Chapter 346: Casting the Net

Yangweiba Alley No. 17 Courtyard, the coordinates circled in red, over the next two days was examined by the Project Team from every angle like a slide placed under a precision microscope, leaving no gap.

Disguised as junk collectors, roof repairers, meter readers… investigators of various cover identities took turns, and without alerting the residents, they thoroughly scouted No. 17 Courtyard and its surroundings.

The yard was small, housing three families. The east house was an elderly couple whose son lived elsewhere; the west house was occupied by a single man who lugged big bags at the freight station, leaving early and returning late; the north house—the one the "traffic officer" old man entered—was inhabited by two people—one being the target Lao Tan, officially registered as Tan Fukui, forty‑five, who claimed to be a temporary worker at the freight station, but observation showed his outings were irregular and he rarely actually handled cargo.

The other was a twenty‑something youth named Xiao Shunzi, who said he was Tan Fukui's cousin‑nephew, apprenticing at the freight station, yet his demeanor carried a gloom and alertness incongruous with his age.

More crucially, using technical means combined with close observation, the investigators confirmed that the north house showed abnormal electricity usage during certain fixed night periods, and the interior appeared to conceal contraband.

Combining Lao Tan's precise demand for special parts, the Project Team judged that this was likely a spy intelligence hub rather than merely a stolen‑goods transit point.

"The timing is ripe; we can cast the net," Sun, the Project Team Group Leader, decided at the briefing, "To avoid a long night of complications and prevent them from moving or destroying evidence, we act tonight."

Li Ping'an, as the factory's responsible person and one of the field commanders, participated in drafting the entire operation plan.

The plan detailed every team member's position, breaching route, arrest sequence, and even accounted for possible resistance and sudden developments. The objective: ensure a complete sweep, capture both people and loot, especially safeguarding the "thing" inside the house.

Night fell as expected, bringing the damp chill characteristic of early spring.

Yangweiba Alley fell into deep sleep early, with only a few scattered windows casting a dim yellow glow.

No. 17 Courtyard was pitch black and silent, as if it had sunk into a dream along with the entire alley.

At exactly eleven p. m., dozens of black silhouettes from different directions, in absolute silence, silently completed the encirclement of No. 17 Courtyard.

Outside the courtyard wall, at the alley entrance, and on the roof, every possible escape route was sealed. Li Ping'an and Sun concealed themselves in a long‑emptied grocery shop opposite, watching through a crack in the window, fixed on the pitch‑black north‑house door.

Chen Jianghe led a few elite operatives selected from the factory's Security Section, cooperating with comrades from the City Bureau, to lead the main assault.

The air was thick with a taut, tinder‑ready tension, making even breathing feel cautious.

Li Ping'an could hear his own steady, strong heartbeat, while his palms were dry and sweatless. He was no stranger to this pre‑battle silence; many years ago, on a night in Korea, he had felt the same.

"All squads, report status," Sun said into the miniature radio, voice pressed to a whisper.

"Team One in position, front door secured."

"Team Two in position, rear window blocked."

"Team Three in position, roof surveillance, no anomalies."

"Team Four (Technical) in position, ready to breach and collect evidence at any moment."

"Good." Sun glanced at the luminous watch on his wrist, "11:05, proceed as planned, move!"

The moment the order was given, the silence was ripped apart!

"Bang!" A muffled thunderclap as the seemingly sturdy wooden door of the north house was smashed open by a burly member of Team Four wielding a special breaching hammer; wood shavings flew everywhere.

"Don't move! Raise your hands!"

"Police! Disarm, no killing!"

Almost the same instant the door was breached, Chen Jianghe charged forward, rifle fixed with a bayonet, like a raging tiger! Several beams of intense flashlight followed, instantly flooding the dim interior with blinding light!

"Ah—!" a short scream echoed from inside; it was Xiao Shunzi, who had just burst out of the inner room, apparently still clutching something, his motion freezing under the glare.

Lao Tan's reaction was astonishingly swift! He hadn't slept at all, apparently staying alert, curled up beside a broken wooden plank bed against the wall.

The instant the door was forced open, he sprang up like a startled rabbit, not toward the door or window, but grabbing an old thermos from the bedside and hurling it at the charging Chen Jianghe, while rolling backward and reaching for the shadowed space beneath the bed!

"Careful!" Chen Jianghe sidestepped the thermos, hot water and glass shards spraying everywhere. He lunged forward, extending the bayonet—not to stab but to slam the rifle stock hard onto Lao Tan's arm reaching under the bed!

"Kach!" a sour‑tinged thud rang, accompanied by Lao Tan's pained groan. Almost simultaneously, another team member lunged to the bedside, kicked Lao Tan aside, and swiftly hauled out a heavy box wrapped in oilcloth from under the bed.

"Hold him!" Chen Jianghe barked. Two operatives immediately pinned the incapacitated Lao Tan, whose arm was broken, to the ground and handcuffed him.

Meanwhile, Xiao Shunzi was also subdued by other operatives; seized from his hand was a tiny metal device emitting a faint "tick"—a timed explosive disguised as a pocket watch! The fuse had already been half‑pulled.

Phew! Everyone present, including Li Ping'an who heard the scene through the radio, broke out in a cold sweat.

These fugitives had actually prepared this thing inside the hideout!

"Report! Both targets are secured! Suspected explosive found and safely neutralized! Suspicious item box discovered!" Chen Jianghe's urgent voice came through.

"Conduct a thorough search! Stay safe!" Sun ordered.

The subsequent search confirmed the earlier assessment.

Inside the oilcloth‑wrapped box, besides the TZ‑7 replica procured from Wang Youfu (they had not realized it was a copy), there were several rolls of microfilm, a few notebooks written in cipher, some cash, and—a compact Radio Station disguised as an ordinary radio! Its antenna was cleverly hidden in the roof chimney.

Under the kang mat, they also found two well‑maintained Handguns and several rounds of ammunition.

The evidence was rock‑solid!

Li Ping'an and Sun entered the wrecked north house. The air was filled with dust, sweat odor, and a faint hint of machine oil.

"Lao Tan"—Tan Fukui was handcuffed in the corner, his complexion ashen, cold sweat beading his forehead, yet his eyes still held a fierce, unyielding glare. Xiao Shunzi was completely petrified, trembling.

Sun crouched, examined the Radio Station and the cipher notebooks closely, his expression stern. "Seal the scene immediately, preserve all items as evidence. Separate the suspects and escort them back for immediate interrogation! We must dig deep into their networks, activity patterns, and any other accomplices or targets!"

"Yes!"

The operation wrapped up swiftly. The two suspects were blindfolded and loaded onto a Jeep that had been waiting outside the alley.

The seized items were painstakingly boxed and sealed. The whole process was efficient and quiet; aside from the initial breach and brief scuffle, it barely disturbed the other residents of the alley.

Only a few startled stray dogs barked sparsely in the distance, then fell silent again.

Li Ping'an stood at the entrance of No. 17 Courtyard, watching the team conduct the final cleanup.

The spring night chill seeped through his thin coat, yet his heart was filled with a fiery sense of relief and heavy vigilance.

We got them. Both the people and the loot.

From what was seized at this hideout, it was clear this was not a simple theft‑and‑sale chain, but an organized, equipped, purpose‑driven intelligence‑theft network. The TZ‑7 parts were merely one of many targets they sought.

"Old Li, this time thanks to your factory Security Department spotting it early, reacting swiftly, and deploying effectively," Sun came over, patting Li Ping'an's shoulder, his tone mixing praise with a hint of lingering fear, "If that thing had gotten out or they had detonated that bomb, the consequences would have been unimaginable."

Li Ping'an shook his head: "The comrades coordinated well. It's also because they got too brazen, extending their claws into the factory."

He paused, gazing at the faint outline of the factory in the night, "The plant... probably needs another sweep; there may be more fools like Wang Youfu."

"That's the next priority," Sun nodded, "Once the interrogations yield preliminary results, we'll report promptly. Your internal security level also needs upgrading. Visible weapons are easy to dodge; hidden arrows are hard to guard against."

The Jeep's engine roared, breaking the deep‑night silence, carrying the captives and evidence away from Yangweiba Alley.

The onlookers' windows gradually went dark. The alley fell back into sleep, as if the thrilling capture moments before had never occurred.

But Li Ping'an knows that some things have changed forever.

A covert battle achieved a staged victory, but the shadows have not fully dispersed. The Spy Network was torn open with a breach, yet its tendrils may still be many.

And the Steel Rolling Mill, that massive industrial fortress, after weathering internal power frictions, now faces once again an external, even more sinister probing and assault.

Li Ping'an took a deep breath of the crisp air and said to Chen Jianghe, "Leave two people to cooperate with City Bureau comrades for the final cleanup. The others, stand down. Go back and rest well; tomorrow… there is still a lot of work."

On the way back, the night sky began to drizzle fine raindrops, silently soaking the city. Li Ping'an sat in the back seat of the jeep, closed his eyes and rested.

Factory area security, power checks and balances, enemy Infiltration… several invisible threads intertwined, making the burden on Li Ping'an's shoulders grow heavier. Yet at least tonight, the hunter precisely struck the prey.