Agent: Intercepting Yu Manli at the start!

Chapter 5 A Once-in-a-Year Event!

In addition, the Xifeng Training Class and the Southeast Network Construction Training Class were also prominently featured on the Military Intelligence Bureau's roster.

Deep within the mountain city lies a top-secret training base of the Military Intelligence Bureau.

Zhou Xiao and Zhao Jian got out of the car.

Zhao Jianzhi nodded and said, "Someone will come to pick you up later, don't go too far."

Zhou Xiao responded without saying anything more.

The two had just stood still when Zhou Xiao suddenly heard a system notification: "Ding—Host detected arriving at designated coordinates: Military Intelligence Bureau Special Agent Training School. Have you completed the check-in?"

"Check-in!"

"Check-in successful. Rewards have been issued: Exceptional logical reasoning ability and top-notch on-site investigation skills."

Exceptional logical reasoning ability: It allows you to trace the cause and effect of a whole matter from a casual remark, a scratch, or a cigarette ash, leaving no room for even the hidden third hand to hide.

Top-notch on-site investigation capabilities: This is a skill that special agents rely on. They can not only uncover clues, but also erase their own traces, so that the enemy will not even realize that you were there.

Zhou Xiao's heart leaped with excitement: "Wow, double buffs have arrived!"

According to Zheng Yaoxian's plan, he had to finish all the courses within half a month.

To be honest, the pressure is suffocating—but all escape routes have been blocked.

Now that we have the system as our trump card, there is indeed some hope of turning the tide.

Not long after, a middle-aged man in military uniform strode towards the school gate, stopped in front of the two, glanced at Zhou Xiao, and said crisply, "Sixth Brother has already spoken to you. You must be Zhou Xiao?"

"it's me."

"Zhao Tianying, your instructor." The other person extended his hand, shaking it firmly and firmly. "Welcome to the gates of this mountain city."

"Thank you, instructor."

Zhao Jianzhi patted Zhou Xiao on the back: "Sixth Brother's choice is spot on. Work hard, he won't treat his own brothers unfairly."

"clear."

The two then passed through the iron gate and entered the secret training base of the Military Intelligence Bureau, hidden deep in the mountains.

According to the rules, new recruits must fill out a thick stack of materials before reporting for duty: resume, academic certificate, and three passport photos; then they undergo a physical examination, political review, family background check, and an oral and written test that combines arts and sciences. They also need to find two guarantors and one guarantor to ensure that they are ideologically sound and have a firm stance.

After formal training begins, the standard training period for special agents starts at six months, can extend to a year, and can be further extended in special circumstances.

But Zhou Xiao was different—his sixth brother, Zheng Yaoxian, personally led him in, and he was trusted by everyone, so the process was greatly streamlined. He only needed to submit a medical examination form and a resume, and the written test was waived.

He enrolled in a three-month intensive course.

After the formalities were completed, Zhao Tianying led him towards the dormitory area, saying as they walked, "Sixth Brother mentioned you to me, saying you're quick-witted and have a sharp mind, a rare find. I'm giving you a boost here, putting you through some rigorous training, but what kind of steel you'll ultimately forge depends on whether you can handle it."

"Thank you for your guidance, Instructor. I will do my best."

Before the words were even finished, the dormitory building was already in sight.

As soon as Zhou Xiao stepped into the courtyard, he paused—a person was standing under the eaves ahead, tall and straight with clear eyes, fiddling with an enamel basin in his hand.

Zhou Xiao's heart skipped a beat: They're here.

A familiar figure came into view, like a reunion with an old friend, or like turning the first page of a script.

Mingtai!

But he couldn't be 100% sure yet—after all, he only resembled Mingtai from "The Disguiser," and his appearance, temperament, and reckless attitude all matched.

Zhao Tianying glanced at his watch: "Four o'clock sharp this afternoon. You have half an hour to pack your luggage, find your way, and familiarize yourself with the environment. Meet at the playground at four-thirty to begin the first lesson."

"yes!"

Zhou Xiao quickly found the dormitory number based on his memory.

The room wasn't big, just a standard double room. The bed by the window was neatly made, the pillowcases were faded white, and the sheets were pressed without a single wrinkle, clearly indicating it had been occupied for a long time; the other bed was empty, the bedding was brand new, and even the mosquito net was folded with sharp corners—this roommate probably wouldn't feel at ease until even the towels were aligned with the hanging rope.

He had just put down his bundle when the curtain was lifted and the man walked in.

Sure enough it was him.

Mingtai.

The other person spotted Zhou Xiao at a glance, paused for a moment, then grinned and extended his hand, saying, "Mingtai, we'll be roommates from now on, please take care of me."

It really was him.

He looks exactly like the spirited young master of the Ming family on screen.

Zhou Xiao initially thought he had stumbled into another world, but at this moment, his heart was completely at ease—this wasn't a parallel universe at all; it was clearly a living cinematic universe.

Since Mingtai is here, Yu Manli, Wang Tianfeng, and even the shadows of the Wang Jingwei regime are most likely waiting to make their appearance not far away.

interesting.

That's so interesting.

"Zhou Xiao, from Jinling." He reached out and shook hands, his palm warm and strong.

"New here?" Mingtai put the enamel basin on the table, turned around and looked him up and down. "This is what you call just starting out. The hard times are yet to come."

He rescued Wang Tianfeng on the plane, and the other man was immediately impressed by his quick wit and courage. Without saying a word, he dragged him through this iron gate.

Ultimately, Mingtai was born to do this job—among this batch of trainees, he had the best practical skills and the highest theoretical score, and the instructors privately said that he was "a once-in-a-decade talent."

"Hmm," Zhou Xiao asked, "How long have you been here?"

"It's been two months." Mingtai shrugged. "I reckon if I can just hang in there for another month, I'll be able to go out wearing the badge. As for you... just keep at it."

A month?

It coincided perfectly with the day he graduated.

The time limit given by Sixth Brother was exactly thirty days.

Zhou Xiao smiled slightly, said nothing, and simply nodded.

He was well-versed in "The Disguiser" and naturally knew who the person in front of him was—the most favored young master of the Ming family in Shanghai, a free spirit, a sharp fist and foot, and a mind more meticulous than a blade.

The plot is currently stuck at the point where Mingtai first enters the Military Intelligence Bureau training camp. The story has just begun.

After quickly tidying up the bedding and bed, Zhou Xiao turned and strode towards Zhao Tianying's office.

Zhao Tianying glanced at him and said crisply, "The file that Sixth Brother handed over clearly states that you are a top talent in the Jinling Military and Political Council's staff department, with a solid military foundation. Your physical fitness, tactics, and staff work can all withstand scrutiny. You don't need to start from scratch with the basic physical fitness and combat skills training for special agents; you just need to fill in the gaps and solidify your foundation."

So-called special agents are like blades lurking in the shadows, silently moving between friend and foe: spying on secrets, intercepting intelligence, countering infiltration, and building an impregnable wall to protect every hidden link of their own side.

In this line of work, being quick-witted is far from enough; you also need to be proficient in all eighteen kinds of "hidden weapons"—secret letter writing, radio transmission and reception, miniature photography, explosives and dismantling, poison formulation, close combat... each of these is a hard skill for survival and making a living.

These are the tough nuts to crack that Zhou Xiao will have to crack next.

As is customary, the training course should have started with three months of intensive enlistment training: infantry drill manual, model orders, commander's study, staff exercises, field training, and practical operation of various firearms... But Zhou Xiao was exempted from all of these.

Zhao Tianying opened the booklet beside him and spoke quickly and crisply: "Zhou Xiao, starting today, you will specialize in espionage techniques—intelligence science, intelligence planning, internal affairs practice, secret communications, codebreaking, explosives principles, toxicology applications, grappling and combat, criminal investigation, darkroom photography, radio principles, transmitter assembly and operation, postal and telecommunications inspection, foreign language shorthand..."

Less than half an hour after arriving at the special agent training class in the mountain city, Zhao Tianying had already laid out a complete set of special agent courses for Zhou Xiao!

This was exactly what Zhou Xiao wanted—the sooner he graduated, the sooner he could stand beside Zheng Yaoxian and learn real skills.

Li Xiaonan called him "Guizi Liu" but Zhou Xiao was certain in his heart that Zheng Yaoxian was no ordinary Kuomintang ace; there was a deeper and heavier weight behind him.

The more he thought about it, the more he wanted to get closer and see it clearly.

The mountain city training class consists of six teams: Teams 1 to 3 mainly train security and policing personnel; Team 4 is an all-around special agent backbone team; Team 5 specializes in car driving; and Team 6 is proficient in telecommunications technology.

Zhou Xiao and Mingtai were assigned to the fourth team.

The next day in intelligence class.

"When a battle gets to the core, it's all about who figures out the enemy's hand first." The instructor stood in front of the podium, his voice steady and powerful. "Intelligence isn't just about secret writing and developing reactions; it also includes disguise reconnaissance, tailing and surveillance, counter-tracking and escape... The enemy isn't just for show; they won't allow you to pass messages openly. So every transmission must be disguised and have a backup plan."

As soon as Mingtai entered, he saw Zhou Xiao sitting in the front row, twirling a pencil between his fingers with a focused expression, which made him slightly stunned.

Logically, new recruits should be standing on the parade ground, marching in formation and carrying rifles. But this guy, on his very first day, sat in the intelligence department and listened intently without even flipping through a few pages of the lesson plan.

In a 60-minute class, Zhou Xiao had an almost perfect memory and understood the material so thoroughly that the instructor gave him a second look.

When the bell rang, everyone rushed to the cafeteria.

Mingtai, carrying an enamel bowl, approached Zhou Xiao's table and asked in a low voice, "Brother, where are you from? Did you used to be a spy? How come you skipped all the basic training and went straight to the core of intelligence?"

Zhou Xiao smiled and tapped the lunchbox lightly with his chopsticks: "I came from the General Staff of the Jinling Military and Political Council. I participated in special operations training in my early years."

"This time, Sixth Brother personally went to Nanjing to select people, and he took a liking to me at first sight, so he brought me directly to Shancheng."

There was no beating around the bush, and no hiding anything.

Because he knew that Mingtai was not the kind of person who liked to gossip.

"Sixth Brother?" Mingtai was taken aback, then his eyes lit up. "You mean Zheng Yaoxian? The 'Sixth Brother' that even my teacher often mentioned? Throughout the entire Military Intelligence Bureau, no one dares to disrespectfully call him 'Sixth Brother'."

Mingtai's teacher?

Isn't that Wang Tianfeng, codenamed "Poison Bee"?

Even Wang Tianfeng's apprentices often mention Zheng Yaoxian—which shows that Zheng Yaoxian is no longer just a legend in the Military Intelligence Bureau, but a benchmark.

"Yes, it's him." Zhou Xiao nodded. "You've heard of him?"

"Have you heard of him? Who hasn't?" Mingtai shook his head and laughed. "But I've only heard his name, never seen him in person. Sixth Brother is like a dragon, appearing and disappearing without a trace; it's even hard to find a single photo of him."

"Being chosen by Sixth Brother, no wonder you have such a calm and collected demeanor."

Zhou Xiao looked up at him: "You're not much different. As long as you can control your temper and suppress your impetuousness, given time, you can become a sharp blade too."

Wang Tianfeng had also said this to Mingtai.

Now, listening to it again, Mingtai felt a sense of familiarity and a slight stirring in his heart, but he no longer resisted it—after all, someone who could be favored by Sixth Brother would not be an ordinary person.

The two chatted as they ate, and as soon as they finished their food, Zhou Xiao stood up and said, "Mingtai, I'm leaving now."

He only had half a month in the training course, and time was as tight as a taut bowstring, so he had to make the most of every minute to master every subject.