Chapter 946: Establishing Contact |
It seems that Ii Trio won't be going to the Lu Wu area today.
So Liu Xing thought for a moment and asked Li Hanxing to follow Shima Mitsuhiro's car. They soon arrived at another high-end hotel not far away, which was also owned by the Shimazu Family.
Liu Xing was a little surprised because Shi Zixuan had once said that the Shimazu Family's assets in Kagoshima City were basically under the control of Shima Takeshi, especially after Shima Takeshi launched his coup. The top management of these assets had been replaced by Shima Takeshi's three tigers, who were loyal to him. It could be said that Shima Mitsuhiro was "walking towards the tiger's den," or in less polite terms, "courting death." Or perhaps he was gambling that Shima Takeshi wouldn't kill him.
At this moment, Sun Huiwen sent back a message—Shima Takeshi had just left the Shimazu Group building.
It was clear that Shima Takeshi, after learning that Shima Mitsuhiro and Ii Trio had parted ways, was preparing to find Ii Trio for a good chat.
Of course, this was just the surface situation. Only Shima Takeshi himself knew what he was really thinking.
Liu Xing thought for a moment and decided to stay with Li Hanxing to observe the changes, while Sun Huiwen would try to tail Shima Takeshi.
As it turned out, Shima Takeshi did go to find Ii Trio, but he soon left and returned to his apartment.
Liu Xing was becoming more and more confused by the current situation because he felt that Shima Takeshi had suddenly become overly cautious.
After signing the second employment contract, Li Hanxing smiled and said, "We like dealing with people like you, Liu Xing. You're very generous with your money. But speaking of which, do you still plan to tail them tomorrow?"
Liu Xing nodded affirmatively, "Of course. That's why I brought you along to stay here. If nothing unexpected happens, we can continue to work together for a couple more days. After all, it's impossible for me to tail three teams alone."
Sun Huiwen smiled with satisfaction, "It's true that we don't have business for three years, but when we do, it's enough for three years. You're indeed our big client, Liu Xing. But to be honest, Shima Takeshi is indeed a formidable character. When I went to the Shimazu Group building, I almost got tricked by him."
After arriving at the Shimazu Group building, Sun Huiwen disguised himself as the boss of a medium-sized industry in Kagoshima City. He then went to the front desk and asked the receptionist about Shima Takeshi's whereabouts.
The receptionist indicated that she didn't know if Shima Takeshi was in his office because the elevator dedicated to Shima Takeshi could go directly to the underground parking lot. There was also a dedicated area in the underground parking lot for parking the vehicles of Shimazu Family members, with a private entrance and exit.
In short, the Shimazu Family had put on quite a show.
Therefore, an ordinary receptionist wouldn't know if Shima Takeshi was in his office or not. So, Sun Huiwen had to put in some effort to persuade the receptionist to make a phone call for him, but no one answered the call.
It seemed that Shima Takeshi had already left the Shimazu Group building.
However, Sun Huiwen, sensing that something was amiss, didn't leave in a hurry. Instead, he sat in the lobby for a while, observing the movements of the people around him. He also started searching for photos of the resident executives in the Shimazu Group building on his mobile phone.
After a while, Sun Huiwen noticed several executives hurrying to the elevator. Not long after, these executives left the Shimazu Group building in a rush, apparently having received some orders.
Within the Shimazu Group building, there was only one person who could command so many executives, and that was Shima Takeshi.
So, after confirming that Shima Takeshi was still in the Shimazu Group building, Sun Huiwen returned to the car he had just rented and waited patiently at an intersection that Shima Takeshi would have to pass through if he were to track Ii Trio.
Sure enough, Sun Huiwen spotted Shima Takeshi's car and confirmed that Shima Takeshi was in the car.
After listening to Sun Huiwen's account, Liu Xing realized that when Sun Huiwen persuaded the receptionist to call Shima Takeshi's office, Shima Takeshi probably hadn't yet received the message from the Shimazu Residence. This meant that Shima Takeshi had spent a long time at the Shimazu Residence, and it was highly likely that he had already prepared a way to deal with Kitano Masakazu.
Therefore, Liu Xing believed that Shima Takeshi would likely attack Shima Mitsuhiro today to attract Kitano Masakazu to lead an attack on the "defenseless" Shimazu Residence.
Of course, it would be best if Shima Mitsuhiro "cooperated" and "sacrificed" himself to attract Shima Takeshi's attention. Ideally, he would lead Shima Takeshi to the other side of the city, away from the Shimazu Residence.
So, Liu Xing took out the Kagoshima City map provided by the hotel and confirmed his current location.
Then, Liu Xing found the best route for Shima Mitsuhiro—heading south.
If they headed south from their current location, they would be on Kagoshima City's main roads, so they didn't have to worry too much about Shima Takeshi launching an attack along the way. Moreover, there were many side streets along this route, allowing Shima Mitsuhiro to quickly turn into alleys and escape.
Additionally, if Shima Mitsuhiro took this route out of the city, he would enter an area of relatively flat farmland. There were also many farmers working in the fields, so if Shima Mitsuhiro chose a high-performance off-road vehicle, he could freely navigate through the fields.
Of course, this area also had many small hills with dense vegetation, making it an ideal place for Shima Mitsuhiro and Shima Takeshi to play a game of hide-and-seek.
If Shima Mitsuhiro didn't want to play hide-and-seek, he could simply floor the accelerator and drive along the highway to the seaside to escape.
Therefore, Liu Xing believed that if everything went according to plan, Zhang Jingxu and the others were likely waiting in the southern suburbs of Kagoshima City, ready to pick up Liu Xing if he managed to escape from the city.
As Liu Xing had expected, Zhang Jingxu and the others were indeed in the southern suburbs of Kagoshima City.
In a farmhouse in the southern suburbs of Kagoshima City, Zhang Jingxu and the others were enjoying a barbecue feast.
"It seems that the Empty City Strategy is working well. Shima Takeshi is still hesitant to make a move because he can't figure out Shima Mitsuhiro's true intentions." Yin En said while eating grilled ribs, "But this Empty City Strategy is too risky. If Shima Takeshi decides to take action, Shima Mitsuhiro will likely not be able to escape Kagoshima City. Kitano Masakazu's so-called trump card for Shima Mitsuhiro is probably just a placebo. After all, if Shima Mitsuhiro dies, Kitano Masakazu can do whatever he wants in Shima Mitsuhiro's name."
"Yes, if the treasure Kitano Masakazu gave to Shima Mitsuhiro is real, it would be an incredible escape divine artifact. I don't believe Kitano Masakazu would be so generous to hand it over to Shima Mitsuhiro." Zhang Wenbing nodded.
Ding Kun, sitting across from Zhang Wenbing, picked up a bowl of oxtail soup and blew on it before saying, "I think so too. If the item Kitano Masakazu gave to Shima Mitsuhiro is as miraculous as he claims, then according to my knowledge, there are very few divine artifacts in the entire real world that can compare to it. He's probably hinting that Shima Mitsuhiro can go with peace of mind... I suspect that the item might be a self-destruct device to prevent Shima Mitsuhiro from falling into Shima Takeshi's hands."
Yin En took a sip of water and sighed, "It seems that we should start preparing to leave Kagoshima City. As soon as something happens to Shima Mitsuhiro, we must quickly get out of Kyushu. I suggest we seek help from Matsui Yui. After all, we're old friends, and I believe Matsui Yui won't abandon us. With Matsui Yui's protection, returning to Osaka will be a breeze."
"That's true, but even if we seek help from Matsui Yui, we won't be able to return to Osaka in a short time. Matsui Yui has her reasons for operating in this area, so she probably won't arrange many people to send us back to Osaka. In that case, we'll have to give up on our plan to leave by sea. After all, the coastal areas of Island Nation are turbulent, and a group of Deep Ones might appear at any time to cause trouble... So, I think we should contact Sawada Yinyin and ask her to arrange some people to pick us up and take us to Shikoku Island. Once we're there, we won't have to worry too much about Shima Takeshi coming to eliminate us." Zhang Wenbing stroked his chin.
However, just as Zhang Wenbing finished speaking, Zhang Jingxu shook his head and said, "I'm thinking about something else. Kitano Masakazu sent a group of people to monitor Shima Mitsuhiro under the pretext of protection, but he hasn't imposed any restrictions on us. There shouldn't be any of Kitano Masakazu's subordinates near us, so he's not worried that we'll cause trouble and disrupt his plan, right?"
Yin En shrugged and smiled, "Maybe Kitano Masakazu thinks we're too weak to pose any threat to his plan, so he's too lazy to send people to specifically target us. Moreover, Kitano Masakazu didn't bring many subordinates, and he needs to ensure he has enough people to capture the Shimazu Residence."
"But it's also possible that Kitano Masakazu thinks he has successfully intimidated us, or he may have learned through certain channels about our relationship with Shima Mitsuhiro, so he's confident that we won't seek revenge for Shima Mitsuhiro. That's why he sent us here, implying that we can leave at any time." Ding Kun shook his head, "Unfortunately, we really can't leave here now."
If it weren't for the high penalty for failing this side quest, Zhang Jingxu and the others would have considered leaving Kagoshima City.
"Forget it, let's change the topic. Should we contact Liu Xing and Shi Zixuan to find out about their current situation?" Zhang Jingxu took out his mobile phone.
Ding Kun thought for a moment and nodded, "Let's call Liu Xing first. I believe Liu Xing has already contacted Shi Zixuan, and he will inform Shi Zixuan about our situation. If we call Shi Zixuan directly, she might refuse to answer."
So, Zhang Jingxu dialed Liu Xing's number.
Seeing the caller ID on his mobile phone, Liu Xing wasn't sure whether he should answer the call.
Liu Xing guessed that Zhang Jingxu and the others had probably followed Shima Mitsuhiro off the ship and were likely in the southern suburbs. However, this didn't rule out the possibility that Kitano Masakazu had confiscated their mobile phones. Liu Xing wanted to confirm the situation of this "missing" person again.
But Liu Xing didn't hesitate for long and decided to answer the call. However, the person who answered the call was Li Hanxing.
After giving Li Hanxing a few instructions, Li Hanxing answered the call, and both Li Hanxing and Sun Huiwen politely went into the adjacent room to avoid any misunderstandings.
"Hello, is Liu Xing there?"
Hearing Zhang Jingxu's voice, Liu Xing breathed a sigh of relief and took the mobile phone from Li Hanxing, "Yes, it's me. Did you escape from Kitano Masakazu's men?"
"Yes, I believe Liu Xing already knows that Kitano Masakazu arranged for Shima Mitsuhiro to go to Kagoshima City. Shima Mitsuhiro should have already met with Shima Takeshi, but I don't know if Shima Takeshi has any murderous intentions."
"From the current situation, it seems that Shima Takeshi doesn't plan to take action because I've been observing the whole time. I can confirm that Shima Takeshi is still unsure about Shima Mitsuhiro's trump card, so he's only sent people to tail Shima Mitsuhiro. However, this matter is no longer important. The crucial point is that Ii Naoyoshi is in the Lu Wu area, which is in the coastal area south of Kagoshima." Liu Xing said seriously.
As soon as Liu Xing finished speaking, Yin En suddenly exclaimed, "What? Ii Naoyoshi is really in Kagoshima City? If that's the case, members of the Ii Family might be able to find his whereabouts. But this is also a good thing because Ii Naoyoshi is like a ticking time bomb."
"No, no, no, the situation is not as simple as you imagine, Yin En. You need to understand why Ii Naoyoshi is in Lu Wu."
Liu Xing explained the situation with Ii Naoyoshi and the unknown Great Old One.
After Liu Xing finished speaking, Zhang Jingxu and the others on the other end of the phone fell silent for a long time.
Liu Xing knew how much information he had just conveyed, and it would indeed take some time for Zhang Jingxu and the others to process it.
After a while, Zhang Jingxu finally spoke, "This is not good. If members of the Ii Family find out about Ii Naoyoshi's whereabouts, who knows what will happen next."
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