The story of Rose starts with being a brother

Chapter 479 Internet Outage (Part 7) Night in Shanghai, Director Wen
As night deepened, Mr. Yi's headquarters...

"Holy crap, where did you get such a huge bag of explosives?"

Outside the wall, Zeng Xian'er, the vice president of the student union under the drama troupe, took a burlap sack from Hu Xiaofei. When she saw that it contained a large bag of explosives, she was dumbfounded.

Hu Xiaofei, who had changed into a red dress, was checking the situation inside the wall. Hearing this, she glanced at him and said, "Where else could it be from? The Axe Gang, of course."

"I thought you were joking. Are you really an assassin from the Axe Gang?" Zeng Xian'er asked cautiously.

"I wasn't joking when I said I'd bomb the headquarters, do you think I'd joke about something like this?"

"..."

Zeng Xian'er swallowed hard, then asked, "Then why didn't you let the Axe Gang bomb the headquarters? Wouldn't it be too hasty to just have the two of us?"

"What are you panicking about with me here?" Hu Xiaofei said after checking the equipment. "Besides, the Axe Gang members are just ordinary people. They're fine for hacking people, but sending them to bomb the headquarters would only get them killed."

"Big sister, if gangsters are all ordinary people, then what about me, a student..." Zeng Xian'er chuckled awkwardly, "am I just here to die?"

"Didn't you say that making the audience cry is not as worthwhile as killing a real traitor? There are so many traitors and Japanese devils here, you've hit the jackpot!"

"..."

"Don't worry, as I said, I'm here. Protecting you is more than enough. Just cheer me on when the time comes."

"Are you kidding me? I need your protection?"

Zeng Xian'er lifted his gray mandarin jacket, revealing the throwing knives around his waist.

He couldn't get a gun, and he felt that assassination should be done with silent throwing knives... Before he came, he really thought that Hu Xiaofei was just joking about blowing up the headquarters. Who knew that the other party was so fierce and actually did it!

Hu Xiaofei glanced at him sideways and laughed, "Okay, I know you're not an ordinary person. Stick close to me later."

As soon as she finished speaking, she climbed over the wall and jumped down.

Zeng Xian'er's eyes widened, and she hadn't even reacted yet.

But since things had come to this, he had no choice but to jump down as well.

But he clearly overestimated himself. With such a high wall, Hu Xiaofei could easily jump down and land gracefully, while he jumped down and landed directly on Hu Xiaofei.

"Ouch!"

Hearing the commotion, the Japanese guards immediately surrounded them. Soon, the two men who were trying to sneak in were surrounded by a Japanese officer and his men.

Seeing this scene before him, Zeng Xian'er's legs immediately went weak, but seeing Hu Xiaofei standing with her hands on her hips, looking fearless, he forced himself to pull out his throwing knife without begging for mercy, though his words betrayed his true feelings:

"Excuse me, gentlemen, we've come to the wrong place."

Hearing Zeng Xian'er's words, Hu Xiaofei sneered, "Zeng, can't you have any backbone?"

"This is just a temporary measure. Do you really think I'm a coward?" Zeng Xian'er retorted defiantly. Seeing that the Japanese soldiers were completely willing to let them go, she immediately said toughly, "I'll show you what a real man is right now."

"Look at the flying knife!"

As soon as Zeng Xian'er finished speaking, she threw a flying knife, which hit a Japanese soldier directly from her side and behind.

"See, I knew someone was going to launch a sneak attack."

Seeing this, Hu Xiaofei ignored him and instead looked at the officer in front of her who had drawn his knife and was about to order an attack after seeing the soldier fall victim to the attack.

"A good dog doesn't block the way; those that do are roadblocks!"

Unfortunately, the Japanese officer did not understand Chinese and simply raised his sword.

The air was quiet, and the tense atmosphere, poised to erupt, made Zeng Xian'er's hands, gripping the throwing knife, sweat.

"He died before achieving his goal, leaving heroes to weep with sorrow."

As Zeng Xian'er finished her mournful words, the officer's raised knife fell to the ground.

The next moment, just like when Hu Xiaofei faced the Crocodile Gang at dusk, a gun-drawing technique that was barely visible to the naked eye appeared.

"Bang bang bang..."

Gunshots rang out, bullets flew, and the Japanese soldiers blocking their way fell to the ground.

Zeng Xian'er quickly crouched down and found a place to hide. When he peeked out to check the situation, he saw a scene that overturned his understanding of life.

The red figure moved through the Japanese ranks like a ghost. With each burst of flame from her gun, a Japanese soldier died, while the Japanese bullets could not hit her.

No, it wasn't that they couldn't hit them, it was that they couldn't aim accurately. The Japanese soldiers' firing speed couldn't keep up with Hu Xiaofei's dodging speed at all.

In this situation, Zeng Xian'er, a progressive young man who had studied abroad, thought of an image that had appeared in the West a few years ago.

"She's practically a superhero!"

At this moment, Superwoman Faye used the shoulder of the Japanese officer in front of her to leap high into the air. As her red dress tumbled, she fired her gun in mid-air, quickly clearing out the wave of Japanese soldiers surrounding her.

However, as soon as she landed, a large wave of Japanese soldiers rushed out of the fortifications in front of her, and machine gunners began to fire bullets at her relentlessly.

At the moment when she was surrounded by a dense hail of bullets, a scene flashed through the depths of Hu Xiaofei's mind.

Snowflakes falling from the sky, a roaring train, white protective suits, a chilling underground base, Japanese soldiers with limbs torn apart, and monsters covered in tentacles, and...

Death reached out to her once again... Time stood still at that moment, countless bullets hovered silently before her eyes, and lost memories appeared in her mind like a comic strip. So she closed her eyes as she had done many years ago.

The pebbles floated, the bullets stopped. Upon witnessing this, Zeng Xian'er's mind went completely blank, leaving only one thought echoing in her mind—

"She's truly a superhero!"

The next second, Hu Xiaofei opened her eyes, and all the bullets that had been fired returned to their original positions, instantly killing all the Japanese soldiers who had rushed out.

The world fell silent.

Zeng Xian'er walked out shakily, and when she saw Hu Xiaofei sway slightly, she quickly went over to help her.

"Are you OK?"

"fine."

Hu Xiaofei pushed him away, shook her head, and walked forward: "Hurry up and put the explosives in."

Seeing this, Zeng Xian'er, who had completely become a follower, immediately followed along, but noticing that the other person was somewhat weak, he still asked with concern:
"Are you really alright? Should we call a doctor? Maybe it's internal injury? Are you thirsty...?"

Ignoring Zeng Xian'er's nagging, Hu Xiaofei rushed into the armory.

But at that moment, two Japanese soldiers who had been hiding there rushed out from the side.

"It's a black card, it's onboard!"

"It's a black card, it's onboard!"

Hu Xiaofei didn't need to deal with them; the violent explosion had already torn their bodies apart by the time their voices faded.

Hu Xiaofei knew she was fast; she could outrun gunfire and enemy swords, but she also knew she couldn't outrun bullets, and similarly, she couldn't outrun the shockwave of an explosion.

If she hadn't deflected that wave of bullets, she could have blocked the shockwaves from those two human bombs.

But there are no "what ifs" in life. If she hadn't blocked it, she would have been riddled with bullets.

The burning pain from the flames and the tearing sensation from the shockwave simultaneously traveled to her skin. She could only vaguely hear Zeng Xian'er shouting "Get out of here!" outside the door.

At that moment, no death appeared, but she knew she was really going to die.

Time slowed down again, not because of her mysterious ability to imprison time, but because it was a slideshow of time before a person died.

The images that had just surfaced in Hu Xiaofei's mind reappeared; those lost memories had finally returned.

After leaving the biohazard base, which had been reduced to ruins, she was extremely weak and was rescued by a couple who took her to Shanghai.

The couple originally only wanted to help her in this chaotic world, but they found that she remembered nothing after waking up. Since she was pretty and sensible, they simply adopted her as their daughter.

However, the elderly couple originally had a son named Lu Xiaobo, who was studying abroad. He was quite happy to learn that he had an older sister and was thinking about when he could return to China to see her.

Unfortunately, the Battle of Shanghai broke out later, and the situation in Shanghai became increasingly chaotic.

Lu Xiaobo wanted them to go abroad to avoid the chaos, but Hu Xiaofei, who was already studying at university in Shanghai at the time, refused. However, she sent the two elderly people abroad.

After several attempts to persuade her, the two elders had no choice but to give up and simply handed over the domestic assets that they couldn't sell in time to Hu Xiaofei. Since their daughter was unwilling to leave, they could only leave her some money to make a living.

Hu Xiaofei's reluctance to leave was not because she wanted to continue studying there, but more because she had discovered the extraordinary aspects of her body.

She initially discovered it while teaching a thug a lesson, but gradually, she realized that her abilities were far beyond that.

As the saying goes, with great power comes great responsibility. Although she couldn't remember anything, the chaotic times and the thoughts of her classmates at school influenced her, and she felt that she needed to do something.

But she had little experience at the time. Although she was able to escape unscathed after ambushing the Japanese, she almost endangered the civilians. In addition, the Japanese soldiers who went out to fight were well equipped with firepower, so she had no choice but to target the traitors.

During an assassination attempt, she unexpectedly encountered the Axe Gang, who shared the same goal, and subsequently joined the gang.

With the Axe Gang's informants and intelligence, she became even more adept at this, and even successfully launched a surprise attack on the Japanese.

However, because she looked down on the other members of the Axe Gang as ordinary people, or rather, because she didn't want ordinary people to die in vain, she basically went on missions alone and rarely consulted with others.

Some members of the gang who knew of her expressed their dissatisfaction, feeling that she was too "isolated," but she didn't seem to care.

Heroes are always lonely.

Just like today's plan to bomb the headquarters, the suit shop owner in the gang also said that this plan wouldn't work. Even if we really wanted to do it, we would have to plan it out again, especially by notifying Brother Sheng.

But she couldn't be bothered to wait, and quietly took the bag of explosives from the store.

The explosives were originally intended for self-destruction should the hidden stake be discovered, but now...

In her dying moments, she suddenly realized that the tailor shop owner's words and Zeng Xian'er's earlier words were correct; they should have gotten the Axe Gang to help.

Unfortunately, it's all too late.

"boom!"

I don't know what those two Japanese soldiers were thinking, working as lowly laborers in an armory, when a series of explosions instantly engulfed the place.

Although Zeng Xian'er, who was hiding outside, was dazed and confused by the explosion, she was fortunate enough to survive.

The world spun around him, and his ears rang. Once he regained some clarity, he immediately went to check on Hu Xiaofei.

"You're Superman Faye, you won't die so easily, right?"

As Zeng Xian'er staggered to the doorway, muttering to herself, she heard the sound of something heavy falling behind her.

He didn't turn around immediately, perhaps realizing something, and he didn't dare to turn around.

But in the end, Zeng Xian'er couldn't help but glance back. When that figure, now a dark red, appeared in the corner of his eye, he clutched half his head, and his long-dormant migraine flared up again.

The student council vice president, who has small eyes, bulged his eyes out to their maximum size, as if he were about to stretch his eyeballs open.

Shock, sadness, anger, grief... a mix of emotions nearly suffocated him. After taking two stiff steps, he stood there, unable to move any further.

Until they were surrounded by the arriving Japanese troops.

……

The next day, at the Lihua Palace.

"Shanghai, Shanghai, you are a city that never sleeps, with lights on, music playing, and dances galore..."

The pride of Shanghai Beach, the leader of the Four Butterflies, the superstar Tang Xiaodie, who is the focus of everyone's attention, has begun her Love Parade concert tour.

"Boss, the two lunatics who attacked the headquarters yesterday have been dealt with. The one who was killed has been buried, and the other man has been locked up. Do you want to try to extract a confession from the mastermind behind it?"

In the VIP section below the stage, Mr. Yi, who had just come to watch the concert, was listening to his secretary's report.

"Ask if you can."

"What if he doesn't tell me?"

"Nai Izut!"

The secretary nodded in agreement, and then Mr. Yi asked, "Who is that woman on stage?"

"Boss, she is Tang Xiaodie, a popular actress, singer and actress."

The secretary explained briefly, then, noticing Mr. Yi's expression, added, "If you need it, I can arrange it for you."

Mr. Yi didn't speak, but his secretary already understood what he meant.

Then, the secretary turned around and saw that his subordinate at the door had sent a message. He then leaned down and said, "Boss, Mr. Du has arrived, and... Director Wen is not far away."

"Understood." Mr. Yi nodded.

Seeing this, the secretary stepped aside, and then Mr. Du, a bigwig in Shanghai's smuggling industry, sat down next to Mr. Yi.

"Mr. Yi, it's been a long time."

"Long time no see, Mr. Du."

"I heard your headquarters was attacked last night. Are you alright?"

"It's nothing, it's just that I couldn't invite Mr. Du to the headquarters, so we had to come here." Mr. Yi smiled, then casually asked, "Regarding the attack, I wonder if Mr. Du, who has connections all over Shanghai, has any leads he can provide?"

"How could I dare? In front of you, Mr. Yi, who in Shanghai dares to claim to have connections everywhere? I only heard about the attack today. If I have any leads, I will definitely tell you immediately."

"..."

On stage, Tang Xiaodie, whose real name is Tang Xiaoyou, carries the mission of avenging her classmate Hu Xiaofei who sacrificed herself for righteousness and eliminating traitors for the nation. While singing her heart out, she keeps a close eye on the audience.

As an underground member, she received information that Mr. Yi would be here tonight.

However, the lighting in the audience was dim, and since she had never actually seen what Mr. Yi looked like, she had no idea who he was.

Hmm... there is someone who looks a bit like her eldest nephew.

Although she couldn't be sure who Mr. Yi was, Tang Xiaoyou knew that Mr. Yi had arrived when she saw people who looked like spies all over the place.

It's common knowledge in Shanghai that Mr. Yi is obsessed with beauty and power. Once he arrives, things will be much easier. Tang Xiaoyou is confident that with her looks and status as a big star, she will definitely be able to attract him.

As long as Mr. Yi takes the bait, she can use a deadly weapon she has prepared beforehand to avenge her classmate and eliminate traitors for the nation at the moment when the man is most relaxed!
While Tang Xiaoyou was still searching on stage, Mr. Yi and Boss Du had already finished their conversation, and overall it went quite smoothly.

But at the end, Mr. Yi suddenly said, "I heard that Boss Du also has anti-Japanese sentiments?"

Mr. Du, whose face was beaming with smiles, froze instantly, and angrily retorted, "Who said that? Slander! This is slander!"

In Shanghai, the influence of gangs is actually quite significant, and they don't necessarily have to act subservient to political parties. In fact, it could be said that even when facing political leaders in Shanghai, Boss Du can still be quite assertive.

After all, assassinations aren't something only the Axe Gang does; Boss Du's Green Gang does it too.

However, this tough stance mostly remained before the Battle of Shanghai. After the Battle of Shanghai, the situation in Shanghai changed completely.

When you need to act like a grandson, act like a grandson; when you need to act like a son, act like a son.

At least for now, he still has to back down a bit in the face of this accusation leveled against him by the head of the 76th Special Agent Unit.

"Don't be nervous, Mr. Du. Of course I know this is a slander against you." Mr. Yi smiled. "No matter what, we are all people who grew up on this land. It's normal for us to be somewhat powerless now."

Boss Du's expression shifted slightly, sensing the underlying meaning in the words of this notorious traitor.

But while it's one thing to understand something, saying it out loud would be disastrous.

So the two started playing charades, chatting idly while watching the performance.

Finally, Mr. Yi suddenly gestured in a certain direction and said, "Don't let Boss Du hear these words. This Japanese official isn't as easy to talk to as I am."

Following the gaze, Boss Du immediately understood who the other person was referring to.

Moon Il-sung, Director of Intelligence Division No. 76!
Now Boss Du seemed to have figured things out, but at the same time, he felt that he had received too much information since coming here tonight, and he needed to think about what to say next.

So he didn't react to seeing Moon Il-sung, but just smiled and said, "Mr. Yi, the concert is almost over, so I'll take my leave now."

"Okay, goodbye Mr. Du." Mr. Yi smiled and shook hands with him.

After the other person left, he thought for a moment, then got up and sat down next to Moon Il-sung.

"Director Wen, are you here for a concert?"

Moon Il-sung, who had seen this superior before, was about to stand up, but sat back down at the other's gesture. However, he still said respectfully, "This subordinate greets Minister Yi!"

The highest leader of No. 76 was a high-ranking official in the puppet government, a minister-level official, so it was natural for his subordinate, Moon Il-sung, to address him that way.

After greeting everyone, he explained, "The headquarters was attacked last night, and the intelligence department is gathering information. I heard that many prominent figures from Shanghai are coming here tonight, so I thought I'd come and check things out."

He paused for a moment, then added, "I never expected to run into Minister Yi here."

Mr. Yi nodded upon hearing this and subtly clinked glasses with the other person.

He knew, of course, that the other party was lying through their teeth; it was obvious that they were there to spy on him on behalf of the islanders.

Although No. 76 was nominally a secret service agency of the puppet government, the Japanese were determined to keep it firmly under their control. He knew that the man surnamed Wen in front of him was someone planted by the Japanese.

Yesterday, he asked Wen Richeng to arrange for Boss Du to have dinner with him at the headquarters, but because the headquarters was attacked that night and the intelligence department was busy with this matter, he did not ask the other party to continue making arrangements.

But it was clear that the intelligence department had still managed to get the information, and the man surnamed Wen had come specifically to keep an eye on him.

After taking a sip of wine, Mr. Yi smiled and said, "Director Wen is truly dedicated and hardworking!"

"I dare not. It is all my duty to share Minister Yi's burdens and serve the government."

"Okay! But isn't it a bit inappropriate to talk about work here?"

Moon Il-sung looked at his superior and asked doubtfully, "Minister Yi's meaning is..."

"Does Director Wen like this big star who is the top of the four butterflies of Shanghai?" Mr. Yi's tone was subtle, just like a boss chatting with his subordinates about men's affairs during breaks from work. "If you want, I can arrange it for you, as a reward for you."

Upon hearing this, Wen Richeng glanced at Tang Xiaodie on the stage, smiled, and shook his head: "I'm not interested in celebrities or anything like that."

"You're not interested in beautiful female celebrities?" Mr. Yi asked in surprise. "Then what are you interested in?"

"Minister Yi misunderstands. I have no interest in celebrities, but I am very interested in beautiful women."

Moon Il-sung paused slightly, then said, seemingly in a flattering tone but also casually, "Of course, compared to Minister Yi, I estimate I haven't seen any real beauties yet. After all, you are very knowledgeable and have seen countless women."

"..."

Mr. Yi's smile faded slightly as he scrutinized his subordinate.

What do you mean?
Is it just simple flattery, or is there another motive? Could it be that they're trying to poach our staff?

After a moment's thought, Mr. Yi smiled and said, "Director Wen is still unmarried, and he really needs to think about his marriage. If I meet a beautiful woman later, I will definitely recommend her to you."

"Haha, thank you very much, Minister Yi."

Wen Richeng quickly and gratefully toasted Mr. Yi.

Seemingly to thank Mr. Yi for his willingness to help resolve his lifelong issue, Wen Richeng put down his wine glass and said softly, "Minister Yi, I recently received news that some Japanese, as well as people from other countries such as Britain, America, and Judea have gone missing in the concession. It seems they have been kidnapped and forced to write fraudulent letters to their own people to swindle money."

Mr. Yi's smile faded slightly, and then Wen Richeng said, "By the way, Minister Yi, I heard that you have a painter friend from an island nation in the concession. Tell him to be very careful as well."

……

After the concert ended, Mr. Yi returned to his car with a gloomy expression.

"Boss, what's wrong?" the secretary asked with concern.

"Wen Richeng knows about what happened in Guangu."

As soon as Mr. Yi finished speaking, the secretary who had just arranged things for the boss, Tang Xiaodie, also changed her expression.

"What should we do? Should we..." The secretary made a throat-slitting gesture.

Mr. Yi shook his head, closed his eyes and began to think. Seeing this, his secretary knew better than to bring up Tang Xiaodie's matter now.

The car drove for a long time, and when they were almost at the Yi residence, Mr. Yi opened his eyes and said, "Since he told me about this, there is still room for discussion."

He paused for a moment, then added, "Doesn't that guy surnamed Wen like beautiful women? Why don't you send Qin Xiaomo to his house and see how he reacts?"

Upon hearing this, the secretary was startled and hurriedly said, "Boss, you've been pursuing Qin Xiaomo for so long and still haven't... Why don't you have the first taste first..."

"What kind of time is this to still care about this! Do you think that guy surnamed Wen is a tortoise?"

"Yes, boss." The secretary nodded, then added, "Boss, Tang Xiaodie's matter has been taken care of."

……

Meanwhile, inside an art-filled villa in the concession.

The walls of the villa are covered with all kinds of paintings, and paints and canvases are everywhere, giving the impression that the person living in this villa is a great painter.

However, the scene in the basement of the villa was completely different.

"To succeed, you must first go crazy! Charge forward regardless of everything!"

(End of this chapter)