Chapter 121: Delivering the Message

"Deliver this letter to the Tass News Agency across the street, and the money is yours."

In the French Concession, at the mouth of an alley directly opposite the Tass News Agency, Li Wensheng, disguised as a dockworker, held an envelope in one hand and a bank note in the other. He looked at the young beggar, who stood trembling like a frightened bird after being called over.

The young beggar gazed at the bank note in Li’s hand with longing and nodded heavily.

Li Wensheng handed the money and the envelope to the child. The beggar took them and bolted toward the news agency. After running only a few steps, she suddenly stopped, turned, and bowed to Li Wensheng. "Thank you."

Li Wensheng paused, stunned. He had assumed the beggar was a boy, but upon hearing the voice, he realized it was a girl.

After expressing her gratitude, the beggar turned and ran toward the news agency again. Watching her retreating figure, Li Wensheng sighed inwardly. The fact that she could turn back to bow and thank him, and that she articulated the words so clearly, suggested she had once received a decent education. Even if she wasn't the daughter of a wealthy family, she had come from a comfortable background. Yet, this godforsaken era had reduced a young girl of ten or so, who should have been innocent and carefree, to begging on the streets.

Watching the girl enter the Tass News Agency, Li Wensheng turned and walked away quickly.

Tass was a foreign news agency, and its interior was quite luxurious, with white tiles on the walls and beige tiles on the floor. The layout was somewhat peculiar: to the left of the main entrance was a partitioned office area with the door left open. Inside were a dozen desks where both Chinese and foreign staff worked; the men wore suits and ties, and the women were dressed in Western-style dresses. To the right of the entrance was a reception desk, though it was currently unattended.

The young beggar scanned the room and then walked toward the partitioned area. Clad in rags and emitting an unpleasant odor, she was noticed the moment she reached the doorway. Instantly, everyone stopped working and looked over. Many eyes filled with disgust at the sight of the beggar, but for the sake of decorum, no one spoke. The others were confused as to why the beggar had run in, so they remained silent as well.

Feeling the gaze of a dozen people, the beggar grew timid and gripped the envelope tightly, afraid to speak.

A few seconds later, a foreign woman with a face full of freckles walked up, crouched down, and asked, "Is there something you need?"

The beggar immediately reached out and handed over the envelope. The foreign woman paused, took the envelope, and then, "Hey!"

Ignoring the woman’s voice, the beggar turned and ran back toward the main entrance. Once the girl’s figure disappeared, the woman had no choice but to look away and open the envelope.

Then, she froze.

A foreign man nearby saw this and asked curiously, "Berry, what’s wrong?"

Startled by the question, Berry snapped out of her trance. She turned to the man and shouted in ecstatic shock, "It’s a letter from The Lone Ranger! Go, chase that beggar! He has seen The Lone Ranger!"

The man’s eyes widened. He bolted out of the partition and sprinted toward the door.

"Berry, did you just say it’s a letter from The Lone Ranger? Is it real?"
"Berry, what did The Lone Ranger say?"

Amidst the excited questions of the others, Berry walked quickly out of the partition and headed for the stairwell. Reaching the second floor, she ran to the office at the very end of the corridor and burst in without knocking.

"Shit!" Behind the desk, a foreigner complained as he scrambled to clean up ink he had spilled after being startled by the sudden opening of the door. He stood up and roared at Berry, "Berry, did you—"

Before he could finish, Berry held up the letter and shouted excitedly, "Editor-in-chief, a letter from The Lone Ranger!"

The anger vanished from the foreigner’s face, and he took the letter Berry handed him.

"At noon tomorrow, I will kidnap Kurt Malone. Signed, The Lone Ranger."

The foreigner looked at it in disbelief for two seconds before exclaiming excitedly, "Is he insane? Announcing his target and the time to a news agency before a kidnapping!"

"Editor, I don't know if he's insane, but I know this news will drive the entire population of Shanghai wild," Berry said with an excited laugh.

Neither of them considered that someone might be impersonating The Lone Ranger, because anyone with a shred of sense would never dare to do so. Once The Lone Ranger appeared, the Japanese would hunt him down relentlessly. If they caught you, they wouldn't care if you were an impostor—you would face a death sentence regardless.

The foreigner grew equally excited, his eyes shining as he stared at the letter. "Yes, all of Shanghai will go crazy for The Lone Ranger."

Afterward, the foreigner thought of something and nervously asked Berry, "Did you see The Lone Ranger?"

Berry shook her head with a look of regret. "No, a little beggar delivered the letter and ran off immediately. I sent Landon to chase after the child, but I don't know if he’ll catch him."

The foreigner looked disappointed but immediately pressed further, "Who else knows the contents of the letter?"

"Just me," Berry smiled.

A smile appeared on the foreigner's face. "Berry, well done. To prevent the news from leaking, you and I will be responsible for the layout and printing of tomorrow's paper. Once the paper is distributed tomorrow, I will give you a generous bonus."

"Thank you!" Berry beamed.

...

"Extra! Extra! The Lone Ranger will appear at noon today!"
"Extra! Extra! The Lone Ranger issues a challenge; he will kidnap Kurt Malone at noon today!"
"Extra! Extra! The Lone Ranger announces his operation to the press!"

Shortly after six in the morning, the sound of newsboys shouting and waving their papers in the French Concession made passersby wonder if they were still dreaming. After a few seconds of stunned silence, the shouting continued, and then—"Hey, kid, I'll take twenty copies!" "I'll take them all! Give them all to me!" "Get lost! If you try to buy them all, you won't make it out of here today!"

Everyone rushed toward the newsboys. Before long, the papers were sold out. However, the Tass News Agency had prepared early, and the newsboys ran to a truck on the next street to restock.

"What do you think The Lone Ranger is planning? Why announce a kidnapping beforehand?"
"You're uneducated. The newsboy said 'issued a challenge,' and you say 'issued a post.' You're as uneducated as the newsboy. A 'post' is like sending an invitation before visiting someone's house."
"Fine, fine, fine, I'm uneducated. So, you tell me, what is The Lone Ranger trying to do?"
"How should I know? He’s not an ordinary man; no one can guess what he’s thinking."
"Who is this Kurt Malone anyway? Why is The Lone Ranger kidnapping him? If he’s one of the Japanese, why not just kill him instead of kidnapping him?"
"The name sounds foreign, but we don't know any foreigners. Who knows who this Kurt Malone is?"