Anti-Japanese War Espionage: I Have an Omniscient Perspective

Wagner Street is a short street located north of the eastern section of Avenue Joffre.

It can be considered the central area of ​​the concession.

Coincidentally, the Zhang Mansion was located directly opposite the Xiafei Road Police Station.

It's quite ironic that the head of the biggest gang in the concession and the police officers there are face to face every day.

Across from the police station on Avenue Joffre, odd-job laborers squatted by the roadside, waiting for employers to hire them.

Lin Rui was also squatting by the roadside, his carrying pole leaning against his shoulder, his old felt hat pulled low, half-covering his eyebrows and eyes.

Dressed in the clothes of a laborer, his old, dirty jacket stained with sweat and oil, his trousers tied loosely at the ankle, and his open-toed cloth shoes covered in mud and grime, he blended into the group of men waiting for work, truly as Zhang the Rotten-Faced had taught him: "unnoticed when seen, unnoticed when encountered."

The passing police officers, pedestrians, and rickshaw pullers glanced over, but only briefly, without pausing for even a moment.

He remained outwardly calm, but inwardly, his supernatural power had already been deployed, enveloping the imposing three-story Western-style building across the street from him on Huage Road: No. 216 Huage Road, Zhang Mansion.

High walls stand tall, iron gates are tightly closed, and the garden is densely wooded, making it impossible to see the layout inside from the outside.

There were people everywhere, both openly and secretly, at the left and right street corners, the corners of the walls, and on both sides of the mansion's main gate.

Two thugs dressed in short jackets, their waists bulging, leaned against the doorpost smoking, their eyes sinister as they scanned everyone on the street. Across the street, behind a telephone pole and in front of a foreign goods store, there were also two thugs, seemingly strolling around, but in reality, they had locked down all the intersections around the mansion.

The defenses were even tighter than Huang Dazhu had heard.

Forget about getting close; even glancing at the gate a couple of times could make you look like a spy.

Lin Rui frowned slightly.

The Zhang mansion was so large that his supernatural abilities could only scratch the surface from a distance, making it impossible for him to pinpoint Zhang Xiaolin's usual location or where secrets were hidden.

We need to get even closer.

But in the current situation, forcing it would be inconsistent with one's identity and would easily arouse suspicion.

Just then, a man in a long robe and round-framed glasses walked over from the other end of Wagner Road. He looked refined, but his face was full of impatience.

He walked to the pile of laborers, glanced at them, and before anyone could scramble or speak, he simply raised his hand and pointed at them:

"You, you, and the three of you, come with me."

Lin Rui was the one who was chosen.

The surrounding laborers looked on with envy and jealousy. Everyone knew that this kind of door-to-door short-term work was much more reliable than pulling carts or carrying goods.

The man in the long robe frowned and urged, "What are you daydreaming about? The walls need painting, it's half a day's work, but the pay is good. Don't dawdle, or I won't pay you a penny!"

Lin Rui's heart skipped a beat.

If you were to refuse now, it would be unusual; what kind of laborer would turn down a job that's coming to their door?

He immediately adopted the stoic and honest demeanor of a laborer and mumbled a reply: "Yes."

He got up, picked up the carrying pole and rope from the ground, and followed behind the other two men, keeping his head down and eyes straight ahead, his steps light and steady, exactly what a lowly laborer should look like.

The man in the long gown didn't turn his head, leading them into a side alley, and then into a small building diagonally opposite Zhang's mansion.

The ground floor is a storefront with a sign that reads "Kaiming Foreign Goods Store," while the upper floor is a residence.

Lin Rui was secretly delighted.

The distance is just right, not too far, not too near.

Standing on the second-floor wall painting, he had a commanding view of the Zhang Mansion's main gate and front yard. His supernatural ability covered a range of 100 meters, and this building perfectly encompassed the entire Zhang Mansion from top to bottom and front to back.

It's truly a stroke of luck.

"Hurry up! The tools are inside; carry your own buckets!"

The shopkeeper said a few words and then went downstairs to mind the shop.

Lin Rui followed two other laborers to get tools, picked up a bucket of white powder paste, and carried a long ladder up to the second floor.

He set up a ladder, stood on it with a bucket, dipped a brush in plaster, and slowly brushed the wall surface, stroke by stroke.

At the same time, his supernatural abilities were activated.

...

Inside the Zhang Mansion, a flurry of activity was underway.

Servants carried basins of water and rags back and forth, while people in the living room were wiping tables and chairs and setting out tea sets. Bodyguards patrolled the courtyard.

Zhang Xiaolin himself was nowhere to be seen.

Lin Rui remained calm and collected, painting the walls while memorizing the layout of the rooms in the mansion, the positions of the bodyguards, the patrol routes, and the entrances and exits of the back alley.

I worked quietly like that all morning.

At this point, the innkeeper called them down to rest and eat.

Even if you're doing odd jobs, you still get a meal, so the two laborers quickly stopped what they were doing and went downstairs.

Lin Rui also came down the ladder, put away the brush and the slurry bucket, and went downstairs.

Three workers, three bowls of rice, the rice topped with vegetable scraps. Although it was not very oily, the laborers ate happily.

Lin Rui also took a bowl and started eating heartily.

Just then, the sound of a car engine came from the street.

A large black sedan drove up from a distance and stopped directly in front of the iron gate of Zhang's mansion.

The iron gate opened, the car drove in, and Lin Rui activated his supernatural observation ability.

The car stopped in front of the mansion. As soon as the door opened, a sharp-looking bodyguard got out and opened the back door.

Then, a short, stout, round-faced, and sinister-looking middle-aged man got off the bus.

It was Zhang Xiaolin.

Today he was wearing a dark long gown, his brows furrowed, and his expression hurried. Gone was the usual carefree air of a rogue tycoon; instead, he exuded anxiety and seriousness.

"Is everyone ready?" he demanded in a stern voice as he entered. "The guests will be here shortly!"

The servant quickly replied, "All ready, sir! The living room has been cleaned and the tea has been brewed!"

"Keep a close eye on the street. If any strangers approach, chase them away immediately!"

"yes!"

Zhang Xiaolin said no more, strode into the main building, and headed straight for the second-floor living room.

At this moment, Lin Rui also finished his meal, put down his bowl, and took the initiative to ask to go upstairs to continue working.

He was on the second floor, working slowly and meticulously, while continuing to observe with his supernatural abilities.

Zhang Xiaolin paced back and forth in the living room, glancing at his pocket watch every now and then, clearly restless.

About half an hour later.

Another car drove onto Huage Road and stopped in front of the Zhang Mansion.

Then the gate opened and the car drove in.

Two men got out of the car, their expressions were cold and hard, their eyes sharp as knives, and their waists were slightly bulging.

That aura wasn't that of a gangster from the Green Gang or a hoodlum from the foreign concessions; it was more like that of a soldier.

Zhang Xiaolin was already waiting in the lobby. Upon seeing the person, he immediately put on a smile, quickly went to greet him, and spoke with obvious obsequiousness:

"Gentlemen, you've finally arrived! Please come in, please come in!"

The two men nodded slightly, said nothing, and followed Zhang Xiaolin straight up to the second-floor living room.

Once the door was closed, bodyguards stood guard outside, preventing anyone from approaching.

Lin Rui paused slightly while holding the brush.

The supernatural power had entered the living room and landed on the three people.

After the servant served tea, Zhang Xiaolin said, "Gentlemen, you must be tired from your journey. May I ask what brings you here today? As long as it is within my power, I will do it without hesitation."

The man on the left picked up his teacup but didn't drink it. He spoke slowly and deliberately, as if he had just learned to speak Chinese.

"We are the Special Higher Police Section of the military, the Shanghai team."