Spy War: My Cheat Code is a Rat

Lu Chen looked up at Shen Ruoqiu sitting opposite him, nodded, and said nothing.

He knew perfectly well that the anti-Japanese organization Shen Ruoqiu belonged to had also received information that the Japanese army was planning to assassinate the reporter, so they began to take action.

Seeing that Lu Chen agreed, Shen Ruoqiu lowered her head and continued eating.

Lu Chen ate quickly. After finishing, he told Shen Ruoqiu to clean up later, then opened the door and went out.

He was going to see Huang Jinrong. Since Huang Jinrong had long been eyeing the business in the Chinese-controlled area, he might be able to persuade him to join forces, which would limit Zhang Rongshan's ability to take action against him.

Even if he were a member of the intelligence department, Zhang Rongshan might still dare to make a move. After all, these gang leaders don't consider the consequences when they act impulsively.

"Xiao Jie, have you eaten yet?"

As soon as Lu Chen arrived at the street where Liu Jie lived, he saw Liu Jie leaning against the wall smoking, looking as if he was worried about something.

"Eat Brother Chen."

Upon seeing Lu Chen, Liu Jie threw away his cigarette, walked to the side, got into his car, and started the engine.

Usually, when Lu Chen comes to find me after dark, it's because he has something to do and needs to go out.

Seeing him start the car so naturally, Lu Chen was stunned for a moment, but quickly reacted, opened the car door and got in.

"Go find Huang Jinrong."

Lu Chen shifted his body to make himself more comfortable in the car.

Liu Jie nodded, started the car, and drove towards Huang Jinrong's casino.

Upon arriving at the casino, it was exactly the same as when Lu Chen had last visited. People were coming and going at the entrance, and it was noisy inside. Some women in cheongsams were carrying drinks, while others were playing cards with customers.

Lu Chen led Liu Jie around the noisy crowd inside the house and walked to the stairs to go upstairs.

There were also some underlings guarding the stairs. When they saw Lu Chen and his companion approaching, they reached out and stopped them, speaking with a smile on their faces.

"Sir, do you have a referral?"

Seeing that the person in front of him was a stranger, the younger brother asked a question.

The second floor is usually a place only wealthy or powerful people can go up to; not just anyone can go up there.

"The recommender?"

Hearing this, Lu Chen frowned. He had only glanced at it briefly last time, and he hadn't expected that he would need to recommend someone to go up normally.

"What recommender? Why didn't we have one when we went up last time?"

Liu Jie took a step forward, his voice neither too loud nor too soft, yet the other person could hear him clearly.

"I'll go report it."

He wanted to stop the two from going upstairs, but after hearing Liu Jie say that he had been there before, he was afraid of offending some important figure, so he turned around and ran upstairs to report to Huang Jinrong.

Seeing the man run upstairs, Lu Chen casually found a place to sit down, with Liu Jie standing behind him.

"Xiao Jie, is the casino that fun? There were so many people last time, and there are still just as many this time."

Looking at the endless stream of people in the casino, Lu Chen couldn't help but think of the stories he had heard in his previous life about families being ruined and people dying because of gambling.

He really couldn't understand why so many people were so enthusiastic about this game, which was just similar to playing cards.

"Brother Chen, you don't understand."

Liu Jie's eyes dimmed as he thought of his father.

"I only attended a private school for a year, then my father got into gambling, and I never went to school again."

"Gambling is something that poor people like us want to turn our lives around, make money, and get rich overnight. So once we get hooked, we can't stop after winning a few dollars."

"But this thing isn't so easy to win. When you lose, you think about winning back your losses. Once you win back your losses, you want to win even more. If you don't have money, you borrow it. In the end, the interest snowballs and you end up with a mountain of debt."

Liu Jie explained it very clearly: it was all because these were things his father had done; when he was a child, debt collectors would come to their house.

At first, the debt wasn't too much and they could pay it back. But later, Liu Jie's mother became addicted to opium, and Liu Jie's father continued to gamble, which led to the family's current situation.

After hearing Liu Jie's explanation, Lu Chen also felt that it made sense.

In the current situation, many people are making money through shady and illegal activities, and some are even willing to betray their country for money.

If he hadn't received education from later generations, clearly knowing what he could and couldn't do, and hadn't harbored hatred towards the Japanese, he probably wouldn't have been able to control himself.

"Go upstairs, Boss Huang wants to see you."

Lu Chen sat for a while before seeing the person come down from the second floor. As soon as the person came down, he came to Lu Chen and invited him upstairs.

Lu Chen nodded. When he passed the stairs, the person who was supposed to search him tried to do so again, but was stopped by the guard.

Huang Jinrong didn't know who had come, and to avoid offending anyone, he simply had Lu Chen brought up without searching him, as a gesture of respect.

After all, this was Huang Jinrong's territory. No one would be foolish enough to make a move here. Huang Jinrong's words still carried considerable weight in the French Concession.

dong dong...

He led Liu Jie to the door of the room where he had met Huang Jinrong last time. Without hesitation, Liu Jie knocked on the door.

"Enter."

Huang Jinrong's familiar voice came from inside, and then the door was opened from the inside. It was Huang Jinrong's trusted henchman who opened the door.

"Boss Huang, we meet again."

As soon as Lu Chen entered, he saw Huang Jinrong sitting on the sofa with two women beside him.

Walking to the sofa, Lu Chen sat down directly. He was there to discuss business with Huang Jinrong, not to beg him. He had to put himself on the same level as Huang Jinrong.

"It's you? What brings you here?"

Huang Jinrong glanced at Lu Chen and twirled the jade ring on his index finger. He hadn't expected it to be Lu Chen. Strictly speaking, he hadn't gone up to the second floor last time without a recommender.

He knew Lu Chen was a member of the Japanese army, but why was he coming to see him? Did the Japanese army lose patience and want to take action against the French Concession or him?

"Boss Huang, to be honest, I'd like to make a deal with you."

This time, Lu Chen didn't intend to beat around the bush with Huang Jinrong; he directly stated his true purpose for coming here.

"Doing business?"

Huang Jinrong tapped his pipe, squinted his small eyes, and kept thinking.

This guy works for the Japanese army. If he wants to do business in the Chinese-controlled area, it won't be difficult for him. Since he came to me, it means he wants to use my influence to do business in the French Concession.

Where do you do business?

However, Huang Jinrong still asked, if Lu Chen really wanted to do business in the French Concession, it meant that the Japanese army wanted to intervene in the French Concession.

He has always maintained a neutral stance at the national level, neither trying to please nor offend anyone. If someone really wants to do business in the French Concession, he will neither help nor stop them, and he can even prepare in advance.

Seeing that Huang Jinrong remained silent, Lu Chen knew that the old man was definitely arguing again.

"Zhang Rongshan, do you know him?"

Lu Chen took out a cigarette, and Liu Jie lit it for him. He then took out another cigarette and offered it to Huang Jinrong, but Huang Jinrong didn't take it. Lu Chen shrugged and tactfully took the cigarette back.

"Zhang Rongshan..."

Huang Jinrong slowly uttered the name. How could he not recognize it? Among the leaders of the Green Gang in Shanghai, those in the French Concession followed him and Du Yuesheng, while those in the Chinese Concession followed Zhang Rongshan.