Chapter 919: Shima Mitsuhiro's Ambition |
"Hey, Liu Xing, what's going on?"
Upon hearing Liu Xing's voice, Zhang Jingxu knew that Liu Xing was fine.
Liu Xing finally reacted, opening his mouth to say, "Yeah, I'm fine. Matsui Yui brought me here."
"What? Matsui Yui?" Yin En exclaimed loudly, "What's going on?"
Liu Xing organized his words and roughly explained Matsui Yui's situation.
"I see, I was wondering why we couldn't figure out who took Liu Xing away. It turns out Matsui Yui is back to participate in the Public-Military Conflict. Although she took you away, it's a good thing, as you can now act alone, and we can continue to play along with Shima Mitsuhiro." Zhang Jingxu let out a sigh of relief, smiling.
Liu Xing raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised, "Oh? So you've already discovered that Shima Mitsuhiro is acting?"
Zhang Jingxu coldly laughed, saying, "This guy is willing to spend a lot to put on this show. Not only did he blow up an important secret passage of the Shimazu Family, but he also used his own people to kill the chicken and scare the monkey, even though that person has already been expelled from the family and can't be considered a member of the Shimazu Family."
"This is interesting, but why is Shima Mitsuhiro doing this? Is it just to test our loyalty? That's unnecessary, as we're the ones he personally invited. If he doesn't trust us, then he wouldn't have come to find us in the first place." Liu Xing asked, puzzled.
Liu Xing furrowed his brow, realizing that things weren't simple.
"Zhang Jingxu, what you said makes sense, but I think this matter is more complicated. He doesn't need to make such a big fuss, so I have a bold guess - Shima Mitsuhiro might be a mole from the Public Faction!"
Upon hearing Liu Xing's words, Zhang Jingxu and the others on the phone fell silent, unsure of what to say.
Liu Xing took a deep breath, speaking seriously, "I think Shima Mitsuhiro is putting on this show to make you think Shima Takeshi has already discovered your movements. Then, he'll wait two days and arrange a large-scale attack, personally leading the team to crush the attack, making you think you have the upper hand. Next, Shima Mitsuhiro might find an opportunity to sneak attack the Shimazu Residence with you and the Deep One, and if successful, you can get rid of Shima Takeshi. However, at the same time, you'll discover that Shima Takeshi has already gone all out, and before being defeated, he'll eliminate all the Shimazu Family members imprisoned in the Shimazu Residence."
"I understand now. Shimazu Nakano can still sit securely because most Shimazu Family members recognize his position as head and acknowledge his actions. Even if Shima Mitsuhiro can rescue them, he can at most become the next head of the Shimazu Family, as those family members will still stand on Shimazu Nakano's side." Zhang Jingxu slapped his thigh, saying, "So if Shima Mitsuhiro has ambition, his best move now is to get rid of those imprisoned family members along with Shima Takeshi. This way, Shimazu Nakano will be left alone, and Shima Mitsuhiro can criticize Shimazu Nakano's decision-making, demanding he step down and let himself become the new head of the Shimazu Family!"
"That's right, even if Shimazu Nakano refuses to step down, Shima Mitsuhiro can, with Kitano Masakazu's help, imitate Shima Takeshi's occupation of Kagoshima City and declare independence to the entire Island Nation, expelling Shimazu Nakano from the family. Although his reputation might be affected, he can slowly recover it, as he's not like Shima Takeshi, who has no backing." Ding Kun also chimed in.
However, Zhang Jingxu still had some doubts, saying, "But how can we be certain that Shima Mitsuhiro is a mole from the Public Faction? I thought he was extremely ambitious from the start, especially when he especially when he started pursuing Taketori, and I labeled him as someone who would stop at nothing. So, I think he might do this, but it's not certain that he's a mole from the Public Faction.
Just as Liu Xing was about to speak, Zhang Jingxu continued, "I know what you want to say, Liu Xing. If Shima Mitsuhiro exposes his own situation to the public, it will definitely have a certain impact on the Warrior Faction. After all, the representative of the Warrior Faction is suddenly being expelled from the family, which will definitely cause a huge stir, and the reputation of the Warrior Faction will be greatly affected. But this is based on the premise that Shima Mitsuhiro is a mole from the Public Faction. If Shima Mitsuhiro is just ambitious, then he should let us return to Osaka and bring a message to Shimazu Nakano, because Shima Takeshi has taken all the family members of the Shimazu Residence to their graves, so now the Shimazu Family's business is unattended, and he needs to take charge of Kagoshima temporarily."
"I think Zhang Jingxu is right. Currently, there is no evidence to prove that Shima Mitsuhiro is from the Public Faction, because although Kitano Masakazu's family is within the Public Faction's sphere of influence, we have already investigated the Kitano family's situation through Sawada Yinyin and found that they have not joined the Public Faction. The Kitano family members are almost all Deep One Hybrids, so although they are nominally human families, they are still part of the Deep One tribe. Now, those Deep One tribes may have sent people to help certain secret cults or families, but this is purely an employment relationship, so the Kitano family is still neutral."
"No, to be exact, the Kitano family should now be part of the United States of America's camp, because Mutou Masayoshi has already arrived in the Hokkaido region, claiming to fight for the past and future of the Ainu people. He has started organizing the Ainu people and the guide party to occupy important facilities in the Hokkaido region, and has closed all transportation lines between Hokkaido and Honshu Island. There are important figures from the Kitano family in Mutou Masayoshi's team, so the Kitano family should have already cooperated with the United States of America behind Mutou Masayoshi. Therefore, the Public Faction will not accept the Kitano family as its members, because the Kitano family is also a time bomb." Zhang Wenbing continued.
This left Liu Xing speechless, because Liu Xing believed that Shima Mitsuhiro was a mole from the Public Faction mainly due to Kitano Masakazu. However, from the current situation, it is impossible for the Kitano family to join the Public Faction, and the Public Faction will also try to distance itself from the Kitano family, because in the eyes of ordinary people in the Island Nation, the Kitano family is undoubtedly a guide party of the United States of America. If it is discovered that the Kitano family has joined the Public Faction and there is concrete evidence, the high-level officials of the Public Faction will have to apologize collectively, even to the point of kneeling down.
This would cause the Public Faction's support rate to plummet, and the Public-Military Conflict would not need to be fought.
So the Public Faction should be avoiding the Kitano family, and it is unlikely to cooperate with them.
Thinking of this, Liu Xing sighed and said, "Okay, maybe I've thought too much. But you guys should still be careful around Shima Mitsuhiro, don't let him discover that you know he's acting. Otherwise, with Shima Mitsuhiro's current behavior, he might eliminate you all, because in his eyes, your only value is to testify for him in front of Shimazu Nakano and the entire Warrior Faction, proving that the Shimazu Family members in the Shimazu Residence are all victims of Shima Takeshi."
"I know, but you should also be careful, Liu Xing. Although our relationship with Matsui Yui is good, the shocking secret beneath Fisher's Village shouldn't be taken lightly." Zhang Jingxu said with some concern.
Liu Xing, of course, understood this, so he smiled and said, "Don't worry, I'm much safer than you guys, because I've already decided to take a backseat and let things unfold. Besides, Matsui Yui doesn't need me to do anything right now, or I don't have the ability to help her do anything."
"Okay, let's stop here for today. If there's anything, we'll contact you by text message, and for now, you and Shi Zixuan will be in contact. We can't let Shima Mitsuhiro determine Shi Zixuan's location, because Shi Zixuan is our last trump card." Zhang Jingxu said before hanging up the phone.
Liu Xing took a sip of water to moisten his throat, then dialed Shi Zixuan's phone.
"Hello, Liu Xing, what's up?" Shi Zixuan quickly answered the phone.
Liu Xing repeated what Zhang Jingxu and Zhang Wenbing had said, and Shi Zixuan listened carefully.
After Liu Xing finished, Shi Zixuan thought for a moment and said, "It seems that we need to be more careful now. If the Public Faction is really trying to distance itself from the Kitano family, then we can't let Shima Mitsuhiro discover our true intentions."
"I know, that's what I was thinking. We need to keep a low profile and not let Shima Mitsuhiro suspect anything," Liu Xing agreed.
"Okay, I'll be careful. You too, Liu Xing. Don't let your guard down," Shi Zixuan reminded him.
"I will, don't worry. I'll just take a backseat and let things unfold. You're the one who needs to be careful," Liu Xing replied.
"Alright, I'll be careful. If there's anything, I'll contact you immediately," Shi Zixuan said before hanging up the phone.
Liu Xing put down the phone and thought for a moment. He realized that the situation was more complicated than he had initially thought, and that they needed to be extremely cautious to avoid being discovered by Shima Mitsuhiro.
He took a deep breath and decided to focus on his own safety for now, waiting for further developments in the situation.
To avoid exposing Shi Zixuan's identity, they had planned with Liu Xing and others that if there were no urgent matters, Shi Zixuan would take the initiative to contact them.
Liu Xing simply told Shi Zixuan about the current situation.
"Hmm, I didn't expect Shima Mitsuhiro's ambition to be so great, but this is within my expectations. I just received a message from Osaka that someone is spreading rumors about Shima Takeshi's downfall to put pressure on Shimazu Nakano, who is negotiating with Shima Takeshi. So I suspect that the one spreading these rumors is Shima Mitsuhiro, because he wants to force Shimazu Nakano to compromise with Shima Takeshi," Shi Zixuan said confidently. "If Shimazu Nakano chooses to compromise, Shima Mitsuhiro can then accuse Shimazu Nakano of betraying family interests, which would give him the upper hand in public opinion."
After hearing Shi Zixuan's words, Liu Xing couldn't help but admire Shima Mitsuhiro's calculations. Unfortunately, his plan still had some flaws, which were noticed by Zhang Jingxu and others.
If Shima Mitsuhiro's plan were more perfect, Liu Xing felt that they would have been sold out and counted their money.
Liu Xing sighed, feeling a bit frustrated. "So our current situation is quite awkward. If we help Shima Mitsuhiro, we're helping a tiger to devour its prey. If we don't help him, we'll be in danger. And no matter what we do, the Warrior Faction will be greatly affected. After all, the Shimazu Family will definitely be severely damaged after this, which will trigger a series of domino effects."
"But as things stand, we can't do anything," Shi Zixuan said bluntly. "Shima Mitsuhiro chose to let us follow him to Kagoshima because he saw our status and influence in the Warrior Faction, but our actual strength is not enough to affect his plans. As long as we have two Deep Ones or a few Black-Clad Men with automatic weapons near Zhang Jingxu, they won't be able to do anything."
"Yeah, now that I think about it, we're indeed the most suitable candidates in Shima Mitsuhiro's eyes," Liu Xing said helplessly. "So what do you plan to do, Shi Zixuan? I'm already prepared to take a backseat at Matsui Yui's place."
After a moment of silence, Shi Zixuan on the phone suddenly said, "My original plan was to infiltrate the Shimazu Residence in the next few days, because Shimazu Logistics, a company managed by Shima Takeshi, is responsible for transporting all the materials to the Shimazu Residence. I infiltrated Shimazu Logistics' headquarters yesterday and have already determined their transportation process, so I have a 60% chance of entering the Shimazu Residence through Shimazu Logistics and ensuring my safe retreat if I'm discovered."
Upon hearing this, Liu Xing frowned. "If it were yesterday, I would have supported your plan, but the situation has changed drastically. I think you no longer need to take such a risk to infiltrate the Shimazu Residence."
"No, it's still necessary," Shi Zixuan replied immediately.
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