Operation Red Book

It was already August, and the whole of London was covered in a golden layer. No one knew where it came from, perhaps it symbolized brilliance or the glory before decline.

The sunset glows dazzlingly, decorating half of the blue sky. Big Ben stands tall among the blue, yellow, and gray-green clouds, majestic and solemn, mysterious and eye-catching.

Ivy and Joshua were both sitting on the embankment of the Thames. Before them was the broad river and steam ships emitting billowing black smoke, and beneath their feet was the surging black river water.

Gray and white pigeons gathered in twos and threes in the open space behind the two people, either wandering around stupidly or taking off idly.

"Uh-huh-huh..."

Ivy was teasing a fat pigeon at hand. The pigeon was completely gray, with only two streaks of white hair between its flesh-pink eyes and its goose-yellow beak.

The pigeon looked like a fool, and its behavior was also very foolish. It ate all the French fries in Ivy's hand, and then it flapped its wings and roared without gratitude.

"Fuck-"

The discussion failed and Ivy became furious. She picked up the red book beside her and smashed it at the pigeon that didn't have time to take off.

"Cuckoo! Cuckoo!"

Many pigeons were frightened and flew far away. Those that couldn't fly away quickly spread their wings and fled away as quickly as chickens.

"Look! It's finally useful."

Ivy picked up the ill-fated red book and sat next to Joshua again.

Joshua handed over the fries in his hand and took the dusty red book.

"How could that be? In fact, it helped us a lot..."

Joshua carefully straightened the curled pages of the red book, his movements so gentle that it seemed as if a newborn calf was lying in his hands.

"To me, it is like a guide in the void, showing us the direction and solving the mystery."

"It's very interesting, isn't it? Because this wonderful and wonderful notebook always reminds us and always encourages us..."

"I can talk to myself in another world, and Ivy from another world is also silently concerned about our journey. Really, this is much more interesting than the science experiment class in the 21st century!"

"That's right..." Ivy replied while taking a bite of the cooling French fries.

“But to me, it’s proof that we exist in this world.”

"Isn't it good?" Joshua asked.

Ivy shook her head: "My feelings are exactly the opposite of yours. Perhaps it's because I have never integrated into this world from the beginning to the end. I am afraid, guilty, and even escaping..."

"The Red Book, like us, has come from the 21st century to the 19th century. It constantly reminds us of our dangerous situation, yet it is as mysterious as the gold buried in the deepest part of the Ganges..."

"Every time I open it, or even touch it, I always feel uneasy, perhaps because of the fear of the unknown, or perhaps because of the admiration of its power."

Joshua nodded as if he understood. Ivy stopped speaking, closed her eyes, and propped up her upper body with her palms.

A flock of geese flew in the shape of a "human" through the thin clouds, bringing cool evening breeze.

"Student Ivy..." Joshua's voice suddenly became cautious, "Your neck..."

Ivy turned her head in confusion and reached out to touch the side of her neck.

There was a clear scar, a half-fallen black scab, which was Ivy's masterpiece in the McMillan Mansion, and she was very proud of it.

The plan was carried out perfectly. Various tricks were used to bribe newspapers of all sizes in London and to keep most of the public opinion in his own hands.

Then, it directly hits the already cracked connection between Britain and the United States, pushing the people's hatred to a climax. The upper echelons who pay attention to the election rate can easily hear the people's thoughts.

Similar to the Madison incident, under the instigation of public opinion, he quickly became the target of public criticism throughout Britain.

The public's voices are growing louder and louder, and there are even demonstrations in front of the government.

Therefore, the top leaders had to give up on such a bad person and eventually sent him back to the US government.

Then, they boasted about a person who looked 60% perfect and attributed almost god-like qualities to this human being.

In this way, 60% becomes absolutely perfect, and the lie becomes a hundred-meter-high tower.

If this person makes a small mistake, the building will collapse and he will be doomed.

Analogous to Mrs. Emerson, in the second half of the dinner, she warmly welcomed Ivy at the banquet, which indicated that the conflict between the two no longer existed.

Although the lady's building was shaking, it was finally stable, and Ivy's troubles were solved amid rounds of applause.

"The amount raised from the charity gala will be fully paid by the Macmillan Estate, and they will do their utmost to help the children in the orphanage overcome their difficulties. This is what Mrs. Emerson announced publicly."

Joshua was surprised and asked, "Is this part of the plan?"

"Yes, it cost a lot of money to manage the newspaper and reporters. Mr. Johnson helped me so much, I have to give him the corresponding value."

Ivy shrugged and continued.

"McCoff's hints and secret help, the Red Book's enlightenment and guidance, and Humphrey and Arnold's great help, by the way, thank you to the BBC screenwriters..."

"And of course my smart brain from the 21st century, put together, we completed this plan."

"A big win is inevitable."

After saying that, Ivy sighed heavily. She always felt that she was no different from those working people drinking coffee in the financial street.

What she didn't know was that Joshua beside her had already been cheering for her in his heart for a full twenty minutes.

Classmate Ivy is not as cowardly as herself. She dares to take risks and never cares about the consequences. As a result, she always gets what she wants.

Even though Joshua had a brain as sharp as anyone else's, the mere thought of such a huge amount of money and such a dangerous operation frightened him.

Perhaps this is the unique charm of Ivy. Joshua's face was filled with the same color as the sunset in the sky.

"Joshua! Little Lamb! Let's go! Let's go home!"

At that moment, Holmes, holding a floor-to-ceiling mirror as tall as a person, began to howl loudly from a distance.

"Your latte, honey!"

Mrs. Hudson trotted over from behind, handed the hot coffee in her hand to Ivy, and gave each of the two children a big kiss on the forehead.

"The sun has set, Ivy..." Joshua looked at the last bit of golden light in the distance.

"I've slept too long, Joshua. I have to find a way to get my time back..."

There is a reason for this. In the past two months, Ivy and Joshua have seen very little.

The two did not disturb each other, and each took root and grew in their own field. The price was the increasing distance and increasingly unfamiliar meeting.

Beside the stream in Monet's garden, Ivy confided her feelings to Joshua for the first time.

This was great, Ivy felt happy and comfortable.

They were a special pair of partners who stuck together in special situations. Without each other, Ivy couldn't imagine how desperate she would be.

Time passed quickly and it was late at night, when everything was asleep. However, Ivy and Joshua talked about those magical and wonderful past events all night in the bedroom on the first floor.

Joshua talked excitedly about witches, consciousness space and Professor White, while Ivy flipped through the red book and tried to recall the bizarre things that appeared in her dream.

The key point is that both of them tacitly concealed some things that they did not want the other to know, mostly because of that person - Lord Leon, of course.

A lot of content had appeared in the red book, and the yellowed edges and wrinkles accounted for one-third of the entire book. The already old notebook became bulging and tattered.

On the last page where the content appears, the Red Book again lists three questions:

1.Which family does Mr. Zhu belong to?

2. Why did Mr. Zhu flee from Shanghai to London?

3. Why did Mr. Zhu disappear for so long?

Mr. Zhu... Ivy was shocked. After waking up for so many days, why did she forget about the Chinese wharf...

She exchanged glances with Joshua, who opened his mouth in surprise, seeming to have discovered the same problem as Ivy.

"Mr. Zhu..."

"I'm going to deduct all your wages!"

Suddenly, familiar Chinese, familiar accent, familiar voice and familiar tone...

"Mr. Zhu!"

The two of them looked towards the window at the same time, and saw Mr. Zhu, covered in blood, lying on the windowsill like a hungry beast.

His eyes were fierce and his entire eye sockets were covered in a layer of red.

"You little heartless person, come and help me..."

"Clang-"

Before he could finish his sentence, Mr. Zhu could no longer support himself and fell to the ground.