Chapter 46: The Intelligence Body

Ah-Gui and Fusheng helped the firefighters evacuate the crowd and connect hoses to put out the blaze. Fortunately, the fire was not particularly large, and with everyone's concerted efforts, it was soon brought under control.

What seemed strange to the residents of the alley, however, was that although Ah-Gui and Fusheng were wearing police uniforms, they worked as tirelessly as if they were saving their own homes. Most importantly, instead of taking advantage of the chaos to loot, they were genuinely evacuating people and fighting the fire.

"Young man, are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere?" an elderly woman asked repeatedly, grabbing Fusheng by the face, which was stained black with soot.

"Hehe, I'm fine." It was the first time Fusheng had ever been thanked like this, and his face flushed red as he began to stammer.

Zhou Hongyi walked over, patted him on the shoulder, and said, "Well, Fusheng, feels good to be thanked for doing a good deed, doesn't it? Remember this feeling, and you'll understand that doing good gives you much more of a sense of accomplishment than doing bad."

Whether Fusheng understood or not, he just grinned and nodded foolishly.

"Let's go, we have other things to do." Leading the two men, Zhou Hongyi walked and stopped along the street, finally halting in front of a Western restaurant.

Without a word, he walked over to a noodle shop situated in the alley opposite the Western restaurant, sat down, and ordered three bowls of wonton noodles.

"You must be hungry after working all day. Come on, eat up."

At the sight of the wonton noodles, Fusheng's eyes lit up. Disregarding the heat, he slurped and shoveled the noodles straight into his mouth.

Although Ah-Gui was eating as well, he kept a close watch on Zhou Hongyi's reactions. He noticed that while his boss was also eating noodles, the corner of his eye kept glancing toward the Western restaurant across the street.

Before long, the front door of the Western restaurant was pushed open from the inside, and several men in black trench coats and fedoras hurried out. Their eyes scanned their surroundings with sharp vigilance as they bundled a person they were protecting into a car parked by the roadside, which then sped away with a roar of the engine.

Not only that, but Ah-Gui also noticed that another car followed right behind the first one as it drove off. These men were acting suspiciously, with fierce gazes—clearly, there was something wrong with them.

Zhou Hongyi withdrew his gaze, slurped a mouthful of noodles, and asked, "Well, Ah-Gui, did you make out anything from that?"

Ah-Gui said with a serious expression, "Team Leader, those men are suspicious. They were in a hurry, radiating wariness from head to toe. Combined with the unnatural bulges at their waists, I can deduce that they are secret agents."

Zhou Hongyi nodded with satisfaction. "Not bad. Without any reminders from me, you were still able to notice so much. It seems you've been observing and learning earnestly. Those men indeed qualify as agents, and elite ones from the Special Service Section at that."

"Special Service Section agents... Are they Japs?"

"That's right. The person they are protecting behind them is the target of our next operation. Coming here today can be considered scouting the location for you. This person is a traitor within the Red Party who defected to the Japs, leaking information about many anti-Japanese patriots and causing an extremely detrimental impact. My idea is to eliminate this person as soon as possible; keeping him alive for even one day longer poses an extra day of danger."

Ah-Gui's expression turned stern. Ever since the Qingdong Massacre, he had harbored a bone-deep hatred for traitors, Japs, and turncoats, wishing nothing more than to drink their blood and eat their flesh. Hearing Zhou Hongyi say this, he gritted his teeth and asked, "Boss, just say the word—what do we need to do?"

Zhou Hongyi tapped his chopsticks lightly against the rim of his bowl and said, "You can't rush this kind of thing. Eat up quickly before it gets cold, and I'll talk as we walk."

Just moments ago, he had used the [Eye of Insight] to perform a preliminary reconnaissance on this group of people. The person tightly guarded by the Special Service Section was his target: the Red Party traitor, Mr. Su, whose code name was "Firework."

This man's previous identity was that of a fabric shop owner. He ran a fairly large business, lived a bourgeois lifestyle, and loved Western food, coffee, and jazz. It was precisely because of this that he was corroded by the sugar-coated bullets of capitalism, ultimately leading him down the path of treason.

Zhou Hongyi wasn't afraid of a target defecting; he was only afraid of a target having no hobbies. This Mr. Su would come to eat Western food every few days, and he was also extremely fond of enjoying jazz at dance halls like Paramount and Paramount (Xianlesi). He was interested in anything associated with Westerners, while holding traditional drama in utter contempt.

Combining the personnel available to him with existing intelligence, a bold plan had already begun to take preliminary shape in Zhou Hongyi's mind.

He intended to simultaneously execute several tasks: joining the Chamber of Commerce, having Xiaobei participate in a beauty pageant, avenging Ah-Gui, and eliminating this Mr. Su.

Of course, accomplishing so many missions all at once was indeed very difficult. However, after his observations and peeping over the past few days, he had obtained a most unexpected result: Mr. Su had actually been invited to serve as a judge for the Miss Rose Beauty Pageant, which provided him with yet another convenient condition.

A beauty pageant, revenge, infiltration, and assassination—these actions happened to coincide by pure coincidence. Fate was truly wondrous. But likewise, had Zhou Hongyi lacked a heaven-defying cheat like the [Eye of Insight], even such an opportunity would have slipped right past him. Since he had discovered it, however, he had to make full use of it.

Over the next few days, he decided to use the information obtained from Colonel Shimazu to continuously track and observe Mr. Su. Once he figured out the man's routines and preferences, making a move would become much easier.

Just as the target drove away earlier, Zhou Hongyi learned from another piece of information that the man was also going to the Paramount tonight to enjoy Mangyu's new songs. This would be a wonderful opportunity for close-range contact.

"Are you full? If you're full, let's go. Time to continue patrolling."

Fusheng had not only finished his own portion, but also swallowed the remaining half-bowl from Zhou Hongyi's plate. While the latter was talking with Ah-Gui, Fusheng had acted as though he hadn't heard a single word, remaining completely absorbed in conquering the food before him.

Once they finished and the three of them resumed patrolling the alleys, Zhou Hongyi suddenly asked, "Fusheng, while eating the wonton noodles just now, did you notice anything amiss?"

Fusheng scratched his distended belly with an expression of utter innocence—one could almost call it stupidity—yet his subsequent words made Ah-Gui's entire body jolt, almost triggering a murderous impulse.

"Notice anything amiss? Well, maybe the fact that you and Boss kept staring at those people coming out of the Western restaurant. Those people had a peculiar smell on them—just like my grandmother described, the kind from places where the adhesive plaster flag hangs."

Outwardly, Zhou Hongyi wore a smile, but inwardly he looked at Fusheng in a whole new light.

The reason he asked that question was because, while observing the target with the [Eye of Insight] earlier, he had inadvertently caught a glimpse of Fusheng's information as well.

This seemingly foolish and honest-looking fellow had been wrestling with his wonton noodles the whole time, yet his mind hadn't been stagnant. Instead, he had been quietly raising questions to himself and coming up with his own answers:

"Why are Boss and the others staring at those people?"

"Those look like little Japs. Is Boss planning to make a move against these little Japs? But aren't we policemen?"

"Could it be that Boss has another identity? Whatever, no matter what identity he has, he's still my brother. Following Boss will definitely turn out right—at least I won't go hungry."

Yes, those had been Fusheng's inner thoughts just moments ago. He had actually guessed Zhou Hongyi's secret with astonishing accuracy, which was truly unexpected.

Yet Fusheng's performance today also made Zhou Hongyi exclaim that he had struck gold. His uniquely advantageous appearance and personality made him a sheer genius for tailing and intelligence work. With just a little training and guidance from himself, Fusheng could definitely stand alone and handle responsibilities without arousing suspicion. After all, who would ever suspect a fool?