Chapter 55: Scheming and Secret Humiliation

On that side, the old gentleman and his wife were chatting cheerfully, while here, Dai Yunong was thoroughly dejected, remaining silent throughout the journey. When they arrived at the gates of the Bureau, Li Wensheng got out and returned to his hostel.

Back in his room, Li Wensheng opened the file Dai Yunong had given him earlier.

The file was thin, containing just a single sheet of paper.

It took Li Wensheng less than two minutes to read through it, and when he finished, he couldn't help but curse under his breath.

A month ago, a British economic advisor had arrived in the mountain city carrying a document—a technical secret regarding improvements in the manufacture of legal tender. The Nationalist government’s currency, from the paper, ink, and printing processes, used materials all sourced from Western countries. Even the island nation had no knowledge of the manufacturing techniques and couldn’t possibly replicate them. The Japanese had coveted the technology for a long time. If they could get their hands on it, they could flood the market with counterfeit currency, siphoning off much of China’s wealth and waging financial warfare against the Nationalists.

The Nationalist government was well aware of the importance of this technology, sending many to guard the British advisor. Yet, to their astonishment, the very next day after the advisor arrived, the document mysteriously disappeared.

The advisor’s security was extremely tight; everyone in the Sheng Residence had been carefully vetted before being assigned there. The surrounding security was handled by the Bank’s Tax Police Corps. The Second Department’s Counter-Espionage Division was merely an outer layer, stationed outside to prevent any assault on the residence.

Li Wensheng tossed the file aside and swore, “Dai Yunong, you bastard.”

There were only three possible culprits: the Counter-Espionage Division of the Second Department, the Tax Police Corps, or someone inside the Sheng Residence.

But the Tax Police Corps belonged to the Song family. If the Song family insisted they weren’t spies, who would dare investigate? As for those inside the Sheng Residence, given the advisor’s importance, even the staff would have been personally screened by the Attendants’ Office. Investigating them would be a direct affront to the old man himself.

Only the Bureau, the weakest link, could be easily bullied.

After the incident, Dai Yunong had surely sent people to scrutinize the Counter-Espionage Division, likely investigating everyone thoroughly without finding a thing. Now Dai Yunong claimed to have discovered a Japanese spy hidden within the division and ordered Li Wensheng to locate the missing document.

But Dai Yunong must have turned the division upside down and found nothing. Clearly, he was pushing Li Wensheng to investigate the Tax Police Corps and the staff inside the Sheng Residence, effectively sending him into a minefield.

After grumbling to himself, Li Wensheng’s eyes suddenly brightened and he laughed lightly. “Never mind, after all, I’m related to the old man. Even if I don’t finish the task, Dai Yunong can’t do anything to me.”

He put away the file, lay down on the bed, and opened the system interface.

Host: Li Wensheng
Age: 21
Skills: Sharpshooter Mastery, Demolitions Mastery, Japanese Proficiency, ...
Inventory: AWM Sniper Rifle, 80mm Mortar, ...
New Task: Easy, Normal, Hard, Hell—please choose.

Without hesitation, Li Wensheng selected “Easy.”

The last time he chose a normal task, it turned out to be assassinating a Japanese Army Lieutenant General. He dared not try “Normal” again.

A few seconds later, Li Wensheng sat up, murmuring, “Damn it, they’re forcing me to investigate.”

The ordinary task assigned by the system was precisely to track down the whereabouts of the improved legal tender document.

Suddenly, Li Wensheng sensed something was off and muttered to himself, “Wait, could the system have upgraded after I completed the Hell-level task? All the previous missions were assassinations, yet last time the normal task was an assassination, and now it’s an investigation? That’s odd.”

He didn’t dwell on it—after all, the system was just a dead program; there was no figuring it out. Better to focus on completing the mission. Investigating a Japanese spy and tracking a document wasn’t dangerous—he considered it a pretty good task.

Li Wensheng sat down at his desk and reopened the file for another look.

He had only skimmed it earlier; this time he read it carefully—but still found nothing.

After putting the file away, he frowned in thought.

“This thing should still be in the mountain city, otherwise it wouldn’t be classed as the lowest ‘easy’ task.”

“That makes sense. Even if the Song family has influence, with something as important as the legal tender at stake, the Tax Police guarding the Sheng Residence would still be detained, as would the staff inside. As for the Counter-Espionage Division, they’re definitely being held too. If this isn’t cleared up, the division will take the blame—they won’t be released. Since everyone’s detained, the document hasn’t been passed out; it’s still in or near the Sheng Residence, just hidden somewhere.”

“That gives me a lead. After the commendation ceremony tomorrow, I’ll take people to search the Sheng Residence.”

Having made up his mind, Li Wensheng left his room and knocked on the door across the hall—Bai Yan’s room.

“Who is it?”

“It’s me, Li Wensheng.”

Footsteps sounded, and soon the door opened.

“Captain, do you need something?” Bai Yan asked, blinking her large eyes.

“Have you finished your report?” he asked.

Bai Yan paused. “Yes, Captain. Is there something wrong with it?”

“No. We were together during the mission, so your report can’t be much different from mine. Hand yours over and let me copy it.”

Copy the report!

Bai Yan was stunned by Li Wensheng’s audacity.

“Captain, if the director finds out we copied reports, that’s a serious offense.”

Bai Yan was anxious. In other departments, copying a report wasn’t a big deal, but in the Bureau, it was strictly forbidden. After every important mission, everyone had to submit their own report to prevent false claims of merit. The Bureau would cross-reference every report, and any inconsistencies would be thoroughly investigated.

“Don’t worry. When we hand in the reports tomorrow, I’ll tell the director myself. Just give me yours.”

Before, Li Wensheng would have written his report honestly, even knowing he was distantly related to the old man. After all, he was under Dai Yunong’s command and had to give him some respect.

But now, knowing Dai Yunong had sent him on a dangerous task, he saw no reason to be polite. Copying a report was nothing—if he weren’t worried about it being too blatant, he might not write one at all.

Bai Yan hesitated, then went back to her room and handed him her report.

“Captain, be careful. If the director loses his temper, he won’t go easy on us just because we’ve recently performed well,” she cautioned.

“Don’t worry,” Li Wensheng replied, taking the report and heading back to copy it.

The next morning, just after seven, Li Wensheng and his group returned to the Bureau.

This time, the guards at the entrance didn’t check their papers—the drama from yesterday ensured they recognized the group.

Upon reaching the floor of Dai Yunong’s office, even before Li Wensheng spoke, the secretary said, “The boss instructed me that as soon as you arrived, you should go to the General Affairs Section to collect your uniforms and new credentials. I’ve already informed them; just give your names and they’ll issue everything.”

Li Wensheng nodded and led Shi Xiaozhen and the others downstairs to another building, finding the General Affairs Section on the third floor.

They received their new uniforms, credentials, and freshly issued sidearms.

Their uniforms bore no rank insignia yet; those would be awarded at the commendation ceremony. However, their new credentials already listed their updated ranks.

“Captain, Team Leader—I’m a captain now!” the gun enthusiast exclaimed in excitement.

Li Wensheng opened his own credentials:

Name: Li Wensheng
Rank: Army Major
Position: Chief, Counter-Espionage Division, Second Department, Bureau

“I’ve finally made it to the middle ranks,” Li Wensheng murmured with a gentle smile.

Junior officers were everywhere—as long as you graduated from the military academy or training camp, you’d emerge as a second lieutenant or first lieutenant. But field officers were far rarer; merit was less important than connections. Without someone backing you, you could be stuck as a junior officer for life.

A major was already considered mid-level, eligible to command a battalion.

After finding an empty room and changing into their uniforms, the group headed to Dai Yunong’s office.

By then, Dai Yunong had arrived. The secretary announced them, and they were ushered in.

As soon as they entered, everyone handed over their mission reports. Li Wensheng, as he presented his, said, “Director, I spent yesterday contemplating the new assignment and was delayed in writing my report. Since Bai Yan and I were together throughout the mission, I took the liberty of copying her report.”

Shi Xiaozhen and the others were shocked—Bai Yan hadn’t told them that Li Wensheng had copied her report.

Dai Yunong’s brow twitched, but he smiled. “It’s fine. Since you were together during the mission, copying the report is acceptable.”

The group, including Bai Yan, was stunned.

To copy a report and openly admit it—that was a slap in Dai Yunong’s face. Yet it was allowed!

Though his pride was bruised, Dai Yunong dared not show his anger. He understood that Li Wensheng, by saying he’d been thinking about the new assignment, was really expressing his displeasure at being sent on such a task. If he lost his temper, Li Wensheng might just go complain to the old man.

That was something Dai Yunong wanted to avoid.

Swallowing his irritation, Dai Yunong cheerfully called in his secretary to take Li Wensheng’s group to the auditorium and prepare for the commendation ceremony.