Anti-Japanese War Espionage: I Have an Omniscient Perspective

As Lin Rui walked past the police officers, he saw a breakfast stall not far away. The steaming heat and the aroma of glutinous rice balls and soy milk wafted towards him.

The stall owner was a short, stout old man who was calling out in a thick Shanghai accent. Lin Rui stepped forward and said, "Two glutinous rice balls and a bowl of soy milk, please."

"Alright, sir, please wait a moment!" The old man quickly wrapped the rice ball, handed over the warm soy milk, Lin Rui took it, paid three copper coins, found a small stool against the wall, sat down, and slowly began to eat.

As he chewed, he scanned the street, paying attention to passersby, especially around the film studio.

Just as Sun Xiaoliu started setting up his stall, the door of Fuji Teahouse was already open. The waiter lifted the curtain outside, and tea drinkers were bending over to enter.

After finishing breakfast, Lin Rui wiped his mouth and headed straight for the Fu Kee Tea House across from the film studio.

By this time, Sun Xiaoliu had already set up his cigarette stall. Various cigarettes were displayed on a wooden shelf. He was wearing ordinary short clothes and an old felt hat, and was arranging cigarette boxes with his head down.

"Give me a pack of Hademen." Lin Rui walked up to the cigarette stand, his tone casual and natural, as if he were just an ordinary customer buying cigarettes.

Sun Xiaoliu glanced up at him, then looked down again, picked up a bag of Hademen cigarettes and handed it over, saying in a low voice, "When I came this morning, there were two men in black short jackets who stood at the entrance of the film studio for about fifteen minutes. They didn't go in, but went east. I don't know which side they were from."

Lin Rui took the cigarette, pulled out a banknote and handed it over, replying in a low voice, "Keep an eye on whether they come back. Also, keep an eye on the people coming and going in the teahouse, see if anyone is tailing our film studio. Be careful yourself too."

"Understood." Sun Xiaoliu took the money, quickly gave change, and said in a calm tone, "Take care, boss."

Lin Rui nodded and turned to leave the cigarette stand.

According to the pre-arranged accounts, today's destinations are Jincheng Grand Theater and Nanjing Grand Theater. These are two theaters that Lianhua has long cooperated with. Films such as "The Song of a Loving Mother" and "Wang Laowu" have been screened at these two theaters and have received excellent reviews.

He first went to the Jincheng Grand Theater. The theater was not open yet. At the entrance of the theater, a man in his fifties, wearing a silk robe with a slightly protruding belly, was supervising the staff to clean.

Lin Rui stepped forward, cupped his hands in greeting, and asked, "Are you Mr. Wang, the owner of the Jincheng Grand Theater?"

Upon seeing Lin Rui, the man returned the greeting with a cupped hand: "Who are you?"

"Chen Mo is the new manager of Lianhua Film Studio."

"Oh. I've heard of it. Baylor Street is such a small place. The news of you and Lao Xiang going out to visit yesterday spread to everyone at the teahouse last night."

I didn't have a chance to visit you yesterday, so I came today. Please forgive me.

"No, no, let's go inside and talk."

As they spoke, Boss Wang and Lin Rui walked into the Jincheng Grand Theater.

The two went to the theater manager's office, where Lin Rui explained their purpose.

"I'm here today for two reasons. First, to pay a visit and renew our relationship. Second, I have something I'd like to discuss with you, Mr. Wang. Some of the films our film studio released in the first half of the year, such as 'A Mother's Song' and 'Such Prosperity,' were well-received at your cinema. We were wondering if we could arrange a few more screenings to boost your cinema's popularity. It would be a win-win situation for both of us."

Boss Wang's eyes lit up, and he quickly said, "Great! These films had very high attendance rates when they were released, and many customers even asked if we could show them a few more times! But... I heard the master tapes have all been taken out of Shanghai. Do you still have them?"

"Don't worry, Boss Wang, the master tapes are all safely stored at the studio, in perfect condition," Lin Rui replied with a smile. "How about we split the screening revenue according to the usual schedule?"

"Manager Chen is a capable person, let's do it this way."

Lin Rui then indicated that he was going to the next store, and Boss Wang saw him off at the door.

The two stood at the cinema entrance and chatted for a few more minutes about the details.

"Then I'll go back and have someone prepare the master tape. When would you like to supply the film for screening?"

"Manager Chen, this film is about to be released, and we should have someone design the posters, but I still have the posters from the first half of the year, and they're still usable. How about this, I'll promote it for two days, and it will open in three days."

"Okay, it's settled then."

Lin Rui bowed and took his leave.

To assess the effectiveness of his visit, he activated his supernatural abilities.

The scene behind him was perceived through his supernatural abilities.

Boss Wang called over a shop assistant and instructed him, "Go to Lianhua Film Studio and find out if their new manager is named Chen Mo."

The waiter asked, "Boss, isn't the person right in front of us?"

"I told you to go see it, why did you have to say anything?" Boss Wang slapped his employee on the head.

Lin Rui withdrew his supernatural abilities, a slight smile playing on his lips. The fact that the other party cared so much indicated that the visit had been very effective. Three days later, the film would be released, and he would officially make his debut on Belle Street.

He continued walking forward.

The next place is the Nanjing Grand Theater, and the person in charge is Manager Li.

I heard it was an old film about Lianhua, which was originally a box office hit, so I naturally agreed.

Hearing that the Jin Cheng Grand Theatre would be showing the film in three days, he immediately decided to do the same, showing it three days later as well.

At this point, the two cinemas on Belle Street have reached an agreement, and all that remains is to arrange the film supply.

Immediately afterwards, Lin Rui returned to Lianhua Film Studio.

The studio gate was closed, but not locked; it was simply latched from the inside.

Lin Rui shouted, "Zhao Yong, open the door!"

Zhao Erzhu, using the alias Zhao Yong, came out to open the door. "Manager Zhao, someone came to ask about you earlier, and I told him you were out."

Lin Rui nodded: "It's people from Jincheng Grand Theater. They want to come to my office to talk about something."

After a while, the three members of the undercover team arrived at the manager's office.

Lin Rui explained the situation: "Today I visited Jincheng Grand Theater and Nanjing Grand Theater, and we've reached an agreement. The film will be supplied in three days, and the Lianhua Film Studio film will be screened. As long as we can handle this well, outsiders won't suspect us anymore."

As soon as he finished speaking, the office became lively.

Zhao Erzhu gave a thumbs up: "Team leader, you're amazing! You've only been out for a morning and you've already secured deals with two major theaters! I knew that's why the higher-ups made you the team leader. With this kind of ability, none of the three of us could do it."

Chen Shan frowned slightly at this, clearly disliking Zhao Erzhu's statement.

"Yes, the team leader is very capable, but I'm not someone to be trifled with. Don't compare me to you."

"You!" Zhao Erzhu glared at Chen Shan.

"Stop arguing," Su Wan advised.

Lin Rui observed this and realized that the agents dispatched by the Special Service Department were not on good terms.

It was fine when they were working separately, but when they got together, there were more conflicts.

He said, "Alright, shut up, all of you."

Zhao Erzhu and Chen Shan stopped arguing and looked at Lin Rui.

They saw a hint of cold-blooded killing intent in Lin Rui's eyes.

This is something that only someone who has actually killed someone and had the intention to kill would do.

Thinking of Lin Rui's previous record, the two felt a chill run down their spines.