Anti-Japanese War Espionage: I Have an Omniscient Perspective

Lin Rui walked along Lüban Road, observing the road conditions.

The street is lined with shops, including trading companies, cafes, and many street vendors. Compared to Belle Street, this area is relatively quiet, and there are many police officers patrolling the street.

After walking for a while, feeling that it was difficult to find the right place, Lin Rui noticed an old man with a cigarette stall on the street corner, who was arranging cigarette boxes with his head down, so he slowly walked over.

"Boss, what kind of cigarettes do you sell?" Lin Rui asked in a gentle voice.

The old man looked up and replied with a smile, "I have the most complete selection of cigarettes in the concession: Old Knife, Hademen, Sanpaotai, Daqianmen, Hongshuangxi, Jinlu, Great Wall, Meili, Jinshu, and Xiaonan from Nanyang Brothers. I have them all. To put it simply, except for the Japanese Sakura brand, you can buy all the cigarette packs in Shanghai here."

This person was buying cigarettes in the wealthy area; he was quite eloquent and had a wide selection of items.

Lin Rui took out a copper coin, "Then let's have a pack of Hademen."

Lin Rui took the cigarette but didn't leave immediately. Instead, he casually looked around and asked in a low voice, "Boss, could you tell me how to get to Wing Fung Estate on Lu Ban Road? I'm looking for a friend who's new here and doesn't know the area well."

Upon hearing this, the old man glanced at him, then quickly looked at the police officers not far away, and lowered his voice to say, "Yongfeng Village, just walk two hundred steps ahead, turn the corner, it's Lane 179, Luban Road. That's where big shots live. There are red-headed Indians guarding the entrance, so it's not easy to get in." As he spoke, he pointed to the corner ahead, his tone carrying a hint of awe.

It seems that Wing Fung Estate is quite famous in the surrounding area, and its residents are all wealthy and powerful. Even small vendors like this dare not approach it.

"Thank you, boss." Lin Rui nodded his thanks, lit a cigarette, and pretended to stroll around as he walked in the direction the old man pointed.

Sure enough, after walking about two hundred steps, we saw a grand alleyway at the corner. A black wooden sign with gold lettering hung at the entrance, bearing the three large characters "Yongfeng Village," which was completely different from the ordinary houses around it.

Lin Rui slowed his pace and quietly walked to the entrance of a foreign goods store diagonally opposite, pretending to look at the goods in the window, but his eyes were fixed on the entrance of Yongfeng Village.

At the entrance of the alley stood a heavy, dark brown iron gate, with a typical Shikumen gatehouse of the era. On either side of the gate stood an Indian policeman, wearing a distinctive red turban and carrying a baton. They were tall and their eyes were scanning the passersby warily. They were the "red-headed Indians" commonly known in the concession.

To the right of the alley entrance was a gatekeeper in a blue cloth jacket, about fifty years old, holding an enamel tea mug in his hand, occasionally bringing it to his lips to take a sip, but his eyes never left the area in front of the alley entrance.

Just then, someone walked towards the entrance of the alley.

The gatekeeper stood up and announced loudly, "Outsiders are not allowed to enter."

"I live inside," the man argued.

The gatekeeper, head held high, coldly rebuked, "Where did this little punk come from? You don't even know what Yongfeng Village is, yet you dare to come here? I know everyone who lives here, including the drivers and servants. You can't fool me. If you take another step, I'll break your legs."

Upon realizing he had been found out, the man slunk away.

Lin Rui understood; the security at Yongfeng Village was indeed tight.

He walked to the left, reaching the wall of Yongfeng Village, and secretly activated his three-dimensional perspective ability.

In an instant, the entire area within 100 meters of the wall was laid out before us.

He walked slowly along the path beside the wall, and after circling around, he had a general idea of ​​what was going on inside.

The entire estate consists of twenty houses, neatly arranged along the central garden. Houses 1-10 on the east side are terraced apartments, while houses 10-20 on the west side are detached apartments. Each house is a brick and wood structure with a Western-style attic on the roof. Some houses have potted plants on their balconies, giving them a touch of elegance.

When he walked to the right side of the wall of Wing Fung Estate, Lam Yui spotted apartment number 17.

This small villa is more impressive than other detached buildings. Two burly men in black short jackets stand guard at the entrance, watching the alleyway warily.

Through his supernatural ability, Lin Rui could clearly see the internal layout of Number 17:

The first floor is a spacious living room, furnished with Western-style sofas and a mahogany coffee table. On the coffee table is an exquisite tea set, and on the cabinet next to it are several bottles of foreign liquor. There is no one in the living room except for a maid who is wiping the tables and chairs.

The second floor consists of a study and a bedroom. The study window is closed and the curtains are drawn tightly. You can vaguely see a large desk inside with many documents piled on it. There is also a safe in the corner, which is probably where important items are stored.

The third floor consists of guest rooms and servants' quarters, with servants occasionally walking around.

The fourth floor was the bedroom, luxuriously decorated, but Lu Dahong was nowhere to be found.

At this moment, some police officers came to patrol. These officers, who were paid to do their jobs, were very responsible. They kept an eye on Lin Rui, and even though Lin Rui did nothing, they never took their eyes off him.

If he stayed any longer, the police might become suspicious. Not wanting to be questioned by the police, Lin Rui calmly walked out of the alley, and the two policemen then turned their attention back to their patrol.

Walking on Lüban Road, Lin Rui pondered how to continue his reconnaissance of the area without being discovered.

He stopped and looked up at the coffee shop on the side of the road.

This Russian-owned café is just across an alley from Wing Fung Estate. Perhaps I could use my supernatural abilities to conduct reconnaissance here, so I wouldn't have to worry about being discovered.

He then walked into the coffee shop, looked around at the layout, and saw three rows of seats near the alley. He then chose the innermost seat and sat down.

A waiter came over.

"Sir, what do you need?"

"What kind of coffee do you have?" Lin Rui asked. He had never drunk Russian coffee before in the future and didn't know what it was like.

侍应熟练回道：「我们有俄式黑咖啡，不加糖，12铜元一杯。俄式奶油咖啡18铜元一杯。蜂蜜肉桂咖啡20铜元一杯。巧克力咖啡22铜元一杯。伏特加咖啡25铜元一杯。」

Everything else is acceptable, but what the heck is vodka? I guess only Russians would like to drink it.

"A cream coffee, please." Lin Rui placed two one-cent coins on the table. "Keep the change."

"Thank you, sir." The waiter happily picked up the two cents and left.

Not long after, he brought over the coffee: "Please enjoy your coffee. Just give me a call if you need anything."

Lin Rui nodded, picked up his coffee cup and slowly savored it, while simultaneously activating his supernatural observation ability.

Through a three-dimensional perspective, he saw more of the situation around the 17th.

There are also two patrol guards in the estate who will patrol back and forth along houses 1-20, with a half-hour interval between two patrols, and they may change shifts in the middle of the patrol.

There are some miscellaneous items piled up on the back wall of apartment 17, which seems to be regarded as a private area by the owner of apartment 17. Therefore, the security guards do not patrol this area, and it has become a blind spot that public security cannot see.

There, one only needs to climb over the wall to get there. The wall has barbed wire, but it is not enough to stop agile people from climbing over it.

In addition, he also saw the living conditions of the residents in several buildings next to No. 17 in the estate.

There were cars belonging to foreign firms parked in front of numbers 16 and 18 on the left and right. You could see people talking inside, but they were speaking French or other languages, which I couldn't understand.

Across the street, on the ground floor of townhouse number 3, there is a small private clinic with a wooden sign that reads "Zhu Medical Clinic" hanging at the entrance. Several patients are waiting in line for their appointments.

That concludes today's reconnaissance. With that, Lin Rui got up and left.