At night after class, Muyang returned home, got ready and then traveled directly to the Republic of China era. Here, he was in a cabin on a mail steamer heading for Shanghai. He was lying in bed at this time, while on the opposite bed was that girl he had been thinking about, Xia Kejun.

  It was already dark outside, and the ship continued to sail on the sea, with occasional sounds of waves hitting the hull. The cabin wasn't pitch black, as a small lamp at the door was still lit, casting a very weak light. But Yang's eyesight was good, and through the faint light, he saw that Xia Kejun had fallen asleep. She was covered in a thin quilt, with her pretty face exposed outside, breathing lightly, looking very peaceful.

  He and Xia Kejun were already very intimate, but far from that point. Of course, if Mu Yang wanted to, Xia Kejun might not refuse, but why did he need to destroy this beautiful thing? Let love flow between the two hearts, which is a hundred times stronger than loveless communication.

  Xia Kejun woke up and opened her eyes to find Mu Yang smiling at her from across the way, making Xia Kejun feel a bit embarrassed.

  Are women beautiful after waking up in the morning? It really depends on the person, actually most of them won't have any beauty at all. Think about it, hair is messy, face hasn't been washed, teeth haven't been brushed, and maybe there are even two pieces of eye boogers in the corner of their eyes, how can they be beautiful?

  However, Xia Kejun was very beautiful. At least, Murong thought that Xia Kejun, who had just woken up from sleep, was extremely beautiful. Her eyes were slightly dazed, and she looked like a sea peach waking up from spring sleep. With her blushing face at this time, she looked even more charming.

  "Brother Mo, you're awake."

  "Hey, wake up, are you getting out of bed?"

  "Let Brother Mo get up first, then I'll get up."

  Muyang burst out laughing and got up to wash his face in the bathroom, leaving space for Xia Kejun.

  After Mu Yang came out of the bathroom, he saw that Xia Kejun was already dressed and had made both beds. He said, "The ship still has two days of journey, I plan to go around other places on the ship at noon, after all, if we don't show our faces in this cabin, it's also very suspicious."

  "Be careful, Brother Mo, there are many Japanese on this ship."

  "En, I know, don't forget that your elder brother Da Ge is proficient in Japanese and has many ways to deal with the Japanese."

  The two of them simply ate some food brought by Mu Yang, which solved their breakfast problem.

  In the afternoon, Muyang dressed neatly and Xiaokejun even kindly helped her adjust her collar.

  As he was about to leave, Mu Yang said: "I won't be outside for long, after I go out, lock the guest room door well, don't open it or respond to anyone who knocks, I'll use my key to open the door when I get back, got it?"

  "I'll definitely keep quiet." Xia Kejun nodded in response.

  He's just taking precautions, but as for what will happen in the end, even he himself doesn't know. Better safe than sorry, after all.

  Muyang arrived at the restaurant on the ship, which was divided into three layers. Muyang's floor was naturally the highest layer, where wealthy people, officials and Japanese people lived, while ordinary civilians could only live in ordinary rooms with several or even dozens of people per room, or even a cabin with a shared bed.

  The restaurant's decoration is very luxurious, with a circular bar in the middle and ring-shaped tables around it for people to dine at.

  He chose a seat by the window where sunlight could shine in and ordered a cup of Bi Luo Chun, savoring it slowly. To be honest, he didn't quite understand tea, but he could tell that it tasted pretty good. In this season that had already entered autumn, drinking a cup of hot tea was also a comfortable thing to do.

  The peak hour for lunch has passed, and there are a few tables of people drinking tea and chatting. One table of three people is made up of military officers wearing Japanese military uniforms, but their ranks are not high, with the highest being a lieutenant.

  After watching it, Muyang didn't take it seriously either.

  However, he didn't bother those Japanese people, but they came to Mu Yang instead, and it wasn't for trouble.

  "Is this gentleman Japanese?" asked one of the Japanese lieutenants who had come over.

  Muyang initially thought that these Japanese people were looking for trouble, and opened his mouth to say: "Is there something?" Muyang neither denied nor acknowledged it, but vaguely replied in Japanese.

  "There's nothing else going on, a few of us want to play cards, but we're one player short. I don't know if you're interested." The lieutenant didn't pay attention to Mu Yang's response and continued to ask.

  "What brand, I don't know if I will or won't." Murong Yang didn't give a direct response.

  "Want to play Hanafuda?"

  "I know the basic rules, but I'm not proficient." Murong replied.

  Hanafuda is a traditional Japanese card game, Hanafuda originated in Japan's Azuchi-Momoyama period and was finalized as its current form until the late Edo (Tokugawa Ieyasu) period and has continued to this day.

  There are 48 cards in total, with four cards representing each of the twelve months. These 48 cards can be said to be a miniature version of Japanese culture, implying not only Japanese customs, festivals, various events, rituals and customs, but also educational connotations.

  Hanafuda is loved by the Japanese for its simple rules and beautiful flower designs. In Japan, hardly anyone plays poker, except for mahjong, people mostly play this type of card game.

  "It doesn't matter, anyway it's just killing time, come over."

  Mo Yang had no choice but to follow the lieutenant to their table, where the Japanese army lieutenant hastily invited him to sit down and play cards. It turned out that the lieutenant liked playing cards, especially with multiple players, so he called Mo Yang over since he was alone.

  A few people played cards and chatted, and Mu Yang learned about their identities. They were logistics maintenance personnel of the Japanese Navy, and these three people were all technical officers, which would be equivalent to a tech otaku in later generations.

  Muryou gave himself an identity as a merchant, a Japanese merchant who came to China, named Hirata Yasuo.

  Later, Muyang thought of asking them about the current situation in Shanghai, after all, the data in the book was not as authentic as asking real people.

  "After playing a hand of cards, Mu Yang spoke up and said, 'I've been doing business in Beijing and Tianjin in China all along, I don't come to Shanghai often, I'm not familiar with the situation here, if something happens, which department should I look for?'"

  "Of course it was the Shanghai Japanese Kempeitai, other military departments wouldn't bother with merchants' trivial matters."

  "Does Shanghai have many departments?"

  "Of course, the military department in Shanghai is very complicated and not like other cities, which only have one army command. You see, we are under the navy, specifically responsible for the maintenance of naval warships."

  "What other departments are there? Introduce them to me. If something really happens, it won't be a complete mess."

  "The headquarters of the Japanese army's Shanghai branch", "The Japanese Army Command Shanghai Branch", "Shanghai Japanese Kempeitai", "Japanese Navy Landing Force Headquarters", and also "China Expeditionary Fleet Staff", "Shanghai Area Garrison Command", "Third Fleet Command Shanghai Branch" - these departments, if you're an outsider, it's really hard to tell them apart.

  Muyang's head was spinning with all the departments, which one was in charge of managing this antique transportation? Muyang couldn't grasp the key point for a moment.

  For the next two days, Muyang occasionally appeared outside, but nothing happened, and no one was found to provide clues.

  The three-day voyage at sea has passed and this passenger liner finally arrived at Shanghai Port.

  The boat docked at the 16th pier, and Mu Yang held his luggage in one hand and Xia Kejun's hand in the other, following the crowd to walk across the floating bridge made of wooden boats onto the pier.

  "Brother Mo, where shall we go first?"

  They looked around in dismay, neither of them having been to Shanghai before. Looking at the crowded dock, they didn't know which direction to go.

  "First, let's get out of the dock and hail a taxi to ask for directions. Let's find a hotel to stay in first, then we can think about what to do next." Mu Yang was also unfamiliar with Shanghai, so they could only take it one step at a time.

  Out of the dock, called a rickshaw.

  "Where does the gentleman and his wife want to go?" asked the coachman.

  "Go to the best hotel in town, and make sure it's a safe one," said Mu Yang.

  "Ah, safest of all is a Japanese inn. Now only inns run by Japanese are any good." The rickshaw driver scratched his head and said.

  "By the way, I heard that if you want to rent a house in Shanghai, which area is safer?" Murong asked.

  This month, going out to make a living is absolutely a very dangerous thing, especially in a place like Shanghai where there are all kinds of people mixed together and it's occupied by the Japanese army, it's even more chaotic. Wanting to find a safe place is really not easy.

  Although Mu Yang didn't trust these carters much, it was still possible to ask them about things.

  The driver looked at Murong and Xia Kejun's attire and said, "What kind of house are you looking for? If it's that kind of slum area, it's definitely not safe. But with your identities, I estimate you won't be living in that kind of place. There are many vacant houses in Shanghai now, and it's easy to rent one. The only thing is, which district do you plan to live in?"

  Muyang thought for a moment, in order to make it more convenient to enter and exit in the future, he still chose a place that is closer to the dock. "It's best to be a distance from the dock that isn't too far, but also relatively safe, where Japanese people rarely disturb you."

  "It's really not easy to find a safe place now, as the Japanese are always conducting air raid drills and city-wide searches every now and then. There is absolutely no such thing as absolute safety. However, if you want to avoid the local hoodlums, it's still better to be in the concession district. At least that area was originally quiet and peaceful, and now it's been taken over by the Japanese, so except for the Japanese, there aren't many other people causing trouble there."

  The driver said very realistically, and this is also the current situation in Shanghai. There is no absolutely safe place, it can only be said that it is relatively speaking.

  "Can you help? Of course, your commission won't be less." said Mu Yang.

  The cart driver smiled when he heard this and readily agreed, as helping such a family would be more profitable than pulling carts.

  "Are you looking for an inn now or going to see a house?" asked the cart driver.

  Muyang took a look and saw that it was still early. Since they weren't in a hurry to check into the hotel, they might as well go take a look at some houses first.

  "If there's a suitable place, then take a look at the house first."

  "How about we go take a look at the French concession?" the rickshaw driver asked tentatively.