Agent: Intercepting Yu Manli at the start!

Chapter 148 Indeed, he possesses extraordinary bearing!

Junko Muto greeted him in Japanese with grace and poise: "Hello, Mr. Fujita, I'm Junko, nice to meet you."

Fujita Yoshimasa looked her up and down, then laughed loudly, "I remember the last time I saw Miss Junko, she was just a little girl with pigtails. In the blink of an eye, she's grown into such a beautiful and graceful young lady—hahaha!"

Muto Yoshio: "Hahaha, time flies so fast!"

The two were close friends, which is why Fujita Yoshimasa specially invited Muto Yoshio to the dinner party this time.

On the other side, Wang Fuzhao was leading Minglou, introducing him one by one to the high-ranking officials of the Japanese puppet regime.

"Minglou, this is Mr. Sun Liwei, Vice Minister of Finance."

"This is my prized student, Minglou, a prominent figure at the Paris Stock Exchange. He became an economic advisor as soon as he returned to China."

"Minglou, this is Mr. Yang Gang, the newly appointed vice mayor."

"Minglou, this is Lin Zhenxing, the Director of the Economic Affairs Department, who will be your immediate superior from now on."

Wang Fuzhao was a staunch traitor, and the people he introduced were all naturally labeled as traitors.

However, Minglou did not refuse – the more people he got to know, the more intelligence channels he would have.

Zhou Xiao stood a little distance away, calmly observing Ming Lou and Ming Cheng, while silently planning their actions for the evening.

As Lan Yanzhi had previously stated, this banquet was nothing more than a gathering of traitors and their Japanese masters.

If the timing is right, eliminating a traitor and a Japanese soldier would be a clean and efficient outcome.

In any case, the fewer traitors there are, the less harm the people will suffer.

Just then, Zhou Xiao heard a system notification: "Ding—A sign-in task has been issued: Once the host has officially met Mutou Junko, the task is considered complete and a random reward can be claimed."

Do you know Junko Muto?

What kind of task is this?

It was incredibly easy.

Today, Zhou Xiao is already a well-known figure in Shanghai.

He quickly scanned the entire room, searching for that familiar figure.

After exchanging pleasantries with Ming Lou, Wang Fuzhao turned her gaze to Zhou Xiao and said, "Ming Lou, let me introduce you to the most outstanding person in the intelligence system."

Before he finished speaking, the two men had already walked towards Zhou Xiao.

"Director Zhou, I've long admired your name." Wang Fuzhao smiled and nodded to Zhou Xiao, "You've done a lot for the 'stability and prosperity' of Shanghai."

Zhou Xiao certainly recognized Wang Fuzhao—she was on par with Li Moqun and was one of the actual founders of the No. 76 Special Agent Headquarters.

"It's just my job, nothing to brag about," Zhou Xiao replied calmly. "Compared to Mr. Wang's strategic planning skills, I'm still far behind."

Wang Fuzhao then introduced, "Minglou, this is the Director of the Intelligence Department of the Special Operations Headquarters, and a member of the Special Affairs Committee. He is highly regarded by Commander Fujita and the Special Higher Police."

Minglou raised his wine glass, gestured slightly to Zhou Xiao, and lightly clinked glasses: "Director Zhou, it's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Minglou."

"Hello, Mr. Ming," Zhou Xiao replied.

Indeed, he possesses an extraordinary demeanor.

His ability to remain hidden so deeply is due to both his strong network of connections and his composure, strategic vision, and gravitas.

The two merely nodded to each other, marking their first acquaintance.

Zhou Xiao knew all of Ming Lou's identities and backgrounds, but Ming Lou was completely unaware that the composed Director Zhou in front of him was his direct superior, codenamed "Pluto" within the organization.

Just as Minglou and Wang Fuzhao turned to leave, a clear and gentle voice came from behind them: "Hello."

Zhou Xiao turned to the side and saw a woman dressed in an elegant kimono standing there quietly, her eyes smiling, gentle and approachable.

Junko Muto!

This was the person the system had just specifically asked him to get to know.

Zhou Xiao was slightly taken aback: the mission had just popped up and the person had delivered themselves to his doorstep—could this luck truly be what they call "protagonist's luck"?

He had played many spy-themed games and was quite familiar with Junko Muto...

She is the only daughter of Consul General Muto Yoshio, a middle school history teacher, gentle in nature, kind-hearted, and genuinely yearning for peace.

"Hello," Zhou Xiao nodded in greeting.

Junko Muto smiled slightly, her demeanor both graceful and polite: "My name is Junko Muto, I'm from Japan, it's a pleasure to meet you."

"My name is Zhou Xiao. Miss Chunzi, your Chinese is very fluent."

It must be said that she is even more beautiful and charming in person than in the game.

However, Zhou Xiao is not a person who acts impulsively, and he would never lose his composure just because the other party is good-looking.

For secret agents, beauty is their most dangerous weakness.

He has always been good at striking the right balance, neither deliberately distancing himself nor being frivolous or overstepping boundaries.

He was not opposed to getting to know Junko Muto.

Junko Muto said softly, "I teach history and have been in China for a while, but this is my first time in Shanghai. You are the first friend I've met in this city."

The banquet was packed with guests, but for some reason, she noticed Zhou Xiao and took the initiative to approach him, just to say hello and chat for a bit.

"I am honored to have a friend like Chunzi," Zhou Xiao said sincerely.

Junko Muto's smile deepened: "Thank you."

The two exchanged names and a few pleasantries without engaging in any further conversation. She then politely took her leave and quietly departed.

At this moment, Lan Yanzhi strolled over, a slight smile playing on her lips: "Director Zhou is quite charming, even beauties are taking the initiative to come up and chat with him."

Why does that sound a little awkward?

Zhou Xiao's forehead was slightly sweaty: "There's nothing charming about it, we just chatted for a bit."

Lan Yanzhi raised an eyebrow, her face full of disbelief.

Zhou Xiao just smiled and didn't argue further.

For secret agents, being too conspicuous is not necessarily a good thing—if someone is too eye-catching, they are easily remembered; and being remembered means risk.

As they were chatting, someone came over to tell him to go to a small conference room next to the banquet hall for a meeting.

Zhou Xiao pushed open the door and found that almost everyone in the room was a familiar face.

A small meeting room was set up on one side of the banquet hall. It was not big, just enough for about ten people to sit around, but it was enough for an important meeting.

He was the last to enter. Looking around, he saw that Chen Shen, Wang Manchun, Liang Zhongchun, Sakurada Kaoru, Ming Lou, Wang Fuzhao, Nantian Yangzi, Mutō Yoshio, Fujita Yoshimasa... were all already seated.

Clearly, this was an internal meeting specifically for cadres at the division level and above.

When Fujita Yoshimasa saw him enter, he smiled and raised his hand, saying, "Director Zhou, please have a seat. Let's have a brief meeting during the break in the banquet."

"Okay." Zhou Xiao chose an empty seat and sat down.

Everyone settled down.

Wang Fuzhao glanced around the room and said, "The main reason I invited everyone here today is to announce something—Mr. Wang is about to convene a 'Peace Conference'."

So that's what it was about.

Everything was indeed under Zhou Xiao's control.

"Mr. Wang convened this peace conference with the core intention of formally declaring and publicly announcing to the people of the whole country the birth of a puppet regime. Therefore, the identity of each representative invited to the conference was extremely important; and among them were many Japanese personnel."

"That's why we've gathered all sorts of forces here, including the Military Police, the Special Higher Police, the 76th Special Agent Headquarters, the Special Operations Headquarters, and the Shang Mansion. There's only one purpose: to coordinate and ensure the conference goes perfectly."

"This conference is of utmost importance and cannot afford the slightest mistake. We must be extremely vigilant and responsible."