It was precisely the murder of Ye Jian that triggered a chain reaction of subsequent events. A Hydrotherapy Club card was found at Ye Jian's crime scene. Following this lead, Zhang Yi'ang tracked down the club manager Zhou Qi, who reported Zheng Yongbing after being swindled out of money by him. During routine investigations into Zheng Yongbing, the police discovered Liu Bei, who was on the run. With his whereabouts exposed, Liu Bei decided to pull off one last heist to secure millions before retiring from crime. He took the risk of stealing Zhu Yifei's miniature chime bells, unaware that the case containing them had a hidden tracker. Huo Zheng located and killed him, then dragged the case containing both the body and the bells away, boarding Xiao Mao's fake taxi. The case was later hijacked by Xiao Mao. Gang Ge and Xiao Mao were terrified upon opening the case while driving, causing their vehicle to swerve and collide with Du Cong's Mercedes. After the crash, Zhou Rong sent his bodyguards to handle the situation. Seizing the opportunity when the villa's guards were all away, Fang Chao and Liu Zhi infiltrated the property, kidnapped Zhou Rong, and stole his money along with the crucial evidence—a USB drive.
Zhang Yi'ang remained oblivious to all that had transpired today, as the police were currently focused on apprehending one individual.
"Director, Yang Wei just reported that Mei Dong has arrived at Three Rivers Estuary. He was instructed to meet him in an hour at the Maple Forest Late Hotel, though the room number is still unknown." That evening, Wang Ruijun and Song Xing rushed into Director Zhang's office to deliver this urgent intelligence.
"So soon!" Zhang Yi'ang's eyes widened in disbelief. The speed was entirely unexpected. The plan to use Yang Wei as bait for Mei Dong had only been finalized yesterday, and Mei Dong was already here today? Was he some kind of superhuman?
Song Xing explained, "Yang Wei received a call from one of Mei Dong's underlings. He isn't sure if the information is genuine. In my opinion, this is definitely Mei Dong testing him. Mei Dong is overseas—even if he were to return to Three Rivers Estuary, how could he possibly arrive in a single day? He must have sent henchmen to stake out the Maple Forest Late Hotel, watching to see if Yang Wei shows up with company. Only after confirming it's safe would Mei Dong secretly return to meet him in person later."
Frowning, Zhang Yi'ang asked, "So what's your plan?"
Song Xing replied, "Let Yang Wei go to the meeting alone. We'll station a few plainclothes officers on the streets outside the hotel to observe discreetly without direct contact, to avoid tipping them off."
Zhang Yi'ang voiced his concern, "But what if Mei Dong really shows up? A handful of plainclothes officers might not be enough to handle him."
Song Xing shook his head emphatically. "Impossible. I’d bet anything it’s just a test. There’s no way Mei Dong is coming!"
Seeing his confident demeanor, Zhang Yi'ang initially agreed that Mei Dong couldn’t possibly arrive so quickly. But then he remembered Song Xing's track record—whenever he made a bet, he was invariably wrong. This "guarantee" was practically an omen that Mei Dong would indeed show up.
His expression shifted, and he immediately shook his head. "We absolutely cannot let our guard down. Right now, draft two contingency plans—one for if he doesn’t show, and another for if he does. We must prepare as though Mei Dong is really coming!"
Though Song Xing remained adamant that Mei Dong couldn’t possibly arrive this soon and saw no need for a large-scale operation, he had no choice but to comply with his superior’s orders. He gathered a few seasoned detectives in Director Zhang’s office, and they quickly began strategizing.
With time pressing, they reviewed the hotel’s surrounding traffic maps and finalized a preliminary plan within minutes.First, all members of the criminal police team will be mobilized for tonight's operation. Of course, to prevent Mei Dong from sending henchmen to surveil the unit, all officers will leave work as usual in plain clothes. Once outside, they will follow the assignments given by Wang Ruijun, Song Xing, and others to take up their designated positions. Key personnel should carry handguns.
Second, plainclothes officers will discreetly cover all critical intersections within a one-kilometer radius of the hotel, forming two concentric circles on the map for encirclement, support, and pursuit.
Third, inside the hotel, plainclothes veteran officers will stake out the front and back entrances and adjacent corridors. Song Xing will personally lead teams to monitor the hotel lobby and the surveillance room. Yang Wei will enter alone and find a way to relay information as quickly as possible. If the visitor is confirmed to be Mei Dong, Song Xing’s team will immediately move in to arrest him. If it’s just one of Mei Dong’s scouts, they will hold their positions.
This way, both the hotel interior and surrounding roads will be under plainclothes surveillance. If Mei Dong shows up, he’ll be captured; if not, the team will withdraw. It’s a flawless plan—offensive and defensive at once.
Having finalized the details, everyone turned to Zhang Yi'ang, confident that this well-rounded operation would earn the leader’s praise.
“Chief, what do you think?”
“Not impressed at all!” Zhang Yi'ang shook his head in dissatisfaction, bluntly disregarding their pride. “Your plan looks airtight on the surface, but in reality, it’s all show—completely missing the soul of a proper arrest operation!”
This soul-searing critique sent chills down the veteran officers’ spines. Trembling, they asked, “Then… how do we capture the soul of the operation?”
“What’s the most crucial point of an arrest plan? Actually arresting someone!”
“Right,” everyone agreed.
“Let me ask you—are you planning to plant a wire on Yang Wei?”
“No wire!” Song Xing said decisively. “If Yang Wei is searched and they find surveillance equipment, not only will our plan be exposed, but it could also get him killed. We don’t have access to those high-tech spy gadgets like the ones hidden in shoes you see on TV.”
“Exactly! Yang Wei is going in alone. We won’t know what happens inside—our entire operation hinges on whatever message he manages to send. Are you planning to have him text you instructions if he gets a chance?”
Song Xing hesitated, then nodded.
“In my opinion, this plan’s success or failure is entirely riding on Yang Wei!”
After a moment’s thought, they realized this was true.
Zhang Yi'ang continued, “You expect Yang Wei to find an opportunity to message you—what opportunity? Going to the bathroom? Men don’t close the door when they pee. He can’t just claim he needs to take a dump and shut the door—if he excuses himself to poop right after meeting, even an idiot like Mei Dong would get suspicious!”
Song Xing weakly defended, “I also told him that if he can’t use his phone, he should notify me after leaving.”
“Hmph! Once he’s out, can you guarantee Mei Dong will still be at the hotel? What if Mei Dong leaves first, using his men to ‘escort’ Yang Wei as an excuse to monitor him for an hour before letting him go? By then, Mei Dong could be long gone from Three Rivers Estuary!”
Cold sweat broke out on Song Xing’s back."Even if we exclude how Mei Dong might counter-surveillance, how much do you know about Yang Wei? Would he betray our plan?"
"This..." Song Xing swallowed hard. "We agreed on terms with him yesterday. I think... I think he wouldn't dare double-cross us. If he wanted to, he wouldn’t have proactively informed us about Mei Dong arranging to meet him."
"That was before. What about after? Could he change his mind once he meets Mei Dong? Even if he doesn’t intend to betray us, what if his evasive words give Mei Dong a clue? Suppose Mei Dong controls him on the spot, forces him to feed us false information, and then slips out of our encirclement—what then? That’s why I say, with your current plan, success or failure hinges entirely on Yang Wei, who carries multiple risks. It’s extremely dangerous!"
"This..." The group shuddered. They hadn’t considered the various risks tied to Yang Wei.
Song Xing looked ashamed, thoroughly convinced by Director Zhang’s analysis, and scratched his head in self-reproach. "How did I not think of this?"
Wang Ruijun snorted. "If you could think of it, you’d be the director already. That’s the difference in experience and skill between us and the director!"
Everyone nodded in reluctant agreement and asked, "Director, what should we do then?"
"Since the meeting is at Maple Forest Late Hotel, we’ll ask Lu Yibo for help."
"Lu Yibo’s help?" The group was baffled.
"The Ye Jian case has made no progress so far, and the only lead is the VIP card from Maple Forest Late Hotel. I’ve always felt Lu Yibo must be hiding something. This is a perfect opportunity to engage with him more. At the same time, if Lu Yibo helps the police make an arrest, Zhou Rong will definitely hear about it. Last time, though we don’t know how effective our divide-and-conquer strategy was, it at least planted a seed of doubt in Zhou Rong’s mind. If Lu Yibo helps the police again, the rift between him and Zhou Rong will inevitably deepen—it might even yield unexpected results!"
After some thought, everyone found this reasoning quite convincing. If Zhou Rong learned Lu Yibo had assisted the police, even if Lu Yibo tried to explain, would Zhou Rong still trust him as before? If their relationship fractured, the truth might come tumbling out.
But there was still one issue. Wang Ruijun voiced the shared doubt: "The location is Maple Forest Late Hotel, but how can Lu Yibo help us make the arrest? The hotel’s security won’t be much use, right?"
"By using the Hydrotherapy Club, my dear Brother Jun!"
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