vncnus Chapter 9 has such a powerful presence!
Chapter 9 has such a powerful presence!
Half an hour later, the dance ended.
Yu Manli suddenly turned her head, her voice as soft as a feather: "Zhou Xiao, in the future... can we dance together again?"
He smiled and said, "As long as there's an opportunity, there will always be one."
Everyone gradually returned to their dormitories to rest.
It's exactly 1 a.m.
Beep—beep—beep—beep—
A piercing whistle tore through the silence.
The figure on the bed sprang up instantly.
Zhou Xiao sat up abruptly, put on his military uniform in three seconds, and casually nudged the person on the next bed: "Mingtai, assemble! Quickly!"
Mingtai rubbed his eyes and sat up straight, still sleepy but already reaching for his belt.
Five minutes later, all the trainees lined up in the center of the playground.
Wang Tianfeng and Guo Qiyun stood side by side, glancing at their watches as their eyes swept over the still weary faces: "Everyone, blindfold yourself! Get in the car!"
Blindfolded?
Get on the bus?
Where is it being pulled?
Mingtai leaned closer and whispered, "Zhou Xiao, what's going on?"
Zhou Xiao shook his head: "We haven't revealed our true colors yet."
The military police handed out black cloth strips to each person, tightened them, and tied them securely. Suddenly, everything went black; they couldn't even see their fingertips.
The group was then led onto a military truck.
Rumble— Rumble—
The carriage shuddered as it drove into the mountain road, the wheels rolling over gravel, the carriage swaying from side to side, people pressed together, no one speaking.
About thirty minutes later, the engine stopped. The car door swung open, and everyone was led into an old gray-brick house.
"Untie the cloth strips."
As soon as Wang Tianfeng finished speaking, a dozen hands simultaneously ripped off the blindfolds.
Zhou Xiao squinted and looked around—
The room was small, with a few green lamps hanging dimly, casting a pale glow, and the walls were peeling. A huge portrait hung high in the main hall, below which stood a man: sunglasses, a trench coat, and a slender figure—Zheng Yaoxian, the sixth brother of the Military Intelligence Bureau.
Zhou Xiao's heart skipped a beat: he had actually run into them here.
"Sixth Brother." Wang Tianfeng stepped forward and stood with his hands at his sides.
Zheng Yaoxian simply nodded: "Begin."
Guo Qiyun sternly ordered, "Everyone—bow!"
Zhou Xiao, Mingtai, Yu Manli and more than ten others bent over in unison, their backs taut in a straight line.
"Swear an oath!"
Guo Qiyun led the recitation in a loud voice: "We swear to be loyal to the Three Principles of the People to the death, to follow the leader to the death, to be dutiful and fearless of death; if we break our oath, we are willing to accept the most severe punishment!"
Everyone spoke in unison, enunciating each word clearly.
After the ceremony, Guo Qiyun slaughtered a chicken on the spot, took its blood, poured it into a wine jar, and then distributed it to each person.
Wang Tianfeng raised his glass, the wine a dark red: "You are the new blood of the Military Intelligence Bureau. Today, we swear an oath of blood—this wine, once swallowed, is an ironclad vow. Anyone who betrays us will be executed without mercy, no matter where they are!"
"yes!"
A dozen or so rough porcelain bowls clinked together, and the blood wine was drunk in one gulp.
The scene was exactly like a martial arts guild initiation ceremony.
Mingtai lowered his voice and whispered in Zhou Xiao's ear, "This setup... it's like they're paying respects to a powerful figure? Sneaking into the old house in the middle of the night, not even letting them see the lights?"
Zhou Xiao's gaze was calm: "The stronger the sense of ritual, the more deeply it resonates with you. It makes you feel that this isn't a chore, but your own home."
"Hmm." Mingtai nodded. "It really does feel like a return to one's roots."
The Military Intelligence Bureau has always operated this way—darkness as their robe, oaths as their bond.
After all, it was originally an intelligence organization that had survived by the skin of its teeth, and it had a strong sense of chivalry in its bones.
As the ceremony drew to a close, Zheng Yaoxian finally spoke: "Everyone, this is Zheng Yaoxian."
The name is finalized, no further explanation needed.
"You are carefully selected talents. After tonight, you will be members of the Military Intelligence Bureau—from now on, you will face any danger for the sake of your country." He paused, "There's no need to say more, just remember these four words: the mission of the Party and the nation."
"yes!"
The response was like thunder, causing the paper windows to tremble slightly.
"All personnel, listen to my command—blindfold yourselves and return!" Guo Qiyun looked around. "What you saw and heard tonight, not a single word is to be revealed."
Just before getting into the car, Zhou Xiao looked up at Zheng Yaoxian.
The other person also turned their head slightly.
The two did not exchange a single word, but their eyes seemed to flash like a silent bolt of lightning.
Back in the dorm, Mingtai unbuttoned his collar and exclaimed, "First time meeting Sixth Brother, his aura is amazing! With sunglasses on and a trench coat swung around, he walks with such confidence!"
"Handsome?" Zhou Xiao buttoned the last button. "Do you know how many eyes are staring at the back of his head, just waiting for him to turn around?"
"The nickname 'Sixth Devil' is no joke—his hands are stained with the blood of Japanese soldiers."
Mingtai shrank back: "Stop, stop, I'd better just stick to being a lowly soldier."
Ten days have passed in the blink of an eye.
Zhou Xiao has already mastered 70% of the special training courses.
To be a top-notch spy, it's not enough to just be good at fighting, deception, and infiltration—you need to be able to play the piano, dance the waltz, hit a tennis ball, and control an equestrian, because spies don't have a fixed face, only identities that can be switched at any time.
In his final five days, he focused on intelligence analysis and execution.
This is the fundamental skill that spies rely on for their livelihood—no one knows if they will be sent deep into enemy territory tomorrow, using a secret telegram, a rendezvous, or a staged performance to save the lives of hundreds or thousands of people.
Zhou Xiao, from the very beginning, had his sights set on that location: to infiltrate the tiger's den and lie in wait in silence.
The instructor for this training session was Zheng Hao, a veteran from Northeast China who had worked on the covert front for over a decade.
Zheng Hao didn't bring any lecture notes; he just tapped the blackboard with a pencil, his voice low but each word impactful: "There are only two paths to intelligence gathering—go in and pry it out."
"To truly infiltrate someone's life is to become that person. Everything from your clothing and speech to your smoking, drinking tea, and even the way you walk and swing your arms must be perfectly in sync, leaving no room for error. The most important thing is to make the other person see you as one of their own, trust you, rely on you, and even become dependent on you—that's what true infiltration is all about."
"Prying someone out is even more dangerous. One wrong step and the whole line will be broken silently. The person must be thoroughly investigated, their background must be thoroughly examined to ensure that nothing goes wrong. The common methods are nothing more than three: grasping their weakness, putting money in their pocket, and offering them a beautiful woman. But it is by no means a random attack—you must first find the crack in the other person's heart, and then drive the nail in. Sometimes you have to use several methods in succession. If you are really driven to the brink, drugging is also one of the means."
"When I was infiltrating Manchuria in my early years, I used a potent sedative powder. One whiff of it would render the target weak and helpless, and I could immediately find a top-secret deployment map of the Japanese military police. As for female trainees... beauty is a powerful weapon. I once mentored a young woman who specifically targeted high-ranking enemy officials. She became more familiar with them than their wives. After a few banquets, she had them hooked up with her and pulled out a lot of valuables from their briefcases, under their pillows, and even in the lining of their cigarette cases. So, don't just memorize textbooks; learn to turn your strengths into weapons."
The instructor spoke with absolute certainty, and Mingtai, Zhou Xiao, and the others in the audience felt their spines tighten and even their breathing became shallow.
Go inside? That's infiltration!
Zhou Xiao knew perfectly well—what he was about to plant was the heart of the Japanese intelligence network.
Although Zheng Yaoxian didn't say it explicitly, his eyes, his pause, and his almost imperceptible nod had already given the answer to the air.
In fifteen days, Zhou Xiao mastered all the courses at the Military Intelligence Bureau's Special Training School: codebreaking, coded language weaving, disguise and impersonation, secret writing and imaging, single-line communication, psychological warfare, poison preparation and application, explosive calculation, close combat, trace identification, telecommunications monitoring, weather interpretation... He excelled in everything.
He consistently ranked first in every final exam. Even the instructors shook their heads as they flipped through the report cards: "This isn't something a human could learn; it's like he was sculpted by a machine."
In addition to these hard skills, he also practiced waltz, piano improvisation, boxing, drinking etiquette, and social observation—he was practically a walking secret agent's toolbox.
In fifteen days, it was truly mastered.
In the director's office, Guo Qiyun spread the case file on the table and exclaimed in amazement, "Director, Zhou Xiao is truly an anomaly! In just half a month, he's digested and absorbed three months' worth of lessons, achieving top marks in every subject!"
Wang Tianfeng stroked his pen for a long time before sighing, "No wonder Sixth Brother personally requested him. He's a natural-born agent—others study to be secret agents, but he's born to be one."
Typical crash courses dedicate three months to mastering only one subject: either telecommunications, intensive operational training, or relentless intelligence analysis.
But Zhou Xiao mastered all eighteen major and seven minor disciplines in fifteen days.
Even Wang Tianfeng admired his ruthlessness.
He looked up at Guo Qiyun and said, "Qiyun, call Zhou Xiao over here."
"Yes!" Guo Qiyun turned and left.
A few minutes later, Zhou Xiao pushed the door open and entered.
"You're here?" Wang Tianfeng sat up straight on the sofa and gestured, "Sit down."
Zhou Xiao was uninhibited, taking a seat decisively and getting straight to the point: "Director Wang, is there something you need?"
"It's been half a month." Wang Tianfeng said calmly, "All courses are finished, and all grades are A. You can leave school now—pack your things and head down the mountain first thing tomorrow morning."
He paused, then took out a copy of a telegram from the drawer: "This was just sent by Sixth Brother. He wants you to go straight to Shancheng after leaving school and report to him."
"Okay." Zhou Xiao nodded, his expression calm. He knew that this graduation certificate was just the beginning.
A sharp knife can be forged in fifteen days, but it has never been sharpened or stained with blood, so it is not yet a real weapon.
Since Zheng Yaoxian had brought him into the school, he naturally wouldn't just let him show off his skills—he had to teach him the survival skills that couldn't be learned in military academy, step by step.
Wang Tianfeng stared at him for a few seconds, then suddenly smiled: "Zhou Xiao, you are the most outstanding prospect I have seen in all my years in the Military Intelligence Bureau. Steadfast, quick-witted, accurate, and tight-lipped—the country needs young people like you."
"Thank you, Director Xie." Zhou Xiao lowered his eyes and said in a low voice, "I will do what I'm supposed to do to the end."
"Alright, go ahead." Wang Tianfeng waved his hand. "Pack your bags and get ready to leave."
He originally wanted to keep the person in his team, but since Zheng Yaoxian had chosen them first, it would be inappropriate to speak up again.
Zhou Xiao stood up and took his leave.
Back in the dorm, Mingtai was leaning against the edge of the bed, watching him fold his military uniform: "Graduated?"
"Um."
"Will we ever run into each other again?" Mingtai rarely put away his nonchalant attitude, and his eyes became serious. This rich young master, who even dared to talk back to Wang Tianfeng, was completely convinced by Zhou Xiao.
Zhou Xiao looked up at him and simply said, "Yes."
According to the rules, Mingtai will return to Shanghai to go undercover after graduation—two cities, one line, they will overlap sooner or later.