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

Pushing open the door, the scene inside the house came into view.

The room was small, rectangular, about twenty square meters, but very clean.

The floor is made of smooth wooden flooring.

In the very center of the room stood a square table, its surface spotless, clearly reflecting the light and shadow of the oil lamp hanging above.

A single bed was placed near the window, neatly made with blue sheets without a single wrinkle.

A thick cotton quilt was folded on top, its color a light bluish-gray, with the corners carefully tucked in.

Su Mingzhe's location is superb, with an exceptionally wide view. Just by gently opening the window, one can take in the entire street.

With the caution he had developed during his time as a secret agent, he carefully inspected every corner of the room as soon as he entered, paying particular attention to whether there were any listening devices.

After a thorough investigation and confirming that there was nothing suspicious, he finally breathed a long sigh of relief, and his tense nerves relaxed a little.

He then called Shen Bei and Luo Dayou out of the room.

Su Mingzhe planned to have a meal at the restaurant first, to fill his stomach, and at the same time try to get some useful information from the waiter.

Then, Su Mingzhe called out loudly:

"Waiter, three bowls of plain porridge, three baskets of steamed buns, and a dish of peanuts."

Upon hearing this, the waiter immediately responded loudly, "Alright!"

He tossed the towel draped over his shoulder, turned and strode into the kitchen to get busy.

Since most of the food ordered was already prepared, the waiter brought out steaming hot buns in no time.

It was not mealtime, and apart from Su Mingzhe's table, there were no other diners in the entire inn.

When Luo Dayou saw the freshly steamed buns being served, his eyes lit up.

He didn't care about his image anymore, so he stretched out both hands, grabbed two buns with both hands, and started wolfing them down.

Although he has never really had a good image.

As long as Su Mingzhe is around, he has completely abandoned his already limited brainpower.

Luo Dayou only needs to follow Su Mingzhe's orders; as for the rest?

That's not a question he should be thinking about.

Seeing Luo Dayou wolfing down his food, Shen Bei couldn't help but shake his head slightly, a helpless smile appearing on his face, before he also silently began to eat.

Su Mingzhe, on the other hand, was feeling unwell due to the long journey and bumpy road, so he decided to drink some porridge to soothe his stomach first.

He picked up the bowl of steaming white porridge, blew on it gently, and then slowly sipped it.

After his stomach had adjusted a little, he started eating the steamed buns.

However, Su Mingzhe did not forget his main purpose for dining at the restaurant.

Halfway through the meal, Su Mingzhe had an idea and started chatting with the waiter who was watching them eat.

He slightly raised his head, his tone tinged with a mixture of curiosity and worry, and said:

"Brother, what's new in Xinjing lately?"

We rushed here, and the city felt rather deserted; the streets were filled with soldiers running away, which was quite frightening.

Upon hearing Su Mingzhe's question, the waiter, while habitually wiping his hands with the towel draped over his shoulder, lowered his head, his eyes darting around to make sure everything was alright, before whispering:

"Sir, you know what, things have been quite turbulent in Xinjing lately."

There were several gunshots recently, and grenades were used, resulting in many deaths.

We ordinary folks live in constant fear, always afraid that disaster will befall us one day.

Su Mingzhe knew that Xiao Er was referring to the Party Affairs Investigation Department's "idiot operation."

Thinking about this made Su Mingzhe furious.

They have to clean up their own messes.

Moreover, it was precisely because of their foolish actions that Duan Zhenliang became several levels more vigilant, greatly increasing the difficulty of the assassination.

Su Mingzhe pretended to be scared, and in order to get the waiter to continue, he said:

"A shot was fired? If I had known this place was so unsafe, I wouldn't have come. Didn't the Japanese always talk about being friendly?"

Upon hearing this, the waiter spat angrily and muttered a curse:

"I'm talking bullshit. A bunch of animals who were born but not raised, they're all just bluffing."

"Sir, I must warn you, you'd better sell your goods as soon as possible, because the Japanese might forcibly buy them out with military scrip any day now."

Upon hearing this, Su Mingzhe's face showed gratitude. He then promptly took out a silver dollar from his pocket and gently handed it to the young man, saying:

"Brother, thank you so much. If you hadn't reminded me, I probably would still be foolishly selling goods. You really helped me a lot."

The waiter's eyes lit up, and he happily accepted the money.

So he chatted with Su Mingzhe for a while. It was less of a conversation and more of a one-sided rant from Xiao Er, who poured out all his grievances.

"These last few shootings seem to have been aimed at that guy surnamed Duan. Let me tell you, that guy surnamed Duan is no good."

His henchmen often come here to collect protection money.

Last time they came to eat, they not only refused to pay, but I said a few words to them, and the leader of the gang got angry.

He raised his hand and punched me, beating me up. The bruise on my forehead is still there.

After saying that, the waiter lifted his hat, and sure enough, a bluish-purple bruise was clearly visible on his forehead.

"Surname Duan? What surname Duan?"

Su Mingzhe continued, picking up where the waiter left off.

The waiter scratched his head, thought for a moment, and then said:

"I heard he's a major traitor who works in the police department, but I don't know the specifics. I've never met him."

After the waiter finished speaking, as if he had suddenly thought of something, a gossipy look appeared on his face. He leaned closer to Su Mingzhe and whispered:

"I heard he has a lover who is a courtesan at the Fugui Tower. She is incredibly beautiful, just like a fairy in a painting."

The man surnamed Duan spent a full seven thousand silver dollars to redeem her from her servitude, and now she is being kept in a house in the west of the city.

The man surnamed Duan would go check on things every few days. Last time, he was probably caught red-handed; his wife and he got into a fight in the street, and quite a few people saw it.

Su Mingzhe's expression hardened, and he secretly thought to himself, "This is indeed useful information."

However, he also knew that too much of a good thing could be bad, and he couldn't continue chatting with the waiter, otherwise it might arouse suspicion.

Afterwards, Su Mingzhe casually chatted with the waiter for more than ten minutes, talking about everything from city prices to weather changes.

He only got up to say goodbye to the waiter when he felt the time was right, then turned around and went back into the house.