Espionage: Mastering the Ten Cruelest Tortures of the Military Intelligence Bureau from the Start

Su Mingzhe and his group swaggered into the city.

In today's Shanghai, it is indeed very convenient to act under the guise of the Japanese.

As soon as the group entered the city, a dazzling and intoxicating atmosphere of extravagance washed over them.

The streets are lined with buildings of various styles and beautiful decorations, their carved beams and painted rafters gleaming in the sunlight.

Even though it had just been through the baptism of war, the smell of gunpowder that filled the air was quickly dispelled by this bustling atmosphere.

On the streets and alleys, crowds thronged shoulder to shoulder, and vendors enthusiastically hawked various local delicacies.

Rickshaw pullers weave through the crowds on the street, while children laugh and play in the gaps between the crowds, chasing after the colorful windmills in the hands of street performers.

The vibrant atmosphere of the entire city was not shrouded in the shadow of war; on the contrary, it made it appear even more lively.

Su Mingzhe was used to big scenes, but Shen Bei and the others were a bit dazzled.

Even the ancient capital of Chang'an pales in comparison.

Moreover, people here are open-minded and dress very fashionably.

The woman wore an exquisite cheongsam, walking with a swaying gait, and the streets were filled with long legs.

Luo Dayou stared at him, completely mesmerized.

Shen Bei and Yan Yun, two inexperienced young men, felt their faces burning and dared not look at the spring scenery all over the street.

"Why aren't their pants finished being sewn up?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Feng shook his head and chuckled.

Su Mingzhe remained unmoved by these events, his gaze sweeping across the city.

He first found a high-end inn, settled his luggage there, and had Yan Yun look after the place while the rest of the group continued to familiarize themselves with the surroundings with Su Mingzhe.

The expenses they brought this time were paid by the station, totaling 20,000 US dollars.

Boss Dai originally set the standard at 20,000 silver dollars, but the station manager increased it.

Anyway, according to him, you can just pick two corrupt officials, label them as Japanese spies, confiscate their property, and you'll get your money back, or even have some left over.

The most urgent task is to find a place to settle down.

Su Mingzhe searched for three whole hours before finally finding a suitable place.

This is a poorly managed three-story teahouse, with a "For Sale" sign posted on the storefront.

A middle-aged man squatted at the door, looking worried, his eyes constantly scanning the passersby.

Suddenly, he saw Su Mingzhe and the others walking towards him.

The man's face lit up with joy as he hurriedly went to greet the group whose clothes were made of top-quality materials.

Because she had been squatting for too long, her legs were a little sore and numb, and she almost stumbled and fell into Su Mingzhe's arms.

"sorry Sorry......"

Realizing he had offended these important people, the man apologized repeatedly.

"You're selling this shop? How much?"

Su Mingzhe asked in slightly broken Chinese.

There was no other way; his current disguise was that of a Japanese person, so he had to keep up the act to avoid unnecessary trouble.

Upon hearing Su Mingzhe's words, the man's expression froze.

Are you Japanese?

Then, the man flicked his sleeve and said without turning his head:

"I'm not selling it!"

???

Su Mingzhe didn't know what to say.

Praise him for his courage?

Seeing that the matter was about to be ruined, we had to resort to special measures during this special period.

"You idiot! You have a completely wicked conscience."

Su Mingzhe cursed at the man in front of him.

Xu Feng stepped forward and blocked the man.

"Let me tell you, it's your good fortune that our shopkeeper wants to buy your shop. Don't be ungrateful."

"If you really push us too far, you won't get a single penny, and this teahouse will have to be transferred to Tian Ping's name."

The man was stunned by Xu Feng's words and unconsciously took a half step back.

These robbers!

The man had no doubt about the truth of what Xu Feng said; the Japanese had done this kind of thing far too often.

He has no choice now.

After struggling for a moment, he spoke:

"Twenty-five thousand silver dollars."

As if he had thought of something, he added:

"I don't want Japanese military currency."

If these people really used Japanese military scrip to settle accounts, it would be no different from robbery.

"Settled in US dollars, seven thousand US dollars."

Su Mingzhe said calmly.

"what?"

The man almost thought he had misheard a radio station.

The US dollar is now a hard currency, just like gold, and these robbers actually want to settle accounts in US dollars.

Is this money fake?

"I need to go to the bank across the street to verify the authenticity of the money before I can hand over the land title deed to you."

"can."

Su Mingzhe said to Shen Bei:

"Shen Sang, follow him."

Then he took out a large stack of US dollars, counted out seven thousand dollars, and handed them to Shen Bei.

Shen Bei took the money and went with the man to the bank across the street.

This is also one of the important reasons why Su Mingzhe chose to establish a base here.

In places like banks, you don't need to do much research; information will just be delivered to you.

After about an incense stick's time, the two returned to the teahouse.

The man was genuinely surprised that the Japanese man hadn't lied to him.

He counted the dollars several times, and after confirming that the amount was correct, he carefully put them into his pocket.

Then, as if by magic, he took out the land deed for the teahouse from his pocket and handed it to Su Mingzhe.

Su Mingzhe glanced at it and found nothing suspicious.

He carefully put away the land deed, tore down the "For Sale" sign on the shop, and walked into the teahouse with his hands behind his back.

Shen Bei and the other two followed closely behind Su Mingzhe and entered the teahouse together.

The interior is decorated in a classic style, giving it a unique charm.

The teahouse has three floors: the first floor is the lobby, the second floor is the private rooms, and the third floor is the guest rooms, which is just right for Su Mingzhe and his group to stay in.

The teahouse is already there, and Su Mingzhe plans to change his main business to a chess club, with tea service as a secondary function.

This is the most time-saving and labor-saving method, and also one of the most attractive to Japanese people.

Buy a few sets of Go boards and some good tea, and you can open for business the next day.

Su Mingzhe also intends to turn this place into a platform for meeting Japanese people.

Having established connections with them, Su Mingzhe was able to proceed with the second step of his plan—building the largest network of relationships and a business empire in Shanghai through smuggling.

Without connections, any business you want to do is just nonsense.

Even if you're a business genius, it's out of the question.

As for the name of the chess club?

Okay, Su Mingzhe is terrible at naming things too.

Huh?

Why did I use "also"?

Let's use his Japanese name as a prefix – Tianping Go Club.

Su Mingzhe instructed Xu Feng to bring Yan Yun here, and then asked Shen Bei to go out and make some purchases, while Luo Dayou was responsible for cleaning up the chess club.

As for Su Mingzhe?

How could the noble Japanese devils do any work themselves? So Su Mingzhe comfortably chose to rest and recuperate.

The next morning, a gold-plated plaque was hung on the chess club, covered with a red cloth.

Su Mingzhe personally removed the red cloth and held a simple opening ceremony.

To let more people know about Tianping Chess Club, on the opening day, Shen Bei held a basket of copper coins and scattered them into the crowd.

In fact, this basket of copper coins wasn't worth much money.

Two strings of firecrackers were set off, and amidst the crackling sounds, Tianping Chess Club officially opened for business.