Wang Zhuo’s words were an absolute command; even if it meant plunging into a dragon's den, Sun Donghao had no choice but to summon his courage and charge in.
After hanging up the phone, Sun Donghao dragged his suitcase and sprinted, finally spotting the four plainclothes officers escorting Ji Yunlei on the overpass leading to the parking garage.
Ji Yunlei’s clothes were utterly shredded from the preceding scuffle; not only was his chest and abdomen exposed, but a large tear gaped at the crotch of his trousers, revealing glimpses of the grey plaid boxer shorts beneath.
A black cloth bag was pulled over his head, and his hands were bound tightly behind his back with handcuffs. One officer took the lead, another flanked him closely, while the two burliest men held Ji Yunlei under the arms, their powerful grips locked tight, dragging him along despite his violent struggles.
Ji Yunlei was of medium height, but his physique had deteriorated over the years due to drug use and gambling. Since leaving the detoxification center, he was alarmingly gaunt; now, held by the two strong men, he looked as helpless as a plucked chick.
Passersby turned to stare, but seeing the four men’s cold, serious expressions, coupled with the visual cues of the hood and handcuffs, they immediately understood that law enforcement was apprehending a suspect, and they quickly made way.
Sun Donghao dared not block their path. He followed them swiftly, calling out, “Please wait a moment!”
The four men paused instantly, their eyes exchanging rapid glances. Three continued to move quickly, while the plainclothes youth with the dark complexion, who had been providing support from the side, approached Sun Donghao and asked coldly, “What is it?”
“I know him,” Sun Donghao said, pointing at Ji Yunlei. “What are you doing, and why are you arresting him?”
The dark-complexioned youth scrutinized him with cold eyes and replied, “The police arresting a criminal have no need to explain themselves to you.”
Sun Donghao was equally unyielding, extending his hand: “Then I need to see your police badge.”
The dark-complexioned youth acted as if he’d heard the funniest joke imaginable, letting out a contemptuous sneer. He pointed a finger at Sun Donghao, shot him a warning look, and strode away quickly.
Is this even the police? Sun Donghao immediately pulled out his phone and dialed Wang Zhuo.
After walking a few steps, the dark-complexioned youth glanced back and saw Sun Donghao glaring angrily at his retreating figure while dialing, instantly flying into a rage, and he spun around, heading back.
Seeing him return, Sun Donghao hardened his resolve, thinking, Damn it, do you dare handcuff me and take me in too? He stiffened his neck and found Wang Zhuo’s number, pressing the dial button.
Slap.
The dark-complexioned youth snatched the phone away, ended the call, and pointed his arm at Sun Donghao, jerking his finger repeatedly: “You are obstructing police officers in the execution of their duties, do you understand?”
“Who knows if you’re even police?” Sun Donghao shot back loudly, thinking, Who’s afraid of whom? My backer even took down Hui Hai—what the hell are you?
“Fine, fine,” the dark-complexioned youth said, laughing angrily. He pointed directly at Sun Donghao’s nose: “Then you come with me. I’ll show you my credentials.”
“Give me back my phone first,” Sun Donghao reached out.
The dark-complexioned youth shot him a look reserved for an absolute idiot, then turned and walked off.
Sun Donghao hurriedly trotted to keep up, thinking, I’d like to see what trickery you’re up to.
Truthfully, Sun Donghao used to be timid, but after seeing the wider world alongside Wang Zhuo, his courage had gradually grown, proving the old adage about birds of a feather flocking together. In his mind, under the bright sun in broad daylight, he doubted these men would dare go too far. Furthermore, with Wang Zhuo backing him, who should he fear?
Meanwhile, Wang Zhuo, after taking Sun Donghao’s call, quickly signed off after greeting Gan Lin. As he changed clothes and headed downstairs, he sent a quick text to Guan Yingying, telling her he had an urgent matter to handle and couldn't engage in their usual intimate chats for the time being.
Driving out of the complex, Sun Donghao called, but before Wang Zhuo could answer, the call dropped. When Wang Zhuo tried to call back, the line was intentionally rejected three times consecutively.
Wang Zhuo immediately sensed something was amiss.
His fire-red Lotus sports car instantly roared to life, speeding towards the Jiangzhou High-Speed Rail Station. Wang Zhuo kept his vision wide open, monitoring his driving safety with 360-degree awareness, while simultaneously multitasking by calling Ji Qiong.
Unfortunately, after three attempts, there was still no answer.
With no other option, he focused on driving. To guard against any serious developments, he called Siyuan next.
“Sister Qi Fei isn’t home this afternoon. Do you want to come over?”
The little demoness’s voice was saturated with ambiguity and allure, sweet and carrying a hint of moistness that invited conjecture.
Regrettably, Wang Zhuo’s mind was elsewhere. He gave a wry smile and said, “Siyuan, this is serious. Get to your computer immediately and help me trace the location of a cell phone number. Tell me the instant there’s any movement.”
“Got it, boss!”
Siyuan sprang into action without hesitation. After noting down the number Wang Zhuo provided, she initiated a bypass on her computer, logging into the internal network backend of China Mobile to query the number’s location.
Unlike standard user queries, this method could retrieve the call start/end times, the numbers dialed or received, the coverage area, and the base station ID—the latter being essential for pinpointing the approximate location of the number.
Siyuan had already secured the necessary clearance for accessing telecom company data; helping Wang Zhuo track Sun Donghao's phone was barely more troublesome than reaching into her own pocket.
The Jiangzhou High-Speed Rail Station was a crucial signal area for the telecommunications company, equipped with four base stations to ensure seamless coverage. Siyuan quickly relayed the information, reporting not only the phone's current location but also its position from several minutes prior, thereby revealing his direction of travel.
If a mobile number remains active while traveling from one city to another, even without making calls, its trajectory, speed, and route can be analyzed through the radio wave exchanges between the phone and the base stations. The welcome messages one often receives upon arriving in a new city during travel operate on this very principle.
Jiangzhou High-Speed Rail Station, Parking Lot C.
After roughly shoving Ji Yunlei into a van, one plainclothes officer cursed something while examining his arm, which bore a scratch inflicted by Ji Yunlei during the tearing of the clothes.
“Old Wu, hurry up and squeeze that blood out.”
The tall youth waiting for them in the parking lot reminded him, “Who knows what diseases these addicts carry. Don’t end up catching hepatitis or syphilis—that’d be a real headache.”
“Damn it,” the man called Old Wu laughed, but he nevertheless took the advice seriously and began squeezing his wound diligently.
“What’s going on with Dajun?” the tall one frowned, pointing at the dark-complexioned youth jogging toward them, with Sun Donghao trailing behind.
“That kid said he knows the guy surnamed Ji,” the leading middle-aged man mumbled, chuckling. “But they aren't together. Maybe he just ran into them.”
The tall man shook his head with a wry smile: “What kind of mess is this?”
“Boss, what should we do?” Old Wu asked quietly.
“Handle him with a few pleasantries and send him packing,” the middle-aged man snorted and turned to get into the vehicle.
Approaching the van, Sun Donghao warily surveyed the group. His earlier aggressive mood had somewhat evaporated.
He couldn't sense any genuine police demeanor from these men, and the two vans looked far from official vehicles. The only element suggesting they might be police cars was the iron cage visible inside one of the vans, an apparatus one usually only associates with law enforcement transport. If anyone else installed such a thing, they’d surely have their vehicle impounded by the DMV.
It was a ten-seater Jinbei van; the rear two rows of seats had been removed, replaced by a cage welded from iron bars as thick as a thumb, painted white. The windows were tinted, making the cage inside difficult to see unless one looked closely.
“See? If we weren’t the police, would we be driving a vehicle like this on the street?” Dajun pointed at the Jinbei van, saying to Sun Donghao.
Just as Sun Donghao was about to inquire further, the tall man stepped closer and interjected, “What is your relationship with the suspect?”
His tone carried a distinct air of interrogation, possessing an implicit threat that if the answer wasn’t satisfactory, Sun Donghao might be dragged into the van. Sun Donghao hesitated, then replied, “I am classmates with his sister.”
“Oh.” The tall man nodded thoughtfully, then waved his hand: “Then it’s best you stay out of this. We will notify his family as soon as we return.”
Sun Donghao remained unmoved and asked, “What did he do?”
Dajun, growing impatient, was about to speak when the tall man chuckled darkly: “It’s part of the ongoing case; that needs to remain confidential.”
“Alright, enough chatter, hurry up and get in the car,” the leading middle-aged man urged impatiently from inside the van.
“Give me back my phone,” Sun Donghao quickly grabbed Dajun, who was about to board, as Dajun still held his cell phone.
Dajun hesitated, then said coldly, “It’s required for the investigation. We can’t return it now. You can ask the family of the man surnamed Ji for it later.”
Sun Donghao’s eyes bulged with anger—required for the investigation my foot! This guy clearly has his eye on that imported phone worth over seven thousand yuan and wants to seize it.
“Fine, you keep it,” he said resentfully. “I’ve noted down your license plate number. We’ll see about this.”
The van roared to life. After pulling out of the parking lot, Dajun contemptuously spat out, “Idiot.”
Sun Donghao stood his ground, smirking coldly, believing he had at least caused trouble for the other party, even if he couldn’t expose their pretense of being police. He had no idea that they weren't police at all, and his supposedly clever move had made them laugh their heads off.
Inside the Jinbei van, the tall man removed Ji Yunlei’s hood and chuckled darkly, “Ji Yunlei, why run away when you could have a free room and free food? Look, you didn’t even make it out of Jiangzhou before you were caught again. Now you have no room and no food. Aren't you foolish?”
Ji Yunlei, his mouth taped shut, glared at the tall man with fury in his eyes, making muffled sounds, but unable to utter a single word.
In the driver’s cabin, the leading middle-aged man had just hung up the phone. He said to Old Wu, who was driving, “No need to go back to the precinct. Send him directly to the drug rehabilitation center. Change route.”