Chapter 140: Discovered

At 3:00 PM, the sunlight was no longer fiercely scorching. Sons and daughters of wealthy families began to venture outside, and the streets grew lively.

Inside a café located diagonally opposite the Agricultural Bank on Longtan Road, Li Wensheng and Chen Wenqi were sitting at a table by the window, sipping coffee.

"Once this matter is settled, let's go get our marriage certificate. If we keep living together without being married, it's bound to raise suspicion."

A rosy blush immediately bloomed on Chen Wenqi’s cheeks. She turned her head to look out the window. "Who wants to live with you?"

No matter how clueless Li Wensheng was about matters of the heart, he certainly knew the difference between shyness and rejection.

"Hehe, let's get the certificate and take wedding photos first. As for the wedding ceremony, we can hold it whenever you feel the time is right. How does that sound?"

Chen Wenqi turned back and, seeing Li Wensheng's foolish, beaming grin, felt an urge to smile as well. However, she managed to hold it in.

"No way. No certificate. Don't you think getting a marriage certificate can tie me down. I am a modern woman, after all."

Though she was holding back her amusement, a trace of a smile still managed to escape from the corners of her lips.

At this sight, Li Wensheng knew Chen Wenqi was just teasing him, so he smiled and said, "As if anything could tie you down. You—"

Before he could finish, the smile vanished from Li Wensheng's face, and the amusement disappeared from the corners of Chen Wenqi's lips as well.

Throughout their conversation, the peripheral vision of both had constantly remained fixed on the Agricultural Bank diagonally across the street. Just moments ago, they had spotted several young men entering the bank.

People entering a bank was nothing out of the ordinary, but several men entering together struck them both as suspicious.

After observing closely for a while, the two realized that there were many more unusual figures scattered outside the bank.

A man standing by the roadside reading a newspaper kept glancing toward the entrance of the bank; a street-side shoeshine man paid no attention to passing pedestrians and made no effort to solicit customers...

After observing everything, the pair pulled their gazes back. As Chen Wenqi picked up her coffee cup, she whispered, "You've noticed them, haven't you?"

"Yes. They must have learned about Hynes being kidnapped and figured out that we are snatching people according to the names on that plan," Li Wensheng replied in a low voice.

Chen Wenqi took a sip of her coffee, set the cup down, and fell into a frown of deep thought.

Seeing this, Li Wensheng did not disturb her, turning his head instead to continue observing the people on the street outside.

By the time Li Wensheng had scanned the street and identified twelve suspicious individuals, Chen Wenqi’s brow smoothed out. She whispered, "When they ambushed you with hundreds of men during the kidnapping of Malone, they still couldn't keep you. The fact that they've only sent this small number of people this time means they aren't planning an ambush here; they're here to escort Wang Qingpeng away.

Since it's not an ambush, things will be much easier to handle.

Next, you go around to the back of the bank. There are people at the front, so there are bound to be people at the back as well. Quickly eliminate them and then return to the front.

Once you're back, I will open fire on the men at the front. When I shoot—"

"Wait, you can't shoot. You go get the car and provide backup; I will bring the target out."

Earlier, Li Wensheng hadn't minded Chen Wenqi participating in the operation because the danger level was low. But this time, Japanese agents were lying in wait here, making the risk far too great. There was no way he would let Chen Wenqi take part in the fighting.

Chen Wenqi looked at Li Wensheng's solemn expression, feeling a pang of distress in her heart. Yet, reason told her she shouldn't feel upset; rather, she ought to feel fortunate.

Logically, she knew Li Wensheng wasn't one of those men who thought women were inherently weaker than men. Keeping her out of the fight stemmed purely from his concern for her.

Emotionally, however, her sensitive sense of inferiority whispered that Li Wensheng simply viewed her as dead weight.

Aside from being a bit slow to react in matters of affection, Li Wensheng was remarkably quick-witted in every other aspect.

Noticing the pain and internal conflict written across Chen Wenqi's brow, he immediately guessed what she was thinking. He reached out, placed his hand over hers on the table, looked directly into her eyes, and said softly, "I told you, my martial prowess is superior to yours. Leave the action to me."

Chen Wenqi stared into Li Wensheng's eyes. After a few seconds of silence, she gave a slight nod. "Alright, you go. I'll drive the getaway car. Be careful."

A smile instantly bloomed on Li Wensheng's face. "Yeah."

With that, Li Wensheng called the waiter over, paid the bill, and stepped outside. The two of them parted ways, heading left and right respectively.

Li Wensheng walked to the left for a few minutes until he reached a street stall selling traditional opera merchandise, where he purchased a facial mask of Guo Ziyi.

After paying, Li Wensheng turned back. A minute later, just as he was approaching the spot directly opposite the Agricultural Bank, he put on the opera mask and drew two pistols from his waist.

The surrounding pedestrians were momentarily stunned before immediately scattering in panic.

At that moment, the surrounding Japanese agents also spotted Li Wensheng. Just as they reached for their guns—

Bang, bang, bang...

Gunshots rang out continuously, and bodies dropped one after another.

While inside the café, Li Wensheng had already mapped out the positions of all twelve Japanese agents. Combined with his lightning-fast marksmanship, he eliminated all twelve before a single one of them could even get a shot off.

Having dispatched the twelve men amidst the panicked scattering of the crowd, Li Wensheng walked toward the main entrance of the Agricultural Bank.

After taking only two steps, Li Wensheng abruptly sidestepped a pace to the left, spun around instantly, and fired toward a third-floor window directly facing the bank's entrance.

Bang, bang!

The sounds of a sniper rifle and a pistol rang out almost simultaneously. However, the outcomes were entirely different: the sniper's bullet struck the pavement, while the pistol bullet struck the head of the sniper at the third-floor window.

Having killed the sniper, Li Wensheng turned back around and continued toward the bank's entrance.

Hardly had he taken two steps when two men poked their heads out from the walls on either side of the bank's doorway.

Bang, bang!

Eliminating both men with two shots, Li Wensheng strode up the steps and crossed into the Agricultural Bank.

Inside the lobby, dozens of people were fleeing in panic toward the back exit. However, several Japanese agents stood at the foot of the stairs leading to the second floor, leveling their guns at the front entrance and opening fire the moment Li Wensheng stepped inside.

Gunshots echoed. Before the bullets could even reach him, Li Wensheng instantly dove behind a large structural pillar to his side.

Bang, bang! Listening to the gunfire, Li Wensheng eased his breath slightly, then stepped a fraction to the right, exposing a sliver of his body as he fired his right hand toward the Japanese agents at the stairwell.

The number of Japanese agents at the foot of the stairs was small—just three.

Eliminating them with three shots, Li Wensheng stepped out and rapidly climbed upward.

Reaching the second floor, Li Wensheng was just about to search the rooms when he heard hurried footsteps descending the stairs from above.

Li Wensheng immediately pressed himself against the wall, raised his gun, and made his way toward the third floor.

He had barely taken a few steps up when he saw several men escorting a middle-aged man in a Western suit appearing on the upper half of the staircase.

Li Wensheng saw them, and they saw Li Wensheng. Just as they raised their weapons to fire—

Bang, bang...

Firing first, Li Wensheng eliminated the guards and strode up the stairs. Looking at the middle-aged man in the suit, who was paralyzed on the floor in terror, he said with a smile, "Director Wang, the Japs treat you quite well, don't they? Seeing that you were in danger, they actually dispatched over a dozen men to save you.

However, I advise you not to place your hopes on the Japs. Malone was guarded by hundreds of Japs, and he still ended up being carried off by me."

Wang Qingming's entire body went rigid. Staring blankly at Li Wensheng for a few seconds, he stammered in shock, "You are—"

Slap!

Before Wang Qingming could finish his sentence, Li Wensheng lunged forward like an arrow and struck him with a chopping hand, knocking him unconscious.

Tucking the pistol in his left hand back into his belt, Li Wensheng hoisted Wang Qingming over his left shoulder and headed downstairs.

The moment he stepped out of the Agricultural Bank—bang, bang... Several bullets came whistling in from the left.

There were many bullets, but the instant Li Wensheng took his first step out of the doorway, a terrifying wave of crisis surged over him. A split second before the shots rang out, he leaped back inside the bank.

Once back under cover, Li Wensheng waited a moment. When the gunfire ceased and he prepared to step outside once more, he suddenly heard the roar of an engine accompanied by gunfire coming from the right.

The gunfire was not intense; it was just a single gun.

A single gun, paired with the sound of a vehicle, instantly made Li Wensheng think of Chen Wenqi. He sidestepped out of the doorway and opened fire on the Japanese agents lingering along the left wall outside the bank.

As Chen Wenqi suddenly charged into the fray, several Japanese agents hastily pivoted their guns to target her. Caught completely off guard by Li Wensheng's sudden reappearance, they all fell dead beneath his gunfire before they could react.

Having cleared those men, Li Wensheng strode rapidly toward the curbside.

Just as he stepped down from the stone steps before the bank's entrance, Chen Wenqi pulled the car right up beside him.

Throwing open the rear door, he tossed Wang Qingpeng inside, took one last glance around, and swiftly climbed into the vehicle.