svetikya Chapter 54: As fast as magic!
Chapter 54: As fast as magic!
This may sound like a joke, but it actually reveals a lot.
In order to gain a foothold in the Japanese puppet regime's inner circle, Zhou Xiao had to adopt some of their habits: no abstaining from smoking and drinking, constant encounters with women, and a "dissolute" lifestyle. Being too innocent would only attract attention and easily expose his true nature.
Suddenly, an idea struck him, and he blurted out, "Hey, since you call yourself a minor celebrity, how about... I take care of you?"
"Kept woman/sugar baby?"
Li Xiaonan was taken aback, her ears turning bright red. She turned her head and glared at Zhou Xiao: "What nonsense are you talking about? I'm not that kind of person!"
Before the words were even finished, my heart felt like it had been hit by something, and it started pounding.
She and Zhou Xiao had been partners for many years. Their previous rendezvous were fraught with danger, and he always shielded her, risking his life for her safety. Over time, a subtle, inexplicable longing began to grow in her heart.
But what era is this? In this chaotic world, love is as heavy as iron. She dares not acknowledge it, nor dares to ask about the ending, and quietly locks it away in the deepest corner.
Now that he has suddenly lifted this thin veil, her heart is in turmoil again.
Zhou Xiao quickly tried to salvage the situation: "Xiao Nan, that's not what I meant—it was a cover!"
"Our identities are special, and if we meet too frequently, even the most discreet meeting will attract unwanted attention. Where in the world is there a truly reliable rendezvous point? Even a safe can be broken into, let alone a teahouse on a street corner."
"But if you are my 'confidante,' a little star I'm keeping hidden away—we're always together, chatting and laughing, who would suspect anything? It would seem so natural."
"Besides, which high-ranking member of the Japanese puppet regime didn't have someone else on the side? Liang Zhongchun, the head of the No. 76 Operations Division, kept his wife at home while having affairs on the side, and people even praised him for 'knowing how to live'."
"It's purely for work purposes."
To be honest, Li Xiaonan was indeed strikingly beautiful, but Zhou Xiao had no ulterior motives in suggesting this idea. Underground work relies on layers of disguise to survive—fake couples, fake siblings, fake lovers… these are all common methods.
All he wanted was another barrier to survival.
Li Xiaonan nodded gently: "I understand what you mean, and I trust you."
"I agree to the plan. However, there needs to be a natural process of getting to know each other; it can't be too abrupt."
"And what about Feng Manna? How do you plan to explain that?"
"She always calls you 'Third Brother,' and anyone can see what that means to her."
Zhou Xiao was silent for a moment, then his tone turned serious: "I know she has feelings for me. But we have different goals, so we can't walk the same path. If she insists on going down the path of traitors and causing anti-Japanese patriots to bleed and die time and time again... then even I won't be able to protect her."
"Those who betray their country throughout history have never met a good end. Feng Manna is no exception—it all depends on whether she is willing to turn back."
His feelings for Feng Manna weren't oblivious; they were clear-headed. It's just that he would never step onto that path.
"Yes, these relationships must be sorted out thoroughly." Li Xiaonan said solemnly, "Women's minds are the most unpredictable; a single oversight could ruin the entire game."
Zhou Xiao nodded: "Understood."
This meeting made Li Xiaonan fully realize Zhou Xiao's true worth.
The next day, she opened the newspaper and was shocked to see the front-page news that Chen Mingfu had died suddenly after "accidentally eating poisonous mushrooms"—accompanied by a photo of Aoki Takeshige personally visiting the scene to offer his condolences.
She felt a chill on her fingertips and her heart skipped a beat: it turned out that the "accident" was actually a poison trap personally prepared by Zhou Xiao.
This cunning and skill made her suddenly realize that this person was no longer an ordinary infiltrator, but a "wedge" that the organization desperately needed—a cold blade that could penetrate the enemy's intelligence center.
She immediately reported this to her superiors.
The reply consisted of only one sentence: Protect Zhou Xiao at all costs, so that he can penetrate deeper, more steadily, and more silently.
The organization finally realized that Zhou Xiao was the only viable pawn capable of infiltrating the enemy's intelligence core and would be the most reliable source of intelligence in the future.
As for what happened later? That's another story.
Before the movie ended, Zhou Xiao got up from his seat and pushed open the heavy velvet door of the theater.
Li Xiaonan stared at his receding figure, her fingers unconsciously twisting the hem of her clothes, muttering under her breath, "He didn't finish watching again—why does he always slip away halfway through?"
Stepping out of the cinema, a cool night breeze swept over him. He opened the car door, got into the matte black sedan, the engine roared, and the wheels slowly rolled over the wet sycamore leaves, heading deeper into the French Concession before turning back to the Special Operations Headquarters.
It was nearly midnight.
This event was specifically designed for night owls, and it was a midnight show.
The street was so empty you could hear the wind whistling through the afterimages of the neon lights. The streetlights were dim and yellow, like old ink spots blurred by water. A few pedestrians hurried along, their collars pulled tighter, as if afraid their heels would stick to the thick darkness.
Zhou Xiao's car became the only living thing moving around in the entire block.
Outside the car window, silhouettes of people wrestling, chasing, kicking, and slashing with knives flashed by from time to time at the entrance of the dark alley—rough, hurried, and with a kind of desperate, reckless ferocity.
After the fall of Shanghai, order was shattered. The Green Gang, once a giant tree dominating the city, crumbled when the Japanese army trampled it: Huang Jinrong fled, Du Yuesheng went south, and Zhang Xiaolin died a violent death in the streets… With the collapse of the three tycoons, wolves rose up everywhere. Yongxin, Hengshe, Zhongyitang… all sorts of local gangsters grew wildly in the flames of war, carving out their own territories, setting up their own courts, and even the light bulbs in the police station were often "accidentally" broken.
During the day, they can still pretend to be at peace, but at night they completely tear off their masks—demons and monsters run rampant, and evil spirits vie for power.
Zhou Xiao didn't bother with it.
The deeper the night, the calmer his heart became. He even craved this sense of relaxation in the utter silence, driving at an extremely slow speed, as if listening to the subtle rubbing of the tires against the asphalt.
Sudden--
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Gunshots rang out, short, chaotic, and carrying the acrid smell of exploding metal, instantly shattering the silence of the entire street.
Then came the sound of hurried footsteps and the screeching of shoes scraping the ground, approaching from afar, filled with a sense of panic and murderous intent.
Zhou Xiao's eyebrows twitched; he had already guessed seven or eight parts of the story: someone must have been ambushed and was fleeing for their life. This kind of scene was more common on the streets of Shanghai than rickshaws soliciting passengers.
He didn't want to get involved, so he lightly pressed the accelerator with his right foot, and the car lurched forward—
Suddenly, a dark figure burst out from the narrow alley and lunged straight towards the center of the road!
The alleyway was pitch black, but the man appeared like a bolt of lightning tearing through the darkness, blocking the front of the car without warning.
Zhou Xiao's pupils contracted sharply, and he slammed on the brakes!
"Gah—!"
A piercing screech tore through the air, the tires plowed two long, charred tracks into the wet road, and the car lurched forward violently.
But the distance was too close, and even the fastest reaction was a beat too late.
With a muffled thud, the man was thrown to the ground by the front of the car and rolled half a circle before coming to a stop.
Fortunately, the car was not going very fast, so the impact was limited. The person only grimaced and scraped their elbow.
As soon as Zhou Xiao pushed open the car door, the man sprang to his feet, rushed to the passenger side, yanked open the door, jumped into the car, and growled in a low voice, panting, "Hurry up! Drive!"
He wore a wide-brimmed felt hat, half his face hidden in shadow, revealing only a thick, black mustache; his linen jacket was washed until it was gray, and his cloth shoes with thick soles were covered in mud; he was slender, but his movements were incredibly agile. At this moment, the dark muzzle of a gun was pressed against Zhou Xiao's waist, but his hand trembled slightly.
Zhou Xiao didn't even lift his eyelids. He leaned to the side, locked his wrist with his left hand, twisted the gun barrel with his right hand, and with a flick of his wrist, the old Browning was now firmly in his palm.
It was as fast as magic.
The other person froze, forgetting even to breathe.
Zhou Xiao weighed the gun in his hand and scoffed, "An empty barrel? Trying to scare people with a fire poker?"
"Please!" the man's voice suddenly rose, trembling with sobs, "Yongxin's men are behind us! Huo Tianhong is leading the team himself!"
Yongxin Company? Zhou Xiao's lips twitched almost imperceptibly.
In Shanghai, these names are hotter than a wanted poster issued by the police. Huo Tianhong, Zhang Wanlin, and Lu Yusheng—these three names, strung together, represent half of Shanghai's bloody underworld history.
"When you're asking for a favor, you have to do it like you're asking for a favor." Zhou Xiao's gaze swept over the sweaty forehead under the other man's hat brim, then he suddenly stopped, narrowed his eyes, and said, "...You 'man,' your voice is as thin as a sparrow that has just had its neck strangled."
The other person froze, then suddenly looked up. A corner of their hat brim was lifted, revealing a pair of startled yet stubborn eyes, with grime still clinging to the corners.
"I...I'm a woman!" she blurted out, then clenched her fists. "Please, save my life!"
"Alright then." Zhou Xiao shrugged, started the engine, shifted gears, and the engine roared back to life. "Consider this a good deed I did today."
Before the words were even finished, a crisp "ding" sounded in my mind:
[Temporary check-in task triggered: Escort the woman in the passenger seat to safety | Rewards to be unlocked]
[Hint: This person is involved in Shanghai's underground network]
Zhou Xiao's eyes flashed—he was indeed got something out of him.
Gang intelligence networks have always been the most sought-after source of information for special operations departments; not to mention, if these local thugs are properly trained, they can turn into daggers plunged into the hearts of the enemy.
Just as he was about to speed up, he suddenly heard a series of loud crashes from the alleyways around him—
A dozen or so dark figures emerged from the shadows, all dressed in black silk short jackets, but carrying a variety of weapons: gleaming daggers that gleamed blue in the moonlight, several Mauser pistols with their muzzles slightly raised, and two Thompson submachine guns with their cooling vents facing the car window.
The ironclad formation is now complete.
Zhou Xiao turned off the engine and slowly got out of the car.
He took out his cigarette case, shook out a cigarette, and the flame popped up, illuminating half of his calm face.
Amidst the swirling smoke, he surveyed the scene of flashing blades and gunfire, his tone as calm as if he were asking about the weather: "Yongxin's rules, have they changed now? Surrounding people and blocking cars wherever they see them?"
The middle-aged man at the head of the group stepped forward, his gaze first fixed on the soft felt hat on the passenger seat, then slowly shifting to Zhou Xiao. He clasped his hands in a respectful bow: "Tian Hu. Yongxin Accountant. May I ask—which gang are you from?"
No matter how arrogant Yongxin is, it wouldn't dare to easily offend a tough opponent of unknown origin. After all, the waters of Shanghai are deep enough to drown people, but also enough to breed dragons.
Zhou Xiao slowly exhaled a puff of smoke, the bluish-white mist dissipating in the night. His voice was deep yet clear: "No problem—Zhou Xiao, Director of the Intelligence Department of the Special Operations Headquarters."
Special Operations Headquarters?
Isn't that the den of spies right under the noses of the Japanese devils?
When did they even get to control gang wars?
Not to mention he's a section chief!
It was so heavy it felt oppressive.
Tian Hu's pupils contracted as he subconsciously sized up the man before him: a crisp, clean gray-blue uniform, not a single wrinkle on the cuffs, long, slender fingers, and an old-fashioned pocket watch chain gleaming coldly on his wrist. His Adam's apple bobbed, and he clasped his hands in a respectful bow, his tone firm yet gentle: "Director Zhou, I've long admired your name! Today's matter is purely a family affair of Yongxin; your department has no need to interfere. I will personally express my gratitude tomorrow morning. From now on, whenever the Special Operations Headquarters needs leads or manpower, the entire Yongxin team will go through fire and water without hesitation!"
"The person is in the back seat of my car." Zhou Xiao's voice was not loud, but it was like a hammer striking ice, crisp, cold, and leaving no room for negotiation. "Make way, now; otherwise—before dawn tomorrow, I will lead my men to raze Yongxin to the ground."