dhibooks Chapter 242 The play is over!
Chapter 242 The play is over!
"you……"
Mo Lanzhi didn't let him finish speaking, she just raised her hand. At the back door, side window, and corridor, several plainclothes officers appeared at the same time, their movements as fast as hooks pulling in a net. One of them pressed down on the radio, the other grabbed the telegraph operator's arm, and the other two swept away the codebook, blueprints, and copies on the table.
The entire courtyard was in chaos for less than three seconds before it was brought under control.
The shopkeeper tried to touch his lower back, but as soon as he moved, a gun was pressed against his chin, and he froze on the spot, cold sweat instantly pouring down his back.
Mo Lanzhi walked to the table, glanced down at the fake picture, and said in a flat, emotionless tone, "Is this all you've got to stay up all night for?"
Lu Shaoting's face turned pale, but he forced himself to say, "You dare to arrest people in the International Settlement?"
Su Guiying placed the paper package on the table, slowly unwrapped it, and inside was a package of still-warm roasted chestnuts. She picked one up, peeled it, and then looked up at him. "Arresting someone?"
She smiled, but the smile was cold. "Mr. Lu, don't be so sure of yourself. It's not that we're negotiating here; it's that you're using the pretext of the Northern Expedition to probe the warehouses, roads, prices, and mines in the Southeast. Internationally, that's espionage. You've practically delivered yourself to the authorities. Even the International Settlement can't protect such a dirty hand."
Lu Shaoting still tried to deny it, saying, "The picture is real, and even if you arrest him now, you can't change it..."
"real?"
Su Guiying pushed the picture under the light and pointed her finger at a fine mark on the corner of the paper.
"Here, look for yourself. This coal yard number is an old one that was abandoned two years ago. This storage line collapsed halfway during last year's flood season and has long been used to grow grass. This thing in your hand, you didn't steal it, we're showing it to you specifically."
Lu Shaoting's eyes widened immediately.
He stared intently at the incorrect code, his face drained of all color. It wasn't just ordinary shock; it was a chill that ran from the top of his head to the soles of his feet. It turned out that everything he thought he had gleaned—the clues, the coded messages, the details—had been deliberately shown to him by someone else.
His lips trembled slightly.
"You've been like this from the very beginning..."
"Otherwise what?"
Su Guiying gently tossed the chestnut shells back into the paper bag. "You really think you sneaked in? Mr. Lu, what you stole wasn't the map of Southeast. What you stole was the lesson Southeast taught you."
Mo Lanzhi took the confiscated copy of the telegram, glanced at it, and turned to hand it to the plainclothes officer.
"Seale up the radio, codebook, and outgoing drafts. Take them with you. If anyone dares to shout on the way, knock half their teeth out, and keep the other half to confess later."
After speaking, she looked at Lu Shaoting, her eyes showing no anger whatsoever, but rather a calmness that sent chills down one's spine.
"Since Principal Chang is so eager to know Southeast's secrets, then I'll trouble you to write down tonight's events in detail. Write clearly how you got the map, how you sent the telegram, and how you got in."
Meanwhile, at the Southeast Military and Political Reception Center, Zhou Qiheng nearly dropped his teacup when he saw people being brought in.
He had originally wanted to preserve some dignity for himself, but when he saw Lu Shaoting's deadpan face, the codebook in Mo Lanzhi's hand, the stack of copies, and the unfolded fake map, he understood everything.
It's not that Southeast Asia has turned against us.
It is common practice to treat the entire delegation as a shield to pave the way for oneself.
Zhou Qiheng's Adam's apple bobbed, his face turned deathly pale, and after a long while he whispered, "Director Su, Staff Officer Mo, regarding this matter... if I say I knew nothing about it, would you believe me?"
Su Guiying didn't reply immediately, but just glanced at him. "Mr. Zhou, whether you believe it or not is one thing, how this will end is another. If you really didn't know, then the people you should be scolding right now are not us."
Zhou Qiheng remained silent.
The wind blew through the corridor outside the door, making the lamplight flicker like pages of a tattered curtain being turned. He stood there for a long time, finally seeming to swallow the anger in his chest, his voice hoarse.
"Please pass on this message to Marshal Chen."
"The delegation is willing to renegotiate in accordance with the Southeast Asian Charter."
"This time, I brought clean people with me."
Fuzhou, temporary coastal defense command center.
The clear-text telegrams from the minehunting ship and the report on the seizures from the Shanghai old silver shop were placed on Chen Zijun's desk almost one after the other.
After reading the report from Shanghai, Shen Li couldn't help but laugh. "Young Marshal, that ship at sea is showing off its lights to the whole world, while Lu Shaoting on land is holding a fake map and sending himself to his death. These two slaps today, delivered from both sides, are quite symmetrical."
Chen Zijun took the telegram, his gaze sweeping from the minehunter's coordinates to the fake map and erroneous code, before finally settling on Zhou Qiheng's words, "willing to renegotiate according to the charter." A cold smile slowly crept onto his lips.
"Okay," he said. "Then let's combine the two matters into one report and send it out."
Shen Li immediately picked up his pen, "How should we set the tone?"
Chen Zijun gazed at the nautical chart and telegram, his voice steady yet sharp and forceful.
"Just write it down. Borrowing a route isn't a problem, nor is searching and rescue. The problem is that some people are using the route to explore and search for mines. Anyone who comes to the southeast to scout the area, regardless of whether they're wearing military boots or leather shoes, must first register their name in the Chen family's rules."
He paused, his eyes turning completely cold. "Give Zhou Qiheng another reply."
"Bring a clean person."
"Bring a clean stamp."
The sky outside finally brightened, and the sea breeze slammed against the window with a dull thud. In the distance, in the radio room, new telegrams began to tick out, like a larger net being cast inch by inch across the sea, the concession, and the negotiating table.
Chen Zijun stood there, watching the morning light gradually climb the edges of the map, but the cold smile on his lips never faded.
In this scene, both the Japanese and the Chang faction crossed the line.
Now that their show is over, it's my turn to perform!
Now, this is how I perform this show, and you all have to listen to it the way I do it!
There's no way around it; this is just how cruel a world of great strife is!