Espionage: I Have Photo Editing Software

"Murder, death by asphyxiation, no ligature marks on the neck, the murder weapon was probably a pillow." Zhao Meng examined the body. "Could it be that the Japanese discovered we were watching him and killed him to cover it up?"

Chen Zhiqiang pondered for a moment, then shook his head.

"It doesn't make logical sense."

This is Japanese territory. If they really found out we were being followed, why didn't they arrest us?

Instead, they turned their knives on their own people?

To put it another way, the Japanese could have simply taken Wang Guangyi away; why did they have to kill him?

Even winning over a figure in the cultural sphere to advocate for them is not an easy task for the Japanese.

"Who could have done that?" Zhao Meng rubbed his bald head, looking puzzled.

"Maybe they are anti-Japanese patriots." Even though Chen Zhiqiang was suspicious, he couldn't understand such illogical things.

"Damn it, with Wang Guangyi dead, the trail has gone cold. How are we supposed to investigate now?" Zhao Meng asked.

Chen Zhiqiang's face was grim. "We can only hope to make some gains at the tavern."

evening.

Members of the Nanshi group gathered at the Sanrenxing Bookstore.

"Liu Zhi, tell me about the situation at your tavern," Chen Zhiqiang said.

"Everything is normal. No suspicious persons have entered or left," Liu Zhi said.

Chen Zhiqiang's brows furrowed deeply. "Could it be that the tavern was merely a meeting point between Wang Guangyi and his superior, rather than a base for Japanese spies?"

"That's possible, after all, none of us have seen his superiors in person." Liu Zhi nodded.

Fatty Hu sighed, "That's it. Wang Guangyi is dead, and the last remaining clue is gone. We were counting on this case to turn things around, but it's all for nothing."

"Shut your stinking mouth!" Chen Zhiqiang snapped.

Fatty Hu pursed his lips and said nothing more.

"Liu Zhi, Liu Jie, you two continue to keep an eye on the tavern. Wei Renming, stay here. The rest of you, go and get busy."

After everyone left, Chen Zhiqiang smiled and said:

"How does it feel to participate in a case for the first time?"

"Most of the time it's pretty boring," Wei Renming said bluntly.

"If you don't want to participate in future operations, just let me know in advance. Your main focus should still be on the photo studio, you understand what I mean?" Chen Zhiqiang winked.

"This... I don't understand, please enlighten me, team leader." Wei Renming certainly understood Chen Zhiqiang's thoughts, which were simply to get more dividends.

"One set of photos a day is too few. We could increase it to five sets, what do you think?"

"Film five sets? I'd be exhausted."

"What's so tiring about taking a photo?"

Wei Renming, too lazy to waste words with Chen Zhiqiang, held up two fingers and said, "I guarantee your monthly dividend will not be less than this amount."

"Two hundred a month, that's two thousand four hundred a year." Chen Zhiqiang's eyes lit up.

This was a huge sum of money for him.

His attitude became increasingly amiable: "From now on, you are not allowed to participate in any dangerous operations."

"Thank you for your concern, team leader. I will do my best."

After Wei Renming returned to the photo studio, Feng Xiaotian immediately greeted him excitedly:

"Brother Wei, you're finally back. While you were away these past two days, many people came to inquire about us, carrying their 'good friends' (a type of medical document). Most of them were wealthy ladies and young women, and there were even some celebrities."

Wei Renming was not surprised; this was expected. "Make them line up. Three hundred yuan a set, one person per day."

"Three...three hundred?" Feng Xiaotian's eyes widened. "Would anyone be willing to do that?"

"As the saying goes, strike while the iron is hot. I'm burning hot right now, and there will be people willing to pay for the emotional value, and quite a few at that," Wei Renming said with a smile.

If he wanted to, he could organize some marketing activities and even increase the average order value to five hundred, but he doesn't have that in mind right now.

He can't eat or sleep if Lin Yi doesn't die.

To kill Lin Yi, we can't do it in Hongkou. At the very least, we have to lure him to the foreign concession, preferably in the Chinese-controlled area.

Secondly, it must be ensured that she is alone, or at most with one other person.

With more people around, even if Wei Renming launches a sneak attack, the success rate will be greatly reduced.

"I don't know how many people Lin Yi has at her disposal. We can only try to distract her forces as much as possible."

The next day, Wei Renming went to a public phone booth and dialed the number Lin Yi had left behind.

"Hello, I'm looking for Boss Lin," Wei Renming said in a high-pitched voice.

"Who is this?" a male voice came from the other end of the phone.

"Mr. Li." This was the code name he had agreed upon with Lin Yi.

"What is it?"

"Goods have arrived at the dock, come and pick them up immediately."

"understood."

After hanging up the phone, Wei Renming felt uneasy.

noon.

The summer heat is rising.

Wei Renming was dozing off at the counter when he was woken up by a ringing bell.

"Who is it?"

"Come to Jinshi Cafe on Jinling Road," Zhang Molinyi's voice came through.

"it is good."

When he arrived at the coffee shop, Wei Renming looked around but did not see Zhang Molinyi.

He found a seat, ordered a coffee.

Ten minutes later.

Zhang Molin appeared at the door and went straight to sit down opposite Wei Renming.

"Get to the point."

"We've roughly figured out where Zhao Lijun is hiding."

"Where?"

"It's a house near Dream Flower Street. I don't know the exact location; you'll have to look it up yourselves."

How did you know?

"It was tricked into coming out of Chen Zhiqiang."

"Any other news?"

"No. But I suspect that this escort mission will most likely not take the train. If we switch to the road, you can arrange for people to ambush us in Wuxi in advance, as that's a necessary route. If we take the waterway, we can also ambush us at Wusongkou."

The Songhu Garrison Command, Menghua Street, Wuxi, and Wusongkou—these four locations were enough to disperse Zhang Molin's forces.

In this way, Wei Renming no longer believed that she had anyone capable under her command.

"You've really impressed me. You're going to such lengths; could you be plotting something else?" Zhang Molinyi said with a half-smile.

Wei Renming remained completely calm. As long as she believed that Zhang Mozhi was still alive, she would definitely fall into the trap.

"All I want is to survive. Now I'm forced to join the Special Service, and I might fall into the hands of the Japanese any day. I hope Miss Lin Yi can lend a helping hand and save my life then."

Zhang Molin smiled and said, "Not only will I not let you die, but I will also go to great lengths to help you climb to a high position."

"It's lonely at the top, so I think being a junior intelligence officer is fine," Wei Renming declined.

"That's not up to you."

Zhang Molin stared at Wei Renming for a long time before getting up and leaving.

Although she felt that Wei Renming was being too proactive, her obsession with killing Zhang Mozhi made her choose to ignore it.

That evening, Wei Renming went to three locations, including Menghua Street and Wusongkou, to investigate. He suspected that he had discovered spies arranged by Lin Yi. The exact number was unknown, but it was no less than nine.

The following morning, Wei Renming dialed the number again.

"The goods have left the dock; hurry to the road in front of the station."

Wei Renming touched the gun in his pocket and the dagger hidden in his trouser leg, feeling uneasy.

"The outcome hinges on this; I hope she comes alone."