Operation Red Book

"Military advisor, counselor, adviser... just like Mr. Kong Ming!"

Mingcan raised a finger, with a bright gleam in his eyes.

"Don't they hate foreigners? When Joshua was caught by them, he was almost thrown into the sea to feed the fish..."

“I heard my name!”

Joshua came over shamelessly again, and after hearing the two girls' impatient "tsk" sounds, he ran back dejectedly and started wiping the dust.

"I don't know what's going on. I just drew what I saw and heard..."

Having said that, Mingcan folded the flower paper in his hand again and again.

"Ms. Ivy..."

She lowered her eyes, and her thick, curled eyelashes became wet and sparkling again.

“I secretly drew on these hard-earned papers for two months, secretly hid them for two months, and secretly waited for two months, just to wait for the opportunity to send them out.”

She raised her eyes, which shone with determination, and stuffed the paper heavily into Ivy's palm.

Over and over, inch by inch...

The paper carrying hope is as light as a butterfly, which will slip through your fingers if you are not careful; but it is also as heavy as a rock, which will fall into the unknown center of the earth if you relax a little.

She pinched until her fingertips turned white, not caring whether the sharp corners on the other side would prick her fingers.

"Ms. Mingcan, you..."

Ivy was a little frightened. She instinctively shrank back, but was held firmly in place by the skinny Mingcan.

"Ms. Ivy, you can speak English and have contacts with people outside..."

She spoke rapidly, and her whole face grew a little bigger.

"You can't stay here. You have to take it out and tell the officials of the Qing Dynasty that they are living in the palace of the British emperor!"

"Even though Mr. Zhu hates them, they also hate us deserters..."

"But they still have the same blood as us. With Mr. Zhu's papers and these evidences, they can't just sit there and do nothing!"

"me……"

"Ms. Ivy, please!"

Mingcan fell to his knees with a thud, tears streaming down his eyes.

“No, no, no! No, no, no…”

Ivy's face turned pale. She hurriedly bent down and supported Mingcan's arm, fearing that she would start crying and kowtow.

"Ms. Ivy! Please agree to this! I have children who are suffering here!"

"We left our homeland to escape the war between the Qing army and the foreigners. Now we are in someone else's territory. How can we have any hope of winning?"

"We just want to live peacefully with Mr. Zhu and do our job conscientiously."

"I just want my children to grow up on this land! I just want there to be no sound of cannons, no shouting of muskets, and no panic waking up in the middle of the night!"

"Ms. Ivy!"

"I promise! I promise! I must promise! I swear to heaven! I swear to my ancestors! I swear to the Buddha!"

This is the truth, not just for the sake of arrogance.

With Ivy's promise, Mingcan finally felt relieved. She sobbed and sat on a wooden chair beside her with Ivy's support.

"Mr. Zhu is gone, and Bo Fu is nowhere to be found. You disappeared for two months, and I thought I would never see you again."

"Don't worry, don't worry... drink some water..."

Ivy quickly handed Mingcan a large glass of cold water, and only after watching her calm down did she slowly breathe a sigh of relief.

After comforting Mingcan, Ivy shook the paper in her hand, making sure Joshua noticed it before putting it in the deepest part of her pocket.

The mission to explore the Chinese dock should be completed now...

So, what's next?