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

News of the disastrous defeat at Zhongtiao Mountain swept through the entire Shanghai area like a cold front.

In the Kuomintang-controlled areas, a gloomy and desolate atmosphere prevailed, and people were filled with anxiety.

In the Japanese-occupied areas and concessions, however, the situation was quite different.

The Japanese expatriates and traitors decorated their homes with lanterns and held a parade to celebrate, as if they could already see the dawn of victory in the "Greater East Asia Holy War".

At the Jiangnan Shipyard, the festive atmosphere created for the upcoming launching ceremony was pushed to its peak by this "great news".

Naoki Hase was even more overjoyed.

He was both dreaming of the lieutenant general rank he was about to receive and recalling the praise from Prince Yong, and he was completely disoriented.

He even ordered that all workers involved in the "Giant Ship Project" receive double the bonus, euphemistically called "celebrating with the nation."

The entire shipyard was immersed in a morbid frenzy.

Only Su Mingzhe locked himself in his office.

He declined all invitations to banquets and celebrations, and sat quietly by himself.

His body temporarily returned to calm under the influence of the gene repair fluid.

But within him, an unprecedented and monstrous storm was brewing.

The Nationalist army's crushing defeat was like a resounding slap across his face.

It also completely shattered the last glimmer of hope he had for Chiang Kai-shek's regime.

Lamenting its misfortune, anger is indisputable.

These eight words are no longer enough to describe his feelings at this moment.

He was working tirelessly here, risking everything to deliver intelligence and supplies to the front lines and the organization.

But what they got in return was one crushing defeat after another.

The medicine he sent and the soldiers he saved might have died in vain in the next defeat caused by poor command.

The intelligence he sent, the conspiracies he exposed, might be shelved due to factional struggles, ultimately becoming nothing more than a piece of waste paper.

This feeling of powerlessness, like an invisible hand, gripped his heart tightly, almost suffocating him.

He needs an outlet.

An outlet for him to completely release the overwhelming hatred and anger in his heart.

His gaze unconsciously drifted through the window to the massive ship standing silently in the dock.

"Amaterasu".

This monster, created by him, appears to be a steel behemoth, but is actually quite weak.

Originally, in his plan, this ship was intended to be a tool to weaken the Japanese navy.

Its final fate is to sink to the cold seabed in some future "accident".

But now, Su Mingzhe has a new idea.

A more insane, bolder, and more satisfying idea.

It would be too lenient for them to sink to the bottom of the sea with only a few Japanese naval personnel.

This ship was built with the blood and sweat of countless Chinese workers and the wealth plundered from the people.

It deserves a more "brilliant" ending.

It should bloom in the most magnificent and breathtaking way!

Then, drag everything related to it—the sinful and the ugly—into hell!

A glint of light flashed in Su Mingzhe's eyes.

He walked to the drafting table and spread out the internal structural diagrams of the "Amaterasu".

His fingers slowly traced across the drawing, finally stopping at two points.

One is the giant cannon located at the bow of the ship.

The other is the ammunition depot located in the middle of the ship.

A plan brimming with destructive beauty rapidly took shape in his mind.

The giant cannon that straddles the mountains and rivers was a foreshadowing he himself had planted.

The defects in the barrel material and the delayed-action corrosive agent he applied doomed this cannon to a catastrophic barrel explosion after continuous high-intensity firing.

The force of this barrel explosion was enough to detonate... the entire ammunition depot!

However, an empty ammunition depot will not explode.

He needs to fill this ammunition depot with "fuel".

He thought of someone.

Colonel Yamanami.

Su Mingzhe dialed Shan Bing's number.

"I am the advisor, Tianping."

"Director Tianping!" came the excited voice from the other end of the phone. Ever since receiving the praise from Prince Yong, he had been in a state of extreme excitement for the past few days.

"Colonel, I have a question I'd like to ask you." Su Mingzhe's tone carried a hint of humility, as if he were seeking knowledge.

"You say!"

“Our ship, ‘Amaterasu,’ has incredibly powerful main guns, but I always feel it lacks sustained firepower. We only have one main gun turret,” Su Mingzhe said slowly, casting out the bait.

“Yes, that is indeed a problem.” Yamagami immediately followed his lead. “A single-mounted main gun does have an inherent disadvantage in terms of firepower density.”

"So I was thinking, is there any way to make up for this deficiency?" Su Mingzhe continued to guide the conversation.

"For example, is there a type of special shell... with immense power, a wide blast radius, and the ability to cause massive, widespread damage to enemy fleets?"

"Special artillery shells?" Yamagami was taken aback.

Then he remembered an idea he had abandoned many years ago.

A super shell that combines high-energy fuel and high-explosive, integrating combustion and explosion!

"Thermobaric bomb!" Yamagami almost blurted out!

"That's right! This is it!" Su Mingzhe's voice also carried a hint of "surprise." "Colonel, you really are a genius! Can you make this kind of shell?"

"Yes! Of course! As long as there is enough funding and materials, I guarantee I can build the most terrifying weapon in the world for you!"

"Funding and materials are not a problem," Su Mingzhe's voice was like the whisper of a devil.

"I need you to fill the 'Amaterasu's' ammunition depot with these... 'thermal explosive bombs' within ten days!"

"Ten days?!" Yamagawa exclaimed in surprise. "That's too tight a timeframe! Besides, these shells are extremely unstable, and storing them together is very dangerous!"

"Colonel." Su Mingzhe's tone left no room for argument.

"We must not only entertain His Highness the Prince and all the guests at the launching ceremony, but also be able to strike the enemy and have real combat capabilities."

There was a long silence on the other end of the phone.

After a long while, the sound of mountains and rivers rose again.

"...Yes, Director Tian Ping! Mission accomplished!"

After hanging up the phone, a smile appeared on Su Mingzhe's face.

Everything is ready.