Chapter 135

Dong Xinlei’s heart trembled as he thought to himself, “Oh no—this guy seems to have spotted Brother Dong.” Not daring to waste time, and since the elevator wasn’t available, he planned to take the stairs to warn Xie Wendong. Just as he was about to leave, Zhang Fanyou stopped him with a smile, saying, “Brother, don’t rush. I have something to ask you in a moment.” With that, he gave a signal to his men and quickly entered the elevator.

The men brought by Zhang Fanyou surrounded Dong Xinlei. Though they didn’t pull out their guns, there were no weaklings in the Political Department. Even if Dong Xinlei had a weapon, he wasn’t sure he could knock them down, let alone without one. Even if he managed to defeat them, there were countless undercover agents around, making escape nearly impossible.

Unaware of the changes downstairs, Xie Wendong was focused on figuring out where Wu Ming would strike. Although the undercover agents downstairs had told him Wu Ming would go to the 20th floor, such a trick couldn’t fool Xie Wendong. He took the elevator straight to the top floor. After walking around the corridor, he found the stairs leading to the rooftop and hurried up.

The rooftop was open and unobstructed, with only a small square pavilion at the entrance, standing alone in the center. There, Xie Wendong didn’t spot Wu Ming. Walking to the edge of the rooftop and looking down, he could clearly see the road in front of the building. It was the perfect spot for an assassination—Wu Ming surely would act here. Xie Wendong tapped his head thoughtfully as he walked slowly around the rooftop, wondering if Wu Ming really would go to the 20th floor. As he was lost in thought, footsteps and voices came from the stairs leading to the rooftop. Xie Wendong smirked, leaped lightly, grabbed the top of the pavilion with both hands, and swung himself up with ease, as agile as a monkey, making no sound at all.

Xie Wendong lay on the pavilion, holding his breath. In the blink of an eye, Wu Ming and a strange middle-aged man Xie Wendong had never seen before arrived on the rooftop. The man wasn’t tall but extremely muscular, with bulging muscles visible beneath his sleeves. The two kept talking in Japanese, not loudly enough to be overheard by others, but just loud enough for Xie Wendong to catch some words—though he didn’t understand them. Perhaps they were too focused on their upcoming action to notice another person on the rooftop.

Soon the two stopped talking. Wu Ming kept glancing at his watch, signaling to the shorter man that it was almost time. The shorter middle-aged man nodded and carefully took out an oval canister that was longer than usual and had a metallic sheen from his bag. He gently unscrewed the lid and set it aside. Xie Wendong watched intently. Inside were objects resembling warheads, with flashing electronic lights indicating that it was an advanced type of bomb he had never seen before. He wasn’t very familiar with such things, but its appearance made it easy to imagine its explosive power. If this bomb really exploded on the road in front of the building, countless people would die. Xie Wendong found his assumption that the Red Army would use guns and knives ridiculous—he had underestimated their strength. This was the difference between terrorist organizations and the underworld.

The shorter middle-aged man prepared the bomb and then took out a suction cup from his bag. He carefully examined the marble tiles on the rooftop, stopping at one spot where he wiped away the dust from the surface, attached the suction cup, and with a slight push, the marble tile lifted to reveal a hole about a foot deep. The middle-aged man smiled and reached into the hole to pull out a black leather bag. Inside were several metal plates and wires. Within less than two minutes, thanks to his skilled assembly, a small missile launcher was completed. He connected the wires to the bomb-like object and placed it on the launcher, then checked it before nodding in satisfaction. All these actions took less than five minutes, leaving Xie Wendong in awe.

Meanwhile, Wu Ming wasn’t idle either. He took out a laptop from his backpack and kept typing. Shortly after the middle-aged man finished, he also stopped working, let out a sigh of relief, and raised three fingers to signal “OK.”

With everything ready, the two sat against the concrete edge of the rooftop, neither speaking again—perhaps lost in thought or praying. Xie Wendong in the small pavilion said nothing either, his eyes burning with intensity, though it was unclear what he was thinking. But whatever Xie Wendong was thinking, he couldn’t have imagined that there was another person below him—Zhang Fanyou, who had followed them and hidden at the top of the stairs. Although he couldn’t see Xie Wendong above, he could see everything Wu Ming and the middle-aged man did clearly. He quietly took out the pistol at his waist and disengaged the safety.

Time passed slowly, and it was nearing noon. The summer sun was unbearably hot, especially in Beijing’s peak summer. The dry air burned as it entered the lungs, almost seeming to scorch the trachea. The rooftop was quiet, despite there being four people there.

A drop of sweat slid down Xie Wendong’s face and disappeared slowly onto the concrete. He was in an exposed position, directly under the sun. Even if offered a million to have a breeze, he would agree without hesitation. Zhang Fanyou was also sweating, but it was cold sweat. He felt he was facing international terrorists he had never encountered before and wasn’t sure he could defeat them both at once. If that happened, the consequences would be dire. Yet he didn’t want to call for reinforcements—after all, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for promotion, provided he succeeded in capturing or killing these two. Wu Ming and the middle-aged man were no less stressed. Assassinating in a foreign country meant that one mistake could lead to disaster. Even if everything was planned perfectly, a slight twist of fate could prove fatal.

Just as the silence became unbearable for all four, an alarm sound suddenly came from below. Wu Ming and the middle-aged man were shocked. They cautiously peeked down and saw fully armed armed police on both sides of the road below. Soon after, patrol cars passed by, and the main street was put under lockdown. The people on both sides were used to this and wondered which foreign leader had arrived.

Wu Ming and the middle-aged man exchanged glances and nodded. The middle-aged man made final checks, while Wu Ming used his laptop to lock onto the route the convoy would take. Xie Wendong drew the golden knife from his wrist, and Zhang Fanyou raised his pistol.

The convoy carrying the Japanese Prime Minister finally arrived slowly, and the atmosphere on the rooftop grew tense. As the convoy got closer, Wu Ming’s finger rested on the “Enter” key of his computer. With just one touch, the pre-installed small missile would automatically track and strike the car carrying the Japanese Prime Minister with pinpoint accuracy. Wu Ming was confident in the missile’s power—it could effortlessly penetrate the armor of third-generation tanks, making bulletproof vehicles almost unnecessary against it.

The convoy had reached the road in front of the building, well within Wu Ming’s range. The short middle-aged man wiped the sweat from his palms, nodded at Wu Ming, and said, “Start!”

As the nameless man was about to press down, Xie Wendong and Zhang Fanyou jumped out almost at the same time. The former said, “Wait!” The latter raised his gun and ordered, “Don’t move!” Both were shocked and looked at each other, unable to help but exclaim simultaneously, “So you’re here too!”
The nameless man stared at them in astonishment, at a loss, his finger frozen in mid-air. Neither he nor the short middle-aged man had expected there to be another person, or even a third, on the rooftop. Under the dark barrel of the gun, he dared not move, knowing his own hands were no match for a gun. Although Zhang Fanyou had a gun, he too had his difficulties—he didn’t dare shoot casually. If gunshots were heard during a foreign leader’s visit to China, the international reaction would be unimaginable. No matter how right he was, he couldn’t bear the consequences.
All three of them looked grim, except Xie Wendong, who wore a smile as he fiddled with the knife in his hand, breaking the silence. “Nameless, it’s been so long since we last met. I really missed you.”
The nameless man looked at Xie Wendong and said calmly, “I remember you too! I said we would meet again; I just didn’t expect it to be under such circumstances.”
Xie Wendong shook his head. “I didn’t expect it either. I never thought that young man with crazy ideas would actually do such a foolish thing.”
The nameless man turned away, gazing into the distance, and said, “This might be crazy to you, but to me, to us, it’s just part of achieving our ideals.”
“The ideals of anarchism?” Xie Wendong sighed. “It seems we differ greatly in our ideals. What a pity.”
“The indeed a pity,” said the nameless man. Xie Wendong and the nameless man fell silent.
Zhang Fanyou’s expression grew increasingly angry. Seeing that the two had finally stopped talking, he shouted, “Xie Wendong, what are you doing? Talking to Red Army members? Hurry up and arrest him!!!”
Xie Wendong looked at him with a smile and asked, “Are you giving me orders? It sounds that way. But I wonder in what capacity you think you can order me?”
Zhang Fanyou snapped, “I’m giving you orders as a lieutenant colonel from the Central Political Department. Isn’t that enough?!”
“In my eyes, it’s nothing!” Xie Wendong sneered. “Not only you, but even Dongfang Yilai wouldn’t speak to me in such a tone. Let me tell you, I, Xie Wendong, can talk to whoever I want. Not even the emperor can interfere, let alone you.”

“You…” Zhang Fanyou, used to commanding everything at will, had never suffered such humiliation before. Fury burned in him, but after all, he was a top agent in the Political Department with exceptional skills. He glared fiercely at Xie Wendong and then said to Wu Ming, “You no longer have a chance to act. Throw the computer over.”

The convoy had indeed left. Wu Ming sighed. Everything about this plan had been meticulously planned, so why had it still failed? Perhaps it was fate. Shaking his head helplessly, he tossed the computer to Zhang Fanyou. The short middle-aged man, still full of ambition, tried to step forward to stop them, but Zhang Fanyou warned him with a gun. Feeling he had the situation under control, he turned on the miniature walkie-talkie at his ear, ready to call for reinforcements downstairs. Just as Zhang Fanyou was about to speak, he felt a chill at his neck—Xie Wendong’s sword was pressed against his throat. It was still that annoying smile on Xie Wendong’s face, as he shook his head at Zhang Fanyou from time to time and reached out to turn off his walkie-talkie.

Zhang Fanyou didn’t expect Xie Wendong to attack him. He said coldly, “Do you want to kill me?”

Xie Wendong smiled. “I don’t like killing, but I don’t mind it either. If someone’s actions upset me, I have no choice but to use methods I dislike to solve the problem.”

Zhang Fanyou also smiled. “If I die here, do you think people will suspect you’re an accomplice of the Red Army? At least ten people downstairs saw me follow you to the rooftop.” Zhang Fanyou was exaggerating a bit, but Xie Wendong had no choice but to believe it—after all, he had indeed followed him to the rooftop. As Xie Wendong was stunned, Zhang Fanyou quickly turned around and pointed his gun at Xie Wendong’s head as well.