Chapter 344: A Bird Startled by the Snap of a Bow

Almost ten minutes.

Those three "tails" had been waiting in the lobby for ten minutes, and that person had been observing from across the way for the same ten minutes.

If they didn't pull the men out now, it would be too late.

If the observation was careful enough, ten minutes was already enough to spot a pattern.

The same few people loitering in one spot—no matter how good the cover, it was useless.

Because the other side wasn't watching what they wore, but their pattern of movement.

Lu Zhongxin passed the order along at once.

The provincial bureau officers outside were all veteran detectives with plenty of experience, and on top of that their teamwork was extremely tight.

After receiving the order, they quickly dispersed and one by one left the hotel's vicinity.

Time ticked by, and in the blink of an eye another five minutes had passed.

"Have them call and hurry the other side along." Yu Dazhang and Lu Zhongxin had kept the line open the whole time.

There was another layer to his arrangement: he wanted to see whether the other party was still there.

If the other party noticed anything off, they would switch off their phone at once and then leave quickly.

As long as the call could get through, it meant the other party was still observing.

The three "tails" had comms devices on them, so orders could be relayed to them without needing a phone call.

Two minutes later, Lu Zhongxin sent word back:

"The other side says they'll be there soon, tell them not to rush."

What was he still waiting for?

Yu Dazhang gazed at the plaza opposite, all sorts of thoughts flashing through his mind.

Since he'd already decided to come meet, why be this cautious?

Weighing all the factors, he arrived at the following two points:

1. Timing.

That man had once said he hadn't been in touch with his middle-school classmate—the one who'd brought him into the business—for over a year.

Cutting down the frequency of contact was also for safety's sake.

But after not being in touch for so long, meeting out of the blue—anyone would be on guard.

2. The way the meeting was arranged was too sudden.

This meeting was mainly because the three "tails" had unilaterally proposed to leave.

They'd been at it for seven years straight, and their income was quite handsome, yet suddenly they said they wanted to go set up their own factory—such a decision was bound to feel abrupt.

Especially with no obvious signs beforehand, and no prior discussion.

The fact that the other side had agreed to come talk was probably because there really was no one to replace them, so they had no choice but to come in person and try to keep them.

But come or not come, vigilance still had to be maintained.

"So you're still not at ease."

Yu Dazhang muttered to himself, his eyes meanwhile drifting back and forth among the three locations in front of him.

They couldn't wait any longer—after the officers pulled out, the three people now in the hotel lobby were in an unmonitored state.

If the three got any crooked ideas, they might try to run.

Office building, plaza, parking lot…

Pick one of three—he had to be hiding in one of these places.

Cautious, smart—Yu Dazhang was constructing the other party's personality traits in his mind.

Add one more: a bird startled by the snap of a bow.

Combining these traits…

He first let his gaze fall on the plaza directly opposite.

"If I were him, the first place I'd rule out is the plaza."

"Sure, the foot traffic is heavy there, but exposure is high too—out in broad daylight, it's easy to get recognized."

"And my classmate knows me well, knows what I look like—one description and he can sketch out my face and build."

"Most important, the plaza isn't suited for observation—you can't keep staring toward the hotel the whole time, and walking back and forth won't let you focus either."

As Yu Dazhang muttered, his eyes were also scanning back and forth across the plaza.

Check the build first, then the gender—if both match, then look at the face…

Screening this way, with his eyesight he quickly swept the people in the plaza once.

No match.

He closed his eyes and pinched hard at the bridge of his brow.

When he opened them again, he set his gaze on the office building.

"That's a good spot for observation—high up, excellent view, you can see every move at the hotel entrance."

"It's also good for hiding—as long as you hole up inside, it's hard to spot anyone's movements from outside."

At this point, Yu Dazhang paused.

His gaze also shifted to the front entrance of that office building.

Through the glass at the entrance, he clearly saw two men in security uniforms standing at the office building's entryway.

"Too bad—this is an office-first building."

As he said this, a smile played on Yu Dazhang's face.

Right—an office building wasn't somewhere just anyone could walk into.

Office-first buildings all had access-control systems, specifically to keep out people who didn't work inside.

Even if there's business to handle, you still have to make an appointment with the companies inside the building in advance, register at the front desk, and have the property management staff open the access control to enter.

The two security guards at the entrance are no decoration — if an outsider comes in, they won't escape their sharp eyes.

So then…

He can't get in.

Yu Dazhang could already picture the expression on the other party's face the moment they saw the access control.

Speechless, surprised, disappointed — probably with a sigh to boot.

Would the other party try to sneak into the office building?

No.

Yu Dazhang gave it a little thought and arrived at the answer.

As a bird startled by the mere twang of a bow, he wouldn't dare take that risk.

If the commotion grew too big, it could very well bring unnecessary trouble.

Moreover, a person with a guilty conscience instinctively fears those who wear uniforms to maintain public order.

It's not just the police they're afraid of — seeing security personnel triggers the same fear.

This is their psychological reverence for the law and their dread of the unknown.

Then that leaves only one last location.

The open-air parking lot!

Yu Dazhang turned his gaze toward the parking lot. Where his eyes reached, row upon row of neatly parked vehicles stretched out — by his estimate, over thirty of them.

"The line of sight here isn't great, but it's perfect for concealed observation."

Yu Dazhang's eyes narrowed slightly as his gaze swept rapidly from car to car.

"A person hiding inside a car is very hard to spot from outside, and with several dozen cars in the lot, blending in among them shows nothing out of the ordinary."

"Compared to the other two locations, this one has a unique advantage: mobility."

"If they sense something's off, the other party can drive away immediately."

Looking at it this way… Yu Dazhang suddenly felt that this method of hiding in a car to observe was very much like his own stakeout at the industrial district before.

No — not just similar, it was practically identical.

In other words, the other party was very familiar with police investigative methods.

Not only familiar, but had put them to practical use.

In the blink of an eye another five minutes passed, and the other party still hadn't shown up.

During this time, Yu Dazhang's attention was entirely on that open-air parking lot.

He was on the fourth floor, and it was diagonally facing that parking lot, so he had an excellent view and could see the entire situation in the lot.

"There's clearly nothing wrong anymore — why won't you show yourself?" Yu Dazhang muttered to himself.

Putting himself in the other's shoes.

"I chose this as the meeting place because this hotel's location is the most suitable for conducting observation."

"So my main purpose here is to confirm whether those three people have already been taken under police control."

"Since I have doubts, I won't book a room at this hotel — doing so would leave behind my personal information."

At this point, he suddenly stopped.

His eyes fixed dead on the parking lot below, his gaze cold and sharp:

"So you never intended to meet here at all!"

(End of this chapter)