Chapter 83

"Are you really planning to go on a killing spree, Wenqing?" Qi Huishen asked with some concern. After leaving the police station with Chen Ke, he noticed Chen Ke's face was as dark as water. Qi Huishen only realized how "superior" his own cell conditions were after seeing the prison where the four comrades were held. That should have been a high-end cell, with good air quality, a bed, and even a mattress on the bed, though it was a straw mat. In contrast, the cell where the four comrades were held was dark, enclosed, and damp, with a thin straw mat on the ground. It was winter, and the few people had to huddle together for warmth. The British really wanted to scare the revolutionaries; even Qi Huishen was beaten when he went in, let alone these four comrades. Their faces were covered in bruises, and the police certainly didn't just hit their faces.

The only thing that made Qi Huishen feel a bit better was that the comrades' spirits were not broken. They were quite excited to see Chen Ke and Qi Huishen come to visit. Chen Ke forced a smile to comfort everyone, "Comrades, no matter what method we use, we will rescue you in a short time." The police naturally wouldn't let Chen Ke and the others talk to the arrested comrades alone; there was always someone watching, and they understood Chinese. Qi Huishen noticed that Chen Ke spoke in Sichuan dialect to the Sichuan student Xiong Mingyang from Fudan University. Xiong Mingyang's face immediately showed a thoughtful expression.

The visit was not long, and when Chen Ke entered and left the police station, he seemed to be looking straight ahead, but Qi Huishen knew that Chen Ke had already observed everything carefully. Chen Ke usually moved quickly, but today he was unusually slow. It seemed Chen Ke had decided to take action.

Chen Ke's "prison break training" over the past few days had frightened Qi Huishen. He had never seen such professional killing methods. No matter how determined a revolutionary Qi Huishen was, he was first and foremost a Chinese person. In Chinese cultural tradition, only two types of killing could generally receive sympathy or even support: one was "eliminating evil," and the other was "blood for blood." The method Chen Ke taught was a "skill" for killing. After seeing it with his own eyes, Qi Huishen felt that this attitude, which treated people as "objects," was "unharmonious with heaven and earth." So Qi Huishen had to express his subtle feelings through questioning.

"Huishen, our goal is to rescue these comrades. What's the point of unnecessary slaughter?" Chen Ke countered after hearing Qi Huishen's question.

"But didn't Wenqing say..." Qi Huishen remembered Chen Ke's fierce expression when he said he would kill the Indian police who had killed Chinese civilians.

"Those people must not be let off, but we must first rescue our comrades. If we start killing the Indian police directly, won't it make these comrades even more dangerous?" Chen Ke's voice was calm, but the hidden killing intent made Qi Huishen feel a chill down his spine.

"Wenqing, I have something I've wanted to say for a long time. The comrades are actually quite afraid of you." Qi Huishen finally said what he had been holding back.

"I know," Chen Ke admitted frankly. "I also felt uncomfortable when I first learned these things." Here, Chen Ke was lying; he couldn't admit that he had once been obsessed with learning these skills like a psychopath.

"Wenqing, if killing the Indian police is not an option, but after killing them, we have to run. On one hand, you want to build a school and reserve medical professionals. On the other hand, you want to kill the police. I think these two goals are contradictory."

Finally, someone noticed this, Chen Ke thought. Since Qi Huishen could ask such a question, Chen Ke didn't want to be evasive, "If you're not prepared to kill before rescuing people, do you think you can rescue them? Only by learning the art of killing can you choose whether to kill or not. If you act rashly without learning, you'll only end up in a trap. You might not dare to attack the police, but the police will dare to attack you."

After hearing this, Qi Huishen felt he understood Chen Ke's meaning, "Wenqing means..."

"Rescue the comrades, do you have any objections?"

"No."

"That's exactly what I mean. Nothing else." Chen Ke gave his final answer.

A prison break generally involves solving three problems: first, how to break in; second, how to rescue the people accurately; third, how to retreat safely.

The action team discussed these issues seriously. Although they had a map and had conducted on-site investigations, the police station was still a quasi-military institution. The police were armed, and if the attack from the outside couldn't quickly break in and control the situation, it would turn into a prolonged gun battle. There were no AK-47s or Uzis in those days, and battles with rifles and pistols often took a long time. So at this time, bayonet fighting was a very important tactic. Chen Ke didn't really want to kill many people during the attack. How to effectively break into the police station became the first problem to solve.

If a fortress couldn't be breached from the outside, it had to be undermined from the inside. This was a general principle. However, the police station was originally a foreign institution used to manage foreigners in the concession. As more Chinese moved into the concession, the struggle for jurisdiction with the Shanghai government intensified. The official employees of the police station were still mainly foreigners. The few Chinese employees were mostly staunch collaborators, and it was better not to approach them. It was really hard to find someone who could infiltrate the police station in a short time.

"I wonder if there's anyone brave enough to be arrested first," Chen Ke asked.

"What do you mean?" Wu Xingchen was interested.

"I think if all else fails, we should use a two-pronged approach. First, someone has to be arrested. Once this comrade is taken into the police station, we immediately cause a disturbance elsewhere to draw the police away. When the police go to deal with the disturbance, the comrade inside can overpower the guards, and we can attack from the outside. We can rescue the people with inside and outside coordination."

This plan sounded good, but Chen Ke knew it was just talk. Given the current personnel, only the diversionary tactic might be feasible.

"Wenqing and the other comrades have met the foreigners. From what Wenqing said, the person to be arrested might only be me," Chai Qingguo said.

"Comrade Chai Qingguo, do you believe you can complete the task? Can you understand what the foreigners are saying? Can you judge their next actions based on their questions?" Chen Ke asked, frowning slightly.

Chai Qingguo had only meant to provoke Chen Ke, but after hearing Chen Ke's words, he realized he couldn't do it.

Seeing Chai Qingguo lower his head in embarrassment, Chen Ke was about to continue the discussion when Wang Bin asked, "What if it's me? I can understand what the police say. But after I'm arrested, I don't have the ability to resist the police. If I go in with Comrade Chai, do you think it will work?"

Wang Bin had returned from Beijing earlier than Chen Ke. As a friend of You Gou, he had actively participated in the rescue of You Gou and other arrested comrades. He had also provided the map of the police station. Chen Ke hadn't had time to talk to him in detail. From what Chen Ke guessed, after being humiliated by his ex-girlfriend's husband in Beijing, Wang Bin's mindset had changed.

"Brother Wang, if you get involved in this, your future in Shanghai will be over."

"Over is over. What's the big deal? If we can continue the revolution and win, won't I gain more?" Wang Bin's response had a "forced to the mountains" feel.

"That's a good idea," Wu Xingchen nodded slightly.

"I think we should hijack the prison van," Chai Qingguo finally said. "I've done it before in Shandong. It's safer than a direct assault, which would cause too many casualties."

"The prison van has many guards and is highly alert. Although the success rate of a mid-way attack is high, casualties are inevitable. Attacking the police station, the police won't expect anyone to dare to do it, so it's a surprise attack. I don't want this rescue to cause new casualties."

They argued about this, and Chai Qingguo didn't agree with Chen Ke's idea. Chen Ke didn't want to argue more and decided to have Chai Qingguo, Wu Xingchen, Hua Xiongmao, and himself check out the police station at midnight. Chai Qingguo agreed.

It was now afternoon, and Chen Ke suggested everyone go to sleep and set out at midnight. Back at the dormitory, Chen Ke found that having a wife was quite troublesome. Leaving in the middle of the night was impossible without He Ying knowing. Chen Ke took the simplest approach and told the truth. He Ying knew Chen Ke had returned to rescue people, and checking out the situation at night wasn't unreasonable. She just hoped Chen Ke would be careful.

Hearing this, Chen Ke felt moved. He pulled He Ying to lie down and sleep for a while. The training had been quite intense, and with his wife by his side, they chatted for a while before Chen Ke fell asleep.

He woke up at around 10 PM. He Ying was still sleeping next to him. What moved Chen Ke was that He Ying was sleeping on the inside. When Chen Ke got up, he woke He Ying, who mumbled, "There's food on the table. I'm sleeping, come back early." Then, whether pretending or really sleeping, she turned to the wall and didn't say another word.

The food was cold and not very tasty, but thinking of his wife's thoughtfulness, it felt warm.

At 11 PM, Chen Ke called Wu Xingchen and the others, and they were already ready. They all wore black clothes and quietly left. They carried two guns, each a small axe, and four black hoods. It was a simulated operation.

By the time they reached the police station, it was 12:30 AM. The street was deserted, and the police station's gate was open, but there were no guards. Chen Ke suddenly had an idea. He put on the hood and said, "Zhenglan, put on the hood and come with me to check it out."

"Are we going to act now?" It was Wu Xingchen who spoke.

"Xingchen, you stay here and keep watch. Your build would be too noticeable if seen."

As he spoke, Hua Xiongmao had already put on the hood. Chen Ke nodded, and the two quickly walked to the police station. The gate was indeed unguarded, and they all wore soft-soled shoes, walking quietly. They had trained on these roads hundreds of times at night, so they wouldn't get lost even with their eyes closed. They walked a few more steps, and in front of them was the police dormitory. They heard voices inside. Chen Ke peeked through the door crack and saw a group of police gathered around a table, with money and silver coins on it. A few foreigners held cards, smoking cigarettes, and one was smoking a cigar. Indian police were around, gambling.

Opportunities depend on how you choose them, Chen Ke thought. If they went to rescue now, it seemed reasonable, but it might not be. If someone came out and saw them, it would be a big problem. Chen Ke and Hua Xiongmao were trained, but the arrested comrades were not. If they brought them out, it would alert the police, and a fight would break out, which could be very unpredictable.

Rushing in with guns to threaten the police wasn't a good idea. This wasn't the Anti-Japanese War or the Liberation War, where both sides had a clear understanding of each other. The Japanese or the Nationalists knew the Eighth Route Army would really shoot, so they would be cautious. The police didn't have such an understanding. Chen Ke didn't really want to go on a killing spree. He wasn't without the urge to kill, but every time he thought of the assassination team led by the Premier, even after the April 12th Incident, the team only targeted traitors, rescued people from execution, and broke into prisons. They never engaged in revolutionary assassinations or terrorist activities. Since the Premier had a well-thought-out reason, Chen Ke, who considered himself less capable, always felt a barrier blocking his dark killing intent when he thought of the Premier.

The only remaining choice seemed to be a gamble. Chen Ke whispered to Hua Xiongmao, "Tell the two outside to wait for me and be ready to receive the people. If I don't come out, they should retreat."

"Wenqing!" Hua Xiongmao's eyes widened in the dark.

"Follow orders!" Chen Ke whispered, then pushed Hua Xiongmao. Although Hua Xiongmao looked back three times, he obeyed Chen Ke's command.

Seeing no other concerns, Chen Ke took a deep breath and quietly pushed open the door. No one noticed the door opening, and no one noticed a man in black with a black hood quietly entering. Everyone's attention was on the cards.

The next day, when the Shanghai citizens saw the police station fully mobilized, searching the city, they knew something had happened. Especially when the police station went to Fudan University and demanded to search the school, Fudan University refused. After the Shanghai Mixed Court incident, the Shanghai government had gained an advantage in the struggle for judicial management. Mr. Ma Xiangbo and the gatekeepers blocked the police at the school gate. After a standoff, the government officials arrived, and after negotiations, the police had to retreat. This change greatly stimulated the citizens' imagination, and rumors began to fly.

By the afternoon, a credible explanation emerged. Some hero had broken into the police station in the middle of the night, knocked out all the police, and rescued the arrested students. Chinese people loved such martial arts legends. In the following stories, the rescue turned into killing a few police, then into a bloodbath. The number of dead foreigners increased from a few to dozens, then to hundreds.

The hatred for the police was still strong after the recent killings. This story immediately resonated with the public. Besides the increasing number of dead foreigners, guessing who did it was another major excitement. The speculation that the Huangpu Book Society had hired martial arts experts to break into the prison became the mainstream. The Huangpu Book Society's performance in the Shanghai Mixed Court incident was not outstanding. The strikes and boycotts were actually organized by local groups in Shanghai. But after the city-wide search, the Huangpu Book Society gained prominence. People were used to "the people not fighting the government." Any force that could be targeted for elimination by the government and foreigners was not ordinary. They had the ability to fight the government and foreigners. This baseless speculation hit the mark.

The Shanghai Renxin Medical College, being a school founded by the British, meant that Qi Huishen and Chen Ke, as board members and principals, couldn't refuse the police station led by the British consulate. Of course, Chen Ke and the others wouldn't be foolish enough to hide the people in the school. The social investigation greatly expanded the comrades' range of activities. After Chen Ke brought the people out, they followed the route they had taken during the social investigation. Hua Xiongmao led the team and set a meeting point.

Back at the school, Chen Ke woke up Qi Huishen. Qi Huishen immediately took money and sent He Zudao and Qin Wuan to meet the group. Wu Xingchen and Chai Qingguo also went into hiding. This arrangement was also to prevent the police from making unreasonable arrests and to avoid another devastating blow to the party branch.