Anti-Japanese War Espionage: I Have an Omniscient Perspective

What was in the space below? Because there was no light, he couldn't see clearly.

Therefore, Lin Rui stood up, went out, locked the door, and left.

Instead of going to the film studio, he bought a flashlight and a crowbar at a Russian shop, then activated his superpower to prevent being followed and returned to the outside of his newly rented safe house.

Returning to the scene, Lin Rui closed the door, took out a crowbar, inserted one end into the soil, and began to dig away the top layer of soil.

After half an hour, the soil covering the plank was gone, revealing a wooden board with a handle. He removed the soil from the board, grabbed the handle, and pulled it out with force.

It didn't take much effort to open the lid.

The dark space below was revealed, and a damp, musty smell wafted out.

Lin Rui did not rush down. He took out the flashlight he had bought and shone it down, illuminating the space below.

This allows the underground space, which was previously difficult to see clearly, to be revealed.

This was a small basement, only a few square meters in size, with moss-covered walls and old, broken items scattered on the floor.

It is less than two meters high and has a vertical ladder for going up and down, but the ladder is rusty.

Nothing strange was found down there. After the area was ventilated, Lin Rui carefully climbed down the ladder, holding a crowbar in one hand and a flashlight in the other.

Upon reaching the underground space, the beam of the flashlight slowly swept across every corner of the basement. When the beam landed on the sealed wall at the front of the basement, Lin Rui's eyes narrowed.

A yellowed seal was affixed to the wall, bearing the stamp of the French Concession Public Works Bureau, and clearly stating the words: "This leads to underground pipes. Do not break into it. Violators will be severely punished."

Underground pipes?

Lin Rui's heart skipped a beat.

He used his supernatural abilities to observe what was behind the sealed wall.

Although it was dark and unclear behind, it could be roughly determined that it was a hollow area.

Based on this, it appears that the underground drainage system in the French Concession adopted the European pipe system, which must have had a relatively complex underground pipe network connecting the underground drainage systems of various blocks.

If an underground pipeline could be dug from here, it might be possible to approach Tongfuli quietly, or even serve as a backup evacuation route.

The seal was affixed by the French Concession Public Works Bureau. The French Concession authorities should have known about the situation below. Wouldn't they have taken precautions in the underground pipes?

not always.

Judging from the rust on the ladder and the earthen mound at the entrance, the underground space must have been unused for a long time.

The landlord said he bought it from a Frenchman who had returned from France in recent years. He suspected the Frenchman hadn't told him about the hidden room, otherwise he wouldn't have rented it to him so cheaply.

In that case, perhaps because of the passage of time, no one in the current French Concession knows about the existence of this secret room.

With this in mind, he decided to leave the wall unsealed for the time being and use the place as a safe house vault to store weapons and important items.

I'll ask about the underground pipes when I have the chance to contact the French Concession Public Works Bureau later.

He carefully inspected the basement again, confirming that there were no other abnormalities or hidden dangers, before climbing back onto the ground, putting the wooden planks back in their original positions, covering them with soil, and then moving the wooden bed back to its original location to cover up the traces.

Now that we have a new safe house, we don't have to go all the way to the new concession area anymore. Next time we disguise ourselves, we can come here directly.

Firearms and equipment can also be hidden in secret rooms.

After locking the door of the small house, Lin Rui left and went to the Zhongyi Gang's place, instructing Huang Dazhu to make an appointment with the middleman at Meifu.

He then returned to Lianhua Film Studio.

..........

The next morning, Lin Rui sat in the manager's office, organizing the film studio's daily reports while waiting for news from Huang Dazhu.

But Huang Dazhu still hadn't appeared by midday. Lin Rui frowned slightly, wondering if something had happened to Huang Dazhu.

Just then, the roar of a car engine came from outside. Immediately afterwards, Zhao Erzhu came up and reported: "Manager, Young Master Li has arrived with his men. They're at the factory gate. There are two cars here."

A cold glint flashed in Lin Rui's eyes, but he quickly composed himself and said calmly, "Understood, I'll be right there."

He stood up, straightened his clothes, and suppressed his impatience. Young Master Li had arrived earlier than expected, and judging from his entourage, he was clearly not there to seriously select props or prepare for filming. He was probably there to have fun and show off his wealth.

As I went downstairs, I could see two black cars parked in front of the film studio. The doors were open, and several well-dressed people were walking in, chatting and laughing, completely oblivious to the film studio staff.

Leading the group was none other than Young Master Li, still dressed in a brocade robe and top hat, with an arrogant expression. Beside him was a slicked-back young man with a neatly combed slicked-back hairstyle, who was waving a folding fan in his hand and speaking frivolously, occasionally making a few flirtatious remarks to the two socialites beside him. In addition, there was a wealthy young man in a suit and gold-rimmed glasses, who was playing with a jade pendant in his hand, with a lazy expression.

"Young Master Li, it is an honor to have you here. I am sorry for not welcoming you sooner." Lin Rui stepped forward quickly, with a perfectly measured smile on his face. His tone was calm, neither humble nor overly enthusiastic. He knew that being too obedient to someone like Young Master Li would only lead to him taking advantage of him. Maintaining a distance was the safest course of action.

Young Master Li glanced at him and said coldly, "Manager Lin is quite leisurely. We were already at the door when you finally came out to greet us." With that, he waved his hand, "Never mind, I won't hold it against you. I'll introduce you to some friends."

He introduced the people he had brought.

The slick-haired, powdered-faced man was named Tang Jingwei, whom he called a great talent, and who was also invited to be the director.

He was overjoyed when he agreed to let the two socialites act.

And there's also Young Master Liu, who came over to visit.

"Please, everyone." Lin Rui gestured to the side, then turned and led the group toward the props and photography equipment storage room without replying.

The prop storeroom was filled with all kinds of costumes, including ancient brocade gowns and long gowns and cheongsams from the Republic of China era.

Young Master Li and the wealthy young man casually flipped through the clothes, picking and choosing from them from time to time, muttering things like, "This one is too brightly colored," and "That one is made of such poor material." Two socialites circled around the cheongsams, chattering about which one fit better and which one accentuated their figures. Tang Jingwei stood to the side, fanning himself with a folding fan, feigning aloofness, occasionally commenting that they were "unbearably vulgar" and "utterly tasteless," putting on the airs of a refined scholar, but his eyes were full of criticism.

After some selection, they picked out several exquisite brocade gowns and cheongsams, as well as a few top hats and folding fans with floral umbrellas, which they piled aside and had their men put away.

Afterwards, Young Master Li urged Lin Rui to take them to see the NEWALL 35mm camera.

Stepping into the camera equipment warehouse, the British-made NEWALL 35mm camera sat quietly in the corner. Its all-metal body gleamed with a cold, hard luster. It was huge and looked quite bulky. Next to it were the matching lenses and film cases, with the word "Lianhua" clearly visible on the film cases.

Tang Jingwei stepped forward, gently touched the camera, then frowned and withdrew his hand with a look of disgust: "This thing is so bulky, it must be troublesome to operate. Young Master Li, can the footage shot with this thing be any good?"

Young Master Li stepped forward, glanced at the camera, and said casually, "Who cares if it's bulky or not? As long as it's the best equipment from Lianhua, that's fine. The films I'm making must use the best stuff."

Tang Jingwei quickly chimed in, "That's right. As long as we can film the script written by Young Master Li, it doesn't matter how cumbersome it is. We can just find a few more people to help us."

After a few more words of discussion, Tang Jingwei suggested, "Young Master Li, didn't you bring your Leica camera? Why don't we do a screen test and take some costume photos in the studio now, and see how they turn out?"

Young Master Li's eyes lit up, and he immediately nodded: "Great idea! Manager Lin, requisition the photography studio in your back building. We'll do the auditions and take photos today." His tone was firm and unquestionable, without asking Lin Rui's opinion at all.

Lin Rui was impatient, but he did not refuse. He could not afford to break ties with Young Master Li at the moment, so he could only compromise for the time being.

"No problem." Lin Rui gestured for Chen Shan to go with him, while Zhao Erzhu continued to guard the gate.