Novels like A Spy's Career, Starting with The Pretender
Books Chinese readers most often put in the same booklists as A Spy's Career, Starting with The Pretender, best match first.
- 1 Tigers Clash in the Spy Wars 谍海虎斗 In 1937, the Marco Polo Bridge Incident breaks out. The land is shattered, the winds of change rise again, and countless factions vie for supremacy. Xu Feng, the young master of a fallen family, enters the world of espionage and helps his organization overcome one crisis after another. He is meticulous and skilled at reading people. He is loyal to his country and keeps his cool when dealing with the enemy. Starting out as a lowly patrolman, he uses the small to overcome the great and infiltrates 158Reads—Score—Shelves
- 2 Only Faith Can Keep the Kite Aloft 唯有信仰牵系，风筝方能高飞 Adapted from The Kite, with an original female lead and many original elements. [No romantic storyline with the male lead. Whether there will be a pairing is to be decided separately.] A hundred years ago, immortals, demons, spirits, monsters, ghosts, and the like held sway. In the Suzhou area, the main branch of the wealthy Dai family lives alongside a century-old curse. A century-old locust tree has also guarded the family for nearly a hundred years. As war breaks out, the only girl among the —Reads—Score—Shelves
- 3 One of the Eight Great Generals of the Military Statistics Bureau: I Am Zheng Yaoxian 军统八大金刚之我是郑耀先 [Espionage + history + secret agents] No power fantasy, no golden finger. Read with caution if that's not your thing. “I once thought I was Zheng Yaoxian of the Military Statistics Bureau, Ghost Six, a killing machine. But my brothers, you used your lives to teach me that you were Chinese first and foremost. Today, we have all gotten our wish. Consider this peaceful, prosperous world something I’m seeing on your behalf…” 158Reads7.4Score119Shelves
- 4 Espionage: I Shock Zheng Yaoxian from the Start and Become a Symbol of Faith 谍战：开局震惊郑耀先，我成信仰 After transmigrating, Ye Ming finds himself in a world where espionage dramas such as Kite, The Disguiser, The Message, and Lurk have merged. He becomes a military academy student and classmate of Ming Tai and Yu Manli, stunning Zheng Yaoxian from the start. After graduation, Ye Ming is ordered to infiltrate the city of Shanghai and rebuild the Military Statistics Bureau’s Shanghai branch. Before long, Shanghai is gripped by fear of a triple agent who terrifies Japanese and puppet-government spi 410Reads—Score—Shelves
- 5 Shadows of a Master of Disguise 伪装者的暗影 —Reads—Score—Shelves
- 6 A Haze of Spies 谍雾濛濛 Shen Junfei, a high-ranking Communist Party agent deep undercover in enemy territory, suddenly withdraws, leaving behind a “young swallow” who has yet to spread her wings. Just like that, she is cast into the vast ocean of espionage... 4Reads7.6Score—Shelves
- 7 The Age of War 烽火年代 “I would burn my body and become a bolt of lightning, To tear apart the endless, pitch-black night. Even if I could bring only a fleeting moment of light, It would still illuminate and warm this beautiful world.” A vital piece of intelligence, an uncanny photograph, and a world where enemies and allies are hard to tell apart and danger lurks everywhere. A brutal war of raging flames and flying bullets; a tense spy struggle rife with deception and intrigue. Loyalty and betrayal, reunion and sepa 140Reads8.0Score—Shelves
- 8 The Greatest Spy War: Lurking in the Shadows 最强谍战之仆伏 Set during the Republic of China period, this book tells the legendary story of Zeng Dazhi, one of our agents operating undercover in the East China Sea. Misunderstood, disavowed, and targeted by his own side, he remains true to his original convictions, risking his life to gather intelligence, blow up an enemy ammunition depot, help establish a radio station, transport medicine, and evacuate cultural figures. In the end, he returns to the liberated area, raises his right hand, and swears his al 44Reads—Score—Shelves
- 9 Shadows of Espionage, 1936 谍影1936 An ordinary civil servant is unexpectedly transmigrated to the turbulent twenty-fifth year of the Republic of China after a twist of fate. In an era full of uncertainty and challenges, he is forced into the complex, mysterious world of the Military Statistics Bureau, embarking on a thrilling and legendary career as a spy. In search of an underground organization hidden in the shadows and determined to expose Japanese spies' conspiracies, he resolutely throws himself into this war without gunfire —Reads—Score—Shelves
- 10 Spy Games: A Fight to the Death 谍战，生死较量 I transmigrated to Jiangcheng in 1936, on the eve of the full-scale War of Resistance, and became an action team member of the Lixingshe. At this critical moment, when the nation’s very survival was at stake, I couldn’t change the course of history. But I would still do everything in my power, using my talents to shed my blood for our country’s victory in the war against Japan. 91Reads6.4Score—Shelves
- 11 Transmigrate to the War of Resistance: From the Start, I’m Hunting Yan Shuangying 穿越抗战：开局追杀燕双鹰 [Yan Shuangying] [Zheng Yaoxian] [Ruthless and Decisive] Yang Xiao, a college student suffering from stomach cancer, wakes up after a failed surgery to discover that he has transmigrated into another world and taken over the body of a traitor with the same name. Less than half an hour after transmigrating, before he can even figure out what's going on, he receives orders from his superior: lead a team to surround Yan Shuangying. At the sound of that name, Yang Xiao nearly curses out loud. But wi 31Reads—Score—Shelves
- 12 Starting with Kite: A Legend in the World of Espionage 从风筝开始：我在谍战世界的传说 Walk through the world of espionage, following in the footsteps of those who came before to experience that weighty chapter of history firsthand. I came. I witnessed. I am Yuan Chang'an... P.S. Kite and The Wind have wrapped up. I'm now dancing on the edge of a cliff. 5Reads5.6Score—Shelves
- 13 The Hidden Front of the War Against Japan 抗日之隐蔽战线 Kudo Yuan is the head of Japan’s spy agency, yet no one ever imagined he was Chinese! His adoptive father is an Army lieutenant general, and his uncle is a Navy admiral. Can he complete his covert mission in the face of temptations from a seductive femme fatale and challenges from old devils and clowns? 173Reads6.8Score—Shelves
- 14 Shadows of Espionage: The Sleeper Agent's Hidden Move 谍影：潜伏者的暗棋 He was a disposable pawn marked for execution in place of someone else, but he reversed his fate under the guns. In three days, he went from an abandoned pawn to a name on the Special High Commissioner's desk. In half a month, he had the head of a Military Statistics Bureau station requesting a meeting. How would a criminal psychology graduate student who transmigrated into the past navigate the tides of espionage and turn himself, a dead piece, into the only living eye on the entire board? Repu 39Reads—Score—Shelves
- 15 War of Resistance: The Chinese Medicine Spy 抗战：中医特工 He went up the mountain to gather herbs and saved a beautiful woman. Who could have guessed that she would drag him into a secret agent training group for deadly training… Fireworks fade fast, but a Chinese medicine practitioner never backs down. See how Lin Yun transforms from a wandering street doctor into an elite fighter on the front lines of the resistance against Japan and the struggle to save the nation… 1.8kReads7.6Score144Shelves
- 16 Code Name: Migratory Bird 代号候鸟 A heart-pounding covert war, as deep as the ocean! The most enduring declaration of love in the world is staying by someone’s side… 1kReads7.7Score103Shelves
- 17 Infinite Espionage: Rewriting My Fate from Kite 无限谍战：从风筝开始逆天改命 Zhuang Wei, an undercover agent, unexpectedly awakens a spy-operation System. Guided by the System, he completes missions in several spy-fiction worlds, including The Kite, The Disguiser, and Lurk, steadily growing stronger. He helps the ill-fated characters in these worlds defy their destinies and change their lives, ultimately becoming an outstanding spy himself and uncovering the secret behind how he was brought here... 339Reads5.5Score—Shelves
- 18 I Gun Down Half the Shanghai Station of the Military Statistics Bureau from the Start 开局枪杀半个军统上海站 [Power fantasy] [Action expert] [Shanghai] [Espionage] He is the king of Shanghai by night, the king of the King of Hell. When the King of Hell says you will die at the third watch, no one can keep you alive until the fifth. During the War of Resistance against Japan, a Communist Party agent embedded in the military intelligence service hunts down the enemy and eliminates traitors in Shanghai. 101Reads5.9Score—Shelves
- 19 Hearts of Iron IV: Total War 暗斗4：全面战争 Total war has long been raging right beside us! Our enemies use methods more brutal than ever, and China faces a calamity without precedent. Whether we can escape this disaster will determine the course of human civilization, and may even decide whether humanity lives or dies! The Jews, the most vile people of all, have finally bared their sharp fangs… 136Reads7.0Score—Shelves
- 20 Behind the Bullet 子弹的背后 Zhong Xianghui and Zhong Xiangyu were brothers, but their parents held different political beliefs, so they were forced to live apart from an early age. The elder brother followed their father and joined the Military Statistics Bureau, where he earned the favor of Ding Enze, its head in Shanghai. The younger brother, Zhong Xiangyu, joined the Communist Party with their mother as a child and infiltrated the Bureau's Linli training program. There, he unexpectedly reunited with his brother, but bec 255Reads9.5Score—Shelves
- 21 Espionage: You Were Told to Go Undercover, So How Did You Become the Boss of Shanghai? 谍战：让你潜伏，你成淞沪大佬？ [Espionage + no System + no brainless plot + loyal revolutionary roots + multiple identities] In the twentieth year of the Republic of China, the head of the Red Party's Third Special Section was arrested and immediately defected. Overnight, around a hundred outstanding Red Party comrades were arrested. Within a year, spies had uncovered nearly all of the Red Party's secret safe houses in Shanghai. Whenever the nation is in peril, heroes always step forward. Zhang Mingxue, only twenty-five years 1Reads—Score—Shelves
- 22 The Fog of Espionage 谍战迷雾 Liang Tianzhou, a medical intern who returned from studying in Japan, transmigrates to the Republic of China era and becomes one of our underground agents. Faced with misunderstanding from the woman he loves, the expectations of a young girl, and the passionate advances of a beautiful agent, what should he choose? You have one sinister plot after another, but I have a divine sword for breaking them apart. Amid truth and lies, illusion and reality, he skillfully outmaneuvers the enemy. With myste 209Reads6.4Score—Shelves
- 23 The Wind Raider 掠风者 In the winter of 1938, the Japanese occupied Tianjin. Zhou Chufeng, a trusted aide to the notorious traitor Shen Fuxing, rescued Gu Caiwei, a female intelligence agent for the Nationalists. The two pretended to be lovers, using each other as cover to conceal their identities from Shen Fuxing and Hirota Ryoichi, the commander of the Japanese garrison. During an interrogation, Zhou Chufeng was activated as “Kindling,” a Communist agent planted deep undercover. At the same time, both received order 14Reads9.1Score—Shelves
- 24 One Man's Flames of War 一个人的烽火 Chosen for no apparent reason and sent for no apparent reason through numerous FPS games, he thought clearing them all would let him return to reality. Instead, he arrived in a tragic, heroic era teeming with legends. Just what kind of whirlwind will this little butterfly stir up? The golden finger is only a supporting tool + decisive and ruthless + mildly comedic + one female lead 42Reads—Score—Shelves
- 25 Agent: Yu Zecheng Is My Superior 特工：余则成是我上峰 [Transmigration + God of War + Rebirth + Urban Life + War] Li Lingfeng, a philosophy graduate from the northwest, stayed up all night preparing his job application materials and suddenly died on the street. To his surprise, he transmigrates into the body of a war hero carrying out a secret assassination mission during the War of Resistance Against Japan. The hero is also named Li Lingfeng, and he is following Yu Zecheng’s orders. 187Reads—Score—Shelves
- 26 Back to the Republican Era as a Secret Agent 回到民国做特工 Chen Feng, an esper who fought zombies in the apocalypse, runs into the Zombie King during a mission. With no other choice, he blows himself up to take the Zombie King with him. But Chen Feng never expected that his spatial ability would cause his soul to travel back to the Republic of China, where he possesses a military intelligence agent. From then on, Chen Feng begins a battle of wits and courage against Japanese and puppet-regime spies. 94Reads—Score—Shelves
- 27 The Hidden Frontline III: The Strange Mysteries of Jinling 隐蔽战线三：金陵诡谲 After the August 15 victory, the Kuomintang launched frenzied attacks and plundered the revolutionary bases in an attempt to spark a civil war and seize the fruits of victory. It recruited large numbers of Japanese collaborators to serve its cause. Ye Yunsheng, a member of our Party who had infiltrated the Japanese Bamboo Agency's Special Higher Police, was among those targeted for recruitment. Both the Investigation and Statistics Bureau and the Military Statistics Bureau admired Ye Yunsheng's 587Reads9.5Score107Shelves
- 28 Agent: Fighting Yu Manli from the Start 特工：开局搏斗于曼丽 After transmigrating, Lin Guangnian enrolls at the Military Statistics Bureau’s secret agent academy, where he becomes classmates with Yu Zecheng, Yu Manli, and Ming Tai. He shocks Wang Tianfeng during a training exercise. Wang Tianfeng: “The best student I’ve ever taught!” Zheng Yaoxian: “Move the plan up. Support Lin Guangnian in all his operations!” Yu Manli: “I don’t love a hooligan like you!” Yu Zecheng: “Big Brother, what’s our next move?” 216Reads5.9Score—Shelves
- 29 Just Like His Father and Grandfather Once Were 就像他父辈和祖辈曾经的模样 (From World War I to World War II) (Slow burn, with the focus mainly on the period after World War I) (A note for readers who may want to pass: It's slow-paced. It has some wish-fulfillment, but nothing too outrageous.) (Alternate history) “Deceivers and doers aren't necessarily opposites. Deception takes many forms. If my actions make you believe that this is who I am, then I've succeeded in deceiving you. As for being a doer, I deceived you all and then made my deception a reality.” Humphryck 5Reads8.2Score—Shelves
- 30 Espionage: Codename Screw 谍战之代号螺丝钉 Good news: A sharpshooter from the shooting range transmigrates to the Republican era and becomes a little agent for the Military Statistics Bureau. He has extraordinary hearing, peerless marksmanship, and a few other tricks up his sleeve... Bad news: The Lone Wolf team has been wiped out, and I’ve become a prisoner of the Japanese. Their guns are already aimed at the back of my head. I’m about to get boxed, and it looks like I’ll be meeting my great-grandma any minute... My name is Lin Tianxian 3kReads6.5Score183Shelves
- 31 I'm a Deserter: My War of Resistance 我是逃兵我的抗战 His soul transmigrates into the body of a low-ranking soldier, while his own soul comes from his previous life. He was basically good for nothing, and when he is suddenly reborn, he is afraid of hardship. Separated from his unit, he becomes a deserter who is as good as dead, yet somehow still alive. Because he knows how history unfolds, he spends the early days hiding and running for his life. Through a twist of fate, he ends up as an intelligence agent for the Nationalists. With no connections —Reads—Score—Shelves
- 32 Espionage: One Poisonous Scheme After Another, Leaving the Japanese Calling Me a Living Yama 谍战：毒计连连，鬼子直呼活阎王 Gu Nan transmigrates to 1936 and becomes an ace “torture spy.” He awakens an ability to obtain intelligence. As long as he tortures the Japanese and makes them suffer, he can extract the intelligence they possess. Special Higher Police Section: We must never let Gu Nan get his hands on us. No one can keep a secret from him. Nan Zao Yun Zi: I didn’t say anything, really. Chief of the Special Higher Police Section: He just beat me up, and every top-secret agent hiding in China was exposed. Head of 1Reads—Score—Shelves
- 33 Espionage: A Forensic Doctor Reincarnates as the Republican Era's Top Spy 谍战：法医魂穿，成民国第一特务 [Crossover of Film and TV Worlds + Triple-Identity Agent + Vivid Characterization + No System] A year ago, he was an invisible nobody at work, a rookie forensic examiner! A year later, Gu Mingzhe transmigrates into a new body and becomes the Republican Era's most formidable agent! As for ruthlessness, Wang Manchun is no match for me! As for schemes, even the Viper Ming Lou is nothing special! As for presence, even Nanda Yoko has to bow and scrape before me! Codebreaking, reconnaissance, business 1.1kReads5.7Score—Shelves
- 34 Espionage: I Took Out the Tokko Chief from the Start 谍战：开局就干掉了特高科科长 (Spy thriller + Transmigration + System + Saving the nation and its people + Ruthless action + Feel-good power fantasy) A homebody transmigrated into the body of an ace agent codenamed Viper. As soon as he arrived, fate played a joke on him: almost as if in a dream, he killed the head of the Special Higher Police. He was thrown straight into the military police prison. But there was always a way out. With his life hanging in the balance, he turned the tables and walked out in spectacular fash 43Reads—Score—Shelves
- 35 The Undercover Agent's Mark 潜伏者的印记 A mysterious classified file has come to light, revealing the silent battlefield of the infiltrators. The silent war is all the more terrifying. He has lived undercover for years, each mission like walking a tightrope. He can never tell friend from foe among those around him, and every step hides a deadly trap. As the clouds of suspicion gradually clear, the marks of those years spent undercover will ultimately become medals of history. 4Reads—Score—Shelves
- 36 Intelligence Codename: I Am Candle Shadow 谍报代号我是烛影 He is the Chen family’s only son, a wealthy young master, fluent in several languages, a top expert, and equipped with memories from his rebirth and a portable pocket dimension. On the surface, he is a carefree playboy. Inside, he is a soldier driven by urgency and guilt after being reborn. He plays a multifaceted spy while cultivating ties with all sides. Love of country and family: the romance and moving spirit of a “lone hero.” 94Reads6.5Score172Shelves
- 37 The Young Patrol Chief of Republican-Era China 民国小巡长 In 1938, Beiping lay beneath the shadow of occupation, with cold winds carrying the smoke of war through its streets. Su Chen, an unemployed young man, transmigrates by accident and becomes a patrol chief on Qianmen Street. More precious to him than the uniform that puts food on his table is the ace he brought with him: a twelve-story department store from 2026. It has everything, from rice, flour, cooking oil, and grain to gold, silver, and jewelry, even military equipment, all available in un 322Reads—Score—Shelves
- 38 Kite 风筝 Decades of ups and downs, decades of life and death, all for the sake of completing the most difficult mission. The most dangerous infiltration, the most heart-pounding plots; hunted by both the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, he witnessed tragedies of unimaginable cruelty. It was a war without gunfire, yet all the more terrifying for it. Zheng Yaoxian, the Kuomintang's top secret agent, was ruthless, cunning, and clever. He was the feared "Sixth Brother" of the Military Statistics Bureau, a 61Reads9.3Score—Shelves
- 39 The Schemer 暗算者 The Strategist is a handpicked collection of 66 spy thrillers and novellas, like a box of carefully crafted deadly weapons, each one different in shape and razor-sharp. 66 stories, 66 battles for life and death. From the nail-biting suspense of going undercover alone to the battle of wits involved in cracking codes; from silent tails through streets and alleyways to undercurrents swirling at dances and card tables. You'll witness how the solitary “Listener” hears thunder in the silence, feel how 11Reads—Score—Shelves
- 40 Shadows of Espionage: Enemy Agents in Action! 谍影重重：敌特在行动！ In the twenty-eighth year of the Republic, the whole nation was engulfed in the flames of the War of Resistance. Liu Zezhi had graduated from the Military Statistics Bureau's Qingpu training camp just over a year earlier when he was ordered to keep watch on Li Shiqun, who was suspected of planning to defect. Just as expected, Li Shiqun defected, and by a twist of fate, Liu Zezhi accidentally saved his life. Li Shiqun became the head of the 76th Division, the secret police organization of Wang Ji 3.7kReads8.8Score332Shelves
- 41 I Sign In to the Republic-Era Spy System From the Start 我，开局签到民国特务系统 After transmigrating to the Republican era, I started out with the Japanese chasing me down. At the critical moment, the System activated. Sign in: obtained fluency in Japanese and a pistol. I fired back and killed them on the spot. From then on, Peking gained a living King of Hell whom everyone feared. I kill collaborators, steal weapons, infiltrate the Japanese military, and turn beautiful female spies to my side... Other people rely on their brains to play spy games. I rely on sign-ins. As lo 1kReads—Score116Shelves
- 42 Espionage: The Ultimate Agent, Starting by Becoming Zheng Yaoxian's Disciple 谍战：最强特工，开局拜师郑耀先 Su Minming turned his head and looked at the somewhat timid girl before him. A smile unconsciously tugged at his lips. She stood beside him in a plain white dress, her hair outlined by the moonlight, soft as clouds. Her large, bright eyes were like the clear water of a pond, able to see straight through to the stirrings in his heart. 213Reads5.4Score—Shelves
- 43 Shadow Spy Network 暗影谍云 Born into a time of chaos, no one can choose their circumstances. When an event becomes a matter of national importance, no one in the realm can stand apart, whether they want to or not. Among the countless people of the world, some may be willing to sink into oblivion, while others will stand up and fight for their country, casting life and death aside as they give their all with the fiery courage of heroes. Yet they also know there are two things in the world one must never look at directly: t 65Reads—Score—Shelves
- 44 Espionage: I Got the Hell-Mode Script, but I'm Really on the Good Guys' Side 谍战：拿了地狱剧本的我真是友军 [No System + No Female Lead, Not a Wish-Fulfillment Novel. Don't Read If You Don't Like That] Long Yan transmigrates ninety years into the past. But why does something feel off??? Fang Tianyi, Zhou Weiguo, Takeshita Shun, Chen Shen, Bi Zhongliang, Lin Nansheng, Li Moqun, Chen Moqun, Ye Chong, Ming Lou, Ming Tai, Ming Jing... What the heck? How did I end up in a spy drama?! And the worst part is, Long Yan has actually transmigrated into... A Japanese officer?!! 21Reads8.8Score—Shelves
- 45 Espionage: The Days I Slacked Off at the Military Statistics Bureau 谍战我在军统摆烂的日子 We live in a peaceful era, but how many nameless heroes sacrificed their lives for this country and its people? History books are too thin to contain their greatness. Turn a page, and you've got their whole lives! History books are also too thick. We can't remember their names; we only know that they are heroes! He transmigrates through time to China during the War of Resistance Against Japan and takes the place of the original owner. Following his elders' arrangements, he joins the Juntong as a 74Reads6.1Score—Shelves
- 46 Twin Blades: Impostors in the Demon Cave 双星齐刃：魔窟伪装者 After the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japan in 1945, Liu Mingzhang, a secret Communist Party member codenamed Qiming, and Zheng Yaoxian, codenamed Kite, navigate the treacherous environment of the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics. With intelligence and courage, they pass along information and match wits with their foes. After a series of grueling challenges and brushes with death, they obtain vital intelligence and help the organization strike at the enemy. At last, they witne 219Reads6.5Score—Shelves
- 47 Espionage: It All Starts with Teaching a Colonel's Wife a Lesson! 谍战：从教训大佐夫人开始！ Chen Shaoan transmigrated to the years of the War of Resistance against Japan. Driven by fervent patriotism, he awakened the undercover System and embarked on the path to becoming an ace agent. As long as he was promoted or passed along important intelligence he had obtained, he would earn Anti-Japanese Points. He could use them to buy stamina, modern weapons, peerless martial arts, supernatural abilities, and more… His wife asked, “Is this what you wanted?” Chen Shaoan smiled but said nothing. 639Reads—Score—Shelves
- 48 Infiltrating the Military Statistics Bureau, I Accidentally Built an Arms Empire 我在军统搞渗透，竟造出军火帝国 After transmigrating to a world of espionage, Ren Pingsheng becomes a nobody in the archives room. After accidentally activating the [Mission Lottery System], Ren Pingsheng mows down people like grass and blows up buildings like he’s setting off firecrackers! Zheng Yaoxian treats him like a brother, while the higher-ups are completely wrapped around his finger. Everyone thinks Ren Pingsheng rose through the ranks by sucking up to powerful people. Who would have guessed that, in the blink of an e 795Reads5.9Score101Shelves
- 49 Espionage: From the Start, I'm Told to Investigate My Own Communist Party 谍战：开局让我一个红党查红党 A leak at the newly established Zhejiang branch of the Fuxing Society led to a failed arrest. Acting on Dai’s orders, Lin Mingyu, a Communist Party member undercover at the Central Army Officer Academy, heads to the Zhejiang branch to secretly investigate the Communist Party infiltrators. 384Reads—Score—Shelves
- 50 Silent Glory: Blade Against Time 沉默的荣耀之逆时之刃 A spin-off novel in the "Glory of Silence" series, telling the story of an unlucky man who transmigrates into a spy thriller with a System. Follow him as he navigates Taiwan during the White Terror and makes it out unscathed. 32Reads—Score—Shelves
