Twenty Seven Years

  Chapter 490 Public Opinion War (11)

  November 25th, night

  Leliste, outside the office building of the Propaganda Department of the International Equality League

  After putting the two children to sleep, Clementine quietly came to the outside of the building alone, hoping to wait until Piaf came out from inside.

  Although Piaf is still working inside and will come out after a while, she doesn't know how to get in touch, but trying to see her as close as possible is better than staying in the hotel and doing nothing.

   "Hello, please show me your ID." There is no curfew in Leliste City, but Clementine has been wandering around the Propaganda Department for a long time, which still attracted the attention of the patrol team.

   "Oh, yes." Clementine showed the certificate to the other party for inspection.

   "I see that you have been standing here, do you need any help?" After checking and confirming that there is no problem, the comrade of the patrol team asked.

   Clementine waved her hand: "No, I'm thinking of joining the International Equality Alliance and working in the Propaganda Department in the future, so I came over to take a look."

Knowing that Clementine wanted to join the International League for Equality, the comrades on the patrol team showed a more cordial smile: "When applying for identification, our comrades should have told you where their office is. If you want to join the International League for Equality , you can go to them to submit an application.”

   "They have given me the application form, and I'm going through the formalities." Clementine said.

   "Then I look forward to the day you become our comrade, and I would like to welcome you first." The comrades on the patrol shook hands with Clementine.

   "Thank you." Clementine felt their sincere kindness.

   In addition to trying to find a way to meet Piaf these few days, the second thing she has to do is to write an application.

  The review of the International Equality Alliance may be slower, and it is too late to help her contact Piaf, but she herself hopes to enter it, so this is not a conflict.

   "Then I won't bother you, and pay more attention to safety at night, and come to us at any time if you need anything." The comrades of the patrol team returned to their original positions to conduct inspections.

   Clementine heard another meaning.

  The comrades in the patrol team are not only worried about her safety, but also hope that she will not stay here for too long under the current sensitive situation.

   It's one thing to say you're joining the International Equality League, it's quite another to say the patrols are on the lookout for her.

   In order not to trouble them and cause unnecessary suspicion and misunderstanding, Clementine sighed and prepared to leave.

  At this time, there were many people at the main entrance of the building.

   Soon, a woman came out surrounded by comrades and escorted, and went straight to the car parked on the side of the road.

  Piaf, head of the Propaganda Department of the International Equality Alliance, is a woman, and there should be no second candidate for such treatment in the office area of ​​the Propaganda Department.

  It's a pity that just after Clementine recognized that the other party was Piaf, Piaf drove past her in a car and disappeared at the intersection.

  —

  Laizein, newspaper office

  Kappa has been extremely active since his wife left with their children, which satisfied Byron, the editor-in-chief, and arranged for him to work overtime as a matter of course to handle more complicated affairs.

   For this, Capa couldn't wish for it.

  He is very clear that the photos he took earlier will once again cause an uproar under the one-sided public opinion, but those are far from enough to really turn the situation around.

  If he can collect the complete fraud chain of the provisional government and newspapers, the International Equality Alliance will gain a valuable advantage in this public opinion war.

  If the International Equality Alliance can win the battle of public opinion, the world will undoubtedly take another firm and solid step towards a better world.

   "Are you still leaving?" A reporter who was left to work overtime like Capa stretched his waist and asked Capa.

   "I still haven't finished writing, what about you?" Capa wished that the other party would leave immediately, so that the newspaper office would be left alone, and it would be easy to search and collect evidence at that time.

   "I'm too sleepy, I'll go back to rest first, come here early tomorrow, and try to finish the manuscript before the editor-in-chief asks me for it." That colleague is notoriously fond of procrastinating, otherwise he wouldn't have stayed and worked overtime with Capa.

   "Then you go back first. Anyway, I don't have anything to do when I go back, so I might as well spend the night here today." Capa said.

  The colleague yawned, packed up his things and got up: "Then why don't I say hello to the soldiers outside and tell them not to wait for you."

   "Let's talk, but they should still stay in the newspaper to prevent people from the International Equality League from sneaking in secretly." Capa nodded.

   "Okay, then I'll go first." The colleague walked out of the newspaper office.

  Kappa let out a breath slowly, his heart beating faster unconsciously.

   "Boom boom boom."

   There was a knock on the door, but before Capa could speak, two government soldiers walked in and confirmed to him, "Aren't you going home tonight?"

   "Ah, I won't reply, there are still many manuscripts that have not been finished." Capa replied swallowing his saliva.

   "Then we will lock the door, but we will patrol outside. If you have anything to do, you can knock on the door and contact us."

   "Okay, thanks for your hard work."

"fine."

  The windows and doors of the newspaper office were locked, and the soldiers on duty started patrolling.

  Kappa's hand holding the pen was dripping with sweat. He didn't go to investigate the information immediately, but chose to pretend for a while longer, and waited to ensure that there would be no accidents before doing it.

five minutes.

ten minutes.

thirty minutes.

  Time passed bit by bit, and as the bell rang, November 26th arrived.

   There should be no problem.

  Kappa thought to himself and stood up, tiptoed to the window, gently opened a little curtain, and looked outside.

  A few lights were on on the street outside, and under the lights, soldiers of the two government troops were crossing and patrolling.

The newspaper office is responsible for falsifying reports and exerting public opinion pressure on the International Equality Alliance, so the interim government is very vigilant, and dare not relax the protection of the newspaper office in the slightest, ensuring that the International Equality Alliance will not destroy the newspaper office, and in the situation where the victory is basically guaranteed, there will be another change .

   Fortunately, these soldiers were mainly on guard against the outside, and no one paid attention to the inside of the tightly sealed newspaper office.

   After observing silently for a few minutes, Capa turned around and went directly to the door of the editor-in-chief's office.

  Editor-in-chief Byron played an important role in this public opinion war, and there must be a lot of key information hidden in his office. As long as he can find these materials, his mission is close to success.

   "Shut up."

  When Capa turned the doorknob, he felt firm resistance.

  Editor Byron locked the office.

   This did not discourage Capa, but made him even more excited.

  The door was still locked even though the government army was closely protecting the newspaper office. It was obvious that they were on guard against him, and if they were all on guard against him, it meant that there must be some confidential documents inside.

   "Huh..." Capa breathed out lightly, walked to the other side of the office, and tried to push the window.

  The windows were motionless and locked.

  How can I get into the office without destroying windows and doors? How can you keep the windows and doors locked after you leave?

  Theoretically, there is only one possibility, that is to open the door directly with a key, and then use the key to lock the door.

   But the problem is that the key is carried by the editor-in-chief Byron, and he has probably taken it home by this time, and put it in the bedside cabinet closest to him.

   Is it possible to give up all previous efforts today and find another opportunity to re-engrave a key first?

   Capa didn't want to waste a precious night like this, he stood in front of the window again, carefully observing the window.

  The lock of the window is a simple latch. The plug on the window frame is inserted into the socket on the window frame. Unless the plug is pulled out from the inside, the window cannot be opened.

  So, is there any way to unplug the plug from the outside of the window, and then plug the plug in after the evidence is searched?

   Capa focused on the gap in the window.

   There is a tiny gap between the window and the frame, about two millimeters.

  If you can get a thin wire or iron wire, you can try to stuff it in, hang it on the plug, and unplug the plug from the outside. After coming out, you can also pull the latch with a wire to reinsert it.

  Kappa had never done such a thing before, but after he deduced it in his mind and felt that it was quite feasible, he immediately started looking for materials in the office area.

  Unfortunately, everyone came to work, and no one came with thin wires, wires and the like. He searched everywhere but failed to find anything.

  The time came to one o'clock in the morning.

  The patrolling soldiers outside the newspaper office changed. Capa sat in front of his work station, holding his hair with both hands, thinking hard about countermeasures.

  The complete falsification chain of the provisional government and the truth that a large number of innocent people were imprisoned as members of the International Equality Alliance are all things he wants to grasp and know urgently.

   And these are all placed in the editor-in-chief's office very close at hand.

  In an instant, a crazy idea came to Capa's mind, that is to break into the door by force, and when the evidence is collected, escape here before the editor-in-chief Byron goes to work during the day.

  But after only a few seconds, the idea was pushed down.

  First, he cannot guarantee that there is absolutely evidence in the editor-in-chief's office. If not, he will tear his face and miss the opportunity to collect evidence in the future.

  Second, as a newspaper reporter, he was followed by government soldiers on all his trips. These soldiers not only protect him, but also monitor him, and the consequences of fleeing rashly are predictable.

   It seems that we can only wait for dawn.

   Either find the wire and prepare for the second night, or find a way to steal the key from the editor-in-chief Byron for a replica.

  Unwilling to be reconciled, Capa tried his best to calm down and rushed to the manuscript.

  At two o'clock in the morning, the manuscript was basically finished and entered the proofreading stage.

"boom!"

   "Bang bang!"

   "Bang bang! bang bang bang!"

  Suddenly, there were crisp gunshots and noisy shouts from government soldiers outside.

  Scared, Capa dropped his pen, got up in a hurry, went to the window, and looked outside.

   A patrol team seemed to be chasing someone, and quickly disappeared into the night, while the other team searched for the two bodies they had killed.

   Immediately afterwards, dense crowds, roughly estimated to be over a hundred soldiers, emerged from all directions, and strictly sealed off the newspaper office and surrounding streets.

   It turned out that the so-called two teams of patrol teams were just the provisional government's defense on the surface. In fact, their investment in the newspaper office was ten times that of the public!

   This is no wonder. After all, the most likely place for the International Equality League to attack is the newspaper office. There is no reason why the provisional government should not set up an ambush here, waiting for them to get involved.

  Thinking of this, Capa's heart skipped a beat.

  The few people who were shot outside, and those who fled temporarily, were members of the International Equality League? !

  There is only one possibility.

   Except for the International Equality League, no one will come to the newspaper office in the early morning to implement unknown plans.

   Before he could think too much, the door of the newspaper office was quickly opened, and a group of soldiers rushed in.

   "Mr. Capa, we just killed a group of people from the International Equality League outside. You stayed in the newspaper office, did you find any abnormalities inside?!" The officer leading the team strode towards Capa.

   "I, I'm not sure, I've been, I've been writing, and when I heard the gunshots..." Capa was frightened, and said intermittently.

   "You guys, check the newspaper office thoroughly to make sure there are no problems." The strict military officer arranged for his subordinates to start a detailed investigation of the newspaper office.

   A few minutes later, the soldiers reported the situation to the officers one after another.

"no problem!"

"no problem!"

"no problem!"

   "Second Lieutenant, the door of that office is locked, we can't get in!"

  All eyes are on the office of editor-in-chief Byron.

"That's the office of our editor-in-chief." Seeing the officer approaching the office, Capa suddenly had a bold idea. He followed up and explained, "There should be very important materials stored in it, so every time I leave Our editor-in-chief will lock the door of the office."

  The officer stood in front of the window, leaning against the window and looking at the interior layout of the office.

  From the position of the window, you can have a panoramic view of most of the interior of the office, but there are still a few places that cannot be seen due to the angle that meet the conditions for Tibetans.

   "What is stored there? Did you hear any noise from inside the newspaper office besides the gunshots outside?" the officer asked.

"I don't know what is stored. I guessed it. Otherwise, our editor-in-chief wouldn't be able to lock it tightly every time. The movement inside the newspaper... I seem to have heard it, but I don't seem to..." In the latter question On the table, Capa deliberately pretended to be uncertain.

   "What do you mean you seem to hear something but don't seem to hear it?" The officer frowned.

   "I... I was so messed up just now, I..."

  The officer hesitated.

  His duty is to ensure the 100% security of the newspaper office, but now there is a small risk in the locked office, which makes him very entangled.

   Entering the search, there is very little possibility of someone, and it is not easy to explain to Byron of the newspaper.

   If you don’t search, if someone from the International Equality League hides in, it will cause serious consequences, and you will be dismissed from office at least, or you will lose your head.

   After weighing it up, the officer said, "Go and tell Mr. Byron to come over, and the others will keep an eye on the office."

  (end of this chapter)