Chapter 71 Missing, Fire, Times Have Changed All of the above…
As soon as he blocked the view of everyone on the rooftop, Fu Ze immediately sent a message to Yuan Jianxing.
Since Yuan Jianxing dared to promise to "stay in touch," it meant that she could contact him anytime.
Unlike the extremely smooth message sending process of the past, now six small dots, ranging from dark to light, bounced around on Fu Ze's interface, eventually turning into a small red exclamation mark that appeared in front of Fu Ze's message.
The message failed to be sent.
Fu Ze felt a tingling sensation in the back of his head.
Praying it was just an accident caused by network fluctuations, he continued downstairs while casually sending a few gibberish-like characters to the lit-up avatars in his contact list.
This time, the message showed that the message was sent successfully.
Upon seeing this, Fu Ze immediately switched back to the original contact interface and resent the message.
But what I got was still that familiar red exclamation mark.
Looking at that glaring red, Fu Ze's anxiety grew.
The only thing that could offer him some comfort was the ongoing negotiations between Genjiro Misaki and Franka on the rooftop.
Judging from the way Genjiro Misaki phrased his words and the slight pauses before answering questions, Fu Ze dared to conclude that Genjiro Misaki was undoubtedly guiding the current conversation behind the scenes.
Although on the surface Franka seemed to have the upper hand, Yuan Jianxing did not give up and continued to subtly lay traps in his words, trying to extract as much information as possible from her.
For example, was there someone else who provided Sparrow Feather's travel information and instructed Franka to carry out the kidnapping?
Clearly, Yuan Jianxing's thinking and Fu Ze's thinking coincided once again on the matter of Franka.
He also believed that things were definitely more complicated than just Franka seeking revenge against him.
All of the above phenomena indicate that although civilian communication signals near the original star were cut off, the signal of the executive officer's special communication channel was operating normally.
Fu Ze breathed a slight sigh of relief, which meant that at least the enemy was not inside the Executive Officer's ranks.
It was a stroke of luck amidst misfortune.
As Fu Ze left, the conversation on the rooftop gradually faded away.
Just as the conversation became completely inaudible, Fu Ze heard Jia Yuanjianxing say:
"I recently witnessed someone who made grand promises upfront, only to turn around and kill the hostages."
"So even if we meet your conditions, how can you guarantee that Que Ling will return safely?"
Fu Ze gave a wry smile.
If he can get through this crisis, he really needs to find an opportunity to apologize to Hara Mihoshi.
-
Even though Fu Ze had arrived at the museum building where Yuan Jianxing was located as quickly as possible, he still missed the museum's last opening hours and could only watch helplessly as the security guard locked the anti-theft door, which had an antique bronze carving on the outside but was inlaid with heavy metal inside.
His initial plan was to find some urgent reason to persuade the other party to make an exception and let him in.
But after thinking it over, Fu Ze decided to abandon this approach.
First of all, the security guards were just following the rules; they closed the gate at the exact time they wanted to.
Even if you try to explain with a reason like "I left something important inside," they will definitely refuse with a reply like, "It's after get off work hours now, and the lost and found staff aren't here. Come back when they open."
Unless you can demonstrate that you are an executive officer carrying out a classified mission and force the other party to cooperate and keep it secret.
However, he currently has no official credentials to prove his status as an executive officer.
Secondly, if the enemy is targeting him, his unusual actions could very well expose his presence.
Therefore, Fu Ze chose to take a different approach.
He knew that any task that required the assistance of three or more people would inevitably have loopholes.
Applying this to the current situation, it means that no matter how well-managed the museum building is or how complete its anti-theft equipment is, there will always be a few temporary escape routes that are always open for cleaning or other staff to enter and exit.
With that in mind, Fu Ze went around to the side of the museum and easily found a security door that was slightly ajar.
Once the door is opened, you'll find a standard stairwell, with doors on each floor that can be opened in both directions.
With everything ready, Fu Ze immediately began climbing the stairs, taking six steps at a time.
Fortunately, Bogdan is not neglecting his training, and judging from the current situation, it will only take him less than three minutes to climb to the tenth floor.
If it were Wan Chuanqiu's previous body, he probably would have vomited three liters of blood just from running from the Bell Tower Square.
However, when Fu Ze reached the third floor, he smelled a very subtle odor.
It looks like something is burnt?
But he wasn't sure if the aromatherapy was specially designed and arranged by the museum for a certain atmosphere, so he continued on his way.
As he rose in rank, the flavor became increasingly intense.
At the same time, the entire environment became scorching hot, and Fu Ze felt as if he were in a dry oven.
This is definitely not a normal state for an exhibit that displays many items that require constant temperature and humidity protection.
Could it be that there's a fire?!
In such a critical situation, the fire alarm did not sound.
If one is not working, it might be due to a hardware malfunction. But what if none of the computers on that floor are working?
Then there's only one answer—
This fire was set on purpose!
Furthermore, in order to delay the discovery of the fire, they tampered with the fire alarm in advance!
Having figured this out, Fu Ze stopped walking upwards, turned around, and climbed over the railing. Within ten seconds, he returned to the first floor via the escape route.
Based on this speculation, if he continued upstairs, he would unpreparedly enter a fire that had exploded in an unknown location and at an unknown time.
Fu Ze wasn't afraid of death; what he feared was that even if he perished inside, he wouldn't be able to rescue Yuan Jianxing.
-
"There's a fire inside the building." Fu Ze, who had returned to the main entrance of the museum building, pulled down the museum security guard who was already on his bicycle and about to leave work. "I've already called the fire department. You just wait here."
The security guard looked completely bewildered. "What? Fire? Who are you?!"
But Fu Ze didn't have time to explain to the security guards. He rushed to the high-rise building adjacent to the museum building and pressed the button for the sightseeing elevator that went directly to the top floor.
As the sightseeing elevator ascended, his eyes remained fixed on the museum building, and he eventually determined, through various subtle details, that the fire originated on the sixth floor.
The sixth floor is a very cleverly designed floor.
Its fire would not be immediately noticed by Yuan Jianxing, who was in a high position and focused on dealing with Franka.
But once the fire crosses that critical point, it can instantly engulf everything above the sixth floor, leaving the other party with nowhere to escape.
Considering all the previous details, Fu Ze found it hard to convince himself that this was an accident.
He tightened his throat, trembling, and began to think about when exactly things had started to spiral out of control.
Could it be that the other party also discovered that the one confronting Franka was not the real Genji, and thus deduced the location of Genji like they did?
No, that's impossible.
If it weren't for knowing Hara Mihoshi so well, even I probably wouldn't have realized that the person who walked out of the elevator was a fake Hara Mihoshi.
Moreover, even if the other party also discovered it, they would have first determined that Yuan Jianxing had no intention of negotiating, and then further deduced Yuan Jianxing's location. From the time they discovered the anomaly to the current time, it would have only been a few minutes.
Such a short time simply did not allow them to reach the museum building to cut the fire alarm and carry out extremely restrained arson.
Thinking about this, Fu Ze suddenly had an even more terrifying guess.
Perhaps the other party had already determined that Yuan Jianxing would not come forward to negotiate with Franka, so they pre-selected several locations where Yuan Jianxing might appear and laid out their plans, with the museum building being just one of them.
Correspondingly, Franka's act of kidnapping Sparrow Feather was essentially a delay in the discovery of this "accidental fire," thereby preventing any rescue efforts for Yuan Jianxing.
All of the above... serves as punishment and a warning for my act of faking my death.
Fu Ze dared not think any further, and subconsciously pressed the button for the target floor, hoping the elevator would rise faster.
Please, please, no more accidents.
-
“I’m not surprised that you chose to express your dissatisfaction in such a grand way.” Yuan Jianxing adjusted the various parameters of the Hercules AXR in his hand and said calmly, “In fact, I would find it strange if you just gave up now.”
The voice on the headset, Hara Mihoshi, actually sounded somewhat praising, which the fake Hara Mihoshi found hard to understand, but he did as he was told.
He, a "chicken" who had worked hard for many years to finally be promoted to a mid-level executive, had no right to question the decisions of a "phoenix" who was only accidentally implicated and was clearly about to make a comeback.
Even the fact that she was chosen to stand in for Yuan Jianxing and confront Franka in this mission was thanks to the fact that the two were of similar height and build.
"The Brown family started out as a bunch of mediocre blacksmiths at the end of the street, shoeing horses and rimming barrels. They couldn't even make decent swords, shields, axes, or hammers."
Kihara Mihoshi became nervous.
That's clearly meant to provoke Franka!
However, Franka was unusually stunned, as if she were lost in some long memory.
"But the Brown family has one characteristic: they dare to think and act."
As he spoke, Hara Miki tapped his earpiece rhythmically, using Morse code to instruct the fake Hara Miki to adjust his position and guide Franka to turn around.
"Because they dared to dream, they went directly to the founding duke, who had been a hostage at the time, after the previous king passed away."
"Because they dared to do it, even if they made scrap metal, they dared to proclaim that these were unparalleled divine weapons, scaring the enemy into fleeing without a fight."
"Finally, the surviving Brown III stood behind the founding Grand Duke, witnessing the establishment of the new city-state and being granted a piece of land."
"And on that very land, you built that proud castle."
After his explanation, Kenjiro Kōhara remained outwardly calm, but his heart was in turmoil.
Even native L city residents only know a general outline of this founding history through snippets in history textbooks.
At least it would never be like Hara Mihoshi, who spoke so eloquently and logically.
As the reminiscence ended, Franka roared once again.
"Since you know so much about it, then why..."
Yuan Jianxing interrupted, "Because times have changed."
Fingerprint verification successful; all parameters of the current weapon are now unlocked.
Just like now that we've entered the era of firearms, any swords, spears, or shields will be stored away in warehouses.
"The castle you built with your own hands has become the largest and most respectable prison for the family. It is dark, damp, and its layout is so outdated that it's a joke—it can't even fit a modern desk."
Recoil cushioning: Medium.
"And because of that pathetic pride, you rejected every possibility for its rebirth. As a result, it could only decay, and eventually even its value as a tourist attraction disappeared, becoming a chronic problem in urban development."
Ballistic correction algorithm, low-level.
"Heh." Yuan Jianxing chuckled lightly, "Why don't you just think of the flames that were once used for forging, conquering, and even risking the fate of the nation as being extinguished by me? I hope that will make you feel a little better."
Dynamic pulse intensity, MAX level.
There is no turning back now.
Franka needs to pay for his actions with his life and give L City an explanation.
"We always have to learn to say goodbye to some people and things."
Everything was in perfect condition, just waiting for Yuan Jianxing to pull the trigger and fire the pointed bullet, already loaded into the barrel, to its intended destination.
"That's what growing up is all about."
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Author's Note: So nervous! [Please][Please][Please]
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