Reborn in 1950: Shorting the Federal Reserve at the Start

"A coincidence? You call that a coincidence?"

Lin Shuwen knelt on the ground, his bald head now exposed and gleaming with a ghastly sheen under the light, without the wig to conceal it. He was still stubbornly refusing to admit his mistake, his neck stiff as a log, his eyes darting around, trying to find even the slightest chance of survival in this desperate situation.

"That was just a coincidence! I was out collecting antiques that day! I'm a businessman, I was walking a little fast and bumped into you, so what? Is bumping into someone a crime? You're going to execute me for that? Is there no justice? Is there no law?"

The louder he shouted, the louder his voice became, as if the louder his voice, the more confident he would be.

"Where's that syringe? This is potassium chloride!" Chen Weiguo stomped on his calf and shouted sternly.

"I'm a doctor! What's wrong with doctors carrying some emergency medication? I saw... I saw Director Shen was in critical condition, and I wanted to come in to help!" Lin Shuwen gritted her teeth, refusing to budge. "You're framing me! I'm going to sue you! I'm going to the International Red Cross!"

"Tsk tsk tsk."

Shen Jinghong shook her head, looking at him as if he were an idiot, and then slowly took out a photo from her pocket.

That's not an ordinary photo.

That was a high-definition image captured by the system using the "microscopic capture" function; the clarity was practically science fiction for this era.

"Dr. Lin, you're certainly stubborn, but this photo is probably even stubborner than your words."

Shen Jinghong held the photo between two fingers and flicked it gently, causing the photo to float lightly onto the floor in front of Lin Shuwen.

"Look, what's this?"

Lin Shuwen subconsciously looked down.

At just one glance, his pupils contracted violently to the size of a pinhead, as if they had been directly hit by a strong light.

The photo shows the scene from yesterday in front of the bookstall in Liulichang.

The image is incredibly clear, showing even the finest details of dust particles in the air.

In the photo, the "old farmer" wearing a straw hat is pretending to fall and bump into Shen Jinghong. And at the very moment their bodies make contact, the "old farmer's" rough hand is gripping Shen Jinghong's shoulder.

Between those two fingers, a poisonous needle, as thin as a cow's hair and gleaming with a ghostly blue light, was piercing the fabric and embedding itself in the flesh.

The angle, the movement, even the ferocity and murderous intent in the old farmer's eyes for a fleeting moment, were all captured clearly in this photo.

Ironclad evidence.

"This...this..."

Lin Shuwen felt as if someone had grabbed his throat; his previous arrogance was instantly swallowed back down, turning into a series of meaningless gurgling sounds.

How is that possible?

From this angle, unless an invisible person was lying on his shoulder to take the picture, it would be impossible to get such a clear shot!

And this image quality... is this really something that current cameras can produce?

"What? Don't you recognize me?"

Shen Jinghong squatted down and pointed to the poisoned needle in the photo. "Should I have someone test the drug residue in your cuff? Cyanide, although it evaporates quickly, once you get a little bit on it, it's impossible to wash off."

Lin Shuwen's face turned deathly pale instantly, and large drops of cold sweat dripped down his forehead, splashing onto the photo and creating a water stain.

"I...I..."

He was still trying to argue when, just then, the sound of crisp high heels came from the door of the ward.

"Da, da, da."

Lin Qinghan walked in.

She held a tan file folder in her hand, and wore that signature, icy smirk that could freeze you solid.

"Why waste words with him?"

Lin Qinghan walked to Shen Jinghong's side and glanced down at Lin Shuwen, who was slumped on the ground. His gaze was as if he were looking at a skinned toad.

"Since he refuses to admit who he is, let's help him remember."

"Snapped!"

The file folder was slammed hard into Lin Shuwen's face.

The documents inside were scattered all over the floor.

There were several yellowed old resumes and several black-and-white photos of people wearing Kuomintang military uniforms.

"Lin Shuwen? A medical doctor from Cambridge University?"

Lin Qinghan pushed up his glasses, his tone full of sarcasm:

"Stop patting yourself on the back. Your real name is Wang Ergou, from Baoding, Hebei. In 1946, you joined the Kuomintang Bureau of Investigation and Statistics' Tianjin Station Special Training Class, codenamed 'Groundhog.' Because of your refined appearance, you were selected for infiltration training, specifically responsible for disguising yourself as an intellectual to carry out infiltration and sabotage."

"Is this your 'Cambridge' degree?"

Lin Qinghan pointed with her toe at the photo on the ground of a person in a spy uniform:

"Is this your 'returned overseas student' background? If I'm not mistaken, the farthest place you've ever been in your life is Huludao, where you retreated with the army, and then you secretly slipped back to Beiping."

"Never even left the country, and you dare to spout foreign languages ​​here? Superior? Barbarian?"

Lin Qinghan mimicked his tone and chuckled:

"You learned your English from that foreign pastor who sells fried cakes in Tianjin, didn't you? No wonder you sound like you're from the Haihe River!"

boom!

These words were a hundred times more damaging than that photo.

Lin Shuwen, oh no, Wang Ergou, felt like his skull had been ripped open.

My underwear is gone.

They really didn't even have underwear left.

His proud disguise, his superior "returned overseas student" status, and the lies he had meticulously woven for three years were all torn to shreds by this man and woman working together, leaving him not even a fig leaf.

"No...no...this is impossible..."

Wang Ergou lay on the ground, his hands trembling as he reached for the files, wanting to tear them up and swallow the evidence.

"How could you possibly find this? My file was destroyed long ago! It was burned long ago!"

He screamed hysterically, his mind completely broken.

Those were top-secret files from the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics. They were told before the retreat that they had all been burned. Why are they here? Why are they in this woman's hands?

"If you don't want others to know, then don't do it in the first place."

Shen Jinghong stood up, patted Lin Qinghan on the shoulder, and gestured for her to step back so she wouldn't get bitten by this mad dog.

He looked at the bald man on the ground who had started to ramble incoherently, without a trace of pity in his eyes.

"You think you've hidden yourself well? You think that 'Wenyuange' is your safe haven?"

Shen Jinghong smiled coldly:

"From the moment you harbored murderous intent towards me, I have already exposed all your secrets."

"The so-called 'Cambridge PhD' is nothing but a scoundrel who didn't even finish junior high school; the so-called 'patriotic businessman' is nothing but a traitorous lackey who makes money by reselling cultural relics and raising funds for secret service organizations!"

"Wang Ergou, you've botched this performance."

Wang Ergou was limp all over, like a lump of mud.

He looked up at Shen Jinghong's young, handsome, yet dignified face.

He finally understood what kind of person he had offended.

This is not a scholar.

This is a monster! A devil who can see through people's hearts and drain them dry!

"I lost... I admit defeat..."

Wang Ergou muttered to himself, his eyes unfocused, as if all his energy had been drained away, "Just give me a quick death... stop torturing me..."

Now that his identity has been exposed, death is the only thing waiting for him.

Rather than suffer endless torment, I'd rather have a quick death.

"happy?"

Shen Jinghong raised an eyebrow, as if she had heard something funny.

He bent down, picked up the syringe that hadn't been used yet, and fiddled with it in his hand.

You wish!

"When you were about to give me that injection, why didn't you think about giving me a quick death?"

Shen Jinghong tossed the syringe to Chen Weiguo, who was standing next to him, and then pulled out a blackboard eraser from his pocket—something he had taken from the hospital's conference room.

"Chen Weiguo!"

"arrive!"

Chen Weiguo roared, his murderous intent palpable.

"Take him back. Remember, don't let him die, and definitely don't let him sleep."

Shen Jinghong straightened his hospital gown, a cryptic, academic smile appearing on his face:

"Move the biggest blackboard in our station to the interrogation room."

"Tonight, I'm going to give him a special treat."

"I want to give him a... vivid, profound, and unforgettable physics lesson."

Chen Weiguo was stunned for a moment. Although he didn't understand what it meant, he still resolutely carried out the order and picked up the limp Wang Ergou.

"Let's go, Dr. Wang!"

Chen Weiguo emphasized the word "Doctor," shoving him towards the door, "Our bureau chief is going to give you a crash course! Listen carefully, this is something you can't learn even at Cambridge!"

Wang Ergou was dragged out, his two legs leaving two long trails on the ground.

He had no idea what awaited him.

But looking at Shen Jinghong's eerie smile, a chill, more terrifying than death, suddenly surged in his heart.

That chill was more toxic than cyanide and colder than an ice cave.

"No... I won't go to class! I won't listen to the lectures! Kill me! Please, just kill me!"

The piercing screams echoed in the corridor, gradually fading into the distance.

Shen Jinghong stood in the center of the ward, listening to the screams, and lightly flicked her fingers.

"Qinghan, tidy up."

He turned to look at Lin Qinghan beside him, his tone instantly softening:

"The play is over, it's time for us to go back."

"Why go back?" Lin Qinghan was still organizing those files.

"Preparing lessons."

Shen Jinghong blinked and smiled like a little fox:

"Since we've said we're going to talk about physics, we should go into something more advanced. For example... quantum mechanical collapse, or... how to use sound wave resonance to destroy a person's nervous system."