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

Chapter 337 The Snipe and the Clam
"If my intelligence is correct, that ferry will pass through waters under naval surveillance. If possible, I hope Uncle Toyota can help me seize the items and hand them over to the Special Higher Police, where the technical section will seal them up."

Toyoda Jiro looked at Toa seriously, and Toa began to explain her reasons:

"Uncle Toyota, I'm sure you know what those two Ishii troops did at the former headquarters last time. I'm still so young, I don't want to be taken away by their virus for no reason."

"The safest way is to hand the items over to the Special Higher Police. After all, the previous virus was sealed by the Special Higher Police's Technical Section. I feel safe there."

Jiro Toyoda's face turned extremely gloomy. Damn it, a ferry carrying a dangerous virus was actually going to pass through their defense zone.

Those horse-riding bastards in the army are always thinking about doing such shady things, unlike the navy, who would never stoop to such despicable means.

And Daoya is right. Putting everything else aside, what if the virus leaks when that ferry passes through the sea area they've deployed?
"I can't believe it," Toyoda Jiro shuddered, looking at Toa and asking, "..."
"Xiaoya, we can handle this, but we lack experience in dealing with this kind of problem."

Daoya smiled and said:

"It's alright. As long as we're careful, it won't be leaked. After all, the fact that Hu Taoze dares to carry the item on his person means that its security is relatively guaranteed."

"However, to prevent any omissions, I suggest that you pack up all the clothes and luggage of all the passengers on that ferry and send them to the Special Higher Police. This will also effectively prevent improper operation from causing unnecessary trouble."

"It's alright if the passengers don't have any clothes, Uncle Toyota. I brought $30,000 with me this time, consider it money for making clothes for them."

"And Uncle Toyota, I plan to ship a batch of goods tomorrow. I've already made arrangements with the Song family. Two cargo ships will depart at noon tomorrow. I'll need Uncle Toyota to send someone to escort them for a part of the journey. The escort fee will be covered by me and the Song family, at a maintenance fee of five thousand US dollars per nautical mile."

Jiro Toyoda slapped his thigh and said:

"Okay, okay, Xiaoya, don't worry, I guarantee that the Song family's cargo ship will have no problems at sea."

"And about the virus you mentioned before, don't worry, we will pack everything up and send it to the Special Higher Police as soon as possible."

Both cargo ships were carrying penicillin. Daoya is now engaged in foreign trade, and the penicillin delivered by these two cargo ships is worth millions of US dollars. The maintenance fee paid to the Japanese Navy is just a drop in the ocean.

They can't possibly escort the entire journey with warships; it would cost at most $100,000.

Daoya is currently looking for ways to sell penicillin to Russia. If she can get through to Russia, her next target will be the whole of Europe.

As for Smith's channels, we can just use them together. Anyway, we're already producing so much penicillin that it's almost overflowing. Daoya is starting to have a headache about how to get rid of all that penicillin.

Hulukou residential area, a mountain city.

Zhou Xiaoman found the place according to the address given by Boss Dai.

To be honest, Zhou Xiaoman really didn't expect that the conductor would live in such an environment before she came.

Peddlers and laborers, gangs and throngs, and old-fashioned houses—Zhou Xiaoman couldn't understand how such an environment could be a conductor's vacation spot.

Soon, Zhou Xiaoman arrived at a bungalow.

Since entering Hulukou, Zhou Xiaoman has lost count of how many steps she has climbed. In this godforsaken place, she is either climbing steps or on her way to climb steps.

Wiping the slight sweat from her forehead and straightening her clothes, Zhou Xiaoman stepped forward and knocked on the door.

A short while later, a stunningly beautiful woman, about 1.7 meters tall, with shoulder-length short hair, wearing a rose-colored cheongsam, who looked very alluring yet not gaudy, opened the door.

"Did Boss Dai send you?"

Zhou Xiaoman was somewhat surprised by the conductor's appearance. She never expected that such a beautiful woman would be the epitome of venom and madness in many people's eyes.

"Come in, honestly, you finally got a vacation, and you've already come knocking on our door after only a few days."

After leading Zhou Xiaoman inside, the conductor suddenly stopped, turned around with a beaming smile to look at Zhou Xiaoman, who had just stopped.

"Does Boss Dai know that it's easy to ask me to leave, but it's not so easy to get me back?"

For a moment, Zhou Xiaoman really didn't know how to answer the conductor's question, so she could only give her an awkward but polite smile.

Inside the room, the conductor first poured Zhou Xiaoman a glass of cool water before sitting down, a faint smile on his lips, and calmly looking at Zhou Xiaoman.

Zhou Xiaoman held the water glass for a long time, unsure whether she should drink it or not.

"What, are you afraid that I'll poison you?"

Zhou Xiaoman was speechless. How come the conductor had a mouth?

After drinking most of the glass, Zhou Xiaoman put it down and said:

"Hello, senior, my name is Zhou Xiaoman."

The conductor smiled and nodded.
"Song Rong!"

So that's the conductor's name, Zhou Xiaoman thought to herself.

“Boss Dai has already told me the purpose of your visit. To be honest, your previous operations were quite good. At least if that Japanese spy hadn’t appeared, the pangolin would be gone.”

Zhou Xiaoman said with a wry smile:

"I still haven't thought things through, so I'll have to trouble you to come out of seclusion again."

Song Rong looked at Zhou Xiaoman with amusement. This little girl was quite cunning. She hadn't revealed anything yet after chatting for so long. If Song Rong hadn't learned from Boss Dai that Zhou Xiaoman was Zhao Xuan's junior sister, he really wouldn't have been interested in chatting with her, let alone bringing her into his home.

"Stop calling me 'senior' all the time. You're Young Tiger's junior sister. Relax. When you're out on business, don't embarrass Young Tiger."

Zhou Xiaoman sat upright and nodded repeatedly:
"Then I'll call you Sister Rong. Sister Rong, what do we do next? The pangolin and that Japanese spy are definitely hiding now. It's too difficult to lure them out. I don't even see any hope."

Song Rong crossed her arms and silently looked at Zhou Xiaoman for a while before saying:
“That Japanese spy was very skilled. I think he figured out the investigation team’s situation on his own.”

"So your guess is correct. That Japanese spy is definitely keeping quiet, trying to lure him out at this time. No matter what bait you throw out, he won't take the bait."

"To catch him, we need a period of time. As for how long that period will be, in my experience, it will be no less than six months, at least six months. During these six months, he will not have any further activities."

Zhou Xiaoman was stunned when she heard this. She had thought that the Japanese spies had entered a period of silence, but she never expected it to take so long.

Moreover, seeing Song Rong's confident expression, Zhou Xiaoman thought about it carefully and really couldn't find a reason to refute him.

Seeing the change in Zhou Xiaoman's eyes, Song Rong chuckled inwardly and said again:

"If we capture the pangolin, the Japanese spy's period of silence will be much longer, starting at a year."

Zhou Xiaoman nodded this time; she thought so too.

If the pangolin is captured, the Japanese spies who have been lying in wait will become more cautious, making it even more difficult to catch him.

However, Song Rong's next words caught Zhou Xiaoman's eye.

"But this is also a good thing. It's impossible to catch the pangolin in the short term. As long as we catch the pangolin, theoretically speaking, we've also caught this Japanese spy."

Zhou Xiaoman's eyes lit up. That's right! With the pangolin captured, the Japanese spy will definitely go into a deeper period of silence. During this time, he won't have any activities. Doesn't that mean that the Japanese spy has been indirectly captured, at least for this period of time?

When he resumed his activities, it could be seen as a new Japanese spy infiltrating the Military Intelligence Bureau.

Indeed, looking at the same thing from a different perspective can make the confusing road ahead much clearer.

So, I was previously torn about whether to continue the investigation and capture of pangolins, but now I'm not torn anymore. I can just take them one by one.

"Sister Rong, you're right, then let's take down the pangolin first!"

"However, Sister Rong, based on our previous investigation, the pangolin is definitely lurking within our ranks. But I've checked a lot of data in the archives and still can't pinpoint a specific area. This pangolin is too cunning. I don't know how to hook him again."

Song Rong smiled dismissively:

"It's not difficult to lure him out; it just depends on whether Boss Dai is willing to spend a lot of money."

"Do you think that if a list containing the identities of tiger cubs were to appear, this pangolin might take the bait?"

Zhou Xiaoman's lips twitched. Now she finally understood why Boss Dai and her teacher all said the conductor was a madman.

Mr. Dai would absolutely not agree to such a thing.

Boss Dai would never release any information that could be detrimental to his senior brother.

If the enemy were to actually get their hands on it, Boss Dai would probably be devastated.

"Sister Rong, isn't this too bold? Senior Brother's current infiltration environment is excellent, and his role is extremely important. Not to mention Boss Dai, even my teacher wouldn't agree to this. Moreover, I disagree. If we're going to capture pangolins, we should capture pangolins. We absolutely cannot use my senior brother's information!"

At this point in the conversation, Zhou Xiaoman had already gained Song Rong's approval.

If Zhou Xiaoman agrees to her proposed plan, Song Rong will definitely follow it, but Song Rong doesn't think much of Zhou Xiaoman.

Song Rong thought of her past self when she saw someone who would stop at nothing to advance their career.

However, the reason she went crazy back then wasn't for her own future. If that were the case, Song Rong wouldn't have done so many dangerous things, nor would she have left the mountain city.

As long as he stayed in Chongqing, Song Rong was confident that he would at least be at the deputy director level by now.

"Just kidding, don't take it so seriously. If we don't use tiger cubs as bait, there are other methods, but none of them can be as effective as this."

"How about this, you go back first, I'll make a plan, and we'll meet up tomorrow after you've set up the team to continue our discussion."

Zhou Xiaoman stood up and saluted Song Rong:

"Yes, team leader!"

After Zhou Xiaoman left, Song Rong leaned back on the sofa, closed her eyes, and rhythmically patted the sofa with her right hand.

Pangolins definitely need to be caught. Song Rong remembered that when she was in Shanghai, several of her operations were ruined by pangolins.

If he hadn't discovered it in time, he might have become a cautionary tale like Mao Sanlin. Song Rong had no intention of letting any of those who had threatened him get away with it.

As for how to capture pangolins, Song Rong did have several methods, but after Boss Dai arranged for Zhou Xiaoman to be by her side, Song Rong overturned all her previous plans.

There was no way around it; favors had to be repaid, and Song Rong didn't have the bad habit of owing favors.

Although it was Young Tiger who didn't want him to continue causing trouble in Shanghai, Young Tiger had still saved his life.

Song Rong felt a headache just thinking about this favor; it was too difficult to repay unless she saved the tiger cub herself.

But Song Rong knew that this was unlikely, mainly because the young tiger had too much say with the Japanese, so most of the time, the young tiger was not in any danger to its life.

Unable to repay Zhao Xuan's favor, Song Rong set her sights on Shen Xing.

As Zhao Xuan's teacher, I saved your teacher's life, so I guess that's half of the favor I owed you, right?
But now, Song Rong has set his sights on Zhou Xiaoman.

The teacher is great, but female juniors are a rare breed.

Even now, Song Rong still remembers the nameless tombstone in the International Cemetery.

Especially since that tombstone is right opposite Zhao Xuan's parents' tombstone, anyone who isn't stupid and knows the identity of the young tiger can guess who is buried there.

Li Mingzhu was also Shen Xing's student. Even though she has been dead for so long, Zhao Xuan still remembers her, which shows that Youhu cares a lot about his senior and junior sisters.

Therefore, Zhou Xiaoman became Song Rong's first choice.

Since he had to repay the favor, Song Rong certainly couldn't turn Zhou Xiaoman into a second Song Rong that everyone feared.

Song Rong didn't care much about reputation, but it was very important to Zhou Xiaoman.

Therefore, Song Rong's previous plan was shelved, since each of those plans was self-serving and harmful to others.

Even if Zhou Xiaoman catches the pangolin, her reputation won't be good if she works for him.

Half an hour later, Song Rong opened her eyes, grabbed the phone from the sofa cabinet, and dialed a number:
"Hey, you seem really surprised to hear my voice. Don't worry, I'm back. How about we meet up tonight? I'll introduce you to someone."

"What? You want to meet me alone? Forget it, your uncle won't agree. Okay, tonight at Cinque Terrell."

That evening, Zhou Xiaoman, who had just returned home, was called out by Song Rong. When she learned that she was going to Xianlesi, Zhou Xiaoman was a little scared and consulted Shen Xing and his teacher's wife.

With Aunt Su's intervention, Shen Xing, though reluctant to let Zhou Xiaoman go to Xianlesi, especially with Song Rong, eventually agreed under Aunt Su's intimidating gaze.

As Aunt Su said, "Your daughter is all grown up, why are you still keeping her by your side every day?"

What's wrong with Xianlesi? Xiaoman is capable of protecting herself, and this is a mountain city. Even if Xiaoman burns Xianlesi down, it won't matter. What are you worried about?

And so, Shen Xing had nothing more to say.

Eight o'clock in the evening, at the Mountain City Fairy City.

Zhou Xiaoman followed Song Rong closely to the private room on the second floor.

Upon entering the private room, Zhou Xiaoman was surprised to find that the person Song Rong had brought her to meet was actually Li Miaotong, the director of the archives.

Upon seeing Zhou Xiaoman, Li Miaotong was slightly taken aback, somewhat puzzled as to why Song Rong would bring Zhou Xiaoman to see her.

However, Li Miaotong was still very happy to see Song Rong.

"Rong'er, you're finally willing to see me. You've been back for so long, and you haven't even called me once. You've kept this a secret for too long."

After Song Rong took off his trench coat and threw it on the chair, he pulled Zhou Xiaoman to sit on the sofa.

Li Miaotong quickly grabbed Song Rong's left arm and asked curiously:
"Rong'er, do you know Xiaoman?"

"We just met today."

"Hello, Director Li."

Li Miaotong smiled at Zhou Xiaoman. Even if she wasn't interested in the people Song Rong brought, she wouldn't give them a hard time.

"No need to be so polite. This isn't the first time we've met. Just call me Miaotong."

Song Rong glanced at Li Miaotong and said in an annoyed tone:
"Alright, enough with the nonsense. I've called you here today to talk about serious business."

Li Miaotong looked at Song Rong with an "I knew it" expression. This woman was really ruthless. She had worried about her for so long, but after returning, she said she wanted to talk about serious business as soon as they met.

"I came to see you without my uncle's knowledge, Rong'er, you're so heartless."

Zhou Xiaoman got goosebumps. She felt that Li Miaotong's attitude towards Song Rong was ambiguous. Could these two be...?
"Stop looking at me like that. Even if I don't like men, I won't like a woman. Li Miaotong is my classmate and my only friend."

Zhou Xiaoman smiled awkwardly and quickly said:

"Sister Rong, that's not what I meant."

"That's what your look just now meant."

"Xiaoman is quite cute. Before, when you were with Chen Chuyin, I thought you were too cold, like an iceberg. I didn't expect you to be like this in private."

Faced with Song Rong and Li Miaotong's teasing, Zhou Xiaoman blushed.

After exchanging pleasantries for a while, Song Rong also explained why she had invited Li Miaotong tonight.

"You should know about what happened before. Xiaoman's investigation team is investigating pangolins. You should have heard of that code name, right?"

Li Miaotong nodded. She wasn't interested in these things, but she had heard a little bit about them from her family's conversations.

Moreover, as the director of the archives, Boss Dai actually agreed to let Chen Chuyin take Zhou Xiaoman to the archives and gave him the authority to look through most of the files. Just from this point alone, Li Miaotong could tell that Chen Chuyin and Zhou Xiaoman's relationship at that time was definitely not just about accessing files.

"When you go to work tomorrow, find an opportunity to make a scene about the files in the archives being messed up. Make sure everyone knows about it. Then, take the opportunity to suggest that you find someone to reorganize the files. I believe your persona as a pampered young lady will hold up in the Military Intelligence Bureau."

“How could a young lady like you personally organize the files? So it’s perfectly reasonable for you to do this.”

Li Miaotong chuckled and rolled her eyes at Song Rong. Was she scolding me or praising me?
Before Li Miaotong could answer, Song Rong took the briefcase from Zhou Xiaoman, took out a file, and handed it to Li Miaotong:

"If I mix this file into the files that need to be sorted out tomorrow, I think someone will be interested."

Li Miaotong glanced at the name curiously, while Zhou Xiaoman craned her neck to see the text on the cover of the file folder.

Upon seeing the words "Files of Shanghai Underground Party Members," Zhou Xiaoman quickly suppressed her shock, while Li Miaotong frowned deeply.
"You really got your hands on it? No, I meant to ask, is this thing real?"

"If it's not true, how can we verify it?"

Li Miaotong's lips curled slightly, and she gave Song Rong a thumbs up:
"You're something else. If the underground party finds out about this, tsk, Zhang Baiqiang from the adjutant's office is probably going to give you a hard time."

If Zhang Baiqiang, who was committed to the cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, knew about this, he would definitely cause trouble for Song Rong, since Song Rong's actions had already damaged the cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party.

Song Rong ignored the two people's feelings and continued:

"Xiaoman, tomorrow you need to cooperate with Miaotong to put on a good show. Whether we can catch the pangolin depends on this."

"If we fail, we won't be able to catch him anytime soon. Alright, that's all done. Miaotong, go dance. Xiaoman and I are going back now."

Li Miaotong looked at Song Rong speechlessly:

"If you hand this thing over to me, would I dare to wear it to dancing? I'm not dancing anymore. I need to hurry back and put this thing in the archives. If it leaks out while I'm in it, even my uncle won't be able to protect me."

Having stood up and already put on her trench coat, Song Rong glanced at Li Miaotong and smiled:

"Heh, at least you have some brains."

"Song Rong, I'll fight you to the death!"

Zhou Xiaoman stood aside and shook her head repeatedly. She never expected that two people who usually looked so serious and proper would actually be fighting. Well, mainly because Song Rong was riding on top of Li Miaotong and hitting her from both sides. Li Miaotong tried to get up, but when she saw the two mounds swaying in front of her, she was completely dumbfounded.

There's a little kid in the private room too. You, Song Rong, are getting more and more out of control, hitting her in her sensitive spots. It's not hard or painful, but it's embarrassing!

"Song Rong, get up right now."

"Are you satisfied?"

"I give up, you idiot! I give up!"

Zhou Xiaoman couldn't bear to look anymore. She thought that if she hadn't been there, Song Rong would have torn Li Miaotong's cheongsam to shreds.

However, Zhou Xiaoman was in no mood to look at Li Miaotong, whose cleavage was half exposed. She was worried that if the pangolin really got his hands on the list, the underground party in Shanghai would be in trouble.

Zhou Xiaoman had always been inclined towards the Communist Party, but she had never had the opportunity to get in touch with them.

Now that such a file was right in front of her, Zhou Xiaoman felt she was losing control and wanted to destroy it.

After taking several deep breaths, Zhou Xiaoman's turbulent emotions finally calmed down after Li Miaotong and Song Rong got up from the ground.

The former government office on Nanjing Road in Shanghai.

Doi-Yuan hung up the phone, sat down at the low table with a gloomy face, picked up a glass of sake and drank it all in one gulp.

Kneeling beside the low table, Michiko Sakai poured Madoka a cup of tea before asking:
"Teacher, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs hasn't reached an agreement?"

Tu Feiyuan shook his head:
"It's settled. We'll head to the French Concession soon and stay at the Cathay Hotel."

Michiko was a little confused. Since they had reached an agreement, why was her teacher so angry?
"Hmph! That guy, Kurumizawa Masaru, I don't know if he's lost his mind, actually wants to stay at the Hua Mao Hotel, and even wants Kasahara Hei and Karasawa Saburo to meet him at the Hua Mao Hotel."

(End of this chapter)