Operation Red Book

Amidst the dark clouds, the two sides were in a stalemate.

Ivy's hands holding the gun were shaking slightly, but she still pointed the gun at the crowded crowd in front of her.

Amid the noise of the crowd, some men put down their weapons and walked slowly to the other side.

At this point, the followers of Commander Zhu and Commander Zhao were clearly divided.

On one side were bewildered civilians, and on the other side were middle-aged men holding rifles in a tense standoff.

Ivy winked at Hilda, who immediately called a team together and approached the crowd cautiously with guns at hand.

The residents were a little scared. The younger girls snuggled in their grandmothers' arms. The grandmothers also trembled with lips as they watched Hilda approach them step by step.

"They will escort you out. I promise you that you will not encounter those monsters again on the way back."

Ivy slowed down her tone and explained softly.

Hilda moved forward cautiously and stopped about ten meters away from the crowd.

People instinctively shrank back. Hilda didn't get angry when she saw this. She just stood still, put away her pistol, and slowly extended her hand towards the nearest old woman.

"She is the captain of this rescue operation. Her mission is to safely transfer the residents of the Chinese wharf to facilitate professionals to fight against the monsters that occupied the Chinese wharf." Ivy continued.

"This is an opportunity that Mr. Zhu and I have fought for you. It's only once, so think carefully..."

"wrong!"

Suddenly, there were unusual sounds among the crowd holding guns.

"Mr. Zhu is already dead! How can he fight for it?"

"Yes! Mr. Zhu hasn't been seen for a long time. Commander Zhao fished in the river for two days and two nights, but only found his remaining clothes!"

"Mr. Zhu was eaten by fish in the Thames a long time ago!"

The crowd sang in unison and talked to each other, pulling many people back to the camp supporting Zhao Minghua.

"Mr. Li! You want to take advantage of this opportunity to destroy the Chinese wharf!"

The sturdy man who was leading the group had bloodshot eyes and his entire head was red.

"Don't listen to her, everyone. She is a traitor and a running dog of the British! She wants to kill us all!"

"Yeah yeah!"

"You treacherous bitch! We can never stand against you!"

The crowd became noisy again, and more than that, the rifles that had fallen previously were stood up again.

The leading few rat-tailed men rushed forward a few steps fearlessly, but fortunately they were shot back by Hilda's team.

Now, panic broke out among the crowd again, and the women and the elderly shrank back, shivering in the corner.

The soldiers hiding in the house moved out en masse, holding up their shields and standing in front of Ivy, ready to shoot.

"Shut up!"

Ivy fired a few more shots into the air, and the shells fell in front of the crowd, forcing them to shut up.

"Mr. Zhu is not dead." She said word by word.

The crowd was silent for a few seconds, and at this moment, everyone's expression was different.

"He was dying. He was almost killed by Zhao Minghua and his gang. He tried his best to escape and found me, hoping that I would contact the British to rescue the Chinese wharf."

Ivy was so angry that her teeth were itching, her shoulders were shaking, and her eyes were full of disappointment.

"I do not believe!"

"I don't believe it either!"

Negative voices rose one after another, and occasionally some weak support emerged, but was quickly drowned out by hysterical protests.

"Mr. Zhu is not dead, so where is he?"

At this moment, a sharp question came from the crowd.

Ivy sneered and handed the loudspeaker in her hand to the thin figure who suddenly appeared beside her.

"I'm here, you bunch of pamphleteers!"

Mr. Zhu was also angry and shouted loudly.

The crowd was completely silent now. The younger children blinked in disbelief, and the older people exchanged glances with tears in their eyes.

The previously arrogant men were suddenly horrified, and several of them were so frightened that their legs went weak and they could not stand.

"You don't recognize me, right? Come here! Come and recognize me carefully!"

Mr. Zhu jumped down and rushed forward regardless of the soldiers' obstruction.

"Mr. Zhu!"

"Mr. Zhu is in danger..."

"What danger is there, these bastards!"

Mr. Zhu shook off several hands that stepped forward to stop him, cursed loudly into a loudspeaker, and strode forward to shoot down several of the leading riflemen.

"You think you are so great just because you have a few pieces of scrap metal!"

He was so angry that he threw punches and hit two younger and ignorant children with two "bang bang" punches.

"I already have this ability..."

"state--"

"Why don't you learn from Chen Sheng and Wu Guang, who started an uprising at your doorstep? You are just a bunch of cowards who bully the weak and fear the strong!"

"state--"

He beat up two more pale-faced young men, then turned and walked into the open space in front of the crowd.

"One team for men, one team for women, and the kids stand in the middle!"

"Those of you holding those broken sticks and rotten guns, throw them beside me!"

"I think I, Zhu Yuanzhang, should give way to that bastard Zhao Minghua! Get in front of him right now!"

"Tell him his grandfather is here! Make him bring his head to me! I said it myself!"

The loudspeaker made a crackling sound of electricity, making Mr. Zhu's roar even more terrifying.

The crowd began to move slowly. Some people walked out of the crowd silently and threw the rifles in their hands next to Mr. Zhu; some people stood there in a daze, looking at Mr. Zhu's eyebrows raised in anger and trying to calm their heartbeats; others secretly passed through the crowd and ran in the opposite direction.

"Mr. Zhu, over there..." Hilda pointed at the person who ran away and reminded.

"Don't worry about them." Mr. Zhu did not stop him. "I have made it very clear."

As soon as he finished speaking, an old man with white hair walked tremblingly to Mr. Zhu's side.

Mr. Zhu knew what he was going to do. He took the rifle from the old man's hand and helped the old man up from his kneeling position.

"Uncle Chen, my short life span cannot withstand such torture from you."

Mr. Zhu said this as if jokingly, but as soon as he straightened the old man, the men, women, young and old behind him all knelt down in front of him.

"Tsk... what are you doing? I've already told you that my life span can't stand your torture..."

"Mr. Zhu, please save my child!"

A woman raised her head, and there were several tear marks on her weather-beaten wrinkles.

"Get up! Quick!"

Seeing this, Ivy quickly called a few soldiers and helped the elderly people up.

Ivy had already discovered what they were doing.

The children stood in the middle, but the youngest children here were strong young men aged fifteen or above.

There is no doubt that the younger children were all kidnapped by Zhao Minghua in Shisanfang.

"Don't worry. I told you that no one in the Chinese dock should be left behind."

Mr. Zhu picked up the megaphone again and shouted to the crowd.

"Big, small, old, young... I will definitely take them all out!"

He put his right hand on his waist and looked very confident.

"Seven years ago, I was able to make the Chinese Wharf flourish. Now, I will definitely be able to keep the Chinese Wharf going through this difficult time!"

"We've already been torn apart once, this time..."

Mr. Zhu choked up, his eyes filled with a firm and heavy light.

"I will not allow war to destroy the home we have worked so hard to build again."

"Mr. Zhu...Mr. Zhu..."

With tears in their eyes, people moved towards Mr. Zhu.

They knelt, kowtowed, put their hands together, prayed, cried, and gave thanks...

Mr. Zhu's well-worn trouser legs were pulled and kneaded by countless hands, and he stood there like a shining statue of a god.

The hope in the hearts of the people and the hero emerging in troubled times.

Ivy saw this and felt tears welling up in her eyes.

Wetness welled up from the heart and flowed down from the eyes.

Perhaps, only when living in a chaotic and disintegrating world can one deeply feel the ruthlessness of history and the dawn of hope.