Cicada Moving

Chapter 456 The Detective’s Meeting

 “Woo~”

An old steam train slowly stopped beside the platform. White steam came out from the bottom of the train, and soon the people and porters who came to pick up the train were shrouded in smoke.

“Jack, watch our luggage. These Chinese people are not friendly to us. If you lose your equipment, **** it, I swear I will throw you into the jungle to live with those monkeys.”

In the first-class carriage, a middle-aged white man wearing a top hat stood up from his seat, folded a newspaper, and said to the young red-haired servant beside him, his blue eyes full of sternness.

 “Yes, Mr. Formosa.”

The young servant named Jack was carrying the luggage and muttering in his mouth. He was obviously not so happy, but who made Formosa willing to pay him a salary of 10 pounds a week?

This is not a small amount of money. The weekly salary of a skilled worker in London is only 10 pounds. Although the value of the pound has depreciated sharply after the war, it can still support a family of several people.

Formosa put the gentleman's single-frame glasses into his breast pocket and said coldly: "Mr. Jack, a qualified servant will never talk about his master behind his back. Am I right?"

"But Mr. Formosa, I am not your servant. The employment agency in York Street told me at that time that what you need is an assistant, not a servant, who can accompany you to the Far East."

Jack straightened his back and retorted in a calm manner, emphasizing the word servant. There is a distinction between servant and master, but assistants do not. It is not the nineteenth century.

“Then you must respect your employer. Well, be careful about the fragile items in your luggage, especially the test tubes and cameras inside. This is the latest technology of the Germans, and it is difficult to buy replacements in the Far East.”

Formosa wisely bypassed the discussion of servants and assistants and turned to science. A child from lower London did not understand the difference between ordinary test tubes and test tubes.

This is enough to shut up the other person.

As expected, Jack's movements on his hands were much lighter. Human beings are always willing to maintain a sense of awe for unknown things, such as religion. In a sense, science is also a religion.

Formosa raised the corner of his mouth slightly, put on the windbreaker on the hook and walked out of the car first. Before he could show off the demeanor of a British gentleman, he was overcome by the complex smell.

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 institutions

　　People swarmed out of the ordinary carriages and rushed onto the platform. Many of them were carrying cages with many kinds of poultry in them. After a whole night of accumulation, the bamboo cages were full of excrement.

Formosa shouted in horror: "Damn it, Jack, let these people stay away from me, ignorant Chinese, why do they want to take animals full of germs on the train."

For an imperial aristocrat who has lived in the upper class of London since childhood, this scene is really unacceptable, even if the subways and trains in Britain in this era are equally dirty.

Jack, on the other hand, seemed much calmer. He skillfully pushed the luggage, which was as tall as one person, out of the car door, blocking other passengers from approaching his employer. There was a helpless expression on his depressed face.

This noble Lord of Scotland Yard is such a high-maintenance man that he has given himself so many problems along the way that, not for the sake of the pound, he would have wanted to punch him in the hateful face.

"I shouldn't have agreed to the superintendent's request and come to this barbaric Asian country. Please hurry up. Mr. Assistant, where are the reception staff of the consulate? They should come to greet me."

Next to him, Formosa took out a handkerchief and wiped the non-existent dust on his shoes, then raised his head and looked at the messy platform, and said unhappily that this journey was really not smooth.

First, the cruise ship was damaged due to unknown reasons in the Mediterranean, and then it encountered legendary pirates in Malacca. Although no damage was caused, it was not a pleasant memory.

Coupled with the fact that he is about to compete with the Chinese intelligence agency, a policeman openly investigating a case on the other side's territory is simply risking death. You can imagine how bad he feels.

"please wait a while."

At this moment, a young man's voice came from behind. The other person's English was very standard, his tone was full of anger, and he fiercely refuted what he had just said about China.

“Sir, this is a new republic. It was still under the rule of barbarians just over 20 years ago. We just lack the necessary development time, but we do not lack civilization.

It is inappropriate for you to comment on these uneducated ordinary people. Or am I right that as a citizen of an imperial country, you have a natural hatred for republican countries? "

Formosa was stunned when he heard the words, and slowly turned his head. A well-dressed Chinese young man was standing not far away, his eyes full of ridicule. There were more than a dozen young men in black standing beside him.

Damn it, maybe I met a Chinese gang member, who looked very much like the criminals in the Birmingham area, such as members of traditional gangster families like the Razor Gang.

 Elegant yet fierce.

He frowned slightly and tried to explain in a gentle tone: "The feces of those animals carry a lot of germs. If a plague breaks out, everyone on the train will die.

 So, I have no prejudice against your country and its people. As for the political system, it has nothing to do with it. Young man, I don’t know your identity, but there are some people who you cannot offend. "

Formosa feels that as long as he reveals his identity, the other party will quickly give up the entanglement. Although the empire's power in East Asia is not as strong as before, it is not something that a low-level gangster can provoke.     “Oh, can’t be offended?”

 The young man smiled slightly.

The people in black around him laughed wildly. With their status, there was no one in the entire Republic of China who could not be offended. As long as they were not relatives of the emperor, even if they killed a bunch of foreigners, what would happen.

To put it bluntly, they quietly killed quite a few foreigners. They had never seen any country come to them. The special nature of their work gave them special rights.

 “Okay, don’t laugh.”

The young man raised his hand after laughing, and then walked slowly to Formosa, who was pretending to be calm. After looking at him with interest, he touched his bare chin and said in a determined tone.

“Sir, he must be British. Looking at the luggage you are carrying, the shipping label has not been removed. This means that you have just arrived in Asia from Europe and took the overnight bus from Shanghai to Jinling.”

 The journey is so hurried. It seems that you came to China on urgent matters, and it was business. If it was a private matter, you would not carry so many heavy suitcases. The items inside must be related to work.

　　When you suddenly heard my voice, your first reaction was to touch your right waist. This is the standard police way of holding a gun, and only the police would place their weapons in such an obvious place.

It is obvious that the person standing in front of me is a British Empire police detective. Considering the umbrella in the hand of this red-haired gentleman, you must be from London. Well, is it Scotland Yard? "

It only took a few words for the young man to see through Formosa's identity. The men in black showed admiration after hearing the explanation from their colleagues who knew English. This boss was much more reliable than before.

In the past, people from the Secret Service said how amazing people with the surname Zuo were, and they seemed to be able to figure out where the Japanese spies were hiding with just a few clicks. Now that they have Chief Meng, they can show off to them.

 Yes, the young man is Meng Ting.

 He returned to Jinling from Shanghai to transfer Fan Shusen. As soon as he got off the train, he heard a white man making nonsense here, slandering China as a barbaric country. He refuted it in anger.

Unexpectedly, he met half of his colleagues. He had studied in the French police academy for two years and knew very well that Scotland Yard in the UK also undertook a part of the counter-espionage work. It was not an exaggeration to say that he was a colleague.

The question is, why did a British policeman come to the Republic of China and bring so much equipment? It seemed that he planned to solve the case in the Republic of China, but the British had no law enforcement power within the jurisdiction of the Republic of China.

So what case is the other party here to investigate? Is it related to intelligence activities? If so, this case is likely to fall within the business scope of a department, and he must investigate it clearly.

Meng Ting began to carefully observe this person's reaction. If he couldn't give himself a reasonable explanation, he might have to take the British policeman back to the secret service headquarters for strict examination.

“Yes, young man, you are right. I am indeed a police detective from Scotland Yard, so why not let me guess your true identity? As you Chinese say, courtesy reciprocates.”

The Formosa donkey opposite was talking nonchalantly about the Chinese proverbs he learned on the boat, confirming Meng Ting's guess, and took out a pipe from his pocket and held it in his mouth, saying proudly.

“Originally I thought you were gang members, but the discipline and obedience displayed by these gentlemen should only be possessed by soldiers, policemen and secret police in your country.

 Considering that you do not have many traces of military training and rough skin, you can exclude your status as a soldier. At the same time, plainclothes police will not and do not have the authority to interrogate a citizen of the British Empire.

If I am not mistaken, you gentlemen are members of your country's intelligence agency. I have heard about you. Your work is very good and you have taught those Japanese dwarfs some necessary lessons. "

 “Scotland Yard deserves its reputation.”

Meng Ting gave a thumbs up and said without explaining that it was the result of the Secret Service. After saying that, he and Formosa looked at each other and smiled, shook each other's hands, and introduced themselves in a tacit understanding.

“Inspector Scotland Yard, Formosa.”

 “Special Agent Headquarters, Meng Ting.”

 “Nice to meet you.”

 “Nice to meet you.”

 “How about I send Mr. Formosa off?”

 “Okay then, thank you.”

The two men with ulterior motives walked out together like this. Jack and the man in black were stunned. They didn’t understand what their employer (section chief) was planning, so they had to follow them confused.

①The urban rail transit system in London, England. It is the first subway in the world.

I finally caught up, thank you for your understanding. There really is something wrong with this, people are so fragile.

 (End of this chapter)