Just as Huo Yueze had thought, Phillips had been very clear about Huo Yueze's background from the very beginning. These intelligence brokers were not simply arms dealers; they naturally had the support of interest groups. In particular, the explosion at the Fukuoka warehouse made Phillips immediately take this force seriously to a new level. He believed that Huo Yueze was qualified to become one of them.
Phillips continued, "Chen, become one of us, and you'll have access to more resources. We have a lot of things you need, how about it?"
Huo Yueze smiled slightly, extended his hand, and said with a smile, "Alright then, Phil, I accept your invitation."
"It's a pleasure to work together!" The two large hands clasped tightly together.
After the breakup, Huo Yueze immediately went to Tan's mansion and reported the matter to Ning Zhiheng: "Station Chief, this Phillips is willing to be our recommender to enter the intelligence network in Shanghai. I think this is a good opportunity."
Ning Zhiheng pondered for a moment and said leisurely, "We need to establish ourselves in Shanghai, so we must make contact with these people. You need to be careful and focus on contacting those who can provide us with intelligence on the Japanese."
Huo Yueze was taken aback, then quickly said, "I understand, I'll be careful."
Time finally marched into January 1938. Although the war had only ended three months earlier, a festive atmosphere had begun to emerge in the concessions, with pedestrians and vehicles bustling about the streets.
Hundreds of thousands of people suddenly flooded into the concession, and with enough activity, every household began to get busy, decorating with lanterns and colorful decorations. Shanghai quickly returned to its former prosperity.
A black sedan slowly merged into the street. In the back seat, Huo Yueze and a man in his thirties sat side by side.
Huo Yueze looked at the man beside him and couldn't help but exclaim in admiration, "I never expected that Director Zuo's makeup skills would be so superb. There's not a trace of it at all. Station Chief, if it weren't for your accent, I wouldn't have recognized you at all."
This man was naturally Ning Zhiheng in disguise. After Zuo Rou's skillful makeup, he became what he looks like now.
Ning Zhiheng subconsciously touched his face, quite satisfied. He smiled and said, "Director Zuo's abilities are not limited to this. With her help, things will be much easier for us. After all, one can never be too careful! Have you thoroughly investigated Anderson's background?"
Huo Yueze nodded and said, "I've found out. At yesterday's gathering, Phillips introduced me to this Anderson. He's British and has a trading company in the concession. His public identity is that of a businessman, so he definitely has a background with the British government. He's quite boastful, saying he has some intelligence on the Japanese. I suspect that this person must have intelligence sources within the Japanese."
Since attending the intelligence network's gathering yesterday, Huo Yueze quickly found an intelligence broker through Phillips' introduction who claimed to be able to provide them with information about the Japanese.
However, the information broker Anderson was asking for too much money, which made Huo Yueze hesitant to make a decision. In the end, he had to ask Ning Zhiheng to personally meet with Anderson.
“I’ve already spread the word at the party that we’ll buy any intelligence about the Japanese at a high price, but none of the others have responded yet. Only this Anderson has a source, but he’s asking for 10,000 pounds right off the bat—that’s outrageous!” Huo Yueze said softly.
"I'm not afraid of him asking for an exorbitant price, I'm just afraid he doesn't have the goods," Ning Zhiheng said calmly. He glanced at the crowded streets outside the window. "But to dare to claim to have the latest information on the Japanese Central China Army is no small matter. If it's true, I'll give him not just ten thousand pounds, but twenty or thirty thousand!"
"Yes, or perhaps my perspective is too narrow!" Huo Yueze quickly replied.
"When is the next gathering?" Ning Zhiheng asked.
Huo Yueze said, "The initial agreement was for ten days later. A Frenchman said that he would get important intelligence in ten days, so he postponed the meeting to ten days later in order to get a better price."
"We must keep up with the situation at all times. We must not let go of anything that is valuable to us. Don't worry about the price. For every extra dollar we spend here, we may be able to save the lives of a hundred or even a thousand soldiers on the front lines. Do you understand?" Ning Zhiheng carefully instructed. Now that we have an intelligence channel, we must make full use of it.
"Yes, Yueze understands!" Huo Yueze quickly nodded in agreement.
Half an hour later, Huo Yueze and Ning Zhiheng entered a detached villa one after the other.
Anderson stepped forward quickly. He was tall and had a full beard, and he seemed very enthusiastic. After shaking hands with Huo Yueze, he said, "Chen, welcome."
Then, looking at Ning Zhiheng next to Huo Yueze, Huo Yueze immediately began to introduce him: "This is my boss, Mr. Lin, who has come here specifically to visit Mr. Anderson."
"Mr. Lin, it's a pleasure to meet you." Anderson greeted him with a smile. He knew that the man in front of him was the real leader of this group, and Chen was just his representative.
Ning Zhiheng didn't say much, but nodded politely and shook hands with Anderson.
“I am also very honored, Mr. Anderson!” Ning Zhiheng said with a smile.
The three men entered the villa and sat down. Ning Zhiheng, not wanting to waste time, spoke first, asking, "Mr. Anderson, you told my assistant earlier that you had the latest movements of the Japanese Central China Army. Is that true?"
Anderson nodded and said with a smile, "That's right. I spoke with Mr. Chen before, and he was very interested in this information, but we had some disagreements about the price."
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