Deng sought out the acupuncture needles, Jay followed the Minister’s procession while Lee and Zao searched for weak security points in the mines.
“Do you think Deng will come through? We both know he’s not the brightest star,” Zao said.
“I know Deng will come through. He’s by far the most reliable,” Lee replied. “Calm down, everything is going to plan.”
“What if it doesn’t? What if none of this works?” Zao asked.
“We die. Just like we would’ve if we’d remained captured. There is no getting out of this alive Zao,” Lee said, his voice laced with ice. Zao felt his heart flutter and his hands began to shake. The gravity of the situation began to press against his chest. In the back of his mind he always believed that there would be some way in which he’d make it out alive.
Lee stood up and place his hand against Zao’s heart. “Steady your breathing. Dwell on your death. We are already ghosts. Let’s haunt the Empire that killed us,” he said.
Deng arrived at the mine entrance with the acupuncture needles. “Wait! How’re we going to get Deng in there? His bald head makes him stick out!” Zao asked.
“Get him a helmet,” Lee replied as he ran off into the midst of the crowd.
“Huh. Good thing we’ve still got our mining uniforms right Zao? Ol’ Lee seems to stick out a bit don’t he?” Deng asked as he picked up an abandoned helmet and put it on his head.
“Yeah. Great,” Zao replied. He searched for Lee in the crowd, but lost track of him. He swallowed hard when he heard the foreman's scream which signaled that the Minister of Mining was on his way. The miners cleared out and stood at attention, while Zao tasted bile crawling along his throat.
Zao looked across the crowd and noticed that a mining foreman spotted him. The foreman approached, while Zao kept his face pointed towards the ground, hoping that the foreman would walk past.
He didn’t.
The foreman honed right in on Zao. He felt every muscle tense and every instinct scream for him to run, but with the surrounding miners he couldn’t budge from his position.
“Who do you think you are? Showing up late to work again?” The foreman screamed at Zao. Zao looked up and saw Lee’s snarling face under the yellow helmet. As he reprimanded Zao for being late in the native tongue, he palmed the vial of poison to Deng who dipped three needles into the vial and handed them to Zao.
Zao caught onto the act and handed Lee the three acupuncture needles, who slid them up his sleeve. Lee continued screaming at Zao until Diang’s men were right behind him.
“Do not be late again, or I cut your rations for the next month!” Lee finished screaming. He turned around and collided with one of the Tingchia. The soldier glared at Lee, who profusely apologized and lowered his head in shame.
“Minister Diang, I beg for your forgiveness. If you would allow it, I would be honored to escort you to where you’ll be speaking,” Lee said.
Minister Diang looked at the crowd and nodded. Lee marched forward and escorted the entourage to the podium, where Diang would give his speech. Lee climbed onto the podium and tested the microphone. Satisfied, he walked down the steps and posed for a picture with the minister. After the picture the Minister rubbed his side and gave a quizzical look at Lee. However, the press came in and directed Minister Diang to the podium. Lee meanwhile, went behind the Tingchia guards and stood at attention.
“Miners! You are the iron will that moves this world!” Minister Diang said as he tried to rouse the crowd. The faces of the miners didn’t show any emotion from the Minister’s words since they knew he only said what he needed in front of the cameras. As long as he acknowledged the miners, they would continue to work.
Diang began to sweat as he spoke. His words slurred and his pauses became more frequent. Lee saw the Minister begin to lean on the podium and slipped off of the main stage as quietly as he could. He weaved his way through the miners, nobody questioning his movements since he was in the uniform of a foreman.
As he came across Zao and Deng, he gestured that it was time for them to leave as well. The Minister wobbled against the podium and collapsed. There was an audible gasp from the crowd as they rushed forward, but the Tingchia screamed for all of the miners to stay back.
Lee, Zao and Deng exited the mines to find Jay waiting for them in a speeder. The three men climbed in and Jay drove off before the mass of people spilled out of the mines.
“Now we’ve got to get the word out on who was responsible. Congrats Lee, you’re going on camera!” Jay said.
“Oh, no I’m not,” Lee said.
“Yes, you are my friend,” Jay replied. “You need to claim responsibility for the attack, otherwise the Empire will cover it up. We can’t rely on gossip for this one.”
“I told you, I’m not going on camera,” Lee said as Jay propped up a camera.
“C’mon, your fans are waiting for you,” Jay replied. Lee glared back but Jay was unfazed.
“Fine,” Lee groaned. He took a seat in front of the camera while Jay adjusted the settings. “What do I say?” Lee asked.
“Just ramble off some of that guff about you terrorizing the Emperor. I’ll edit the footage if we need it,” Jay replied. “Alright, camera’s set.”
“Wait!”
“Nope! We are rolling!”
Lee stared at the camera for a moment. “Emperor Yiu Mei. You don’t know who I am, but three years ago, a squad of your soldiers came into my home and executed my family before my eyes. One of them was my three year old daughter Ju, who carried this doll with her everywhere she went,” Lee said as he held the doll up to the camera before tying it back onto his belt.
“For years you have held us under the heel of your boot in the name of ‘security.’ You wield your political influence on Earth to steal us from our homes and bring us here to harvest the coal which fuels only your wealth and influence. You subjugate us to beatings and arrests at night, pin neighbor against neighbor in the name of your ‘terror,’ the Xiongbu. I’m here to tell you that your reign is coming to an end. We are the ghosts of your Xiongbu and we will dismantle your Empire brick by brick. We started by eliminating one of your most trusted advisers, Minister Diang. We take full responsibility for his death and are here to inform you that more are to come. Your Xiongbu is in its final days Yiu Mei. My name is Xing Ming Lee and I’m the man who will end it.”
“Perfect! Nothin’ to it right?” Jay asked. “Now we send it out to the networks-”
“Where they’ll suppress and bury it,” Zao snipped.
“That’s why I’m uploading it to some chaps I know who will provide coverage. They’re a good group of blokes who’ll help us out in a pinch.”
“Who’re they?” Deng asked.
“They’re a group known as The Grid. Buncha old freedom fighters and techies who profit from chaos,” Jay explained. “I’ve been sending the fellas a bunch of cries for help for weeks now.”
“Well, let’s hope they get the message since the Emperor controls the satellites too,” Zao said.
“Cheer up Zao, it’ll work. Just watch,” Jay replied.
“Hey! Hey guys!” Zao said. “The Emperor’s making an announcement!” The three other men rushed to watch the newscast.
“A terrorist has struck deep in the heart of our Empire,” Yiu Mei proclaimed. “He operates to sow the chaos we suffered upon the arrival of this planet when we were part of the Core. He seeks to drive us back into the wilderness before we banded together under one flag and proclaimed ourselves a united and free Ophridia! Minister Diang Xia gave his life for the glory and the strength of our Empire. This terrorist seeks to destroy your safety! He seeks to erode the protections that I have worked so hard to put into place!” Yiu Mei screamed as he slammed his fist onto the podium. There was silence everywhere as the world held their breath for his next line in the speech.
“The Anarchist Xing Ming Lee seeks to eradicate the peace that has prevailed on Ophridia!”
“I am not an ana
rchist!” Lee hissed.
“Shh! Let’s see where he’s going with this,” Jay said.
“He seeks to erase the peace that I have provided to this world! The peace that I kept on our planet while the rest of the Core waged their vicious civil war. While brother fought brother we united under one banner and built this world from scratch. We built this world through strength, through unity and through security! We will not be intimidated by a lone criminal who seeks to take that all away from us! As a result, I am placing a bounty on his head which is worth...whatever you wish it to be. Whosoever brings me the anarchist Xing Ming Lee will be granted any one wish that I as Emperor can grant.”
“Let’s see your reign of terror top that,” Zao said.
“Bee-jway!” Lee snapped. He looked around and felt the walls closing in. He felt surrounded on all sides as though the entire planet had turned against him in an instant.
“It’s not over my boy. You just need to lay low for a couple of weeks. I’ll go into the streets and see what the word is on ya,” Jay said.
“Yeah Lee. Don’t worry, we’ll keep you hidden right Zao?” Deng asked.
“Yeah...of course,” Zao replied.
Lee nodded. He knew that the best course of action was to keep quiet and lie low like Jay had suggested.
“There anything you’d like?” Jay asked.
“Got any books?”
“I can find some. Bit of a collector myself.”
“Good. Bring me some books, and I’ll occupy my time,” Lee said.
“...And together, we will emerge a stronger and more united Ophridia!” Yiu Mei screamed into the microphone and held both his arms high in triumph.
The weeks flowed as the four men navigated through the populace and set small bombs inside of government buildings. The empire rumbled and shook as the blasts consumed Yiu Mei’s employees, with each retaliation from the Emperor more swift and brutal than the last. People were arrested in the dead of night as the Xiongbu consumed Ophridia’s children just like the story of the ancient serpent. Lee and his men attacked the Tingchia who dared come out to make the arrests, and left the bodies of the soldiers in the streets. Rumors of the ghosts of the fallen who would protect the innocent from the Emperor’s wrath.
“Good news lad,” Jay said as the men convened just before midday. Lee read inside the converted office with books scattered all over the floor. “Blimey, you’re at a loose end.”
“What?” Lee asked.
“Doesn’t matter,” Jay replied. “Good news is that talk about you is gone. Murmurs and gossip are about the Tingers. There’s no love for them right now. We eliminate one of those blokes, two more take their places.”
“The chusheng zajiao de zanghuo!”
“Well I don’t know how much they fornicate with livestock but-”
“Bee-jway!” Lee snapped. “We’re not breaking the Emperor’s men! I need the Tingchia to fear my knives more than the Emperor’s guns!”
“What’d you have in mind then?”
“We need everyone to see. A sight nobody on Ophridia can miss. We string the Tingchia up on the streetlights by the hundreds! Thousands even!” Lee shouted. Zao and Deng walked into the warehouse. Zao carried in a box of grenades and set them on the floor. He grabbed three, then tossed a few to the others.
“Bringin’ on the heavy stuff I see,” Jay said.
“What’re you ranting about?” Zao asked.
“We’re going after the Tingchia. We make them more afraid of us than the Emperor.”
“Yeah, the Tingchia need to be rooted out for what they did to Bai, Ai Fen, and Ju. Make them bleed for all the loved ones they’ve taken from us. How’re we gonna do it?” Deng asked.
“We’ll need to start small. We attack a small squad on patrol, steal their uniforms and attack their stations,” Lee said.
“They’ll see our attack on the cameras. What’ll we do when they swarm us?” Zao asked.
“We need to get to the Ministry of Information’s headquarters and turn off all of the cameras,” Lee replied.
“Oh, even better! How do you suggest we get in there then?” Zao asked.
“What if we don’t have to risk our necks getting into the MoI?” Jay asked. “I’ll bet we could outsource the task of making the Emperor blind.”
“To who?” Lee asked.
“Those blokes at The Grid. They’re big fans of ours, I’m sure I can talk ‘em into givin’ us a hand. They can navigate their way through all these computers and I can tell ‘em which companies belong to Yiu Mei that run cargo to Earth. That’ll keep ‘em satisfied,” Jay said.
“Good. Let’s get to work on a plan,” Lee said.
For hours Lee explained in crucial detail his plan of action of how to attack the Tingchia soldiers on patrol. The men deliberated on the best approach of achieving this objective until Jay broke the debate by going to his printer which held a stack of papers.
“What’re those?” Lee asked.
“Posters,” Jay replied.
“Of what?”
“You, Lee,” Jay said as he revealed the poster. Lee met his own stern gaze and the word ‘Resist’ was inscribed on the bottom in Mandarin.
“While you blokes attack the Tingers, I’ll spread some propaganda.”
“Great. While we attack the soldiers, you decorate,” Zao hissed.
“Don’t worry lad. I’ll help you with the Tingers and shut off the cameras. I’ll even place the bombs on their speeders.”
“That’ll work,” Lee said.
Lee waited until he saw the red light on the camera go off.
“And...go!” Lee whispered. Zao, Deng and Lee moved like ghosts through the streets until they were on top of three Tingchia soldiers. The men didn’t have a chance to scream before their knives were buried in their throats. The sickening splash of blood on the streets caused Zao’s stomach to lurch, but he swallowed the bile in silence.
“C’mon! Let’s string them up!” Lee ordered. They stripped the soldiers of their clothing and despite the blood, put them on. Jay came out of the shadows with the posters he’d had made with Lee’s stern gaze on them. He covered his fingers in ink and inscribed two characters on each of the soldier’s bodies:
抵 抗
“What’re you doing?” Lee hissed.
“Branding,” Jay replied. “ ‘Resist’ may as well be your trademark on this world. All your posters say it, people gotta know you did this!”
“Hwai. C’mon, let’s go after the station,” Lee said.
Lee rammed the butt of his rifle against the keypad, which caused the doors to become bolted shut. Zao climbed onto the roof and dropped a grenade down an air duct. The grenade exploded and the soldiers inside scrambled to get away from the blast. They opened the front door but Lee and Deng were waiting and executed them on the spot. The pair moved in and shot the remaining soldiers inside, while the communications network came alive with captains demanding to know what was going on.
“What do I tell them?” Zao asked.
“Tell them everything is under control. Tell them we’ve secured the perimeter,” Lee replied. Zao fed the information to the Captains, who seemed skeptical, but accepted his response. Lee found Jay on the side of the building painting the two characters on the police station.
“Perhaps instead of finger-painting you can have your friend shut down the communications for the Tingchia,” Lee said.
“Are you mad?” Jay asked. “Then they’ll know something is wrong.”
“Then we should at least cut the emergency channels from here.”
“That my dear chinaman, I can agree with.”
Lee’s squad moved to the next police station. There were only three throughout the entire city of New Peking, while the rest of the Tingchia resided within the Imperial Compound. They executed the soldiers in the second station just like the first, except this time they cut off the emergency beacon. The Tingchia had no idea that their brothers were being slaughtered within thei
r own station.
At the third station, they executed their strategy to the letter, save the Captain who remained at the building.
“I will deal with him,” Lee said as he drew his knife. “Tie him up!”
Zao and Deng rushed in and tied the captain to a chair. The Captain protested in Mandarin, and told the two men he would give them anything they wanted if they turned on Lee right now.
“I want you to get your precious Emperor to end the Xiongbu!” Deng snarled. “Can you do that? Huh?”
“Tsao ni zuzong shiba dai,” the Captain snarled.
“Manners Captain,” Lee replied in a calm tone. He waved Zao and Deng away as he drew his knife.
“The Emperor will kill you for this,” the Captain spat.
“The Emperor tried to kill me once. He failed then, and he will fail now. None of you can kill me, I am the ghost of the Xiongbu,” Lee hissed.
“You will all be shot like dogs!” the Captain snapped.
“You’re not in a position for threats Captain,” Lee said as he held the blade to the Captain’s neck. “How do I get into the Imperial Palace?”
The Captain tightened his lips. He wasn’t going to say a word.
“Good,” Lee said. “I’d hoped that you’d make this difficult you hwoon dahn.” Lee grasped the knife and stabbed the Captain’s thigh. The Captain screamed out an array of curses at Lee.
“How do I get into the Imperial Palace?” Lee asked.
“Zao ni de xing!” the Captain screamed. Lee took hold of the knife and pulled the blade against the Captain’s thigh muscles. The Captain spat and drooled in pain. His eyes lost focus and his head drooped.
“Lee, stop this!” Deng mumbled.
“Tzao-goa! How do I get into the Palace?” Lee howled. The Captain groaned through his teeth, but didn’t break.
"The Emperor will stop you,” The Captain said.
“I love true believers,” Lee replied as he lifted the knife out of the Captain’s thigh and plunged it into the other one. The Captain screamed in agony.
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