Anti-Japanese War Espionage: I Have an Omniscient Perspective

The lead constable hurriedly nodded and bowed, "Of course, of course! Please come with me, I'll personally escort you and guarantee your safety!"

As he spoke, he led a few constables ahead to clear the way, with the traitor escorting Fang Dongcheng following closely behind. The group marched in a grand procession toward Huichuntang.

Lin Rui mingled in the crowd, watching everything with icy eyes, his hands clenching tightly, his nails almost digging into his palms.

He suppressed the urge to rush forward, knowing that acting rashly now would not only fail to rescue Fang Dongcheng but would also expose himself. He could only blend into the crowd and follow at a distance from the rest of the group.

Soon, the group arrived at the entrance of Huichuntang.

The traitor kicked open the door of the pharmacy and led Old Zhou inside, while the police stood guard outside.

Lin Rui activated his superpower, using a three-dimensional perspective to observe the situation inside the pharmacy.

Five traitors and spies were assigned to different roles: two to guard Lao Zhou, and the other three to search the pharmacy thoroughly.

The counter, medicine shelves, backyard, and storage room were all thoroughly searched. Medicine jars and herbs were scattered all over the floor, and the once tidy pharmacy was instantly turned into a mess.

"How's it going? Did you find it?" The traitor, shot in the arm, stood in front of the counter and asked his men who were searching him.

Several traitors shook their heads: "Boss, we couldn't find anyone. The pharmacy is empty, with only some medicinal herbs and miscellaneous items."

The traitor frowned, glanced resentfully at the pharmacy, then looked at Fang Dongcheng, who was being held captive, and asked viciously, "Where's your accomplice? Did he escape?"

Fang Dongcheng spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva, looked at him with contempt, and remained silent.

Just then, the patrol officers came in. "Brothers, it seems that accomplice has already fled. You've already searched this pharmacy. Why don't you leave first? The crowd outside is growing larger, and there are soldiers among them. Even without weapons, you might not be able to handle them in a fight..."

The traitor snorted coldly, knowing that further searching would yield no results, and could only grit his teeth and say, "Go! Take him out of the concession and back to the military police headquarters to report!"

The group, escorting Fang Dongcheng, made their way through the still-angry crowd under the protection of the police, heading towards the exit of the French Concession. Lin Rui stood at the street corner, watching their figures gradually disappear into the distance, a resolute glint in his eyes.

He quietly turned around and disappeared into the crowd.

........

Away from the pharmacy area, Lin Rui arrived at Lafayette Road.

This road is a major east-west thoroughfare in the concession area, located south of Avenue Joffre, and is mainly comprised of residential areas and small and medium-sized businesses.

Many refugees are looking for rooms to rent here, and you can see people haggling over prices everywhere along the way.

Lin Rui stopped and looked at those people, leaning against the wall in thought.

What should we do next?

I haven't even settled into my new identity yet, and now I'm even having trouble finding a place to stay;

Because Lao Zhou was the leader of the undercover team, his arrest led to the loss of contact with the higher-ups of the Fuxing Society.

The most crucial question is whether Lao Zhou will be able to withstand the torture inflicted by the military police.

If Lao Zhou were to defect, it wouldn't affect me much, since I'd only just joined the undercover team and even Lao Zhou didn't know me very well.

But Lao Zhou knows those four undercover team members very well, and their identities are very likely to be leaked, which would be dangerous.

No, we can't wait!

Lin Rui realized that he had to notify the undercover agents immediately, which was also his responsibility as the liaison officer.

Also, the things Lao Zhou hid in the pharmacy didn't seem to have been discovered during the traitors' hasty search. I need to find a chance to sneak back to the pharmacy, take them out, and take them with me. They absolutely cannot fall into the hands of the Japanese army.

With this in mind, Lin Rui immediately took action.

Wearing glasses and dressed in a refined manner, he mingled among the refugee crowd and walked briskly toward the central market.

Police officers passed by frequently along the way, and his physical features served as excellent disguise, so he was not questioned.

Half an hour later, Lin Rui arrived at the Central Vegetable Market without incident.

The central market remained in chaos, with refugees crammed into the open space and children crying out incessantly.

Sun Xiaoliu's cigarette stand is no longer in the same place.

Lin Rui immediately understood the reason.

In this environment, how could anyone possibly buy cigarettes?

He walked into the central market and headed to the east side of the market.

This place is still open for business.

The stalls sold not-so-fresh vegetables, cured meat, rice, dried fruit, snacks, and other goods.

Shop number 13 sells groceries: salted fish, spices, rice, and the like.

The shop owner sat listlessly, waiting for customers to come in.

It was Sun Xiaoliu.

Lin Rui walked over and picked up a salted fish: "How much?"

Sun Xiaoliu looked up and saw that the person in front of him looked somewhat familiar. "Ten copper coins."

"Too expensive." Lin Rui opened his right hand, revealing a brass key, and lowered his voice: "It's me, Shuangmu Chenglin."

Sun Xiaoliu was surprised and replied with the coded message: "A house full of children and grandchildren. You've changed so much, I didn't even recognize you."

Lin Rui went straight to the point and explained the situation in a low voice: "Old Zhou has been captured by the Japanese lackeys."

"When were you arrested?!" Sun Xiaoliu exclaimed in surprise.

"Just forty minutes ago, he was taken to the concession area. I was worried that Lao Zhou wouldn't be able to withstand the interrogation and would defect, so I came to inform you."

"You did the right thing. Contact the others immediately. By the way, how do we contact them afterwards?"

Lin Rui was stunned.

With Lao Zhou arrested, as the liaison officer of the undercover team, he had to maintain contact with the undercover personnel. If these undercover personnel changed their identities, how would he contact them in the future?

He came up with a solution.

At the southeast corner of the intersection of Xiafei Road and Masnan Road, there is a department store run by Japanese companies. It is a relatively safe place and a public place, so it can be used as a meeting point.

He then replied, "Does the department store know about the contract?"

"Know."

"I'll leave a contact code at the Contract Department Store. Once you're settled, go take a look around there."

"OK."

Lin Rui put down the salted fish: "In this world, we can't even afford a salted fish. I'm not buying it."

After saying that, he turned and left, heading towards the Shiliupu Wharf.

Over at the dock.

The National Army's transport ships had already left, leaving only scattered supplies and a few dockworkers on the shore.

There were very few workers left at the French Concession docks. Zhao Erzhu was sitting on a pile of sacks, smoking homemade cigarettes.

Lin Rui used a three-dimensional perspective to observe the surrounding situation.

No suspicious persons were found near the dock. Only two police officers were on duty at the dock to prevent anyone from sneaking into the concession from here.

While the two police officers were talking, Lin Rui walked into the dock from a blind spot.

He went around to the back of the pile of goods, picked up a small stone, and threw it at Zhao Erzhu.

Zhao Erzhu turned around abruptly and was equally surprised to see Lin Rui in disguise.

But the copper key dispelled his doubts.

"Two trees make a forest."

The Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove.

The two parties exchanged a secret code to confirm their identities.

Zhao Erzhu asked, "Has the higher-ups assigned us some kind of task?"

"Old Zhou has been arrested. It was the Japanese military police detective squad who did it." Lin Rui said quickly while cautiously observing the patrolling officers in the distance. "We're not sure if he'll defect. You leave the dock immediately and find a safe place to lie low. After you're settled, go to the Hetong Department Store. I'll leave a secret signal there."