Agent: Intercepting Yu Manli at the start!

Chapter 1: Japanese Spies?

Nanjing, the headquarters of the Military Commission.

This is a gathering place for elite staff officers, each one a carefully selected and rigorously trained elite, who together form the backbone of Nanjing's defense and intelligence system.

At this moment, a rigorous, combat-oriented assessment is quietly unfolding.

The two officers stood upright like pine trees, their uniforms crisp and their epaulets gleaming.

A long table lay across their front, with parts of several standard-issue pistols scattered on it—hammers, slides, recoil springs, magazines… each piece gleaming with the matte sheen characteristic of metal.

"Staff Special Operations Capability Assessment, Subject: Night Infiltration and Rapid Fire Enemy Annihilation. Participants: Zhou Hanguang and Zhou Xiao."

Zhou Hanguang and Zhou Xiao are recognized as the twin stars in the committee.

Zhou Xiao was not originally from this world.

A month ago, he suddenly transmigrated to this parallel universe intertwined with blood and fire. His original body was a secret agent planted by the underground party in the Military Commission.

At the beginning of his transmigration, he also awakened the strongest sign-in system.

There are three types of check-ins: daily check-ins, fixed-point check-ins, and task check-ins. You can get rich rewards for completing each type of check-in.

Through a month of attendance, Zhou Xiao quickly gained a foothold in the Military Commission and entered the core circle; he also formed a close friendship with Zhou Hanguang.

It was springtime 1937, and the fuse for the full-scale War of Resistance against Japan had been quietly pressed into the powder keg. Zhou Xiao had only one belief in his mind: to become stronger quickly!

At this moment, Zhou Hanguang turned his head, his gaze intense: "Zhou Xiao, how is it?"

Zhou Xiao raised an eyebrow and smiled, tapping his fingertips lightly twice on the edge of the table: "My hands are warm."

Before the words were even finished, the two of them had already bent down and started working.

Click! Click! Click!

The parts meshed together as naturally and smoothly as breathing, and three Type 54 pistols were formed in an instant.

Then the magazine was fully loaded, and the number of bullets was precisely matched to all thirteen moving targets in the firing range—one more bullet would be redundant, and one less bullet would lead to defeat.

Deep within the firing range, it was pitch black, with only a few faint blue emergency lights in the distance, their outlines barely visible in the inky darkness.

The two slipped inside, their bodies low to the ground, their ears twitching slightly, their footsteps as light as a cat treading on snow.

"Bang!"

No more than half a second after a dark figure emerged from behind cover, Zhou Xiao had already spun around, raised his arm, and pulled the trigger—his movements were all in one continuous motion.

The next instant, the red dot on the bullseye exploded, and the chest badge shattered.

Zhou Hanguang was no less skilled. He moved stealthily along the wall, his steps extremely small yet steady, his eyes scanning blind spots like a hawk's. The moment the human-shaped target peeked out, his gun was already locked on—

"Bang!"

The target exploded.

"Bang!"

The knee joint target flew off with a thud.

The two men stood back to back, moving in unison, their gunshots short and rapid, the targets falling one after another, like wheat being cut down by an invisible sickle.

"Good lad, your gun sense has gotten even stronger." Zhou Hanguang put away his gun, exhaled, and smiled slightly.

Zhou Xiao flicked his wrist and laughed, "Brother Guang, you're the real sturdy one. I'm relying entirely on you to keep things in check."

Before he finished speaking, he suddenly twisted his waist and slid to the side, raising his hand to fire blindly—the fourteenth target, which had just been peeked out, had a bullet embedded between its eyebrows, remaining perfectly still.

Inside the firing range, human-shaped targets collapsed one after another with a loud crash.

This entire scene was witnessed by a pair of eyes on the high viewing platform.

It was an enclosed observation tower suspended above the dome of the training ground.

Several high-ranking military officers stood on the platform. The man in the lead wore a black trench coat, with sunglasses covering most of his face. His shoulders were sharply defined, and the air seemed to grow heavier just by his presence.

Behind him stood the Chief of Staff's direct instructors, all holding their breath and remaining silent.

The high platform offered a wide view, taking in the entire shooting range—Zhou Xiao's sudden stop and turn, Zhou Hanguang's predictive shot, the millisecond-level coordination between the two... none of it escaped the eyes hidden behind the lenses.

"Sixth Brother, what do you think?" The instructor bowed and lowered his voice, "These two are the two toughest pieces in our staff right now."

The man in the trench coat was Zheng Yaoxian.

Ranked sixth among the "Eight Great Vajras" of the Military Intelligence Bureau, he was unpredictable and cunning, and his actions were always bloody—his nickname in the underworld was: "Devil Six".

This nickname was well-deserved. Back then, Prince Gong Yixin was ridiculed by the conservatives as "Devil Six" because he was in charge of Western affairs and had connections with foreign countries; while Zheng Yaoxian was the only Chinese agent who was listed as an S-level threat by both the US Office of Strategic Services (OSS) and the US MI6.

On the surface, he is a top agent of the Military Intelligence Bureau, but in reality, he is a secret agent of the underground Communist Party codenamed "Kite".

He gazed silently at the figures tumbling below, and after a long while, nodded: "Solid skills, precise rhythm."

In terms of tactical execution—ambush, sniping, infiltration, and withdrawal—these two possess all the hard-core qualities of top-tier special agents.

The instructor hesitated for a moment, then took half a step forward: "Sixth Brother, please come with me."

Zheng Yaoxian did not answer, but simply walked away from the stage.

The two walked down the stairs side by side, their footsteps echoing softly in the empty stairwell.

"The reason I asked you to come to Nanjing is because of a cold case." The instructor's tone grew increasingly somber. "The Shanghai station intercepted a secret report: a Japanese puppet regime agent codenamed 'Shadow' has infiltrated our ranks. He's hiding among this group of young staff officers, but so far, we haven't been able to find any concrete evidence."

"This person used Feng Zixiong, the head of the Shanghai Military Supplies Department, as a springboard to transmit core intelligence to the enemy. However, the transmission route was extremely secretive, and to this day... we haven't even figured out his code words."

This time, Zheng Yaoxian stepped into Nanjing solely to uncover the Japanese spy codenamed "Shadow." Hearing that the Chief of Staff was organizing a surprise assessment, he decided to come and see for himself.

"The battle is about to begin. If we don't eliminate 'Shadow,' our battle plan will be laid bare under the enemy's nose—we cannot let our guard down for a moment when it comes to secrecy."

Zheng Yaoxian pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, took one out, and put it between his lips. The instructor, sharp-eyed and quick-handed, immediately lit a match and stepped forward.

He took a deep breath, slowly exhaling through the swirling smoke, before asking, "Is the situation roughly clear? Are there any people we're specifically keeping an eye on?"

"Yes!" the instructor answered crisply. "Zhou Xiao and Zhou Hanguang are both on the suspect list. We have identified eight high-risk individuals, and they are the first two on the list."

Zheng Yaoxian remained silent, only bringing the cigarette to his lips again, the light flickering in the darkness. After a moment, he said, "Then let's keep a close eye on those two."

The instructor felt a surge of emotion and blurted out, "Sixth Brother, you... really think there's a 'shadow' hidden between them?"

For a veteran agent like Zheng Yaoxian, identifying a hidden agent should not have been difficult.

But without solid evidence, words cannot be taken seriously—speaking too confidently can backfire.

He flicked the ash from his cigarette with his fingertips, then suddenly smiled: "A shadow, no matter how faint, still has an outline; no matter how hidden, it still leaves a trace. Keeping a close eye on them is the most effective method."

He paused, then added, "Go through their daily routines more closely, check who frequents their neighborhood, who leaves frequently, and whether there are any unusual noises at night."

Whether through the Kuomintang's secret service or the underground Communist Party, eliminating this traitor is of utmost urgency—the fewer spies there are, the less blood will be shed on the front lines.

"Understood, Sixth Brother!" The instructor nodded vigorously.

On the training field, the noise gradually subsided, but the smell of gunpowder still lingered in the air.

Zhou Xiao and Zhou Hanguang's live-fire assessment is nearing its end.

Snapped--!

A bright spotlight suddenly shone on, causing the two men's pupils to shrink sharply, their vision going completely white and blurring instantly.

They barely paused, raising their hands, aiming their guns, and firing—their movements fluid and seamless. The human-shaped target appeared and disappeared in the dim light, gunshots ringing out continuously, bullets chasing shadows.

boom! boom! boom!

A few seconds later, all the targets were hit, and none missed.

After each soldier had been checked, they stood at attention and reported: "Report! All hit the target area; no misses, no deviations!"

"Good!" The instructor clapped and laughed, his gaze sweeping over the two men. "You two are the sharpest blades in the General Staff. Go and rest."

"Yes!" the two answered in unison, then turned and left.

Just as he took his first step, a crisp notification sound rang in Zhou Xiao's ears: "Ding-dong—New mission triggered: Join the ranks of Zheng Yaoxian, the Sixth Brother of the Military Intelligence Bureau. Completion reward: Mysterious super value gift pack."

Zheng Yaoxian, the sixth brother of the Military Intelligence Bureau?

Zhou Xiao had worked in the General Staff for years and had never heard of this person. The Military Intelligence Bureau always kept things very secret; how could an ordinary staff officer like him possibly know the inside story?

But in chaotic times, if you don't rely on your skills, you have to rely on luck; if you don't rely on luck, you have to rely on external forces.

The system is right now in my head, a living, breathing support; only a fool wouldn't use it.

He changed his mind and accepted the task.

"Ding-dong—You can exchange 5000 points for a top-secret intelligence report. Confirm?"

Five thousand?

He checked in every day for the past month, and his points had already exceeded 100,000. This amount of effort was practically free.

In wartime, every second counts; there's no such thing as a bargain—it's all about whether it's worth it.

"exchange."

As soon as the words left his mouth, a line of text immediately flashed into his mind:

[The Japanese spy infiltrating the General Staff of the Military Commission in Nanjing, whose true identity is Zhou Hanguang, codenamed "Shadow."]

Japanese spies?

Zhou Hanguang?

The brother who shared cold steamed buns, carried sandbags, and cursed the Japanese invaders with me.

Zhou Xiao's throat tightened, and his heart felt like it was being squeezed.

But he trusts the system—like he trusts that his hand holding a gun won't shake.

When it comes to the nation and its people, personal feelings must take a backseat.

He hated traitors even more than he hated the Japanese devils—the Japanese devils were foreign enemies, but the traitors were knives that cut into his own flesh.

Wait a minute... If you really want to become Zheng Yaoxian's disciple, exposing "Shadow" might be the best way to pledge your loyalty.

A thought flashed through his mind, and he had already made up his mind.

Although we know the truth, we lack concrete evidence. We can't just point to the sky and say, "I have a system in my brain that tells me he's a traitor"—if we said that, we'd probably be tied up as if we were crazy.

The most urgent task is not to expose them, but to gather evidence.

What's worse, he's clearly noticed these past few days that he's being followed—the tracking methods are sophisticated and well-hidden, yet they can't escape his intuition.

The more he thought about it, the more serious it became: this tail was most likely aimed at "Shadow"; but what if the Military Intelligence Bureau also considered him a suspect?

He had heard the rule of "better to kill the innocent than let the guilty go free" countless times.

On the other side, Zhou Hanguang also sensed something was amiss.

The Military Intelligence Bureau was keeping a close watch, but an urgent intelligence report concerning the lives of tens of thousands of soldiers had to be sent out tonight.

He had no choice but to take the risk.

The opportunity has finally arrived.

Night fell, yet the streets of Nanjing remained bustling. Car headlights flickered, and crowds thronged the streets; the silence before the impending battle was hidden beneath this superficial glamour.

Zhou Hanguang staggered out of the Rose Ballroom, his tie askew, two buttons of his shirt undone, humming an off-key tune, and reeking of alcohol.