Agent: Intercepting Yu Manli at the start!

Chapter 117 This matter needs to be considered carefully!

Zhou Xiao's eyes flashed, and his smile deepened: "You'll understand when the time comes."

After Zhou Xiao finished speaking, he drove straight to the headquarters of the military police.

Military Police Headquarters.

In the headquarters office.

Ken Oshima's face was ashen, with two dark circles under his eyes, clearly indicating that he hadn't slept all night.

At this moment, the burden on his shoulders is heaviest.

The headquarters of the intelligence agency had just sent a secret telegram, ordering him to temporarily assume the position of head of the Special Higher Police Section.

In less than two months, this was the third time he had been entrusted with a critical mission—leaving him utterly exhausted.

It wasn't that he didn't want to take the position, but three section chiefs had already died in succession, and now that it was his turn, the pressure on the military police commander was immense.

Ken Oshima's face was tense, and his voice was low: "Director Zhou, did you read this morning's newspaper?"

Zhou Xiao nodded: "I saw it. Those newspapers in the concession are really something, stirring up trouble at this critical juncture."

Keep your family scandals private; that's an ironclad rule.

He had repeatedly and strictly ordered all newspapers not to publish the relevant news, but several English and French newspapers in the concession still rushed to publish it on the front page, which made Ken Oshima furious.

"They're just watching from the sidelines," Ken Oshima said coldly. "I'll leave this to you—go to the concession and give all those newspapers a good talking-to, tell them to behave themselves and not be so outrageous."

It has to be said that this old Japanese devil is extremely cunning.

The newspapers that published news of Asano Hirofumi's assassination were all located within the foreign concessions. If the Japanese military were to directly exert pressure, it could easily trigger a diplomatic incident, which would be detrimental to Japan.

But it would be different if Zhou Xiao took charge—the Special Operations Headquarters was nominally an intelligence agency under the Wang Jingwei regime, so if any friction occurred, it would be a dispute between the foreign powers in the concessions and the puppet regime, and Japan could stay out of it.

Using someone else to do the dirty work, shifting the blame onto others.

Zhou Xiao didn't care at all, considering it just a small favor.

"Okay, I'll take care of it right away."

Ken Oshima raised his hand to his temple, looking exhausted: "The cleanup of the Sugimoto Agency is almost done. I still have to go to headquarters in person later."

"I'm entrusting the matter of the newspaper in the foreign concession to you."

Zhou Xiao said confidently, "General Oshima, rest assured, I can handle this small matter."

After listening to a few more instructions, he saw Ken Oshima get up and leave his office quickly—he had to rush to the Sugimoto headquarters to finish up.

After all, the bodies that could be recovered have already been returned, and those that could not be found were just charred remains.

Zhou Xiao followed closely behind and went out the door.

Before leaving, he quietly took a black object about the size of a knuckle from under the desk.

After leaving the military police, he went straight back to the special operations headquarters.

As for intimidating the newspapers in the foreign concessions, he casually handed that task over to Chen Shen.

"Chen Shen, handle this matter quickly—I'll remove the 'acting' from 'acting director of the action department' for you."

Chen Shen smiled and said, "Okay, I'll do my best."

It's really not a difficult thing.

Office of the Chief of Intelligence.

Zhou Xiao closed the door tightly, took out a miniature listening device hidden in the cabinet, then took out a thumb-sized black box from his pocket, gently inserted it into the device interface, and pressed the play button.

That black box was the highly sensitive eavesdropping device provided by the system.

He had previously used it to set a trap, forcing Zhou Haichao to confess on the spot and personally recount how he murdered Xiao Zhengguo.

This wireless microphone, which was merely standard equipment for secret agents in the 21st century, is now considered cutting-edge technology – requiring no wiring, leaving no trace, and able to clearly record even the faintest whispers.

Zhou Xiao secretly placed it in a hidden corner of Oshima Ken's office, silently recording all the conversations.

Who would have thought that someone would dare to tamper with the office of the military police commander?

But Zhou Xiao did it anyway.

He played back the recording segment by segment, skipping over irrelevant content, and quickly caught a key conversation—

Kenjiro Oshima gave the following orders to his adjutant, Yasuda:

"Yasuda-kun, immediately dispatch two people to keep a 24-hour watch on the entrance to the classified archives room. Upgrade the security level immediately!"

"Hai!"

This passage was written after the Sugimoto bombing, and there is only one key word: classified archives.

Zhou Xiao paused slightly, then a look of understanding appeared on his face.

Previously at the headquarters of the Sugimoto Agency, he had "kindly reminded" Ken Oshima to transfer core intelligence data as soon as possible.

The objective was clear—to stir up trouble and alert the enemy.

Snakes are hard to spot when they hide in the grass, but a sweep of a stick will reveal them; the same is true for the list of names in the Heavenly Music Project.

He didn't know where the list was hidden, but this "kind reminder" was enough to alert Oshima Ken, who hastily moved it, which inadvertently exposed the storage location.

This move, though seemingly casual, was actually extremely ingenious, so much so that even a seasoned veteran like Ken Oshima was completely unaware of it.

At this moment, the words "confidential archives" clearly uttered in the listening recording almost confirmed that the list of Project Celestial was right there!

The clues have finally surfaced...

With just a simple command, the most crucial gap was opened—a truly ingenious move.

Of course, this achievement wouldn't have been possible without that black box. Without such a small, discreet, and highly accurate listening device, Zhou Xiao would never have been able to extract the location from Ken Oshima.

Now that the location is known, the next step is to figure out how to infiltrate and retrieve the list.

The same question remains: forcibly breaking into the archives and revealing one's true identity to seize this list is not too difficult to do.

But this is ultimately the worst possible strategy!

Zhou Xiao decided to remain in hiding and wait for the right opportunity.

The classified archives room is located diagonally opposite the office of the military police commander. Although they are adjacent, the level of security is obviously not low. Just looking at the door, it is completely different from the other rooms. It is heavy, solid, and has double locks.

Infiltrating unnoticed and copying the "Project Celestial" list would be no easy feat.

This matter needs to be considered carefully.

Meanwhile, Ken Oshima drove to the Sugimoto headquarters to handle the final cleanup.

During the journey, he closed his eyes and pondered, repeatedly reviewing the events of the past two days.

Just an hour earlier, he had received a secret telegram from the General Staff: ordering him to return to Japan within ten days to report on his duties—in other words, to be questioned and held accountable.

After all, with the Sugimoto Agency being completely dismantled and the newly appointed section chief, Hirofumi Asano, being assassinated, two major incidents occurred in quick succession, and the blame had to fall on him no matter what.

This responsibility cannot be shirked.

At the same time, he also received a secret telegram from Doihara sent from Japan, the core of which pointed directly to the key issue: there were indeed moles within the military police, the Special Higher Police, or other intelligence agencies, and this person was deeply embedded and held a high position.

This conclusion perfectly matched Zhou Xiao's previous judgment.

But who exactly is the undercover agent?

Ken Oshima frowned, repeatedly analyzing the situation.

To be able to hold onto his position as commander of the military police and head of the Sugi Agency, he was no ordinary man; he was a shrewd and experienced veteran spy.

He revisited all the key moments of the past two days—

"Who is it?" he asked himself in a low voice, checking one by one the personnel who had recently entered or left the military police headquarters.

Finally, one name emerged: Zhou Xiao.