You were allowed to marry into No. 76 family, and you were promoted to director?

Chapter 285 Colonel
The next morning, Iwai Hisakawa, who had just fallen asleep, was hurriedly woken up.

With dark circles under his eyes, Iwai Ogawa looked at Sakata Yamato, who had woken him up, with considerable displeasure.

"Sakata, I hope what you're about to say is something that interests me."

Sakata Yamato had a bitter face. He knew that Iwai Hisakawa was a little angry, but he had to report what he had discovered this morning.

"Sir, something's happened! Miss Li Xiangjun's personal assistant has gone missing!"

Swish!
Iwai Ogawa abruptly sat up on the sofa, staring at Sakata Yamato in disbelief:

"Didn't I have people from the mansion and the military police keeping an eye on things? And this floor is guarded every three steps. You're telling me Su Min is missing?"

Sakata Yamato nodded with a bitter face:

“Sir, the strangest thing is that Su Min should have disappeared into thin air. We have also checked the only ventilation duct that could lead out of the room, and the barbed wire fence blocking it is intact. Su Min could not have gone anywhere else except in the room. If she had gone out, the military police would have found out.”

Iwai Ogawa paced back and forth, his eyes slightly narrowed, before finally stopping after a few minutes.

"How could a living person just vanish into thin air? They must have escaped through the ventilation ducts. Investigate immediately, and don't just check the ventilation ducts on the fifth floor. Thoroughly investigate the entire Cathay Hotel!"

Seeing that Sakata Yamato remained unmoved, Iwai Hisakawa's heart skipped a beat.

Sakata Yamato replied with a bitter expression:
"Sir, we've checked everything. That's why I'm reporting here. We've even removed the floor tiles and checked the ceiling of Miss Li's room, but we still can't find Su Min."

Iwai Hisakawa's lips twitched. Could it be that he had seen a ghost?

Suddenly remembering something, Iwai Ogawa abruptly turned to look at Sakata Yamato:

"Su Min is missing, and what about those Koreans?"

Sakata Yamato breathed a sigh of relief; it seemed that Iwai Hisakawa had also accepted the situation of Su Min's sudden disappearance.

"Sir, rest assured, apart from Su Min, everything is normal at the hotel. Just now, Prince Tojo and Marus took the elevator to the second floor together. While they were having dinner in the Western restaurant, Aizawa Keiko brought Zhao Xuan to see him. It seems that Prince Tojo approves of Zhao Xuan."

Iwai Hisakawa didn't care about such things at all; all he needed to do was protect Tojo Jun.

It's just breakfast, no need to make a fuss.

As for who Tojo Jun is close to, Iwai Hisakawa just needs to show him the respect he deserves. As for anyone related to Watanabe Kyoko, Iwai Hisakawa dislikes them from the bottom of his heart.

Of course, Iwai Hisakawa also disliked Kagesa and Doi-Yuan. Although they were classmates, Iwai Hisakawa looked down on them when they were in school.

Now that these people have all achieved more than him, how could Iwai Hisakawa possibly be convinced?

The reason for choosing to cooperate with Yingzuo this time is simply because Yingzuo is a newcomer to Shanghai and a natural ally. Even if Iwai Ogawa doesn't like this person, it won't affect the cooperation.

"You don't need to report this to me. Where's Ding Moqun? Can't he find Su Min either?"

Sakata Yamato nodded, acknowledging Ding Moqun's abilities.

"Sir, Director Ding said that Su Min could only have left through the ventilation duct. However, he can't figure out that if Su Min is a member of the Military Intelligence Bureau, what was her purpose in coming to the Huamao Hotel? Judging from the current situation, Su Min just came for a quick look and then left. This is not only inconsistent with the Military Intelligence Bureau's style of operation, but it is also inconsistent with the style of the underground party."

Iwai nods:

"Ding Moqun probably didn't know that Su Min had been exposed, but how did Su Min know that she had been exposed?"

Sakata Yamato shook his head. If even Iwai Hisakawa couldn't understand it, he couldn't understand it even more.

His doubts were the same as Ding Moqun's: Su Min's actions this time were completely haphazard, and it seemed that she had not come with a mission.

Alternatively, Su Min's mission was to get close to Li Xiangjun and then find an opportunity to kidnap her, but Su Min's sudden departure confused Sakata Yamato.

"Go down, protect Prince Tojo, and keep an eye on the situation in each room. I'll be down in a bit."

In the Western restaurant on the first floor of the Cathay Hotel.

Outside the private room where Tojo Jun was, a squad of fifteen armed military police stood guard.

Inside the private room, Tojo Jun, Marus, Aizawa Keiko, Zhao Xuan, Li Xiangjun, and Ye Luyan sat around a long table, chatting after finishing their breakfast.

Tojo Jun's words were full of praise for Ye Luyan.

Under dialysis, Zhao Xuan also figured out that Tojo Jun truly appreciated Ye Luyan's talent, and that Tojo Jun had read many of Ye Luyan's works.

Ye Luyan was rather aloof and rarely spoke. She would only reply when Tojo Jun asked her a question. Otherwise, she would either listen to others or drink coffee alone.

Zhao Xuan didn't know what to say to Ye Luyan, so he still hadn't figured out Ye Luyan's purpose in coming.

Jun Tojo, with his mustache, laughed heartily and looked at Keiko Aizawa with doting eyes, saying:

“Huizi, Zhao Sang is indeed a talented person. When I was in the Empire, I heard many people in the cabinet mention Zhao Sang’s name.”

At this point, Tojo Jun looked at Zhao Xuan:
"Zhao-san, you are now an intelligence advisor for the Special Higher Police. As Keiko's uncle, I ask you to assist Keiko well. I can guarantee that after the war, I can secure you an important position in Tokyo."

Zhao Xuan looked at Tojo Jun with a delighted expression, bowed slightly, and replied:
"[Japanese] Hi, Prince Tojo, I will do my best to assist Keiko."

Jun Tojo nodded in satisfaction, while Keiko Aizawa lowered her head, her pretty face slightly flushed.

After exchanging a few words with Zhao Xuan, Tojo glanced at Li Xiangjun and Ye Luyan, who were sitting together:
"Miss Ye, I heard you've already revised the script?"

Ye Luyan nodded with a cool expression:
"Yes, Mr. Tojo. However, there are some details that I plan to discuss with Ms. Li Xiangjun, who is the female lead. After that, I will ask Mr. Tojo to finalize the script. The movie can start filming in about two days."

Tojo Jun smiled with great satisfaction:

"Haha, I'm really looking forward to the script that Ms. Ye provides."

"Well, it's about time. Keiko, take them and leave first. Mr. Marus and I still have things to discuss."

Aizawa Keiko smiled and hugged Tojo Jun before leading Zhao Xuan and the others out of the private room.

As the group walked out of the private room, Zhao Xuan didn't pay much attention to Li Xiangjun's inner thoughts. After all, this woman was, in the end, just an actress.

This time, Tojo Jun was indeed going to invite Li Xiangjun to make a movie. It must be said that, as a prince, Tojo Jun was very fond of art, which made him stand out from other Japanese people.

However, a prince whose heart is full of art has come to Shanghai today to negotiate with Marus on behalf of Japan. For this reason alone, Zhao Xuan would not allow him to leave unscathed.

However, Ye Luyan's inner thoughts surprised Zhao Xuan somewhat.

Zhao Xuan confirmed that Ye Luyan did not have a specific mission here, and that she came to the Hua Mao Hotel by chance after receiving an invitation from Tojo Jun.

But a sentence that had just echoed in Ye Luyan's mind caught Zhao Xuan's attention.

is her!

That's right, that's the sentence.

Zhao Xuan and Lan Zehuizi got off together, their eyes subtly glancing in the direction Ye Luyan had just glanced at, while simultaneously scanning that area.

Among the crowd, Zhao Xuan found a waiter with a special identity.

(Liu Shiran, female, 27 years old, from China, head of the underground Communist Party's liaison office in the French Concession, code name "Hummingbird")
Liu Shiran was probably among the later batch of service staff who were sent over. It was only after the Ministry of Foreign Affairs investigated and confirmed that there were no problems that she was allowed to return to work.

The fact that Liu Shiran, a liaison officer for the underground Communist Party in the French Concession, could be released after being investigated shows that she was well-hidden and had a clean background.

Judging from Liu Shiran's movements, she seems to be pushing the food cart to the storage room, which means she can come into contact with Bobby!
Thinking of this, Zhao Xuan's heart skipped a beat. Could it be that Liu Shiran's mission target was Bobby, or rather, her target was the oil exploration report in Bobby's possession!

But he had clearly reminded Sun Jianzhong to stop all his activities at the Cathay Hotel.

Suppressing their doubts, Zhao Xuan and Lan Zehuizi had already reached the stairwell.

Neither of them paid any attention to Li Xiangjun and Ye Lüyan; Lan Zehuizi wasn't particularly interested in either of them.

Upon reaching the third floor, Aizawa Keiko glanced around and saw only military police on patrol, then leaned close to Zhao Xuan and whispered:

"Ah Xuan, the night after tomorrow, you're coming with me to see Uncle Tojo. There are too many people today, so Uncle Tojo can't say many things too clearly."

"What happens the night after tomorrow concerns your position in the Special Higher Police. My uncle and I have already discussed it, and he agrees with my idea. With the support of a prince, even if there are still dissenting voices within the Special Higher Police, I can guarantee that you will at least be a captain when you return to the Special Higher Police. That way, you will have a good starting point."

"If you make further contributions, you can continue to be promoted. After the war ends, I believe you will definitely be able to reach the position of colonel!"

Currently, Aizawa Keiko is only a lieutenant colonel. Looking at Aizawa Keiko, who always puts himself first, Zhao Xuan sighed with regret.

From the very beginning of this war, it was destined that we would be enemies to the death!
"Thank you, Keiko."

Aizawa Keiko pursed her lips and smiled sweetly:
"Do we need to say thank you between us? Anyway, I'll have someone come and let you know when the time comes. I'm going up now. You go back and keep Dao Yan company. I bet Dao Yan is jealous again now that I've dragged you over."

Back in room 301, Dao Yan had already finished breakfast and returned.

Seeing Dao Yan sitting thoughtfully on the sofa, Zhao Xuan walked over, stood behind the sofa, and gently massaged Dao Yan's shoulders with both hands:
"What's wrong? You seem to be thinking about something?"

When Zhao Xuan simply put his hand on her shoulder, Dao Yan knew who it was. Otherwise, if someone had suddenly put their hand on her shoulder, that person would have been lying on the ground the next second.

Dao Yan reached out and pulled Zhao Xuan to sit beside her. After thinking for a moment, Dao Yan whispered in Zhao Xuan's ear:

"Honey, our people have retreated. They retreated so suddenly. I don't understand what happened. Even if they had to retreat, they should have at least tried to explain the situation to me!"

Zhao Xuan hadn't considered this thoroughly.

During the mission, his teammates suddenly withdrew, no wonder Dao Yan was having all sorts of wild thoughts.

Zhao Xuan pressed his lips to Dao Yan's ear and replied in a very low voice:
"It's alright, let them leave. I'll help you. Don't you think they're getting in your way? It's good that they've left now, at least no one will be bothering you."

Dao Yan nodded. That's what she said, but she still felt uneasy until she figured it out. She even wondered if they had been exposed and secretly arrested by Iwai Ogawa, and were being interrogated now.

Under the dialysis mode, having learned about Dao Yan's psychological state, Zhao Xuan also felt that he should tell Dao Yan what was going on.

It seems I need to find an opportunity to let Xiaoya talk to Daoyan; it won't do for her to keep overthinking like this.

"You didn't get enough rest last night, do you want to take a nap? I'll wake you up when it's time for lunch."

Dao Yan nestled against Zhao Xuan's chest and hummed softly. After closing her eyes, her breathing became even, and she had actually fallen asleep.

Zhao Xuan never expected that Dao Yan could sleep so peacefully next to him.

Thinking of this, Zhao Xuan's gaze towards Dao Yan became even more doting.

Composing himself, Zhao Xuan had Edith connect to the nanobugs' field of vision and, as usual, surveyed the area from various angles.

After confirming that Sofia, Jenny, Tors, and Gormalev were not making any moves for the time being, Zhao Xuan turned his attention to Tojo Jun and Marus, who were negotiating in a private room of the Western restaurant on the first floor.

The negotiations did not go smoothly because Marus hoped that the Japanese Kwantung Army would send troops to Russia.

Previously, the Kwantung Army had been terrified of the Russians. Even if Tojo Jun didn't pay attention to national affairs, as a prince, he should know what he needed to know.

Therefore, Tojo Jun could not possibly agree to Marus's condition.

The two countries haven't even formed an alliance yet, and you want me to send troops to weaken Russia? Isn't that like trying to get something for nothing?

So the negotiations have been going poorly because of this.

Tojo Jun knew that if things continued this way, he would have no choice but to use Watanabe Kyoko's method: to force Germany to form an alliance. In that case, even if Germany did not agree to the alliance, the rest of the world would recognize it.

Whether Germany agrees or not is irrelevant.

Japan's desire to ally with Germany stems from two main reasons: Germany's powerful military and Japan's desire to avoid a future confrontation with Germany.

After all, the Japanese believed they would win the war, and when it came time to divide the spoils, they didn't want Germany to launch another war against them out of envy.

The third point, and also extremely important, is that Japan needs Germany to tie down the European theater; otherwise, once the fighting in Europe subsides, it will pose a significant threat to their offensive in Asia.

The fourth point is quite simple: in trade between the two countries, whether it was arms or other military support, Japan hoped to gain benefits from Germany after the alliance was formed.

(End of this chapter)