spy cloud

Inside the Shanghai Tufeiyuan government office.

Tu Feiyuan sat behind his desk, smoking a cigarette. His face was completely shrouded in smoke, obscuring his aged features.

"Xiaoze, how's your investigation going?"

"Chief, we've investigated. Zhang Tianhao's policy in northern Jiangsu has had a significant impact on the region. Although the rations were reduced by 30%, overall, compared to people in other areas, it's practically paradise there. A 30% reduction means each person gets about seven ounces of grain per day, which is more than enough."

"Not only that, we also discovered from the policies that it seems there is a food shortage in northern Jiangsu, but based on our findings last year, northern Jiangsu should not be short of food. We don't know why they are doing this. Is it for some other purpose?"

“We have investigated, and various experts have analyzed the policies in northern Jiangsu. We found that there seems to be some kind of conspiracy involved, but we have not found anything.”

"In addition, it is true that a large number of machines have been imported from northern Jiangsu, and there are two large production lines. They have already been assembled and are expected to be ready for use soon."

"The real goods have been transported in. Where did they come from? Where is their transport route?"

"I don't know, but it's definitely a sea transport route, and only a sea transport route. After all, we're guarding all the other places, and large machinery production lines can only be transported by rail and sea. There's no other way to transport them, let alone by plane."

"Investigate! We must find out exactly what's going on with this transportation line. We must dismantle it, otherwise, the entire northern Jiangsu region will be in dire straits—it's an exaggeration to say that. Understand?"

“We have contacted the military police in Tianjin, Hong Kong and other places, and they have not found out where the transport route passed through. It is very likely that it went directly through the high seas. It is only there that the inspection is not very strict.”

"Baka! Even if it's in international waters, you have to find out the truth, otherwise this matter isn't over, and the Empire will face even bigger trouble."

"Yes!"

"By the way, did you find out where that old man went before?"

"Are you talking about the old man who guards the cauldron?"

"Correct!"

"I'm sorry, Chief, we've been investigating, but we haven't found anything. It's as if he's never been here at all."

"Moreover, through our investigations, it is very likely that he has already passed away."

"You mean he died at Zhang Tianhao's hands?"

"It's very likely. After all, we heard that Zhang Tianhao returned to northern Jiangsu to recuperate after that incident. Although we don't know if it's true, we speculate that he may have fought with the old man and was seriously injured, which is why he had to recuperate. And it seems that the recuperation period was quite long."

"This, this..."

"In addition, regarding the matter of Ding, headquarters called and were quite satisfied with your work. Have you forgotten? They did not investigate your previous dereliction of duty."

"Sigh, I had forgotten. I've been so busy I've barely had time to breathe, and so much time has passed. You can go now. Also, hurry up and investigate Subei, find out about all aspects of what's going on there, and give me a detailed report."

"Hi!"

……

Inside the Shanghai Military Police headquarters, Yingzuo looked at the intelligence report in front of him without any change in expression. He was almost powerless to do anything about Su Bei or Zhang Tianhao.

In one battle after another, he always lost miserably, and now he has no desire to continue fighting with Zhang Tianhao from northern Jiangsu.

"General, general!"

Just as he was in a daze, he heard a faint shout in his ear.

He then snapped out of his reverie, glanced at the people in the meeting room, and said calmly, "Where were we?" "We were just talking about northern Jiangsu, our plan to send a portion of our forces there. What do you think of this list?"

He accepted the list, the assignment of identities, and a series of plans. He sighed and then shook his head.

"There's no need. They've already occupied most of Nantong. If they fight for a while longer, they'll be almost across the river from us. So sending more troops won't help. Besides, things aren't as simple as we think. Sending as many people as we want is not an issue."

"Have we ever successfully bribed a single government official or military officer above the company level in northern Jiangsu? We've tried women, money, and power—we haven't tried any of them. Sending them over this time won't be effective either; at most, we'll just be sending a batch of laborers to northern Jiangsu."

"All plans targeting northern Jiangsu have been suspended. It's not that we don't want to deal with them, but that we are powerless to do so, really."

"General, how can we explain this to our superiors? And our work..."

"Our focus should be on Shanghai, so we should stop getting involved in things in northern Jiangsu, which is beyond our capabilities."

He also let out a long sigh, acknowledging his defeat.

Even a proud Japanese general was quite powerless when facing Zhang Tianhao and Su Bei.

In this situation, everyone understood that their general had changed. He was no longer the daring and courageous man he used to be, but an ordinary old man who had experienced setbacks and failures and no longer had the spirited demeanor he once possessed.

"In addition, I have applied to the headquarters to return to China. I am getting old and my energy is not up to par anymore, so I will take care of my own affairs now and leave the rest to the next generation!"

"Hi!"

Everyone felt a little disappointed upon hearing this, as the spirit of Japanese Bushido was nowhere to be seen in this old man; instead, he was filled with loss, helplessness, and despair.

……

No one expected things to turn out this way, and one of the two major Japanese special agencies in Shanghai had lost its original significance.

If word gets out, who knows how many people will laugh at him.

But everyone in the military police knew that the existence of Zhang Tianhao and Su Bei shattered all their illusions.

They are just ordinary people.

The deaths of many Japanese military police and Japanese troops in Shanghai in the past two days have made the Japanese population in Shanghai even more tense, and the atmosphere has become quite oppressive.

It's important to understand that those who died in Shanghai weren't just Japanese soldiers, but also a large number of Japanese ronin and other Japanese who oppressed the Chinese.

The disappearance of these people was also part of the New Year's plan, which was to eliminate Japan's fighting force. This slow and insidious approach made Ah Feng understand the situation.

If you can kill them, then kill them; if you can't, then injure them and run. Anyway, there are plenty of people in Shanghai, so finding them is really too difficult.

"Brother Feng, today's business is over. Basically, the brothers have completed their mission on time, and those who didn't are quite safe."

"That's good. The lives of our brothers come first, really."

"Thanks, Brother Feng. By the way, what's next, brothers..."

"Just continue with your normal life and work as usual, but at the same time, be vigilant. The Japanese won't give up so easily."

"Understood!"

After hearing this, the young man opposite turned and left the basement, leaving Ah Feng alone inside, sitting there lost in thought. (End of Chapter)