Anti-Japanese War Espionage: I Have an Omniscient Perspective

By the time we got back to the film studio, it was already dark.

Outside the right-hand building's gatehouse, team members Chen Shan, Su Wan, and Zhao Erzhu were sitting around a table, discussing something in hushed tones.

Upon seeing Lin Rui return, the three immediately stood up. Chen Shan spoke first, his tone somewhat urgent: "Manager Chen, there was a suspicious person loitering around the film studio entrance for quite some time, and we didn't dare to disturb him easily."

"A suspicious person? Tell me about it," Lin Rui asked.

Chen Shan explained the situation: "In the afternoon, there was a person squatting in the corner outside the door, sometimes standing and sometimes squatting, or just wandering around outside the gate."

Hearing him say that, Lin Rui didn't think there was anything wrong with him. There were many homeless people in the concession these days, and he looked more like a beggar.

However, this is not absolute, and necessary doubts should be maintained, hence the very serious warning.

"Chen Shan, keep an eye on this matter and report back to me if you find anything."

"Okay," Chen Shan replied.

Lin Rui rolled up the hem of his long robe and sat down. "Let's eat then."

Then, the three of them brought the dishes they had prepared to the table, and Su Wan even served Lin Rui a bowl of white rice.

Do not speak during meals.

After finishing their meal and clearing away the dishes, the four of them sat and chatted.

They were talking about things that happened today.

Lin Rui casually leaned back in his chair and said slowly, "I encountered a group of patriotic students on the road who were being harassed by Japanese thugs, so I helped them out."

He told the three of them in detail about his agreement with Su Mingzhe and others, as well as his idea of ​​providing rehearsal space.

As soon as he finished speaking, Chen Shan frowned and objected firmly, "No, Manager Chen! Absolutely not!" He leaned closer and whispered in Lin Rui's ear, "The French Concession is teeming with Japanese spies and those ambiguous Frenchmen. We're hiding our identities and managing the film studio precisely to carry out our mission covertly; we can't afford any complications! Those students are already being watched by the Japanese for their anti-Japanese propaganda. If we let them come to the film studio to rehearse, they'll inevitably get caught in the crossfire. If our identities are exposed, all our previous efforts will be wasted!"

Su Wan and Zhao Erzhu exchanged a glance without speaking, clearly hesitant as well. They admired the students' courage but also understood Chen Shan's concerns.

Lin Rui looked calmly at Chen Shan, his expression resolute yet unwavering, and said, "I understand your concerns, but you've forgotten our core mission: to contact patriotic arts groups within the Shanghai International Settlement and find out which of them are connected to the Communist Party. Those students come from various middle schools in Zhabei, are patriotic, and have many family connections within the Settlement, making them familiar with the surrounding area. Helping them will allow us to better connect with other arts groups."

Chen Shan was speechless after Lin Rui's words. He knew that Lin Rui was right, but he was cautious by nature and couldn't help but worry too much.

After a moment of silence, he finally gave up and said, "I understand, Manager Chen. I'll listen to you. I'll keep an eye on the door and have the students hide immediately if anything happens."

Lin Rui nodded: "Then I'll have to trouble you. It's good to be cautious in everything, but there's no need to be too tense. Su Wan and Zhao Erzhu, the students are coming the day after tomorrow. You two are responsible for receiving them, taking them to see the dance studio, and explaining the rules of the film studio to them, especially that they can't just enter the office area."

"Okay, Manager Chen!" Su Wan's eyes lit up, and she readily agreed.

Zhao Erzhu had no objections: "Don't worry, Manager Chen, we'll arrange it."

........

The next morning.

Lin Rui then left Chen Shan to guard the film studio, while he took Su Wan and Zhao Erzhu, carrying two boxes containing the film master tapes, and headed to the two theaters.

A test screening of the film was held at the theater to ensure that there would be no problems with the official screening tomorrow.

Throughout the process, everyone performed well, and neither theater suspected that the three had just entered the industry.

A day passed, and the two theaters screened the Lianhua Film Studio's films as scheduled.

Early in the morning, long queues formed outside the theater, and the usually quiet street gradually became lively.

People went to the theater and temporarily forgot the cruelty of war and the suffering of displacement. As the plot of the film was exciting or funny, the long-depressed French Concession finally had a glimmer of life.

Lin Rui stood at a distance, watching the bustling crowd at the theater entrance, and silently turned and left.

In the afternoon, Su Mingzhe led more than 20 students to Lianhua Film Studio on time.

Su Wan and Zhao Erzhu were already waiting at the door, and they warmly greeted them, leading them to the dance studio on the right floor.

The dance studio is clean and spacious, enough for students to rehearse.

Upon seeing the venue, the students were overjoyed and immediately took out their scripts, eagerly beginning rehearsals. Melodious singing and orderly footsteps drifted out through the crack in the door.

Su Wan and Zhao Erzhu were drawn in and quietly stood at the entrance of the dance studio, watching the students rehearse earnestly.

Downstairs, Chen Shan stood guard at the main entrance, watching the strangely behaving pedestrian outside.

..........

A week goes by in a blink of an eye.

Under Lin Rui's arrangement, the students' rehearsals at the film studio went very smoothly without any unexpected incidents.

Meanwhile, Lianhua Film Studio gradually gained an advantage by showing its films. Theaters and various arts groups on Belle Street took notice of "Manager Chen" and took the initiative to contact him.

This opportunity allowed Lin Rui to connect with various theaters and arts groups.

Everything was progressing smoothly, and his identity as the "manager of Lianhua Film Studio" was fully recognized by everyone.

Until, the accident happened.

..........

That morning.

Lin Rui went out as usual, first having breakfast, and then buying a pack of cigarettes from Sun Xiaoliu's cigarette stand.

When making payments, they secretly make contact.

"Is there anything wrong?"

"No, team leader, tell Chen Shan to stop keeping an eye on that madman."

"You can tell that he's crazy?"

"Anyone who can't see it is Chen Shan, he's just stubborn."

"Okay, I'll talk to him when I get back."

Lin Rui put away the change, took the cigarette, and walked away.

A man wearing a felt hat walked towards us.

As the two passed each other, the other person suddenly spoke up: "Shuangmu Yilin, here's a letter for you."

Lin Rui did not respond. According to the rules of communication, the other party did not say the full code; there was a second part.

The two of them walked past each other.

Lin Rui activated his supernatural ability, penetrating the opponent's disguise.

He was a spy from the Shanghai station, one of Team Leader Li's men, whom Lin Rui had met before.

The man quickly turned around and followed behind Lin Rui: "I'm the liaison officer, 754431."

The numerical password matches; the number corresponds to two trees and one forest. Only if it matches can the identity be confirmed.

Lin Rui then responded in a low voice, "Where's the letter?"

The other person took out a piece of paper, which Lin Rui quickly snatched away, and then hurried away.

Meanwhile, Lin Rui used his special ability to keep an eye on what was happening behind him.

The man was clearly out on the street for the first time to carry out a rendezvous, and was somewhat at a loss.

However, no other suspicious persons appeared around him.

To prove this, Lin Rui walked around the street for a while to make sure no one was following him before returning to Lianhua Film Studio.

Inside the film studio, he spread out a piece of paper filled with numerical codes, took out a codebook, and began to decipher them.