NIS Agents Tearing Up the Japanese Empire - Chapter 29



Only Krnovel

Era of emotion – 1

There were so many people flocking to work under me that I couldn’t even bring them all into the house.

My heart swelled with pride as I looked at the crowds that filled the garden, which I had thought was too large for a single person to live in.

But soon, I felt dizzy as I thought about having to interview them one by one and sort out the useful gems from the flies who came with ulterior motives.

‘If I keep looking at them one by one, I’ll end up dying here.’

Of course, there was nothing I couldn’t do if I focused and invested a week or so, but it was a waste to invest a week in something like this.

Now, it was a situation where saving time would be more helpful than spending some money.

But, you go through and categorize each applicant and ultimately choose the person who will work with you?

This is an unnecessary waste of time.

‘I thought the provisional government would at least filter it out once.’

It seems that the provisional government was also out of its mind due to internal political issues.

While I was racking my brain with all sorts of thoughts, the applicants were getting excited as if they were on an outing, and laughter erupted from all over the place.

“So this is where the famous Gyeongseong ghost lives? Kiya… How cool!”

“The Ghost of Gyeongseong? What is that?”

“What? You don’t know the ghost of Gyeongseong?!”

“Oh my god… Sanghoon, have you been stuck in the countryside for the past few years?”

“······?”

“You don’t know the ghost of Gyeongseong who blew up Jongno Police Station, cut off the police chief’s hand, and chilled the police officers’ hearts? Really? Really?”

Even a young kid who looked like he had just graduated from middle school was excitedly chatting away because he knew I was the ghost of Gyeongseong.

How far has my information spread?

No, I wondered if there was anyone in Shanghai who didn’t know who I was.

‘······Thank goodness I have a mask.’

Without this, my actions would have been considerably restricted.

Since I arrived in Shanghai, information about me has been spreading rapidly.

At first, it was just abstract information like someone had come from Gyeongseong, but within a few days, the rumor changed to the idea that the ghost of Gyeongseong had come to Shanghai and was preparing a new operation.

‘Is someone deliberately leaking my information?’

I’ve heard that there are no secrets in Shanghai, but I didn’t know that rumors would spread this quickly.

It wasn’t just a rumor about me spreading among other rumors, but a rumor that was specifically related to me was spreading among them.

‘A spy within the provisional government?’

The Government-General of Korea distributed spies throughout Shanghai to monitor the provisional government and its key personnel.

They cleverly exploited the difficult financial circumstances of the independence activists and made them an offer they found difficult to refuse.

As the old saying goes, “There is no one who goes hungry for three days without climbing over the fence of his neighbor’s house,” hunger can cloud even the strongest spirit, and there were more than a few who, after helping the work of the Governor-General once or twice, abandoned their fellow countrymen and turned to spying, falling into self-justification.

‘In this area of ​​counterintelligence, the provisional government cannot keep up with the Japanese government.’

The current Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea was nothing more than a facade.

Until a few years ago, when they had received a certain amount of funds through the transportation bureau and the joint communication system, other independence movement groups at least pretended to respect the provisional government, but when the provisional government’s funding dried up, they all turned their backs and went about trying to survive on their own.

On the one hand, people started to ask if such a provisional government was really necessary, and to go to the extreme, the government was divided into the creative faction, which said that even a rag is a rag after washing it, and wanted to destroy everything and change the government to a conference format, the reform faction, which shouted, “We can’t live like this! Let’s change it!”, and the remaining faction, which shouted that changing it would be useless.

With Kim Won-bong of Uiyoldan also interfering and causing a commotion, the meeting could not proceed properly.

In a situation where Japanese surveillance was becoming more intense day by day, internal divisions arose and fighting broke out among themselves, so spies became more active.

Even among the people sent by the provisional government, three or four people whose behavior was suspicious stood out.

‘You’re saying that I’m a spy so openly.’

I was wondering how to spot the spy, so I was glad that he showed up on his own.

I used to say that it was an interview and talk a little bit in front of people, and then I would give a small amount of interview money to people who came to me with various excuses to say they wanted to work with me, and then I would send them away.

“No… Is it okay to accept something like this?”

“You gave me your precious time, so I should compensate you accordingly.”

“As expected! This teacher is said to have a big distribution, and it’s true to the rumors!”

“Teacher Lee! Teacher Lee! Teacher Lee!”

It may seem like my back would break if I were to give this many people money, but if I think of it as an investment in catching rats, it’s a cheap business.

It’s not that I’m rotten with money and giving it to all these people.

That’s because it’s all necessary.

To the independence activists gathered in Shanghai, my past actions had not been revealed, and only my actions of causing a stir in Gyeongseong had been revealed.

Since I didn’t even reveal my name and just went around with this teacher, it was inevitable that they would look at me with suspicion.

Crisp cash is what prevents such uncomfortable situations in advance.

Who would doubt someone who readily donates a large sum of money when their children and family are starving and sick right now?

By infiltrating them little by little like this, he slowly… very slowly took control of the independence movement forces.

That’s my first goal in Shanghai.

There, the guys who had been acting suspiciously a little while ago were looking at me with increasingly heated gazes, holding the envelope containing the interview fee in their hands.

******

After a while, darkness fell over Shanghai.

Today, Shanghai, unlike its usual sleepless appearance, was so dark with clouds that not a single ray of moonlight could be seen.

It’s late at night and the streets are deserted.

A group of people with their faces covered by masks gathered in front of the teacher’s house.

“What about the gun?”

At the words of the one who appeared to be the leader, each of the masked men pulled out a pistol and showed it before their eyes.

“What about the tools?”

This time, I took out some heavy tools from the bundle I brought.

The leader of the masked group, who had checked his equipment, took a deep breath to calm his pounding heart and spoke to the others.

“Do you all remember that Sasaki from the embassy said that if we handle this matter well, he’ll give us a big piece of the action?”

“Brother, this morning I saw that this teacher’s house seemed to have a lot of wealth···.”

The masked captain chuckled at his subordinate’s words.

“Of course I should take care of it! Today is the day I’ll make a big deal out of it, leave this damn Shanghai, and live proudly in Gyeongseong.”

“They say the skin of the women in Gyeongseong is so white and beautiful···. Hehe···.”

“If I succeed this time, I’ll be able to hang out with those girls and choose what I like to eat every day.”

“Hehehe···.”

The masked leader lightly lightened the mood and then pulled back on the tension.

“Now, as you all probably heard from Sasaki, this teacher is quite the martial arts expert. So, everyone, don’t let your guard down, and when you see him, don’t hesitate and pull the trigger.”

“What if the French police come?”

“Idiot! Have you ever seen the police in the concession area roaming around the outskirts on a dark night like this?”

“I haven’t seen it.”

“So you can just shoot without worrying about anything!”

But despite the captain’s boasts, the masked men still could not shake off their fear.

“Well, if anything goes wrong, someone from the police department will come out···.”

“That’s right! The police chief is looking at this teacher here with a burning eye, saying that he is a major supporter of the provisional government.”

“If I get caught by the police, I’ll come out dead, out of the hundreds of people….”

The masked men trembled as they recalled Chief of Police Kim Gu, who had shown no mercy to spies.

However, the masked leader urged his subordinates to come to their senses.

“You idiots… Do you think the police department has eyes all over Shanghai? They’re people too! And haven’t you heard that these days, they don’t have enough money to even shoot properly?”

“Oh, really?”

“Okay, Imma! So don’t be so scared.”

At the captain’s words, the masked men regained their energy and quietly rose from their seats.

“Sangwoo and Jaehwang will take the kids and go over the wall over there, and Hyeonbae and I will go in through the main gate.”

“yep···!”

The masked men carefully climbed over the ladder to the fence, opened the gate, and entered the house.

Even though this teacher lives in such a big house, he doesn’t even have a single guard dog, which everyone raises.

So everyone crossed the garden carefully and entered the house without much worry.

“Brother, it’s too dark in the house?”

“That’s right.”

Because all the lights in the house were turned off on a dark night without any moonlight, this teacher’s room was pitch black.

Because he was wearing a mask to cover his face, his field of vision was limited and it was difficult to see even an inch ahead.

Man feared what he did not know.

The teacher’s house, where they couldn’t see even an inch ahead of them, brought out the fears that were buried deep in their hearts due to materialism and started to pound their hearts hard.

“Hey, somebody, turn on the flashlight.”

“yes···!”

The masked men rummaged through their luggage and turned on their flashlights.

Then, the teacher’s house became a little brighter, and the expressions of the masked people also became brighter.

“Whew… Just follow Hyunbae and Sangwoo, and the rest of you, go look for anything useful on the first floor.”

“yes.”

The masked leader grabbed his pistol with both hands and cautiously climbed the stairs.

This morning, I had climbed the stairs without much thought, but on a late night when there was not a single insect around, the creaking sound of the stairs was as loud as the horn of a ship entering port.

The captain was climbing the stairs, anxious that the teacher might wake up.

A faint outline was visible in the darkness.

“What good is it to enter someone else’s house without the owner’s permission?”

“?!”

-bang!

Suddenly, a spark appeared in the darkness, and the masked captain’s body collapsed and rolled down the stairs.

Then, those who were following behind also gathered together and fell down the stairs together.

“It’s him! There’s a guy on the second floor···.”

“fizzle.”

The masked man who had fallen down the stairs belatedly tried to scream at the others, but soon a small hole appeared on his head.

“Damn it… He’s on the stairs!”

“There’s an 80,000 won bill on the stairs! Move quickly!”

The masked men headed towards the stairs, shining their flashlights, but all they found there were the cold, bleeding corpses of their comrades.

“······.”

“······.”

******

They were amateurs among amateurs.

I waited for them, but they kept chattering and babbling in front of my target, so I tried to move as quietly as possible, but my footsteps were making as much noise as possible, and I even turned on my flashlight because I couldn’t see ahead.

You don’t seem to realize that turning on a flashlight in the dark of night is no different than saying, “I’m here, so shoot me quickly.”

‘It seems like the Governor-General is also quite angry.’

The Governor-General of Joseon must have been quite angry to send such fools to me.

Even though he had already been hit once, he didn’t turn off the flashlight and he didn’t seem to know how to hold a gun properly as he walked up the stairs with his arms stretched out in front of him.

‘By the sound of footsteps, there are two… no, three.’

I hid on the steps of the stairs, guessing where they were coming from, and waited for them to come up.

And when the bastard’s arm appeared beyond the wall, he grabbed it and twisted his whole body, slamming the bastard’s torso into the ground and shot the bastard who was following him.

-Tang tang tang.

The masked man, who was shot three times with a pistol at close range, collapsed with a gasping sound from his mouth as if the bullet had grazed his lungs.

The masked man who was following behind quickly jumped up and pulled the trigger wildly.

“Die! Die! Die···”

“Okay, wait a minute… Can!”

The opponent must have been very excited because he pulled the trigger without even aiming properly.

I lifted the masked man who had been lying on the ground a moment ago like a shield and pushed him with my whole body.

Then, the masked man’s center of gravity collapsed, unable to support the weight of the two people, and he rolled down.

“Eww!”

-Kudangtangtang!

The two masked men waiting on the first floor were startled by the sudden commotion and pointed their guns at them, but unfortunately for them, my hands were a little faster.

-Tang tang.

“Huh!”

“evil!”

I placed one foot exactly on each of their knees, then stood up and grabbed both of their hair and slammed them into the wall.

-thud.

The wall flinched for a moment, and then the two passed out with their eyes rolled back.

“Whew.”

I took a quick breath and looked back, and saw a masked man trembling with a gun in his hand.

Mine was empty because I had used up all the bullets a little while ago.

“Hey, don’t move!”

“······.”

“Throw away, throw away, throw away your weapon!”

I threw the gun on the floor without saying a word.

Then his gaze turned to my gun.

I kicked the pistol off the floor and pushed it towards the masked man’s feet.

While the bastard was looking away, I pulled out a heavy book from the bookshelf and threw it at him, causing the book to fly heavily and hit the bastard in the head.

“Ouch!”

The guy must have been tired because he fell backwards and lay down on the floor.