In these Chinese names, the family names are respectively Li and Feng. Li Xinlin (Chinese: 李欣林, pinyin: Lǐ Xīnlín), more known by her alias Feng Yifei (Chinese: 馮亦菲, pinyin: Féng Yìfēi; Japanese: フォン・イッファイ Fon Iffai), is a Chinese woman who was part of the Chinese People's Liberation Army as a hacker for cyber warfare. She attempted to infiltrate Janet Bhai's counterfeiting group to understand their counterfeiting technology and methods until Jane set her up and cut her loose.
Appearance[]
Xinlin is a young Chinese woman with a skinny build and pale skin. She has short black hair with a contour clip on the left side and wears thin rectangular glasses. She is initially seen wearing a blue and white horizontally-striped spaghetti-strapped tank top, and when she joins Cosa Nostra, she begins to wear a suit. She carries a Type 77 semi-automatic pistol for a weapon.
Personality[]
Xinlin is an intelligent woman who is skilled in problem solving and cyberhacking. She is quite sociable as noted by other people like Revy and Eda. Given her home province and her use of a Sichuanese word,[1] it is likely that she speaks a Sichuanese dialect of Mandarin, and she also speaks English.
History[]
Xinlin hails from Shennongjia in Hubei province in the People's Republic of China. Her grandfather, the only person in her family whom she respects, served in the 8th Route Army during the Chinese Civil War, and she has three older brothers. With her family not having any expectations for her, she left Shennongjia and joined the PLA's Electronic Engineering Institute.[2] In time, Xinlin had completed five years of service for the PLA,[3] becoming a Sergeant in the PLA's 3rd Department for their technology division and receiving the code name Red Spear (Chinese: 紅槍, pinyin: Hóng qiāng).
The Wired Red Wild Card[]
Once she was picked from the 3rd Department by Colonel Ma for work in the 2nd Department, Xinlin's assignment was to infiltrate Jane's group of counterfeiters so that she could learn about their technology and methods to teach to current and future PLA members. Contacting the hackers on the Electro Bandits Forum, Xinlin used the internet pseudonym Violet Spear (ヴァイオレット・スピア Vaioretto Supia). Subsequently, Jane witnessed her skills and invited her to Roanapur to initiate her into the group. Unknown to Xinlin, Jane knew what she was after from the beginning and who she was by her particular hacking methods, as Xinlin was able to break into the U.S. Justice Department using her special skills.[4] In Thailand, Xinlin finally arrived in Roanapur with her luggage stolen by different people on her journey, and she met with Jane and Benny to discuss the details of her job, then using her alias Feng Yifei.[5] Feng stayed in a motel room that Benny rented, and she gave a fake background about being from Hong Kong. As Benny tried to explain the room's smell, Sawyer the Cleaner came in, terrifying Jane due to their previous encounter.
Benny assured his girlfriend that Sawyer was only there to clean the rest of the room due to the remaining mess. With Feng asking about the smell in the room, Sawyer did not have her voice box, so she communicated the story (about four bloody murders in the room) by tracing letters onto Rock's back. As Rock communicated the story to everyone else, the ex-salaryman then felt a sticky material on the mattress, asking Sawyer what it was. She implied that the stickiness was the aftermath of the melted corpses after several days being left to fester in the hot room. Upon learning that, Feng and the others vomited in disgust. Afterward, she reconvened with Jane, Benny and Rock in public, but was surprised to learn that she had to do a job for the Highwaymen before she could join the counterfeiting group. The Chinese spy was also suspicious that Jane already had a backdoor, Annenheim Distributions' server, set up to break into Reinbach A.G.'s server, but she decided to help Jane since the latter dissuaded her from directly breaking into Reinbach's server.
In the smelly room 9 hours later, Feng called her superior Colonel Ma to report on her status. Ma reminded her that her operation was the beginning of the cyber war that would begin in the 21st century, adding that Feng would be one of the first instructors of the PLA's wǎng jūn. After hearing Ma's compliment of her bravery and how their department would be able to get more funding from the CPC's Central Committee, she responded that she would not know if her family was proud of her, confusing Ma. She said that she would continue her mission, and Ma hung up.[4] In her room, Feng started her work to hack into Reinbach A.G., but while doing so, she only retrieved dummy data while Jane and the Highwaymen exploited her use of Annenheim Distributions' server to retrieve emails from the Chinese government implicating them in a previous attack on Reinbach's server. Panicking about the sudden data retrieval, Feng became scared and exited the server, stopping the Squid service.[6]
Afterward, she got a call from Jane telling her that she knew she was a PLA agent and was cutting her loose, frightening her. Later, she learned from Colonel Ma that her attempt to break into the avionics data stored by Reinbach A.G. failed and was traced back to the PLA's shell company Annenheim Distributions, thus she was believed to be rogue by the army. Feng denied that she was a traitor, and Ma believed her but replied that he could not vouch for her any longer, adding that the PLA would have her die in Roanapur. Ma assured her that he would personally compensate her by informing Feng's family of her achievements and moving her family to an upscale apartment in Shanghai with the 2nd Department's funds, shocking her completely.[7] When her superior disconnected the phone call, Feng ran outside her rented apartment and into the streets with a gun, scaring nearby people. While running in a panic, she quickly deduced that Rock would likely be at the Yellow Flag and could help her. Once Rock and Revy parked Benny's car near the bar, Feng pointed her gun through the driver window at him and claimed that she did not want to hurt anyone.[3]
Immediately, Revy began shooting at her, beginning a gunfight while Rock was caught in the middle of the line of fire. Nearby, the brother assassins who had been hired to kill her recognized Feng and started shooting back, prompting the terrified Feng to hang onto the opened car door as Rock drove through an alleyway to escape. Afterward, on a road elsewhere far from the sudden firefight, Feng sat in the backseat as Revy angrily remarked that the car was trashed beyond repair. The pirate berated the hacker for wielding her gun around so brazenly and added that she would die if she acted like an outsider in the city. Revy guessed that Jane set her up, which Feng confirmed. Smoking a cigarette, the gunslinger coldly advised Feng to leave the city, to which she responded in Mandarin that she should not be so mean to a fellow Chinese woman. Resting against the car, Revy retorted that she did not speak any Chinese, so Feng repeated her sentiment in English, which Revy rejected due to claiming that they were only related via the first humans.
The ex-PLA soldier was irritated that Revy and Rock would not help her since she had a whole system after her head. Moreover, Revy commented that Jane easily outed Feng, with Rock confirming to her that Jane had a picture of her in a PLA uniform, surprising and angering her. Trying to word it differently, Rock elaborated that it would be too much heat for the Lagoon Company to help a mere outsider. With Feng in a desperate mood, Rock told her that her only choice was to run away as far as possible from her pursuers. To Rock's surprise, Feng declared that she would fight hard to survive and go out kicking and screaming if she had to, confirming that she would confront her pursuers in Roanapur since her employers would chase her no matter where she went.[8]
After exiting the car, she slightly smiled and remarked that she was open to any other ideas, cocking her pistol. Before she left, Rock gave her information about a hideout she could use and a weapons store for further self-defense. Accepting the card from Rock to show to Richie Leroy, she wondered why he wanted to help her, but he merely answered that he had his own reasons. Affected by Rock's help, Feng kissed Rock as a gesture of thanks, surprising both Revy and Rock. Rock immediately backed away and told her that he did not want that as a reward, so she smilingly apologized and reasoned that she was not trying to tease him and only wanted to pay him back somehow. When Feng complimented Rock for being a good person, he disagreed and stated that even children hated him, and he bid goodbye and left with Revy. That night, Feng was sleeping in her new motel and heard a knock on her door, quickly pulling out her gun. Opening the door and aiming the pistol, she was nervously baffled to see no one there, and she felt Revy's pistol at her head. Sheathing her weapon, Feng asked if she was jealous that she "kissed her boyfriend," but Revy nonchalantly answered that she could have already killed her if that was her intention. The pirate then brought Feng to the Yellow Flag and they started drinking.[9]
Inside the bar, Feng commented that she would rather die by being shot by Revy than being killed by her bosses. Putting her glass down, Revy reasoned that she brought Feng to the bar since they could solve each other's problems, confusing her. Speaking further, Revy clarified that there was a chance that her company could also be targeted, so she needed a chance to plan. Feng raised her glass and told Revy that her grandfather told her that people should not think about their actions and just run, remarking that people were made to reach their destinations. Before continuing her explanation, Revy asked Feng why she had her eye on Rock, and she replied that Rock was an outsider like her, yet he had a grasp on how Roanapur operated. Accordingly, Revy relayed to Feng the story of Rock's disappointment after his attempt to help Garcia Lovelace and Roberta.
After Revy drank several bottles of alcohol, Feng brought the drunk and sick pirate back to Rock's place, wherein Revy threw up and had to lie on the couch. When Revy entered the shower to cope with her overindulgence of alcohol, Feng began a conversation with Rock and recalled what Revy told her back at the bar. Rock replied that his previous history concerning Garcia and his maid had nothing to do with her, but Feng replied that she needed to talk about her own history to Rock to make him see how his situation was tied to hers, so Rock agreed as she got alcoholic drinks for him and herself.[1] Opening her beer, she noted that he was also an anomaly in Roanapur like her, asking Rock about how he ended up in the city. The ex-salaryman then recollected his ex-boss casting him aside and how he decided that he did not want to go back to his old life anymore despite having the opportunity to do so.
In turn, Feng explained her family history in China's outskirts and her decision to join the People's Liberation Army's electronic engineering institute. After joking with each other, Rock asked Feng if she would have chosen a different path had she known she would end up disgraced in Roanapur, and Feng nonchalantly confirmed she would. When she affirmed that she would choose how she lived and died despite having pursuers, both she and Rock smiled, with Rock agreeing that such a choice was exciting. Interrupting their thoughts, Feng asked about Revy, and the two of them found her passed out in the bathroom. Per Rock's urgency, she quickly grabbed a towel for Revy.[2]
After Revy woke up, she got the idea to take Feng to Jackpot Pigeons as a safehouse so that they could find a way to undo the mess that Jane thrust upon her. In the back dressing room, the performer Joanna calmly told Feng that she would have to get used to the business's noise, with Feng replying that she had no problem. Getting onto their topic, Rock told Feng that more people would be sent after her even if Feng's pursuers were killed. Given Jane's trap for Feng, Rock asked her to provide him and Revy any details that would help them find a solution to get the ex-PLA agent out of Jane's trap. Feng then explained her situation in which her attempt to hack a German company's avionics data was actually a way for Jane to expose Annenheim Distributions as a PLA front and expose her as the culprit hacker. Rock then got the idea that Feng should hack back into Annenheim Distributions' server. She agreed but did not know how they could find an internet-accessible computer in the city, and Rock told her that they could go to the internet café in Nankwai.
To Feng's surprise, Revy had the strippers disguise her in a tight dress and blonde wig. Inside the café, Feng was catcalled by several men, including one man who tried to harass her and offer money in exchange for sexual intercourse, but Revy pointed her gun at him and told him to leave. Using the computer, Feng confirmed that she was able to hack back into Annenheim, so Rock asked her to go through all the server's logs to find a clue. When she mentioned tracks left behind, Rock asked her if she could decrypt it, and she confirmed that she could and would burn the downloaded data onto a CD. Outside the business, an informant of Captain Yang spotted Feng, so he called Yang to inform him of her location.[10]
As Rock told Feng that they could buy a laptop at the Maplao market to view the CD data, Rob entered the café and Revy began a shootout with him, making Feng and Rock take cover under a table. During the shooting, Rock advised Feng to take the CD and flee to Rowan's place, reminding her to take various transportation in between to shake off any spies. As Rock gave Feng a fist bump and she grabbed the CD, Rob glared at the hacker and shot the CD, breaking it into pieces and telling her to stay put. Shocked but still thinking, Rock told Feng that their only chance left was to take the whole hard drive with them, so he helped unplug the computer case and ran out of the café with the hard drive while Feng grabbed some CDs and tossed them at Rob to blind his sights.[11] Thankfully, Revy managed to force Rob back into cover, allowing Feng to escape and run to Jackpot Pigeons, although the police arrested both gunslingers at the café, putting one assassin behind bars but also keeping Revy locked up.
Sweating heavily, Rock soon arrived at Jackpot Pigeons with the whole computer case and a laptop from the market, reconvening with Feng in the dressing room. He was worried that Revy would be hunted by the assassins after she got arrested by the Roanapur City Police, but Feng reminded him that the assassins were after her, not Revy, and they would get no money for killing the latter woman. As Rock sat on the ground, Feng recommended that he should take a shower and get a drink, saying that she would finish the decryption and that Revy was in a safe place at the police station.[12] Once Rock cleaned himself up, he returned to Jackpot Pigeons and sat in the dressing room as Feng asked him to continue his talk about his previous mission with Garcia and Roberta. Rock talked about his status between the two worlds while Feng asked him about his predilection for watching other people's lives play out, telling him that freedom also meant the consequences and terrible things arising from that freedom.[13]
As Feng continued talking about the definitions of freedom contrasting Roanapur and Japan, Rock noted that the decryption was finished, so Feng started looking at the emails, noting that the Annenheim emails were in English instead of Chinese. As he and Feng read the harsh emails between the PLA and a former Sigurimi official, Rock saw a mention of gold ingots which the Albanians took, being surprised since he saw the term "Ali Dragua" which he heard back at Ronnie the Jaws' place. With that information, Rock told Feng he was going to leave to connect the dots, adding to her that he would enjoy playing with her life.[14] After Rock left to talk with Eda about exchanging information, Feng stayed overnight at the club, and the next morning Rowan talked to her and was disappointed that she had small breasts, recommending that she get some breast implants.[15] Minutes later, Eda and Rico entered the club from the back and Rico laid down his documents on the table as Eda explained the Albanian Mafia's history and the Tirana cartel's recent alliance with Cosa Nostra.
Rico then told Feng and Rock about the identities and history of the four men known as the Quartet, a brother-assassin group of Bren the Black Death's murder business, who were hired to kill Feng. Rico and Eda apologized to Rock since they could not get any concrete data on the fourth brother, and Eda explained the Sicilians' washing machine run by Zamid Dhiyab for the Albanians. Feng asked Eda why she singled out Zamid specifically, and Eda in turn asked Feng to explain since she was an ex-spy. Deducing that a secret organization ran better with less people to talk about it, Feng commented that Zamid did not want to take any risks, with Eda commending her analysis. Rock then asked where the washing machine was, with Eda telling him that it was not her job and any extra information would cost extra, but told Rock as a friend that the mafia likely used the BTCE, a bank that was globally popular with crime syndicates.
Rock then proposed that they use the washing machine money to secure Feng's safety under Cosa Nostra. When Feng explained that she could find the washing machine but could not access it offline, Eda and Rico burst into laughter. Rock thought that they could just go to another internet café, but Eda and Rico reminded him that their enemies would surveil such places since Feng was spotted at one. Knowing that the mafias would likely not let her use their electronics, Eda recommended that they visit the Roanapur City Police Station to free Revy first. Hearing about the location, Feng got an idea and informed everyone that the police had to have a central database with internet access, proclaiming that she could securely access the washing machine there. Seeing that they could visit the station to access the internet and free Revy, Rock agreed to the new plan to visit the police station for both tasks.[16]
There, Saensak, who was filling in as leader while Chief Watsap was away, told Rock to go away. Rock offered some money as a bribe, but Saensak turned it down at first since an inspector from the police commission was in the city, and he did not want any trouble or he would have to answer to Watsap. Defending Rock, Feng asked Saensak that it was as simple as if he wanted the money or not. Albeit annoyed by their request, Saensak allowed the two to access the data room but warned Rock that he would end up in an unfortunate accident if he tried anything funny. Rock also wanted to visit Revy, but Saensak said that they could only do one thing at a time. Sitting down, Feng began to access Zamid's company, but she saw that Zamid used a different bank, which Rock claimed was a special purpose entity. Rock then ordered Feng to transfer the funds to another account and then retrieve the books, remittance records, and bearer shares.[17]
At that moment, Park Seung began attacking the police station, with Feng and Rock hearing the gunfire. Hearing from Park Seung that he wanted Feng, Saensak angrily ran to the data room and demanded that Rock give her up, but Rock replied that the attacker was not their friend. Saensak pulled out his revolver and pointed it at Rock, but Feng continued sitting while Rock dissuaded him by saying that the police commission would find out that Saensak let them in the data room without proper authorization. Rock also reminded him that he had an expert gunslinger (Revy) in lockup, so Feng stayed in the data room to continue her work while Rock accompanied Saensak to lockup, where the latter man freed Revy from her cell.[18]
As Revy began fighting Park Seung, Rock returned to the data room, where Feng finished burning the data and money records onto a CD. Although completing her end of the deal, Feng wondered aloud if Revy would be okay, and Rock confidently responded that she would be fine.[19] After the police and Revy killed Park Seung, Feng was disgusted by the bloody aftermath as she was escorted out of the station, and Montero stood on a rooftop with Rock and Feng in his gun sights. Eda saved them and whacked Montero off the roof with a baseball bat, killing him. Feng and co. then headed to Ronnie the Jaws' place to give him the money stored in Zamid Dhiyab's accounts along with the "washing machine" (money laundering account). Ronnie wondered why they had his money, and Rock explained that he wanted to talk business. When Ronnie replied that he made the decisions, Feng interrupted to defend Rock and boldly stated that Cosa Nostra would lose face without their help. In response, Ronnie threatened to torture them all, but Rock elaborated that Feng could take care of the launderer, getting his attention.[20]
Rock informed Ronnie that Feng took over Zamid's system and was able to continue his washing machine for Cosa Nostra. Ronnie asked what he wanted in return since it was quite a big favor, and Rock told him that Cosa Nostra needed to protect Feng from the Chinese PLA, shocking the Italian henchmen. Ronnie was unconcerned of their shock and agreed to Rock's deal but said he needed something else to scare off the Chinese. Rock then clarified he had a document exposing covert operations between the Albanians and Chinese attacking European businesses. Ronnie agreed, warning Feng that any lie she told would result in her death. As she walked toward him, the Italian boss grabbed her by the head and told her that she needed to show some respect to the group for their protection, and she agreed, so he recognized her as the Sicilian Mafia's amica (friend).[21]
At Jackpot Pigeons, Feng, Rock and Revy returned since Revy was going to perform in an S&M show as a favor to Rowan for the strippers harboring and disguising Feng earlier. When Revy left to practice and begin her performance, Feng told Rock that she took the heat off her and put it onto Jane, surprising Rock since she might still be implicated. Feng assured him that she only tipped off Reinbach A.G. and not Scotland Yard (who investigated Zamid's death), joking that she might steal Benny from Jane, which Rock advised against. Repeating that she knew that Rock was a good person, Feng concluded that Rock wanted to see the fate of the strangers that he helped. Getting up, she placed her hand on Rock's knee and leaned in to kiss him, smiling and then leaving the dressing room.[22] While Feng sat in the audience of Revy's ongoing performance, a man (the fourth brother) disguised as Revy ran toward Feng to stab her, but Revy spotted him right away wearing her clothes and shot him dead, scaring the customers out of the building. At that point, all four brother assassins were eliminated and Feng stayed in Roanapur.[23]
L'homme sombre[]
When Rock needed more information on the date and names that Le Majeur stated, he visited Feng to see if she could dig anything up. At an outdoor café, she showed Rock some newspapers associated with the date September 18, 1989 and with the names that Rock mentioned. She then told Rock that an attempted coup d'état by Henri Zongo and Jean-Baptiste Boukary Lingani took place against the Burkinabè government, and she discovered that remnants of the anti-French group who planned it survived and fled. Rock thanked her and told her that he hoped that she had been faring well, to which she responded that Ronnie was actually an organized and understanding boss. Feng gently kissed Rock on the forehead before he left, adding that she also hoped he was doing well.[24]
Gore Gore Girl[]
In Volume 6, Feng visited the Yellow Flag and halfway through drinking by herself, she met Revy there by chance. The pirate began to drink some wine and challenged Feng to a drinking contest after claiming that she wanted revenge. After trying a drink of Betta with a tequila shot, Feng had enough drinking and Revy broke her glasses, irking her. Subsequently, after leaving the bar with Revy, who drank an unbelievable amount of alcohol, Feng left her on the street for damaging her glasses. While walking back to her place, Rock drove by and saw her, asking her if she had seen Revy recently. Feng confirmed that she had just been drinking with her earlier, so she got into the car and relayed to him her encounter, scaring him.
Arriving at the place where Feng said she dropped her off, Rock noticed the sea of vomit in the area, indicating that Revy was indeed there. When Feng apologized for her fault, he calmly advised her to find eyewitnesses, and she agreed. Soon, the two reconvened and sped to Sawyer's workplace after learning that a hoodlum had placed the unconscious Revy in a body bag and sent her there. As Rock hurriedly went inside and found Revy unharmed, Feng peered past the door frame in curiosity as he apologized to Sawyer for Revy's mess.[25]
Trivia[]
- In a popularity contest during the 10th manga collection release, Feng Yifei ranked 14th with 156 votes.[26]
- In a popularity contest during the 12th manga collection release, Feng Yifei ranked 11th with 299 votes.[27]
- Feng's PLA code name Red Spear is a reference to the Red Spear Society.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Chapter 84: The Wired Red Wild Card Part 8
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Chapter 85: The Wired Red Wild Card Part 9
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Chapter 81: The Wired Red Wild Card Part 5
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Chapter 78: The Wired Red Wild Card Part 2
- ↑ Chapter 77: The Wired Red Wild Card Part 1
- ↑ Chapter 79: The Wired Red Wild Card Part 3
- ↑ Chapter 80: The Wired Red Wild Card Part 4
- ↑ Chapter 82: The Wired Red Wild Card Part 6
- ↑ Chapter 83: The Wired Red Wild Card Part 7
- ↑ Chapter 87: The Wired Red Wild Card Part 11
- ↑ Chapter 88: The Wired Red Wild Card Part 12
- ↑ Chapter 89: The Wired Red Wild Card Part 13
- ↑ Chapter 90: The Wired Red Wild Card Part 14
- ↑ Chapter 91: The Wired Red Wild Card Part 15
- ↑ Chapter 92: The Wired Red Wild Card Part 16
- ↑ Chapter 93: The Wired Red Wild Card Part 17
- ↑ Chapter 94: The Wired Red Wild Card Part 18
- ↑ Chapter 95: The Wired Red Wild Card Part 19
- ↑ Chapter 96: The Wired Red Wild Card Part 20
- ↑ Chapter 98: The Wired Red Wild Card Part 22
- ↑ Chapter 99: The Wired Red Wild Card Part 23
- ↑ Chapter 100: The Wired Red Wild Card Part 24
- ↑ Chapter 101: The Wired Red Wild Card Part 25
- ↑ Chapter 108: L'homme sombre Part 7
- ↑ Gore Gore Girl Chapter 36: The Hangover
- ↑ http://sundaygx.info/blacklagoon_contest/
- ↑ http://sundaygx.info/blacklagoon_contest_12/