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

The mission at the Hongkou warehouse was like an extreme deep dive, exhausting Su Mingzhe's last bit of energy.

Back in the basement of the chess club, before he could even review the operation, a sharp pain from deep within his body suddenly gripped him.

My stomach felt like it was being gripped tightly by an invisible hand, twisting and turning wildly.

Cold sweat instantly soaked through his shirt, trickling down his forehead and dripping onto the cold cement floor.

He staggered and grabbed the wall for support, his face as white as a sheet of paper, and his lips devoid of any color.

"Cough...cough..."

A heart-wrenching cough erupted uncontrollably from deep within my throat.

He covered his mouth.

However, when he opened his palm, a glaring crimson color appeared prominently in his palm.

blood.

Su Mingzhe froze.

He looked at the bloodstains on his palm, and for the first time, a trace of confusion appeared in his eyes, which had once terrified countless enemies.

Stomach cancer...has it progressed to this stage?

The excruciating pain surged in waves, almost overwhelming his will.

He slowly slid down to the ground, leaning against the cold wall, panting heavily.

The shadow of death had never been so clear, as if it were whispering in his ear.

Will he die?

No.

Su Mingzhe bit his tongue hard, the stinging pain instantly clearing his mind.

He can't die!

Uncle Wang's blood feud is still unresolved, and that beast Cheng Hao is still alive and well!

The mission entrusted to us by the organization is not yet complete, and the ancient sword has not yet been found!

How could he die!

A powerful will to survive erupted from the deepest part of his body, forcefully suppressing the overwhelming pain.

He stood up, walked to the pool, rinsed the blood off his hands with cold water, and rinsed his mouth to suppress the taste of blood in his throat.

The mirror reflected a face so pale it was almost transparent.

Su Mingzhe took out the plum blossom brand pocket watch that belonged to Wang Fuquan, as well as the thin codebook that Zhou Zheng had risked his life to retrieve.

The cold metallic touch of the pocket watch seemed to still retain the last warmth of Uncle Wang's body.

Su Mingzhe opened the pocket watch cover and gently ran his fingers over the inconspicuous engravings on the inside of the dial.

These engravings are messy and tiny; unless one is paying close attention, no one would notice them.

He closed his eyes, and the words Wang Fuquan uttered with his last breath before his sacrifice echoed in his mind once more.

"Third row, third box, radio. Password: Pine and Cypress. Don't let the organization lose its connection."

He had pondered this sentence countless times.

He had already obtained the radio and the codebook, but he always felt that Uncle Wang's last words went beyond that.

This pocket watch must be hiding other secrets.

His gaze refocused on the engravings.

These marks vary in length and are arranged without any pattern.

Su Mingzhe's brain began to work at lightning speed.

He pushed the "Living Yama System" to its limit, and countless cryptographic models flashed through his mind.

Rail fence cipher? Morse code? Frequency substitution?

No, neither.

These were all too complicated; Uncle Wang didn't have that much time to leave behind complex codes before he died.

This must be the simplest and most direct encryption method.

Su Mingzhe picked up the codebook and began flipping through the pages.

His fingers slid slowly across the pages.

Suddenly, he stopped moving.

A flash of lightning seemed to strike his mind!

He thought of it!

Engravings! A codebook!

Uncle Wang didn't mean to use a codebook to decipher the markings on the pocket watch.

Instead, it's the other way around!

Use the engravings on the pocket watch to match the contents of the codebook!

Su Mingzhe immediately picked up a pencil and copied the engravings on the pocket watch onto the paper.

One long mark, three short marks, two long marks...

This isn't a password, it's coordinates!

These are the coordinates on the codebook!

Su Mingzhe's hands trembled slightly with excitement.

He opened the codebook.

The first long line represents the page number.

The third short line represents the row number.

The second long mark represents which character in that line!

He followed this rule and searched for the words one by one.

"flower……"

The first character was deciphered.

Su Mingzhe's heart began to pound wildly.

He continued using this method, matching all the markings one by one onto the codebook.

"flag……"

"silver……"

"Row……"

He "fished" out the Chinese characters one by one from the codebook and strung them together on the paper to form a sentence.

When the last word was written, Su Mingzhe stared at the line of words on the paper and froze.

“Citibank, Section 3, Security 37, password 19370707, contains organizational funds and personnel list.”

Personnel list!

These are Uncle Wang's true last words!

That ancient sword was just one important item among them!

The real treasure is hidden in the most dangerous yet safest place—Citibank!

Su Mingzhe stood up, a strong feeling of dizziness washing over him.

He managed to stay upright by holding onto the table.

The stomach cramps struck again, but he seemed oblivious.

He knew just how urgent the situation was!

Cheng Hao, that persistent ghost!

He must be investigating too!

We must get there before Cheng Hao!

must!

……

The French Concession, a secret stronghold of the Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics (CBIS) at the Shanghai-Nanjing Railway Station.

Cheng Hao was in a better mood than ever before.

"Station Chief, we...we invited several of the top technical experts from the Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics to conduct various analyses on this string of numbers..."

"Tell me the results!"

"The format of this string of numbers perfectly matches the top-level password format of an American bank!"

"Which bank?" Cheng Hao's breathing quickened instantly.

Citibank!

Citibank!

Cheng Hao's mind went blank!

He took the document handed to him by the team leader. The document detailed a top-level encryption system called "Seven-Day Lock" used by Citibank in the 1930s.

This system is specifically designed to protect the highest level of customer safes.

Its password format is an eight-digit date combination!

And 19370707, the day the Marco Polo Bridge Incident broke out, a day with special significance for all Chinese people, is the perfect code!

"Haha...hahahaha!"

Cheng Hao could no longer contain his joy and burst into laughter, the sound echoing in the room, sounding somewhat manic.

He felt like he was the chosen one!

"Immediately!" Cheng Hao's face flushed with a sickly red from excitement. "Prepare a car! Bring your men, and come with me to Citibank!"

Su Mingzhe? That coward who only knows how to hide in the shadows and snipe.

Shigeru Kurokawa? A greedy and foolish Japanese pig.

They will all become stepping stones for him to reach the top!

Soon, a black Ford sedan drove out of the base.

Sitting in the car, Cheng Hao had already thought of the wording he would use to report to his superiors.

"...Cheng Hao, a member of the staff, braved dangers and infiltrated the enemy's lair, successfully cracking a major secret of the Red Party and seizing a priceless national treasure, an ancient sword..."

He became increasingly smug, his smile almost reaching his ears.

The vehicle traveled smoothly all the way and soon arrived at the Citibank located on the Bund.

Cheng Hao straightened his collar and, accompanied by three trusted men, swaggered inside.

He believed that his life would be completely changed.