Yes, that's also a possibility. Scott didn't intend to abscond with the blueprints and film; there's no reason for him to do so. Perhaps he only brought the original film to make copies, but an unexpected situation arose, and his disappearance was intentional on someone's part, not Scott's own will.
"Stop the car!" Sandra suddenly shouted, slamming on the brakes and bringing the vehicle to a screeching halt.
"Let's go to the police station."
The following day, the garrison and police forces on Hong Kong Island mobilized to conduct a comprehensive search of the island. The scale of the operation was so great that well-informed parties from all sides quickly learned of the situation: the disappearance of a British intelligence officer naturally led them to suspect the disappearance of the blueprints and film.
At the Yue Mansion, Yue Sheng recounted the information he had received to Jiang Tianhe in detail.
"As far as I know, someone sneaked into the shipyard again the night before last, trying to find the blueprints, but they were caught by the British. Then, British intelligence officer Scott disappeared. All signs indicate that the British seem to have made progress, but there may have been another mistake. Now both the underworld and the legitimate world are tracking down this intelligence officer. The British are desperate. I judge that the blueprints are very likely on this intelligence officer."
Jiang Tianhe was silent for a moment before asking, "Brother Yuesheng, do you think someone heard about Scott's disappearance and took action?"
"It's possible, the most likely culprit is the Japanese, but there's no concrete intelligence. I'll think of something. The British have mobilized their police force, and I have some friends there who can come in handy. They'll let me know as soon as they have any news."
"I'm afraid the news will be outdated, and the Japanese will have already succeeded," Jiang Tianhe said worriedly.
"Tianhe, you have to understand me. After all, the British have the final say in Hong Kong. Their advantage is too great. We can only observe from the shadows and wait for the right opportunity to make a move."
Jiang Tianhe was well aware of the current situation. He nodded and said, "As the saying goes, man proposes, God disposes. Let's do our best!"
At the Japanese consulate, Hidehiko Suzuki had also received the same message, and he paced anxiously back and forth in his office.
At this moment, Harada Takeo pushed open the door and entered, looking at Suzuki Hidehiko, and asked, "Suzuki-kun, what happened? My men have noticed a lot of unfamiliar faces outside the consulate. The British are no longer trying to hide it."
“General, that’s true. It’s still because of the blueprints,” Suzuki Hidehiko said.
He recounted the situation to Harada Takeo, then looked helpless. "Now the British think we were the ones who did it, and they've tightened their restrictions on us even more. But our people are being watched closely by the British, so we have no chance at all. Besides, we haven't received any news, so we really don't understand the situation."
Harada Takeo thought for a moment and said, "It seems that our previous judgment was correct. There has been a third-party force involved all along. These people have sabotaged the British operations on the Nottingham cruise ship and are now directly targeting British intelligence officers. They have sabotaged the British operations twice in a row. I estimate that the blueprints have most likely fallen into their hands."
"That's what I think too. It really proves the Chinese saying, 'The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.' The British have schemed against us, but there are others watching them too, perhaps Americans, perhaps Chinese. It's just that we're suffering because we're out of touch with the news and can't respond in time. We're really powerless and too passive!"
Amidst the turmoil in the outside world, various forces extended their reach, gathering information everywhere. Yong Feng naturally learned of everything as well. Scott's disappearance left her mentally unsettled and restless.
Scott was a mole she had spent a lot of time and money developing. Over the years, most of the intelligence about Britain came from Scott. He was one of Yong Feng's most valuable intelligence agents. His disappearance caused Yong Feng great distress.
More importantly, all hope for stealing the engine blueprints rested on Scott. Now that something went wrong, the $500,000 that was about to be in their hands would slip through their fingers, and they would never be able to get their hands on it again. Yong Feng felt her heart bleed just thinking about it.
“Miss, now that our channels are cut off, we can’t finalize this deal with the Chongqing government. Do we still need to meet with them?” Nie Xin asked in a low voice.
“I’ll see you!” Yong Feng nodded and said. At this moment, Mr. Lin asked to meet again, saying that he had important information to trade, which made Yong Feng very curious.
“This Mr. Lin is a major client of ours, and we can’t afford to offend him. Besides, they’re the ones who sold us intelligence this time. I want to see what kind of important information it is.”
Seeing that Yong Feng agreed to meet, Nie Xin nodded and said, "Alright, I'll make the arrangements right away. These are turbulent times, and we can't be careless. I'll bring extra people with me, just in case."
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