“I’m not afraid of you at all. Let’s go, it’s payday today—let’s get some zhajiang noodles.” Andrew Carter certainly wasn’t afraid of Ryan Cooper; he just didn’t want to have too much contact with Ryan Cooper.

Back in school, Andrew Carter knew that Ryan Cooper was quite left-leaning, and after getting into Beiyang University, he became even more active.

Last year, when the Anti-Imperialist Grand Alliance was destroyed, Andrew Carter was really worried about his safety for a while.

Fortunately, both Ryan Cooper and Grace Morgan were fine.

“Have you been well lately?” Grace Morgan heard Ryan Cooper’s angry shout, and her heart pounded wildly. She tried hard to steady her rapid breathing and asked calmly.

After looking at Andrew Carter’s familiar face, her gaze suddenly became exceptionally bright, and she looked at him with hope.

“I can’t handle British money.” Before Andrew Carter could speak, Ryan Cooper sneered.

If Andrew Carter, after graduation, had worked at the Haigu Public Security Bureau, he could have understood.

But Andrew Carter was working for the imperialists, and that was something he simply couldn’t accept.

Imperialism oppressed and exploited the Chinese people, lording it over them—he hated that more than anything.

“Can you tell which bills in your pocket are British and which are Chinese?” Andrew Carter retorted.

“Grace is asking you a question. You, a patrolman in the British concession—are you living the good life?” Ryan Cooper couldn’t out-argue Andrew Carter, so he dropped the subject of money.

“It’s not too bad, just getting by.” Andrew Carter looked up, grinned, and said carelessly.

Andrew Carter certainly knew what Grace Morgan was thinking, but with his current status, it was no longer appropriate for him to be with Grace Morgan.

Not to mention the rules in the British concession—only three percent of people are allowed to marry. If you haven’t become an inspector, you basically can’t even think about marriage. Otherwise, you’ll just get fired.

Besides, with his identity, being around people like Ryan Cooper and Grace Morgan would only make things more dangerous for both sides.

When he first joined the Communist Party, Andrew Carter had already decided to fight for his beliefs for a lifetime.

Now, Ryan Cooper and Grace Morgan might misunderstand him, but in the future, they would surely understand.

Even if they never knew while he was alive, after he died, he would definitely explain everything to them.

Hearing Andrew Carter’s words, Grace Morgan’s eyes suddenly dimmed. Andrew Carter seemed to answer, but in fact, his reply was completely off-topic.

Seeing this, Ryan Cooper grew anxious. He walked up to Andrew Carter, stretched out his right hand, and gave Andrew Carter’s shoulder a hard shove, angrily demanding, “When did you become such a bastard?”

When Ryan Cooper made his move, Andrew Carter’s body shifted slightly to the left. It looked like Ryan Cooper had pushed him, but in reality, he only touched Andrew Carter’s clothes.

He had trained at the police academy for two years—it wasn’t for nothing. The burly Ryan Cooper had always been stronger than him before. But now, even two Ryan Coopers might not be his match.

“Well, now that you’re working for foreigners, your skills have improved too.” Ryan Cooper said, a bit surprised.

He was tall and strong, and had always been much better at fighting than Andrew Carter. From childhood to now, whenever they fought, Andrew Carter had never beaten him. Just now, when Andrew Carter dodged so easily, he immediately noticed.

“I trained at the police academy for two years, after all.” Andrew Carter smiled, looking confident.

“At a time when the nation is in peril, how have you lost your former courage?” Grace Morgan looked at Andrew Carter, her eyes full of disappointment.

She could understand why Andrew Carter applied to the Haigu Police Academy. After all, the academy didn’t charge tuition, which was very important for the Carter family at the time.

Back then, she thought that after Andrew Carter graduated, if he joined the Haigu Public Security Bureau, he could even help cover for their movement. If a student movement had a police officer as an insider, it wouldn’t be so dangerous.

But after graduating, Andrew Carter actually became a patrolman in the British concession!

Back at Railway No. 1 High School, Andrew Carter had also participated in the anti-Japanese national salvation movement. At that time, Andrew Carter was also full of passion. How could things have changed so much that he was now willing to serve the imperialists?

“I have to make a living, and pay off debts.” Andrew Carter said, going against his conscience.

His identity was such that he couldn’t tell his parents above, nor his wife and children below. No matter how deep his friendship with Ryan Cooper and Grace Morgan, this was something he absolutely couldn’t tell them.

“If it’s just about paying off debts, we can figure something out together.” Grace Morgan frowned and said.

“Only caring about yourself is selfish.” Ryan Cooper heard Andrew Carter repeatedly talk about making a living and paying debts, and said with contempt.

Andrew Carter said nothing, letting his old friend Ryan Cooper mock him mercilessly. He looked at Grace Morgan, and saw deep disappointment in her eyes as well.

No matter how much he wanted to say, at this moment, Andrew Carter couldn’t utter another word. No matter how strong his inner urge, reason had to triumph over emotion.

If David Bolton knew what Andrew Carter was thinking at this moment, he would surely admire Andrew Carter even more. Because being able to control one’s emotions with reason is exactly what an outstanding agent must be able to do.

From the moment he prepared to go underground, Andrew Carter knew he was destined to be alone. Most of the time, he would have to fight by himself.