Stepping out of the police station, I said to my senior, "Let's go. The two of us will have a good drink today, and it'll help settle Jing Lei's nerves. She was quite frightened today."
The senior replied, "Today, I wouldn't be able to refuse even if I wanted to. Come on, let's go for a drink."
After a preliminary interrogation, it was confirmed that these people were indeed sent by Chen Liben. Over three hundred of them were deployed across several key public locations, with orders to track and eliminate me wherever I appeared.
Chen Liben had issued a death order: dead, not alive.
I had become his number one enemy.
I called Wu Jia's third son and asked him to bring his men to the Raw Stone Base in an hour. We then bought some food and drinks and headed back to the Raw Stone Base.
Jing Lei was driving us back, taking it slow. She was still recovering from the shock, and neither my senior nor I could drive, so she had to tough it out.
I told her not to rush, that Wu Lao San wouldn't be here for another hour.
I then called Wen Siqiang and told him to inform Wu Lao San's men to all go to the Grand World.
Two of them were with Principal Sun. I wondered if Principal Sun would be stirring up trouble tonight as well.
I figured he wouldn't be idle tonight. With such a commotion, he might even be the overall commander.
After all, this was Ruili's territory, and he would undoubtedly be more familiar with it than they were.
Indeed, Wen Siqiang called back to say that the two men following Principal Sun had lost him.
Damn it, what was going on? They were professional killers. Losing their target like this, just how capable was this Principal Sun?
I asked about the two men and where they were now. He said they were still guarding Principal Sun's residence. I told him that Principal Sun might not return there today and instructed him to text the "female devil" that Lan Ya needed to see her to settle accounts.
I wanted to probe her a bit, to see if they were together.
Wen Siqiang agreed and told me to wait for his call.
Hanging up, I told my senior, "It seems Principal Sun is orchestrating tonight's activities."
The senior said, "It's time we put this Mr. Sun in his place. He plays a very significant role here. If we can break this link, it will be very advantageous for us."
I replied, "Yes, he's in charge of the supply of goods from the other side and the transportation channels here. If we cripple this link, their chain will be broken."
I continued, "Yes, it's just that this Principal Sun is very cunning. The fact that even Mr. Wu's men lost him shows he's become vigilant. It will be even harder for us to get close to him."
Just then, Wen Siqiang's call came through. He said she was alone at home and that he had told her to go to the Grand World because Lan Ya was looking for her.
I checked the time. There was still time. I asked Jing Lei to head to the Grand World first.
I apologized to my senior, "I'm sorry to have made you put up with all this. We haven't even managed to eat yet."
The senior replied, "It's nothing. As long as we can eliminate the enemy, why worry about being hungry? You focus on your tasks, and I won't let you down."
Jing Lei made a turn at the traffic light and drove towards the Grand World.
Wen Siqiang was waiting for me at the entrance of the lobby. I asked him to bring Zhou Yingying to our car, and I would go find her.
With eyes everywhere searching for me, it wasn't wise for me to show my face.
I asked Jing Lei to park her car next to mine, then got out and opened the door to get in.
Zhou Yingying was sitting in the car, wearing sunglasses late at night.
I asked, "What's this, trying to look cool like the rest of them?"
Zhou Yingying replied, "I'm being watched whenever I go out now, so I have to do this."
I asked, "When was the last time you saw Principal Sun?"
She said, "This afternoon. He wanted me to tell him where you would appear. I said I didn't know. He's my sworn enemy, and I know nothing about his business, so I don't know where he'll be.
As a result, he hit me, pulled out a lot of my hair, and then told me to contact you myself and find out your whereabouts. I refused, so he hit me again. I endured it without saying anything, and only when he ran out of options did he leave. Sometimes he even kicked me fiercely and told me to be careful, warning that if he found out I betrayed him, he'd throw me into the Ruili River."
That bastard, he's truly inhumane!
Even though he didn't get my whereabouts from Zhou Yingying, they had a lot of people. Ruili had only a few places for activities, so wherever I appeared, someone would spot me.
I asked, "In your estimation, where is he now?"
Zhou Yingying replied, "He's getting cozy with that female secretary. Most likely, he's hiding in some hotel. It's a mixed crowd there, making it difficult to find him."
Right, how could I not have thought of that? Ruili had dozens of new star-rated hotels, plus the older upscale ones, there were dozens. Finding him here would be very difficult.
I asked, "Have you been to hotels with him? Where do you usually go?"
Zhou Yingying said, "I know one place he frequents, the Ruein Hotel in the West City. He has a private room there with very advanced communication equipment that can directly contact overseas. He goes there often. However, he never took me there; I overheard him saying it."
I know Ruein. It's a foreign-related hotel, with half its staff being foreigners. It's said to be a joint-venture hotel.
I scratched my head a bit. If he's hiding there, negotiating will be troublesome. It's more difficult to get things done in places managed by foreigners.
I said, "I understand. For now, she still has to stay under Principal Sun's nose. If she leaves now, we'll be in a more passive position."
Zhou Yingying got out of the car, hailed a taxi by the roadside, and left.
After giving Wen Siqiang a few instructions, I returned to Jing Lei's car.
I said to my senior, "The problem is a bit tricky. More than half the time, Principal Sun is hiding in the Ruein Hotel, directing this battle. And the Ruein Hotel is mainly managed by foreigners. If we storm in to apprehend him, it's almost impossible."
The senior replied, "We don't need to capture him for now. Let him stay inside. We'll subdue his men one by one outside and see who he continues to control."
I said, "That's right, let's do that. Let's go back for that drink!"
Jing Lei started the car and headed back to the Raw Stone Base.
The car stopped at the entrance of the office building. I saw the lobby and the steps were filled with people. I got out to look and realized it was Wu Jia's third son who had arrived.
He said an hour, but he arrived in less than forty minutes.
The security captain was standing there, unsure how to arrange things. Seeing me return, he quickly ran over and said, "You're back! The people are yours."
I shook hands with Wu Lao San and then asked him to gather his men. Some would go to the Grand World, and the rest would stay here and await orders.
I told Wu Lao San to come upstairs with me for a drink.
Wu Lao San said he wouldn't drink and would go with them to the Grand World. The remaining men were handed over to the security captain for unified command.
I said, "That's good. It's a chance to familiarize yourselves with the environment."
I asked the security captain to arrange a car to take them there, and then I called my senior and Jing Lei upstairs.
After such a long and eventful night, I was really starting to feel hungry.