Agent: Intercepting Yu Manli at the start!

As soon as he finished speaking, it was so quiet that you could hear the creaking of rickshaw wheels rolling over the bluestone slabs in the distance.

The pressure was immense.

He loosened his grip, and the half-smoked cigarette fell to the ground. With a gentle stomp of his shoe, sparks flew and ashes scattered.

Tian Hu froze, his gaze sweeping over the passenger seat—the woman clutched her clothes, her face pale, yet a flicker of light still burned in her eyes. He then fixed his gaze on Zhou Xiao's face, his voice strained: "Director Zhou… is it really imperative to intervene?"

"It's all set." Zhou Xiao's lips didn't move, but his gaze fell on the middle of the road. "The path has already been paved for you. You can choose whichever one you want to take."

A hundred or so Yongxin brothers stood there, knives drawn, guns cocked, forming a menacing circle. But Tian Hu's palms were sweaty, and he didn't dare raise an arm.

He recognized the identity—not the bluffing "spy" from the street thugs, but the head of the intelligence department of the Special Operations Headquarters.

If it were an ordinary spy, he would have waved his hand and had him beaten to death with sticks and thrown into the Huangpu River to be fed to the fish.

But the man before them was connected to the Special Higher Police's eyes and ears, the military police's bayonets, and the pulse of the Japanese military headquarters stationed in Shanghai.

Zhou Xiao stood there alone, with the entire intelligence machine of the occupying army standing behind him.

"Fine!" Tian Hu gritted his teeth, his jaw muscles taut, and swung his arm sharply. "Brothers—make way!"

Zhou Xiao leaned against the front of the car, his back straight as a blade, his brows showing no sign of panic, only a heavy sense of certainty.

The aura was so oppressive that it was hard to breathe.

A hundred or so fierce eyes were fixed on him, but he didn't even flinch.

The woman in the passenger seat witnessed the entire scene.

She froze, her fingertips unconsciously digging into her palms, her eyes burning, and her heart feeling as if it had been struck hard—this man was too hot.

Tian Hu lowered his head and yielded.

He realized: no matter how powerful Yongxin was, he couldn't withstand the entire Special Operations Headquarters overturning the table.

让！

wow-

The human wall split open, and the dark mass of heads retreated to both sides, revealing a narrow passage in the middle.

But there are always some people who don't believe in superstition.

A burly man took two large steps forward, a Thompson submachine gun still whistling through the air, his face contorted with rage. He roared, "Tiger! A hundred or so of us, are we afraid of some nobody section chief? Why should we give way to him?!"

Before he finished speaking, Zhou Xiao had already turned sideways and twisted his waist, his movements so fast that they were just afterimages—the pistol was drawn from its holster, his arm was raised, and it was fired in one smooth motion!

boom!

Gunshots rang out, short and ruthless.

puff!

A dark red flower of blood suddenly bloomed on the man's chest, right in the center of his heart. He didn't even utter a sound before collapsing straight down without twitching.

Decisive and efficient, leaving no room for compromise.

"Based on this." Zhou Xiao sheathed his gun, turned around, opened the car door, sat in the driver's seat, lightly pressed the accelerator, and the engine roared. He didn't give the Yongxin brothers, who were gripping their gun handles tightly and whose veins were bulging, another glance.

Whoosh—splash!

The air snapped instantly.

The atmosphere, which had just relaxed, tensed up again, like a bowstring drawn taut. The crowd swarmed around, gun barrels pointed at the car windows, and machetes gleamed blue under the streetlights.

Tian Hu's temples were throbbing with veins, and his fists were clenched so tightly they cracked.

When has Yongxin ever suffered such a loss in silence?

If it were someone else, he would have given the order long ago, and they would have been chopped into mincemeat by a hail of bullets!

But the person in front of me—is the head of the intelligence department of the Special Operations Headquarters!

He'll have to swallow this loss whether he wants to or not.

If he doesn't swallow it, by dawn tomorrow, Yongxin Wharf, the accounting office, and the branch offices will all be reduced to ashes. The first thing the three tycoons will chop off is Tian Hu's head!

He closed his eyes briefly, then opened them again, his voice hoarse like sandpaper scraping against an iron plate: "Make way."

The brothers were filled with hatred, but the gunshot still echoed in their ears, and no one dared to move. They could only grip their knife hilts, grit their teeth, and inching their way away.

Inside the car, Zhou Xiao's lips curled into a slight smile as he pressed the accelerator. The black sedan drove off smoothly, flanked by the silent, iron-willed Yongxin disciples who lined the road to see it off, like a funeral procession or a pilgrimage.

As the taillights faded into the distance, one of his young henchmen, unable to contain himself any longer, stamped his foot and growled, "Tiger! Kill him! Without anyone noticing!"

"You know nothing!" Tian Hu retaliated with a sharp rap on the forehead, making the man stagger. "Who is he? He's the godfather of intelligence! If we lay a finger on him tonight, by tomorrow morning, arrest warrants from the Special Operations Headquarters will be plastered all over the Shiliupu Wharf!"

He stared at the empty street corner, feeling a bitter taste in his throat, and didn't even bother to curse.

The night wind in Shanghai swept through the streets, carrying sycamore leaves, creating an eerie silence.

Only one black sedan moved at a steady speed between the dim streetlights.

In the passenger seat, the woman quietly looked back to make sure there was no one behind her before letting out a long sigh of relief.

She stole a glance at Zhou Xiao—his profile was sharply defined by the streetlights, his jawline was taut, and his eyelashes cast a small shadow in the light and shadow.

My heartbeat suddenly became erratic, thumping against my ribs.

His imposing presence, which he had single-handedly intimidated a hundred people, was branded into her mind.

And that shot—fast, accurate, and ruthless, carrying an almost arrogant sense of control, as if all living beings bowed down, it was just a matter of him raising his hand for a moment.

Such a man is too irresistible.

Noticing the gaze, Zhou Xiao suddenly spoke, his voice devoid of any sharpness, lazily asking, "Have you seen enough?"

The woman was taken aback, her ears suddenly burning. After a pause, she whispered, "Thank you."

"Thank me?" Zhou Xiao chuckled, his tone relaxing, and casually asked, "How do you plan to thank me? By offering yourself to me?"

That was just a casual remark, made without much thought.

Zhou Xiao immediately recognized that the girl in the passenger seat was a woman disguised as a man, but he couldn't see her true appearance at all, let alone have any thoughts of marrying her.

Even if she was stunningly beautiful, Zhou Xiao was by no means the type to be lustful at first sight—he believed in strength, valued substance, never acted on impulse, and would never risk his life for a pretty face.

"Alright!" To everyone's surprise, the woman agreed immediately, decisively and readily. "If you get rid of Zhang Wanlin for me, I'll marry you!"

Zhou Xiao was stunned and almost choked on his own words.

Zhang Wanlin? One of the three leaders of Yongxin Company, a notorious cold-faced tyrant in Shanghai. His eyes never bend when he smiles, his words are sharp, his heart is as hard as iron, and his methods are as ruthless as poisoned needles. Rumor has it that he holds the universe in his sleeve, turning the world upside down with a smile, single-handedly transforming Yongxin from a cigarette factory into an underground behemoth entrenched in Shanghai. Because he is too domineering, he has enemies everywhere, and assassination attempts are constant; even the cracks in the bricks of his mansion have been soaked with blood.

"Go after the most ruthless and formidable figure in Shanghai for a girl you've never even met?" Zhou Xiao glanced at her sideways, his tone as indifferent as if he were talking about the weather. "Besides, you haven't even shown your face. What do you have to offer in exchange for a tycoon's life?"

"You—!" Her fingertips trembled with anger as she ripped off her baseball cap, her long black hair cascading down her back. She then tore off the fake beard stuck to her lips and stared directly at Zhou Xiao: "The name Lin Yiyi doesn't do justice to this face?"

Lin Yiyi was originally the legitimate daughter of the Lin family in Hangzhou. A bloody fire engulfed the entire Lin family—twelve people, all falling under the executioner's blade at Zhang Wanlin's behest overnight. Alone, she disguised herself and traveled north to Shanghai, infiltrating the city, solely to personally rip out that wolf's heart.

Tonight, she sneaked into the back alley of the Paramount Ballroom, a place Zhang Wanlin frequented, intending to assassinate him during the chaos of a banquet ending. But the man was as wary as an old wolf; she was recognized the moment she got within three meters. Bodyguards surrounded her, gunshots rang out, and she fought her way out, barely escaping into this dark alley, where she bumped into Zhou Xiao's black sedan, which happened to be parked there.

Zhou Xiao turned his head, his gaze sweeping over her sweaty forehead, slightly red eyes, and fingertips still stained with dust. He nodded slightly: "Your features are passable. But any random coffee shop waiter on the streets of Shanghai might be more eye-catching than you—and you expect me to take the brunt of Yongxin's wrath for you based on that?"

Shanghai, a city of dazzling extravagance and dreams, is also a brutal arena where the strong prey on the weak.

This place is never short of beautiful women; what it lacks is the confidence to break the rules and conquer the mountains.

"You..." Lin Yiyi's lips moved, but her voice was hoarse.

She knew in her heart that Zhou Xiao was right—she had hatred and courage, but no leverage. Tonight's desperate escape had already shattered all illusions: fighting alone was nothing more than handing her life over to someone else.

She needs Zhou Xiao.

Only he dared to overturn the table, dared to brandish his knife, and dared to carve a crack in Zhang Wanlin's territory.

Her eyes welled up with tears: "What will it take for you to help me? As long as I can get revenge, I'll do whatever you say, my life or death is in your hands!"

Zhou Xiao suddenly changed the subject: "First, explain yourself clearly. How were you exposed tonight? And who exactly are you?"

"Are you going to help me or not?" she asked, her voice strained.

"So do you want to report it or not?" he asked rhetorically, his tone low but like a stone thrown into still water.

Lin Yiyi took a deep breath and finally spoke: "My name is Lin Yiyi, the only daughter of the Lin family in Hangzhou. My father runs a silk business; he's not extremely wealthy, but his business is respectable and stable."

"Yongxin ostensibly sells cigarettes, but in reality, it's the largest dark web in Shanghai. My family's business occasionally intersected with theirs, but who knew that Zhang Wanlin, finding my father in the way, would send men to massacre the Lin residence—twelve corpses, all of them my closest relatives."

Before she could finish speaking, her throat tightened, and tears rolled down onto the back of her hand, burning hot.

She didn't hide anything, she didn't beat around the bush; every word she uttered pierced the air.

"From the day I came to Shanghai, I've only believed in one principle: fight to the death."

"Tonight I disguised myself as a wine deliveryman and sneaked in, intending to make my move when he left the table... but he didn't even drink that glass of wine. He just glanced at me and then had his men surround me. If you hadn't stopped the car in time, I would be lying in a mass grave by now."

She was genuinely grateful to him.

She thanked him for saving her life and for listening to her—even if he didn't agree, she would never forget this life-saving grace.

Zhou Xiao raised an eyebrow: "You dare to break into Zhang Wanlin's trap all by yourself?"

Going to one's death alone is not recklessness, but rather the backbone that grows from despair.

Unparalleled in heroines.

"Yes." She nodded, her voice soft but steady. "I'm a complete stranger in Shanghai. Nobody believes me, nobody helps me. I have to rely on myself."

"What's the difference between this and sending someone to their death?"

She was speechless for a moment, then suddenly straightened her back and looked into his eyes: "Mr. Zhou, I know you can do it. As long as you're willing to help, I'm willing to do anything for you, even go through fire and water, without batting an eye."

"Alright." Zhou Xiao suddenly smiled. "I'll give you Yongxin—do you dare accept it?"

Yongxin?

Her mind went blank, as if she had been hit on the temple with a heavy hammer. She stared blankly at Zhou Xiao, as if she couldn't understand those three words.