Zhang Haiyan looked at Bai Yu. The girl’s feelings for her sister were genuine, but from their earlier behavior, both sisters seemed to be murderers. Zhang Haiyan never showed any bias just because a girl was pretty; he didn’t believe in the notion that a young person couldn’t deserve death. Looking at the concern in the girl’s eyes for her sister, her innocent expression was pitiful. But in Zhang Haiyan’s eyes, she was like a venomous snake with its head down. His gaze remained fixated on the vital point.

“Your sister is still in Xiamen, in our hands,” Zhang Haiyan said without hesitation. “Don’t worry, she’s being well taken care of. But since you two have killed so many of us, if I don’t make it back this time, your sister will die a terrible death.”

“How do I know what you’re saying is true?”

Bai Zhu had likely already died at sea. The chances of her escaping on a lifeboat and making it to shore from Xiamen were too slim.

“You can only trust me because I survived the Nan’an incident. No one else could possibly know her whereabouts,” Zhang Haiyan replied.

Bai Yu glared at Zhang Haiyan with resentment. “I can let you go. What do you want in exchange for my sister’s return?”

“You betrayed Mo Yungao. You don’t have a good ending coming, do you?” Zhang Haiyan said. Even though she was young and physically strong, she was still too easily manipulated in her heart.

“He won’t know. I’ll say you jumped out of the car.”

Zhang Haiyan laughed. He glanced at the police bell nearby. “If I don’t achieve my goal, I won’t leave.”

Like a handsome playboy, Zhang Haiyan thought to himself, constantly emphasizing what he wanted, making it difficult for the young girl to think seriously. Those who prefer to kill their opponents directly find it hard to accept real pressure.

At any time, the pressure to keep an enemy alive is always greater than the pressure to kill them.

Bai Yu looked at him and asked, “What do you want?”

“I want your deployment in every city,” Zhang Haiyan said. “If you let the plague break out in these cities, I guarantee your sister will also be killed in those cities. Bai Yu, look, what I’m doing now is a good thing. I’m a good person, and a good person will reunite you with your sister.”

And then kill her together, Zhang Haiyan thought, if your sister is still alive.

Bai Yu stared at him, holding her ground for a moment before asking, “You want to stop the plague from breaking out?”

“Yes.”

“Our team will bring the plague water and pour it into the water sources of every city. They will act freely. The commander will notify them via telegraph, and they will start the next day after receiving the telegram.”

“What if they don’t receive the telegram?”

“They will initiate it at noon next Monday in various locations. I will lead the team in Nanjing,” Bai Yu said. “But it definitely won’t be next Monday afternoon.”

“Why?”

“You just sent the telegram to release the plague to the telegraph office.”

“What!” Zhang Haiyan was taken aback. Bai Yu continued, “The telegram you just sent was a secret order. If it was from the commander, he wanted you to personally send out this telegram. That’s just the kind of person he is.”

Zhang Haiyan turned and rushed toward the door. He opened it, and a gust of wind rushed in. He immediately pushed through the door into the telegraph office, only to see Zhang Haiqi had already twisted the telegraph operator’s neck.

“Godmother. What are you doing here?”
“Mo Yun’gao ran away,” Zhang Haiqi said. Just now, when Mo Yun’gao ran out, she was attacked by a snake while chasing him. The snake was incredibly fast, and by the time Zhang Haiqi came out, Mo Yun’gao had already disappeared. Her first reaction was to take out the telegraph operator.
Zhang Haiyan rushed over to see if the telegraph operator had sent the telegram. Finding that the telegraph machine hadn’t been turned on yet, she let out a sigh of relief.
Zhang Haiqi asked what happened, and Zhang Haiyan explained the situation. Bai Yu was watching them from the door of another carriage.
Zhang Haiqi looked at Bai Yu and said to Zhang Haiyan, “Let’s get rid of her.”
Bai Yu immediately retreated into the darkness, and Zhang Haiyan said, “I still have questions for her.”
“She’s a little liar,” Zhang Haiqi said.
Zhang Haiyan was taken aback for a moment, and then Zhang Haiqi said, “Trust me, women can tell at a glance. There’s nothing to discuss with her.”
Zhang Haiqi grabbed the body with one hand and threw it off the train. They began to hear the sound of the guards; Mo Yun’gao had notified them. Their surprise attack had failed.
Zhang Haiqi said to Zhang Haiyan, “Hold them off for three minutes.” She sat down in front of the telegraph machine and started sending a telegram to Zhang Qishan.
Zhang Haiyan went outside and closed the door of the telegraph carriage, only to see the lights in the opposite carriage turn on, filled with armed guards. These men were equipped with Browning M1910 pistols, known at the time as “flower mouth guns,” which were quite petite but had incredible power. Zhang Haiyan immediately ducked down; the spot where he had been standing had already been shot at four or five times. He quickly crawled under the train and unscrewed the connection between the carriages.
The two carriages immediately separated, but due to inertia, they pulled apart very slowly.
As Zhang Haiyan rolled over, his feet nearly caught on the ties, and a guard attempted to jump to the opposite telegraph carriage. He grabbed the guard’s foot, causing him to fall and get caught in the tracks.
The sound of bones being crushed made everyone shudder.
The newcomers dared not jump again and opened fire below. Zhang Haiyan crawled under the wine carriage belonging to the Zhang family. His hands were in immense pain, slightly deformed from the effort. A guard leaned down to look, and Zhang Haiyan struck him with a knife, piercing his eye, leaving him hanging at the connection point. He almost fell himself.
The locomotive was near the wine carriage, and the two carriages were pulling further apart. Zhang Haiyan climbed up the side of the carriage and directly onto the roof, then took a running jump to the top of the telegraph carriage, but the distance was already too great. Just as Zhang Haiyan was about to fall onto the tracks, he would be crushed by the oncoming telegraph carriage. Inside the telegraph carriage, Zhang Haiqi opened the door, holding the telegraph wire, and swung it out.
Zhang Haiyan caught it in mid-air, and Zhang Haiqi jumped off the train sideways. The train was running on a high wooden bridge, with a lake below. As Zhang Haiqi pulled Zhang Haiyan, she brought him into her arms, and they both fell headfirst into the lake.
The guards above fired at the lake surface; their handguns had limited range, and the bullets lost power when hitting the water. The guards shouted to stop the train.
The two surfaced from the lake and immediately swam toward the shore. Both were excellent swimmers and quickly reached the bank. Zhang Haiyan asked Zhang Haiqi, “Was that girl lying to me?”
“Yes, she has a face that has been deceiving people since childhood,” Zhang Haiqi replied, pulling out a cigarette that was completely soaked. “She won’t tell you the truth; she just wants to know about her sister.”

“Fortunately, I’m a liar too. What telegram did you send to Zhang Qishan?”
“I didn’t send anything. I made some adjustments and changed the frequency of the transmitter,” Zhang Haiqi said, glancing at the train.
On the train, Mo Yungao’s two sections had come to a stop. He went to the telegraph car and called a guard to send a telegram: “The situation has changed. Notify everyone in the cities that the timing and methods of action are adjusted as follows.”
The telegrapher began to send the telegram, and in the telegraph room of Zhang Qishan’s residence, all the telegraphers started to transcribe Mo Yungao’s orders.
The adjutant said, “It’s confirmed that it was sent from Mo Yungao’s military frequency. All the plans and personnel movements are set.”
Zhang Qishan looked at the telegram paper: “Inform Nanjing that I won’t be going there. We’re heading to Beihai. Before dawn tomorrow, Mo Yungao’s people will simultaneously capture Guangzhou, Changsha, and Wuhan. Before we reach Beihai, spread false information about the strange disease.”