Chapter 47: The Red Party Codename: Earth God

Li Haibo looked at old Zhao, who finally seemed to grasp the situation, and nodded with satisfaction, his expression softening slightly. "That's right, old Zhao. Operating alone here in the Shanghai灘, the headquarters is our ultimate backing. What needs to be fought for must be fought for."

After finishing his instructions to old Zhao, Li Haibo straightened his uniform, opened the door, cautiously scanned the surroundings, and then walked out of the safe house with brisk strides.

Li Haibo jogged all the way toward the Zhabei Precinct, but even so, he still failed to make it on time. The patrol officers were already standing in neat rows in the courtyard, beginning their morning meeting.

"Li Haibo, you've got some nerve, daring to be late!"

Scarface Liu spotted Li Haibo trying to sneak into the formation at a glance and immediately dragged him out.

Seeing that he had been caught, Li Haibo simply hardened his resolve, stiffened his neck, and swaggered right into the formation.

"What is the meaning of this? Is this any way for a police officer to act? Do you even want this job?" Scarface Liu put his hands on his hips, his posture as if he wanted to tear Li Haibo to pieces and swallow him alive.

Hearing this, Li Haibo understood instantly that Scarface Liu was deliberately picking a fight with him.

The fire in his chest flared up instantly, but he refused to utter a word. He just stood there with an expression of complete indifference, his eyes full of provocation.

That did it. Scarface Liu exploded: "To uphold police discipline and correct bad habits, for being late to work, Li Haibo's salary is docked by half a month!"

"You wouldn't!" Hearing that his pay was going to be docked, Li Haibo refused to let the matter rest on the spot.

"Everyone has been late before! Why does it only result in a docked salary when it's my turn? You're bloody targeting me, don't think I don't know you're just settling a personal grudge!"

"You... you... you are simply lawless!" Scarface Liu was so enraged that he could barely string a coherent sentence together.

Li Haibo pointed at Scarface Liu and cursed, "Scarface Liu, if you've got the guts, bloody try it! If you dare to short Boss Bo of even a single penny, see if Boss Bo doesn't slap the living daylights out of you!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the crowd burst into loud laughter!

Scarface Liu's face turned purple, and the anger inside him burned fiercely. The two heavy slaps he had received from Scarface the day before had not even healed yet.

After a brief flurry of chaos in the precinct, everyone dispersed, and nothing more came of it!

Li Haibo was in a bad mood today and had zero desire to patrol, so he decided to head to the teahouse to listen to storytelling.

Yang Chun announced that he was going to find old man Tan to learn leg techniques, and taking long strides, he dashed off with a rapid "swish, swish, swish~". With legs that long, he was truly cut out for practicing leg techniques.

After Yang Chun left, Xiong Kui declared he was heading to the shooting range to practice his aim, and turned to leave as well. These past few days, he had locked horns with the crows at the shooting range.

Li Haibo looked at Hou Yong, who hurriedly said, "Boss Bo, I'm not leaving! I'll stay here and keep you company!"

Li Haibo patted Hou Yong on the shoulder. "Good brother! Come on, Boss will take you to listen to some storytelling!"

Recently, a storyteller surnamed Yuan had arrived at the teahouse. Coming from a lineage of traditional storytellers, he was also recounting *Romance of the Three Kingdoms*. The material was the same as everyone else's, but as a true professional, his delivery was simply much more engaging than that of scholar Wu, who had entered the trade halfway through his life.

After skipping work for the entire morning, the four rascals gathered punctually at the cafeteria entrance at noon.

As soon as he arrived, Xiong Kui began to brag: "Boss Bo! My marksmanship improved a lot today again. Four out of ten shots hit the birds flying in the sky—pretty impressive, right?"

"You're brilliant!"

Meanwhile, Yang Chun, who had returned from practicing leg techniques at Zheng the Humpback's wine shop, had undergone a complete transformation in demeanor. Lost in deep thought, he would occasionally lift his foot and gesture, striking the pose of a true master.

After finishing lunch together, the group resumed their patrol.

Patrolling to the small park and seeing no anomalies, they took a short break and started chatting idly.

As it neared the end of the shift, Zhou Zhengguo quietly tracked them down. He was far too familiar with the group—so familiar that he even knew when they were slacking off.

Seeing Zhou Zhengguo, Li Haibo's expression shifted slightly, and he hurriedly pulled him into a secluded, empty corner.

Zhou Zhengguo glanced around left and right, and after confirming that there was no one nearby, he quickly pulled a file folder from his chest and whispered, "Here is the newly completed residence permit, and the photos have been pasted on as well!"

Li Haibo took the file folder, opened it to glance over it briefly, nodded, and replied, "Good! I'll get the stamp on it tonight and bring it to you tomorrow!"

Zhou Zhengguo, however, waved his hand and said, "No need to bring it to me!"

Li Haibo wore a puzzled look. "What?"

Zhou Zhengguo patiently explained, "To make it more convenient for the higher-ups to contact you, they have assigned you a liaison! You can simply hand the stamped residence permit to the liaison!"

Li Haibo frowned. "A liaison? Having you as my contact is enough. Why bother assigning another liaison?"

Zhou Zhengguo's expression grew solemn as he slowly said, "My current work is mainly responsible for procuring vital supplies for the base area, so I might not always have the time. You know what happened last time; the leadership is worried that if you have an urgent matter and can't find me like before, they needed to assign you a dedicated liaison! Furthermore, the leadership has requested that we build an escape route out of Shanghai with you at its core. The next node on this transportation line is the Jiading County Guerrilla Unit, and our code name is the 'Earth God Group'! You are the 'Earth God', the leader of our group!"

"Hold on! With me at the core? I'm not even one of your people yet! What is this, press-ganging me into service?"

"It's just that we haven't seen you for a while. Now, on behalf of the organization, I formally invite you to join our ranks!"

"You just extend an invitation and I'm a member? And a group leader at that? Isn't this a bit too farcical?"

"Should I go fetch a formal commission certificate for you?"

"That won't be necessary. Wait, you guys aren't trying to find a way to avoid paying me back, are you?"

"Of course not! The debt we owe will definitely be honored!"

"Calling it the 'Earth God Group'—you folks really plan on shearing this single sheep until it's completely bald!" Li Haibo muttered discontentedly.

Zhou Zhengguo smiled and said, "The liaison has opened a bookstore near your place. He is a veteran comrade who has deep roots in Shanghai for many years. All this time, he has quietly engaged in behind-enemy-lines propaganda work and accumulated quite a wealth of experience in underground operations. Right now, he is in the process of evacuating his propaganda personnel according to the leadership's instructions, and the situation is rather complex. You should go make contact with him tomorrow morning!"

"Why make contact separately? Can't you just take me there tomorrow?"

"I have to go to the Public Concession tomorrow to trade a batch of supplies and simply cannot get away. You'll have to make contact on your own!" Zhou Zhengguo sighed helplessly, a look of apology in his eyes.

Afterwards, the two carefully discussed the contact passwords, repeatedly confirming every detail to ensure nothing went wrong, before parting ways, each harboring their own concerns.

That night, taking advantage of the cover of darkness and utilizing his key with practiced ease, Li Haibo quietly sneaked into the police station. The entire process went smoother than he could have ever imagined.

The following morning, Li Haibo brought Ma Quanyi along and headed to the bookstore according to their agreement.

Upon seeing the location of the bookstore, Li Haibo almost burst out laughing. Good grief, the bookstore turned out to be located diagonally across from Zhao Quengui's tailoring shop. Do secret agents all cluster together these days?

"‘Any Bookstore’—what an interesting name!" Li Haibo muttered under his breath.

He immediately activated his "clairvoyance" ability, thoroughly scanning the interior of the bookstore. Confirming that there was only one person inside, he left Ma Quanyi to stand guard at the entrance and stepped into the bookstore himself.

Inside, a middle-aged man wearing glasses was quietly sitting behind the counter, reading a book.