Chapter 60: 60, Airplane Parade, Black Dragon Society Assassination, 1930s Car Chase
Sixteen Wharf was packed with people.
Everyone was watching how to unload such a large airplane and then transport it to the airport outside the city.
People from the Eight Great Families were all there, and they had also invited the Axe Gang and police officers to maintain order.
In the crowd, Fang Wen was wearing a long gown and a wide-brimmed hat, observing everything at the dock.
Because of the Shanghai air combat incident, he had to be cautious in Shanghai and could not be discovered by the Japanese.
After a while, Fang Shouxin squeezed through the crowd.
“Young Master, the Eight Great Families got the dock’s gantry crane, and they hired over a hundred laborers.”
Fang Wen nodded and looked eagerly into the distance.
The Republic of China actually had a gantry crane, though it looked rudimentary, it had the same function.
They set up the gantry crane on the ship, laid wooden tracks, and once the airplane was lifted, dozens of laborers pushed it onto the wooden tracks.
For safety during the sliding process to the dock, the remaining laborers pulled ropes tied to the airplane from both sides, using forces from different positions to keep the airplane balanced.
In this way, under the cooperation of over a hundred people, the airplane slowly slid along the wooden tracks toward the dock.
“Make way, the airplane is going on a demonstration parade.” People from the Axe Gang shouted, pushing the crowd back.
After clearing a wide space, two cars led in front, pulling eight ropes to drag the airplane forward.
Neil Toledo on the airplane controlled the fuselage direction, turning in time at corners.
The cars drove very slowly, and the airplane moved on the wide main road, attracting large crowds of onlookers.
This was the best propaganda, even better than newspapers and radio broadcasts, since only a small portion of people read newspapers or listened to the radio these days.
Taishan Airlines’ airplane parade successfully attracted the attention of the entire city.
The Eight Great Families’ leaders at the dock were all smiles as they led the invited guests into a nearby restaurant to celebrate the official opening of Taishan Airlines.
Fang Wen, following in the crowd, never showed himself until the airplane was far away, then he and Fang Shouxin left in the crowd.
After leaving the dock, a rickshaw stopped in front of them, and the rickshaw puller smiled and asked: “Want a ride?”
Fang Wen waved his hand, about to continue forward.
But he heard the rickshaw puller say in a low voice:
“Don’t go ahead, there are Black Dragon Society Japanese guarding there, they’re looking for you.”
Fang Wen stopped. “Who are you?”
“Who I am doesn’t matter, your current situation is very dangerous, the Japanese have set up a plan to assassinate you here.”
Fang Wen was startled; ever since he sank the Izumo, he knew the Japanese would definitely come after him.
For this reason, he had specially disguised himself before entering the city.
Yet he hadn’t expected the Japanese to still discover his whereabouts.
Was it a leak from the airport side, or the Eight Great Families?
There was no time to investigate now; what he needed to do was leave before they discovered him.
He spoke in a low voice with the rickshaw puller.
“Do you know which people are from the Black Dragon Society?”
The rickshaw puller shook his head: “My mission is just to notify you, I don’t know the specifics of their setup. You’d better not take the water route, they must have eyes on the passenger ships.”
The water route was no good, and there were definitely Japanese secretly surveilling on land a few streets away.
Fang Wen looked at the surrounding environment, thinking about how to leave.
Going to the Eight Great Families or Axe Gang people would be walking right into a trap; the police officers and Axe Gang might not be able to save him and would alert the Japanese to his presence ahead of time.
In his thoughts, he saw the Eight Great Families’ car parked outside the restaurant, with guards by the car, led by Sun Debiao.
He immediately had an idea.
His mechanical perception wasn’t just for piloting airplanes; cars too. If he could get in the car and rush out of this dangerous area, he would be safe.
The problem was, there were definitely Japanese spies nearby; how to distract their attention to get a chance to reach the car.
He spoke in a low voice with the rickshaw puller.
“Can you help with something?”
“I’m here to help you, just say it.”
“See those Bada Company people across the way? The tallest one is called Sun Debiao. Go tell him my situation, have him find a way to attract attention, and also leave the car key in the car.”
“You’re going to drive away, I understand.”
The rickshaw puller dragged his rickshaw away, stopped outside the restaurant, and pretended to wait for passengers.
Guards from the Eight Great Families came to drive him away, but the rickshaw puller wouldn’t leave, and the two sides argued.
Sun Debiao came over to check the situation.
The rickshaw puller quietly tugged his lapel and said in a low voice: “Sun Debiao, Fang Wen is in danger, there are Japanese here preparing to deal with him.”
Sun Debiao was startled and before he could ask, the other said: “He wants me to notify you to attract the Japanese’ attention, then put the car key in the car to give him a chance to get in.”
“Understood.” Sun Debiao replied briefly, pushed the rickshaw puller away, and shouted loudly: “Get lost.”
Then he walked back and signaled his men with a secret code.
These people had long accompanied the patriarch in business and had their own secret ways to communicate, immediately understanding Sun Debiao’s meaning.
Immediately, two guards who were chatting amiably suddenly offended each other somehow and started fighting on the street.
This made the originally calm dock area lively again. People all looked over.
The two fought fiercely, blood on their faces; to outsiders, it absolutely didn’t look fake.
The other guards were also trying to break it up, unknowingly moving away from the restaurant entrance.
Sun Debiao was also persuading, and as he passed the car, he quickly unlocked the driver side door with the key and tossed it into the half-open car window.
Fang Wen and Fang Shouxin quietly approached the car in the crowd.
His palms were sweating, not knowing how many lurking Japanese were among the nearby onlookers.
There was only one chance, he had to seize it.
At the moment he reached the car, he yanked open the door and dove in, shouting “Uncle Fang, get in” as he grabbed the key and started the engine.
At that moment, there was a disturbance in the crowd; someone drew a pistol on the street.
As the opponent drew their gun, Sun Debiao and his men, who had been breaking up the fight, also drew theirs.
Gunfire erupted instantly, and two bullet holes appeared in the car’s rear seat.
Fang Wen entered the mechanical perception state at once.
At this moment, he felt one with the car, his perspective instantly widened, and the actions around him seemed to slow down.
Sun Debiao’s side couldn’t rescue in time.
Five Japanese who drew guns emerged from the crowd.
Three on the left, two on the right.
He floored the throttle, starting the car at maximum speed and charging out, knocking one gunman flying.
At the same time, he pushed open the co-pilot door.
Fang Shouxin immediately dove into the car, and just as he got in, the car accelerated again.
The car rushed out of the intersection, turning left onto the road.
Behind them, the remaining four gunmen exchanged fire with Sun Debiao’s group, temporarily unable to pursue Fang Wen.
Even so, the danger had not yet passed.
In the mechanical perception state, Fang Wen clearly judged that the car suddenly starting from the roadside behind was targeting him.
He floored the throttle to accelerate out, and at the next intersection, he turned the wheel.
In an era without electronic power steering, how quickly a car could turn depended greatly on the driver’s arm strength.
Luckily, Fang Wen had been exercising in his spare time, with particularly strong arms; he wrenched the steering wheel, which would be extremely difficult for an ordinary person, all the way around in one go.
The car performed at its limit, smoothly drifting left at high speed in an almost impossible maneuver, while the two pursuing cars couldn’t match it and could only veer past.
