Chapter 441: Waiting for the Thieves to Come

He Yuzhu leaned in close to Chen Qingshan, draped an arm over his shoulder, and said, "Siqiang, do you think these petty thieves won't come tonight?"

"It's not impossible. Why don't you just go home first? I can manage on my own!" Chen Qingshan said.

"Since we're here, we might as well stay," He Yuzhu rubbed his hands, which had grown stiff from the cold. "Since we've already waited this long, let's wait a bit more. I'll doze off for a while; if you see anyone, wake me up."

"This room is truly too cold. Won't you catch a chill?" Chen Qingshan said with concern.

"It's fine! My internal fire is strong." He Yuzhu gave a muffled reply, his eyelids gradually growing heavy, and his breathing becoming steady.

Municipal Bureau, Deputy Bureau Chief's office.

Deputy Bureau Chief Zuo and Tian Dan stood face to face, separated by that old desk; the air seemed to have frozen.

"Did you see that? This time it was his unauthorized action again, and six comrades were sacrificed! What exactly does this Zhou Hao want to do?" Tian Dan said helplessly.

Deputy Bureau Chief Zuo twisted his half-smoked cigarette into the ashtray and sighed: "Comrade Tian Dan, listen to me finish; things are not as you think. Comrade Xiao Zhou did not act without authorization; he received a Secret Letter saying that the spies who escaped from Mentougou might be hiding in those two places... Xiao Zhou saw you weren't in the bureau... so he checked in with me."

"I wasn't there, but couldn't he have told my Secretary, Xiao Tian! He knows where I am!" Tian Dan hated people who didn't use their brains when making excuses.

Deputy Bureau Chief Zuo pushed a letter in front of Tian Dan: "Look at this letter; it says inside that these two places are temporary hiding spots for the spies. We may not like a comrade's way of working, but we cannot deny his starting point."

Tian Dan picked up the letter, scanned it a few times, and threw it back onto the desk.

She knew this was mostly fabricated by Zhou Hao to cover up his mistakes.

But facing this person who was desperately trying to cover for Zhou Hao, she was momentarily helpless.

Tian Dan sneered: "Deputy Bureau Chief Zuo, I have already received news that there is absolutely no one at those two places..."

Deputy Bureau Chief Zuo nodded and said with a sincere tone: "It seems now that this was a retaliatory action by the enemy spies against us. It's just that Xiao Zhou is too young and fell into the enemy's trap. He was also anxious to catch those scattered enemy spies."

"He is just a stupid pig!" Tian Dan cursed.

"Comrade Tian Dan, let's put ourselves in his shoes; if you had received this letter, how would you have handled it?" Deputy Bureau Chief Zuo asked.

"I..." Tian Dan shook her head; she knew she wouldn't get the better of Deputy Bureau Chief Zuo here.

"Those who escaped from Mentougou are all fierce bandits; they must be captured and brought to justice as soon as possible. I have decided that you will lead the Second Team and Third Team to form a pursuit squad, and let Zhou Hao lead the First Team, Fourth Team, and Fifth Team to form another pursuit squad. Since you don't get along, just work separately."

"That's great!" Tian Dan was happy with this division method, "It's settled then; if anything goes wrong on Zhou Hao's side in the future, I won't be held responsible!"

Deputy Bureau Chief Zuo sighed again and said nothing.

About two hours ago, after Chen Jian sent the wounded to the hospital, he called Zhou Hao.

"Team Leader Zhou, we were tricked. Four brothers were sacrificed, and one is seriously injured. If I hadn't gone out to smoke, I would be gone too. That Mei Feng has bad intentions! You shouldn't trust him anymore!"

"Damn it!" Zhou Hao's head buzzed as soon as he heard this. He punched the brick wall, and blood beads immediately seeped from his knuckles.

"Chen Jian, take good care of the injured comrades; I'm going to settle the score with him!"

He hung up the phone, turned around, pulled Mei Feng out of the detention room, and shoved him into the interrogation room.

Zhou Hao pulled out his Pistol, disengaged the safety, and pressed the muzzle directly against Mei Feng's forehead: "You bastard! I treated you so well, why did you play me?"

Mei Feng raised his eyelids, his face expressionless: "Has someone been injured?"

"Nonsense! Four are dead! You motherfucker did it on purpose, didn't you?" Zhou Hao roared.

Mei Feng shook his head and said: "Team Leader Zhou, when you were leaving, I reminded you that I have a junior fellow apprentice who knows how to set a Trick Mine. You haven't forgotten, have you?"

"This..." Zhou Hao was stunned and suddenly remembered.

At that time, he was single-mindedly focused on catching Lin Wanning and treated those words as wind passing by his ears.

"Team Leader Zhou, I don't have bad intentions," Mei Feng continued, "The reason I said that to you at the time was that I hoped you would take me along. I can recognize the marks he makes. But you wouldn't listen. Besides, I heard Police Officer Chen mention that when you encountered my Siqiang at Xishan, you were all able to retreat unscathed, so I assumed there were experts in your team who understood the trade. Who would have thought that none of you knew how to dismantle a mine, yet you dared to go straight in."

These words hit every one of Zhou Hao's sore spots. Mei Feng had already seen clearly that this Zhou Hao wanted to sit in the Section Chief's chair. This point could be exploited.

Zhou Hao stared at Mei Feng for a few seconds, slowly withdrew the gun, and inserted it into the holster.

"Team Leader Zhou, I know you are in trouble now. How about this: tell me the whole story in detail, and I will help you think of a way." Mei Feng advanced step by step.

Just then, the door was knocked.

"Knock, knock, knock," the sound was urgent and heavy.

Police Officer Xiao Zhao pushed the door open, kept winking at him, his face pale.

Zhou Hao walked out quickly.

Xiao Zhao said with a mournful face: "Team Leader Zhou, something happened at Gaobeidian too! There was an explosion! Two were sacrificed, one of whom was Xiao Dou, and there are three seriously injured."

Zhou Hao patted his shoulder and said: "I know you and Xiao Dou were close; go take a look! I'll give you a day off tomorrow!"

Zhou Hao's own heart, however, turned cold; he knew that his career might have ended early this time.

Zhou Hao leaned against the cold wall, took out a cigarette, lit it, and his hands shook so much he almost couldn't catch the flame.

After a long while, he stubbed out the cigarette and walked back into the interrogation room.

Mei Feng had been waiting quietly.

From the look on Zhou Hao's face and his footsteps when he went out, he had already guessed seven or eight tenths of it.

He didn't speak, just watched.

Zhou Hao walked into the interrogation room, pulled over a chair and sat down, tugged at the corners of his mouth, revealed a smile, and said: "I was impulsive just now. Sorry! I won't hide it from you; I'm in big trouble this time. You have to help me. Otherwise, I might be kicked out directly, and the things I promised you will all go down the drain."

Mei Feng nodded: "As long as you tell me everything that has happened in the bureau recently, exactly as it is, I can help you find a way."

Zhou Hao didn't think much and told him everything that had happened in the bureau recently.

After listening, Mei Feng was silent for a while before saying: "You must hold tightly to the matter of 'thirty spies escaped from Mentougou.' I will write a letter for you first; this letter can help you pass through for now... As for what happens later, it depends on how the situation changes..."

At two in the morning, the courtyard was so quiet that one could hear the sound of snow falling.

Chen Qingshan, who was guarding in the half-collapsed side room, felt his eyelids starting to fight.

He blinked hard, looked up outside, and was startled; he didn't know since when, but two people were already crouching on the courtyard wall.

Those two were pressed against the wall, motionless, only their eyes scanning back and forth in the darkness, only their eyes shining brightly, like animals foraging in the night.