Chapter 379: I'm That Meat Bun, Then

"I disagree!"

Captain Hua refused:

"There are too many uncontrollable factors. Sending officers into danger when we know there's a risk — that would be dereliction of duty."

This operation did carry a certain degree of danger for Zhang Sen.

From the moment he was taken away by the other side, the risk had already begun.

The other side would definitely search Zhang Sen, so weapons and communication devices couldn't be brought, and his phone would be confiscated too.

In other words, Zhang Sen would be out of contact.

This wasn't an undercover mission at all.

To put it bluntly, Zhang Sen was just bait — bait deliberately sent into the other side's trap.

"Of course I know there's a risk." Yu Dazhang said helplessly:

"But we have to do it this way. There's no other choice."

Seeing that Captain Hua still seemed to want to argue, he quickly waved his hand and continued explaining:

"Drawing them out is only the first step. The follow-up surveillance is the most critical — and the most important — step."

"Think about it: if Zhang Sen slipped away from them easily, would they still dare return to their hideout? If so, wouldn't we be the ones giving them a warning?"

Yu Dazhang paused, then said with emphasis:

"They stake out places long-term and watch for people. Any little movement will make them alert — let alone a whole living person running off right in front of them."

"So there can't be a single accident or change in the procedure."

He slowed his pace slightly, then went on:

"Besides, they'll only return to that underground prison after they've successfully caught someone."

"I worry about Zhang Sen's safety even more than you do. He came here with me, so naturally it's my responsibility to bring him back safely."

Neither of them brought up grabbing the people directly, because they both knew catching these few would be useless.

Just like the hidden sentries and the "feet" — even if caught, the leads would be cut off.

After these people grabbed the mentally disabled individuals, there would definitely be a transfer process in between, meant to separate each link in the chain.

So Yu Dazhang's plan this time was covert surveillance.

That way, even if the other side completed the transfer, they could keep tailing them.

After the plan was set last night, Yu Dazhang had spoken with Zhang Sen alone and laid out the stakes clearly.

He had also made it explicit: if he didn't want to go, he could say so now — he wouldn't force him.

"Bait thrown to the dogs." Comrade Zhang Sen was actually quite sharp:

"I'm that bait, then."

But he immediately stated his stance:

"Duty calls."

In the end, Captain Hua could only agree to Yu Dazhang's action plan.

Yu Dazhang was the team leader now, with decision-making authority — even if he had objections, he had to keep them to himself.

Moreover, the importance of this operation was self-evident; any mishap could cause the entire plan to fail.

And there was only this one chance.

Once the rescue operation in Province N was over, Zhang Chao and the others would definitely go into hiding. When that happened, they'd scatter across various provinces, and the people responsible for grabbing victims would also go underground.

One o'clock in the afternoon.

Captain Hua brought people and drove seven private cars to the area near the train station.

These vehicles had been borrowed from the local police — all with local plates, and of different models, so parked together they wouldn't draw attention.

Half an hour later, at the exit.

People who had just gotten off the train streamed out of the exit passage one after another.

A few groups of people had long been waiting there.

"Need a ride? Get in and go — straight to your door."

"Handsome, need a room? Nice environment, wifi, hot water 24/7."

"My place can do short stays, cheap — minimum two hours."

All kinds of soliciting calls kept pouring from those people's mouths, rising and falling in an unbroken din for a moment.

This counted as a scene unique to the train station.

The endless stream of people didn't come to a halt because of it, still bustling along as before.

Just after most of the crowd had come out, a young man who looked a bit countrified walked out of the passage.

His clothes were a little baggy, he wore a pair of black cloth shoes on his feet, and his hair was slightly disheveled.

Once outside, he didn't hurry to walk out with the crowd, but stood in place, looking around.

He looked like a first-time visitor to the city, his face full of curiosity and confusion.

"Handsome, need a ride?" a young man came over.

"Ah, I — I don't need a ride."

This young man was Zhang Sen. He looked very nervous, which made him stammer a little when speaking, and his eyes kept darting around.

Faced with a stranger's initiative to chat him up, he clearly didn't know how to handle it, so instinctively wanted to refuse.

"It's not expensive. Where are you headed?" the young man kept asking enthusiastically.

Zhang Sen thought for a moment, then finally shook his head and refused:

"No need."

After saying that, he didn't linger, but followed the last few people coming out and walked forward.

The young man who had just tried to strike up a conversation with him didn't press the matter, and shifted his target to a woman holding a child.

Zhang Sen followed the crowd to the roadside, and when he saw the traffic on the road, his brow furrowed slightly without his realizing it.

It was as if these vehicles were causing him some kind of trouble or unease.

At this point, no matter what angle you looked from, you could see the blank helplessness he was showing.

His body was a little stiff, as if he didn't know how to deal with the situation before him.

After standing for a moment, he came to the bus stop beside him, and raised his head to look at the bus stop sign standing nearby.

During this process, he subconsciously moved the messenger bag slung across his body to his chest, then hugged it tightly.

That cautious-looking manner seemed careful, but was actually quite clumsy, looking just like someone afraid that someone might do something to him.

But it was precisely this manner that formed a sharp contrast with the people around him who were natural and relaxed.

Just after he had looked for about two minutes, a man's voice suddenly sounded beside him:

"Looking for a room?"

Zhang Sen turned his head to look, and saw a young man about his own age standing beside him at some unknown point, a faint smile on his face.

Two other men were also following beside the young man, and at this moment they were also staring at Zhang Sen, sizing him up.

"No, no." As Zhang Sen spoke, he raised his hand and gestured at his chest:

"Not looking for a room."

"Then you want to take a ride." The young man continued to ask:

"The bus only stops at the stop, it doesn't take you to a specific place. Where are you going?"

The hand Zhang Sen was holding his backpack with tightened slightly, and a flash of struggle and hesitation passed through his eyes.

"No." He refused again:

"Before I left, my mom told me I can't get in a stranger's car, um, and she also told me to take a big car, the kind where lots of people squeeze together."

As he spoke, he raised his hand and pointed at the bus that had just stopped at the stop, seemingly trying hard to explain to the young man opposite.

"And she gave me coins, said put them in when I get on and I'd get where I'm going, so I left the house, and then…"

Hearing this, the young man looked at the two men beside him, a questioning look in his eyes.

Those two men nodded in unison.

"Alright, enough 'and then'."

The young man spoke up to cut him off, and at the same time stepped forward and grabbed Zhang Sen's arm.

"Let's go, we'll take you there."

Before Zhang Sen could struggle, another man came over and wrapped an arm around his neck, dragging him away from the bus stop.

"And, and then, my mom also said…" Zhang Sen's mouth didn't stop, still trying to explain.

"We know, we know it all." The two men said as they quickly walked forward, pulling him along.

It looked just like three very good friends, arms around each other's shoulders, chatting about something.

The other man, meanwhile, broke into a jog and turned into an alley ahead.

In no time at all, a minivan drove out of the alley.

At this moment, inside an SUV across from the train station, Yu Dazhang saw all of this clearly through the car window.

Seeing Zhang Sen being pushed into the minivan by them, he immediately picked up the walkie-talkie and gave a rapid command:

"Team Four, attention. Target is to your southeast. Vehicle is a minivan. License plate is, Yue AH…"

(End of chapter)