Spy game? Stop guessing, I really am an undercover agent!

Chapter 147: Early Action
In August of the 27th year of the Republic of China, the Battle of Wuhan entered a stalemate. The Blue Army was inferior to the Japanese Army in terms of equipment, but had the advantage of a large number of troops.

To say that they were evenly matched would be to overestimate the strength of the Blues.

However, with its numerical advantage, the Blue Army advanced step by step from Wuhan, and the Japanese army paid a certain price for every step forward.

Seeing that they could not gain an absolute advantage in the war, the Japanese army changed its strategy and launched a propaganda war to undermine the morale of the Blue Army. The North China Information Section sent a large number of agents to infiltrate the mountain city.

In East China, the Special Higher Police and the Southern Branch targeted anti-Japanese organizations in the south.

Meanwhile, the Iwai Agency in Shanghai was widely publicizing the news that former Prime Minister Tang Shaoyi was about to join the Nanjing government.

Newspapers such as Shen Bao, Shanghai Workers' Times, and Economic Daily successively published news of Tang Shaoyi's secret meeting with Wen Zongyao, the chief prosecutor of the Nanjing government's procuratorate, to discuss current affairs.

This news quickly triggered a chain reaction, with some wavering individuals in the south beginning to gravitate towards the Japanese...

Shanghai, the French Concession…

The vegetable market behind Ferguson Road was just waking up in the morning mist, and the vendors were busy unloading their goods and setting up their stalls.

With a creak, Tang Ping, the steward of the back gate of the Tang Mansion, walked slowly in as usual, carrying a wicker vegetable basket.

He wore a slightly worn navy blue long gown today, and a small piece of white gauze was wrapped around his left wrist, which was the agreed-upon signal for rendezvous.

Tang Ping was a spy planted by the Military Intelligence Bureau next to Tang Shaoyi. He was from Zhongshan, Guangdong, and was related to the steward Tang De and Tang Shaoyi.

It was this identity that earned him Tang De's trust and made him the steward of Tang Mansion.

Tang Ping walked briskly and soon arrived at the entrance of the vegetable market...

"Good morning, Manager Tang! The crabs are plump this morning!" said Mr. Wang, the owner of the seafood stall, warmly.

Tang Ping smiled and waved his hand: "Master hasn't had much of an appetite these past few days, how about a shad, about a pound and a half?"

"Alright, I happen to have a few fresh ones this morning, I'll arrange it for you right away." Boss Wang bent down and rummaged through the wooden basin, lowering his voice as he said, "Baiyang wants to see you, he's at the tobacco stall at the alley entrance."

Aries was the group leader of their group. When he suddenly asked to meet, Tang Ping was slightly taken aback, knowing that his superiors were getting impatient.

Just then, Tang Ping caught a glimpse of two men in black suits loitering in front of a fruit stand not far away.

He took the fish without batting an eye, deliberately raising his voice: "Old Wang, you'd better scrape the scales off properly for me."

"Alright!" Mr. Wang understood and deliberately began to process the fish slowly.

Tang Ping took the opportunity to observe his surroundings and noticed figures moving around at several entrances and exits of the market.

He felt a chill; the surveillance today was much tighter than usual.

Ten minutes later, Tang Ping left the stall carrying the prepared fish.

Before leaving, he deliberately went to the dried goods section. While buying shiitake mushrooms, he suddenly squatted down to tie his shoelaces and saw a man wearing a top hat about five meters behind him hurriedly turn to the stall next to him.

Tang Ping smiled slightly, then quickened his pace and made a few turns before disappearing into a narrow alley piled high with vegetable baskets.

Deep in the alley, a young man wearing round-framed glasses was tidying up a cigarette stand.

Tang Ping strode forward: "Boss, give me a three-shot 'Taiwanese' (a type of Taiwanese liquor)."

The young man, without looking up, asked, "The Three-Cannon brand is sold out. Want the Old Knife brand?"

"Then let's have a pack of Hademen." Tang Ping handed over a folded banknote.

The young man took the money and lowered his voice: "The situation has changed. Last night we received a secret report from an inside source that the Nanjing Special Service Committee suspects there is a mole in the Tang Mansion."

"Boss Dai ordered that we must obtain conclusive evidence tonight."

Tang Ping frowned slightly: "Tang Shaoyi's study is now guarded day and night. Apart from the butler Tang De, even I am not allowed to enter alone."

The young man lowered his voice and said, "We must find a way to get the evidence, no matter what." "This is a direct order from our superiors."

While pretending to select cigarettes, Tang Ping said, "Let me think of a way to see if I can get into the study."

"Hmm, someone's following you?" The young man glanced around and caught a glimpse of a figure moving at the alley entrance.
"They're from the Jinling Special Service Committee. Their men are guarding the Tang mansion from front to back," Tang Ping replied in a low voice, then immediately raised his voice: "This tobacco is too damp!"

Then, he quickly whispered, "If it works, same old routine, 6 p.m., garbage truck."

The young man understood and deliberately said loudly, "Sorry, but my newly arrived 'Beauty Brand' is guaranteed to keep you dry!"

As he spoke, he took out an oil paper package from under the counter.

Just as the handover was taking place, a sharp shout suddenly rang out from the alleyway entrance: "What are you doing!"

Three armed agents approached, led by Ling, the head of the Nanjing Special Agents Committee's Action Division.

The people behind him were all members of the first group.

Tang Ping reacted quickly, immediately pretending to be frightened. The fish in his hand fell to the ground with a "plop," and the oil paper package slid into the drainage ditch next to him.

"Sir...sir," Tang Ping stammered, "I just came to buy cigarettes."

Team Leader Ling grabbed Tang Ping by the collar: "Kid, we've been watching you for a while. Do you need to be so sneaky when buying cigarettes?"

He turned to the cigarette stand owner and said, "Open the counter!"

The young man cautiously opened the counter, only to find it empty except for cigarettes.

Suddenly, the shad on the ground jumped up, attracting everyone's attention.

"No, don't let the fish get away."

Tang Ping instinctively reached for the fish, and at that moment, the spies also noticed the oil paper package next to the fish.

"Don't move, is this what he just gave you?"

"What's inside?"

Tang Ping picked up the fish and said, "Sir, this is the cigarette I just bought. The Sanpaotai tobacco is too damp, and Butler Tang doesn't like it."

"This pack of Meili brand cigarettes was specially reserved for me by the boss."

"Open it, I told you to open it..." Team Leader Ling's voice suddenly rose several octaves.

Tang Ping hurriedly put the fish aside, opened the oil paper package, and sure enough, as he said, there were only a few packs of cigarettes inside.

"Sir, sir, these cigarettes aren't usually in high demand," the young man explained timidly. "Manager Tang wants a whole carton, and I can't get one."

“There were only six packages here, so I wrapped them in oil paper to keep them from getting damp.”

Team Leader Ling frowned, examined the packs of cigarettes several times, and even opened one of them to check it again, but still found nothing wrong.

Just then, another spy ran up from the alleyway and whispered a few words in his ear.

Team Leader Ling glared at Tang Ping resentfully, then left with his men in a huff.

As the footsteps faded into the distance, the young man breathed a sigh of relief, only to see Tang Ping's expression grow even more grave: "They've become suspicious; we must act ahead of schedule."

The young man nodded solemnly. Tang Ping then added, "There's a spare key under the third loose brick in the west wall of the Tang mansion."

"If anything happens to me, please remember to tell Qiuping that I am not a traitor..."

(End of this chapter)