manynovel Chapter 69 Li Zhiyao's New Piggy Bank
Chapter 69 Li Zhiyao's New Piggy Bank
When Yan Shuo finished washing up and came out, a sumptuous meal was already laid out on the dining table: a plate of steamed fish with tender meat; a plate of braised beef with an enticing aroma; two refreshing side dishes; and a bottle of warm Shaoxing wine on the side.
After a long night of travel, he was starving, so he sat down and started eating.
Li Zhiyao sat to the side, poured him a cup of rice wine, and pushed it in front of him: "Eat slowly, no one will take it from you."
After Yan Shuo took a sip, she picked up the wine pot and refilled it, placing a piece of beef on his plate as she softly asked, "How's it going? Did you get the stuff?"
"Yes, I got it. I'll tell you later." Yan Shuo's mouth was full of food, and he mumbled a reply, indicating that she shouldn't rush him.
Upon hearing the words "I got it," Li Zhiyao's anxiety completely subsided. She stopped asking questions and quietly sat beside him.
After a satisfying meal, Yan Shuo put down his chopsticks and let out a satisfied burp.
Li Zhiyao handed him a cup of light coffee, the temperature just right.
Yan Shuo glanced at it and waved his hand: "I can't drink anymore, I'm full."
Li Zhiyao placed the coffee on the table, her eyes sparkling as she looked at him, clearly saying: "Don't even think about sleeping tonight until you show me what you got."
Yan Shuo was so amused by her persistent little appearance that he almost burst out laughing, and waved his hand helplessly.
The next second, a small safe, about a foot square, appeared on the dining table.
The safe was entirely black, with smooth lines and extremely precise workmanship. Its surface gleamed with a cold metallic sheen, exuding a heavy, mechanical feel; it was clearly no ordinary item.
"German-made?" Li Zhiyao's eyes lit up immediately. He leaned closer to examine it carefully and gently touched it. "I've seen quite a few safes with you these past two years. This level of security is difficult to open without a key or combination."
"Take your time playing with it." Yan Shuo leaned back in his chair, his tone nonchalant. "I've already taken care of the main target. Consider this a way to pass the time. If you ever need it, you can use it as a piggy bank."
He had already used the Xiaozhi system to investigate and found that there were no explosives or other traps inside; it was just a brand new safe.
As he spoke, he took a small key out of his pocket and placed it next to the safe: "Here's the key, find the combination yourself. I'm sleepy, I'm going to bed."
After a whole night of fussing, he was already yawning non-stop. He got up and went straight to the bedroom, completely ignoring Xiao Hong who was clearing the table, and also ignoring Li Zhiyao who was circling the safe like a child who had just received a new toy.
"Hmm!" Li Zhiyao didn't even look up, giving a perfunctory reply, all her attention drawn to the new safe.
As soon as Yan Shuo's figure disappeared through the bedroom door, she immediately called out to Xiao Hong, "Xiao Hong, where did I put my stethoscope?"
Xiao Hong was taken aback for a moment, then quickly replied, "Oh? It's in the drawer of the storage room!"
"Hurry up and bring it here!" Li Zhiyao's voice was filled with excitement; she couldn't wait to start cracking this new toy.
Yan Shuo slowly opened his eyes when the sun climbed over the window and poured its warm light into the bedroom.
A good sleep dispelled all his fatigue. He stretched out a big yawn, his elbows hitting the bed, his joints cracking. Then he slowly turned his head left and right, "Crack! Crack!" After a few crisp sounds, the soreness in his neck disappeared.
"Comfortable," he muttered to himself before slowly sitting up and getting dressed.
My gaze swept over her side, and there she was, Li Zhiyao, still nestled in bed like a kitten, her long hair scattered on the pillow, her lips slightly pursed, fast asleep.
Yan Shuo was stunned for a moment. Usually at this time, she would have already gotten ready and gone to work at the foreign company.
He reached out and gently patted Li Zhiyao's cheek, his tone slightly teasing: "Hey, little lazy cat, time to get up."
Li Zhiyao frowned, mumbled "Stop messing around," turned over, and continued sleeping with her back to him, her fluffy head burrowing deeper into the blankets.
Seeing this, Yan Shuo couldn't help but laugh. He raised his hand and gently patted her pert buttocks. The force wasn't great, but it was enough to wake her up.
"Wake up, I need to ask you something. Aren't you going to work today?"
This completely woke Li Zhiyao up. She rubbed her sleepy eyes, her eyelashes still wet, and her tone was full of grievance and exhaustion: "I took sick leave... I was busy opening that safe last night until the early hours of the morning. I'm so tired, I have no energy left."
She snuggled closer to Yan Shuo, resting her head on his arm, her voice soft, "Don't worry about me, I'm going to sleep a little longer."
After saying that, he closed his eyes and fell asleep again.
Yan Shuo shook his head helplessly, tucked the blanket around her, and tiptoed out of the bedroom.
Downstairs, Xiaohong had already set out breakfast: millet porridge, fried eggs, and a plate of refreshing pickled vegetables.
He finished eating quickly, went outside, and called out to Ah Da, a team member who was waiting outside: "Go to the safe house on Chanmen Road in the west of the city and take over taking care of Ali. Remember to change his dressings and feed him water on time, and don't make any mistakes."
"Don't worry, Captain, I guarantee there won't be any problems!" Ah Da stood at attention and replied, then turned and quickly left.
Yan Shuo walked straight to the office, and was stunned when he opened the door. The desk was spotless. The intelligence he had taken from the safe last night had been neatly organized into three stacks, with a simple summary handwritten by Li Zhiyao next to it.
Clearly, she had finished all the work while she was still half asleep in the early morning.
He picked up the first stack of intelligence, his fingertips tracing the paper. It detailed the Japanese army's logistical supply budget plan, as well as the integrated plunder plan for mineral resources in the occupied areas. From coal and iron ore to rare earth, each item was marked with the plunder location, transportation route, and expected output.
"Quite an appetite." Yan Shuo snorted coldly, put down the intelligence report, and picked up the second stack.
This next stack was even thicker, containing dozens of pages. It contained the Japanese army's troop reinforcement research plan for the three provinces of Hunan, Hubei, and Henan in central China.
The plan clearly states that the intelligence agents embedded in the three provinces should be activated first to investigate battlefield intelligence before determining the number of reinforcements. The entire process is expected to take two months.
Most importantly, it contained the wake-up methods and codebook serial numbers of more than 100 undercover agents, covering a wide geographical area and involving a large number of people, which is shocking.
The last stack of intelligence was about a plan to build a laboratory underground at the Third Hospital of the Japanese Army in Nanjing.
The plan requires the laboratory to accommodate 300 people, with an estimated construction period of 100 days. It will involve a battalion of Japanese soldiers in the construction. The Japanese architect in charge of the design and planning, Watanabe Takuma, has arrived in Shanghai and is on leave at the Shanghai Military Police Headquarters. He will depart for Nanjing in five days.
The document also included a photo of Watanabe Takuma, a middle-aged man wearing glasses with a sinister look. Next to him was a detailed record of his work experience, proving he was indeed a veteran who had designed many hospitals and laboratories for the Japanese army.
Yan Shuo's eyes narrowed. Each piece of intelligence was worth a fortune, especially the Central China troop reinforcement plan and the Nanjing laboratory plan, which were related to the front-line battle situation and the safety of countless civilians.