The Bravest

The unrest in Shanghai continued, with no sign of stopping. Instead, it became more and more serious. Except for a few places in the concessions at night, pedestrians became hurried as soon as it got dark. They dared not stay on the streets unless necessary, for fear of being arrested as anti-Japanese elements.

The cell block No. 39 and all the prisons in Shanghai were overcrowded. People were arrested every day, and traitors and Japanese were killed every few days. It was not until the end of that the situation eased. It might be that the bloodshed on both sides was almost over, or it might be that the next storm was brewing.

The Mid-Autumn Festival is just a few days away. The easing of the situation has allowed the market to slowly return to calm, and the approaching festival has also restored some of Shanghai's popularity.

After more than half a year of fighting, everyone was exhausted. Finally, on the day before the Mid-Autumn Festival, the top management notified that except for the necessary personnel on duty, everyone else could have two days off. Everyone who received the notice had a relaxed smile on their faces, even those who were members of the action team who usually killed without blinking an eye.

Ye Wulian, who received the news in advance, called Lin Jie to ask if he wanted to go to her house for the holiday. Lin Jie declined, saying that their relationship was not confirmed yet and it was not appropriate for him to come to her house. He only promised to go with Ye Wulian to visit her cousin, Li Shiqun's wife, on the Mid-Autumn Festival.

At noon on the Mid-Autumn Festival, Ye Wulian brought Lin Jie, carrying moon cakes and high-end tea that Ye Wulian brought from her own home, to Li Shiqun's house. Before entering, Lin Jie tactfully handed his pistol to the bodyguard at the gate, and only entered after the bodyguard asked for permission over the phone.

There were two bodyguards guarding the entrance hall of the main building. Before they could search her, Li Shiqun's wife waved and asked her to come in. Lin Jie respectfully called her "Madam."

After handing the gift to the nanny, Li Shiqun's wife politely said to Lin Jie, "Xiao Jie is here. The director will be down soon. Please sit for a while." Then she took Ye Wulian away.

The nanny brought tea, but Lin Jie sat on the sofa in the living room, not daring to drink it, and waited quietly for Li Shiqun to meet him.

After a few minutes, I heard Li Shiqun's voice.

"Xiao Jie is here," the voice was quite gentle, not like that of a murderer at all.

"Hello, director!"

Lin Jie immediately stood up and saluted.

Li Shiqun looked at him for a while, then sat down in the main seat and waved to Lin Jie.

"Sit down. Why are you sitting at home so serious? Relax." The tone was as if he was talking to a younger generation in his family.

"Yes, Director." Lin Jie sat down upright, with only half of his buttocks sitting on the sofa, his back straight.

"Relax a little. I've been busy lately and haven't had time to care about you. Are you used to it now?"

"Thank you for your concern, Director. I have overcome it. I am sorry for embarrassing you last time." Lin Jie stood up again, his face full of shame. He lowered his head and did not dare to look at Li Shiqun.

"Sit down. Since you have overcome it, let's not talk about the past. You must work hard in the future." Li Shiqun leaned back on the sofa and waited for Lin Jie to sit down before continuing:

"Xiao Jie, is there any news from your family?"

"Thank you for your concern, Director. Not yet. I only know that he went to Nanjing first, and then there was no news. I want to wait until the situation stabilizes before asking about it. For now, we should do our work well. Other things cannot be rushed for a while." Lin Jie answered honestly.

"Well, it is much more stable than before. Slow down and things will turn out well. I hope you understand. I will help you find out when I have the chance."

"Thank you, Director..."

Before he finished speaking, the phone next to him rang. After the nanny answered it, she didn't put it down. She covered the receiver and whispered, "Sir, the guard said that Captain Zhang, who had an appointment in advance, has arrived."

"Well, let him in."

"Director, I'm going to look for Wu Lian." Seeing that Li Shiqun had a guest, Lin Jie quickly stood up.

"No, why do you want to see these women? You know Captain Zhang, the deputy captain of the action team. He is also someone I am close to. Please sit down."

"Yes, Director."

Before Lin Jie sat down, he saw a man coming in from the door. He was tall and strong, with muscles that made his suit bulk up tightly. As soon as he entered the door, he stepped forward with both feet together.

"Hello, Director." The voice was loud. Seeing Lin Jie next to him, the hesitation in his eyes flashed away, and he casually greeted him, "Lin Jie is here too."

"Director, I brought you some old things for the holidays." After saying that, he walked forward a few steps and handed over the wooden box in his hands, saying, "I found it in the house of the opium dealer last week."

When Captain Zhang was still a few steps away from the coffee table, his hands seemed to have exerted too much force and he pulled them back slightly. At this moment, Lin Jie inexplicably walked quickly to Captain Zhang.

"I'll do it." Lin Jie took the wooden box as if he was familiar with the place.

"Hey, Lin Jie, what are you doing?" Captain Zhang, who didn't react, subconsciously tried to snatch the wooden box back. In just two seconds, Lin Jie suddenly threw the wooden box in his hand behind the sofa next to him. He turned around and jumped over the coffee table to pounce on the blue-faced Li Shiqun, knocking him and the sofa backwards. He hugged Li Shiqun, pressed Li Shiqun under him, and pulled the overturned sofa over the two of them with one hand.

"Help come, there's an assassin." Captain Zhang reacted and rushed out of the living room shouting and ran towards the door. The bodyguard outside the living room was stunned for a moment, and without paying any attention to Captain Zhang who was running towards the door, he rushed into the living room with his gun drawn.

When the two bodyguards came in, they saw the overturned sofa in the living room and the feet exposed. They didn't dare to shoot, so they had to go around both sides of the coffee table. Each of them tried to flip up the sofa with one hand, but there was a hand holding it tightly. For a moment, the two men could only put their pistols back into their waists.

In just a few seconds, there was a loud bang and a sofa next to them flew up, knocking down the two bodyguards who were standing and bending over.

A dozen guards outside the gate who were stopping Captain Zhang to ask about the situation heard the explosion. They left two people to watch Captain Zhang and rushed to the main building.

The hall was filled with smoke, the crystal chandelier smashed onto the coffee table, the sofa was overturned, the valuable paintings hanging on the wall flew away to who knows where, and there were two bodyguards rolling and howling on the ground. It was a real mess.

"Where is the director? Save the director."

Li Shiqun's wife Ye Jiqing and Ye Wulian, who were in the side building, rushed into the hall at the same time with a group of bodyguards. They were all shocked for a moment. It was Ye Wulian who reacted first, "Quick, the director is under the big sofa, hurry up and save the director."

Several bodyguards turned over the sofa and saw two people fainted underneath. The bodyguard captain threw the unconscious Lin Jie aside and shouted, "Control Lin Jie and send the director to the infirmary. Quickly."

"Don't go out. Find a safe room to protect the director and his wife first, and then go after the investigation."

Lin Jie, who was thrown to the ground and had his hands twisted behind his back, shouted, "Seal off the mansion immediately. Contact the captain of the gendarmerie, Gangcun. No one is allowed to enter or leave until the gendarmerie arrives."

The bodyguard captain was stunned for a moment and quickly made arrangements.

"Group One will search upwards, Group Two will escort the director, Group Three will cover the rear, Group Four will guard the first floor, and send people to the infirmary to get a doctor. Hurry. Tie up Lin Jie and keep him under guard."