Anti-Japanese War Espionage: I Have an Omniscient Perspective

Lin Rui left Ren'ai Hospital, avoiding the chaotic crowds on the street, and took a shortcut he had found during this time, passing through the complicated streets and alleys back to the street where Huichuntang was located.

He pushed open the door and entered, pretending to shout, "Manager, I went to the money exchange, but there were too many people, so I came back."

Old Zhou nodded and waved his hand. "I understand. In this chaos, everyone's thinking about getting money for themselves. Don't be rash, close the door."

Lin Rui closed the door, and then the two stood by the medicine cabinet and talked in hushed tones.

"The people have already been notified. Su Wan's situation is special; Tongren Hospital is full of wounded soldiers. She's worried that the Japanese army will break into the concession to arrest the wounded, and she asked if you have any solutions."

Upon hearing this, Fang Dongcheng's eyes lost their previous seriousness, instead revealing a hint of absent-mindedness. He replied perfunctorily, "I understand. I've noted this down and will report it to my superiors. Go and organize the medicinal herbs in the front hall. Don't lose your composure and give outsiders away."

After saying that, he stopped talking to Lin Rui and walked straight into the inner hall, his steps slightly hurried.

Lin Rui stood there, stunned, a strange feeling rising in his heart.

In the past, Fang Dongcheng always cared about the safety and situation of his team members. Su Wan's environment was already dangerous, and normally he would have immediately considered countermeasures. But his reaction today was really abnormal.

But he didn't ask any more questions. He just suppressed his doubts, nodded, and turned to walk towards the front hall.

Over the next two days, the situation became increasingly tense, with continuous artillery fire on the north bank of the Suzhou Creek.

Fang Dongcheng seemed to have become a different person. He rarely stayed at Huichuntang, and when he returned, he was either flustered or taciturn.

As for Su Wan, he never mentioned her again.

This unusual behavior was like a thorn in Lin Rui's heart, making him even more vigilant.

He knew that the undercover work allowed no room for error, and the team leader's unusual behavior could very well endanger his own safety and that of the entire team.

Therefore, Lin Rui observed Fang Dongcheng discreetly.

On the evening of the third day, Fang Dongcheng returned, looking somewhat tired. As soon as he entered, he said to Lin Rui, "Go to Guanghetang in the western part of the concession and get some medicinal herbs. Their manager sent someone to say today that a batch of scarce angelica has arrived, and you must pick it up tonight."

Lin Rui's heart skipped a beat. Guanghetang and Huichuntang had business dealings, and Lao Zhou would usually ask him to get some medicinal herbs from them. But now the pharmacy had enough angelica in stock, so there was no need to restock.

He looked up at Fang Dongcheng, whose eyes flickered as he avoided his gaze, urging, "Go and come back quickly, don't delay tomorrow's medicine."

"Okay." Lin Rui did not refuse. He picked up the medicine basket, carried it on his back, and walked straight out of the shop, but stopped at the corner of the alley.

Activate superpowers.

Through his supernatural perception, he clearly saw that after he left, Fang Dongcheng immediately closed the shop door tightly, carefully checked whether the doors and windows were locked, and then quickly walked to the Buddhist shrine in the inner hall.

A statue of Guanyin was enshrined on the shrine. Fang Dongcheng would wipe it clean every day, but at this moment he reached out and pressed down on the base of the Guanyin statue, lifted it up and rotated it half a circle to the left, then pressed it down and rotated it one circle to the right.

The wall behind the shrine slowly slid open, revealing a hidden compartment.

Lin Rui's heart tightened suddenly, and he held his breath and observed intently.

Fang Dongcheng then took out three items from the hidden compartment in turn:

There are three gold bars wrapped in yellow silk cloth, each weighing one tael (approximately 50 grams).

Old Zhou even checked the safety on the pistol;

Finally, there was a palm-sized hardcover notebook with no writing on the cover. Lin Rui keenly realized that this was very likely the codebook.

Fang Dongcheng acted quickly. After checking for a moment, he put the three items back into the hidden compartment, closed the wall again, wiped the Buddhist shrine, and then walked to the front hall to organize the medicine cabinet as if nothing had happened.

Lin Rui withdrew his three-dimensional view and pondered.

Gold bars, pistols, and codebooks—while these items aren't enough to directly conclude that Fang Dongcheng is in trouble.

He suppressed his doubts, noted down the location of the hidden compartment and how to open it, and carried the empty medicine basket toward the western end of the concession.

When the staff at Guanghetang saw Lin Rui arrive, they came over enthusiastically.

"Lin Rui, what brings you here? With all this chaos and war, I'm too scared to even leave the house."

"The shopkeeper said you have a batch of angelica root and asked me to take some back with me."

"Okay, how much do you want?"

"Two catties, put it on the tab, and the shopkeeper will settle the bill at the end of the month."

"OK."

The waiter went to explain the situation to his boss and, after receiving permission, enthusiastically weighed out the angelica root.

Watching his employees busy at work, Lin Rui suddenly understood.

Old Zhou is probably avoiding me. As a newcomer who has just joined the undercover team, I haven't built trust with Old Zhou yet.

Now that the situation has changed drastically, Lao Zhou must have some suspicions and worries.

...........

Two hours later, Lin Rui returned carrying a basket of angelica root.

Just as I turned the second alleyway, a figure rushed past, with someone chasing after him.

People on the street quickly moved away, afraid of getting into trouble.

Lin Rui watched the pursuers disappear into the distance, suddenly becoming alert, and took a step back.

"You're quite skilled!" Old Zhou exclaimed in surprise.

"Manager, what brings you here?" Lin Rui, who was still acting as a waiter, replied.

Old Zhou said in a low voice, "The concession is in chaos right now. Nobody knows who those people were. They might have been Japanese spies arresting people. Let's go back and talk about it."

The two returned to the pharmacy and closed the door.

Old Zhou then continued, "You've heard the artillery fire on the north bank of the Suzhou Creek these past few days. The army has already retreated. The Fourth Special Operations Detachment was sent across the river to cover the retreat, and they were wiped out in Nanshi. Now, the troops that couldn't retreat in time are crowding outside the concession, trying to get in. The Green Gang is trying to negotiate with the French Concession to get them to lay down their arms before they can enter the concession."

He paused, swallowed hard, and said, "The moment those people entered the concession, the Japanese army crossed the river and completely surrounded the International Settlement and the French Concession, leaving only a few entrances and exits, which were being checked very strictly. Now, it's a one-way street to the concession. The Japanese must have secretly sent spies to infiltrate, just waiting to arrest us undercover agents, as well as the officers hiding in the concession."

Lin Rui's heart sank. No wonder Su Wan was worried that the Japanese army would break into the concession to capture the wounded. The situation was now more critical than Su Wan had imagined.

He said, "Shopkeeper, as long as we do our job well, no one should suspect us."

"I've run into a bit of trouble on my end." Old Zhou's eyes darkened, and his face showed undisguised worry. "I used to work for the Fuxing Society in Shanghai, and I've made many public appearances. Quite a few people in the system have seen me. With the situation getting chaotic these past few days, a few soldiers, police officers, and spies have already defected to the enemy. If anyone who has seen me joins the Japanese, my identity will be exposed sooner or later."

Lin Rui was about to speak when Old Zhou waved his hand: "Of those four undercover agents, besides Director Wen and District Chief Zhou, it's just me and you. I was initially a little worried about you, but after reviewing your file, I discovered you killed Japanese soldiers on the battlefield, there's absolutely no doubt about that. If I'm exposed, it'll be hard for the Japanese not to suspect your identity. I've already prepared an escape route for you. If it really comes to that, leave Huichuntang immediately and find a way to go undercover under a new identity. As for the specifics, I'll tell you after I've made the arrangements."