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

110. Incitement

The mysterious and powerful Hiramaki Kotaro couldn't help but spit out his tea upon hearing the news, completely shattering his image in front of the students.

"Cough cough cough... West Point Military Academy? Gynecological diseases? What on earth is that Sarutobi Sasuke doing?"

Kondo was also somewhat embarrassed. He quickly added, "What we found is indeed the case. Moreover, he didn't even finish his studies in gynecological complex diseases before being expelled for harassing female patients..."

"..."

Pingzhen was somewhat speechless. To ensure he wouldn't embarrass himself in front of the students later, he decided not to drink the tea.

Kondo continued, "Afterwards, he returned to Shanghai and sought refuge with his older sister, Zhou Pan'er. Zhou Pan'er was a moderately famous second-tier movie star who was taken in as a mistress by Ding Mocun and retired from acting. After Zhou Hongyi returned, Ding Mocun arranged for him to work as a junior police officer in the Second Precinct. What surprised me was that not long after he arrived at the Second Precinct, he branded one of our Special Higher Police's spies as an 'undercover agent' and then beat him to death in the police station's dungeon."

This caused a major rift between Kameda and Shimazu, but Shimazu successfully used the incident to expel Kameda from the Special Higher Police, thus establishing his absolute power. Meanwhile, his protégé, Sarutobi Sasuke, rose through the ranks, becoming captain, deputy director, and finally, director. Many deals involving money and power occurred during this period, but compared to recent events, these are negligible.

Heijin squinted as he listened, then nodded and said, "This Zhou Hongyi seems like a very interesting person. Kondo-kun, since we can't find any conclusive evidence, why don't you try to befriend him?"

Kondo quickly realized what his teacher meant.

"Make friends with him and lower his guard. Once someone lowers their guard, they can't keep up the pretense while you're with them. Teacher, I understand. As for Sarutobi Sasuke, the observation process is a long one. If he has no problems, then all is well. But if he turns out to be the one with problems, it means that he is too deep in hiding, too cunning, and a formidable opponent."

"It's good that you understand. Now let's talk about the other suspected targets."

Kondo then mentioned a few other suspects, pointing to Gu Tianbo of the Shanghai local chamber of commerce and Qiao Si of the Great World. To be fair, his judgments were quite accurate, but at this stage they were all still speculation and suspicion; at least he didn't have any concrete evidence.

"Hmm... A police chief, a businessman, and a gang leader. These three people seem to have no connection with each other, but in your investigation, they have had more or less contact. The most contact occurred during the election of Miss Rose."

"Yes, teacher. The Miss Rose selection is a great social, or rather, networking opportunity. All the prominent figures in Shanghai, including major generals, were invited to participate. It was quite a grand event. I also went to join in the fun on the night of the finals. It was indeed very exciting, especially the princess Elizabeth, whom Zhou Hongyi presented this time. Of course, she was just his woman. Her name and identity were fabricated. I have already checked. She was a female student that Zhou Hongyi abducted from a girls' school. She used to attend a school run by the church. She can speak English. She is Zhou Hongyi's mistress."

Pingzhen chimed in, "I just arrived yesterday, and I already saw this Miss Elizabeth in the newspaper this morning. She's incredibly popular in Shanghai right now, with many top nightclubs and clubs extending invitations to her just to have her sing a song. You know what, I'm also quite interested in this masked woman."

Kondo seemed to understand his teacher's unspoken meaning, and said with his head down, "After I become friends with Sarutobi Sasuke, I will definitely invite Miss Elizabeth to dinner. At that time, I will also ask you to come and help me meet this person."

Kondo's teacher is indeed very capable, even top-notch, but he has one flaw: he likes beautiful women, especially young beautiful women.

Actually, this isn't really a problem. After all, most men like beautiful women, and men like Kondo who are immune to women and also don't like men are very rare.

The two discussed the current situation in Shanghai for a while before turning their attention to chemical raw materials and experimental subjects.

"I need some 'guinea pigs' now. Once the next batch arrives, we can officially begin the experiments. Kondo, remember, this batch is extremely important; there can be no mistakes. The Empire's progress on the front lines has been slow recently, which is very disadvantageous. If we can develop a powerful biological weapon, we can turn the tide, become heroes of the Empire, and be destined to be recorded in history! The burden on our shoulders is far heavier than you can imagine, understand?"

Kondo snapped to attention, his face serious, and said, "Understood, teacher. I will defend this shipment with my life!"

“Very well, then it’s time for me to visit my old friend Hasegawa. That’s all for today.”

Zhou Hongyi was unaware that Kondo had already uncovered all of his "little secrets" in North America. However, those were the original owner of this body's affairs, who was utterly useless. For Zhou Hongyi, such experiences would only perfectly conceal his current identity.

However, inside the Jing'an Second Branch Police Station, all the police officers sat wearily in their chairs, sighing. They had been working non-stop for several days without rest and hadn't even had a good night's sleep. But these Japanese devils seemed to have no intention of letting them off the hook and kept clamoring for them to continue the search.

"Damn it, if we keep going like this, something bad will happen sooner or later. In the end, we won't catch the rebels, but we'll work a few of our brothers in the police station to death first!"

"Exactly! How can they make people work like this? Even the emperor doesn't starve his soldiers. They won't even give them a full meal. These little devils are truly inhuman."

"Alright, you should be grateful. If it weren't for Director Zhou taking responsibility for us, we wouldn't even have the chance to rest today."

"Chief, think of something! The brothers can't hold on any longer. Why don't the Japanese do this kind of mentally and physically demanding work themselves?"

The police officers from the Second Precinct were talking amongst themselves, with most of them cursing the Japanese and a small portion thinking about how to slack off.

Zhou Hongyi stood at the office door, holding a cup of tea. He gently blew away the tea leaves floating on the surface and sighed, "Sigh, as you can see, I've almost fought those Japanese devils to get this half-day of rest for everyone. There's no point in saying more. The Japanese don't treat us like human beings at all; they're only slightly better than livestock."

While Zhou Hongyi appeared to be comforting everyone, he was actually stirring up trouble behind the scenes. He wanted to incite the rebellious spirit of these police officers, sow the seeds of hatred, and ensure that they would be on his side should any special circumstances arise.

"That's right. We finally started to live a good life under the leadership of the bureau chief, but these little devils brought us back to reality with just one sentence. They always make us take the lead in the dirty, hard, and deadly jobs. Look at the people the First Branch arrested earlier, they didn't get any credit, all of it was snatched away by the Japanese."

Chen Gong, working alongside Zhou Hongyi, continued to "poison the Japanese devils's reputation."

"Damn it, let's just quit. Anyway, we've saved up some money, and if we're careful with it, it should be enough to get by for a month or two."

"Don't you have any ambition? You're quitting already? That's good. There are so many people eyeing our Second Precinct position, all wanting to get in, but you're giving it up."

"No, no, I was just saying, just saying, hehe~~ Following our Director Zhou, the good days are yet to come, how could I not do it? But... if we keep going like this, the brothers really can't take it anymore."

Everyone complained one after another, but eventually all their attention focused on Zhou Hongyi.

"Brothers," Zhou Hongyi called out, then scanned the crowd, piquing everyone's curiosity, before continuing, "Do you recognize me as your bureau chief?"

Xu Guodong, who had initially served as Zhou Hongyi's team leader, said somewhat inexplicably, "Of course I acknowledge you as the director. You're absolutely amazing to your brothers."

Zhou Hongyi nodded and said, "It's good that you acknowledge me. As long as I, Zhou Hongyi, keep my word in the Second Division, I won't treat the brothers unfairly. Right now, I have a business that can make quick money, but I definitely can't do it alone. The first people I thought of are the brothers in our Second Division."

But let me be clear, this job is illegal. If you get caught, you could lose your head. But I guarantee the rewards will be beyond your wildest dreams. Raise your hand if you're willing to work with me, Zhou Hongyi. Stand up. If you're not willing to take the risk, I won't force you. You'll just stay in the police station and follow the orders of the Japanese devils. You won't starve. So, brothers, how many of you are willing to work with me?”