"Damn it, do you even care about Chinese people? I thought you two only had eyes for each other!" Taking the initiative was a good technique. If these two weren't actually his subordinates, Watanabe would have loved to slap them both hard across the face. Unfortunately, that was just a thought. The fact that these two addressed him as Lord Watanabe was already the limit.
Watanabe didn't actually have any Chinese people on his mind. He sent them the message simply because he didn't want the two of them to continue their nonsense. Most of their manpower was tied up in their personal grudges, and a few others had to be kept in constant surveillance. Where would they find the extra manpower to track down Chinese people?
But he couldn't just say that, because those two guys would definitely storm off. "We've already blocked the air routes, but Japan is an island nation with too many natural and unnatural ports all over the country. We can't monitor them like we do airports. So I'm guessing the Chinese will definitely leave by ship! There's no point in chasing them anymore. We have to figure out their movements and intercept them ahead of us!"
"Mm!" Michiko and Kohara nodded unconsciously.
“And this time, their most likely ship is this one, the Isabelle!” Watanabe pressed his hand hard on the map.
Episode 3: The Bloody Path to Adulthood, Chapter 50: The Isabelle (Part 1)
There's a kind of strategy in this world called an "overt strategy"—note, not the kind that involves exploiting external forces or exploiting internal forces. This means that even if you see through it, there's nothing you can do about it. Take the US invasion of Iraq, for example. Everyone knew it would happen, and everyone could guess when, but what could they do? Absolutely nothing. All their efforts could only add a tiny bit of difficulty for them.
This is because Watanabe saw through the scheme and knew there was no way to stop them. The Chinese superpowered team was using a similar open strategy: as long as he didn't stop the Chinese before they boarded the ship—for example, by preventing them from buying tickets or by ambushing them on their way—they could only cause them some trouble at most. Besides, he only had suspicions.
"I've already assigned people to closely monitor the passengers boarding the Isabelle. He just reported to me that a group of people who look very much like Chinese people boarded the Isabelle. Although they were all disguised, their features were still quite distinctive!"
Watanabe paused for a moment, then continued, "I don't need to tell you much about the situation on the Isabelle. Our actions on board must not be too large-scale, and we must not cause any trouble for our Great Japanese Empire. If the Chinese are indeed on the ship, then our goal is not to annihilate them all, but to kill the two daughters of that traitor. That would mean the Chinese mission has failed, understand?"
"Especially you, Michiko, if you can't do this, I will absolutely not allow you to board the ship!"
Watanabe had no choice. Only Michiko could sense the original owner's presence using her special ability. She had an ability to absorb Zhang Lei's self-examination, which allowed her to sense Zhang Lei's location at close range. Without this ability, it would be virtually impossible to find the target on the huge Isabelle, especially without certainty. Blindly searching could also cause dissatisfaction among other guests.
Isabel didn't have many temporary tickets in Japan to begin with. Zhang Lei and his group took up fourteen of them. If others bought some more, there would be very few left. Watanabe didn't dare to send all his forces up without a clear plan. This was also a psychological tactic. Apart from Zhuge Liang, who could know which path Cao Cao would ultimately choose?
If the Chinese don't follow Isabel's route, and Watanabe has deployed all his forces to the ship, or if they deliberately want to draw all his forces to the ship...
...
"Wow, it's huge!" Zhang Lei had been on ships before, and those were considered large vessels, but compared to Isabel, they were nothing. The hull and cabins were on completely different levels. In fact, how could one describe it as "huge"? But at this moment, the only word Zhang Lei could think of was "huge".
"Remember, try to speak as little Chinese as possible outside of the cabin!" Li Zaixing instructed. Zhang Lei and the others pursed their lips. It was convenient for them, as each of them knew several foreign languages. But for the people from the Bureau of Foreign Affairs, apart from Zuo Ying, wouldn't everyone else have to pretend to be mute?
There's no need to worry about inside the cabin. Isabel's reputation speaks for itself. If they were to monitor passengers, Isabel would be utterly disgraced. They would never do that. Under no circumstances will any surveillance device be installed in any cabin unless requested by the passengers themselves. This is Isabel's creed.
"Let's see what free services the Isabelle can offer first. This part of the cost is included in the ticket price, and it would be a waste not to use it!" The five people from the International Affairs Bureau were all heartbroken, and their faces all showed their displeasure.
There's no way around it. Anyone would feel the pinch if they spent ten or even hundreds of times their net worth on a ship ticket. The fact that Zhang Lei and his group didn't vomit blood from the financial pain is a testament to their resilience. That's twenty million yen, roughly equivalent to two million yuan. That's ten thousand 100-yuan bills, enough to buy over fifty thousand of Zhang Lei's favorite roast ducks. Stacked up in a suitcase, the money would be too heavy for most people to lift. Even if it's just two cards when you take it out, without that tangible feeling, it still hurts.
The Silver Sword people looked down on the Bureau of Foreign Affairs' money-grubbing behavior, and the Bureau of Foreign Affairs people also despised their spending of public funds. This idea was proposed by the Silver Sword people. They really didn't care about the cost of their father's property. They were spending public funds, so of course they didn't care.
However, it's true that you can't afford to offend the Silver Sword people. You can't keep bothering Zuo Ying with every trip, especially since Zuo Ying doesn't seem easy to talk to, particularly Zhang Lei and Tian Xiao. Zhang Lei and the others don't want to stay in their cabins forever; that would be a complete waste of their ticket money. They need to go out and see the world.
"Hey, can we take the stuff off our faces now?" Of course, it was impossible to knock the two sisters unconscious and carry them aboard the Isabelle. In order to make them less conspicuous and to make them look a little different, the makeup on their faces was inevitably a bit heavier.
"Wow, this is amazing! Is this the Isabelle? If I told those silly boys in my class, they would never believe it..." Mei Chuan's second daughter leaned out the window, but stopped halfway through her sentence. If nothing unexpected happened, they would never have the chance to return to Japan, and naturally, they would never see their former classmates again.
"It's okay. You'll make new classmates and new friends in China. But you'll also need to learn to speak Chinese. From now on, you'll be members of our Chinese nation!"
…………
"Sister Michiko, how are they? Are they on the ship?" The one who asked was a young man who was standing behind Michiko carrying luggage.
“I’m still not sure. I don’t know what the bulkhead of Isabel’s cabin is made of, but it’s a huge barrier to telepathy. The area I can probe is much smaller now! Maybe I can only figure out a cabin when I get to the door!” Michiko sighed. “Let’s get on the ship. We still have plenty of time!”
Watanabe's decision to put Michiko on the ship wasn't just for the mission's sake, but also to separate her from Furuhara; the two of them together would likely accomplish nothing. Watanabe was actually familiar with Isabel's structure; he had been on this ship before. He also knew Michiko couldn't possibly complete her exploration of the ship quickly. If the Chinese were on board, it would be best if Michiko could complete her mission; even if she failed, at least she could easily leave Japan afterward, which would be a way of repaying Fujita's kindness.
Episode 3: The Bloody Path of Growth, Chapter 50: The Isabelle (Part 2)
Whether Chinese or Japanese, people's behavior is bound to follow certain boundaries. They are expected to repay both kindness and grudges. It is not true that Japanese people are necessarily ungrateful.
Watanabe knew that regardless of the success or failure of this operation, Kohara would target Michiko. Although Michiko could currently cause Kohara considerable trouble due to the current situation, she was far less powerful than him. Once Kohara decided to deal with her, Michiko would find it difficult to escape his clutches, both officially and privately. However, Watanabe was unwilling to completely antagonize Kohara for Michiko's sake; he wasn't that noble.
...
"Set sail! Once the ship sets sail, you can go out and have fun! We'll even provide you with translators!" The young men were quite dissatisfied with being locked in the cabin. In fact, even Linghu was dissatisfied, but for the sake of so-called elegance and the big picture, he couldn't show it on his face like Zhang Lei and the others.
Before the ship set sail, the Japanese could easily get reinforcements. But once the ship was set sail, it wasn't so easy for the Japanese devils to send reinforcements aboard. Did they really think the few men on board would cause trouble? It would be good enough if they weren't dealt with.
Michiko and her companions hadn't expected that not only could they monitor others, but the two Silver Sword members also changed their disguises and went out again as soon as they entered the cabin. Michiko and the others hadn't thought about makeup in their own country, and they hadn't even put themselves out of their role as pursuers. They were recognized by the Silver Sword members as soon as they boarded the ship. If they hadn't wanted to avoid causing trouble on the Isabelle, Michiko and the five or six kittens she was with would have been killed long ago.
Both the Guoyi Bureau and the Silver Sword were on the ship, so their search on Japanese soil wouldn't yield much. At most, they would find Zhang Lei's other hideouts and a pile of corpses inside.
As the horn of the Isabelle sounded, Zhang Lei and his team had essentially completed more than half of their mission. If it weren't for the fact that their funds had been exhausted, everything would have been perfect.
“Brother Linghu, I know Old Man Qian gave you an extra card. Take it out and use it. Didn’t you see the contempt in the waiter’s eyes when we asked for the free meal? It was unbearable. He was practically calling us poor bastards!” Zhang Lei and Tian Xiao flanked Linghu Zaichong, clearly in a poker-playing stance. It seemed that if Linghu didn’t agree, they would try to flatter him.
"That card? That's not a bank card at all, it's a contact card. You two little devils have sharp eyes!" Linghu seemed to want to emphasize his point, so he deliberately took out the unusual card and waved it around.
"Tch!" The two arrogant guys immediately left Linghu's side, losing all interest in him.
In fact, if the waiter on the Isabelle were to show that kind of emotion, he would have been fired long ago. It's just that these two kids wanted to go out and have fun, to experience the pinnacle of capitalist enjoyment. The Isabelle couldn't have come all this way just to play with free stuff.
There are plenty of free things on Isabel's platform, but it's obvious that the really fun ones are all the paid ones. Zhang Lei and his friends wanted to play those paid games too; their eyes practically popped out of their sockets as they looked at the long, text-heavy descriptions. Actually, it wasn't just them; everyone wanted to play, just not as obviously as these two.
Only then did the Silver Swordsmen realize that Zhang Lei was just a kid about the same age as Tian Xiao. Judging from his performance earlier, almost everyone had forgotten his age.
"Brother Li~!" Zhang Lei and Tian Xiao changed their target again.
“Don’t come near me. It’s no use you’re looking for me. Although we still have our mission fund, we can’t just touch that money. If you squander it, I’ll be facing a military court when I get back! No way!” Li Zaixing shook his head vigorously.
"Who asked you for money? You promised us you'd provide translators once the ship set sail, you can't go back on your word!" The Japanese coastline was gradually disappearing from view, and Zhang Lei and Tian Xiao were getting increasingly restless. This trip to Japan was far less fun than they had imagined. They hadn't seen much of the glitz and glamour of capitalism, but they had ripped off quite a few people, especially Zhang Lei. Zhang Lei felt like his mindset was becoming unbalanced; nobody likes turning into a murderous monster.
"Okay, okay, who do you want?" Li Zaixing was scared when he saw Linghu's appearance just now. Playing Dou Dizhu is fun, but no one wants to be the one to play as the landlord.
"It's him!" The two men pointed at Xiao Peng in unison. Among the Silver Swords, besides Li Zaixing, Xiao Peng had the most contact with them, as they all possessed special abilities and shared common interests.
After this mission, Xiao Peng will probably join the Bureau of Foreign Affairs, or at least have a nominal position there. If the military can keep it a secret, then he's one of their people. But once the Bureau of Foreign Affairs finds out, they'll have to give the Bureau of Foreign Affairs some face. That's kind of an unspoken rule.
Xiao Peng glanced at Li Zaixing, waiting for his instructions. "Go, go, Brother Xiao Peng!" Tian Xiao ran over and shook his hand. On the other side, Zhang Lei glared at Li Zaixing menacingly, as if he would kill him without hesitation if he uttered even half a word of dissent.