Espionage: You're tasked with spying, but you'll blow up the Special Higher Police?

170. Project code name: "Wind, Forest, Fire, Mountain"

No one expected this unexpected turn of events, which led to the deployment of too few people. I underestimated the harm caused by this chaotic battle.

Goro Yamamoto was an important member of the Saotome Squad. His death caught the captain's attention, and he went to see Kondo early in the morning.

Kondo's face darkened upon hearing this. He was about to confront Zhou Hongyi when the latter unexpectedly delivered himself to his doorstep.

"Commander Kondo, good news!"

Before Kondo could speak, Zhou Hongyi greeted him with a joyful expression, saying "good news." This startled the latter, and he swallowed back the words he was about to ask.

"Just last night, after the fierce battle at the gravel beach, a stranger passed me a note. You see, this could very well be a Kuomintang agent hiding in Shanghai trying to contact me!"

"Oh, so fast?"

Kondo's eyes lit up, instantly forgetting about Yamamoto Goro's death. He took the note and read: "Director Zhou, I know you have a heart full of passion, but you are suspected and rejected by the Japanese. Now that the country is in danger, every citizen has a responsibility. The Kuomintang and Military Intelligence Bureau have been lurking in Shanghai for a long time. The Japanese frontline war is being hampered, and their fate is near. I hope Director Zhou will choose a wise path and think about his own future. If you are interested, please meet me at the tea stall at the entrance of the third alley in the old city at 2 pm."

"Whoosh... It's actually someone from the Kuomintang's Military Intelligence Bureau. Sasuke-kun, your tactic of feigning retreat has worked! The other side has taken the bait. What are you going to do next? Should we arrange for agents from the 76th Bureau to secretly arrest them?"

Zhou Hongyi waved his hand and said, "Commander Kondo, don't alert them. They're definitely not trusting me yet. They'll definitely test me. It's very possible that this meeting is fake. They won't send anyone to contact me; they'll just observe from the shadows. If we send agents to arrest them, wouldn't my identity be exposed? Besides, our target is their core. Only by infiltrating can we find the most deeply hidden Four-Faced Buddha and eliminate Commander Kondo's biggest threat."

“You’re right, Sasuke. Then be careful and contact the other party according to the time on the note. If you need any assistance from Number 76, just tell me and I will inform Deputy Director Li so that he can provide full cooperation.”

"Commander Kondo forgot? Director Ding of No. 76 is my brother-in-law. I'll contact him immediately if there are any problems. Don't worry, this is just the initial contact, and I estimate they're only scratching the surface. But in any case, it's a good sign! Perhaps the Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics and the Red Party will contact me soon. My position is rather sensitive and important, and I'm currently locked in a life-or-death struggle with the gangs supported by the Japanese army. They will naturally include me on their list of potential allies. Right now, only one fish has taken the bait, but I believe that in the future, we'll use this bait to catch many more big fish!"

Originally, Kondo was going to question Zhou Hongyi about why several of his soldiers had died in the chaos of battle, but now he was completely led astray by the latter, forgetting what he originally wanted to ask, and instead following the other's train of thought into a strange loop.

Zhou Hongyi continued, "Commander Kondo, once we make contact with them this time, I think you can find a pretext to lock me up in jail next time. I'll be more likely to gain their trust there. After all, as the saying goes, men have three iron bonds: fighting side by side, studying together, and... cough cough, even iron bars count as windows. Only by completely gaining their trust can we infiltrate their core. So, from now on, I can no longer openly enter and leave the Special Higher Police like before. We must create the illusion that we've broken ties."

"You're right, that's a good method. So, what are you planning to do with it?"

"Please listen to me, we must do it this way, and this way..."

Zhou Hongyi came up with this idea for three reasons. First, just a day earlier, Chen Gong had found him and told him some bad news. The special envoy from the Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics (CBIS), who was originally supposed to come to Shanghai to carry out an operation, had been captured and imprisoned by the Japanese in the chaos. His situation was critical. Although his identity had not yet been exposed, it would be disastrous if he couldn't withstand the enemy's torture, since the special envoy knew quite a lot.

Secondly, Bodhi also approached him, claiming that a pro-Red Party anti-Japanese patriot had been arrested. This person was very influential in academic and media circles, and the higher-ups wanted to rescue him. After looking around, Bodhi concluded that the most suitable candidate was only "Four-Faced Buddha" Zhou Hongyi.

Third, Zhou Hongyi's latest check-in location has been updated; it's now a prison cell. He can't just enter a Japanese prison cell with any ordinary excuse. In conclusion, Zhou Hongyi racked his brains and came up with a solution that kills three birds with one stone—or rather, four: lock himself up.

Only at this moment did Zhou Hongyi truly become a "four-faced Buddha." He had to deceive Kondo to become an informant infiltrated into the Kuomintang and the Red Party. He also had to try to contact the special envoys of the Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics (CBIS). Once a connection was established, the CBIS, the Military Bureau of Investigation and Statistics (MIIS), the Red Party, and the Special Higher Police (THD) would all consider him one of their own. Of course, Zhou Hongyi's beliefs never changed from the beginning; the absolute principles he had upheld during his nine years of compulsory education could not be shaken.

As for why he deliberately offered advice to Kondo, let me ask you, what undercover agent or spy would willingly send themselves to prison? Therefore, in the eyes of the Special Higher Police, Zhou Hongyi was even less suspicious.

While saying all this, he made no attempt to hide it from Yosuke Saotome, and this Special Higher Police officer, who was rumored to be able to read minds, didn't detect a single flaw in his statement. The reason he couldn't detect the flaw was simple: Zhou Hongyi was telling the truth. He wouldn't reveal any flaws if he didn't lie; he simply wanted to go to prison.

After listening to Zhou Hongyi's detailed plan, Kondo's eyes actually lit up with admiration. Sarutobi Sasuke, whom Shimazu had trained for the Imperial Army, truly lived up to his reputation. Although his academic credentials were fabricated, this man was incredibly intelligent, and his meticulous thinking perfectly matched Shimazu's style. He had previously thought of him as a spy for the rebels, but now it seemed he had been wrong.

"Sasuke-kun, I will fully cooperate with this matter. I will also immediately call the Special Higher Police. I will still give this operation a code name... Wind, Forest, Fire, Mountain!"

Kondo was quite satisfied with the code name he had chosen, and secretly sent someone to escort Zhou Hongyi away. After the latter left, he looked to Saotome Yosuke for his opinion.

At this moment, Yosuke Saotome even began to doubt his own "special ability." He shook his head, indicating that Zhou Hongyi was not lying and that he had not seen any flaws. Kondo was completely relieved.

"Saotome-kun, the incident with Yamamoto was probably an accident. The scene was too chaotic, and the fighting crowd caught them in the crossfire. According to the on-site investigation, Yamamoto and his gang fired a large number of bullets, killing many gang members, which is why they were killed by the bloodthirsty gang members. Let's leave it at that for now. I am also very sorry for his death, but we have more important things to do."