Agent: Intercepting Yu Manli at the start!

Zhou Xiao nodded, his tone calm and deliberate: "Section Chief, according to the forensic doctor's conclusion and what Xiao Zhang said, accidental death is not entirely impossible."

"Given the current tight security, the Military Intelligence Bureau would have virtually no chance to temporarily poison the enemy."

"Of course—nothing is absolute."

Poisoning is arguably the most insidious and difficult-to-defend method of killing.

It can be used to poison, but it also has a fatal flaw.

Aoki Takeshige opened the autopsy report for the third time, his brows furrowed, his Adam's apple bobbing, and his voice low and hoarse but resolute: "Case closed—Mayor Chen died of acute poisoning due to accidental ingestion of poisoned wine. Homicide has been ruled out. All investigations are to be terminated immediately."

"yes!"

Zhou Xiao, Feng Manna, Watanabe Ichiro, and the others responded in unison, their voices crisp and decisive, without any hesitation.

This conclusion was not made hastily, but rather it was a decision made after repeated deliberation by Takeshige Aoki.

The first layer of evidence comes from the forensic autopsy: Chen Mingfu's stomach contained a large amount of aconite and aconitum extract, and the concentration of aconitine in his blood far exceeded the lethal threshold; the bottle of medicinal wine had been brewing for several months, and the toxicity had accumulated over time, so a single cup could be fatal if one was not careful.

The second consideration is more about face and survival.

Security for this press conference consisted of five layers of security: the Special Higher Police, the Military Police, the 76th Division, the Special Operations Headquarters, and the existing municipal guards. These layers were tightly linked and impenetrable. If the Military Intelligence Bureau could actually penetrate this impenetrable defense and silently administer the poison—the four major intelligence agencies would not only lose face, but would be utterly crushed.

If even Chen Mingfu can't be protected in his own office, what kind of deterrence is that? Under the wrath of the higher-ups, Aoki Takeshige, the head of the Special Higher Police, will probably lose his job on the spot; at best, he will be transferred and investigated, at worst, he will be sent to a military court and have a gun pointed at the back of his head.

He wasn't giving Chen Mingfu a final verdict; he was leaving himself a way out.

The Special Higher Police have recently made a series of mistakes, and are on edge. They cannot afford any more mishaps.

The third level of consideration focuses on the political situation.

Chen Mingfu was a "model of goodwill" heavily promoted by the Japanese, a living advertisement. If the truth is that he was poisoned by the Kuomintang in broad daylight, who would dare to take on this hot potato? Who would be willing to stand up as a "pro-Japanese ambassador"? — A signboard that can't even save one's own life will only backfire if it's put up.

Characterizing it as an accident, while seemingly downplaying the issue, actually helped to calm people's hearts and preserve dignity.

Finally, there was one point that Aoki Takeshige was reluctant to mention, yet it felt like a thorn in his side:

If the Military Intelligence Bureau truly possessed such capabilities—precisely poisoning targets within five layers of iron nets and escaping unscathed—then this force operating behind enemy lines would be far too terrifying.

To admit this is tantamount to crowning one's opponent.

Therefore, he preferred to believe that Chen Mingfu had simply been drinking too much and mistakenly took the strong medicinal liquor for a regular tonic, drinking it all in one gulp and collapsing to his death.

This outcome is the safest, most dignified, and best serves everyone's interests.

Since it was declared an accident, everyone involved naturally backed down. Feng Manna and Watanabe Ichiro, aren't they all shrewd and calculating? How could they not understand this subtext?

Insisting on investigating secretly? If you find out the results, great; but if you come up empty-handed, you're just courting disaster—it's a thankless task that will only bring you trouble. Only a fool would do that.

It wasn't until noon that Feng Manna and Zhou Xiao led the Special Operations Headquarters personnel back.

On the way home, the two sat side by side in the back seat.

Feng Manna unconsciously rubbed the clasp of her handbag with her fingertips, then suddenly spoke: "Third Brother, I always feel... Chen Mingfu's death was too 'smooth.' Unbelievably smooth."

Zhou Xiao leaned back in his chair, his gaze sweeping over the fleeting shadows of the sycamore trees outside the window. His voice was calm: "Smooth sailing is what's normal. Aoki Takeshige has already put a period to his life, why should we reopen the fire? It's a waste of time and energy, and we won't get any benefit from it."

But it was never an accident...

Chen Mingfu's death was a meticulously planned murder—carried out by Zhou Xiao himself.

This assassination was almost flawless, a textbook example of a "faked accident".

He didn't expose the poison to the light of day, but instead secretly slipped it into Chen Mingfu's own habits, his wine cabinet, and his trust.

The most skillful assassination never leaves behind a blade, only a sigh.

Zhou Xiao did it.

The night the mission was assigned, he began to ponder: how to send this important municipal official to his death without making a sound?

Chen Mingfu was stationed at the city hall, while Zhou Xiao was deeply rooted in the intelligence system. These two were like two separate entities, never intersecting—wanting to get close enough to make a move? It was as difficult as climbing to the sky.

What he wanted was not just a result, but a clean, decisive, and unscathed exit from the scene.

The turning point came from a casual remark by Feng Manna: "The Special Higher Police just assigned a new security detail, and the target is Chen Mingfu."

Zhou Xiao's heart skipped a beat—a golden opportunity.

He spent the night flipping through recent newspapers, his eyes landing on a news article with a photo: "Pro-Japanese Ambassador Chen Mingfu to Hold Press Conference." In the photo, Chen Mingfu is standing in front of a wine rack, smiling and waving.

The black and white printing is blurry and indistinct, and most people would just think it's a blurred background.

But Zhou Xiao was different. His eyesight had been honed by the system, allowing him to distinguish the second bottle from the right on the third shelf of the wine rack—the amber liquid was slightly rippling, and the label on the bottle was mottled, with the words "snake, aconite, Sichuan aconite" faintly visible.

More importantly, it's located within easy reach and can be picked up at a glance.

Upon further investigation of older reports, an interview stated: "Mayor Chen has a habit of drinking a little medicinal wine. He always drinks a cup after important events, calling it 'to calm the nerves and refresh the mind.'"

The two clues fit together perfectly.

He was intimately familiar with the toxicity, metabolic cycle, and symptoms of aconitine—a required course for special agents and a trump card for killing that he had repeatedly studied.

Zhou Xiao immediately recognized the gleaming brown liquid in the photo of the medicinal wine—aconitine extracted from the decoction of Aconitum carmichaelii, Aconitum kusnezoffii, and Aconitum napellus. It was this very substance lurking in the shadows, waiting for its chance to strike. He ran his fingertip along the edge of the photo, his eyes darkening, and silently placed his piece on the chessboard.

He first dripped three drops of concentrated liquid into the bottom of Chen Mingfu's usual celadon cup.

This dosage is far from enough to kill someone on the spot.

More precisely, it's like a thin thread that doesn't tighten tightly, but tightens deeper and deeper—it takes two or three hours for the toxicity to truly take effect.

This creates a loophole: people can chat and laugh while drinking tea, but by the time they return to their office, the poison has already quietly crept into their bloodstream.

Given Zhou Xiao's current influence and connections, poisoning someone under the watchful eyes of so many guards would be a matter of a single breath.

Chen Mingfu was completely unaware of this and strolled back to his office as usual, casually asking his secretary, Xiao Zhang, to bring him the cup of snake wine.

The wine was made by soaking aconite and aconitum for a long time, and it already contained some potency; when combined with the "trigger" that Zhou Xiao had planted earlier, the toxicity suddenly hit the critical point - and the person collapsed without warning.

Thus, the whole tragedy unfolded as expected.

As soon as the press conference ended, Zhou Xiao quietly called over a cleaning lady, who took away the cups and trays together and washed and steamed them overnight. When Feng Manna arrived at the scene later, she only found a clean, empty cup, with even the water stains wiped away meticulously.

Even if a forensic pathologist dissects the body and the Special Higher Police bring in their most experienced toxicology experts, the final report will only state: "Acute poisoning by aconitine." After all, who doesn't know that medicinal wine is a double-edged sword? If it's brewed too quickly or drunk too hastily, accidents are all too common.

On a deeper level, Zhou Xiao had already accurately predicted Aoki Takeshige's thoughts—Chen Mingfu held a high position of power, and if it were truly classified as murder, the implications would be too great and the shock too widespread. To maintain overall stability, the Special Higher Police would rather insist that it was an "accidental overdose" than uncover the truth and investigate the real culprit.

Every step is taken to a beat unseen by others; every link is wedged into the opponent's moments of weakness.

He used only scraps of information from two newspapers to cleverly weave a meticulously planned poisoning into the guise of an "accident." This skill certainly didn't embarrass Zheng Yaoxian in the slightest.

Turning murder into an accident is the real dance on the edge of a knife—because with an accident, no one will ever pursue it to the end.

Including the time since arriving in Shanghai, Zhou Xiao has already placed three pieces steadily:

The first step was to pin down the traitor Li Moqun. The locked-room murder case remains unsolved. Aoki Takeshige has reviewed all the surveillance footage, pried open the floorboards, and even brought in trace experts from Tokyo, but still doesn't know how the murderer entered and exited out of thin air without leaving a trace.

The second trap was set on Bi Zhongliang. The poisoned bait was thrown at Su Sansheng, piercing through five sparrows with a single arrow—eliminating the opponent, disrupting the faction, solidifying the evidence, elevating himself, and even causing the Military Intelligence Bureau to misjudge the direction;

The third case involved Chen Mingfu. After drinking a cup of snake wine, the poison took effect silently, and the cause of death was determined to be "sudden death due to an overdose of the medicinal wine," a clean and swift conclusion.

Three wins out of three, leaving no room for error. This record truly deserves the title of "Military Intelligence Bureau Ace," without a doubt.

Of course, Feng Manna knew nothing about it.

She felt a chill run down her spine, as if Chen Mingfu's death was too coincidental and too quiet. But after searching through all the clues, they all led to dead ends—Zhou Xiao had sealed off every possible escape route, leaving not even a speck of ash behind.

Zhou Xiao raised his eyes and smiled: "Alright, stop getting hung up on this. Right now, the underground Communist Party and the remnants of the Military Intelligence Bureau in Shanghai are making moves. Let's focus our attention on more important matters."

Feng Manna agreed verbally, but her heart was in her throat. She didn't believe it was an accident, but digging any deeper was like reaching into a thick fog—completely lost, with no foothold in sight. Continuing to pursue would only be a waste of energy and might even alert the wrong people.

The two met at a small restaurant on the street corner at noon. As soon as the food was served, Zhou Xiao put down his chopsticks and said in a gentle tone, "Manna, I'm planning to move out."

Feng Manna was taken aback: "Isn't it better to live at headquarters? It's convenient for eating and lodging, and it's just a few steps from your office."

"Too close, and it's restrictive." Zhou Xiao smiled. "Work is work, and life is life. Now I'm even thinking about intelligence in my sleep, and I'm dreaming about clues. We're all becoming too rigid. There has to be a place where I can catch my breath, a place worthy of the name 'Zhou Mansion'."

He was already a big shot in Shanghai, but he didn't even have a decent house, which was really embarrassing to admit. The Special Forces Headquarters was, after all, an impregnable barracks, not a place to settle down and make a living.

Feng Manna's smile faded—she wished he would live at headquarters every day, since her own room was in the building next door.