Agent: Intercepting Yu Manli at the start!

Chapter 30: Encountering a Familiar Figure!

For those who are lying in wait, acting is an instinct ingrained in their bones.

"Hahaha!" Boss Dai grabbed the pistol, patted Zhou Xiao on the shoulder, and laughed until his eyes crinkled with wrinkles. "Don't get worked up! It's the old rule of the Military Intelligence Bureau—a routine practical assessment!"

"Your shot just now was steady, accurate, and ruthless, without the slightest hesitation. You passed! You truly are a promising talent handpicked by our Military Intelligence Bureau. I am very satisfied!"

Boss Dai is a cunning old fox; he's seen it all and has a sharp eye.

He saw it clearly: Zhou Xiao fired the gun the moment he caught it, without even blinking – this wasn't an underground party member; it was clearly a knife already drawn and drawing blood.

But little did he know that Zhou Xiao had already figured out the trickery in the magazine the moment the gun was in his hand.

A difference of a dozen grams cannot be hidden from those hands honed by "divine intervention".

Zhou Xiao muttered to himself, "The Military Intelligence Bureau's assessment... is really convoluted."

Zheng Yaoxian coldly retorted, "Zhou Xiao! Boss Dai personally testing you is a sign of respect. Enough talk, learn the rules!"

"Yes!" Zhou Xiao straightened his back and answered, secretly letting out a sigh of relief.

Without a stroke of genius, he truly didn't know how he would have gotten through this ordeal—a moment's hesitation would have meant certain doom.

"Let's go, bad luck." Boss Dai dusted off his sleeves and strolled out of the cell with a smile.

Zhou Xiao and Zheng Yaoxian followed closely behind.

After leaving Zhazidong, a feast was laid out at Dai's mansion. The three men toasted each other, laughter filling the air, the aroma of wine mingling with the scent of roast duck oil, creating a warm and cozy atmosphere.

Looking across the entire Military Intelligence Bureau, Zhou Xiao is the only one who was personally hosted by Boss Dai right after graduating from military academy; the achievements he made in just a few months are even more impressive.

Ultimately, it was because Boss Dai valued him that he went to such lengths to orchestrate this pledge of loyalty.

After the luncheon ended, Zhou Xiao and Zheng Yaoxian said their goodbyes and left.

Inside the car, Zhao Jianzhi held the steering wheel steadily.

Zhou Xiao turned his head and looked at Zheng Yaoxian: "Sixth Brother, there's something I don't understand."

Zheng Yaoxian, wearing sunglasses whose lenses reflected the shifting shadows of trees outside the window, spoke in a low, slow voice: "I don't understand why Boss Dai tested you with blanks?"

Zhou Xiao nodded.

The answer was already in his mind; he just wanted to hear what his sixth brother had to say.

Zheng Yaoxian exhaled a puff of smoke: "There are only two reasons."

"First, Boss Dai is reluctant to let the person on the rack die—either he's really something, or he'll keep him as bait."

"Secondly, Boss Dai values ​​his life."

Zhou Xiao's Adam's apple bobbed.

Sure enough, what Sixth Brother thought was exactly the same as what he had thought.

With the gun in his hand, these two thoughts flashed through his mind:

If that person were truly a member of the underground Communist Party, and Boss Dai was squeezing him for money, why would he be executed so easily? Using blank bullets was just a pretext to keep him alive.

If that person was just a scapegoat, then the whole show was just using Zhou Xiao as a target to test his loyalty.

There's an even deeper layer of calculation—Boss Dai is afraid.

I'm afraid Zhou Xiao is a wolf that bites.

With live ammunition loaded, once the muzzle is turned, Boss Dai won't even have a chance to draw his gun within ten paces.

Therefore, blank rounds are not a test, but a lifesaver.

He would rather gamble on Zhou Xiao's loyalty than risk his own life for an answer.

Zhou Xiao nodded slightly: "Understood."

Zheng Yaoxian's face remained expressionless, but his gaze behind his glasses deepened.

In that cold, dark cell in Zhazidong, he watched as Zhou Xiao reached out to catch the gun, raised his arm, and fired—all in one smooth motion, without a moment's hesitation.

Zheng Yaoxian felt a knot in his heart, hesitating whether he should bring Zhou Xiao into his inner circle...

Zhou Xiao had never read "Kite," so he naturally didn't know that Zheng Yaoxian was already an underground party member, and the one with the most seniority and the deepest position in the Kuomintang.

Zheng Yaoxian went in alone, operating on a single line – his only superior was Lu Hanqing, and his direct superior was the Central Committee. Therefore, he had no idea that Zhou Xiao was also a comrade in the same trench.

Zhou Xiao was originally affiliated with the Jinling underground intelligence network, and his contact person was Li Xiaonan.

In espionage, the fewer people who know about it, the safer it is. The various lines of communication are heavily guarded, and intelligence channels are isolated from each other. Even when Lu Hanqing sent a telegram to headquarters requesting verification of Zhou Xiao's identity, he had to wait several days for a response.

Let alone Zhou Xiao, a "new face" who had just been transferred from another place, Zheng Yaoxian might not even recognize all the local underground party members who had been trained by Yuan Nong.

So right now, these two are both harboring secrets, but they're completely unaware of it.

Boss Dai is naturally suspicious, and no one can easily get close to him. But this time, Zhou Xiao has offered his "pledge of allegiance," at least registering himself with him and gaining some genuine trust in return.

Back at headquarters, in the section chief's office.

Zheng Yaoxian strolled to the window, his gaze casually sweeping over the sycamore trees in the courtyard. He reached into his pocket, pulled out a pack of cigarettes, lit one, took a deep drag, and suddenly spoke: "Zhou Xiao, have you ever considered—whether it's the Military Intelligence Bureau prison or the Zhaizidong detention center, what exactly are those people with the toughest bones, who endured the most brutal torture, and who wouldn't utter a single word even when their skin was torn and bleeding?"

"They were subjected to torture in turn, but they remained silent and calmly faced their deaths without even blinking."

Zhou Xiao already had the answer in his heart, but he only tentatively asked, "A Japanese spy?"

"Wrong." Zheng Yaoxian exhaled a wisp of bluish-white smoke, his voice lowering. "It's the underground Communist Party. They are the toughest nuts to crack in the Military Intelligence Bureau; you can't pry them open, and you can't extract any intelligence from them."

"Why?" Zhou Xiao pressed.

Zheng Yaoxian gently flicked off the cigarette ash and said slowly, "Because they have light in their hearts—faith is the sharpest knife, the thickest armor, and the fiercest fire."

Faith? This is the true, indestructible, and unyielding spiritual backbone! It is heavier than any samurai code and more resilient than any loyalty to the emperor.

Every underground party member is a warrior marching forward in the darkness; every step they take is a tightrope walk on the line of faith.

It was this belief that carried them through those dark and hopeless years, allowed them to dance on the edge of a knife, and help them take root on the edge of a cliff.

For it, one can give up one's life, abandon one's family, and ruin one's reputation.

Zhou Xiao suddenly looked up and asked directly, "Sixth Brother, what do you believe in?"

Zheng Yaoxian paused slightly, then raised the corners of his mouth and smiled frankly: "The Three Principles of the People."

As the words fell, a thought quietly crept into my mind: I believe in the path I have chosen, and I believe in the dawn I swear to protect with my life.

These words must be kept to oneself and not revealed in the slightest.

He turned his head, his gaze fixed intently on Zhou Xiao: "And you?"

"Me?" Zhou Xiao smiled, his brows relaxing. "I trust my own hands, my own eyes, and my own heart."

The unspoken words in my heart shone like a lighthouse: I believe in that ray of light that pierces through the darkness.

"That's right!" Zheng Yaoxian nodded, his tone carrying a rare hint of approval. "In our line of work, relying on others is unreliable—the only thing you can truly hold onto is yourself."

Zhou Xiao smiled but didn't reply.

Two comrades on the secret front chatted and laughed in the sunlight, but the same burning heart beat in their chests.

They deserve respect and should be remembered.

The next day.

The day before Zhou Xiao was to graduate.

As soon as he stepped into the gate of the Military Intelligence Bureau headquarters, he caught a glimpse of a familiar figure out of the corner of his eye.

The man wore a neatly tailored Zhongshan suit, with a calm gaze behind his black-rimmed glasses. His hair was short and neat, and although he wasn't very tall, his shoulders and back were straight as a pine tree, and his steps were steady, exuding a restrained strength.

Zhou Xiao paused slightly, turning to ask Zhao Jianzhi beside him, "Jianzhi, who is that person?"

Zhao Jianzhi glanced in that direction and casually replied, "Oh, Yu Zecheng from the field team. He's quite capable; he's basically the one who handles the big jobs—judging by how travel-worn he looks, he probably just got back from work."

Will I succeed?

Is it really him?

Zhou Xiao's heart skipped a beat. Before he transmigrated, he had watched a spy drama called "Lurking," and the protagonist's name was Yu Zecheng—calm, meticulous, like a thin blade hidden in its sheath.

Now that the person was standing right in front of him, he instinctively took a second look and asked a question, and it turned out to be true.

The TV series "Lurking" was a huge hit across China back then, and he still remembers the plot clearly. Now that Yu Zecheng has actually appeared, it shows that this parallel universe is not a simple replication of history, but rather has been quietly integrated into the fabric of another hidden front.

interesting!

This world is far more intriguing than we imagine.

Who will they run into next? What undercurrents and confrontations will unfold?

Zhou Xiao didn't approach him to speak, but walked straight through the hall and pushed open the door to Zheng Yaoxian's office.

Zheng Yaoxian looked up and saw him, then stood up and said, "Come on, I'll take you to the telecommunications office."

The two walked side by side.

This was Zheng Yaoxian's intention to bring him on a field trip—to teach him how to "listen" intelligence from radio waves and "dig" the truth from codes.

The Telecommunications Department, ostensibly the central hub for sending and receiving telegrams, eavesdropping, communication, and decryption, was in reality the intelligence heart of the entire Military Intelligence Bureau. Special agent training included a dedicated Telecommunications Department, with majors in cryptography, radio technology, communication encryption, and internal affairs, as well as practical courses in meteorological observation, telecommunications reconnaissance, and disguise and infiltration.

"This place," Zheng Yaoxian said as he walked, "is the place where intelligence is most easily leaked, and also the place where intelligence is most easily captured—after all, 90% of information is transmitted via radio waves."

"You want to get intelligence? Don't just stare at the safe, keep an eye on the communications department. But you must do it cleverly, like extracting honey without startling the bees."

"The people in the Telecommunications Department are all handpicked 'insiders' by the Intelligence Department. If they lose their composure even slightly, their identities will crumble on the spot. So this is also the most dangerous battlefield—sometimes, if you can't get it, you have to destroy it with your own hands."

Zhou Xiao listened intently, memorizing every word.

Before long, the two were standing at the entrance of the Military Intelligence Bureau's communications office.

The telecommunications office was filled with all sorts of listening devices, transmitters, and recording devices. The indicator lights flashed red and green, making the whole room seem like a pulsating metal heart.

Beep—Beep beep—

Short, regular buzzing sounds rose and fell.

Zheng Yaoxian led Zhou Xiao slowly through the area, his gaze sweeping over the rows of radio operators who were engrossed in their work: each of them wore a headset, their fingers slid rapidly across their notebooks, and their ears were pressed against the receivers, catching the fleeting noises and coded messages in the radio waves.

"Remember, the Telecommunications Department is not an ordinary department; it is the lifeline of the entire intelligence network." Zheng Yaoxian lowered his voice and turned to Zhou Xiao, saying, "Once you've settled in, the first thing you should do is quietly place trustworthy people in there—that's the real work you'll be doing after you've actually settled in."

Tomorrow, Zhou Xiao will be on duty alone.

Although the follow-up tasks have not yet been revealed to him, Zheng Yaoxian knows in his heart that the young man already knows them perfectly well.

As for the specific route of the infiltration, the method of rendezvous, the emergency code... Zheng Yaoxian didn't mention a single word of those daggers on the back of the paper.

"Mm," Zhou Xiao replied crisply, his Adam's apple bobbing slightly.

Zeng Moyi was sitting at her workstation by the window, her earphones fitting snugly against her ears, focused on receiving encrypted messages from her superiors.