179: Chapter 179 Lei Dong Captured

The night was heavy. In the old staff dormitory building of Heishi Town, the occasional wail of a wild cat pierced through the glass windows.

Zhu Wenhao sat alone deep in the living room sofa, the lights off.

In his mind, he was methodically sorting through this entire complex web of moves.

The tangled mess in Heishi Town had been sliced open by a sharp blade.

Village Secretary Zhang Dahai and his gang of local thugs, caught in the pincer movement of the Discipline Inspection Commission and the Police Station, had no hope of escape. The farce of the County Commission for Discipline Inspection trying to seize the case, which Secretary Qiu Dehai had pinned his hopes on, ended with Deputy Secretary Tian Wenguang suffering a humiliating defeat.

The petty schemes at the grassroots level were settled; there was no need for him to intervene further.

The way of governance is to make your move without regret; all that remains is to watch as these various factions devour each other and the situation ferments.

The true eye of the storm, capable of overturning the landscape of Jiangnan Province, was far away in Jingjiang City.

The sound of water in the bathroom ceased.

The wooden door opened, releasing a wave of humid warmth.

Su Qinghan had shed all the cold aloofness of the day. She wore a silk camisole dress made of an incredibly light and soft material; the snow-white fabric clung to her beautiful figure, the style daring and unrestrained in a way rarely seen.

This was a piece of lingerie she had bought earlier at the mall, unable to resist the sales clerk's persuasion. Usually locked away deep in her wardrobe, she had worn it tonight.

She stood barefoot by the door, water droplets clinging to the tips of her hair. Her eyes held a shyness rarely seen on normal days as she looked toward the man sitting in the shadows.

Seeing Zhu Wenhao look over, she shyly lowered her head and hurried back into the room.

Zhu Wenhao stood up and walked into the bathroom, rinsing off briefly.

When he came out of the bathroom and entered the bedroom, Su Qinghan had already extended her jade-like arms, clinging to the back of his neck.

The many days of separation and the cutthroat battles of the political arena all melted into a silent communion between the sheets.

Just as their breaths intertwined.

In the western suburbs of Jingjiang City, the top-tier villa district of Yulong Mountain.

The mountain wind rustled through the trees and leaves, masking the footsteps of a group of men.

Captain Xiao Zhan, the head of the criminal investigation team at the Provincial Public Security Department, wore an unmarked, light-absorbing tactical vest, hidden behind a bush less than fifty meters from the villa.

Under the green glow of the night vision goggles, only a faint floor lamp was lit on the second floor of the detached three-story building.

Captain Xiao Zhan turned his head and gave a tactical hand signal.

Deputy Captain Shan Hu lowered his profile and approached silently.

"Have you cleared the checkpoints and hidden sentries?" Captain Xiao Zhan asked in a very low voice.

"All three security perimeters have been deployed. We've forcibly set up physical roadblocks to interfere with the night patrol routes of the local Police Station and the Jingjiang Municipal Public Security Bureau. The regional communication jamming vehicle is in position," Deputy Captain Shan Hu reported clearly. "Not even a bird can fly out. All special operations team members have their weapons loaded and are ready to breach at any moment."

Captain Xiao Zhan nodded. "Send the vanguard team in to scout. We must have them alive. Unless they resist arrest with weapons, there is to be no bloodshed."

Two dark figures broke away from the formation, climbing up the drainpipe on the villa's exterior wall. Their movements were as agile as monkeys as they silently vaulted onto the second-floor balcony.

Less than three minutes later, two rhythmic finger taps came through Captain Xiao Zhan's tactical headset.

Signal connected. Target confirmed.

"Breach," Captain Xiao Zhan ordered.

Heavy-duty hydraulic shears quietly cut through the heavy anti-theft lock cylinder.

Under the cover of night, the special operations team members filed into the first-floor hall.

Wang Xiaoqian, who was holding a wine glass and calculating some messy accounts, didn't even have time to cry for help before two team members accurately locked her throat and tackled her to the ground.

A towel was stuffed into her mouth, her arms were pinned behind her back, and zip ties were tightened.

Inside the second-floor study.

Lei Dong stood in front of a paper shredder, feeding documents stamped with private seals into the machine.

Hearing an unusual noise downstairs, he immediately turned around to reach for the homemade firearm under the desk drawer.

Deputy Captain Shan Hu delivered a powerful side kick that shattered the solid wood door, lunged forward, and delivered a palm strike to the carotid artery on the right side of Lei Dong's neck.

Lei Dong rolled his eyes back, groaned as he hit the floor, and was immediately hooded with a black cloth bag.

This operation, which concerned the core of the Jiangnan Province political and legal system, took less than five minutes and did not alert any of the surrounding security.

"Withdraw," Captain Xiao Zhan waved his hand.

Several black, unmarked box trucks wound their way out along the mountain road and disappeared into the night.

The convoy drove away, kicking up dust along the road.

On the high slope opposite Yulong Mountain, a pile of seemingly ordinary fallen leaves and withered grass stirred.

The camouflage net was lifted, and a man in camouflage uniform lying in a dirt pit put down his high-powered military binoculars.

This was the hidden sentry deployed by the Xu family's intelligence team.

He pulled a specially encrypted satellite communicator from his chest pocket and pressed the button.

"Xu Yi, this is Earth Dragon."

A low, deep response came from the other end: "Speak."

"The Provincial Public Security Department's people have withdrawn. Lei Dong and Wang Xiaoqian have both been taken away. The raid was clean and swift."

"Understood," Xu Yi's instruction was brief. "Eliminate all traces of surveillance at the scene. Continue to lurk in Jingjiang and wait for further orders."

"Received."

The man cut the communication and stuffed the camouflage net along with his portable reconnaissance equipment into his backpack.

Descending the mountain, he took off his camouflage, put on a uniform from a food delivery platform, rode a dilapidated electric scooter parked at the edge of the forest, and wobbled toward the brightly lit downtown Jingjiang, transforming back into the delivery guy bustling through the streets for a few bucks in delivery fees.

In the second half of the night, in Heishi Town.

The mobile phone on the bedside table emitted a low-frequency vibration.

Su Qinghan was clinging to Zhu Wenhao like an octopus.

Zhu Wenhao opened his eyes, carefully moved her arm away, grabbed the phone, and stepped barefoot onto the floor.

He walked to the door, stepped out of the bedroom lightly, and closed the wooden door firmly behind him.

On the bed, Su Qinghan had actually been awakened.

She opened her eyes and watched the man's retreating figure, turned over, pulled up the corner of the quilt, a faint smile appearing on her lips before she fell back into a peaceful sleep.

The living room lights were off; the moonlight flowed like water.

Zhu Wenhao pressed the answer button: "Uncle Qi."

On the other end of the line, the voice of Director Qi Shan of the Provincial Public Security Department was filled with irrepressible excitement.

"Zhu Wenhao, the job is done."

"Captain Xiao Zhan led the team, and they have just been escorted into the Provincial Public Security Department's Safe House No. 0. Lei Dong and that Wang Xiaoqian are both under control, and not a whisper of news has leaked out," Director Qi Shan said, speaking faster. "To guard against the Jingjiang Municipal Public Security Bureau getting wind of this and finding excuses to demand the suspects, I have issued a strict order for the special operations team involved to undergo a fully sealed field training exercise. All communication devices have been confiscated; no one will be able to contact them for at least ten to fifteen days. I will personally lead the interrogation of the case."

"Well done. Cutting off outside contact is the only way to forge an ironclad case," Zhu Wenhao stood by the window.

Director Qi Shan let out a heavy breath, his tone shifting as he voiced the frustration that had been weighing on his heart for some time.

"Your intelligence came at the perfect time. After Secretary Lei Zhen returned to the provincial capital from Linjiang, he became arrogant and overbearing to the extreme; he was practically ready to shit on the neck of the Provincial Public Security Department."

Director Qi Shan complained: "In the past few days, the Provincial Political and Legal Affairs Commission has held two consecutive meetings. Secretary Lei Zhen criticized the Provincial Public Security Department by name for being sluggish. Under the guise of guiding Party building, he wanted to reach into the personnel appointments of the Public Security Department and pluck out several key operational staff members I had promoted."

"And it gets worse. The Provincial Government Audit Office has made a move too," Director Qi Shan gritted his teeth. "This bunch is colluding with the Provincial Political and Legal Affairs Commission. They issued a joint inspection letter, claiming they want to conduct a large-scale audit of the Provincial Public Security Department's case-handling funds and equipment procurement over the past three years. This is just an excuse to dig up dirt on me and try to oust me from this position."

"What is Secretary Lao's stance?" Zhu Wenhao asked.

"Secretary Lao hasn't said a word, and he hasn't shown his face even once," Director Qi Shan said with some frustration. "He is just sitting on the mountain watching the tigers fight. He's letting Secretary Lei Zhen and Deputy Secretary Yang Jianhua mess around. Once we've been worn down enough, he'll step in as the peacemaker to clean up the mess, so he can justify bringing the political and legal line under his own control."

"Clear water brings no fish; those in high positions seek balance, which is only natural. Secretary Lao isn't speaking because he's waiting for us to reach our breaking point and beg him," Zhu Wenhao tapped his fingers slowly on the windowsill. "Uncle Qi, to forge iron, one must be strong oneself. Secretary Lei Zhen's attacks and the Audit Office's investigation are, at the root, because they believe the case against Lei Jun is a dead end, and they feel the Li Faction's luck has run out and we have no bargaining chips left for a counterattack."

Zhu Wenhao's gaze was deep as he looked at the silhouette of the mountains in Heishi Town shrouded in the night.

"The way of heaven is constant; it does not exist for the sake of Yao, nor does it perish for the sake of Jie."

"But once Lei Dong is apprehended, the momentum of offense and defense will shift."

"After tonight, the game in Jiangnan Province will be completely different. Once Lei Jun's involvement in organized crime is confirmed through Lei Dong's testimony, Secretary Lei Zhen will be covered in mud he cannot wash off. By then, the Audit Office's little charade of finding fault will collapse on its own. With Secretary Lei Zhen like a clay bodhisattva crossing a river—barely able to save himself—what will he have left to criticize the Provincial Public Security Department's Party building work with?"

"Good!" Director Qi Shan slapped the table hard on the other end of the line. "I will interrogate them through the night. I want to show that bunch in the Provincial Party Committee Compound whether or not the Provincial Public Security Department's blade has rusted."

"Keep the interrogation recordings safe. This blade must be drawn at the most critical Standing Committee meeting to truly shock everyone," Zhu Wenhao left him with this piece of advice.

Ending the communication, he stood quietly in the dark room.

From this moment on, in this game of chess, it was his turn to play the black stones and move first.