hat askew and clothes that were always unbuttoned, slowly strolled into the house.

He was late, and his face was covered in bruises, clearly indicating he had just been in a fight.

Zhou Hongyi put his leg down, looked at him and said, "Fusheng, what happened to the injury on your face? Who did it?"

"No...no, I just fell...fell..."

"You fell? Fusheng, I should have told you before that I brought you into the special operations team and recognized you as my brother. I don't expect you to be of any great help to me. It's just because you're obedient. And being obedient means you can't lie to me or tell lies, unless you don't want to recognize me as your big brother anymore and don't want to continue working here."

Fu Sheng was startled by Zhou Hongyi's words and quickly waved his hands, saying, "No, no, brother, I didn't mean to lie to you, I was just a little scared... I want to work for you, these injuries... these injuries were inflicted by my former colleagues at the police station. I ran into them on the way here, and it's okay that they laughed at me, but what they said about you, their boss! So I... so I fought with them... but I couldn't beat them, there were too many of them..."

"My former colleagues at the police station? What did they say about me?"

Fusheng nervously clutched the hem of his clothes, stammering, "They...they called you a traitor, a lackey of the common people, and said you were living off your sister. Colonel Shimazu appreciated you because...because..."

Zhou Hongyi had already anticipated the vulgar language that followed, and raised his hand, saying, "Alright, stop talking. Tell me who beat you up and write their names down. My brothers aren't people anyone can mess with. I'll go get justice for you right now!"

Fu Sheng answered hesitantly, "Yes...it was my former captain, Ma Zhixin."

After listening, Zhou Hongyi took a hat from the coat rack next to him, put it on, and grabbed Fusheng, saying, "Let's go, let's go find him now. He dared to hit my Special Operations Team members, and he hit my brother, Zhou Hongyi. This grudge must be settled for you on the spot, absolutely not overnight!"

"Ah...now?"

Before Fusheng could react, Zhou Hongyi dragged him out. As they walked down to the lobby, they ran into Xu Guodong and his men returning from patrol.

"Hey~ Young Master Zhou, where are you going? Why do you look a little pale?"

Zhou Hongyi, his face frosty, said, "Captain Xu, what should we do if someone bullies our brothers from the Second Division?"

Xu Guodong was taken aback, and subconsciously replied, "Bullying our brothers? Then we'll definitely take them down."

"Alright, Captain Xu, let's call our brothers now. As many as you can come, that's fine. If someone really can't make it, I, Zhou Hongyi, won't blame them. But for everyone who can come, you'll each get a pack of three cannons, and I'll cover all your cigarettes from now on! If anyone gets injured or bruised, I'll give them a separate red envelope, guaranteed to be more than your annual salary!"