Chapter 1589 - Double Tap on the Water
"Leave it to me." Qian Duoduo waved off her concerns. "Besides, we're rehearsing today too. The ACE of the idol group 'Four Seasons Theater Company' is making an entrance—there has to be some spectacle. Walking in through the staff door like everyone else? Where's the drama in that? Arriving by boat is so much more stylish! I already told Auntie Panpan that the newspaper office would photograph you at the gymnasium pier."
"This... isn't this a bit much?" Zhang Yunmi said shyly. "It seems excessive."
"Not at all—not excessive whatsoever. You're preparing to become a major star, aren't you? Start acting like it!" Qian Duoduo abandoned any pretense of monitoring the wind and turned fully around to explain her "plan" for what must have been the five hundredth time:
"...On performance day, you take the Xiaocang to the gymnasium pier, then disembark and walk to the entrance. The other girls from the Four Seasons Theater Company will greet you at the bottom of the steps. There'll be crowds watching on both sides of the street, reporters taking pictures..."
"So basically you want me to walk the red carpet?" Lin Ziqi cut in.
"Exactly that feeling!" Qian Duoduo beamed. "We don't actually have a red carpet, so we'll improvise. What matters is the atmosphere—grand and enthusiastic..."
Mid-sentence, Sonia spoke up: "Someone's waving at us up ahead."
Qian Duoduo returned to the bow and spotted a girl lying soaked on a wooden platform by the riverbank. A female student from Fangcaodi stood on the pier, waving frantically at the Xiaocang.
"What's going on?" Lin Ziqi asked.
"Looks like someone fell in the water—they're calling for help." Qian Duoduo lifted her binoculars and studied the scene. "They appear to be naturalized citizens, probably on their way to watch the rehearsal at the gymnasium."
"Should we pull over?" Zhong Xiaoying gripped the helm.
Qian Duoduo didn't answer immediately. She cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted across the water: "Hey—what's happening?"
"Drowning—" the female student called back, her voice carrying across the water. "My—friend—please—save us..."
"Alright, stay there—we're coming!"
"Pull over," Qian Duoduo ordered. "We can't leave them to die. My mom taught me first aid for drowning victims. Besides, we're in the middle of nowhere here—we can take them with us and reach East Gate Market in a few kilometers. Hand them over to the police at the water checkpoint. They have vehicles standing by. Kills two birds with one stone without delaying anything. Xiaoying, turn the tiller. Sonia, lower the sail!"
"Got it." Zhong Xiaoying adjusted the tiller smoothly. The Xiaocang heeled and angled toward the platform.
The boat moved swiftly. In moments, they were close enough to dock. Just as the hull neared the platform, the "drowning victim" sprang to her feet. From the bushes beside the pier, several naturalized men and women armed with swords and knives burst forth and leaped toward the Xiaocang.
Qian Duoduo screamed: "Xiaoying—hard about!" Even as she shouted, she drew the .357 caliber revolver from the quick-draw holster beneath her arm and squeezed off two shots.
Bang. Bang.
Two crimson flowers bloomed on the assassin's chest. His body went limp and crumpled onto the platform. Qian Duoduo stepped backward to widen the distance from the next attacker. At that moment—thwack thwack thwack—three throwing darts embedded themselves in the deck and mast.
"Get down!" she yelled, pivoting slightly. Another double tap. Another assassin shrieked, twisting as he tumbled into the river. Blood spread instantly across the water's surface.
Zhong Xiaoying reacted with admirable speed. She threw the tiller hard over, and the Xiaocang's bow swung away, the hull immediately veering toward the center of the river. Before they could open sufficient distance, a final assassin vaulted onto the deck, screaming: "Die, Thief!"
The word "die" had barely left his lips when Qian Duoduo fired twice more. The assassin staggered and toppled into the Wenlan River.
"Quick—drop the sail!" Qian Duoduo shouted again, rolling back into the cabin. Her movements were swift as a startled rabbit, lethal as a stooping falcon. Before Lin Ziqi and the others could even process what had happened, the Xiaocang had already drifted away, making for the river's center.
"Xiaoying—hold the helm steady!" Qian Duoduo gasped, her hands shaking violently. The speedloader she'd managed to fish from her pocket clattered onto the deck.
Zhong Xiaoying lay against the helm station, face bloodless, but her hands still gripped the wheel. Hearing Qian Duoduo's command, she responded immediately and steadied their course. Sonia and Lin Ziqi shook off their paralysis and scrambled to raise the sail.
Qian Duoduo reloaded, rose, and fired several shots at the "female student" and "drowning victim" who were now fleeing across the shore. The "female student" stumbled and collapsed. The "drowning victim" used the moment to escape.
"Quick—call Uncle Dongmen." Qian Duoduo holstered her pistol. "We've got enemies!"
At the Countermeasures Headquarters, Mu Min received the latest situation report and broke into a sweat. The situation was critical: enemies had attacked a Senator's boat! She couldn't fathom why Qian Duoduo and the others had insisted on traveling by boat to the gymnasium without guards. But the enemy had struck, and according to Qian Duoduo, some of the assassins wore National School uniforms—matching the intelligence report that had arrived barely an hour earlier.
The problem was that the intelligence had come too late. Though operatives from the Political Security Bureau and Police Bureau had been ordered to monitor every suspect, surveillance was never foolproof, and no one had anticipated the enemy disguising themselves as female students.
Female student uniforms were unavailable on the open market. The National Police had previously cracked down hard on merchants counterfeiting student and military or police uniforms, essentially eliminating such forgeries.
So how had they obtained them?
The report indicated that the enemy had acquired three sets of female student uniforms in total. Since Qian Duoduo had already shot one down, two remained at large—perhaps already mingled with the student crowds at the gymnasium. If they struck at an opportune moment, chaos would erupt. Even with enhanced personal security around the Senators, whether the enemy escaped amid the confusion or caused mass student casualties, the consequences were unacceptable.
There was no time to waste. The net had to close immediately. Ten minutes earlier, Wu Mu had notified her that the Political Security Bureau's action teams had moved into position and stood ready to apprehend suspicious elements.
She snatched up the phone: "Connect me to the Detective Team! Old Zhou! Deploy your people immediately. Yes—leave no one behind. Everyone to their duty stations. Arrest according to the list!"
She hung up and cranked the handle several times more. "Connect me to the Fangcaodi duty office! Yes, urgent—I need a Senator on the line immediately!"
Yuan Ziguang answered. When Mu Min explained that Fangcaodi and Arts and Science College faculty needed to arrive at the scene immediately to screen students, Yuan Ziguang panicked. The problem quickly became apparent: today happened to be a rest day. Many students hadn't entered the venue through school-organized channels. Organizing students from different schools and classes amid a sea of faces would prove extraordinarily difficult.
"Then what other method do you have to quickly identify students?" Mu Min's voice had gone hoarse with tension.
On the other end, a group of Senators from the education sector were also wiping sweat. Both Fangcaodi and the Arts and Science College had uniforms, but photo identification cards remained limited to powerful departments like the military, police, and political security—they hadn't yet been extended to ordinary students. Relying on student ID cards to distinguish genuine students from imposters wasn't particularly reliable either. Besides, since the enemy had already reached the scene, they could launch an attack at any moment.
Bai Yu, head of the Physical Education Teaching and Research Group, spoke slowly: "For this situation, I think we can only test how well our students have internalized their disciplinary training."
Zhou Zhongjun, Nan Wan'er, and several other female disciples had dispersed and mingled separately into the square before the gymnasium. She and Nan Wan'er, wearing student uniforms, attempted to approach the special passage through which the Senators would enter, following Sima Qiudao's instructions.
Cordons of rope had been strung along both sides of the passage, forbidding civilians to cross. Police officers and Public Security Army soldiers stood guard throughout. However, they didn't prohibit naturalized citizens from approaching the passage. Numerous Fake Aussie students in school uniforms had gathered along the cordons, chatting excitedly.
The square was crowded, though not yet packed shoulder to shoulder. In some spots, the press of bodies grew uncomfortable. Police began erecting barricades at several entrances and exits to control and direct the flow of people.
Most of those in the square were naturalized citizens, though a fair number of indigenous commoners had come to watch the spectacle. Accents from north and south mingled together. The infiltrators felt both exhilarated and terrified. Zhou Zhongjun was particularly excited. When Seventh Master had sent someone to deliver the student uniforms, she'd claimed the best-fitting set for herself first. Combined with her tall figure and confident posture, she cut a striking figure. She had deliberately set out to embarrass Nan Wan'er—insisting that Nan Wan'er's superior martial skills meant she must dress as a female student, then deliberately giving her the shortest set of clothes.
Poor Nan Wan'er now suffered acutely: her chest was constricted, and the skirt hem rode above her knees. The slightest movement threatened to expose swaths of pale thigh. She dared not pull the skirt down—the female student uniform's top was cut quite short and barely covered her waist. If she tugged the skirt lower, her waist and hips would be exposed, making her appear even more improper and indecent. She was forced to hunch her body and shuffle forward step by tiny step. Nan Wan'er wanted to die—she had initially refused to leave their lodging at all, only stepping onto the street after Zhou Zhongjun had berated her ruthlessly, tears held back by sheer willpower. Seeing Nan Wan'er's discomfort, Zhou Zhongjun felt indescribably satisfied: Don't you love seducing men? I'll let you seduce your fill!
But once they were actually on the streets, Nan Wan'er stole all the attention and completely overshadowed her. Nearly every man stared at Nan Wan'er as though struck by hysteria. A few handsome youths got nosebleeds on the spot. The further Zhou Zhongjun walked, the angrier she became. This shameless slut is so good at seducing men. When we launch our uprising, I'll push her to the front to draw fire—only then will I feel avenged!
Just then, soft music suddenly swelled from above, spreading instantly throughout the square. The infiltrators startled, wondering where a band of musicians could possibly be hiding—and why the music was so impossibly loud.