It was still that coffee shop on the far edge of Shanghai, looking perfectly ordinary from the outside. A few scattered tourists drifted in and out, giving the night a touch of yuppie charm. But nobody knew that, in one of the private rooms, Jack Young—the head of one of the nation’s most secretive departments—was quietly sipping a budget latte.
Just how secret is it? So secret that, apart from the handful at the very top, everyone else who knows has passed an intense vetting process. Anyone else, regardless of rank or title, if they overstep—they’re done for. Especially this Shanghai operation: strict to the max. All irrelevant people are swept out, and any glory-hunting trust-fund brats, well, they can go play elsewhere.
From another angle, it’s clear: Deborah Zade being able to catch Cobra’s trail is anything but ordinary.
"Sir, everything’s ready." A man dressed as a waiter came over, refilled the coffee, and respectfully reported, "The singles party is under tight surveillance, and the 'guests' have arrived. The sample Demon Revealing Mirror installed in that villa has been fully calibrated and can be activated at any time."
Hearing the good news from his subordinate, Cobra just lazily dragged out his words, sounding totally uninterested: "Oh... got it..."
The waiter hesitated, then ventured, "Sir, the crowd-control operation is showing results. We’ve already flagged several suspicious targets among the 'guests.' Next, we’ll keep a close eye—when should we activate the Demon Revealing Mirror?"
"No rush. The ones here now are just small fry; just keep an eye on them," Cobra waved dismissively, then suddenly turned, interested: "Let me ask you something."
The waiter instantly snapped to attention, responding solemnly, "Please ask, Sir!" Cobra’s temperament was unpredictable—he’d never actually done anything outrageous to his subordinates, but every one of them couldn’t help but fear him. Like a frog fearing a snake that isn’t hungry yet. The moment he asked a question, the waiter got nervous.
Cobra adjusted his glasses, a strange look on his face: "Tell me, what words can you make that start with 'shi'—as in 'teacher'?"
Huh? The waiter was briefly stunned—what kind of question was this, like elementary school Chinese homework? But he didn’t dare slack off, no matter how weird the question. The boss is the boss: "Sir, with 'shi' as the first character, you can make 'shizhang' (division commander), 'shien' (teacher’s grace), 'shide' (teacher’s virtue), 'shi yi chang ji yi zi qiang' (learn from the barbarians to strengthen oneself)..." (Note: The last phrase is a famous idiom meaning to learn from others’ strengths to improve oneself.)