Chapter 107: Who Sent It?

Chapter 107: Who Sent It?

Because Ah Hai was moving very fast, and intentionally so, when he reached Sister Wang’s side, the rickshaw tilted and scraped against the vegetable basket on her arm as he passed by at an angle.

Caught off guard, Sister Wang stumbled and fell to the ground, and the basket tumbled far away. Ah Hai immediately stopped the rickshaw, turned around, and came to her side to help her up.

“Big sister, I’m sorry. I was rushing to get a fare and accidentally bumped into you. I really am sorry,” Ah Hai said apologetically, his expression sincere beyond words.

“I’m fine. But young man, you should be more careful when pulling your rickshaw. If something bad happened, it would be really troublesome,” Sister Wang patted the dust off her clothes and kindly advised.

“Thank you, big sister. Here’s your vegetable basket,” Ah Hai said as he picked up the basket that had rolled far away and handed it back to her.

“Alright, go on and get your fare. Take it slow on the road,” Sister Wang smiled as she took the basket.

“Thank you, big sister,” Ah Hai said, then pulled his rickshaw and quickly disappeared from Sister Wang’s sight.

Afterward, Sister Wang went about her usual routine, heading to the market to buy a large amount of vegetables and meat before hurrying back to the villa to prepare lunch.

However, when she emptied the basket, she suddenly froze. At the bottom, tucked into a gap in the basket, was a small note.

She took it up and unfolded it to read the message:

“Afternoon march is dangerous. Special agents have major operations planned.”

The few words struck her deeply. She knew well that Zhou Shan, who was in charge of the student movement, was organizing the largest student march of the year that afternoon.

Due to the authorities’ ruthless and wanton massacre, the march was known only to a very select few.

But who had sent her this warning? What was their purpose? Were they friend or foe?

A flood of questions swirled in her mind. When had this note been slipped into her basket?

Suddenly, Sister Wang thought of the rickshaw puller. In the brief moment, only he had handled her basket and had the opportunity to do this without her noticing.

Only now did she realize something was amiss. This neighborhood was wealthy; every family owned a car, so rickshaws rarely appeared here—there was no business for them.

Moreover, she had been undercover in Qian Yihai’s household for years and had never seen a rickshaw nearby—until today, when one suddenly appeared and even bumped into her.

Sister Wang refused to believe this was mere coincidence. She suspected it was a deliberate setup. Yet how could the mastermind know about her identity as a Communist? It was baffling.

A chill ran down her spine. If her identity were truly exposed, her undercover mission would be over.

She no longer had the heart to prepare lunch. After tidying up briefly, she hurriedly left the villa.

Half an hour later—

Sister Wang, Guo Xiaofei, and Zhou Shan gathered together. The underground Communist Party in Shanning had suffered heavy losses recently. Mr. Li had returned to the base for an organizational investigation, and Ye Weitian had been killed due to Lu Tiankang’s betrayal.

Guo Xiaofei and Zhou Shan were curious why Sister Wang had urgently summoned them.

“Sister Wang, what’s going on? You know it’s not safe for us to meet like this in broad daylight,” Guo Xiaofei said, his voice low.

“I know. I came because something important needs discussing. But first, look at this,” Sister Wang said, placing the note in front of them.

Silence.

After reading it, both men gasped.

“Sister Wang, could it be that you’ve been exposed and the enemy is using you as bait to trap us all?” Zhou Shan said gravely.

“No. I checked the surroundings multiple times on my way here—no one followed me. Besides, if this were a trap, this place would already be surrounded,” Sister Wang shook her head.

“Sister Wang, tell us exactly what happened. Maybe we can find something,” Guo Xiaofei urged.

Sister Wang recounted the midday incident in detail.

“So, no clues except that a rickshaw puller passed you this intelligence,” Guo Xiaofei frowned.

“Yes,” Sister Wang nodded.

“Could it be one of our own undercover comrades inside the enemy’s ranks giving us the warning this way?” Sister Wang speculated, seeing the two men silent.

“Unlikely. Besides Mr. Li and Old Ye, none of us know about any inside agents,” Zhou Shan replied firmly. “Also, although the march is highly secretive, such a large-scale event’s news is bound to leak out. So it might not be from our side.”

“What should we do then? Better cancel the afternoon march, just in case,” Guo Xiaofei suggested.

“There’s no time. This is a multi-school coordinated event that’s been prepared since last night. If we notify them now, it won’t be in time. The march starts in just one hour,” Zhou Shan said with a bitter smile.

“So what now? Regardless of the note’s sender, it’s clear our plan has been compromised.”

“Since we can’t stop it now, I think we should notify the progressive students at the schools and tell them to withdraw from the march,” Sister Wang proposed.

“No,” Zhou Shan immediately vetoed.

“Why?” Guo Xiaofei looked puzzled.

“Those students are the leaders of the march. If they pull out, the whole event will be affected. More importantly, if this is an enemy trap, removing them will expose those students directly to the enemy.”

“Then what do we do?” Sister Wang looked troubled.

“We’ll have to take it step by step. In the afternoon, I’ll lead the action team to blend into the crowd. That way, if anything happens, we can respond,” Guo Xiaofei said firmly.

“That’s all we can do,” Sister Wang nodded.

“Alright, let’s disperse. I need to notify those students quickly.”

“Okay.”

The three then went their separate ways.