Upon hearing this, Nojima Ichiro was overjoyed and quickly agreed before turning to leave.

Miura leaned closer and whispered to Ning Zhiheng, "Nojima is quite good. He'll be promoted soon after returning to Nanjing. Among his fellow townsmen in Kyoto, he's considered a capable fellow!"

Ning Zhiheng looked up at Nojima Ichiro, who had returned to his seat at the banquet, and nodded meaningfully.

Just then, Zhan Yuanliang entered the banquet hall. Looking around, he immediately spotted the VIP seats, where Nanjing's highest-ranking officials and dignitaries were sitting around with the three councilors, chatting and laughing, clearly in high spirits.

However, Zhan Yuanliang was not in a hurry to approach. He still needed to find a second target, the Japanese biochemical expert Ueno Keisuke, and if possible, he could also eliminate him along with him.

Fortunately, the hall was clearly divided into sections, with the Japanese and the Nanjing government's collaborators separated. The Japanese military officers and dignitaries were on the east side, while the Nanjing government officials were on the west side.

Zhan Yuanliang slowed his pace and walked along the east aisle toward the VIP seats. He was lucky; just as he was about to reach the VIP seats, he finally saw Ueno Keisuke, who held the rank of colonel in the Japanese Army, talking to the officer next to him.

Zhan Yuanliang secretly rejoiced that Shang Zhenyun's judgment was correct; this person had indeed come to the banquet, and they would take advantage of the opportunity to settle things today.

He had already arrived near the VIP seating area. On the long table next to the VIP seating area, there was a variety of fruits and drinks, including sake, rice wine, and red wine. He only needed to place the two bottles of sake in his hand on that long table, and the rest would be out of his control.

However, his attire still attracted the attention of others. The banquet hall was filled with either richly dressed dignitaries or waiters and security personnel in uniform. Only Zhan Yuanliang was dressed in casual clothes because he was going to the kitchen to cook.

As soon as he approached, he was noticed by the security personnel who had been guarding the VIP seats.

Araki Tetsuya, the liaison officer behind Uehara Junpei, stepped forward and stopped Zhan Yuanliang, looking at him warily.

As the highest-ranking person in charge of the intelligence department of the Japanese Expeditionary Army, how could Uehara Junpei's liaison officer be mediocre? Araki Tetsuya was an elite handpicked by Uehara Junpei from among his many subordinates. He was not only Uehara Junpei's confidant, but also an excellent intelligence officer who was meticulous and conscientious in his work and almost never made a mistake.

At this moment, Araki Tetsuya looked at Zhan Yuanliang, scrutinized him carefully, and asked, "Who are you?"

Zhan Yuanliang's heart skipped a beat, and he thought to himself that something was wrong. He hadn't expected the Japanese to be so meticulous in their security measures for these high-ranking officials. Even in the banquet hall, there were security personnel protecting them, and he couldn't get close to them at all.

He raised the sake bottle in his hand, his face showing no sign of anything unusual, and calmly replied, "I am a staff member of the consulate, responsible for serving sake to our guests."

"Chinese?" Araki Tetsuya frowned immediately. Although Zhan Yuanliang's Japanese was fluent, it sounded a bit awkward. Araki Tetsuya immediately sensed something was wrong; the other person didn't seem Japanese.

Because this banquet was attended by extremely important dignitaries, security was of paramount importance. The Japanese side specifically emphasized that the security for the banquet must be handled by the Japanese military, and even the service personnel must be Japanese. Now that it has been discovered that Zhan Yuanliang is Chinese, Araki Tetsuya immediately became alert.

At this moment, Consul General Hori Koichi, who was still in the VIP section, also noticed the commotion. When he saw Zhan Yuanliang there, he was taken aback and got up to walk over. He asked with some surprise, "Mr. Zhan, weren't you helping out in the kitchen?"

Hearing Hori Kazutsugu say this, knowing that he knew the person in front of him, Araki Tetsuya relaxed his vigilance slightly, but still asked, "Consul, is this person really a staff member of the consulate?"

Hori Koichi, without any suspicion, immediately nodded in confirmation and said, "Yes, Araki-kun, this is Zhan Yuanliang, a clerk from our consulate."

After saying that, Hori Koichi turned to look at Zhan Yuanliang and asked in confusion, "Mr. Zhan, weren't you helping out in the kitchen? How did you end up in the banquet hall?"

Zhan Yuanliang quickly explained, "Just now, Xiaoshanjun and the others went to get the drinks because they said that some people in the banquet hall were short-staffed and couldn't handle the workload. I had just finished my work in the kitchen, so I helped them deliver the drinks."

Zhan Yuanliang dared not mention Vice Consul Uchida again, because Consul Uchida was sitting at a table next to him. He shifted the blame to the two waiters, thinking that Hori Koichi wouldn't be so careful as to verify his words at this time.

As expected, Hori Koichi was not a professional agent and did not doubt Zhan Yuanliang's words. Besides, although Zhan Yuanliang was Chinese, he had worked at the consulate for many years and had always performed well, thus gaining Hori Koichi's trust. So Hori Koichi nodded and instructed, "Mr. Zhan, the situation is special today, so you should not stay here. Put down the wine and go back to the kitchen to prepare some desserts. The guests will need some desserts when the banquet ends."

"I'll go right away!" Upon hearing this, Zhan Yuanliang quickly nodded in agreement and reached out to place the two bottles of sake he was carrying on the long table. As long as the sake was left behind, the operation would be half successful. As for how many people could be poisoned, that would depend on luck.

However, Araki Tetsuya was still not completely at ease. For some reason, he always felt that Zhan Yuanliang was a bit off. But because Zhan Yuanliang was a staff member of the consulate, and Consul General Hori Koichi had vouched for him, he couldn't press the matter further out of respect for Hori Koichi.

But since there were doubts, necessary defensive measures still needed to be taken, so he stopped Zhan Yuanliang again and said, "There is no shortage of drinks here. I will send someone to get them if needed."

Zhan Yuanliang's heart skipped a beat; the Japanese officer opposite him must have become suspicious of him.