blogombal Chapter 12: Born to be an undercover agent!
Chapter 12: Born to be an undercover agent!
Guan Yongshan nodded and then shook his head: "It's been tested, and it's watertight. But it's precisely this 'flawless' quality that sends chills down your spine—after he came back, even the way he walks has a strange quality to it."
"Okay." Zheng Yaoxian nodded. "Bring his file and all his expert reports."
Zhou Xiao then interjected, "Sixth Brother, Director Guan, I'd like to speak with Section Chief Xiao alone first."
"Okay!" Guan Yongshan pointed to the end of the corridor. "He's in the Operations Section office."
Zheng Yaoxian raised his hand to signal, "Go ahead."
Zhou Xiao stood up in response, walked steadily through the corridor, and stopped directly in front of the tightly closed door.
Thump, thump, thump.
"Please come in."
He pushed open the door and closed it behind him. A quick glance revealed Xiao Zhengguo hunched over his desk, reviewing documents with his eyes lowered and expression focused, looking every bit the diligent scholar.
It's exactly the same as in the TV series.
Xiao Zhengguo looked up at the sound of the voice, saw an unfamiliar face, and paused for a moment before asking, "Who is this?"
"Zhou Xiao," he answered crisply, "Mr. Zheng Yaoxian's assistant."
"Mr. Zhou? Please have a seat!" Xiao Zhengguo stood up to offer him a seat, casually poured him a cup of hot tea, and smiled warmly. "May I ask what brings you here?"
Zhou Xiao took the teacup, his fingertips pausing slightly, his gaze like a hook, gently locking onto the other person's eyes: "Section Chief Xiao, you probably know better than I why I'm here."
Xiao Zhengguo's gaze narrowed slightly, but his face remained unchanged. After a brief pause, he smiled and said, "Mr. Zhou likes to joke. I really can't think of anything I did to offend your attention."
"Let's cut to the chase." Zhou Xiao leaned forward, his voice extremely low. "Your real name should be Chen Shan."
Chen Shan?
The name is like a needle, piercing your eardrum unexpectedly.
Xiao Zhengguo didn't even flinch, only calmly asking, "Mr. Zhou, what makes you say that?"
Zhou Xiao didn't respond, but his speech became increasingly clear: "You were originally just an information broker who roamed the streets, making a living by reselling information. Because you looked very much like Xiao Zhengguo, you were targeted by Araki, the head of the Mei Agency. He kidnapped your sister Chen Xia and used her life to force you to submit."
"To make your disguise flawless, Araki personally shot you in the side of the neck and locked you in the stronghold for three months of grueling training—memorizing Xiao Zhengguo's resume, habits, handwriting, and even the rhythm of his cough... all to put this 'fish' back into the deep waters of the Military Intelligence Bureau."
Xiao Zhengguo... no, he should be called Chen Shan now.
His knuckles tightened subtly, his nails digging into his palms, but his face remained calm as still water, and his Adam's apple did not even move.
How did he know all of this?!
Every word is a bloody truth.
Who exactly is this person? How could they know all this?
He clenched his teeth tightly, not daring to reveal the slightest flaw.
It can't collapse. If it loosens, my sister will be finished, and he won't live past tonight either.
"You are indeed a fine piece of work." Zhou Xiao suddenly stood up, placed his hands on the edge of the table, leaned closer, and said, "You forged a knife in three months, fooling everyone, even the counter-espionage department was kept in the dark—but you didn't do it voluntarily, did you? Because Chen Xia is still in Araki's hands."
He paused, then said slowly and deliberately, "Chen Shan, I also know that the Japanese wanted you to lie in wait here, but what they really wanted was the defense map of the mountain city arsenal. They planned to bomb it flat."
Chen Shan's face suddenly turned pale.
Extremely short, extremely faint, like a cloud sweeping across the paper—fleeting in an instant.
To suppress the surging emotions on his face, Chen Shan abruptly stood up, strode quickly to the enamel kettle in the corner, grabbed it, and poured a full glass of water with a splash. His fingertips were clenched, but his voice was deliberately relaxed: "Mr. Zhou, I really don't understand what you're saying—what Chen Shan? Are you confused about names? Making jokes like this is inappropriate."
No matter how hard they tried to hide it, they couldn't escape Zhou Xiao's eyes.
He not only read "The Awakening of Insects," but he also chewed up and swallowed every single page.
The plot, the characters' subplots, the foreshadowing and twists—all of these had taken root in his mind.
"Don't admit it? No problem." Zhou Xiao leaned back in his chair, his tone as relaxed as if he were talking about the weather. "I also know that Araki is currently in Yamashiro. You two even spoke on the phone recently, right?"
A chill suddenly crept up my spine.
Chen Shan only dared to turn the back of his head towards Zhou Xiao—on that face, astonishment had torn away the disguise, revealing the naked panic beneath.
His mind was buzzing: How could this person know so much about such things?
Who exactly is Zhou Xiao?!
In this world, there are only two people who truly understand him: himself and Araki Yui.
Even Eiko Chida—Araki's sharpest blade—only knew the basics and could never be so precise.
But the man before him seemed to pry open his ribs and directly grasp his beating heart.
Could it be... that Araki Yui sent them?
"You probably thought I was sent by him to test you." Zhou Xiao's gaze was sharp as a blade, piercing straight through him as if it could scrape off a layer of his skin. "Wrong. I'm not."
"I also know that Xiao Zhengguo was killed by Zhou Haichao himself—that traitor; and your sister Chen Xia is currently trapped in Shancheng." Zhou Xiao picked up his teacup and took a sip, a slight smile playing on his lips, as if he held the entire chessboard in his hands. "This feeling of 'omniscience' is truly addictive."
Even the most seasoned espionage expert cannot hide the slightest flaw under his watchful eye.
"You're facing away from me right now, and I can picture your face without you turning around—widened pupils, three short lines on your forehead, raised eyebrows, and your lower eyelids taut and pale... You're trying so hard to stay calm, but your muscles have already betrayed you."
Zhou Xiao understands micro-expressions, not just theoretically, but through practicing on countless faces.
Even if Chen Shan held his breath and clenched his teeth, every tiny twitch was clearly reflected in his eyes like a projection.
terrible.
too frightening.
Chen Shan suddenly felt that in front of Zhou Xiao, he was more naked than if he were standing naked under the spotlight—completely exposed, with no room for doubt, and even the rhythm of his heartbeat was in Zhou Xiao's hands.
A feeling of powerlessness descended heavily into my stomach.
He had been working undercover in the Second Bureau for years, deceiving his superiors and fooling his colleagues, even managing to evade the most difficult interrogations with a smile. But today, facing Zhou Xiao, he couldn't even muster the thought of putting up a fight.
call--
He took a deep breath, his chest heaving a few times, poured himself another glass of water, steadied his fingers, slowed his pace, and walked back to his seat. His voice was extremely flat: "Mr. Zhou, I still don't understand what you're saying."
"I've long since uncovered all your conspiracies with the Japanese, so stop pretending." Zhou Xiao's smile remained, but his eyes shone with a chilling light. "Actually, you know yourself well—you won't last long in the Military Intelligence Bureau."
"Don't trust me? Fine!" Chen Shan abruptly stood up, the chair legs scraping the floor with a screeching sound. His voice suddenly rose, "Cuff me now! I'm not afraid of being investigated. The name Xiao Zhengguo is upright and honorable; not a single word of it is shady!"
"Shouting and putting on airs, trying to act tough?" Zhou Xiao said calmly. "That move, Araki taught you, didn't he? Too bad—it doesn't scare me."
"With me, challenging me is useless, and resisting me is useless."
"I know you're not a bad person at heart. Otherwise, you wouldn't have secretly handed over that cigarette case as a warning the day the lion showed up. You were being manipulated simply because Chen Xia was in their hands."
He leaned forward, his gaze sharp and fixed on Chen Shan: "Chen Shan, do you want to save your sister?"
Chen Shan stared intently at him for a good ten seconds before his shoulders finally slumped, like a snapped string, his voice dry and hoarse: "...You have a way?"
Saying those words is like tearing off your last mask.
Denial? It's pointless now. Zhou Xiao can list out his past, motives, and weaknesses one by one, as neatly as flipping through an account book—this kind of control is more suffocating than the muzzle of a gun.
If they continue to be stubborn, the conversation will no longer take place in the office, but in the interrogation room.
Chen Shan understood perfectly: Zhou Xiao's private conversation about this matter wasn't meant to kill him.
"I can rescue Chen Xia, and I can also eliminate Araki," Zhou Xiao said bluntly, "but I need you to agree to one condition."
Chen Shan raised an eyebrow: "Speak."
"Go back to the Shang Mansion. Continue being a special agent, keep a close eye on their every move, pass on intelligence, and dig out clues." Zhou Xiao spoke unhurriedly, "You're quick-witted and have a sharp mind; you're a natural-born undercover agent."
The Shang Mansion was a black nest built by veteran Japanese spies. It was called the "Shang Mansion" because Kohinata Byakuro's Chinese name was "Shang Xudong". It was located at No. 99 Jinjiafang, Shanghai. It belonged to the Special Higher Police and was ostensibly cooperating with the Wang Jingwei regime's 76th Division, but in reality, they checked and balanced each other and were wary of each other.
Zhou Xiao had already made plans in his mind: he would return to Shanghai sooner or later, and at that time he would have to lay out enough informants to weave an invisible net—to ensure that intelligence flowed smoothly and to protect himself from any mishap.
Chen Shan is clever, but compared to Zhou Xiao, he is ultimately half a step behind.
"How is this any different from before?" Chen Shan's eyes reddened, his Adam's apple bobbing, and he growled, suppressing his anger, "I just want to live a peaceful, ordinary life, away from all this filth!"
"You've already stepped into the mire." Zhou Xiao's voice turned cold. "Araki, I will kill him. Since he delivered himself to my doorstep, I won't let him leave the mountain city alive."
"After I kill him, do you think the Japanese will let you go? They will treat you as an accomplice and chase you to the ends of the earth to skin you alive—no matter how far you run, you will not escape their blades."
"So, there's only one way to break this deadlock—you have to volunteer to go back to the Shang Mansion and go undercover. You're quick-witted, and you don't need me to explain the priorities."
After speaking, Zhou Xiao remained silent, leaving Chen Shan to weigh the matter himself.
Chen Shan also quieted down, his fingertips unconsciously stroking the hem of his clothes, his gaze lowered, but his thoughts were in turmoil.
Zhou Xiao was right: he had already been dragged into the center of the vortex, with no way to extricate himself. If he turned and ran after Araki's death, it would be tantamount to handing over evidence of his crimes right under the noses of the Japanese—before he could even defend himself, a gun would be pointed at the back of his head. Even if he managed to evade capture, what about his parents and his sister, Chen Xia? Who could take a bullet for them?
However, if they follow Zhou Xiao's path, it may seem like they are living on the edge, but in reality, it is a glimmer of hope.
A risky move can also be a winning one.
Moreover, he is not a spineless coward who only cares about his own life.
Zhou Xiao didn't urge him, but just sat quietly, like a reef guarding the tide.