NIS Agents Tearing Up the Japanese Empire - Chapter 83



Only Krnovel

Thief (4)

Shanghai covered in darkness.

A gentleman dressed in black from head to toe appeared on a deserted street.

He stopped in front of a mansion, looking around anxiously as if he was being chased by someone.

Then he glanced around once more and quickly entered the mansion.

“Whey… … .”

“I asked who it was, and it was Inspector Sasaki.”

Inspector Sasaki of the Higher Division of the Japanese Consulate General in Shanghai said a word while taking off his fedora, which was pulled down low.

“Tsk… … . Some people are having a hard time keeping track of their direct descendants, but everyone else is having a hard time.”

“Haha, we were busy too.”

“You’re busy?”

Sasaki glanced around the mansion.

Then, one by one, the people who had been lying around in various places in the mansion began to reveal themselves, sticking their heads out.

Among them were members of the Black Dragon Society who had been captured last time.

“Why are they still here?”

“This teacher hasn’t said anything yet, so there’s no point in killing him, so I’ll just take him with me for now.”

Sasaki laughed at Na Seok-ju’s words.

“Huh, you’re saying that the teacher just left it alone because he didn’t say anything? Is that what you call talking?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“If by any chance they cause trouble… … .”

“What’s the fuss?”

Na Seok-ju turned his head and looked at them.

Then, the Black Dragon Society members whose eyes met immediately banged their heads on the floor and did dogeza.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!”

“I apologize for allowing a guy like me to breathe in the same room as the great ones!”

“Please, at least spare my life… … .”

Then he turned his head again and shrugged his shoulders.

“It looks like the teacher took special care of it.”

“… … .”

Sasaki was speechless as he looked at the former Black Dragon ronin who were trembling and doing nothing.

The thought that if he had rejected the bond of being a teacher, he might have ended up like them made his whole body tremble.

“So what’s the matter with you today? Weren’t we supposed to each do our own thing unless we had a set task before the teacher came back?”

“That’s right, but there was a bit of a problem.”

“What’s the problem?”

Sasaki glanced around as if it were his habit, then opened his mouth cautiously.

“It seems like Chao Kun is really upset.”

“Chao Kun? Isn’t he the leader of the Zhili clique? So what does his anger have to do with us?”

“Not long ago, we stole all that guy’s campaign funds and ran off with them.”

“Oh, that’s right.”

Na Seok-ju recalled that not long ago, he had attacked the convoy transporting Chao Kun’s election funds under the orders of this teacher.

The raid was a success, and Sasaki and his comrades annihilated Chao Kun’s soldiers without causing any casualties. After that, they pretended that it was a group of bandits who did it, just in case they were caught.

“Wasn’t that the end?”

“I thought so too, but I guess not.”

Sasaki took out a slightly faded photograph from his pocket.

There was a picture of a truck entering the Japanese Consulate General in Shanghai.

“It’s a truck.”

“This is a picture of the truck I was driving.”

“Who took this picture?”

“It looks like it was taken by a Chinese person who was hanging out in front of the consulate every day.”

“Oh, you should have been careful.”

“I was careful! But this isn’t something that happens when you’re not careful! This crazy guy takes pictures of everyone who comes and goes in and out of the consulate!”

“Why are there people like that?”

“The Chinese are trying to spy on us too!”

Sasaki threw the photo on the floor.

“Do you know how many people loiter in front of the consulate every day? These crazy Chinese bastards even hire foreigners to spy on the consulate!”

“Then… … did Chaokun smell it?”

“I don’t know, but I have my suspicions.”

As Sasaki said that, he took out a piece of paper this time.

At the top of the document was the mark of the Beiyang Government of the Republic of China, and just below that were the words “Request for Cooperation in Investigation of Reference Persons.”

“What is this?”

“The Beijing guys said they would investigate me.”

“This is a big problem.”

“It’s a big deal, but it’s okay for now.”

Sasaki tore the document in half.

“We have decided to crush this demand on our side.”

“Yes? Did your consul decide?”

“No, I decided.”

“… … ?”

Na Seok-ju was speechless for a moment.

After taking a moment to collect my thoughts, I asked carefully.

“Is that okay?”

“Will it work? Of course not.”

“… … ???”

“Don’t look at me like that.”

Na Seok-ju hesitated for a moment, not knowing whether he should get angry or feel depressed.

But in this situation, nothing would change anyway, so now I had to somehow resolve the situation.

“How much time do I have left?”

“It’s not that urgent yet. After all, we only embezzled the election funds sent by Shandong King Tian Zhongwei to Cao Kun.”

Cao Kun had been collecting money from his factions in various places to use for his presidential election campaign.

Among the things they embezzled were election funds sent by Tian Zhongwei, who ruled the Shandong Peninsula.

There was money that Cao Kun received for helping France with its domestic affairs in China, so there would not be any immediate problems, and with the presidential election just around the corner, he would not want to cause any trouble.

“Now is the time to gather the congressmen who went down south and throw money at them… … It will take three months at the shortest, or five months at the longest.”

“I guess I have some free time so far.”

“yes.”

In three to five months, Cao Kun will become president.

Of course, that doesn’t mean that much will change.

The Zhili clique was a power that held hegemony within China, but it was not a power that controlled all of China.

However, the problem is that they are now in Shanghai, within the sphere of influence of the direct warlords.

“I guess I should contact this teacher first.”

“Please do it as soon as possible.”

“Yes, in the meantime, I would like you to keep an eye on the movements of the Zhiyi Clan.”

“Don’t worry about that, if they do anything I’ll come running like the wind and let you know.”

As Sasaki said that, he handed Na Seok-ju a small note.

“And this is the list of spies newly delivered to the consulate this month.”

“Thank you again and again.”

“Thank you… … . I also do this to eat and live.”

Leaving behind only a list of spies, Inspector Sasaki, the spy of the provisional government, disappeared back into the darkness of Shanghai.

For someone who once tried harder than anyone else to destroy the provisional government, his steps were quite brisk and he even looked happy.

“Shall I attach the tail?”

“That’s right.”

But Na Seok-ju did not let his guard down.

Even if he cooperates with them, Sasaki is still Japanese.

In a situation where it was difficult to trust even fellow Koreans, it was even more difficult to trust the Japanese, who could be considered the enemy.

“Looking at the way things are going, I might have to leave here soon.”

“Did you talk to this teacher?”

Na Seok-ju shook his head.

“You’re such an elusive person. Other than the last time you said you were going to Gyeongseong, I have no idea where you are or what you’re doing.”

“Oh my… … !”

“So, for now, we need to protect this mansion, but if necessary, we need to think about escaping from here.”

“All right.”

“When you leave Shanghai, throw away everything else and make sure to take with you any tangible items that can be converted into cash right away. Also, don’t forget to take the copperplate that this teacher told you to take with you.”

“I will do so.”

Na Seok-ju clicked his tongue as if he felt regret.

‘Wow… If only I had a little more time, I could have printed the dollar bill that this teacher wanted, which was close to perfection… ‘

During that time, everyone worked day and night, focusing on producing nearly perfect dollars.

It was truly regrettable that something like this happened when we had invested a lot of money and resources every day and achieved remarkable results here and there.

‘How do I contact this teacher… … .’

He said that he could handle everyday matters as the teacher had given him full authority, but it was difficult to handle such an important matter solely based on his judgment.

It wasn’t that I was afraid of being caught by this teacher later, I just didn’t know what to do because I didn’t have this kind of experience.

That’s why I had to contact this teacher… … When I actually tried to contact him, all I knew was that he was in Gyeongseong.

There was no way to contact him.

‘Should I go to the provisional government and ask them? If that’s the case, they should have at least one contact with this teacher, right?’

* * *

The conference room of the Chosun Ilbo.

A middle-aged man and a young man were seen in the midst of a work hell where paperwork was piled so high that it reached the ceiling.

While the middle-aged man was almost like a machine, checking the documents and stamping the approval or rejection stamps, the young man was staring intently at one document.

Eventually, Namgung Hoon, who was tired of this monotonous work, asked Kuroda, who was quietly looking at documents.

“What are you looking at like that?”

“It’s a catalog.”

“Catalog? Why would you do that in the middle of work… .”

“It has to do with work.”

What Kuroda is looking at is a list of trustworthy and tight-lipped people that Lee Wan-yong had selected from among those who were lounging around this morning because they had nothing to do right away.

To put it simply, you could say it’s a list of potential slaves.

Naturally, there were several names among them that Namgoong Hoon knew.

“Haha… … Everyone gathered here is a group of people who specialize in selling out the country and only looking out for their own interests.”

“I chose the real from the real.”

“What are you going to do with these people?”

“Um… … Should I call this a show-off greeting?”

If the Chosun Ilbo hired a large number of pro-Japanese people, people would naturally dislike it.

On the contrary, the Governor-General would be very pleased.

You might think that the Chosun Ilbo, which has been mercilessly slaughtering their weak lower abdomen with cowardly facts, has finally knelt before the Empire of Japan.

Then, various regulations and surveillance on the Chosun Ilbo will become even looser.

“That’s exactly what I’m aiming for.”

“Hmm… … That’s a good idea, but if that happens, wouldn’t there be spies from the Governor-General’s Office roaming around inside the Chosun Ilbo, causing security problems?”

“That is a very sharp observation.”

Of course, as Namgung Hoon said, the surveillance of the Government-General would be reduced, but there was also the possibility that internal security would be compromised by hiring them.

But who am I?

“We will introduce training for new employees at the Chosun Ilbo.”

“New employee training?”

“Yes, it’s training where we gather new employees together and briefly explain the work to them so they become familiar with it.”

“Hmm… … It’s some kind of vocational training.”

“Yes.”

Being a journalist is a very dangerous job that involves holding a pen and mercilessly tearing others apart.

So, isn’t it natural that separate training is needed to handle a pen?

“If possible, I would like to gather people in Gangwon-do, where the air is good and the water is clean, and conduct the training in the form of a simple company outing.”

“hmm……!”

It seems that only then did Namgoong Hoon understand what I meant.

“… … Do people die during training?”

“Haha, that won’t happen.”

I won’t die.

However, there was a side effect of the person changing a little.

“After completing the training, everyone will become a talent optimized for the Chosun Ilbo.”

“… … .”

President Nam Goong Hoon stamped his seal without saying a word.

NIS Agent Tears the Japanese Empire Episode 84