Spy War: My Cheat Code is a Rat

Lu Chen had already figured out how to lure a shrewd person like Zhang Rongshan into his trap.

People like Zhang Rongshan are endlessly greedy. All you need to do is show a little weakness and offer him the benefits, and he will walk into it without hesitation.

"Brother Chen, have you been very busy these past few days?"

Looking through the rearview mirror at Lu Chen, who was resting with his eyes closed in the back seat, Liu Jie could not hide the exhaustion and tension on his face.

"It's alright, I've been quite busy."

Lu Chen rubbed his temples. His situation was already precarious, but now the big boss in the organization was turning against him, and Wang Yan was dead too.

Given the current situation, it can be described as a desperate situation.

In addition to preventing investigations from various parties, they also need to find ways to prove their identity.

Liu Jie unconsciously tightened his grip on the steering wheel. He wanted to help Lu Chen, but Lu Chen didn't say anything, and he didn't know what to do.

Moreover, Liu Jie considered himself stupid and unable to deal with the Japanese.

He opened his mouth, but ultimately didn't say anything, and silently arrived at the Paramount.

When the doorman saw that it was the same two people again, he was about to go up and lead them to Zhang Rongshan's private room.

"No need, we know where it is."

Liu Jie coldly extended his hand, refusing the doorman's guidance.

Since I can't help Brother Shen with his dealings with the Japanese, I must do my best in other matters, after all, Brother Shen has helped me so much.

Lu Chen didn't speak, and Liu Jie walked ahead of him.

Arriving at the door of the private room where Zhang Rongshan often stayed, Liu Jie heard a sound coming from inside and pushed the door open without saying a word.

Lu Chen didn't say anything, and went straight in. He sat down next to Zhang Rongshan.

"Brother Lu, you've come to give me money again?"

Zhang Rongshan wasn't angry, after all, Lu Chen could bring him a considerable income now.

Liu Jie stood beside Lu Chen, expressionless, while Lu Chen looked at Zhang Rongshan and laughed.

"Brother Zhang, our rule is to distribute the money once a month, you haven't forgotten, have you?"

"Oh? So what brings you here today?"

Zhang Rongshan suddenly stopped spinning the walnut in his hand, leaned forward slightly, and looked at Lu Chen with a smile on his face.

Lu Chen picked up two empty glasses, and Liu Jie immediately opened a bottle of wine and poured it in.

Picking up his wine glass, Lu Chen handed another one to Zhang Rongshan.

"Brother Zhang, want a drink?"

Zhang Rongshan watched Liu Jie pour the wine the whole time, a faint smile playing on his lips.

"Kid, you've learned to put on airs, huh? This wine is good, but let's get this straight first. Since it's not about splitting money, what brings you here?"

Zhang Rongshan reached out and took the wine glass, but didn't drink it; he just held it to his nose and smelled it.

Seeing that Zhang Rongshan wasn't drinking, Lu Chen also put down his glass, stared into Zhang Rongshan's eyes, and spoke with a nervous and expectant expression.

"Brother Zhang, as you know, I'm helping you sell grain now, but I have so much grain that it's overflowing. At first, it was fine because the people were buying a lot, but now that time has passed, the grain is piling up everywhere. I was thinking, since you're willing to let me do grain business, how can I accept just a little money? I'm thinking of giving you this extra grain. What do you think?"

Zhang Rongshan squinted as he looked Lu Chen up and down, tapping his fingers on the table.

The grain can't be sold? How is that possible? There are so many people in the Chinese-speaking region waiting to eat, how could it not be sold?

However, judging from Lu Chen's expression, it seems he really has something important to ask of him.

"Is this kid really in trouble, or is he setting a trap for me? Giving me food? Do I, Zhang Rongshan, lack a little bit of food? But since he said that, I might as well take the opportunity to ask him what's going on."

"If someone really tries to stop him, then he'll have to learn who's in charge in Chinese territory. If he tries anything funny... hmph, then don't blame me for turning my back on him!"

Zhang Rongshan had a lot on his mind, but he laughed out loud, though the smile didn't reach his eyes.

"Brother, you're implying something. Tell me, are you having some trouble? Is someone preventing you from selling, or are you thinking of selling somewhere else?"

Lu Chen stared at the wine glass in front of him. He had thought that Zhang Rongshan was a greedy person who would accept any benefit without hesitation, but he did not expect him to be so difficult to deal with.

But now that things have come to this, if I don't explain myself clearly and suddenly get up to leave, I probably won't be able to leave anyway...

Lu Chen looked at the two people standing at the door, and the two people behind Zhang Rongshan. There were four people in total, and they were all armed.

"Ugh."

Lu Chen suddenly sighed, picked up his wine glass and drank it all in one gulp. He wiped the wine from the corner of his mouth and looked at Zhang Rongshan before speaking again.

"Brother Zhang, to tell you the truth, I have too much grain here. I'm afraid the people will see it and loot it without thinking. My place is small, so I thought I'd leave it with you for now."

Hahahahaha.

Zhang Rongshan suddenly burst into laughter, his laughter tinged with disdain.

"Afraid the people will rob them?"

He stood up, walked over to Lu Chen, and looked down at Lu Chen without lowering his head even slightly.

"Brother, do you think I, Zhang Rongshan, got into this mess for nothing? You can store your grain here, but..."

At this point, Zhang Rongshan suddenly leaned down and lowered his voice.

"Have you heard something, kid?"

Lu Chen's lips twitched as he looked at Zhang Rongshan, who was practically pressed against him.

This person is too shrewd, which is a problem. I just wanted to give him the food and make him a scapegoat, so why is he so wary?

Before Lu Chen could speak, Zhang Rongshan stood up, twirling the walnut in his hand, his eyes shifting between light and shadow.

"Brother, you keep trying to stuff food into my hands, you wouldn't happen to...?"

Zhang Rongshan leaned closer to Lu Chen's ear again and lowered his voice.

"Is someone investigating the origin of this batch of grain?"

Zhang Rongshan is the kind of person who hates being used as a pawn and detests being tricked in front of others.

Lu Chen was greatly shocked. He had thought Zhang Rongshan was just a greedy and lecherous man, but he hadn't expected him to be so difficult to deal with.

In just a few words, he quickly guessed Lu Chen's true purpose.

No, we can't delay any longer. The longer it goes on, the worse it will be for us.

Lu Chen gritted his teeth. He had to deal with Zhang Rongshan quickly. If Zhang Rongshan became suspicious, given his relationship with the Japanese, his plan would undoubtedly be exposed.

"Brother Zhang, you're overthinking it. If someone really investigated, would I dare to sell grain so openly? How about this, I'll leave the grain with you and give you a storage fee, okay?"

Zhang Rongshan sneered and retreated to the sofa.

"Storage fee?"

He picked up his wine glass and took a sip.

"Brother, I, Zhang Rongshan, am not short of money. How about this, you can leave the grain with me, but I need to know what you're really up to."

Zhang Rongshan turned his head, clearly his patience was almost exhausted, and stared at Lu Chen with a sinister look before speaking.

"To be frank, are you facing some insurmountable problem?"

Lu Chen's hand suddenly clenched, and the atmosphere in the room immediately became awkward.

When Liu Jie saw Zhang Rongshan's men making moves inside the room, he frowned and unconsciously reached for his lower back.

"Yes, Huang Jinrong, do you know him? He saw that my grain was selling so well and wanted a piece of the pie."

Having no other choice, Lu Chen could only use Huang Jinrong, whose status was similar to Zhang Rongshan's, as a shield.

But Huang Jinrong never gets involved in such things. If he finds out, I'll be in deep trouble.

However, Lu Chen felt it wasn't a big problem, since as long as the plan was completed, Zhang Rongshan would die soon, and Huang Jinrong wouldn't know.

Zhang Rongshan suddenly stood up, almost dropping the walnuts in his hand.

"Huang Jinrong?"

His expression shifted between light and dark as he paced back and forth, finally stopping in front of Lu Chen.

"Brother, you're giving me a hard time."

Although Zhang Rongshan held absolute power in the Chinese-controlled areas of Shanghai, Huang Jinrong, having come from the French Concession police force, had an even stronger background.

If Zhang Rongshan were to run into Huang Jinrong, he wouldn't have an easy time either.

"This kid suddenly mentioned Huang Jinrong; it seems things aren't that simple."

"That old bastard Huang Jinrong has indeed been eyeing the business in the Chinese-controlled area, and now he's even extending his reach into my territory. But the fact that this kid took the initiative to come to me means that he hasn't made any connections with the Huang family yet."

Inside the private room, Zhang Rongshan paced back and forth incessantly, his inner turmoil evident to anyone.

Suddenly, Zhang Rongshan sat back down, picked up his wine glass and drank it all in one gulp. His subordinate lit a cigarette for him, and he took a deep drag.

"I, Zhang Rongshan, have been in Shanghai for so many years, and what I hate most is others trying to steal my food. If Huang Jinrong really dares to touch my supply lines, he's daring to challenge the tyrant. But since this kid brought it up, he's given me an opportunity."

Zhang Rongshan's face was ashen as he walked to the window, his back to Lu Chen.

Lu Chen was very nervous, afraid that Zhang Rongshan would notice something again, and his eyes kept following him.

"That Huang Jinrong, he's really got his hands on things that far."

Zhang Rongshan turned around, a ferocious smile on his face.

"Brother, since you've put it this way, I won't hold back anymore. I'll take this load of grain for you."

He then strode up to Lu Chen and patted him on the shoulder.

"However, if Huang Jinrong contacts you again, you must let me know in advance."

"Okay, Brother Zhang, I'll bring the grain over for you in a bit."

Seeing that Zhang Rongshan finally relented, Lu Chen breathed a sigh of relief. Zhang Rongshan was much more difficult to deal with than he had thought.

After Zhang Rongshan told Lu Chen the location of his granary, Lu Chen led Liu Jie out of the Paramount.

After getting back into the car, Lu Chen was shocked to find that his back was covered in cold sweat.

Actually, there's no need to involve Zhang Rongshan in this matter at all. Just find a few of his greedy underlings. It's only a few thousand catties of grain; at that time, opium was sold by the ton.

However, Lu Chen didn't know the leader, and doing so would definitely take some time. Now that he was surrounded by enemies, he wanted to resolve the situation quickly, so he went directly to Zhang Rongshan.