177: Chapter 176 Achieving Victory in One Battle

Cao Xiao issued orders methodically. It wasn't that he possessed some extraordinary talent for command, but rather that the entire operational plan had been meticulously mapped out by the AI. The intelligence he gathered through the Detection Function was incredibly detailed and precise. Furthermore, the specific action plans were formulated after he considered various factors and combined them with the AI's simulated calculations for anticipation. Every piece of information and every movement of the targets was within his grasp. He had even arranged mobile teams to fill any gaps and support the various operational units at any time. As long as each team strictly followed the planned steps, nothing would go wrong.

The others received their orders and departed, leaving only Cao Xiao, Liao Kai, and Director Liu in the command center hall.

Director Liu watched Cao Xiao, who was staring at the monitoring console, looking as if he wanted to say something but hesitated. After exchanging a look with Liao Kai and receiving a serious nod of understanding, he finally spoke. "Consultant Cao, now that it's just us, could you tell me what this operation is really about? To be honest, not only am I uncertain, but the other city commissioners are also a bit undecided. If it weren't for the full support of the higher-ups, we would never have agreed to such a sudden, large-scale strike. Even a major crackdown wouldn't be this rushed. It's too risky!"

Cao Xiao frowned slightly upon hearing this, but his expression cleared in an instant. He turned back to look at Director Liu and, instead of speaking directly, asked, "Director Liu, you should have the clearance to know my official identity, right?"

"Naturally. Our police force and the Supervision Office have always cooperated, though it's usually limited to high-level dialogue. If it involves state secrets, I won't ask further," Director Liu sighed.

"It's not for secrecy reasons, just that some details are inconvenient to share. Today's Operation Sky Net was actually triggered by the serial bombings that occurred in the city recently. I was ordered to investigate the case. After dismantling the bomb at Hongdu Mansion today, I discovered some suspicious points and reached a conclusion: this so-called 'mad bomber' is actually a terrorist organization. I initially had a suspect in mind, but investigation revealed it wasn't the Xijiang foreign terrorist organization I suspected. Instead, it was the work of a cult that had fled abroad long ago. Their goal was to create a series of heinous incidents and frame other forces, hoping to gain support from illegal overseas organizations by undermining domestic stability and unity. During the investigation, we also discovered intelligence outposts of foreign intelligence organizations in this city that were linked to this group. Following these leads, we delved deeper and obtained a vast amount of information on criminal gangs or individuals lurking in our city. All criminals for whom we have gathered relevant evidence are on the arrest list. For those we are certain are criminal, we've also found important leads, including many fugitives or suspects in major unsolved cases. Moreover, everyone on the arrest list is a suspect who could be sentenced to at least ten years of imprisonment, so they can be arrested directly without a specific warrant."

"There are a total of three hundred and twenty-six people on the arrest list. Aside from the thirty-nine people from the organization behind the bombings and foreign intelligence personnel, there are two hundred and eighty-five suspects involved in various criminal cases—all of whom are suspects in heinous crimes such as intentional homicide, leaking secrets, sexual assault, organized crime, violent robbery, human trafficking, drug dealing, and organ trafficking. These three hundred-plus people are just a portion we summarized and screened out, those we believe must be caught. Additionally, I have another arrest list here for suspects with lesser crimes, totaling no fewer than five hundred people. Those arrests will need to be deployed by your Municipal Bureau once this operation has concluded. I have already had Director Wu deliver the list, information, and evidence for major suspects not in our city or province to the Provincial Police Department. I am only responsible for commanding today's Operation Sky Net. Later, I will hand over all the data we have to your Municipal Bureau. Whether you dig deeper afterward or not has nothing to do with me. All bombs have been dismantled and properly handled. I won't be involved in the cleanup, so don't come looking for me for that. After this operation, the security environment of our city will be clean for a long time. I can't say people will leave their doors unlocked at night, but at least the citizens will be able to live and work in peace."

Cao Xiao spoke until his throat was dry, almost unable to continue. He maintained a calm facade while casually observing the reactions of the two men. If this matter were truly as simple as he made it sound, there wouldn't be so much criminal activity in the world every day. To solve a bombing case that had given the city's police a headache for half a month in just two days—and simultaneously root out hundreds of suspects while collecting all the evidence—how could anyone believe it? To these two veteran policemen, this sounded like a fairy tale that couldn't be explained away by simple intelligence or luck. Even though Cao Xiao had pointed out his status with the Supervision Office before speaking, guiding them to interpret the irrationalities through the lens of 'superpowers,' and used the excuse of secrecy to make it difficult for them to ask questions, he still felt guilty! Superpowers were miraculous, but even miracles had limits. If a colleague from the Supervision Department were here, they would definitely spit in his face without hesitation. One person sorting through a metropolis of ten million people in a single day was practically stealing the jobs of every member of the Supervision Department!

He didn't care about the work of the Supervision Department at all. The reason he had staged such a large scene today was simply so he could have some peace and quiet in the future. He hadn't intended this at first; he was someone who feared trouble, and stirring up unnecessary drama wasn't his style. But today, after circling Huanghe City in the sky, he realized he had guessed wrong again. The bombing incident was indeed related to a terrorist organization from outside Xijiang. If he hadn't found the workshop where those people made the bombs while searching for hazardous materials, he would have been at a loss again. In his embarrassment and anger, after uncovering the whole story behind the bombing case, he thought about how that cult had jumped out to cause trouble after being silent for years. Who knew when some other chaos-loving lunatics might pop up and constantly create trouble for him? He would be annoyed to death. Thinking of this, he hardened his heart and, in a moment of heat, made a decision: to eliminate all potential unstable factors within Huanghe City! At the same time, he would create a grand scene with a massive impact to intimidate those ill-intentioned criminals—their doomsday was at hand! He also wanted to use this to warn those with ghosts in their hearts who were flirting with the edge of crime: never commit a crime in Huanghe City, or the police might pull out their ledgers and invite you for tea to settle the score at any time!

In truth, these were all high-sounding excuses Cao Xiao found for himself. In short, he felt he had been played and, in his anger, he planned a real-life 'cat and mouse' game. It was blatant intimidation! He wanted to accomplish everything in one stroke so he could slack off for a while and not worry about Supervision Office matters. Now, within the entire Huanghe City, all regulated weapons held illegally by anyone other than law enforcement had been confiscated by him. Faced with fully armed police, the criminals had no choice but to surrender or run. If anyone dared to take hostages, Cao Xiao would show them the meaning of true despair!

He was putting on this act for others to see. Although he was giving the credit to others, he was also shifting the burden. Fighting crime was a good thing, but it shouldn't be done as rashly as this total sweep. Doing so would cause a certain shock to the social order. Many of those criminals were wealthy and powerful, including billionaires and owners of large enterprises. The cleanup involving all these aspects would give the city government a headache for a long time. Furthermore, when he reported to Commissioner Zhang, he hadn't specified the details, let alone mentioned arresting hundreds of people at once. A crackdown of this magnitude had only happened once before, at the end of the last century. When the city commissioners arrived at the Municipal Bureau and the bureau happily reported the results, the first person Commissioner Zhang would want to see would definitely be him. Therefore, Cao Xiao had to slip away quickly.

Director Liu and Liao Kai were left in a daze. They had no real contact with supernatural abilities and only a vague understanding of them. They felt something was wrong with Cao Xiao's words, but they had no way to ask.

Cao Xiao finished speaking and turned around. Seeing the officers assembled, he had Duan Hong bring over a thick stack of paper documents and then said to Liao Kai, "Director Liao, I'm not familiar with the Municipal Bureau's personnel, so I'll leave the deployment of police forces to you. Based on the danger levels I've marked, form action groups of three to five people. These are all the known intelligence reports on the targets. Distribute them to the action groups by serial number. Starting from the furthest to the nearest, each group will be responsible for arresting two targets in adjacent locations. Once completed, take the suspects back to the detention center and then continue with the arrests. Have the various district and county branches set up several mobile patrol units to support nearby action groups in case of emergencies, but try not to let them participate in the actual arrests. If you encounter anyone particularly difficult, notify me immediately. Gentlemen, I have an urgent mission, so I'll leave this in your hands. Farewell!"

Watching Cao Xiao's retreating back, both men felt something was off. The operation hadn't even started, and the commander-in-chief was already leaving! This was just too unusual. But the operation was about to begin, and they didn't have time to overthink it. However, when Liao Kai picked up a file and took a look, he was stunned. He strangely handed a copy to Director Liu, then picked up another to look at, and then another. After looking through a few, he looked at Director Liu, who also had a face full of disbelief, and said, "Director, how about we delay the operation? I'll have someone go check it out first?"

"No need. No one would dare joke about something like this. Don't forget the department he's in. Just because we can't do it doesn't mean they can't. It just so happens that this target is in the nearby Huanhai City, only a three-minute drive away. Send someone to verify it; we'll have results soon." Director Liu frowned, handing the file in his hand back to Liao Kai with a bitter smile.

Liao Kai rubbed his forehead as if he had a headache and said, "Fine, send someone first. We can make the arrangements here, and once it's confirmed, we can set out. It won't waste any time."

Liao Kai finished speaking and ordered several officers via the command communication system to set off immediately. The deployment of forces and division of action groups didn't require Liao Kai's personal attention; he handed the files to his subordinates, and in less than ten minutes, all the officers participating in the operation were in their vehicles and ready. Meanwhile, Liao Kai and Director Liu watched the situation of the action group they had just sent out through the monitoring screens. The mission went very smoothly. Seeing the target's behavior during the arrest, the information in the files was verified one by one. The two men didn't hesitate to issue the order to set out. Police cars and riot control vehicles sped out of the Municipal Bureau, methodically and slowly branching off toward various areas of the city. Aside from drawing some attention when they first appeared on the streets, no one noticed once the convoy dispersed.

Director Liu and Liao Kai were still immersed in shock. As veteran policemen, they knew how difficult it was to solve an old criminal case, yet the Supervision Office had solved nearly a hundred in one go. There are three reasons why cases remain unsolved for a long time: first, no leads; second, insufficient evidence; and third, inability to catch the suspect. But the materials provided by Cao Xiao solved all three problems. Not only did they provide leads, but they also pointed out important evidence-related information. After catching the suspect, they could directly collect evidence for trial based on the information recorded, or use the contents of the files as a breakthrough during interrogation to achieve miraculous results. Because the recorded content was so precise and comprehensive, the two men had doubted the authenticity of the files—they read like the suspects' own confessions! Moreover, there were dozens of cases that the police hadn't even recorded, meaning that even crimes with no reports or witnesses couldn't escape the eyes of the Supervision Office. If these cases were all related, the two could have understood it, but the fact was they were completely unrelated, mostly independent cases. Thus, while their eyes were on the monitoring screens, their minds had not yet returned to reality.