Chapter 9: Tracking
Zhou Lin understood, "Isn't the exchange rate for yen high on the black market?"
Oshima gave a thumbs up, "Smart! The official rate is one to two in legal currency to yen, but on the black market, it's one-to-one. Doubled. If you have extra yen in the future, you can make a profit on the black market."
Make a profit in the future? Shanghai is about to be occupied by the Japanese. Once the Japanese take Shanghai, the yen will circulate, and the exchange rate won't be this high.
However, Zhou Lin pretended, "I should keep more yen then."
Dinner was more lavish than lunch. The two drank three bottles of white wine until Oshima laid down first.
Since crossing over, Zhou Lin noticed a problem – his alcohol tolerance had increased.
He drank one and a half bottles of white wine that night, equivalent to one and a half kilograms. Yet, he still didn't feel drunk.
In his previous life, Zhou Lin's best drinking capacity was only eight liang of white wine. The original owner of this life could handle only half a jin, getting drunk with more.
But now, Zhou Lin had no idea how much he could drink.
Zhou Lin helped Oshima to his room, spread a straw mat, arranged a bed, and assisted Oshima in lying down.
Oshima didn't cause trouble when drunk, which was good.
After Zhou Lin left, he returned to his room, also lying down.
In a strange place, Zhou Lin was particularly cautious.
Zhou Lin felt that Oshima was pretending to be drunk, especially considering how much he wanted to get Zhou Lin drunk. It was suspicious.
A person lurks behind enemy lines, and another person acts as the contact. They met for the first time and immediately pushed for heavy drinking.
The motive was impure. Disregarding any claims of deep emotions, did Zhou Lin have any strong feelings for Oshima? They had just met.
This indicated that Oshima was hiding something from Zhou Lin. Therefore, Zhou Lin acted oblivious, believing Oshima was truly drunk.
However, Oshima seemed to trust Zhou Lin similarly.
When Zhou Lin unsteadily left Oshima's room, Oshima opened his eyes.
He looked at the ceiling, ears attuned to the sounds from the next room.
Only when snores came from the neighboring room did Oshima confirm that Zhou Lin was asleep?
Drinking one and a half kilograms of white wine would make anyone drunk.
After waiting for ten more minutes, Oshima got up.
He moved a table from the room and leaned it against the dividing wall. Then, he stepped onto the table. This way, his head was two meters high.
Oshima felt around and found a movable brick.
He pulled out the brick, creating a hole.
Peering through the hole, Oshima observed the situation in the next room.
Sato was sleeping on the floor with a blanket draped over him.
After glancing, Oshima put the brick back.
Quietly descending from the table, he returned it to its original position.
Oshima sat down and rested for a while before leaving the room. He went to the toilet.
Oshima's backyard had two rooms – a storage room and a kitchen, along with a toilet.
The toilet was located in the eastern corner of the yard, forming a triangular space.
Upon reaching the toilet, Oshima stepped on a large stone to climb onto the roof.
On top of the roof, a thick branch from a tall tree extended.
The branch was only one meter above the roof.
Oshima grabbed the branch, swung himself up, and climbed onto the tree.
His body was too heavy, causing the branch to sway, but it held.
Oshima crawled along the branch until he reached the trunk, where he felt more stable.
From this vantage point, Oshima surveyed his small yard, finding nothing unusual. Only then did he relax, climbing down from the tree.
After landing, Oshima walked to the left.
As Oshima disappeared, someone swiftly traversed the toilet's roof, using the large tree for support.
This person was Zhou Lin.
Zhou Lin heard the sound of Oshima pulling the brick.
Zhou Lin's mental attributes had increased by 50%, surpassing ordinary people.
While Oshima peeked, Zhou Lin pretended to sleep deeply.
Zhou Lin knew Oshima's actions hinted at some operation.
Indeed, Zhou Lin heard Oshima leaving his room, and heading to the toilet. Later, he heard the sounds of Oshima grabbing the tree branch.
At that moment, Zhou Lin got up.
When he opened the door, he heard Oshima's footsteps outside the wall.
Following Oshima's path, Zhou Lin caught up after half an hour.
Oshima arrived at a place – a small bungalow.
Oshima stood in front of the bungalow and imitated a cat's meow.
At that moment, a person emerged from inside. The figure stayed in the darkness, making it impossible for Zhou Lin to see details.
The person asked, "You signaled in the afternoon, calling me here. What's the matter?"
Oshima said, "Help me investigate someone."
"Do you have information?"
"I don't. I only have a few photos of him. They're in this camera, not developed yet. Please wash them and investigate the person in the pictures."
"Fine! Photos are enough. Are you in trouble?"
"Not really! Someone from above came to meet me, and I need to be cautious."
"I see! I'll help you investigate. If it's someone from our organization, I'll recognize them immediately. If it's Military Intelligence or the Second Bureau, it might be tricky."
"This time I brought you 300 yen and 500 francs."
"That's not troublesome. Money can smooth things over with Military Intelligence or the Second Bureau. Tomorrow night, come here with the results. Bring the photos and money."
"Okay! You're always so careful," Oshima sighed.
"Careless people end up in the dirt."
Oshima approached, handing over the camera and money, saying, "If the information is accurate, then it's up to you next. Talk to your friend in the headquarters."
"No problem! He said as long as there's money, he can help. However, the price for operational plans is high, and he only accepts dollars. Someone in their family wants to go to the United States."
"I'll report this situation upward. It should be fine."
"I have a condition too. If you need me to contact my friend for operational plans, I'll need 3,000 yen."
Oshima's mouth twitched, "As long as the intelligence is accurate and secure, there's no problem."
"Good! Let's focus on the first matter – investigating this person from the photos."
After speaking, the shadow retreated into the house.
Oshima shook his head and turned back.
When Oshima returned through the large tree to the yard, he immediately went to his room.
The first thing he did was move the table to check the hole in the wall.
Looking through the hole, Oshima saw Zhou Lin still sleeping.
Patting his chest, Oshima said, "I'm still more clever, skilled in martial arts. Two bottles were enough to knock him out."
Relieved, Oshima put the table back in place. Then, he undressed, crawled into the bed made on the ground, and fell asleep...