Chapter 342: Poisoning

The old devil also prepared a gift?

Sato Yuske opened the box.

A delicately crafted brooch lay in the box, shining brightly under the chandelier's light.

Anyone with a discerning eye could see it was valuable.

"Director Sato, this gift is too valuable; we cannot accept it." Chen Yongren waved his hand, feigning refusal.

Through observation, Chen Yongren knew this old devil was looking for a chance to see Hua Lei's left hand.

Fortunately, Hua Lei had taken a physique-enhancing potion; the enhancement was not only strength but also resistance, making these trainings hard to leave traces.

"Director Sato, this is our first meeting; I cannot accept such a valuable gift." Hua Lei shook her head and refused.

"Chen Sang has done a lot for our empire; this is nothing." Sato Yuske wouldn't let him speak and closed the lid.

He took Hua Lei's left hand, glanced quickly at her fingertips, and slapped the jewelry box onto her palm.

Even the left hand had nothing.

If she were an agent, there would be no way her hands would lack traces; could she not be an agent?

The National Government surely couldn't send a newcomer to lurk in Songhu.

Things seem to be getting more interesting...

Sato Yuske originally suspected that Hua Lei was indeed an agent, merely a pretext for Chen Yongren to stay by his side; now upon seeing, things were not as he thought.

The truth will be known once we tie up this girl and interrogate her thoroughly!

Damn thing.

Zhang Haifeng's revenge hasn't found you yet, and you damn well want to move my people—I'll let you meet that stinky locust tonight!

Hua Lei glanced at Chen Yongren, seeing he didn't stop her refusal, she put the gift into her bag and immediately said, "Thank you, Director Sato, for the gift."

"Director Sato, you're being too extravagant." Chen Yongren said politely.

"Compared to Chen Sang's achievements, these things are nothing; in the future, the new government's work will still need your attention, cultivating more talents like Zhang Haifeng." Sato Yuske patted Chen Yongren's shoulder.

After a brief exchange, Sato Yuske was called away by Kato Masaru.

Tonight many new government officials will appear, so he naturally has to work harder.

Chen Yongren then brought Hua Lei, weaving through the banquet hall.

After all, he had appeared in many newspapers; many people recognized Chen Yongren's identity, had heard of him, and came forward to greet him.

Seeing Chen Yongren deal with those dog traitors, Hua Lei also personally felt his hardship.

How could he bear to, when shaking hands, restrain the urge to throw them away?

After strolling around, Chen Yongren saw Fujiwara Kinta instructing Zhang Haifeng on the meeting's precautions.

As time passed, more people filled the banquet hall, and servers pushed various dishes onto the venue.

The buffet style made it convenient for Chen Yongren to poison.

With a stirring melody playing.

"Sorry, whatever you're doing, please allow me to interrupt everyone." Fujiwara Kinta's voice then rang out.

Upon hearing this, the new government and Japanese officials who had been chatting separately all turned toward the sound.

Zhang Haifeng, Fujiwara Kinta, and Sato Yuske stood on a stage.

"Very good, it seems everyone is cooperative!" Fujiwara Kinta smiled: "First, it's an honor that everyone could attend this banquet."

"I believe, with your participation, this will be a wonderful night."

"I believe you've all heard that our government has produced a new hero who, facing that gang of vicious resistance fighters, not only did not surrender but persisted to the end!"

……

Strange tales, full of foolish talk.

Chen Yongren gave his evaluation of Fujiwara Kinta's speech.

Fujiwara Kinta let out a fart for a while, then handed the microphone to Sato Yuske, who spoke at length, finally raising his arms and speaking loudly.

No matter what, we will stand with the new government, help you build a kingly blissful land, and reclaim your honor…

Upon saying that, applause thundered from the crowd.

Chen Yongren felt like he'd just farted, but he still joined the crowd in clapping.

"Now, let us hand the microphone to the protagonist of this banquet, Zhang Haifeng!" Sato Yuske, after finishing his fart, then handed the microphone to Zhang Haifeng.

After taking the microphone, Zhang Haifeng softly coughed twice, then said, "Sorry, this is my first time standing on stage as the protagonist; I'm a bit nervous…"

A wave of good-natured laughter rose from the crowd.

Fujiwara Kinta laughed so hard his creases showed, then lightly patted his shoulder to encourage him to continue.

Zhang Haifeng also spoke some formal lines according to his prepared script.

Originally just a paragon dragged out by the old devils, Fujiwara and Sato, the two devils, further exploited the occasion to encourage the new government on how to do this and that.

Chen Yongren was also dragged onto the stage to speak: "... Hope we can unite sincerely with the locust army and establish our own regime."

For a better future, cheers!

The dog traitors in the crowd also raised their cups.

After going through the motions, the speech finally ended.

Everyone was chatting with familiar people, and some began selecting their favorite foods to fill their stomachs.

When Zhang Haifeng and Hua Lei were both present, Chen Yongren also took out aconitine, and after they had taken their dishes, he randomly poisoned some of the food.

Thus, those not poisoned can simply be explained as lucky for not having eaten the poisoned food.

Not poisoning the wine is also because everyone at the venue drank alcohol; if everyone died from poisoning but he remained unharmed, it would be hard to explain.

Taking the opportunity to toast Sato Yuske, Chen Yongren also added a lethal dose of aconitine to his small cake.

The poisoning is complete; now we only need to wait for the chaos to begin.

Zhang Haifeng didn't ask further why Hua Lei was also there.

The food in their hands was non‑poisonous, so Zhang Haifeng and Hua Lei ate it with ease; not eating anything would cause poisoning, which also couldn't be explained.

The three also went their separate ways, and about half an hour passed.

A commotion rose among the crowd, as if something had shattered, mixed with a few screams.

Everyone's attention was drawn to the disturbance; many clutched their throats and collapsed, gasping heavily, struggling briefly before falling still.

"How..." Tengyuan Jintai said blankly upon hearing the commotion.

However, before he could finish speaking, more and more people collapsed in the venue, including Zuotian Xiongjie and Jiateng Sheng beside him.

Seeing the two people fainted on the ground, Tengyuan Jintai widened his eyes.

Bursts of screams suddenly rang out, and the originally harmonious banquet hall instantly fell into chaos.

Zhang Haifeng and Hua Lei, seeing that everyone's attention was drawn, also quickly clutched their throats and collapsed to the ground, taking the opportunity to swallow the pill.

The two only felt their heads spin, and their consciousness was quickly swallowed by darkness.

More and more people fainted in the venue, and someone in the crowd shouted loudly.

"Dead people!"

Those who fortunately had not been poisoned to death, upon hearing this, were scared out of their wits and instinctively ran toward the exit.