Agent: Intercepting Yu Manli at the start!

What struck tonight wasn't the truth, but two blunt blows: one, her father's secret identity hidden for half his life; the other, the venomous fangs beneath her godfather's gentle smile. Yu Xiaowan's world crumbled into ruins in five minutes. Who could have imagined? The man who always smiled and patted her head still had her father's blood stained on his sleeve.

She curled up in the chair, tears streaming silently down her face. As she cried, her eyelids drooped, and she fell into a deep sleep by the table, tears still clinging to her eyelashes.

Zhang Li gently draped a coat over her shoulders, then turned to Zhou Xiao and whispered, "She can't hold on any longer... This outcome is too heavy."

"It was bound to happen sooner or later." Zhou Xiao glanced at his watch. "If there's nothing else, I'll be going now."

"I'll take you." Zhang Li stood up and pushed open the door.

The night was so deep it seemed impenetrable, the streetlights cast a dim yellow glow, and the streets were so quiet that only the sound of the wind could be heard. The two walked side by side, their shadows stretched long.

Zhang Li suddenly spoke up: "Why are you helping us?"

Throughout the entire ordeal, he never revealed his identity or mentioned the Party. He was like a lamp, silently shining in their darkest night.

Zhou Xiao stopped, turned around and looked into her eyes, his gaze frank: "Because you—are worthy of my trust."

He was well-versed in "The Awakening of Insects," understanding Yu Xiaowan's fierceness and Zhang Li's resilience. Who was Zhang Li? Someone who wouldn't flinch even with a knife to her throat, a person whose faith was etched into her very bones. Such a person would rather be shattered to pieces than betray her comrades. He hadn't watched the drama for nothing.

Besides, his hands were so clean you could see your reflection in them—he left no evidence, didn't reveal a single word, he simply offered a helping hand, a bit of warmth.

In this game of chess in the mountain city, he needs a piece that is both clear-headed and reliable, capable of standing firm. Zhang Li is precisely that brightest piece.

Right now, Zhou Xiao is in the mountain city, truly all alone and struggling to cope. His direct superior is far away in Nanjing, namely Li Xiaonan; if he encounters a truly urgent emergency—such as delivering a secret report or coordinating a surprise attack—he must have a reliable partner by his side.

Zhang Li is the perfect shoulder to lean on.

That's why Zhou Xiao was willing to lay everything out in front of Zhang Li and Yu Xiaowan today.

"Worth helping? Thanks." Zhang Li nodded, his tone steady. "I'll verify the camel matter with the organization immediately."

Tonight's confrontation has laid bare Zhang Li's true identity to Zhou Xiao; however, Zhou Xiao will never utter a single word to the Military Intelligence Bureau.

Conversely, Zhang Li would never mention Zhou Xiao in front of his superiors.

This is an ironclad rule etched into the bones of those who infiltrate—not trust, but discipline; not sentiment, but the bottom line.

Even though Zhou Xiao reached out his hand at this moment, Zhang Li still couldn't see which flag was standing behind him.

"Hmm." Zhou Xiao said as he walked, his pace unhurried. "If your underground party really wants to purge traitors, you'll have to find someone to take the fall beforehand. Right now, you absolutely cannot let the Military Intelligence Bureau target you—otherwise, the consequences will be unimaginable."

As soon as Zhang Li sends a telegram requesting instructions, the organization can quickly confirm that Fei Zhengpeng is the mole codenamed "Camel."

According to the usual practices of the underground party, the assassination squad would inevitably be dispatched overnight to kill them in one fell swoop.

Killing a deputy director of the Military Intelligence Bureau? That would be too much of a commotion. If someone isn't found to take the blame, the Military Intelligence Bureau will definitely dig deep and follow every lead—after all, the position of deputy director of the Second Division isn't just for show. If they can't find out the truth, they'll just slap Boss Dai in public.

The most logical scapegoat is, of course, the Japanese.

As soon as Zhou Xiao finished speaking, Zhang Li's eyebrows twitched slightly. He paused for a moment, then nodded: "Understood."

Three days later, Zhang Li swiftly completed the verification, and the Mountain City Anti-Traitor Team quietly took action. Fei Zhengpeng collapsed at the door of his own study. Several Japanese-made bullet casings and a torn Japanese note were deliberately left at the scene, and even the bloodstains were arranged to indicate the direction—the whole method resembled the "decapitation-style retaliation" commonly used by Japanese spies.

The Military Intelligence Bureau believed it without hesitation: the previous Second Division's raid on the Shang Mansion Mountain City intelligence station and the killing of Araki had already created a blood feud. This time, it was clearly a vengeful retaliation from the Japanese.

The blame was directly placed on the Japanese.

No one suspected the underground Communist Party at all—it was too natural and too reasonable, and thus became the safest shield.

Of course, these are all things to be discussed later.

At this moment, Zhou Xiao and Zhang Li walked side by side for a while, then Zhou Xiao suddenly stopped: "Zhang Li, go back and keep a close eye on Xiao Wan. Don't let her act impulsively or take any risks, and especially don't let her disturb the fish."

"Okay." Zhang Li agreed readily. "I know Xiao Wan's personality well—she has a sense of right and wrong, she can distinguish between what's important and what's not, and she can control herself."

Zhang Li turned and left, and Zhou Xiao immediately heard a system notification: "Ding dong, mission accomplished, reward issued..."

"Ding-dong, you have gained 'Five Senses Sharpening'."

Sharpening of the five senses?

Zhou Xiao was taken aback and quickly clicked on the instructions.

The so-called "five senses" are not the ordinary eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, but rather a systematically defined system of tongue, eyes, ears, nose, and mouth—corresponding to taste, sight, hearing, smell, and the ability to imitate sound. This enhancement is not a mystical ability, but a genuine and overwhelming improvement in perception compared to ordinary people.

The tip of the tongue can detect a trace of aged cinnamon added to the tea soup;

The two eyes can detect a blink of a person in a mirror reflection with a delay of 0.3 seconds;

The hearing was sharp enough to detect the seventh slight vibration of the gears meshing inside the safe amidst the cacophony of the city.

The tip of the nose can detect trace amounts of ricin added to leftover food;

The lips and tongue can mimic any dialect accent, even the vibration frequency of the Adam's apple is exactly the same.

Zhou Xiao instantly understood—this was not a divine skill, but rather the "living instrument" that special agents dreamed of.

His hearing, in particular, is sufficient to enable him to open most old-fashioned safes by hand without a key, relying on his hearing, touch, and experience.

"This reward is pretty impressive!" he thought to himself with a smile. He had secretly envied Chen Xia for deciphering codes with his hearing earlier; now he himself held that key—solid, sharp, and silent.

Nothing happened that night.

three days later.

Fei Zhengpeng's sudden death caused an uproar at the Military Intelligence Bureau headquarters.

All the physical evidence, traces, and timelines fit together perfectly to point to one conclusion: Japanese retaliation.

The news alarmed Boss Dai and Director Wei—the death of a deputy director was no small matter. Boss Dai slammed his fist on the table and ordered a thorough investigation of all Japanese personnel in the mountain city, saying it was better to wrongly arrest a hundred people than to let a single spy go free.

And all of this is proceeding smoothly and steadily, just as Zhou Xiao has laid out.

The underground party killed two birds with one stone: eliminating traitors and diverting the trouble eastward.

The morning after Fei Zhengpeng's death, Zhou Xiao appeared at the Military Intelligence Bureau headquarters fully dressed and reported to Zheng Yaoxian on time.

The second mess has been cleaned up: Zhou Haichao was brought to justice, Fei Zhengpeng was killed, Qiao Yu was arrested, and Chen Shan has quietly set off on his "Awakening of Insects" infiltration mission.

In the headquarters office, Zheng Yaoxian, a cigarette dangling from his lips, gazed at Zhou Xiao with a sharp, piercing look behind the bluish-white smoke: "Zhou Xiao, you've done a good job these past few days."

"Sixth Brother, you flatter me." Zhou Xiao lowered his eyes, his posture humble. "I still have to learn my skills from you inch by inch."

His ability to break through several games in a short period of time is due to his familiarity with the patterns of the Awakening of Insects; if he were to face a completely unfamiliar predicament, his true skill would be to break through it by adapting to the situation on the spot.

In this respect, he was far inferior to the sixth brother in front of him, who was always smoking and had a hidden sharpness in his smile.

Zheng Yaoxian suddenly stood up, took two steps forward, and cigarette ash fell onto his fingertips. He stared at Zhou Xiao and suddenly asked, "You...did you recognize Chen Shan a long time ago?"

That day at the second location, he deduced from Chen Shan's identification file and the healing pattern of his gunshot wound that this person was definitely not Xiao Zhengguo—the file was too flawless, which became the most fatal flaw of the spy.

As for the red-hot muzzle on Chen Shan's nape, Zheng Yaoxian bent down to examine it closely, his fingertips lightly brushing the charred edge—this was clearly the impact wound left by a blank round fired at close range; if it had been a live bullet penetrating from a distance, Chen Shan would have been lying on the ground, cold and lifeless.

Based on these two key traces, Zheng Yaoxian was already seven or eight parts certain.

But Zhou Xiao's face remained calm, as if he had already seen through everything. The ins and outs of that secret conversation between him and Zhou Xiao were probably more intriguing than they appeared on the surface.

"Yes." Zhou Xiao answered readily, but his heart sank suddenly: the old fox had indeed lived these years in vain.

Zheng Yaoxian didn't press further, but instead patted his shoulder twice, his voice low and deep: "The taller the tree, the more the wind blows. You've been too conspicuous lately. There are at least three or five pairs of eyes watching you from the shadows."

"You're the person I personally picked out. You're quick-witted, courageous, and born to do this kind of work. But the smoother things go, the more careful you need to be to avoid slipping."

"Thank you for reminding me, Sixth Brother," Zhou Xiao replied, lowering his eyes. "I heard that Fei Zhengpeng, the deputy director of the Second Division, was just assassinated by Japanese spies. I will be more careful."

"Hmm." Zheng Yaoxian lit a cigarette, the flame flickered twice before it ignited, and the smoke rose slowly. "Following me, Lao Liu, is one layer of protection against the Japanese, but protecting ourselves—especially the Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics (Zhongtong)—is the real battle."

"The Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics?" Zhou Xiao's eyebrows twitched slightly, then he nodded. "Understood, I'll keep a close eye on it."

The Military Intelligence Bureau and the Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics have always been outwardly friendly but inwardly at odds, and their open and covert struggles are nothing new.

The higher-ups were happy to see this happen—the head of the Weiyuan Garden was just hoping that the two sides would check and balance each other, preventing either from becoming too powerful, so that this balance could be used to keep the entire intelligence agency in check.

As the top favorite of the Military Intelligence Bureau, Zheng Yaoxian was long regarded as a thorn in the side by the Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics (CBIS). Everyone was searching for evidence of his treason and collusion with the enemy, just waiting to strike him down.

His most prized apprentice, Zhou Xiao, naturally became the first stumbling block in the other party's eyes.

At this moment, in the office of the director of the Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics (CBIS).

A stocky middle-aged man was slumped in a leather chair, his right index finger tapping absently on the ebony tabletop, his rhythm casual, but his eyes were as cold as ice.

Gao Zhanlong, the top leader of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, has been keeping an eye on Zheng Yaoxian for almost two years, but hasn't gotten anything out of him yet.

Standing beside him was his trusted confidant Tian Hu, and on the other side was Shen Lin, the director of the Party and Government Investigation Department—the two were his right-hand men and his most trusted confidants.

Tian Hu and Shen Lin stood quietly with their hands at their sides, holding their breath and waiting for Director Gao to speak.

After a long silence, Gao Zhanlong finally raised his eyes, his gaze sharp as hooks: "Tian Hu, Shen Lin, have you noticed that Zhou Xiao who's recently emerged in the Military Intelligence Bureau?"

Shen Lin immediately replied, "Director, the investigation department has his complete resume."

Tian Hu took a half step forward and spoke steadily: "Mr. Gao, this person is Zheng Yaoxian's apprentice. He is extremely quick to learn. He graduated from the Military Intelligence Bureau training school in half a month. After graduation, he worked with Sixth Brother on cases and solved three major cases in a row. Boss Dai personally signed the commendation order. He is now a key person cultivated by the high-ranking military intelligence officers."

"Sir, what is this...?"