Espionage: You're tasked with spying, but you'll blow up the Special Higher Police?

134. Probe at the door

After Luca reported the incident, he soon received instructions from inside to allow passage.

Zhou Hongyi politely left several sets of gifts according to the number of sentries at the roadblock before getting into the truck and ordering his men to continue driving in.

Even though the outermost sentries said they could go in, he was still checked twice more before he finally entered the modified Special Higher Police compound. The Japanese soldiers climbed into the back of their truck and searched every possible hiding place, but of course they found nothing; it really was just some New Year's goods and gifts.

"Hehe~ Sasuke-kun."

"Commander Kondo, Happy New Year! This is just a small token of my appreciation. Please don't refuse it, Commander Kondo. You must accept it."

Kondo had originally intended to befriend Zhou Hongyi and test his limits, and now that Zhou Hongyi had come on his own, it was perfect.

Zhou Hongyi jumped out of the car and signaled his entourage to start unloading the goods. Kondo didn't stand on ceremony and ordered the soldiers stationed in the yard to come forward and receive them. When he received the cherry blossom that Zhou Hongyi offered, a strange look flashed across his face, but he didn't pay it any mind and put the cherry blossom into his pocket.

“I will have the soldiers receive these goods. Sasuke, you’re very kind. Come on, you haven’t been here since we changed the address. Let me show you around.”

Zhou Hongyi gestured for Agui and Fusheng to stay where they were, while he followed Kondo inside alone.

This mansion was originally a three-courtyard complex, but after it was occupied by the Japanese, it was expanded on the original site, with the addition of a watchtower, arrow tower, and command post, as well as a large open space for drills and parking.

As Zhou Hongyi walked, he memorized the layout of the place, thinking that if he had the chance in the future, he wouldn't mind razing it to the ground again.

Similarly, Kondo's abilities also made Zhou Hongyi secretly wary. To be fair, under his tutelage, the Special Higher Police were indeed more disciplined than when Shimazu was in charge, and the staff walking around all seemed to possess some kind of skill.

What alarmed Zhou Hongyi was that Kondo had brought back a lot of talent in eavesdropping, counter-eavesdropping, and decryption. This meant that Kondo might try to check if there was any illicit activity in his private room at the Paramount, and Zhou Hongyi would have to make some corresponding changes.

After passing through the courtyard, the two entered the main hall of the first courtyard, where a map of Shanghai and a simple sand table of the city were displayed, apparently for meetings. Passing through the main hall, in the second courtyard, Kondo led Zhou Hongyi into a side room specifically for receiving guests.

"Sasuke-kun, please come in. Although the previous building was completely destroyed in the explosion, this place is much more suitable than the previous one. Moreover, it is far away from the city center, so there is no fear of traffic congestion when going out. I also have to thank that mysterious 'Sun Wukong'."

Zhou Hongyi raised an eyebrow and thought to himself, "Are you trying to get me involved? I haven't even tested you yet, but you've already started testing me. This Kondo is quite interesting."

[Eye of Insight] was still active, and Zhou Hongyi activated [Master of Deception] as well. At this moment, not only did many entries appear in front of him, but also which topics would touch the enemy's warning line and which topics suited his interests were distinguished by different shades of color. This was also a new feature that Zhou Hongyi had developed, and his skill combinations were even more effective.

"Commander Kondo, I really envy you. Our Second Precinct building is old and dilapidated, and the space is very limited. Some of our hundreds of people have to be patrolling outside all the time. If we all stayed inside, I'm afraid we'd collapse the floorboards."

Kondo had tea brewed and brought in, chuckling as he said, "I heard that Sasuke-kun has applied for a special grant from Mr. Feng in the finance office. Didn't you use that grant to improve the branch office's environment?"

Zhou Hongyi cursed inwardly, but outwardly put on a troubled expression and said, "Sigh... As you know, it's the end of the year now. For us Xia people, the New Year is like passing through a hurdle. It's a year-end hurdle. Not only do we have to buy New Year's goods, but we also have to visit relatives and friends and entertain them. If I use that money to improve my housing, where will the money for all these New Year's goods come from?"

Kondo understood that Zhou Hongyi meant that he had used the special funds allocated by the government to give gifts. Wasn't this taking advantage of public funds to do personal favors?

However, Kondo did not dwell on this trivial matter, but said, "Sasuke-kun, your new Paramount has been a huge hit since it opened, especially those tiered membership cards you created. They have now become a standard for showing off in Shanghai's upper class. Each membership card requires a deposit of 80,000 yuan. Not counting other income, how could you not have money?"

At this point, Zhou Hongyi suddenly became serious and said, "Commander Kondo, the money of the Paramount is the money of the Paramount, and the money of the police station is the money of the police station. I have always kept public and private matters separate. Moreover, the Paramount is such a big place that all facilities need maintenance, and all personnel are highly trained. In addition, the high-standard services I provide to everyone cost money like water. My business looks lively, but in reality, I don't get much money in my hands in the end."

The two were exchanging these nonsense words and testing each other when they suddenly heard footsteps. Sasaki, a blind man dressed in coarse linen ronin clothing, followed them in.

"Commander Kondo, I heard someone came to deliver New Year's gifts, including a cherry blossom from my hometown. I wonder if I could receive one of these gifts?"

When Zhou Hongyi saw the old blind man, his heart stirred, but he controlled his expression perfectly, acting as if it was their first meeting, and cast an inquiring glance at Kondo.

"Sasuke-kun, this is Mr. Sasaki, one of the great swordsmen still existing in our Sakura Country. He had been living in seclusion for many years, but I specially invited him out of the mountains to deal with the mysterious 'Sun Wukong'. Mr. Sasaki, he is Zhou Hongyi, also known as Sarutobi Sasuke, and he is our Imperial Army's most trusted friend."

"Sarutobi Sasuke? Hehehe~ The Sanada Ten Braves, the historical Sarutobi Sasuke was a master of ninjutsu. I wonder if this Sasuke in front of me also knows ninjutsu?"

Zhou Hongyi immediately adopted an admiring posture and hurriedly stood up, saying, "Oh my, so it's the great swordsman Sasaki. Seeing is believing. I've heard my teacher mention that great swordsmen can cut water with their swords and have a sense of smell and hearing far beyond that of ordinary people. They can even judge whether someone's body is abnormal, whether they are nervous, calm, or hiding something just by looking at their heart rate. You are a walking lie detector!"

"A lie detector?" Kondo was intrigued by the term, while Sasaki flashed his yellowed teeth and said, "Mr. Sasuke, you haven't given me the cherry blossoms from my hometown yet."

Zhou Hongyi cursed "old blind man" in his heart, but on the surface he took out a treated cherry blossom leaf with trepidation and handed it over with both hands.

Sasaki has an extraordinary sense of smell, just like a dog. He can accurately remember anything he has smelled. At this moment, he took the cherry blossom leaf that Zhou Hongyi handed him and gently sniffed it twice.

Immediately afterwards, the blind swordsman sneezed twice in a row, rubbed his nose, and asked, "What's that smell?"

Zhou Hongyi was taken aback at first, then said with an embarrassed look, "Oh dear, I'm so sorry, Mr. Sasaki, it's probably because I was wearing it and the perfume got on me."