cicada

Chapter 1438 A critical moment

At 2 p.m., the representatives from the three countries resumed their meeting after a short rest. A cool breeze blew from above onto the round table, and the attendees, feeling the chill, loosened their collars.

Zuo Chong glanced at the roof and saw countless dust particles floating in the wind under the light. He subconsciously took two steps to the side.

He wasn't worried about biological weapons on the cloth fan, since the British had checked it; what he was worried about was contracting some strange disease.

God knows how healthy these workers who licked the fans are. What if they studied in India? That would be disastrous.

Over the next four days, the conference agenda gradually delved deeper, touching upon the core interests of various countries. The delegates argued heatedly, while the three heads of state chatted and laughed on the sidelines.

On the last day, some delegates almost came to blows. Amid the noise and chaos, the cloth fans above everyone's heads swung faster.

Ultimately, after several rounds of negotiations, the three parties made concessions and reached a basic agreement, which was then released in a press release.

At the press conference that day, Zuo Zhong, hiding behind the scenes, breathed a sigh of relief as he watched the flashbulbs go off.

These past few days, the most tense people have been the security personnel of the three countries. Fortunately, the meeting went smoothly and the assassins mentioned in the intelligence did not appear.

Amid the noise outside, Gu Qi walked to his side and quietly reported a message.

"My lord, the British and Americans have informed us that Mr. Q and President Roosevelt will fly to Tehran tomorrow to meet with the head of the Soviet Union."

Zuo Chongen remained silent. This was within his expectations. The Russian leader looked down on someone, and that person also disliked the Russian leader, so naturally, the two did not want to meet.

Gu Qi, having not received any instructions, paused briefly before saying something else, the content of which concerned the assassin.

“Chunyang has been in contact with our brothers in Tunisia these past few days. It is said that the Allied agent who sent back the message frequently visited the local black market before his death.”

"black market?"

Zuo Zhong repeated it softly, seemingly lost in thought. Clearly, the other party had found out some information on the black market, but unfortunately, they were silenced before they could gather more intelligence.

Gu Qi chimed in, "Yes, and quite a few merchants have died in that black market recently."

This news greatly surprised Zuo Zhong. It was one thing for the agent to be silenced, but why would a black market merchant die?
Generally speaking, no one would target merchants, because without their goods and channels for selling stolen goods, those rats living in the sewers would lose their source of income.

After thinking for a long time, Zuo Chong asked Gu Qi what contraband the dead black market merchants were selling.

“We sell everything.” Gu Qi smiled wryly: “Weapons, intelligence, medicine, electrical equipment, food, and even people.”

Zuo Zhong suddenly sneered: "Hmph, this is a classic case of protesting too much."

Gu Qi blinked, then hesitated, "You mean someone is deliberately creating a smokescreen, and they don't want us to find out the source of the information about the dead agent?"

"That's right, only this reason can explain the killing of so many black market merchants."

Just then, the press conference outside was about to end. Zuo Zhong glanced at the reporters and shared his speculation.

"Suppose an assassin buys a weapon or something else from a merchant to carry out the assassination, and Allied agents learn of this from the merchant, ultimately leading to their own demise."

"But if the goal was simply to silence them, the assassins could have killed the agent and the businessman; why go through such a large-scale massacre?"

"Don't assassins understand the principle that the more they do, the more mistakes they make? For such an important operation as assassinating the leaders of three kingdoms, secrecy is key."

Hearing their conversation, Gui Youguang felt a tickle on his scalp, as if he was about to grow a brain.

Suddenly, an idea popped out of his head, and the bald man widened his eyes and slapped his thigh hard.

"I understand. The businessmen the agents contact must be involved in very niche industries, with a clear target audience!"

“Once we know what kind of goods the merchants are selling, the assassins’ methods of assassination will also be exposed.”

"Only in this way can assassins kill numerous false targets to cover up the real businessmen."

Zuo Zhu nodded, mentally going over all the clues several times, and then spoke in unison with Gu Qi.

"drug!"

This conclusion is not hard to draw: weapons can be bought anywhere, and intelligence and food cannot directly kill people.

Only drugs can kill people, and their target is clear; with a little deduction, one can crack the assassin's assassination methods.

Watching someone on the stage pick up a glass and take a sip of water, Zuo Zhong's face turned ashen. If the assassin had succeeded, everyone present would probably have been caught in the crossfire.

But he quickly shook his head. The security at the venue was impeccable, and the assassin had no chance to drug the victim.

Even if the other party successfully adds the drug to food and water, the testing personnel will still detect it.

Recalling the person's physical condition over the past five days, Zuo Zhong did not detect any signs of poisoning. Moreover, there is no slow-acting poison in the world that can take a person's life in just five days.

So-called chronic poisons require long-term accumulation; discussing toxicity without considering dosage and time is just empty talk.

As the press conference came to an end, Zuo Zhong reported the matter to someone, who calmly waved his hand, not taking the assassin seriously at all.

"Shen Zhong, there's no need to be nervous about these cowardly individuals. I'll be returning to the mountain city tomorrow; they can't possibly poison my plane, can they?"

"Just be on your guard. You'll come with me to the dinner later, which will be a good opportunity to check if there are any problems with the food and drinks."

Although Zuo Zhong felt it was somewhat risky to attend the banquet at this time, the other person's attitude was firm, giving him no chance to object, so Zuo Zhong had no choice but to respectfully agree. Several hours later, the meeting officially concluded, and the negotiation venue was transformed back into a restaurant, with tables laden with delicious food and wine.

The man rarely drank alcohol, but since the outcome of the meeting was favorable to the Nationalist government, and the leaders of the British and American allies were present, he made an exception for once.

Ten minutes before the banquet began, Zuo Zhong personally brought over a glass of red wine and poured it for the other party. Then he stepped aside and whispered to Gu Qi, Gui Youguang, and Wu Chunyang.

"Chunyang, any new updates from the Tunis station?"

"Yes, the local brothers investigated the murdered drug dealers. There were three of them. They were selling common drugs, such as sulfonamides, aspirin, penicillin, and a local remedy."

A folk remedy? Zuo Zhong frowned upon hearing this. The first three medicines were not toxic. Could there be something fishy about this folk remedy?

Just as he was about to ask about the specifics, Wu Chunyang took the initiative to explain the origin of the folk remedy.

"Sir, the port of Cagliari in Italy, across from Tunisia, is overflowing with sewage and has terrible sanitation, yet very few people there get sick."

"Tunisians believe that the water there has medicinal properties, so they simply sell it as a medicine, and this has been going on for more than ten years."

This was truly something new. Zuo Zhong asked curiously, "Is this water poisonous? How effective is it?"

"It's not poisonous, but its effects are inconsistent. Some people have been cured of pneumonia, dysentery, and typhoid fever after drinking it," Wu Chunyang answered truthfully.

Wow, Zuo Zhong gasped in shock. Drinking water can cure pneumonia? That sounds like a story made up by a con artist.

Wait a minute, Zuo Zhong, who had been looking disdainful, suddenly realized something and strode over to the British security chief, asking anxiously.

Where are those fan installers?

The Englishman looked puzzled and pointed outside the door: "They should have been executed. I ordered my men to do it in the garden."

Before the other party could finish speaking, Zuo Zhong led Gu Qi and ran wildly towards the door. Someone who witnessed this frowned slightly but did not ask any questions.

In the gardens of Malham Palace, a line of British soldiers stood with a dozen or so local civilians kneeling at their feet, begging for mercy.

"Present! [Raise your gun and aim]!" the officer in charge shouted the order.

The soldiers pointed their guns at their targets. Some of the fan workers kneeling on the ground struggled desperately, some were expressionless, and some begged for mercy.

"Don't shoot!"

Zuo Zhong shouted, and the British officer in charge of the execution, not wanting to offend a general, hesitated for a moment before ordering his men to put down their guns.

Seeing the execution stop, Zuo Zhong didn't argue with the British. He walked directly to the fan worker, remained silent for a few seconds, and then said a few words in Arabic.

"liquor."

My heart is racing.

"Difficulty breathing."

"Vomit."

With each word he spoke, the fan operator, who had been expressionless as he accepted the execution, trembled once, clearly having something to hide.

Now that things had come to this, Zuo Zhong finally understood how the assassin killed people. He told Gu Qi to keep an eye on the man, then turned and ran towards the banquet.

Damn, no matter what the killer's background is, these people are definitely professionals.

Zuo Zhong ran with all his might. The lights of the banquet hall in the distance were already clearly visible. The patrolling British and American soldiers looked at his anxious appearance and secretly guessed that something big had happened.

Inside the restaurant, Mr. Q, Roosevelt, and someone else raised their glasses together with smiles on their faces, the red wine gleaming eerily under the lights.

The three heads of state clinked their glasses together, the rims of the glasses gently striking each other with a crisp sound. As the three men brought their glasses to their lips, the other attendees prepared to drink as well.

The Cairo Conference was essentially a pre-distribution of the spoils of victory, where participating countries all gained substantial benefits.

The delegates who participated in the meeting also gained fame and fortune, so when the heads of state raised their glasses, the atmosphere of the banquet immediately reached its peak, like oil being poured on a raging fire.

Mr. Q and his two companions exchanged glances, then chuckled and raised their glasses, the liquor flowing rapidly down the smooth sides.

"Boom~~"

Just as the wine was about to enter his mouth, the restaurant door was kicked open, and Zuo Zhong rushed into the room, gesturing loudly to stop the person at the head of the table.

"Don't drink this! There's something wrong with it!"

Startled, someone loosened their grip, and the wine glass crashed to the ground, shattering into pieces. The bright red wine quickly soaked the carpet.

Everyone present looked puzzled, wondering what the people from the Republic of China were talking about. Fortunately, a translator relayed the information.

Upon hearing that there was something wrong with the wine, everyone quickly put down their glasses. Only the British security chief stepped forward and excitedly assured Mr. Q that the wine was absolutely not poisoned.

As he spoke, a buzz of discussion arose in the restaurant. Mr. Q looked at someone, cigar in his mouth, and questioned Zuo Zhong.

"General Zuo, I have absolute faith in the professionalism of British soldiers. Are you sure the red wine is poisoned?"

“No, Mr. Prime Minister.” Zuo Zhong’s words were surprising and hard to understand: “I only said that there was something wrong with the wine, not that it was poisoned.”