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

Since there had been no breakthroughs for the time being, Kondo decided to maintain a cautious approach, appearing relaxed on the surface while secretly conducting an investigation. This would allow the real culprit to believe they had gotten away with it and lower their guard. Another reason was that he hadn't been in Shanghai long and didn't yet understand the situation there, so he understood the principle of "give before you take."

On Zhou Hongyi's side, he rose through the ranks in a very short time, from captain to deputy director and then to director. Now he can be said to be the most prominent man in the world. He is famous not only in the Wang Jingwei regime's police system, but also in the bustling streets of Shanghai.

In addition, Zhou Hongyi, Gu Tianbo, and Qiao Si initially formed an alliance during this incident. Because the cargo transportation went extremely smoothly, Gu Tianbo dispelled his suspicions about him. It seems that as long as this young man doesn't drink, he is still a very good young man.

Of course, the happiest were Zhou Hongyi's core team: Agui, Fusheng, Xiazi, Xiaobei, and Xiazi's mother, Qingxia. Their first collective action resulted in such an astonishing feat, which not only caused a surge in the group's cohesion but also elevated their admiration for Zhou Hongyi to a new level.

"Come on, come on~~~ The meat's here, the meat's here~ How can you have hot pot without handmade beef balls? I had a hard time getting these from Lao Wu~~"

Qingxia, whose figure has gradually recovered, brought over a plate of handmade beef balls and put them into the boiling copper pot of broth.

Seeing this, Fusheng's mouth watered. He even tried to pick up the meatball with his chopsticks as soon as it was put in the bowl, but Agui knocked the chopsticks away and glared at him. Only then did he sit there sullenly, grinning foolishly.

The blind man sat beside him, fawning over him and peeling several large shrimp that Xiao Bei had caught from the river. As long as the latter smiled at him and said "thank you," the blind man was so happy that he didn't even need to eat.

Zhou Hongyi looked at everyone, picked up his wine cup and took a small sip from time to time, enjoying this rare moment of relaxation and joy.

Just yesterday, he had taken the time to meet with "Bodhi." The organization was quite satisfied with his mission and gave him a very high evaluation. "Bodhi" no longer had any doubts about his identity as "Four-Faced Buddha" comrade and regarded him as a top secret within the Party.

However, he brought a new task to "Four-Faced Buddha". Since this task was entrusted to Zhou Hongyi, it was obviously extremely difficult and something that other comrades could not accomplish.

As Zhou Hongyi drank his wine and ate the food from the hot pot, he kept replaying Bodhi's words in his mind.

"Comrade Four-Faced Buddha, thanks to your previous information, our Anti-Japanese Guerrilla Force has gained a valuable opportunity to recuperate and has also replenished some clothing and medicine to get through the winter. However, the overall situation of the War of Resistance against Japan is still severe. This time, the Japanese transport route will be handled by the Military Intelligence Bureau, while our target is on the other side. We are transporting a person."

"people?"

"That's right, a person, a weapons expert returning from abroad. His journey back was incredibly arduous and fraught with difficulties. He finally arrived in Shanghai, only to be met with a complete blockade and siege by the Japanese. We've already lost seven outstanding comrades in the process... Now, this expert has infiltrated the alleys of Shanghai as a refugee, but he's caught in a city-wide Japanese manhunt. The situation is critical, and we have no choice but to ask Comrade Four-Faced Buddha for help. We need to find him, move him to a safe location, and find an opportunity to send him to the rear. With this expert's help, we can improve our army's outdated weaponry and equipment, playing a crucial role in the subsequent war!"

Zhou Hongyi nodded and said, "No problem. Weapons experts are indeed invaluable. Give me his detailed information, and I'll take care of it."

After obtaining the information from the weapons expert, Zhou Hongyi did not contact him immediately. He was afraid that Kondo had planted spies around him to secretly follow him. If he made contact rashly, he might expose the weapons expert's identity and make things worse.

At this stage, Zhou Hongyi believes that the person who is most convenient and least risky to act with is actually the blind man's mother, Qingxia.

Indeed, Brigitte Lin is the most suitable contact person. Don't let her carefree personality and talkative nature fool you; she's incredibly reliable. This was evident in her role as the blind man in carrying out the first phase of the poisoning mission. This former Paramount singer, who is utterly clueless about relationships, possesses extensive social experience. As long as emotions aren't involved, her judgment is remarkably discerning. Moreover, being a local, she's intimately familiar with the streets and alleys. A local woman carrying a child—that identity itself is a natural camouflage.

Of course, this was just what Zhou Hongyi was thinking. He hadn't told Qingxia about this idea yet, since it also carried a great deal of risk.

Watching the group jokingly grabbing meat from the hot pot, Xiao Bei, who had finally gotten his revenge, also took off his cold mask and laughed and joked with Fu Sheng and A Gui, grabbing fish balls to eat.

"You little rascals, don't just eat meat! Leave some for Young Master Zhou, and have some more vegetables!"

Qingxia emerged from the kitchen once again, carrying a large bowl of seasonal vegetables and placing it on the table. Everyone here came from humble backgrounds, and although they craved meat, they still enjoyed their meal immensely with fresh vegetables.

Qingxia sat down next to Zhou Hongyi with ease, and even winked at him intentionally or unintentionally. But she also knew that the tricks she had learned from the Paramount Ballroom seemed to be useless against Zhou Hongyi. But so be it. She didn't expect anything to happen between this legendary man and her. She was already very content with the relationship she had now.

However, Zhou Hongyi, contrary to his usual behavior, took a meatball from under the "tiger's mouth" of the others, placed it in Qingxia's bowl, and asked in a low voice, "Is the child asleep?"

Qingxia glanced at him in surprise, then smiled and put a fish ball in her mouth. "Oh my~~~ Young Master Zhou, the sun must have risen in the west today! You actually know to put fish balls in your sister's bowl? Little Nannan is already asleep. That child is so well-behaved. As long as she's full, she doesn't make a fuss. She's much easier to take care of than her blind brother when he was little."

Zhou Hongyi picked out a large shrimp from the hot pot, peeled it, and placed it in Qingxia's bowl. "You're now eating for two people on your own, so you need to get more nutrition. Do you still have any milk for the baby? If not, I'll go buy some more."

"Yes, yes, Young Master Zhou, is there something you need from my sister?"

Zhou Hongyi chuckled and said, "Sister Qingxia is indeed Sister Qingxia. Nothing can be hidden from you. I do have something I want to ask you for help with, but I don't know how to bring it up."

"Oh, my dear brother, you're being too polite. What kind of relationship do we have now? We've been through thick and thin together, even killed traitors!"

She spoke very close to Zhou Hongyi, almost whispering in his ear.

Zhou Hongyi nodded, downed the wine in his glass in one gulp, moved the stool closer to Qingxia, and turned his back to her, saying, "Sister Qingxia, the reason I've been hesitant is because this matter involves a certain degree of danger. Although you are the most suitable candidate here, you are still a mother of two children."

Hearing Zhou Hongyi say that, Qingxia looked into his eyes, and the deliberately coquettish expression on her face gradually disappeared, replaced by seriousness.

“Good brother, you’re underestimating your sister Qingxia. Danger? The entire city of Shanghai is under the rule of the Japanese. Who isn’t in danger? Aren’t the people being massacred in Qingdong in danger? Aren’t the students who dare to take to the streets to speak out for the country in danger? Aren’t the patriots who risk their lives to resist the Japanese in danger? As long as the Japanese aren’t driven out of our homeland, we will not be safe.”