Chapter 24: Stormy Weather (11) Flying Kite Net

  Back in his own room, Lin Ao Feng casually tossed the trunk onto the bed, leaned against the door and let out a deep sigh. Unconsciously, he looked at the trunk lying quietly on the bed: "Little brother-in-law, what will you send me?! Such a big trunk?!" With doubts, Lin Ao Feng locked the door, walked to the bedside and opened the trunk. The things in the trunk were covered with a red cloth, and a letter lay in the center of the red cloth.

  Lin Ao Feng picked up the letter, weighed it for a moment, and suppressed his curiosity about what was inside the box. He opened the letter and read: "Ao Feng, your uncle is not in Shanghai and cannot protect you. On the surface, this city within a country appears very calm, but beneath the surface, it's full of hidden dangers and murderous intentions everywhere... Your uncle can't be by your side to protect you, so he specially sent someone with some small things for you. Although your uncle doesn't hope these things will come in handy, this is also his way of showing concern for you..."

  After finishing the letter, Lin Ao Feng's curiosity grew heavier, and he reached out to lift the red cloth covering it. The first thing that caught his eye was a modified Springfield rifle, with an 8x scope and a silencer attached below the barrel, as well as two hundred rounds of ammunition. Underneath the stock of the Springfield rifle lay two Browning 1911 pistols.

  Lin Ao Feng, who hadn't held a gun in a long time, was overjoyed to pick up a Browning, pulled the bolt back and forth, took aim at nothing for a while, felt unsatisfied, so he put a box of bullets into his pocket, hid two Browning pistols on himself, closed the trunk, stuffed it under the bed, opened the balcony door, propped himself up on the railing with one hand, flipped over and jumped down from the building.

  May 22nd, today is the day when all walks of life in Shanghai mourned Gu Zhenghong. At around 5 or 6 o'clock in the morning, the sky was exceptionally clear. However, when the Big Clock at the Bund Customs House struck seven, the sky suddenly turned gloomy and a light drizzle started to fall, as if heaven itself was lamenting the passing of this young life, Gu Zhenghong.

  As time went by, more and more workers and students came to mourn at the Zhabei Tanzi Bay public memorial service. When Zhang Kai left the mourning venue with his classmates from St. John's University around noon, a male student from Shanghai University rushed into the crowd. At the moment when the Shanghai University student fell, he was caught by several workers.

  A male student from Shanghai University panted and said: "When we passed through the International Settlement, a conflict broke out with the police station, and four of our classmates were taken away by the police."

  "What?!" "What?!"

  The workers and students around were shocked by the news, Qin Keqing standing beside Lin Ao Feng involuntarily looked at him. Lin Ao Feng let out a breath and said in a low voice: "It seems they can't stand the quietness, preparing to take action against the students and workers."

  "Comrades, fellow students! The blood of martyr Gu Zhenghong has not yet dried, and the imperialist butcher's knife has been raised again. We cannot be intimidated by them, we must unite...” As Lin Aofeng's voice fell, the representatives of the workers who were stirred up stood on the podium and began to speak, and leaflets were distributed into the hands of every person present.

  As noon approached, the students of St. John's University returned to school. Lin Ao Feng and Qin Ke Qing did not get caught up in the crowd, but instead parted ways with their classmates halfway. Hand in hand, they strolled under the shaded path. Lin Ao Feng looked at Qin Ke Qing beside him, who was feeling down, and asked: "Ke Qing, what's wrong?! Are you uncomfortable?!"

  Qin Keqing shook her head and said: "Ah Feng, after your explanation last time, I thought I had found my goal. But with the incident of our classmate being caught today, I feel confused again."

  Lin Ao Feng took a deep breath and said, "The road to national rejuvenation is bumpy. This road is filled with blood and tears. The arrest of students is just the beginning."

  "Start?!" Qin Keqin turned her head towards Lin Aofeng.

  As a traverser, Lin Ao Feng recalled the events that were about to unfold and nodded his head, saying: "Yes! Today's arrest of our classmate is just a signal from imperialism. If my guess is correct, a conspiracy against us and the workers has already begun."

  Ministry of Works Bureau Director General's Office.

  "Mr. Chairman, according to the intelligence provided by our insiders, today we have arrested four leading students who incited the student strike." Director Fai Woh-lei of the Police Department reported to Chairman Fai Seng-tak with certainty.

  Fey's face turned cold as he slammed the file on his desk, yelling at Director Fawley: "Has your brain been shot?! Or has that woman squeezed it with her thighs?! Do you know how much trouble these four students will bring me today?!"

  Favalli shrugged and said, "Your Honor, it can't be put that way. I don't think I did anything wrong."

  "Alright!" Fei Xun interrupted, "Since the matter has already occurred, you don't need to say anything else. What we need to do now is try our best to control the situation within our controllable range."

  "Knock knock knock". Before Fei Xin could even finish telling Fei Wo Li what was going to happen next, the knocking sound started.

  "Come in!" Hearing Fei Xun's voice, Vice President Lan Mu pushed the door and walked into Fei Xun's office. Seeing Fei Woli standing in Fei Xun's office, Lan Mu's eyebrows furrowed involuntarily. Fei Xun saw that Lan Mu was slow to speak and asked: "Lan Mu, is there something on your mind?"

  Lan Mu took a deep breath, pretending to be nonchalant, and smiled: "I'm here to take you fishing!"

  "Fishing?!" Fei Xinyu looked at Lan Mu with suspicion and confusion, suddenly understanding, said: "Lan Mu is extremely regretful, I'm afraid we won't be able to go fishing! Come take a look at this thing!"

  Lan Mu walked to the edge of Fei Xun's office desk, picked up the file folder, glanced at Fei Wo Li, and then opened the folder. After scanning it from head to toe, he said: "General Manager, I have to say that our General Manager Fei Wo Li has done a foolish thing. Originally we could sit back and watch the fight between the two tigers, but now we can't even watch the show, and we've become their target of hatred. I suggest holding an emergency board meeting to discuss countermeasures."

  Fei Xin hesitated for a moment before saying: "It seems that's all we can do. Feiwoli, you go back first! We'll notify you once we've made a decision!"

  "Alright then!" Favalli turned and left Fei Xun's office. After the door closed, Lan Muo said: "Chairman, I just received news that the British and Japanese have reached an agreement to replicate in Shanghai the tragic incident that occurred at Hong Kong's Sha Tin."

  "Damn the British!" Fei Xinhui heard this news, suddenly became furious and shouted: "What the hell! What do they want to do?! Do they really want to provoke public outrage in China?!" After a while, Fei Xinhui calmed down and picked up the direct phone on his desk, saying to his secretary: "Immediately notify all directors to hold an emergency meeting."

  When the Minister of Works' director received a phone call and rushed to the Ministry of Works building, Akagi Katsuhiro, the head of Japan's intelligence agency in Shanghai, arrived at the Hongkou Japanese Consulate General.

  "Consul General, Lieutenant Commander Akagi requests an audience!" The attendant knocked on the door and entered the Consul General's office.

  Consul-General Akira put down his pen and said, "Ask him to come in!"

  "Hello!" The attendant replied and left the office. Not long after, Akagi Koshin pushed open the door from outside and walked in with a smile on his face, looking at Shigemitsu Akiyoshi and saying: "Consul General, everything has been arranged!"

  "Oh?! Really?!" Akira Shigemitsu's eyes suddenly lit up as he looked at Kōkan Akagi.

  Akagi Kōshin nodded slightly and smiled as he replied, "According to the Chinese saying, we are now fully prepared and only waiting for the east wind. But I believe the east wind will arrive soon."

  "Be careful!" Akira Kiyosumi narrowed his eyes and said with a smile: "Mr. Akagi, the more critical the situation is, the more cautious we must be. The Americans and British are only together for their own interests; if we don't eliminate the possibility of the Americans abandoning the British to protect their own interests..."

  Akamatsu's lips curled up slightly as he bowed his head and smiled, "Consul General, you don't have to worry so much. The anger in the hearts of the Chinese has already been thoroughly ignited this morning. As long as we add fuel to the fire behind the backs of the Chinese and the British, I believe that in the end, it will be us who reap the benefits."

  "Hmm!" Akane Shigemitsu nodded and reminded, "Akagi-kun, confidence is a good thing. But blind confidence is arrogance. We can't underestimate the British too much. After all, a dead camel is bigger than a horse, although the British suffered heavy losses in World War I, their navy is still stronger than ours. There's no need to make unnecessary assumptions, it's not time to turn against them yet."

  "As soon as Akagi's heel touched the ground, he guaranteed with a solemn oath: 'Your Excellency Consul, please rest assured! I will grasp the subtlety of this matter well and not let the British have any suspicions!'"

  Half an hour later, Akagi Kengo left Shige's office and returned to his own office to change clothes. He then headed to the International Hotel with two trusted men.

  Fevolri, who had been waiting at the international restaurant, saw Akagi Kōshin rushing over and said with a displeased expression: "Mr. Akagi, I've urgently summoned you here, you must be very surprised, right?!"

  Akagi Kōken smiled and ordered a cup of coffee, saying: "Mr. Favalli, I'm afraid you're going to be disappointed! I had already guessed that you would call me to meet." As he spoke, Akagi picked up the coffee that the waiter had just brought over, stirring it with a spoon as he said: "You can rest assured! We won't betray our friends."

  "Are you going to betray your friends?!" Favalli smiled wryly and said, "Akagi-san, let's not beat around the bush. Just before I called you, I received a notice from the Ministry of Justice about how to handle this matter. If there is no new evidence to prove that these four students are the masterminds behind the Shanghai student strike, then I must release all of them within 48 hours."

  Akagi Keiichi took a sip of coffee, and as he put down the cup, a gleam flashed across his mouth, and with a smile, he said: "Don't worry, within 48 hours, I'll give you a satisfactory answer."