Operation Red Book

"It's nothing serious, he's just too tired. Let him have a good rest and don't overwork himself..."

Bell was flipping through the medical records, her burgundy curly hair piled high on top of her head, and she looked refreshed.

"But when he showed up, he was covered in blood. Is there really nothing wrong?"

Joshua stood beside Holmes, looking worried.

"They are just minor scratches. They should have been scratched by sharp objects in the river. It's okay. It's just that the scars are scattered more and the wounds are actually very shallow..."

"It's important to note that he has quite a few wounds on his body. In addition to the scratches he got yesterday, he also has many old scars."

"Those scars are unusual. The cuts are small, but the wounds are deep. They could have killed him in one blow, but they avoided all the fatal parts..."

Joshua's heart tightened, and he turned to look at Mr. Zhu on the hospital bed and Ivy sitting next to him.

Mr. Zhu's face was pale, his lips were blue, his bags under his eyes were slightly swollen, and there was some cyanosis in the right corner of his eye.

Although he was asleep, his expression was extremely alert, his eyeballs trembled from time to time, and the corners of his festering mouth twitched constantly.

Ivy squatted beside Mr. Zhu's bed, her thick black hair hanging down on the sides of her face, making it impossible to see her features or her expression. All that could be seen was that her left thumb was bitten in her mouth.

From a distance, her body moved back and forth without any regular pattern.

At best, she looks like an innocent little girl, at worst, she looks like a psychopath who thinks she is a mushroom...

"And the bruises and blood on his face. I found identical wounds on his abdomen and calves."

Bell continued to explain Mr. Zhu's condition to the two men. Joshua turned his head and listened carefully, the wrinkles between his brows becoming deeper and deeper.

"Those wounds only appeared in the past two months. They had accumulated for a while. Fortunately, they did not damage the internal organs and are easy to treat."

"Hmm..." Holmes rubbed his chin and hummed.

"In short, take your medicine on time and take good care of him. This is your strong point, Joshua."

Bell patted Joshua on the shoulder jokingly, put away the empty potion bottle, turned and walked out of the ward.

"Good, that makes sense."

Holmes let out a long sigh and relaxed completely.

Joshua didn't quite understand the connection: "Sorry, what do you mean?"

"It's been a puzzle for me for weeks - where did Mr. Zhu go?"

Holmes pulled over a wooden chair and sat down, shrugged indifferently.

"After the Madison incident, the Chinese wharf was completely blocked to the outside world. People inside couldn't leave, and people outside couldn't come in."

"The negotiations between the two sides were not going well. The atmosphere on both sides was tense and everyone was tense."

"Some people say this is the calm before the war, some say London will be occupied by the Chinese, and some say the Chinese docks will soon be wiped out by the British army..."

"Only a few people who were as perceptive as me asked: Why hasn't Mr. Zhu, the leader of the Chinese Wharf, come forward yet?"

"Mr. Zhu is just a businessman. He has built his own business empire based on the Thames estuary. So if we want to start a war, he will definitely be the first person to vote against it."

"After so many days of no news, everyone thought he was hiding in the deepest part of the Chinese wharf, tacitly allowing the war to start one day."

"I thought he had suddenly lost his mind and walked step by step into the trap set by the British government."

"So..." Joshua continued, "There's someone else in charge of the Chinese wharf now?"

"That's right!" Holmes crossed his legs and swung on his toes.

"Look at those scars. Mr. Zhu was captured by those traitors in the Chinese dock more than two months ago. They locked him up near the dock..."

"Perhaps in a lighthouse, or in an abandoned ship... In any case, it must be somewhere near the water, because he escaped from the turbulent Thames."

"So my final conclusion is that if nothing is done, the Chinese wharf will be doomed."

Holmes whistled cheerfully, "Although I don't think this group of Chinese who never rest will be finished..."

"Oh..." Joshua's tone dropped noticeably.

He had only been to the Chinese Wharf three times, and each time he had an extraordinary experience.

The people there are as kind, generous, enthusiastic and humorous as Ivy. There are delicious Chinese food, comfortable massages and baths, magical acrobatic performances and a lively festive atmosphere.

The fall of the Chinese Wharf was bad news that Joshua, who had only been there a few times, was unwilling to face. What about Ivy, who had put almost all her efforts into it?

Ivy worked there for half a year. There were her compatriots, the business she managed, the people she cared about, and many memories worth remembering for a lifetime.

It was like her home, but it wouldn't be long before the family was broken up, war broke out, the Chinese wharf ceased to exist, and all the beautiful memories it carried were scattered by the British army's artillery fire.

Ivy would be sad, heartbroken, and cry... Joshua really didn't dare to look back. He couldn't bear to see her cry, and he couldn't bear to disturb her sadness...

"Hey Hey……"

However, this laughter didn't seem too sad, and even sounded a bit gloating...

"Hey, hey, hey! This has no legal effect. If you get sued, you can just go to Scotland to dig wild vegetables!"

Holmes said sternly, of course the target of his scolding was Ivy in front of him.

Ivy was holding a bunch of contract documents, and she couldn't hide the smile on her face.

She secretly picked up Mr. Zhu's unconscious fingers and pressed bright red handprints one after another on the freshly written documents.

"Hush!" Ivy's eyes turned fierce. "If you don't tell me, I won't tell you either. When I get the Chinese wharf, I will definitely give you a share..."

As soon as he finished speaking, the person on the bed suddenly moved.

Mr. Zhu grabbed Ivy's wrist, his movements weak but urgent.

"Chinese Wharf... Zhao Minghua! What are you going to do with my Chinese Wharf! Ugh!"

Before he could finish, Mr. Zhu suddenly spat out a large mouthful of blood, which not only soaked the white bed sheet, but also completely destroyed the contract in Ivy's hand.

He opened his confused eyes and then started coughing violently.

"Mr. Zhu!"

"Go get Ms. Bell!"

Joshua was the first to react. He quickly opened the door and ran towards Bell's potion-making room.

Ivy stood there in a daze, holding a parchment stained with large patches of blood in her hand, and in front of her was Mr. Zhu gasping in pain.

"Who is Zhao Minghua?" Ivy thought to herself, "Is he the one who imprisoned Mr. Zhu and then took control of the entire Chinese Wharf?"

"How is the Chinese Wharf now? Is the noodle shop at the entrance still there? Is Miss Mingcan still there? Why didn't Bofu guard Mr. Zhu? Are Shisanfang and Muyunzhai still the same as before?"

Too many questions occupied Ivy's brain. She tried hard to sort out the tangled mysteries, but she couldn't solve them...

When they reacted, Ivy, Joshua and others came to the outside of the ward.

Belle drove everyone out, including Victor who followed her.

In fact, this is a good thing, because Victor did not come to check on Mr. Zhu's injuries, but came on behalf of SCO to discuss matters concerning the Chinese wharf with Ivy.

"There was a huge anomaly at the Chinese dock. It was unusually quiet during the day, but at night there were flames and noise. The London residents living nearby were living in misery, and the whole area was very unsafe."

Victor stated slowly.

"The higher-ups are very concerned about what's going on inside the Chinese wharf and need the SCO to go in and investigate."

"So, Miss Ivy, you are an insider of the Chinese dock. You are familiar with the internal structure and have rare combat experience..."

"I think you are the best candidate for this undercover mission. Are you willing to help us?"

"Why?"

Before Ivy could speak, Holmes stood in front of her with his arms folded.

"For such a simple mission, you didn't let those policemen who were just doing nothing do it, but let a child who had not received systematic training do it. Do you have any humanity?"

"I wouldn't bother Miss Ivy unless it was absolutely necessary."

Victor replied slowly, his tone calm but powerful.

"But none of the five excellent agents sent by Scotland Yard came back intact..."

"I'm talking about their bodies, of course."