American comic: From Beijing with Love, starting with a mutant.

"What historical issue? Do you want me to blow up a toilet?"

Zhou Xingxing reached for the documents on the table, but Director Wang pressed down on the cover first and turned the red top-secret seal in front of him.

"The Oriental Register Case"

Stephen Chow leaned back in his chair. "That sounds like the recovery of cultural relics. Tomb raiding isn't under the jurisdiction of the Overseas Special Talent Introduction Office, right? Even if I dig up gold and silver jewelry, it can't be confiscated to offset my travel expenses."

"Snapped!"

Director Wang slammed his fist on the table and roared, "If you utter another word of nonsense, I'll send Anton to Japan with you!"

Stephen Chow sat up straight, his expression solemn: "Sir, I never bargain when it comes to national interests! Please give your instructions!"

When the document is opened, the first page contains only a short date.

June 12, 1944.

Turning the page down further, you'll find a laminated piece of paper tucked inside the protective bag.

The writing on it has faded, but the number sixty-three is still legible.

"In the later stages of the War of Resistance against Japan, the Japanese army arrested a number of special personnel in my country."

"The files mention people with unusual abilities, extraordinary individuals, demons, and those with abnormal bloodlines... but most people only have a number."

"According to existing data, the oldest person in this group is 51 years old, and the youngest is 9 years old."

Stephen Chow did not turn the page any further with his hand holding the paper between his fingers.

Nine years old?

Nina was about this age when Yin Feng locked her in the lab.

"Where were they taken?" he asked.

"The Japanese Army secretly established the East Asia Special Qualified Person Investigation Team on the mainland, as well as a third transfer station, which is now the Toyo High School."

"The Japanese army rebuilt it after their defeat, but the underground part of the school has never been publicly demolished."

Zhou Xingxing turned to the statistics page, where the paper was divided into three columns.

Nineteen people have been confirmed dead, eleven have escaped, and thirty-three are still missing.

The death column listed a series of numbers: A9, B17, B22, C4, C11…

The experimental results section is even shorter.

Tolerance failure, excessive blood loss, post-dissection inactivation...

Behind every word lies a human life.

That's why we need you to go.

Director Wang took off his brown, semi-transparent, thick-rimmed glasses and rubbed his eye sockets.

"Wolverine's child is just a cover mission for you. Even if you are eventually captured by the Japanese, you will have a reasonable excuse."

"I haven't even gone yet! You're practically cursing me to fail my mission!"

Director Wang ignored him and directly pulled out a yellowed group photo from the pile of documents on the table.

The photo shows 63 people standing in a brick wall behind them. The adults are at the back, while the children in the front row are all teenagers.

Regardless of age, everyone wore a wooden tag with a number on it.

"Among the eleven escapees, one person risked his life to preserve the negatives. In the 1950s, he handed them over to the local archives."

"Later, due to several administrative division adjustments, the materials were stuffed into the archives of the old county gazetteer and gathered dust. They were rediscovered a few years ago when the archives of the War of Resistance Against Japan were being restored."

"What about the eleven who escaped?"

"Six people died while fleeing and being pursued by the Japanese army. Two people stayed in the area and organized an anti-war alliance before returning to China after the war."

Director Wang picked up the mug, took a sip of cold water, and continued, "The remaining three people have no record and their whereabouts are unknown."

"Did the two people who returned to China leave anything behind?"

Director Wang pulled out an oral history record.

"On the eve of defeat, the project leader, Kurokawa Muneichi, ordered the clearing of all internment personnel, the burning of files, and preparations to blow up the transit center along with the school."

How did those eleven people escape?

"There was a Japanese school doctor at the transit center named Kiyoshi Morikawa. He secretly opened the medicine channel on the east side."

"Japanese?" Stephen Chow was taken aback.

"Yes, Kiyoshi Morikawa is a member of the local resistance organization."

What happened to Soichi Kurokawa afterward?

"He changed his name, escaped the postwar trial, and died of old age in 1988."

"Where's Morikawa?"

"He was shot dead on the spot by Kurokawa for illegally releasing detainees. There is no record of where his body was buried."

Upon hearing this, Stephen Chow felt a surge of anger rising within him.

Seeing that he was a little agitated, Director Wang tapped the table. "Aqi, this case can't be handled with your temper."

"No responsibility should be omitted, and no favor should be renege on."

Stephen Chow took out a lighter, lit two cigarettes, and put them in his mouth to smoke. "I'm not a three-year-old. I know what I'm doing."

"Yes. Your task is to find out detailed information about the martyrs, collect evidence, and, if conditions permit, bring back the items that were taken away back then."

Stephen Chow exhaled a smoke ring, utterly baffled by the fat man's train of thought: "Then why do I have to pretend to be a student? Can't I be a teacher or a security guard?"

"Toyo High School is organizing its history this year, and some areas of the old school buildings will be handed over to student clubs for inventory."

"Besides, they verify the resumes of three generations before hiring faculty and staff. Do you think your fabricated identity can withstand scrutiny, you idiot!"

Upon hearing this, Stephen Chow cursed inwardly.

Verification of three generations?

Where is he supposed to fabricate three Japanese ancestors?

Even if they fabricated it, could the fake materials produced by those people in the intelligence department withstand scrutiny?

"So what? Students don't need to investigate their ancestors for eighteen generations?"

"You're a transfer student! The school only checks student records and guardian documents; it's much easier to fool them!"

As Zhou Xingxing picked up his fake identity file, the four characters "Hoshino Hoshiichi" seemed more and more like an insult from God to him.

But seeing Director Wang's attitude, he knew he couldn't turn down the job.

"Alright, alright."

Stephen Chow stubbed out his half-smoked cigarette in the ashtray and resignedly reached out his hand to Fatty Wang.

"what?"

"Clothing allowance!" Stephen Chow said matter-of-factly. "At least let me buy a few decent outfits to dress up."

"School uniforms are provided by the school."

"Then give me compensation for emotional distress! You made me, a dignified Chinese special agent, impersonate a Japanese person. How much psychological trauma would that cause me?"

"no."

Stephen Chow got anxious: "Shouldn't there be a nutritional subsidy for minors?"

You're thirty.

"But I was seventeen during the mission!" Stephen Chow protested, slamming his fist on the table.

"You can't make me bear the educational obligations of a minor while denying me the nutritional benefits of one! This is selective enforcement! It's seriously unfair!"

"If you don't approve this nutrition allowance, I'll eat free pickled vegetables in the school cafeteria every day! I'll faint from hypoglycemia on the playground, and you'll be fully responsible for the mission's failure!"

Looking at his subordinate who could seamlessly integrate labor law and the law protecting minors in order to obtain subsidies, Director Wang felt his blood pressure soar.

He took a deep breath and silently reached for the red internal telephone on the corner of the table.

What are you doing?

"I called Anton."

Director Wang pressed the speakerphone button. "Tell him to pack his bags and go to Japan with you to repeat high school. Also, have him audit every expense you make along the way." Zhou Xingxing held the receiver, his face plastered with obsequiousness: "It's our duty to sacrifice our lives for our country! Talking about money is vulgar!"

After saying that, he grabbed the files on the table and slipped out of the office as if his feet were greased.

Director Wang was left staring at the empty doorway, then picked up the jug and took a big gulp of cold water.

"That bastard."