Chapter 31: The Propaganda Section

The military training for the special training class has officially concluded, and formal instruction has begun. Due to his "outstanding performance" during the training, Zhang Anping was authorized by the Academic Affairs Office to teach three specialized courses and two general subjects. His schedule was packed from morning till night, as if they were determined to work him like a donkey on a production team.

Had it been anyone else, there would have certainly been protests against such an "007" work schedule—working seven days a week, from 7 AM to midnight. Zhang Anping, however, not only had no complaints but actually enjoyed it. Moreover, such an intense teaching load did not keep him idle; after three days of tinkering, he submitted a report to his superiors.

The title of the report: "A Pilot Concept on Seeking a 'Mouthpiece' in the Press."

In the report, he pointed out that due to the negative associations with the Party Affairs Office (the Party Affairs Office: "Nonsense!"), the Secret Service Agency was being viewed with prejudice by all sectors of society, with members struggling to feel a sense of honor. He suggested changing this "unfavorable environment" by using various newspapers to correct and reshape public perception of the Agency. He proposed identifying "like-minded" journalists to introduce the true nature of the Secret Service to the public, specifically through serialized stories, anecdotes, and trivia that would promote the achievements of the Agency since its inception.

As for the practical application, he provided the latest issue of the *Xinmin Daily*. In the "Story Collection" section of that issue, a piece titled *Walkers in the Dark* was prominently featured.

...

Headquarters, No. 1 Honggong Temple.

Director Dai’s secretary suddenly began summoning people. One after another, the mid-level officers stationed at headquarters were called into the Director’s office. Wang Tianfeng was the seventh to be summoned.

He entered the Director's office cautiously, his calm gaze sweeping over his colleagues who were sitting stiffly, reading newspapers. Question marks floated above his head, continuously stacking up.

"The newspaper," the secretary said, handing a copy to Wang Tianfeng. "Sit there and read it. Wait for the Director to ask you questions after you’re done."

Wang Tianfeng took the newspaper with trepidation, instinctively fearing it was another exposé on the Agency’s dirty laundry. Fortunately, he generally maintained good relationships with others, and the secretary gave him a subtle nod toward the "Story Collection" column.

Wang Tianfeng sat aside with the paper. After discreetly glancing at his colleagues again, he focused his attention on the stories. He skimmed through them, and soon, an abnormality caught his eye. A serialized story titled *Walkers in the Dark* drew his focus.

The story began with a few hoodlums being stopped and asked: "Do you want to get rich? Do you want to get ahead? If you do, come with me now, and you’ll get one silver dollar every day!"

The promise of a windfall naturally attracted the hoodlums. They were then taught photography and assigned to an unoccupied house, tasked with photographing passersby in the alleyway.

Seeing this, Wang Tianfeng immediately realized what the story was about! This was clearly the Japanese spy case the Secret Service had cracked not long ago! Was this why the Director had called them here? Puzzled, he continued reading.

The opening was only two hundred characters, and it quickly transitioned into the first story, subtitled: *The Warrior Who Dies with Eyes Open.*

This story took place in occupied Shenyang, Northeast China. Five guests arriving from Nanjing were captured by the Japanese the moment they reached the Shenyang bus station. The Japanese took them to an interrogation room, revealed their identities, and demanded their surrender. Despite threats and temptations, the five refused to compromise. The Japanese eventually gave up and executed them by firing squad.

Before the execution, one tortured warrior asked with lingering resentment: "Why do you have our photos and information?"

The supervising Japanese officer replied: "We have many, many photos of you."

Then, a gunshot rang out, and the warrior fell, his eyes wide with unyielding defiance on the occupied land.

The first chapter of *Walkers in the Dark* ended there. Wang Tianfeng fell into deep thought. What did the Director mean by this?

As more mid-level officers arrived, they were all handed the *Xinmin Daily*. After reading the first chapter, they shared Wang Tianfeng’s confusion: What was the Director’s intention?

Director Dai did not respond to the puzzled looks of his subordinates. He kept watching them until the secretary reminded him that everyone had finished reading. Only then did he signal for the secretary to distribute the printed copies of the manuscript.

*Walkers in the Dark, Chapter Two: This Hatred Lingers Without End.*

Wang Tianfeng slowly read the manuscript. This story took place in North China. Four warriors, after overcoming countless hardships, managed to steal a plan from the Japanese, only to be discovered. They were pursued, and to cover their teammates, they exposed themselves one by one, meeting their ends heroically. The last man, holding the intelligence, was finally captured at a station. Despite brutal torture, he never revealed the source of the intelligence. Before his execution, he asked: "I was never discovered by your people. How did you catch me?"

"Because the appearances of most of you are already in our possession!"

*Bang.*

With a gunshot, the warrior fell, his angry eyes staring straight at the heavens.

For some reason, after reading this chapter, Wang Tianfeng felt an inexplicable surge of anger. He managed to restrain himself, but others could not. "Pure bullshit!" someone shouted. "Total nonsense! We caught those Japanese spies; the photos were never leaked! This is smearing us! Director, I’ll take men to arrest this guy, 'Dark Impermanence', right now!"

Several others joined in the outcry, demanding to teach this "Dark Impermanence" a lesson. Wang Tianfeng looked on coldly, offering no opinion. His anger was not directed at the author, but at the plot—and at his colleagues, whose indignation seemed more like sycophancy aimed at pleasing the Director.

Wang Tianfeng sneered imperceptibly. *You flatterers have bet on the wrong horse this time!*

Sure enough, Director Dai slammed the table and roared: "Struck a nerve, have you? If the Security Section hadn't broken that Japanese spy photography case, wouldn't this story have become reality? Speak up!"

The angry officers immediately fell silent.

Seeing his subordinates quiet, Director Dai named his target: "Wu Jingzhong, tell me your thoughts after reading these two chapters."

Wu Jingzhong rose, hesitated, and said, "Director, I think this story is written very well."

"What is good about it?" the Director pressed.

"Neither in the first story nor the second do they have names, but they are all heroes," Wu Jingzhong replied. "And they all died."

Someone grumbled, "Isn't it embarrassing enough that they were foolish enough to die?"

Wu Jingzhong didn't even glance at the fool.

"Wang Tianfeng, you speak."

Wang Tianfeng stood up and said: "Our countrymen will pity and love tragic heroes. And these are all tragic heroes. They will become luminous figures in the eyes of the people."

Director Dai was satisfied with this answer. After questioning others, who naturally echoed the sentiments of Wu Jingzhong and Wang Tianfeng, he signaled the secretary to hand out the third and final chapters.

*Chapter Three: Sacrificing Life for Righteousness, No Regrets in Death.*

The story featured another nameless, tragic hero with the codename "Yao Li." He pretended to be an assassin who couldn't use weapons and often bowed and scraped before the Japanese. Through his patience, he discovered a high-security room in a Japanese facility in Shenyang where mid-level officers gathered periodically. "Yao Li" eventually infiltrated the room, only to find it filled with walls of photographs—photos of members of a mysterious organization, taken from every angle.

When the Japanese discovered him, he didn't try to escape. Instead, he used his own life to set the room on fire, burning the photos and negatives to ashes.

Wang Tianfeng instinctively spotted the plot hole—the Japanese wouldn't be stupid enough to store all their intelligence in one place. But he quickly ignored it, closing his eyes to grasp the author's purpose.

Chapter one: five nameless heroes die before completing their mission. Chapter two: four nameless heroes die to protect intelligence, resulting in total loss. Chapter three: an undercover agent commits suicide to destroy the enemy's surveillance.

It was clearly whitewashing the Secret Service. But was it *only* whitewashing?

With this doubt, he turned to the final story.

*Chapter Four: The Clouds are Treacherous, Monsters Cannot Escape Divine Retribution!*

The start of this chapter was completely different. It wasn't a nameless warrior or an undercover agent, but an ordinary citizen. To his children, he was a stern father; to his neighbors, a friendly face. In daily life, he was an ordinary man. But within the mysterious agency, he was famous for his "eyes of fire."

Through his investigation, he linked the unsolved cases, the disappearance of "Yao Li," and the mysterious fire in Shenyang. He identified the "eyes" at the door, led raids, and brought down the Japanese spy cell.

Finally, through the mouth of this ordinary man, the author declared: "We work in a profession that stays out of the light, but as walkers in the dark, our duty is to guard the light of the world. Wherever there are Japanese spies, there will be our shadows."

After reading this, Wang Tianfeng felt a flush of embarrassment. As a veteran of the Agency, he was truly in awe of the author's ability to lie through his teeth. He didn't even know the Agency had such a heroic side! *He’s blowing smoke like you wouldn't believe!*

But undeniable as it was, through these four connected stories, a glorious, heroic Secret Service was presented to the public.

Wang Tianfeng could not suppress his excitement. He stood up and said: "Director! The person who wrote this is a talent! We must reward him heavily!"

Others echoed his words. If chapters one and two could be interpreted as a smear, the ending made it impossible for anyone to claim this was an attack on the Agency. This was definitely an ally—a major ally!

Wu Jingzhong added cautiously: "Director, if this person is one of our own, I suggest we establish a department specifically to support him in creating similar content to slowly change public perception. If he is not, I suggest we recruit him immediately and give him a position to continue this kind of propaganda."

No one dislikes a good reputation. Despite their immense power, the label "dog secret agent" was not given lightly; the press had always been out for their blood. But if there were more stories like this, wouldn't their reputation gradually improve?

Director Dai, seeing his subordinates excited, felt the time was right. He handed Zhang Anping’s report to the secretary for them to circulate.

Wang Tianfeng, Wu Jingzhong, Li Weigong, and Lü Zongfang were the first to read it. Unlike Wu Jingzhong’s suggestion, this report was more detailed. It proposed establishing a foothold in the *Xinmin Daily*, and when the time was ripe, annexing or starting their own newspaper to cover the intelligence battlefield. It recommended forming a "Propaganda Section" within the Agency to act as a mouthpiece—a front for counter-espionage propaganda, which was really a cover to whitewash and gild the reputation of the Secret Service!

The four men looked toward the author of the report: Xu Baichuan, Zheng Yaoxian, and Zhang Shihao. They decisively ignored the first two. *It really was him!*

They all wore mysterious expressions—only he would dare to think this way and dare to do it! The key was that he knew exactly how to touch the pulse of the Director.

"Director, I think this report is highly significant," Wu Jingzhong said first. "Propaganda cannot be underestimated! Just look at the recent Japanese spy case—if those hoodlums had known the consequences, would they have sold out their country for a single dollar? I believe it is precisely because our propaganda is inadequate that people don't understand that certain actions are treasonous! Therefore, the establishment of this Propaganda Section is a necessity!"

Wu Jingzhong made his stance clear. Honestly, he had no particular feelings for Zhang Shihao. There were already too many people from the Jiangshan faction in the Agency, and every new member meant less influence for others. But Zhang Shihao was different. Although he was from the Jiangshan faction and a relative of the Director, he had never squeezed out the spheres of influence of others since joining. Instead, he was always opening up new "fronts."

The training class was an example—that was the result of Zhang Shihao "expanding the pie." With the credit for cracking the spy case, establishing the training class, and teaching, his promotion was inevitable. Yet, he chose to rise by expanding the pie rather than cannibalizing the old one.

With Wu Jingzhong’s support, the others followed suit. The Jiangshan faction members were naturally supportive, while the others saw the benefit in Zhang Anping’s ability to "make the pie bigger" and were eager to curry favor with the Director.

"Since everyone agrees that the Propaganda Section is necessary, let’s establish it. Put it under the General Affairs Section. As for the section chief, let Zhang Shihao serve as acting chief for the time being," Director Dai announced.