Chapter 672: Fellow Traders Are Natural Enemies

As an experienced veteran detective, Xu Dui Leader could easily guess what the other side intended to do.

Driving in circles around the city was meant to check if they were being followed.

On the highways outside the city, vehicles were already scarce, especially at night, when there were barely any cars on the road.

Under such conditions, if the same vehicle appeared twice, it could be confirmed they were being followed.

It was a crude method, but the most direct and effective one.

Unfortunately, this was useless against the provincial bureau officers—they had tracking devices, so they wouldn't appear in the other side's line of sight.

But to be safe, Xu Dui Leader still issued an order to keep their distance.

"Understood."

The officers on the other side clearly guessed Xu Dui Leader's intention.

After hanging up the phone, Xu Dui Leader turned to Yu Dazhang and asked:

"Is their hiding place inside Xicheng City?"

"I don't know." Yu Dazhang shook his head:

"Given how cautious they are, the likelihood is very high."

As he spoke, he glanced again at the computer screen.

On the surveillance footage, Ye Zhiyu was still performing hypnosis therapy on Zhang Qian.

From Ye Zhiyu's focused expression and demeanor, this hypnosis seemed anything but easy.

"It's strange."

Xu Dui Leader also glanced at the surveillance footage, then pulled out a cigarette, lit it, took a drag, and said:

"In this operation, we didn't leave any openings at all—why would they be this cautious if they haven't even detected us?"

In his view, their actions were completely unnecessary.

Put bluntly, they were scaring themselves.

"They're not guarding against us."

Yu Dazhang stared at Zhang Qian on the surveillance screen and said gravely:

"Whenever illegal transactions are involved, there's always a chance of one side betraying the other."

"So what they're truly guarding against is their own peers—if Zhang Qian discovers their hiding place, that's when they're in the greatest danger."

His words essentially interpreted the other side's intent from another angle.

Upon hearing this, Xu Dui Leader thought for a moment and immediately grasped the key point.

As Zhang Qian's buyer, to ensure their own safety, their first priority was to sever all contact with her.

At the very least, they had to prevent her from knowing their location.

That's precisely why they chose to come to her door to conduct the transaction.

That way, even if Zhang Qian were ever arrested, she couldn't expose them—because she didn't even know where they were.

And as Yu Dazhang said, revealing their location also made them vulnerable to being targeted by their own peers.

People in this line of work, even if betrayed, could only grit their teeth and swallow it.

So they had no choice but to be cautious.

"For these people to maintain long-term cooperation, they always find ways to get leverage over each other."

Yu Dazhang continued:

"Fellow traders are natural enemies—whether black or white, this will never change."

Some things are actually simple, only made complicated by people.

But once you grasp the key point, no matter how complex the other side makes things, you can see through them at a glance.

Then Yu Dazhang opened another surveillance feed, showing the woman who had been brought back with Zhang Qian.

"Have we confirmed her identity?" Yu Dazhang asked, watching the woman on screen.

"Confirmed." Xu Dui Leader replied:

"She's the little boss's wife; she handles cooking and cleaning at the villa, and Zhang Qian pays her a separate salary."

It made sense… roughly what Yu Dazhang had guessed.

As a temporary base, Zhang Qian wouldn't dare hire a maid or cleaner to come and go.

Plus, meals were a problem—ordering takeout every day would raise suspicion.

So having an internal person handle these men's daily needs was undoubtedly the safest choice.

And roles like girlfriend or wife not only provided domestic care but also enhanced the base's secrecy and security to some extent.