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

Zhou Hongyi smiled and nodded, saying to Chen Gong, "Alright, my brother, you must hold back. Although a common man's anger can lead to bloodshed, the gains are extremely limited, and he will also risk his life. It's not worth it. Only by enduring what ordinary people cannot endure can one achieve great things."

Chen Gong wholeheartedly agreed, nodding vigorously and saying, "I must say, I was truly impressed when I saw those Japanese devils being completely fooled by you, brother. Only in this way can you gain the trust of the Japanese and access their core secrets. Any secret or piece of information is worth ten, no, a hundred of my heads. So you are the real master of espionage, brother. Compared to you, I, old Chen, only know how to use knives and guns; I'm far inferior."

"Brother, you don't need to underestimate yourself. In intelligence work, of course we need someone as resourceful as me, but we also need a fierce general like you. After all, our ultimate goal in keeping the enemy in the dark is to take their lives. Don't worry, brother, one day I will let you kill to your heart's content."

Chen Gong once again gave a thumbs-up and said to the others behind him, "Did you hear that? Brothers, learn from this. This is what a professional agent should do. By the way, brother, I've already applied for the materials you mentioned yesterday for the assassination. They'll be delivered in a bit. Also, I received a personal reply from Boss Dai regarding your joining and appointment. Boss Dai said he really hopes to meet our Young Master Zhou in person and has high hopes for you."

"What? Boss Dai knows about me now."

Zhou Hongyi inwardly curled his lip. He knew without a doubt who the "Boss Dai" Chen Gong was talking about was—it was Dai Li, the top secret agent, intelligence chief, and mastermind behind the scenes of the Military Intelligence Bureau.

Being noticed by Dai Li was hardly something to be happy about. However, now that he had infiltrated the Military Intelligence Bureau, he couldn't stand still. After all, there would still be a battle between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party after the Japanese were driven out, so his role wouldn't be realized overnight. For now, let's make everyone allies.

Zhou Hongyi put aside his other ideas and followed Chen Gong to obtain the necessary materials for making drugs.

Amygdalin is a natural compound extracted from various plants. In small amounts, its toxicity is negligible, as it can be easily broken down by the body's metabolism. Even slightly larger amounts will only cause gastrointestinal discomfort. However, when combined with nitrobenzene, it can form the deadly toxic substance cyanide.

After activating the [Master of Deception] skill, Zhou Hongyi gained some strange knowledge.

Of course, when he hasn't activated [Trick Mode], all his knowledge is rather limited, and his mind is still Zhou Hongyi's own. But he has a premonition that once he activates [Trick Construct Moment], all other thoughts will be discarded, and he will focus solely on one thing: murder.

“Excellent, Brother Chen, this is exactly what I wanted. With these two items and the trust of the Chamber of Commerce members, we can now focus our attention on the Miss Rose pageant. As far as I know, this pageant may appear to be just a celebration for the wealthy, but in reality, quite a few powerful forces are involved. We have no idea what these people are really up to, so I have decided that I will make a high-profile decision regarding this pageant.”

"Huh? What?"

Chen Gong thought he had misheard. Zhou Hongyi had laid the groundwork for so long, and he thought the other party was going to say, "We should keep a low profile and not attract attention." Why did it turn out to be a complete reversal and instead be a high-profile affair?

Zhou Hongyi chuckled and said, "Big brother, you haven't forgotten the time I led the Second Precinct police to the First Precinct to stand up for my brother, have you? The guy who bullied my brother is still locked up in the police station's dungeon. He's hoarse from shouting and crying injustice every day. I'm going to leave him hanging."

Why am I being so high-profile, brother? It's to create a persona, of course. I, Zhou Hongyi, relying on my connections with Colonel Shimazu of the Special Higher Police and Director Ding of Unit 76, am arrogant, domineering, and haughty. I'm vastly different from the rumored West Point graduate; in reality, I'm just a good-for-nothing who flaunts his connections, loves money and women.

Chen Gong was stunned. He touched his beard and after a while said in a daze, "Brother, is this you? I think you look more like me."

"Hahaha~~~ Brother Chen, I want to create the image of a brainless brute. After leading the Second Precinct in a brawl, my reputation has already spread a bit, and this Miss Rose election is another good opportunity. After this is over, I want the entire underworld and legitimate world of Shanghai to know that Zhou Hongyi is arrogant, domineering, greedy, lecherous, and has a powerful backer."

Chen Gong pondered for a moment and nodded, saying, "I understand your intention, but what is your purpose in doing this, brother?"

"Where are you, brother? If it were you, would you be more wary of an arrogant and domineering opponent who always shouts and shows off, or an opponent who is extremely shrewd, keeps his emotions hidden, and is gentle and refined?"

Chen Gong said, "If it were my brother, I would definitely be more wary of the latter. Those smiling tigers laugh and joke with you on the surface, but who knows how they will stab you in the back or make things difficult for you behind your back? To be honest, there are quite a few people like that in the Military Intelligence Bureau. Compared to them, if the opponent is a spoiled brat who acts impulsively and doesn't think before he acts, then he is not worth mentioning at all."

"So, this is the effect my brother wants to achieve. After this beauty pageant, I want both the legitimate and underworld circles in Shanghai to reach a consensus that Zhou Hongyi is nothing special, at most a fool who got to this point by relying on connections, and not worth worrying about."

"Tsk tsk tsk~~~"

Chen Gong finally understood. He chuckled and said, "Good brother Zhou, you're too cunning. Luckily you're on our side now, otherwise I would have been sold out and I would still be counting the money for you."

"Hahaha~~ How could that be? I, Zhou Hongyi, am still the most loyal of all."

Zhou Hongyi laughed heartily and put his arm around Chen Gong's shoulder, but in his heart he thought to himself: You think I can't sell you out now and you'll still help me count the money? Fine, let's see how you perform.

After joining the Sakura Chamber of Commerce preparatory group, Zhou Hongyi not only went to the police station but also to the Chamber of Commerce, and would often go out for a stroll with Hasegawa.

His current role is essentially to act as a messenger and translator for Hasegawa. Although there are others in the chamber of commerce who speak Chinese, Zhou Hongyi's position as deputy chief of the local police station makes communication easier.

However, to Zhou Hongyi's surprise, after accompanying Hasegawa to meet with three business partners, all three businessmen rejected the Sakura Trading Company's cooperation proposal. It seemed that there were far more anti-Japanese patriots in Shanghai than he had imagined.