Chapter 368: Revisiting a Dream of Mandarin Ducks

He Yuzhu looked at Liu Rusi's sobbing back but did not step forward to comfort her. Now was not the time to reveal his identity.

He lay down fully clothed beside the campfire, and when he opened his eyes again, night had already fallen.

Seeing that he was up, Liu Rusi immediately gathered everyone in one place.

"Is it time to set off?" Pingping ran over and asked.

He Yuzhu nodded, "Which of you is coming along?"

Pingping hurried to ask Liu Rusi. Before long, Liu Rusi walked over and said, "I will go with them."

He Yuzhu hesitated slightly; he couldn't very well leave her behind, as she was the leader of this group. "Then pack up, we leave immediately."

Pingping also jumped onto the boat, her tone laced with doubt, "Gold Suit, do you really know the way? Don't get us lost at sea."

He Yuzhu smiled: "I shouldn't, I know some Star Gazing."

"Forget it, you can't even speak clearly, and you're doing Star Gazing? At most, you're just counting stars." Pingping curled her lip.

He Yuzhu didn't respond. He took the Compass out of his bag, used the Big Dipper to determine his position, and after a brief calculation, set the heading to two hundred and ninety degrees west-northwest.

"Everyone sit tight, we're accelerating."

The Fishing Boat shot forward like an arrow from a bow, cleaving through the ink-colored waves and speeding away.

Professor Qi walked slowly into the cockpit and asked in English, "What should I call you, sir?"

"Just call me Leinuo." He Yuzhu immediately made up a name.

"This boat has been modified, hasn't it? The speed should be over forty knots?" Professor Qi asked curiously.

He Yuzhu nodded: "I installed two GMC270 engines."

Professor Qi's eyes lit up: "Engines from a United States Heavy Truck? Those aren't easy to get!"

He Yuzhu only nodded slightly, offering no further explanation.

"To tell you the truth, my specialty is engine manufacturing. I originally wanted to bring one of these machines back to the country, but it was just too much trouble." There was regret in Professor Qi's tone.

He Yuzhu thought to himself that he still had over a dozen of them lying in his space. But he couldn't say that.

Seeing that he was a man of few words, Professor Qi stopped talking and retreated to the cabin to sit down.

The boat moved extremely fast, and in less than forty minutes, the outline of Shenzhen Bay had already vaguely emerged.

He Yuzhu cut the engine early, using the remaining momentum to rush toward the beach.

Seeing that he was not far from the shore, he used a long pole to test the water depth: "The boat can't go any further; we'll get into the water here."

He Yuzhu first put a small Rubber Boat into the water and said, "Sorry, the Rubber Boat is too small to carry people, it can only hold luggage. Everyone follow me into the water and walk to the shore."

The five Experts entered the water one after another and swam toward the shore under He Yuzhu's watch.

"Finally waited for them," a tall figure said in a low voice: "Stay calm. Wait until they get closer, then we'll rush up and capture them."

Because He Yuzhu was returning to his motherland, he felt inexplicably at ease and did not activate Scanning, completely unaware of the ambush in the woods.

Just as the group walked out of the water and He Yuzhu was still distributing luggage to everyone, more than a dozen figures rushed out of the woods, their Mauser C96s and flashlight beams pointing straight at them.

"Don't move!"

"We're on the same side!" He Yuzhu shouted immediately after seeing the other party's uniforms clearly.

A big man stepped forward, flashed the flashlight beam across his face, and muttered to his companion: "It's truly bizarre, do even black people work as 'snakeheads' these days?"

He Yuzhu recognized him at a glance—this was Zhang Guowei, the Company Commander under his command when he was a Battalion Commander on the Korean War battlefield.

Because he hadn't told the Experts the truth earlier, he didn't want to reveal his identity now, so he had to cast his gaze toward Professor Qi.

Professor Qi hurriedly explained: "Comrade, we are Experts returning from the United States. We were targeted by secret agents in Hong Kong, so we had no choice but to take the water route..."

Zhang Guowei didn't believe him and waved his hand to order: "Stop acting! You are enemy agents! Handcuff them all!"

Seeing him being so arbitrary, He Yuzhu stopped hiding it and blurted out: "Zhang Guowei, your damn attitude right now, why is it the same as the bald-headed soldiers?"

The voice was too familiar, and Zhang Guowei was instantly stunned on the spot.

He strode forward, looked up and down at this dark, tanned face, but still dared not believe it.

He Yuzhu took out the now-invalid military officer ID.

Zhang Guowei shone his flashlight on it, then suddenly grabbed him in a hug, "Battalion Commander... it really is you! I've missed you to death!"

He Yuzhu pulled him aside and whispered about his experiences in Hong Kong.

Zhang Guowei's eyes turned a bit red: "Battalion Commander, you don't know, over ten days ago we heard the strange sound of an engine at sea, so we've been squatting here every night, never expecting it to really be you. It seems we are truly fated; all the hardship and exhaustion I've endured these days was worth it!"

"Guowei, I still have things to do in Hong Kong; I need to get some equipment for the Military Factory. I'll leave these people in your hands tonight..."

"Don't worry, I've memorized the sound of your boat; you can't run away!"

Zhang Guowei looked at He Yuzhu's blurry back, straightened his body, and gave a proper military salute.

Inside the Governor's House office, the air was stagnant.

The fifty-something-year-old Governor Ge Lianghong was wearing a half-old suit, his face as heavy as water.

Police Commissioner Mai Jingtao sat opposite him, and standing to the side was Chief Inspector Li Yong, whose head was wrapped in gauze.

Ge Lianghong's voice was low: "Who exactly did today's bombing? Are there any clues?"

Mai Jingtao shook his head and said frankly: "No leads at all. However, this man Lv Le... is truly a disgrace to the Police Department. Preliminary investigations show that he has accepted no less than tens of millions of Hong Kong Dollar in bribes over the years and has forcibly seized 5% to 10% of the shares in over forty companies. This explosion, I fear, is those victims settling their accounts with us."

Ge Lianghong's gaze was sharp: "I'll give you two weeks; you must ferret out the culprit."

Mai Jingtao looked troubled: "Your Excellency, the Governor, fifty-some people died in today's blast, and there are countless injured... Even if I wanted to investigate, right now, I can't spare the manpower..."

Ge Lianghong was silent for a moment: "I can temporarily transfer two hundred men from the army to you."

"That's not enough either. Nowadays, the Fuyixing and 14K are constantly fighting in the streets, and bloody cases occur frequently. The existing police force is already stretched thin just maintaining daily order; it's truly impossible to spare manpower to investigate the bombing..." Mai Jingtao gave a bitter smile.

Ge Lianghong grew anxious and slapped the table: "If you don't have enough manpower, go recruit! The Duchess of Kent is visiting Hong Kong next month. You've created such a situation; what face do I have to receive her?"

Mai Jingtao leaned forward and lowered his voice: "We received word that tomorrow morning, the 14K and the Yi'an Gang will negotiate territory on Henglan Island. I want to take the opportunity... to wipe them all out at once. It will be safe on that island..."

Ge Lianghong stared at him: "Speak! What support do you want?"

"If there is a Warship to blockade the sea, we can thoroughly wipe out the leaders of these two gangs."

Ge Lianghong pondered for a few seconds and finally nodded: "I will assign the gunboat 'Companion' to you."

Mai Jingtao's spirits lifted: "With a Warship stationed here, we will surely be able to wipe out this bunch of thugs in one fell swoop!"

As soon as He Yuzhu boarded the ship, he walked straight up to Liu Rusi and demanded: "Why did you leave without saying goodbye back then?"

Liu Rusi raised her eyes and glared at him: "To make room for you. Out with the old, in with the new, isn't that just right?"

Hearing this from the side, Pingping suddenly understood, rushed forward, and stared fixedly at He Yuzhu: "You little brat! You even fooled me!"

He Yuzhu raised his hand to signal Pingping to wait a moment, his gaze still locked on Liu Rusi's face: "Liu Rusi, you came to Hong Kong, yet you didn't go with Zhao Ying, nor did you manage the company. What unspeakable difficulty do you have? Tell me, perhaps I can solve it!"

Liu Rusi turned her face away, her voice cold: "You have someone by your side now, so why come looking for me? To show off? You saved us today, I acknowledge that. Speak, how do you want us to thank you? Should we kowtow?"

He Yuzhu suddenly stepped forward a few paces and pressed her tightly into his embrace, tears rolling down without warning:

"How did things between us... become like this?"

Liu Rusi pushed him hard, but he held her firmly in his grip.

Pingping said softly from the side: "He Yuzhu, the young lady was afraid that what she was doing was too dangerous, which is why she didn't want to drag you into it... and you, you go and find a concubine as soon as you arrive in Hong Kong..."

He Yuzhu's voice choked up, "I didn't, I, she and I..." He couldn't go on, a mixture of emotions surging in his heart...

The force of Liu Rusi's struggle gradually slackened, and she finally leaned against his shoulder, tears sliding down silently.