Chapter 445: Escape from the Dry Well

At midnight, Zhou Hao handed two meat buns to Xiao Geng, who was guarding Mei Feng, and said, "Stay sharp tonight. We received news recently that the agents are planning something!"

"Don't worry, Team Leader Zhou! I slept all day; I'm not tired at all!" Xiao Geng smiled, took the buns, and swallowed them one by one.

Before long, his eyelids began to droop, his body went limp, and he fell into a deep sleep.

Not long after, Zhou Hao returned.

He opened the door and handed a police uniform to Mei Feng: "Put this on, we're leaving now."

Mei Feng moved quickly and swiftly put the clothes on.

Zhou Hao unlocked the Handcuffs for him, and the two walked out one after the other, quickly ducking into a car that was already running.

Sitting in the back seat was Zhou Hao's confidant, Lao Liu. This man had studied Kung Fu; he didn't say a word and sat right next to Mei Feng—this person was specifically there to keep an eye on him.

Zhou Hao's car quickly drove out of the main gate.

A car outside the gate slowly followed.

"Where to?" Zhou Hao asked without looking back.

"Badaling, Chadao Village," Mei Feng replied.

At almost the same time, inside the No. 95 Siheyuan, He Yuzhu, Tian Dan, and Lin Wanning were sitting around eating wontons, their heads steaming from the heat.

The phone suddenly rang.

Tian Dan picked it up; it was Xiao Tian's tense voice: "Around twelve o'clock, Zhou Hao drove out. The guard reported that Xiao Du's car has already followed."

Tian Dan hung up the phone and said, "That kid has made a move; we need to follow him."

The three of them quickly threw on their coats and headed out.

He Yuzhu started the car and drove like a bolt of lightning.

There were few cars on the road at night, and in less than ten minutes, they arrived at the entrance of the Municipal Bureau.

He Yuzhu flashed his headlights and spotted white powder on the ground indicating the direction.

"Drive north," Tian Dan said.

"Dan, tell me, what exactly is Zhou Hao trying to do in the middle of the night?" He Yuzhu couldn't help but ask.

Tian Dan shook her head; she was wondering the same thing.

Lin Wanning, off to the side, whispered, "He's definitely up to no good."

After a moment of silence, Tian Dan spoke slowly: "Once this batch of agents is caught... I don't want to do this anymore. It's too exhausting."

He Yuzhu glanced at her in the rearview mirror and smiled: "Dan, I'm afraid it's not a question of whether you want to do it or not this time. You two might have to settle this once and for all. Either he goes, or you go..."

Forty minutes later, they finally caught up to Xiao Du's car.

Tian Dan rolled down the window and said loudly, "Xiao Du, you head back first."

Xiao Du nodded, turned the car around, and left.

He Yuzhu immediately turned off the headlights and, relying on the system's Scanning Function, drove the car at high speed.

Tian Dan couldn't help but say, "It's pitch black out here; don't drive the car into a ditch."

"That's nothing," He Yuzhu curled his lips and said proudly, "On the Korean War battlefield, in nights so dark you couldn't see your own hand, I drove like this even on steep mountain roads."

"You sure can brag!" Lin Wanning laughed and scolded.

About an hour later, He Yuzhu noticed the car in front had stopped.

"Dan, it's all mountain roads ahead. It won't be convenient for you to follow them. Wait here; I'll sneak up and take a look," He Yuzhu said in a low voice, then pushed open the car door, his figure disappearing into the night.

Up ahead, Zhou Hao followed Mei Feng, walking unsteadily up the hillside. Occasionally, they kicked loose stones that went clattering down.

After walking for nearly twenty minutes, a lonely little courtyard appeared by the Great Wall.

Mei Feng lowered his voice and said, "Follow me, and whatever you do, don't touch anything."

Zhou Hao nodded.

Mei Feng fished a key out from the wall outside the gate and inserted it into the rusted keyhole.

With a "click," the lock opened.

He slowly pushed open the courtyard gate.

Debris was scattered all over the yard. Mei Feng pointed to an overturned old stool on the ground and said, "There's a Trick Mine connected underneath this. It'll explode if you touch it."

A chill ran down Zhou Hao's spine—he had almost kicked it just now.

The well was just a few steps away; the escape route was beneath it.

At this moment, Mei Feng's heart was in his throat. Lao Liu was sticking too close and was too alert; he would be caught the moment he made a move. Better to escape when they were leaving! Once the task was done, Zhou Hao would surely lower his guard.

Mei Feng still wore a smile on his face and said, "It's too cold out; let's go inside first."

He once again retrieved a key from a crack in the stones on the wall and opened the inner room door.

Zhou Hao followed him in, struck a match, and lit a Candle he had brought with him.

A dim, yellow glow spread out, illuminating an earthen kang, a small square table, an old wooden cabinet on the floor, and two stools. Other than that, it was empty.

Mei Feng whispered a warning: "There's a Trick Mine on the door of that cabinet on the floor. Don't touch it!"

"We should tidy this place up a bit and start a fire so it looks like someone has been living here recently," Zhou Hao said.

Mei Feng praised, "Team Leader Zhou is truly a man who does big things; you really are meticulous!"

"Mr. Mei is too kind. Where should we put the Secret Letter?"

Mei Feng walked to the wall and slowly tore open a tattered "Year After Year of Abundance" New Year painting.

He gently pried out a loose brick, revealing a small hole behind it.

Mei Feng put the Secret Letter inside, and just as he was about to block it with the stone, Zhou Hao handed him a stack of cash: "This will make it look more lived-in!"

Mei Feng smiled: "Team Leader Zhou is indeed thoughtful."

He turned and pointed behind the house: "There's a cellar deep in the yard with a radio inside. Should we take it?"

Zhou Hao shook his head: "I think we should leave it here; having a radio makes it more realistic."

Mei Feng said, "If we could send a telegram from the Taiwan Secret Service Bureau to confirm this matter, it would be even more authentic."

Zhou Hao frowned and said, "How is that possible?"

"If I could get to the waters off Tianjin, I could forge a telegram from the Secret Service Bureau that would be indistinguishable from the real thing; you wouldn't be able to trace the source," Mei Feng said, looking at him.

"Too much trouble," Zhou Hao waved his hand, "it's safer to use the newspaper method."

Mei Feng nodded, but secretly made a decision: if these two men didn't go to retrieve the radio, there would be no way to blow them up; if he didn't agree to go to the open sea, he would have no chance to escape. It seemed that success or failure would be decided tonight.

Lao Liu had already lit the fire to heat the kang.

To mislead Zhou Hao, Mei Feng deliberately moved closer to Lao Liu and said, "Don't be so nervous; out here in the middle of nowhere, I won't run away."

Lao Liu blushed and said, "Sorry, this is my duty."

"Little brother, I don't blame you! In fact, I like your serious attitude." Mei Feng pretended to be very relaxed.

Zhou Hao suddenly asked, "Is the draft for the newspaper notice written?"

Mei Feng took a slip of paper from his pocket and handed it to Zhou Hao: "It's already written."

Zhou Hao took it and asked, "Is this Secret Letter difficult to decipher?"

Mei Feng smiled and replied, "It uses the same code as the previous poisoning case; your telecommunications room has dealt with it before, so it won't be hard to decipher—one day is enough."

The three men each harbored their own thoughts, and time passed very slowly.

Half an hour later, the room was mostly tidied up.

Zhou Hao pressed his temples and said, "I really want to sleep on this warm kang, but we must head back immediately."

"Fine, then I'll put out the fire." Mei Feng used a stick to beat down the fire inside.

Lao Liu came over to help, and in a short while, the fire was extinguished.

The three of them cleaned up the traces again and then exited the house.

Outside, the cold wind howled, but as Mei Feng locked the door, his palms were covered in sweat.

Just as they were about to reach the well, a long, drawn-out wolf howl suddenly echoed from the depths of the wilderness—

"Who's there?" Mei Feng shouted sharply.

Zhou Hao gave a start and instantly looked up toward the top of the wall.

Lao Liu also turned around to look at the same time.

In the blink of an eye, Mei Feng bolted like a rabbit, leaping into the dry well in the courtyard!