I wandered around nearby for nearly two hours until midnight before gradually approaching the perimeter wall. The building of the embassy was grand, and the surrounding wall unusually high.
Standing at the street corner opposite, I glanced for a while. I held a bottle in my hand, singing incomprehensibly to myself, feigning drunkenness to avoid drawing attention.
Only one window on the third floor of the embassy was lit.
Whether Fang Tian was inside remained a question. After waiting a while longer, I went to a telephone booth a few streets away and called Mr. Nelson. He told me Fang Tian was still missing, likely held in the embassy of a certain country!
I returned to my original spot, examining the embassy's wall again. Climbing it wasn't difficult, but even if I managed to get in, how would I find Fang Tian?
I didn't stay long, stuffing the bottle into my pocket and swiftly reaching the base of the wall. I pulled out a coil of bull tendon. Although it looked no bigger than a fist, it was thirty meters long and could bear the weight of a person, perfect for climbing. With a flick, the hook on the tendon latched onto the wall. I quickly ascended; in less than three minutes, I had retrieved the coil, already inside the compound.
I stood close to the wall, observing. Just then, several individuals emerged from the entrance, their steps brisk, indicating they had pressing matters at hand.
They descended the steps, one of them speaking in the language of the country: "Pay attention to the passages. Even if we have to use the Tokyo sewers to transport him, it's worth it. Fujimine is waiting for this person; we cannot delay!"
The others agreed and headed towards the gate, leaving one person standing on the steps. He looked familiar, probably due to his frequent appearances in newspapers—he was the ambassador. At that moment, a decision formed in my mind.
There was no need for clandestine risks. I could openly approach the ambassador and offer assistance. From what I heard them discussing, Fang Tian was evidently in their custody, and they were eager to get him out of Tokyo!
I stood still until they left through the iron gate, then threw out the bull tendon and climbed out. With confidence, I approached the main entrance and rang the doorbell firmly.
A face appeared in the small iron window of the gate, shouting angrily in Japanese, "Get lost!"
I grinned and said, "I want to see the ambassador."
The person cursed and repeated, "Go away!" I retorted coldly, "The ambassador will see me. Just tell him if you can't handle something, I can. If you don't report it, you might be seen as disloyal."
The last sentence was effective. The person closed the small gate and went inside. I lingered outside for about seven or eight minutes before someone asked, "Who are you?"
The person spoke English poorly, and I responded in English, "You don't need to know who I am. If you're in trouble, don't worry. Just pay up. Can one person like me really destroy your embassy?"
The person asked, "What do you know?"
I said, "I don't know anything, but I know the Tokyo police are mobilized, blocking all traffic. So, I thought it might be related to your country!"
The person chuckled twice and said, "Okay, come in."
The iron gate creaked open, and I squeezed through, amused by the irony that the embassy of a certain country, with all its power, now had to rely on someone who had come knocking at its door.
Moments ago, I had climbed over the wall stealthily, but now I had been invited into the embassy openly. As soon as I entered, I noticed four people emerging from the shadows, closely following me.
I didn't mind, knowing that once I met the ambassador, they would consider me a friend.
I ascended the steps and was led to a room equipped with soundproofing. The ambassador sat in a chair, staring coldly at me, while four people stood behind, watching.
After a while, the ambassador said, "What do you want?"
I shrugged and said, "I want to sit down, can I?" The ambassador gestured towards a chair and asked, "Is this one okay? Anything else?"
I sat down and replied, "I want money."
The ambassador's response was as terse as a telegram, "How much?"
I said, "It depends on the difficulties you're facing."
The ambassador asked coldly, "Do you have any way to solve problems we can't?"
I responded just as coldly, "That's my secret to making money."
The ambassador remained silent, lit his pipe, and stayed quiet for three minutes. Then, he suddenly pointed the pipe at me and ordered, "Search him!" I was taken aback!
I hadn't anticipated this turn of events. If they searched me and found the documents Mr. Nelson had given me during the day, revealing my identity, my plan would be foiled. After jumping up, I exclaimed, "I protest."
It wasn't clear whether the ambassador possessed a sense of humor, as he coldly remarked, "Protest is ineffective."
Two burly men positioned themselves on either side of me, while another stood in front of me. I could easily knock them down, but doing so would trap me inside the embassy.
I shouted, "The result of this search means you've missed a golden opportunity."
With a wave of his hand, one of the men stepped back, and the ambassador coldly asked, "Why?"
I replied, "You dare to insult me, so no amount of money will make me help you."
The ambassador inquired, "Do you know what favor we need?"
I said, "You have something you want to transport out of Tokyo."
The ambassador's expression shifted. Just then, a phone beside him rang. His expression didn't improve as he answered the call, which seemed to come from someone higher-ranking, leaving him with no chance to speak.
When he hung up, sweat beaded on his forehead. He waved his hand again, and the men beside me retreated, no longer restraining me.
Though I didn't hear the conversation, the ambassador's distressed face indicated the severity of the situation.
The urgency forced him to trust me, evident from his decision to release me from the men's hold without further search.
I breathed a sigh of relief and calmly sat down.
The ambassador wiped sweat from his bald head with a handkerchief and asked, "Can you smuggle something significant out of Tokyo given the current circumstances?"
I shrugged, saying, "How extensive is the blockade intelligence you've received?"
The ambassador paced, explaining, "All major and minor routes undergo rigorous inspections, including the use of state-of-the-art radar detectors. You know, these devices—" I interrupted, "I know. They can detect any items in vehicles traveling at high speeds."
(1986 Note: This "equipment," slightly modified, is now used to chase speeding cars, a rather trivial application for such technology.)
The ambassador nodded, beads of sweat forming larger droplets on his forehead.
He spoke in a deep voice, "Can you provide any assistance to us? You see, the item we need to smuggle out is of enormous volume!"
I replied, "Certainly, otherwise why would I come to see you? Don't talk about huge volumes, even if it's a person—" I paused intentionally, noticing the sudden change in the ambassador's and the four men's expressions! After a brief pause, I continued, "I can handle it."
From the abrupt change in the ambassador's and the four men's expressions earlier, I could almost be certain that what they wanted me to smuggle was a person. However, the ambassador's next words left me puzzled!
He chuckled dryly and said, "Of course not a person, just some things."
I asked, "What things?"
The ambassador glared at me and said, "Your profession shouldn't involve asking too many questions, should it?" I hit a wall and stopped asking. The ambassador gestured to one of the four men, who opened a door and walked out.
Turning back to me, the ambassador said, "Due to the special circumstances, we are entrusting this task to you. However, your every move will still be under our surveillance, you must understand that!"
I hesitated greatly. Though I wasn't afraid of risks, I had never involved myself in political, espionage, or spy-like struggles. However, the current situation forced me into this vortex. Of course, at that time, if I withdrew in time, it would still be possible.
But how could I explain to Mr. Nelson?
Moreover, the disappearance of Fang Tian, the mysterious actions of this blue-blooded man, and the conquest of Saturn plan mentioned by Nelson, along with the special device on the giant space rocket with Fang Tian, were all things I urgently wanted to know. If I withdrew now, I would find it difficult to justify my curiosity to myself!
I nodded and said, "Of course, you can mobilize all your forces to monitor me."
The ambassador said, "Okay, how much reward do you want?"
I replied, "It depends on the cargo you want to transport."
The ambassador said, "It's a wooden box, about one cubic meter in size, weighing about one hundred and fifty kilograms." I chuckled inwardly; they must have packed Fang Tian in that wooden box.
I pretended to contemplate and said, "With such a large volume, I'll need a higher price. But I also hope for future transactions and have to be cheaper..."
The ambassador impatiently said, "Get to the point."
I held up two fingers and said, "Two hundred thousand US dollars." The ambassador roared, "Nonsense!" I stood up and said, "Goodbye. When you come back to me, the price will double."
The ambassador hurriedly said, "Wait... wait, two hundred thousand US dollars, okay, we agree." He signaled to another big man, who also walked out immediately.
The ambassador sat down and said, "You should know that trusting you is a rash decision."
I smiled and said, "But you can only trust me."
The ambassador smiled bitterly, "Yes, but if you play any tricks, you should know, dealing with a person will be easier for us." After hearing his words, I couldn't help but feel a chill in my heart.
Indeed, their expertise was assassination. In the future, I would have to be vigilant against them, fearing that it would consume most of my energy, which was too high a price to pay.
But things had developed to this point, and I was already in a difficult situation, unable to retreat.
I thought for a moment and said, "That's not a problem, however, you mustn't interfere with my actions, the people I contact, and the methods I use."
The ambassador looked at me for a moment and said, "Okay. We will meet at a road intersection 234 kilometers west of Tokyo. A large truck and a driver in a red woolen sweater will be waiting there."
I said, "Okay, inform the driver to wait for me there the day after tomorrow morning."
"The day after tomorrow morning?" The ambassador seemed a bit dissatisfied with the timing.
I spread my hands and said, "No way, there are too many difficulties."
The ambassador remained silent for a while. Before long, the two men who had left earlier returned, one of them holding a swollen brown envelope made of parchment paper. The ambassador took it and handed it to me, saying, "As per the rules, you'll get half upfront!"
I opened the envelope and glanced briefly inside—a thick stack of US dollars, all in large denominations.
The other man said, "Come with me."
The ambassador said, "He'll show you what needs to be taken out. There's no need for you to meet with me again."
I smiled and said, "Unless you need help again next time!"
The ambassador nodded wryly. I followed the man and walked back, beyond the embassy's rear gate, behind the kitchen, where a large wooden crate lay on the ground.
The wooden crate appeared quite ordinary, with rough wood grain, like any typical shipping crate, bearing words in black paint such as "fragile" and "handle with care".
As I approached, I ran my fingers over the words; the black paint hadn't dried yet, obviously a hurried masterpiece from the first man's departure.
I stepped forward, stretched out my arms, and lifted it. Indeed, it weighed around one hundred and fifty kilograms. As I pushed it, I gave it a shake, thinking if there was someone inside, there would surely be a sound. But to my disappointment, there was none.
The man looked at me coldly and asked, "How are you going to move the crate from here?"
I patted his shoulder with a smile, intentionally applying considerable force, causing him to grimace but not cry out. "You wait here. I'll bring the transportation within forty minutes. Don't leave!"
The man looked at me skeptically as I urged him, then opened the door for me to leave.
As I stepped outside, the cold wind hit me, invigorating me.
Though I knew playing with the country's espionage system wasn't child's play and had serious consequences, I couldn't help but laugh.
As I left the alley, I noticed at least three people trailing me, two of whom looked Japanese but I suspected were North Korean.
Ignoring them, I walked until I reached a public phone booth. When I turned back, I saw six or seven heads quickly retracting from the corner!
I chuckled inwardly; they likely had long-range listening devices. The note was probably a report, swiftly delivered for the ambassador's review.
I hung up the phone, whistled, and stepped out of the booth.
I purposely zigzagged through nearby alleys, leaving my pursuers dizzy, then headed straight for the embassy's rear gate.
As I reached the gate, a police car passed by. I hurried toward it, and it stopped at the embassy's rear gate.
Approaching the car, the door opened, and a driver in Japanese police uniform stepped out. I almost laughed; it was Nelson, disguised to look like an Oriental.
The door cracked open, and when the man saw it was me, he fully opened it. I waved to Nelson, and we entered the embassy's backyard together.
The embassy staff had probably received reports already. A police car parked behind them wouldn't raise suspicions; they would likely think it was a fake police car!
I signaled Nelson not to speak, though his eyes were full of curiosity. He was an excellent partner, staying silent. We entered the embassy's backyard.
The large wooden crate was still there. I gestured to the man, then approached the crate, lifted it with my arms, and carried it. The man's face showed shock. Over one hundred kilograms meant little to me. Carrying the crate, I walked out, with Nelson following. We bid the man farewell.
Leaving the backyard, I glanced up at a window on the third floor, where the ambassador was watching.
I nodded to him, and he nodded back. I placed the crate on the police car. It was a medium-sized Jeep, large enough for the crate and more.
Nelson jumped into the driver's seat, pressed the gas pedal, and the car raced forward like a wild horse.
With Nelson's high speed and expert driving, we navigated seven or eight turns in three minutes. Looking back, the morning streets were quiet. I was confident we had easily shaken off our trackers.
Of course, with the resources of that embassy, they could use the small spies they've bought to track our movements again, but that will take at least half an hour. During this time, we are at least not under surveillance.
Mr. Nelson smiled at me and asked, "Where to?"
I replied, "Wherever you think is most suitable to open this wooden crate, let's go there."
Nelson glanced at the wooden crate, frowned, and said, "Do you think there's a person inside?"
I was taken aback and asked, "What do you mean by that?"
Nelson continued, "I think a wooden crate containing a person should have air holes."
The wooden crate was quite rough, no different from crates used for ordinary shipments. There were indeed seams between the wooden boards, so after hearing Nelson's words, I couldn't help but laugh and said, "Don't these seams allow air to pass through?"
Nelson remained calm, "From my crude observation, there seems to be another layer inside the wooden crate."
I hesitated for a moment, then took out a small knife from my pocket and inserted it into one of the wooden seams.
Sure enough, the blade could only penetrate the thickness of the wood, and the tip hit something very hard, emitting a metallic sound. I tried several places, and it was the same each time.
I was surprised and said, "Maybe there are compressed air cylinders?"
While Nelson spoke, the car turned two more corners, and we stopped in front of a bungalow.
Nelson jumped out, and two plainclothes officers approached quickly. Nelson immediately ordered, "Emergency task, have your chief command all vehicles of the same type to be deployed immediately, driving around the city continuously. This car should be included."
The two plainclothes officers listened attentively and responded, "Yes."
I knew Nelson's command was to disrupt the target being tracked by the embassy of a certain country. It was a very effective method. Nelson pointed to the bungalow and said, "Let's go in quickly."
I lifted the wooden crate from the car and followed Nelson into the bungalow.
The two plainclothes officers drove the police car away in less than a minute.
We were confident that the personnel at the embassy of the certain country would have no idea we were here. Once inside the house, I placed the wooden crate down.
The interior of the house was typical of a Japanese household. A middle-aged woman in a kimono came out and asked Nelson in English, "Do you need me here?"
Nelson replied, "Go fetch some tools like pliers, hammer, even an axe, then keep an eye at the door. If any suspicious person comes, inform us immediately."