111: Chapter 111 The Capture Operation Begins

Inside the hospital room, the instruments emitted a rhythmic ticking sound. Zhu Wenhao sat upright in the companion chair, a portable laptop resting on his knees. His fingertips danced across the keyboard, inputting a string of complex code.

Previously, when he released news of the dashcam footage within the Municipal Public Security Bureau, claiming there was a cloud backup, it wasn't a smokescreen—it was real. As the Art of War says, truth and falsehood are intertwined. The exposure of the poisoning nurse had successfully drawn away all the prying eyes in the shadows, making them believe the cloud video was fake news. Meanwhile, the real trump card had remained firmly in his grasp all along.

At this moment, the suspicious personnel within the Municipal Public Security Bureau had already been packed off by Police Chief Li Jianguo to the Provincial Public Security Department for intensive training. With the obstacles removed, it was the perfect opportunity to cut through the Gordian knot.

The webpage redirected. He entered the account and password provided by Su Qinghan. The video began to buffer, the progress bar slowly climbing. Constrained by the dim lighting at the scene, the image was extremely grainy. Zhu Wenhao pulled up the frame-by-frame slow-motion function.

Amidst the interplay of light and shadow, the moment a heavy dump truck forcibly cut off the white sedan was frozen. The car door opened, revealing a woman's figure. Limited by the resolution and the lack of streetlights, there was only a blurry silhouette of her profile. He dragged the progress bar further. At the edge of the lens, the burly man capturing the boy was captured. The man was wearing a mask, but his close-range physical features were still extracted.

His phone vibrated. Caller ID: Police Chief Li Jianguo. Zhu Wenhao answered the phone. "Zhu Wenhao, the document from the Provincial Party Committee has come down," Police Chief Li Jianguo said, his speech extremely rapid. "The Second Supervision Team has been officially established, and the team has already departed from the provincial capital and is heading to Linjiang. Everything is going according to plan."

"Just in time," Zhu Wenhao said, his gaze not leaving the screen. "I have a big gift to give to Bureau Chief Li." "Give me an absolutely secure email address." There was a two-second pause on the other end of the line before Police Chief Li Jianguo rattled off an email address. Zhu Wenhao packed the several video files, dragged them into the attachment, and clicked send. Sent successfully.

"Bureau Chief Li, go check your email. These videos should save the special investigation team some time." The call cut off. Linjiang Municipal Public Security Bureau. Police Chief Li Jianguo hung up the phone, grabbed his police cap from the table, and pushed open his office door. "Captain Chen Gang, come with me," he called to the waiting criminal investigation detachment captain, heading straight for the Information Technology Detachment.

He pushed open the soundproof door. Police Chief Li Jianguo ordered them to log in to the email, and the video packages were downloaded and decompressed one by one. The footage played on the main screen. The off-road vehicle forcing a stop, personnel exiting, the violent breaking of the window. Captain Chen Gang stared fixedly at the screen. "Bureau Chief, this is first-person footage of the crime scene! Where did this come from?"

"Don't ask what you shouldn't," Police Chief Li Jianguo dismissed the inquiry, issuing a strict order. "Use technical means. Sharpen the video, process the noise reduction." "Focus on extracting the woman's figure and perform a gait analysis." "Extract the face of the masked man and input it into the provincial database of individuals with criminal records for facial comparison!" "Zoom in on the right bumper of that dump truck and find me any unique wear or reflective stickers!" All technical personnel went to work, and the sound of keyboards in the server room suddenly became intense. Police Chief Li Jianguo pulled over a swivel chair and sat down, staring at the big screen without blinking.

Inside the hospital room. After sending the videos, Zhu Wenhao closed his laptop. From the inner compartment of his briefcase, he took out a brand-new Huahua brand smartphone. He pulled out the SIM ejector tool and inserted Su Qinghan's SIM card into the slot. He turned it on and opened the photo gallery.

In a cloud-encrypted photo album, there were over a dozen photos, dimly lit and tilted in composition. These were the pieces of evidence Su Qinghan had raced against time to photograph inside the car before she was ambushed. The photos showed pages from Zheng Jianguo's top-secret black ledger. On the pages were rows of messy numbers and codes with acronyms. To an outsider, it looked like gibberish; only the person who kept the ledger knew what it meant.

The number of pages Su Qinghan had captured was limited, but the weight of these few photos was enough to stir up a storm in Linjiang. These items had to be handed over to someone who could make the final decision.

Zhu Wenhao opened his contacts and dialed his father, Secretary Zhu Tianhe's number. "Father, please find time to come to the hospital." Secretary Zhu Tianhe was reviewing documents. "What happened?" "I need you to meet two people," Zhu Wenhao said concisely. "Team Leader Qiu Rui of the Second Supervision Team, and Secretary Li Li of the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection." "I have what they need most in my hands." "What kind of material?" Secretary Zhu Tianhe asked. "Zheng Jianguo's secret ledger. There is a backup of photos on Su Qinghan's phone."

A harsh sound of a chair scraping against the floor came from the other end of the line, and Secretary Zhu Tianhe said, "Is that so? That's great!" Secretary Zhu Tianhe raised his voice. "I'm coming over right now!" Hanging up the call, Zhu Wenhao locked the phone screen and placed it back on the table.

He knew deeply that the timing and the choice of person to present this evidence to were of great importance. The supervision team had just been established and parachuted in; being new, what they lacked most was a breakthrough that could deliver a fatal blow. Team Leader Qiu Rui held the authority to supervise but was struggling because he had no handle to cut into the case. Presenting this material evidence personally by Deputy Secretary Zhu Tianhe at this time would be like sending charcoal in snowy weather. It not only signaled to the Provincial Party Committee Secretary Zhu Tianhe's stance on cooperating with the crackdown on organized crime but also tightly bound the interests of the Zhu family with the Second Supervision Team. As for bringing Secretary Li Li of the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection, it followed organizational procedures; the disciplinary issues of city-managed cadres ultimately had to pass through the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection. Alliance-building and shared interests.

The phone screen resting on the table lit up again. Li Changgeng. Mayor Su Changming's close personal secretary. Zhu Wenhao answered. Li Changgeng's voice came through: "Zhu Wenhao, Mayor Su is hosting a dinner tonight, at the same old restaurant as last time, at seven o'clock. Please arrive on time." "Thank you for the arrangement, Secretary Li Changgeng, I will be there on time," Zhu Wenhao replied. The call cut off.

Zhu Wenhao held the phone, his gaze cast outside the window. A Hongmen Banquet. His own daughter was lying in bed with serious injuries, yet as a father, he hadn't even shown his face to visit, instead having the leisure to host a banquet at a secluded old restaurant. Mayor Su Changming finally couldn't sit still anymore. He was too superstitious about his own means of manipulating the situation. Tonight, he would go and meet this Mayor of Linjiang.

Steady footsteps came from the corridor. The hospital room door was pushed open. Secretary Zhu Tianhe hadn't even buttoned his jacket properly as he strode in. He glanced at Su Qinghan lying on the hospital bed, then turned to look at Zhu Wenhao. "Where is the stuff?" Secretary Zhu Tianhe lowered his voice.

Zhu Wenhao handed over the Huahua brand smartphone. "The photos are in the album. I imported them to the phone from the cloud." Secretary Zhu Tianhe took the phone and tucked it securely into his inner suit pocket. "I'm going to the Municipal Party Committee Guest House now to find Team Leader Qiu Rui and Secretary Li Li." "Father," Zhu Wenhao called out to him. Secretary Zhu Tianhe stopped.

"Once this material is handed over, Linjiang City will be shaken to its core. No matter who it implicates, you must stand on the side of Secretary Lin Weimin and the supervision team. In the face of matters of great right and wrong, there cannot be any hesitation." "I understand," Secretary Zhu Tianhe nodded, turned, and quickly left the hospital room.

At the same time. On the sixth floor of the Municipal Public Security Bureau, in the Information Detachment server room. Captain Chen Gang pointed at the portrait on the screen that was becoming clearer frame by frame. The scar-faced man's outline was entered into the provincial public security system's portrait database. The progress bar scrolled rapidly. The comparison result popped up. Wang Hu, 34 years old, with multiple previous records of provoking trouble and intentional injury, a drifter, who had spent years hanging around the auto repair shops in the northern part of the city.

"Arrest him," Police Chief Li Jianguo ordered. "Have the SWAT detachment cooperate. Don't alert the branch bureau; raid his lair directly. Remember, I want him alive." Captain Chen Gang accepted the order, grabbed his walkie-talkie, and rushed out. The arrest operation was set in motion.