Chapter 120: God-Making

Two days later, the weather turned against them, and rain began to fall.

Fortunately, it was only a light drizzle.

At 9:50 that morning, Li Wensheng drove out and circled the surrounding streets. After confirming that there were no hidden sentries, he headed for Fragrant Origin Bookstore.

When he arrived, he checked his watch. It was already 10:06. He then took two large suitcases filled with the Western medicines he had packed the night before out of his system storage.

After getting out of the car, Li Wensheng hurried into Fragrant Origin Bookstore.

The bookstore was quite large, occupying two storefronts. Besides books, it also sold vinyl records.

Though spacious, the shop was nearly empty because of the rain. Only a shop assistant and Wang Feng, who was pretending to browse the books, were inside.

“Sir, what can I do for you?” the assistant asked doubtfully, staring at the two suitcases in Li Wensheng’s hands.

“I’m here to see someone.”

As he spoke, Li Wensheng strode toward Wang Feng.

“Boss Wang, the deer antler and tiger bones you asked me to buy have arrived,” he called cheerfully before he had even reached him.

“Thank you, Boss Li. These treasures have finally arrived.” Wang Feng put down his book and turned around with a broad smile.

Seeing that the two men clearly knew each other, the assistant looked away and returned to the counter to continue tidying up.

When Li Wensheng came closer, he set the two suitcases on the floor.

“Boss Wang, you should inspect the goods.”

“No need, no need. I trust your goods, Boss Li. Here’s the money. Put it away safely.” Wang Feng handed him the briefcase tucked beneath his arm.

“There’s twenty-nine thousand dollars in total,” Wang Feng said quietly as he passed it over.

“Eight hundred and thirty boxes in all,” Li Wensheng replied in a low voice.

Taking the briefcase, Li Wensheng opened it and glanced inside, putting on an expression of delight. Then he smiled at Wang Feng.

“Well then, Boss Wang, I won’t disturb you any longer. I still have another delivery to make.”

“All right. Take care.”

Carrying the briefcase, Li Wensheng left Fragrant Origin Bookstore. Once inside his car, he placed the briefcase in his system storage, then drove around the area twice before returning home.

As soon as he arrived, he went straight to the study.

After sitting down, Li Wensheng quieted his mind, opened the system, and selected the mission option.

His injuries had healed, and he had already decided on the mission’s difficulty. If he had not needed to deliver the Western medicines to Wang Feng, he would have accepted the mission the previous day.

Host: Li Wensheng

Age: 22

Skills: Master Marksman, Master Disguise, Master Demolitions, Master Japanese, and more

Storage: AWM Sniper Rifle, 80mm Artillery Piece, and more

New Mission Two: Easy, Normal, Difficult, Hell. Please choose.

Li Wensheng selected the Hell mission with his mind.

After thinking it over again and again, he still could not bring himself to abandon the Hell mission of assassinating several traitors in Shanghai.

And then—

His eyes flew open. His mouth hung slightly ajar as he stared in shock.

After remaining dazed for two seconds, Li Wensheng muttered in utter bewilderment, “What the hell? I have to notify them first, and then gather them all together? Why not just kill them outright?”

During this period, he had considered what the Hell mission might entail. Perhaps he would have to fight barehanded, or use poison. More likely, he would have to engineer accidents, making people believe that his targets had simply been unlucky and died by chance.

But he had never imagined that the Hell mission would require him to send a message to a newspaper, under the name of a Lone Wolf, before taking action, announcing the identities of the people he intended to abduct.

Only after the news had spread would he be allowed to capture them. Yes—not kill them, but capture them.

Once all six had been taken, he would have to notify the newspaper two days in advance, telling them exactly when and where he intended to deal with the six prisoners.

“Isn’t this a little too ridiculous?”

“And I have to give advance notice? I’m going to kill people, not put on a show!”

Li Wensheng was still grumbling when his expression suddenly froze. He muttered to himself in surprise, “Put on a show… Could it be trying to turn me into a god?”

“Turn him into a god” was somewhat exaggerated. More precisely, it wanted to make him into a god in the hearts of the common people.

His assassination of Hirohito had already made him a spiritual pillar for many ordinary people. If he completed this absurd mission, the people would surely worship and revere him even more. Some might even begin to regard him as something divine.

With war raging and the people suffering, with life reduced to nothing but hardship and not a shred of hope left, many would turn to gods and pray for protection.

Now that he had appeared, they would naturally begin to see him in the same light.

“Damn it. I’m a man. I have no desire to become a god.”

“Being a god sounds exhausting—especially being the god in other people’s hearts!”

After muttering a few more words, Li Wensheng sighed and began considering where to start.

Regardless of how absurd the mission was, he had accepted it. He still had to carry it out.

He spent more than an hour thinking it through. It was not until Sister Fang came upstairs to call him for dinner that he finally left the study.

After the meal, while Sister Fang was clearing the table, Li Wensheng took out his wallet and counted out thirty legal-tender dollars, placing them on the table.

“Sister Fang, I have to go away for a while. This money will cover your living expenses during that time, as well as next month’s wages.”

Sister Fang trembled all over and nodded timidly.

“Yes, sir.”

When Li Wensheng rose and walked toward the door, Sister Fang, who had been watching his back, could not help saying, “Sir, please be careful.”

She knew that whenever he went out on business, he was almost certainly going to do that sort of thing again. In the past, she would have said nothing and pretended she knew nothing at all.

But she had worked in Li Wensheng’s household for more than a month, and he had treated them generously. When vases were broken or things damaged, and when her two daughters occasionally behaved disrespectfully, Li Wensheng had never scolded them.

Remembering his kindness, Sister Fang could not help worrying about him.

Li Wensheng turned around and smiled at her.

“Don’t worry, Sister Fang. The machinery at the factory is old and needs replacing. I’m going out to purchase new equipment. What could possibly happen?”

Sister Fang did not believe him. He rarely even went to that factory, so how could he suddenly care about replacing its machinery?

But since Li Wensheng had put it that way, she said no more.

After leaving the house, Li Wensheng did not take the car parked in the courtyard. He walked out of the villa and went to the intersection of Fragrant Hill Road and Gaoyou Road, where he hailed a rickshaw to the safe house.

There, he disguised himself as an utterly nondescript dockworker before setting out on foot for the police station in the Anglo-American concession.

The police station in the Anglo-American concession was an imposing structure, combining classical and Western architectural styles. Its entrance consisted of four broad doors.

Li Wensheng glanced at it twice, then turned and entered the alley diagonally opposite.

Shanghai was a city of constant movement, especially in the French Concession and the International Settlement.

Those who were alive today did not know whether they would still have their lives tomorrow, much less whether they would be able to earn enough for food and rent.

As a result, rooms in the alleys were easy to rent. In less than half an hour, Li Wensheng had secured one.

The next day, he began following Ma Long. Once he had confirmed Ma Long’s address, he started circling around both the police station and Ma Long’s home.

A week later, he had memorized every building and road around the police station and Ma Long’s residence, as well as the route connecting the two locations.

Li Wensheng was ready to make his move.