Nubes ebrias, luna ligeramente dormida

Capítulo 18

Long Fei understood that the bandits he had encountered this time were no ordinary people.

As Long Fei was discussing with Lu Ming what to do next, the communications officer carrying a walkie-talkie pulled Long Fei aside, saying that the city bureau leaders were making an urgent call.

It turned out that the night patrol police in Jiangbei had apprehended a suspicious night walker on the road. He was dressed entirely in black: black clothes, black pants, and black cloth shoes. The man moved with incredible speed, as if he were racing. When the patrol officers intercepted him, they discovered that he was carrying a considerable amount of gold, all wrapped around his waist. Realizing that he was about to be exposed, the night walker turned and bit his own collar, immediately collapsing to the ground and dying.

This man in black is Zhu Dengfu, the mute.

Chapter 18 The Biting Madman (2)

When the police officers untied the gold from his waist, they weighed it in their hands—good heavens, it was incredibly heavy! The officers were astonished. How could the deceased move with such a heavy load of gold around his waist? He must have been an exceptionally skilled person!

Lu Ming, acting on Long Fei's orders, rushed to investigate. Upon examining the body, he discovered that the deceased was wearing a fake face mask.

Zhu Dengfu was not supposed to die. He usually wore a fake death drug in his collar. But this time, Shi Wengsheng secretly replaced the special drug in his collar with a deadly poison.

Lu Ming tore off his fake face, held it in his hand and weighed it for a moment, then raised his eyebrows as a plan came to mind.

127

After being swept away by the raging current, Yu Minsheng became separated from his two bodyguards. Midway down the river, he struck a rock and lost consciousness. He was then drifted downstream to a shallow riverbank in Fengdu County, a ghost town in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River near Chongqing. The local police discovered him and reported the situation to the Sichuan Provincial Public Security Department. Long Fei learned of the situation promptly and, after reporting to Vice Minister Li, secretly escorted the rescued and conscious Yu Minsheng to Beijing by military aircraft. This was a highly confidential matter. Apart from Vice Director Guan of the Sichuan Provincial Public Security Department, who was responsible for coordinating with Long Fei, all other informed personnel were temporarily gathered in Beijing under the guise of business trips or training, as instructed by Vice Minister Li. This was done to minimize the possibility of leaking information about Yu Minsheng's arrest.

Under Vice Minister Li's personal interrogation, Yu Minsheng confessed to what he knew. In this way, our side gained a complete understanding of the "Sword of Restoration" plan.

Although Taiwan was still kept in the dark and did not know whether Yu Minsheng was dead or alive, Chiang Kai-shek had doubts and secretly sent several telegrams to Huang Feihu and Bai Jingzhai, instructing them to take precautions against any unforeseen events.

In fact, Chiang Kai-shek's move was unnecessary. Huang and Bai were not simple people. After Yu Minsheng disappeared, they both instinctively strengthened their self-protection.

Bai Jingzhai has been keeping a low profile and has not shown his face in public these past few days, but he still hasn't forgotten to step up his assassination plans.

Bai Jingzhai faced less pressure than Huang Feihu; he only needed to focus on implementing the assassination plan, thus avoiding the numerous problems that plagued Huang Feihu. Bai Jingzhai had his own calculations for carrying out the assassination. In Chongqing, he had long established a secret team, almost all of whom were veteran officials and elite figures willing to obey him. Wu Dengke was purely a pawn, his reliability beyond question; as for Shi Wengsheng, although Bai Jingzhai didn't know his deepest mission, he could still lead him on a certain level; and while Sun Hailong, according to organizational principles, had to obey Huang Feihu for the time being, he was a shrewd man who didn't want to offend either side, and he would secretly leak information about Huang Feihu to Bai Jingzhai.

Bai Jingzhai had long been aware of Huang Feihu's special relationship with the CIA. Recently, he noticed from certain signs that Huang Feihu seemed to be distancing himself from Chiang Kai-shek and becoming more pro-American.

For Bai Jingzhai, the disappearance of Special Envoy Yu might be a good thing. If the special envoy were in Chongqing overseeing the situation, there were some things Bai Jingzhai couldn't report to Chiang Kai-shek. Now, he could directly report to Chiang Kai-shek about Huang Feihu.

Chiang Kai-shek neither commented on Bai Jingzhai's report nor gave any specific response. Instead, he repeatedly instructed Bai Jingzhai to make serious preparations for the bombing and assassination at Liberation Monument. Bai Jingzhai understood that although Chiang Kai-shek had not expressed any opinion on his report, the fact that Chiang Kai-shek kept giving him instructions was enough to show that Chiang Kai-shek continued to value and respect him.

In the past few days, Bai Jingzhai secretly met with Sun Hailong, Shi Wengsheng and Wu Dengke separately. Bai Jingzhai had a very meticulous plan, which Chiang Kai-shek greatly appreciated. The plan was characterized by layers of insurance and multiple alternative plans. Although it could not be said to be flawless, it was certainly more than thorough.

128

Lu Ming found Huang Feihu's hiding place based on a route map found on Zhu Dengfu.

Originally, Huang Feihu did not want outsiders to know about his secret hideout. However, due to the urgency of the matter, he made an exception and sent the secret envoy delivering funds directly to him, hoping for convenience. Unexpectedly, this attracted his adversary. Huang Feihu noticed the problem from Lu Ming's eyes. When he carefully examined the visitor's face, he discovered the flaws, because he had used this kind of fake face mask before.

After laughing wildly at Lu Ming, Huang Feihu suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. He realized with a start that his hiding place had been exposed. Just as Huang Feihu was about to escape through the secret passage, another trusted confidant entered and whispered a few words in his ear. Upon hearing this, Huang Feihu's expression changed drastically.

It turned out that the spies he had secretly sent to the relevant locations to seize the weapons had all fallen into the police's trap.

Lu Ming originally planned to infiltrate the area in disguise to work as an inside agent, because the plan to capture Huang Feihu was already in Long Fei's hands.

Long Fei did not expect that Lu Ming would be exposed by Huang Feihu. After Lu Ming finished dealing with Zhu Dengfu's matter, Long Fei came to meet him. Long Fei agreed to Lu Ming's plan to infiltrate Huang Feihu's den. After Lu Ming broke into Huang Feihu's den, Long Fei had already led the public security personnel to secretly set up an encirclement around the area.

During the night, when searching the underground cave of Shi Wengsheng's residence, they discovered that there was a secret escape passage inside. Long Fei couldn't help but reconsider the operation plan. The reason he agreed to let Lu Ming explore the cave alone was to understand the enemy's inner workings and try to cut off all of Huang Feihu's escape routes.

Lu Ming hadn't expected Huang Feihu to beat him to it. Now, he could only wait and see what happened and act when the opportunity arose. Lu Ming noticed the changes on Huang Feihu's face. He realized that Huang Feihu was in trouble and wanted to escape. Just as Lu Ming was pondering this, he was suddenly blindfolded.

Huang Feihu ignored the other henchmen, only giving instructions to his most trusted confidants before closing the door, moving a cabinet against the wall, pressing a secret switch, and opening the wall to reveal a passage.

"Go!" Someone shoved Lu Ming, and Lu Ming was taken away by Huang Feihu as a hostage.

Long Fei had made a prior agreement with Lu Ming: if Lu Ming was unable to subdue Huang Feihu on his own after meeting him, he should quickly ascertain the situation and leave within ten minutes at the latest. Otherwise, Long Fei, who was leading the police officers outside, would assume that Lu Ming had met with misfortune.

More than ten minutes had passed, and there was still no news of Lu Ming. Long Fei thought for a moment and decisively issued an attack order. Police officers from all sides rushed towards Huang Feihu's hiding place from different directions. After a brief exchange of fire, the police officers quickly took over the location. The search results were disappointing. Huang Feihu was gone, and Lu Ming was nowhere to be found.

When the cadres who led different combat teams to search for Huang Feihu's whereabouts reported their search results to Long Fei, they all seemed a little frustrated because they hadn't even found the secret passage through which Huang Feihu escaped.

Long Fei remained calm. He raised his hand and instructed the soldier to notify the dog handler waiting outside to bring in the police dog, Buck.

Long Fei had his own unique skills. He had already made preparations, instructing Lu Ming to wear a pair of shoes with a special scent during the operation. Wearing such shoes would make it easy for police dogs to detect his presence.

Guided by the police dog, the police officers quickly located the doorway leading to Huang Feihu's escape route. After some investigation, Long Fei found the secret button. As soon as he opened the door, a brick-paved passage appeared before them. Buck, unable to contain himself, rushed in. Just then, the leash in the dog handler's hand slipped off. Buck had only taken a few steps when a strange sound was heard, and the passageway began to slant downwards along the center line, cracking open. Buck slipped and sank into the crack, but the ground immediately returned to normal. At this moment, Buck's screams could be heard from below the bricks. After a while, Buck's screams weakened into weak groans, and soon there was no more sound from below. The dog handler was immediately at a loss, his face filled with grief, as if he had lost his own flesh and blood.

Long Fei realized they were facing a trap-like ditch. He gritted his teeth, cursing the cunning and ruthless Huang Feihu in his heart, wishing he could catch him and tear him to pieces immediately. Long Fei began to worry about Lu Ming.

129

On this day, several cases of a mentally ill person attacking people occurred on the streets of Chongqing. The mentally ill person appeared and disappeared unpredictably, sometimes to the east and sometimes to the west. Most of the people bitten were school children. After being bitten, the victims immediately developed red and swollen skin all over their bodies, accompanied by high fever and delirium. For a time, people in the streets and alleys of the mountain city were in a state of panic. Parents with school-aged children were all worried about their children.

That night, one of the injured children died from a high fever. Another strange symptom of the bitten child was that he liked to lie on the bed like a mouse, sucking on it constantly and even making sounds similar to a mouse squeaking.

News of the schoolchild's death quickly spread, prompting the police to take action. The Chongqing Municipal Public Security Bureau held an emergency meeting overnight, ordering all police forces in the city to closely monitor the mentally ill person's movements, arrest them if possible, and execute them on the spot if they resist—just like dealing with a wild animal.

This madman is Old Eagle. What caused Old Eagle's transformation and madness was a special virus from the giant rat. Anyone bitten by this rat, if they are lucky enough to survive, will become a madman like Old Eagle, accompanied by strange behaviors such as imitating rats and making rat-like noises. At the same time, they will also like to bite people like the giant rat, and their teeth will also carry the virus, just like the giant rat. It is a very terrible virus.

Chapter Nineteen: Danger Encountered on the Way (1)

Suddenly, the marching column broke into disarray. A disheveled man leaped out of the alley, parted his long, unkempt hair to reveal a pair of eerie eyes, and then abruptly extended a withered hand covered in sharp fingernails… 130

Ah Cai attends Heping Primary School, a well-known school where most students come from well-off families: some from intellectual families, some from cadre families, or some from relatively wealthy families.

The schoolchild who was bitten to death by the madman had been studying at A-Cai's school. The unfortunate boy was a year below A-Cai. Speaking of which, A-Cai knew him. His name was Shi Xiaoming. He was handsome, fair-skinned, and chubby, looking just like a little girl. Shi Xiaoming was the lead singer of the school choir and was highly regarded by Teacher Pei. It is said that on National Day, he was originally scheduled to go with Teacher Pei to present flowers to the leaders.

Shi Xiaoming was bitten by the madman on his way home from school at noon. The madman was hiding behind a trash can. It is said that Shi Xiaoming was walking, jumping and playing with several other classmates, chatting and laughing, when the disheveled madman suddenly rushed out from behind the trash can, scattering the group of elementary school students in panic. Shi Xiaoming was slow and was immediately grabbed by the terrifying-looking madman.

According to classmates who were present, they heard a scream and the other students, still in shock, saw Shi Xiaoming lying on the ground, clutching his neck, curled up in a ball, and rolling around in pain. Meanwhile, the madman who caused the accident disappeared like a rat.

It is said that the madman's fingernails were exceptionally long, like eagle claws; his eyes were red, as if he had drunk blood; his face was bluish and bloodless; and his front teeth were exceptionally large and protruding. Describing him as having a blue face and fangs seems far from sufficient.

During the morning exercise break, students whispered among themselves, all talking about the incident. An atmosphere of panic permeated every corner of the school playground. In public, the homeroom teacher told students not to believe the exaggerated rumors, but privately, they all worried whether that misfortune would befall them. However, the school gatekeeper claimed: the madman was frightened and dared not appear in the Jiefangbei area again because there were many plainclothes police officers there. Some believed him, some didn't. Those who doubted the gatekeeper's claims said: "We'll see. Prophecies often have the opposite effect. The more the gatekeeper says this, the more likely the madman will actually appear in this area." Ah Cai, hearing this analysis, felt very uneasy.

Some parents were particularly worried and even reluctant to let their children go to school alone. That morning, many adults were seen escorting their children to school. Some parents, who were timid and doted on their children, even took sick leave to leave their children at home temporarily.

Before school, Mei Fang repeatedly reminded A Cai not to linger outside on his way home and to be extremely careful of his surroundings while walking: keep your eyes and ears open. Mei Fang originally wanted to take A Cai to school, but A Cai absolutely refused. He felt that it would be a disgrace for him to be picked up and dropped off by an adult. He was a Young Pioneer and a flag bearer, and he couldn't let that honor be tarnished. He admitted that he was a little scared, not just a little, but quite scared. He secretly inquired and found that everyone felt the same way. Even Wen Zhu, who was in middle school, showed fear on her face when she talked about it. According to Wen Zhu, many of the boys in her class carried sticks or knives with them in case of attack.

At lunchtime that day, all the children who were not picked up by their parents lined up to go home as usual, with several strong male teachers added to the line.

Despite his large numbers, Ah Cai kept glancing around as he walked in the group. He couldn't help but feel nervous. If that madman bit him, the consequences would be unimaginable. Some people said that if he was lucky enough to survive, he might become a human-rat, that is, a person like a rat. Wow, how terrifying that was! It would be better to die. But when Ah Cai really thought about dying, he was even more afraid, because once a person dies, they know nothing and have nothing left.

Before this, A-Cai had never thought about death. He thought death was something for old people, and it was far, far away for children his age. The death of his classmate Shi Xiaoming made A-Cai realize that the Grim Reaper was hiding in his life. It could appear at any time and would grab anyone it wanted without discrimination. A-Cai thought that the madman might be an agent of the Grim Reaper.

As the procession walked, students who had reached home along the way gradually left to go home, and the number of students dwindled. Ah Cai walked at the back of the procession, with about seven or eight students ahead of him. There were three teachers escorting them: their homeroom teacher, Mr. Yu; their math teacher, Mr. Zheng Guanghua; and their counselor, Mr. Zhang Qiang. Mr. Zhang Qiang also carried a long stick for self-defense. Although Ah Cai felt increasingly reassured by their protection, he still wondered, what if that madman suddenly appeared? Wouldn't the teachers be afraid? What if they were afraid? That was a real madman! It was said that madmen were afraid of nothing, that real madmen were afraid of no one, not even the police, not even knives or guns. The thought of a madman being afraid of nothing made Ah Cai feel uneasy.

Ah Cai couldn't help but think of his father. He felt that only his father could give him a true sense of security. He secretly counted on his fingers how many more days it would be before his father came home.

Ah Cai was preoccupied with something, so he blindly followed the crowd, unaware that he was already close to his home.

Suddenly, the formation at the front of the column broke into chaos. A disheveled man leaped out of the alley, parted his long, messy hair to reveal a pair of eerie eyes, and then suddenly stretched out a withered hand covered with sharp nails. In an instant, the column scattered in terror, and screams erupted.

131

In the past two days, Chongqing Children's Hospital has admitted several children bitten by a madman. Sima Huiqin, the head nurse of the ward, had never seen such patients before. Shi Xiaoming from Heping Primary School died in the ward while she was on duty. Sima Huiqin comes from a church family and has always had a compassionate heart. Choosing nursing as a profession was a natural fit for her nature. She especially loves children and is as cheerful and carefree as a child. During her time with Wu Dengke, her happiness was infectious.

When Sima Huiqin returned home the previous night, she was in extremely low spirits because she had witnessed the horrific scene of Shi Xiaoming's death that afternoon. That night, Wu Dengke visited Sima Huiqin and, seeing her melancholy, assumed she had encountered setbacks at work. Upon asking, he learned the reason. Wu Dengke was not unaware of the madman biting people; the military hospital had also treated a young patient with this condition. Seeing Sima Huiqin's dejected state, Wu Dengke felt conflicted, because this incident seemed to have some connection to him. He had witnessed this virus on a battlefield. Although he specialized in surgery and had not directly participated in the treatment of such injuries, the horrific scene remained vivid in his memory. He simply never expected that, about ten years later, he would encounter the shadow of this virus again in a peaceful environment.

These past few days, Wu Dengke had been particularly uneasy. This unease stemmed from two sources: the pressure of his secret identity and the conscience stirred by his feelings for Sima Huiqin. After dismembering Liao Yanjing's body, Wu Dengke spent every day with Sima Huiqin, but he had a strange feeling in his heart—he dared not touch her easily. He felt his hands were dirty, as if touching Sima Huiqin's body would taint her pure appearance. He knew that the Plum Blossom Gang must have had ulterior motives for asking him to steal the virus. Having been within this organization for so many years, he knew even better that the Plum Blossom Gang would stop at nothing to achieve their goals.

132

The place Huang Feihu had just fled was next to a small mountain. The secret passage actually connected to a secret air-raid shelter in the mountain. This air-raid shelter was built before the liberation. Back then, in order to prevent Japanese bombers from sneaking in, the shelter was specially used for high-ranking Kuomintang officials and their families to take refuge. After the Kuomintang authorities spent a lot of money to build it, it was never used. In order to cover their tracks, the Military Intelligence Bureau built a mansion at the entrance of the shelter in the name of a businessman. Later, this property was passed on to the Plum Blossom Gang.

The trap at the entrance to the secret passage was added later by the Plum Blossom Gang.

Huang Feihu, accompanied only by a few trusted men, took Lu Ming hostage and fled along the air-raid shelter to a secret exit. This air-raid shelter had several secret exits, one of which was near a temple in the suburbs, which was the place where Huang Feihu had initially hidden.

Although Huang Feihu was cunning, he never expected that his hiding place was already under our control.

It turned out that after the traitor Chen Yong was captured, he confessed to revealing this location. Long Fei promptly laid an ambush around the area as a precaution, but unexpectedly, Huang Feihu actually walked into the encirclement. Chen Yong was unaware of the secret cave entrance near the temple, and therefore, Long Fei was also unaware of this secret. Coincidentally, a police team was lying in ambush near the cave entrance. When Huang Feihu and his gang emerged from the cave, they looked around cautiously.

133

The sudden appearance of the madman startled the three teachers in charge. The two male teachers were a little at a loss, but Teacher Yu quickly calmed down. She didn't know where she got the courage, but she nimbly snatched the long stick from Teacher Zhang Qiang's hand, and with a flick of her wrist, she used one end of the stick to block the madman. The madman was stunned for a moment, stared at Teacher Yu for a good few seconds, and then suddenly turned around and fled. He disappeared into the alley next to A Cai's house and disappeared around the corner.

The two male teachers then snapped out of their astonishment. They never expected that the beautiful Ms. Yu would possess such extraordinary skills.

Passersby on the roadside, seeing this, all gave Teacher Yu a thumbs up and praised her.

Ms. Yu smiled sheepishly, returned the stick to Mr. Zhang, and turned to comfort the frightened students: "Everyone line up, don't be afraid, the madman is not afraid of us."

Teacher Zheng and Teacher Zhang looked ashamed.

Ah Cai was filled with respect for Teacher Yu. He never expected that Teacher Yu would be so brave, so powerful, and have such amazing kung fu skills! In addition to admiration, he secretly made up his mind that he must learn from Teacher Yu in the future and ask her to teach him good kung fu.

After lunch, Mei Fang told Ling Yuqi, who had come to visit, the news with admiration. Ling Yuqi, instead of agreeing, looked puzzled. Her woman's intuition made her question Teacher Yu's behavior. Even if this young and beautiful teacher possessed extraordinary skills, how could she be so calm in the face of that disheveled, fanged madman? Without special psychological training, no one could easily handle such a situation so easily. Besides, this seemingly frail teacher was always gentle and refined; no one had ever seen her wielding a stick or practicing martial arts. How could she be so adept at using a stick to defend herself? People in the police force are always suspicious of anything unusual, regardless of who the other party is.

Ling Yuqi wondered to herself, what kind of person is this Teacher Yu?

134

Huang Feihu had a keen eye. While surveying the surroundings, he suddenly noticed a metallic reflection deep within a thicket of trees, which startled him greatly.

To the west of the cave entrance is a slope that extends into the depths of the valley. At the bottom of the valley is a river that is not wide but is quite deep.

Huang Feihu knew something was wrong. He had already determined that it was the reflection of a gun muzzle. Having experienced many dangerous situations, Huang Feihu's eyes lit up. He secretly waved to a trusted confidant named Li Jiafu and ordered him to lead three bandits eastward toward the temple. He himself led another trusted confidant, Guo Xiong, to escort Lu Ming and quietly retreat to the cave entrance.

The thugs led by Li Jiafu hadn't gone far before they came into the sight of our police team.

A gunshot rang out.

The gunshot came not from our public security officers, nor from Li Jiafu's gang; it came from the pistol of Guo Xiong, Huang Feihu's trusted confidant. It turned out that Lu Ming, with his hands bound behind his back, had suddenly bumped into Guo Xiong, who was escorting him, as Huang Feihu was looking around and retreating towards the cave entrance. Lu Ming then rolled down the hillside, and as he fell, Guo Xiong accidentally pulled the trigger, the crisp gunshot shattering the silence of the mountains.

Li Jiafu and his gang were already overly suspicious; upon hearing the gunshot, they assumed they had encountered the police and immediately raised their guns in preparation for a counterattack.

The police officers who were lying in ambush in the bushes saw that the bandits had their guns pointed at them, so they took the initiative and fired first.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Gunshots rang out one after another, and a battle had begun.

Other police teams lying in wait nearby arrived at the sound and surrounded Li Jiafu and his gang.

Seeing the situation was dire, Huang Feihu quickly led Guo Xiong into the cave, while Li Jiafu and his gang, realizing the situation was hopeless, surrendered with their guns raised. While searching for the remaining enemy, the police officers found Lu Ming, who was hidden by the bushes halfway up the hillside. Lu Ming had injured his leg and couldn't move, but he was conscious and quickly identified himself to the officers and told them the location of the cave entrance.

Just then, a piercing alarm sounded in the air...

Chapter Nineteen: Danger Encountered on the Way (2)

135

As National Day approaches, Chongqing is intensifying its security drills. As a Chongqing municipal leader put it, "Preparedness and vigilance before the holiday are essential to ensure a relaxed and worry-free celebration." In addition to drills on sanitation, fire prevention, traffic, and public security, air raid drills are also being conducted.

The atmosphere in Chongqing before the holiday was incredibly tense. The incident of a madman biting people even alarmed the top central government. The Ministry of Public Security directly issued a secret order to the Chongqing Municipal Public Security Bureau, demanding that the case be solved within a limited time and that the madman's attack be resolved before the holiday. This was because the arrangements for the central leaders' inspection of Chongqing during the holiday could not be interfered with by any factors. At the same time, it was also imperative to resolutely eliminate any unsafe factors and ensure the safety of the central leaders and the people.

Vice Minister Li, who was in charge of counter-espionage work, also sent a secret telegram to Long Fei, instructing him to use special means to actively assist the local public security bureau in solving the case of the mentally ill man who injured people, while investigating the Plum Blossom Party organization.