Chapter 147

Life is like a play; survival depends entirely on acting skills.

Bai Wentao always felt his acting was not bad; although he held only a bit-part script, stepping out with steady official strides, he could still walk the path of a major villain—that was his ability.

Follow the set path forward.

Tonight, flying to the other side of the ocean, he could fully control his life script for the rest of his life.

By then, if he wanted to lie on the beach and sunbathe, he would lie on the beach and sunbathe; if he wanted to attend the Crazy Horse show, he would attend the Crazy Horse show; whoever dares to glare at him, he would smash them with US dollars.

I have money, so I can be this willful!

"Master, step on the gas and get me to the airport in ten minutes; I'll give you a thousand as tip."

"You're serious?"

"The money is in my hand; it's just whether you have the ability to earn it."

"Okay."

The driver, seeing Bai Wentao holding a stack of bills and showing them off in the rearview mirror, his heart raced and he immediately sped up.

This crazy speed let Bai Wentao happily feel what it meant to be a successful person.

He leisurely lit a He Tianxia cigarette.

He chuckled, blowing out clouds: "Lin Dongfan, Lin Dongfan, you never expected I, Bai Wentao, to be one move ahead, to have already taken a step? Want to catch me? Your strength isn't enough..."

He didn't know, however, that two speeding police cars had already pursued him.

Even before the night the Night Travel Three Fools were arrested, Lin Dongfan had already greeted Chu Jinsong, asking him to urge the City Bureau personnel to keep close watch on the Night Travel Three Fools' superiors, to prevent escape.

The taxi driver was an alert person with eyes all around.

Seeing the police cars chasing him in the rearview mirror, his heart skipped a beat; then looking at Bai Wentao inside, lavishly throwing money and rushing to the airport, he instantly realized something was off.

To avoid inviting disaster of imprisonment.

The driver hurriedly turned on the hazard lights, slowed down, and pulled over to the side of the road.

Even then, Bai Wentao still hadn't realized disaster was imminent, and he chuckled, asking: "Driver, time waits for no one—do you find that thousand yuan too hot to handle?"

"No, the tire seems to have hit a nail; I need to get out and check." After saying that, the driver stepped out, and the next second two police cars pursued.

One blocked the road ahead, another blocked the rear to cut off retreat.

This scene startled Bai Wentao, his face turning pale; he still wanted to bolt, but as soon as he stepped out, two swift criminal police pressed him to the ground: "Don't move!"

The driver jumped in fright, instinctively covering his head and crouching: "Officer, I'm not his accomplice; I stopped just to cooperate with you..."

The officer had no time to deal with him.

Bai Wentao, pinned to the ground, shouted: "What are you doing? You've got the wrong person—I'm Bai Wentao, secretary of the Municipal Office; let me go!"

"That's right, it's you we're after."

The officer swiftly handcuffed Bai Wentao's hands behind his back and hauled him up from the ground.

Bai Wen's face still struggled, shaking his arms to resist arrest: "On what grounds are you arresting me? Randomly grabbing people for no reason—watch out, I'll make you regret it!"

"You are suspected of instigation, directing others to steal public and private property—is this reason enough?"

The officer asked coldly, and Bai Wentao's face turned ashen.

He stopped struggling; this was fate. He thought he had misjudged people, and surely after the Night Travel Three Fools were caught, they chose the lenient route of confessing.

Damn it!

Before, seeing them come in and out of prison several times, each a hardened criminal, I had thought their will was strong and they would observe the code of the underworld.

I never expected them to be so unreliable, lacking any sense of contract!

Bai Wentao, feeling hopeless, asked the officer: "Can I make a phone call? Just to say one thing—my wife and kids are still waiting for me at the airport."

"What are you thinking? You're a secretary, after all—you don't even know basic protocol."

The officer not only refused his request but also seized his phone on the spot.

Superiors had issued an order: before taking action against Xiao Yunce, no word must leak! The reason they intercepted him midway tonight was to avoid a crowded, chaotic environment.

After putting Bai Wentao into the police car.

An officer again reminded the taxi driver: "I've noted your license plate; don't go blabbing about tonight's affair, got it?"

"I... I understand..."

The taxi driver nervously nodded.

The officer, without further words, escorted Bai Wentao back to the City Bureau, reporting the capture situation to Bureau chief Xu Liangyuan along the way.

This was destined to be a sleepless night.

Late at night, past two, Xu Liangyuan and Chu Jinsong were still at the Qinghu Guesthouse, discussing the next arrest plan with Lengchuan.

Xu Liangyuan, thinking deeply, proposed:

"Since we've caught Bai Wentao, I think we might as well sweep the net. Tonight we'll capture Xiao Yunce, Wang Minjuan of Eternal Sand Group, Ye Dan of River Wave Bank, and the others in one go."

Chu Jinsong frowned worriedly: "This afternoon, Secretary Gao spoke with me."

Upon hearing that, Xu Liangyuan and Lengchuan simultaneously focused their gazes on Chu Jinsong, waiting for his next words.

Chu Jinsong gave a helpless smile: "Secretary Gao today talked to me about unity, saying we must prioritize the big picture—he's basically warning me. If I said I had no reservations at all, that would be a bit unconscionable."

Leng Chuan analyzed: "The person Secretary Gao truly wants to protect may not be Xiao Yunce; he merely wants to protect Wang Minjuan of the Eternal Sand Group."

Xu Liangyuan laughed and said: "That Wang Minjuan is a real estate magnate lifted up single-handedly by Xiao Yunce. If Xiao Yunce goes in, Wang Minjuan will definitely also have to go in."

Leng Chuan nodded in deep agreement: "Yang Tao of Green Bamboo Village has been missing for several months. Before fleeing, Yin Hongqiu confessed to Lin Dongfan, saying she did not capture Yang Tao. I now suspect that Yang Tao may be under Wang Minjuan's control."

"Liangyuan, the matter of Yang Tao, your City Bureau must hurry; it's a matter of life and death." Chu Jinsong reminded.

Xu Liangyuan nodded and explained: "Previously, this matter had been handled by Yang Qing of the Prosperous Bright Sub-bureau; now Yang Qing has gotten into this trouble, and I will later assign someone else to take over the investigation."

Xu Liangyuan also no longer mentioned the matter of arresting Wang Minjuan.

Leng Chuan took the opportunity to propose to Chu Jinsong: "Secretary Chu, do you think this would work? For now, we only arrest those public officials of the Executive faction, first leave Wang Minjuan alone, so as not to provoke Secretary Gao's emotions."

Upon hearing that, Chu Jinsong also didn't know what to say.

It's not hard to see that Leng Chuan now only wants to apprehend Xiao Yunce and close the case as soon as possible.

It's also normal to think that.

His wife died in a car crash, his daughter sustained serious head injuries, leaving her with cognitive impairment; those tragedies are all thanks to Xiao Yunce.

Initially, Lin Dongfan went to the provincial capital to deliver medicine.

Xiao Yunce's sole purpose was to take out Lin Dongfan, so he plotted a high-speed car accident.

As a result, innocent people were implicated.

Privately, Leng Chuan has the determination to seek justice for his wife and children.

Officially, Prosecutor Liu of the Provincial Procuratorate once limited him to three months to close the case at the end of last year; now there are only a few days left, and if he doesn't close the case, the 9·28 Special Task Force will return empty-handed.

On the issue of "constantly picking on Wang Minjuan," everyone remained silent, which also means they reached a tacit understanding: unless absolutely necessary, no one wants to provoke Secretary Gao.

The next day at noon.

After the Provincial Department released the autopsy report of Shang Weiliang, the City Bureau and the Anti-Corruption Special Task Force joined forces, formally launching the dragnet operation.