Genius Agent

Chapter 1 Born Agent

Su Yuncheng had a strange dream and woke up half an hour later than usual.

Just over a month after the Spring Festival, the air still carries a biting chill. The cold cannot stop the oxen and horses that are busy making a living. The sounds of bicycle bells, footsteps, and various vendors' cries rise and fall.

This is a street scene in Shanghai in 1936.

Su Yuncheng was very familiar with this road. Ahead was the famous Weiyu Primary School in the French Concession, which had more than a thousand teachers and students. There were ten regular vendors at the gate in the morning.

The number of stalls remained the same, but the shoe-shining boy, Liu, was replaced by a strange man.

Xiao Liu comes from Anhui Province. He is alone and has little power. When he needs help, he would rather leave his shoeshine stall empty than let others help him set up a stall.

He was afraid that someone else would take his stall and not return it.

Su Yuncheng continued forward, glancing around out of the corner of his eye.

Old Huang, who used to fry peanuts, was also gone; yet another unfamiliar face appeared.

This is not normal. Old Huang, who fries peanuts, is usually the most diligent. His whole family depends on his peanut stall for a living. He appears here on time every day, rain or shine.

When both vendors changed hands at the same time, Su Yuncheng realized something was wrong.

Who are they? Why are they here?

Su Yuncheng is 22 years old this year. He is from Hangzhou. He returned from studying in Japan last year and works as the editor-in-chief of a newspaper in the French Concession.

"Brother Yuncheng."

On the rickshaw ahead, a young man in a black school uniform was waving at Su Yuncheng.

The rickshaw quickly arrived in front of Su Yuncheng, and the young man on the rickshaw took out a banknote and handed it to the driver.

"Keep the change, please."

"Cangjie, you should be at school at this time." Su Yuncheng frowned.

Horiuchi Sōsuke approached Su Yuncheng and said excitedly, "I took half a day off and will go this afternoon. I just went to the newspaper office and saw that you hadn't arrived yet. I guessed you might be on your way, and I was right."

Horiuchi Sousuke was only seventeen years old and looked like a young, inexperienced lad.

"Why are you taking leave?" Su Yuncheng asked directly.

"I heard something big at school, but my classmates don't know the details, so I wanted to ask you about it."

Horiuchi Sousuke quickly replied that he had come to Shanghai last year and was studying at Tongwen Academy.

Tongwen Academy was a school run by the Japanese, with many Japanese students. It was located on the westernmost edge of the International Settlement, not too far from Su Yuncheng's place.

"You took time off work just to ask me something? If your brother-in-law finds out, we'll both get a scolding."

Su Yuncheng looked reproachful, but Horiuchi Sosuke didn't seem to care and said with a smile, "Brother Yuncheng, I haven't eaten yet, have you?"

"Go find a place to sit first, I'll buy it for you."

Su Yuncheng woke up half an hour late today and hadn't had breakfast yet. Horiuchi Sōsuke had already asked for leave, so it wasn't a good idea to send him away now.

Horiuchi Sosuke's brother-in-law, Muto Tomohiro, was Su Yuncheng's senior in school when they were in Japan. Horiuchi Sosuke was younger and often spent time with his sister, which is how he met Su Yuncheng in Japan.

After graduating from high school, Horiuchi Sōsuke was admitted to Shanghai Tongwen Academy through his brother-in-law's introduction.

He didn't know many people in Shanghai, and Su Yuncheng was his closest friend.

"Thank you, Brother Yuncheng."

Horiuchi Sousuke happily ran towards a roadside stall. The pan-fried dumplings sold at this stall tasted very good; he had eaten there several times and liked them very much.

Su Yuncheng understood that if Horiuchi Sōsuke were to have breakfast nearby, he would definitely choose this place.

The shoeshine stall was right next to the breakfast stall.

The breakfast stall was least crowded at the edge, and Horiuchi Sosuke chose an empty table there and sat down.

Su Yuncheng bought breakfast and placed the fragrant pan-fried pork in front of Horiuchi Sōsuke. He couldn't wait to pick up his chopsticks, take a big bite, and then eagerly put the meat in his mouth.

The rich aroma of meat satisfied his taste buds.

The food at Tongwen Academy was decent, but it wasn't nearly as good as authentic Shanghai pan-fried dumplings.

Su Yuncheng also picked up his chopsticks. The shoeshine stall was only a little over five meters away from him, and from his position, he could easily observe it from the corner of his eye.

The vendor was polishing shoes; his movements were practiced and skillful, unlike that of a novice.

However, Su Yuncheng noticed that he was using Xiao Liu's tools, which meant that either Xiao Liu had sold the entire stall to him, or he had taken everything from Xiao Liu.

Another possibility is that he temporarily rented Xiao Liu's stall.

After eating two pan-fried dumplings to satisfy his hunger, Horiuchi Sousuke immediately looked up and asked, "Brother Yuncheng, you must know what just happened in China, right? Tell me what happened."

As Horiuchi Sousuke spoke, Su Yuncheng clearly noticed that the shoeshine vendor glanced in their direction.

When Su Yuncheng saw himself, he sensed the doubt in his expression.

Su Yuncheng was different from others from a young age. He could sense all the emotions that others had towards him, whether they liked or disliked him, were close or indifferent to him, trusted or doubted him.

This includes things like wanting to deceive him or doing something detrimental to him.

When he was very young, his grandfather forbade him to mention this matter to anyone. He could feel that his grandfather was genuinely doing it for his own good, and he always followed his grandfather's instructions and kept this secret.

After his grandfather passed away, no one knew about his ability.

"I know a little bit about it. Where did you hear that from?"

Su Yuncheng asked the question knowingly. Cang Jie had mentioned when he came that he had heard about the matter at school, but his classmates didn't know the details and came to find him specifically.

"A classmate heard about it somewhere, but he didn't get the details. Yuncheng, can you tell me what's really going on in China? Is there really a coup?"

Horiuchi Sosuke, forgetting about eating, immediately asked, and Su Yuncheng immediately sensed that the shoeshine vendor had glanced at him again.

He was also filled with intense curiosity?

Who is this vendor? Does he understand Japanese?

Horiuchi Sousuke had only recently arrived in China and his Chinese was only so-so. The two usually communicated in Japanese, while Su Yuncheng spoke Japanese very well.

"That's not something you should be asking about."

Su Yuncheng shook his head. Sure enough, the shoeshine vendor's attention was still on him, and he was even getting a little anxious.

"I'm seventeen now. My father wants me to take over his business, so I need to learn more about the Empire now."

Horiuchi Sosuke was unconvinced; his father was a well-known businessman in Osaka with considerable wealth and influence.

"Come closer, and I'll tell you."

Su Yuncheng waved, and Horiuchi Sosuke was a little confused. This was China, and they were speaking Japanese, which no one could understand.

However, he still leaned his ear closer.

Su Yuncheng sensed that the shoeshine vendor was becoming more agitated, and he even moved the chair he was sitting on, getting half a meter closer to them.

But if you're close enough, you can't hear it.

"A coup did indeed occur. A group of young army officers went to the homes of many ministers late at night. Saito was reportedly killed by them, along with some other important ministers."

Su Yuncheng spoke very softly, using Horiuchi Sōsuke's close proximity to secretly observe the peanut stall.

The stall owner is now in his twenties, much younger than Lao Huang. His roasted peanuts don't look as good as Lao Huang's, but he knows how to roast them, which proves he's not a novice.

"Is it that serious?"

Horiuchi Sousuke was taken aback. Saito had served as both Minister of the Navy and Prime Minister. The fact that he was killed by an army officer was indeed a serious matter.

Seeing his eyes darting around, Su Yuncheng could tell what he was thinking without even using his senses.

"Tell me the truth, how much are you planning to sell this information for?"

"I'm not selling it for money."

Horiuchi Sosuke immediately widened his eyes and shook his head repeatedly. Su Yuncheng possessed a maturity and wisdom beyond his years, and it seemed that he could not hide anything from him.

He really wanted to take this information back to the school and sell it for money.

There are quite a few people in the school who are interested in this, otherwise he wouldn't have specifically asked for leave to come out.

"Some things can be sold, and some things cannot. You must remember this, or you will cause trouble for your brother-in-law."

Su Yuncheng didn't believe a word he said; this kid was quite good at making money back in Japan.

He came to Shanghai to study without using a single penny of his family's money, and he was already quite wealthy himself.

Even students from well-off families in the school can't compare to him.

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."

Horiuchi Sosuke chuckled. He knew he couldn't hide it from Su Yuncheng after all, but he knew that Su Yuncheng genuinely cared for him.

Su Yuncheng can sense emotions and goes along with others, making it easy for people to develop a good impression of him. No matter who it is, they can feel Su Yuncheng's sincerity.

"As long as you know your limits, I trust you."

One sentence warmed Horiuchi Sousuke's heart. Su Yuncheng had already secretly observed all the strangers at Old Huang's stall.

While he was frying peanuts, he would occasionally glance at Qingyuli across the street.

Qingyu Lane is a small alley, sometimes called a hutong. It's not very big, with only a dozen or so households and just one exit.

Not only him, but also the shoeshine vendor, looked towards Qingyu Lane several times after they could no longer hear their conversation.

Are they spying on this place?

Su Yuncheng had three guesses about their identities before, the last of which was that they had temporarily rented the stall.

Currently, the last possibility seems the most likely.

If it's surveillance, their identities are obvious: they are secret agents carrying out a surveillance mission.

Su Yuncheng was not yet aware of the situation at the peanut stall, but the shoeshine vendor could understand him and was curious about their conversation, so he was most likely Japanese.

If the two are accomplices, then they are Japanese spies.

Why are Japanese agents targeting Qingyuli, or rather, who are they targeting?

The newspaper was founded by Tomoo Muto, and Su Yuncheng worked for him. Tomoo Muto was a very ambitious man who was doing well in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Before Su Yuncheng returned to China, Mutō Tomohō had arranged for someone to give Su Yuncheng special training for three months.

His trainer was an older, highly experienced professional agent.

In three months, Su Yuncheng learned a lot of professional skills in special operations, and his trainers greatly admired his abilities.

He was even highly praised, with some saying he was a born spy.

The newspaper where Su Yuncheng worked was founded by Muto Tomohiro. Ostensibly, it was a newspaper, but secretly it was a place where Muto Tomohiro collected various kinds of intelligence in Shanghai.

Strictly speaking, these two are Su Yuncheng's colleagues, both belonging to the category of special agents.

Which Japanese intelligence agency did they come from, and what mission were they carrying out?

Su Yuncheng thought of many things in an instant, but at the same time, he did not interrupt his chat with Horiuchi Sousuke.

"Brother Yuncheng, I'm full."

Horiuchi Sōsuke has already obtained what he wanted from Su Yuncheng, and with a gag order issued domestically, even fewer people in Shanghai know about it.

Those who know are all important figures; they won't casually tell outsiders.

This is good news; it can fetch a good price.