Chapter 111: Feigned Transaction·Magnetic Powder Lure Plot

Zhao Jianguo pressed himself against the wall base, motionless, his eyes locked on the half-collapsed wooden door on the east side. Moonlight slanted in; the shifting shadow on the ground had vanished, yet his heart remained taut as a drawn bowstring.

"Don't go east." Chen Jianguo's earlier words weren't nonsense.

He glanced at Sha Zhu, lowered his voice: "Take Old Chen out the back door, avoid the main road, circle the vegetable cellar and return to the hospital. I'll lure them away."

"What about you?" Sha Zhu frowned, "You're staying alone?"

"I have to see the act through." Zhao Jianguo felt in his pocket for the tin can holding the timed signal source, weighed it, and said, "They're chasing the signal—I'll give them a tempting bait."

As soon as he finished speaking, the three figures outside were indeed drawn to the tin can tossed westward, quickly moving to flank outside the enclosure wall. Zhao Jianguo had been waiting for this moment; he gave Sha Zhu a look, and the two slipped out of the warehouse one after another, silently.

Just as dawn broke, the faucet at the Siheyuan gate sputtered loudly. Zhao Jianguo crouched by the door of his storage room, toying with an old circuit board, beside which lay several scraps of metal and a bottle of gray-brown powder.

"Can this stuff really fool people?" Sha Zhu chewed on a grass stalk, leaning against the doorframe watching him work.

"Even more convincing than the real thing." Zhao Jianguo tightened the last screw, lifted the forged "High-Energy Particle Adjuster Core Component" and gave it a shake. "Look at this wear on the interface, this degree of oxidation on the solder points—even a veteran technician in the factory wouldn't spot the flaw."

He picked up the spray bottle and evenly misted a thin layer of powder onto the component's surface. The powder settled on the metal almost invisibly, only showing a faint matte sheen at certain angles.

"Is this the magnetic powder you mentioned?" Sha Zhu leaned in for a closer look.

"Enhanced." Zhao Jianguo put away his tools, "Anyone who gets it on them can be tracked wherever they go. Moreover, it doesn't come off easily—washing won't remove it completely."

"Where do you plan to put it?"

"Black Market." Zhao Jianguo sealed the sample in a kraft paper bag, "Let the informant spread the word—say this is a 'confidential component leaked from Shanghai,' limited to one piece, so those in the know hurry to get it."

Sha Zhu grinned: "You really have a knack for business."

"This isn't business—it's fishing." Zhao Jianguo patted his shoulder, "Go rest; I'll keep watch on what comes next."

That night, Zhao Jianguo climbed over the wall into the cottage of Chen Jianguo's cousin. The person on the bed had just woken, face pale but eyes still fairly clear.

"Did they come?" Chen Jianguo pushed himself up to sit.

"Not yet." Zhao Jianguo handed him a cup of hot water, "But the bait I scattered has already taken effect."

Chen Jianguo nodded, pulled a small box from under the bed, opened it to reveal a miniature remote-control terminal. His fingers trembled slightly, but his operation remained practiced.

"Can the drone still fly?" Zhao Jianguo asked.

"Charged all night." Chen Jianguo connected the signal, "It can last up to forty minutes."

The screen lit up, the view slowly rising—a small aircraft took off from the roof, gliding along its preset route. Night wind whooshed past the lens, tree tops, rooftops, and utility poles flashing by in succession.

The two held their breath, eyes fixed on the screen, until the drone flew through the suburban railway bridge arch and halted at the edge of a wasteland factory area.

"Wait." Zhao Jianguo suddenly reached out, "Upper left, someone by the wall corner."

The view zoomed in: a man in dark work clothes wearing thick gloves held a suction-cup device, carefully extracting the kraft paper bag from the bottom of a bamboo basket.

"He took it." Chen Jianguo whispered.

"Follow him." Zhao Jianguo watched the man's movements as he got into the vehicle, "Note the license plate."

The car started and headed north. The drone kept a safe distance, trailing through the abandoned factory zone and finally stopping before the gate of a rust‑streaked chemical plant.

On the screen, red dots began to appear, one after another.

One, two…… more than a dozen.

"They're all here." Zhao Jianguo narrowed his eyes, "This place used to be State‑Owned Chemical Plant No. 3, shut down in 1966; now it's abandoned."

"What are they doing in there?" Chen Jianguo caught his breath.

"We'll see." Zhao Jianguo turned off the display, pulled out the memory card, "Now we just need to know where they're holed up."

At three a. m., the oil lamp in the west room of the Siheyuan was still lit. Zhao Jianguo sat at the small table, holding a pen‑shaped detector, lightly sweeping it over the recovered air sample.

The needle twitched slightly, then steadied at a certain mark.

"The activity's still there." He muttered to himself, "At least it'll last three days."

Sha Zhu pushed the door open, holding a bowl of hot noodle soup: "Have something to eat—you've been up all night."

"I'm not eating." Zhao Jianguo set down the detector, rubbed his temples, "They took the sample; they'll surely try to exchange it quickly. But once the magnetic powder adheres to equipment, interference grows stronger over time—they won't dare delay."

"So you're waiting for them to show themselves?"

"Exactly." Zhao Jianguo gave a cold smile, "Nobody wants to lug around a glowing bundle. Within three days they'll definitely make a move."

"What should we do, then?"

"We'll monitor the factory perimeter, assign personnel in shifts—but stay back, and don't spook the grass." Zhao Jianguo stood, walked to the wall, and unfolded a hand‑drawn map, "When they make the trade, we'll close in and catch them."

Sha Zhu scratched his head: "But how can you be sure it's that day? What if they move early?"

"They won't." Zhao Jianguo pointed at the detector's readout, "Look at this fluctuation curve. The magnetic powder begins to decay after twelve hours, and its performance drops sixty percent after forty‑eight hours. If they want the equipment to work normally, they must complete transmission and calibration while it's still effective."

"That sounds rather mystical."

"Not at all." Zhao Jianguo put the map away, "They're professionals who follow procedure. The more professional they are, the more they stick to the rules. We'll use that against them, throwing off their rhythm."

Faint footsteps sounded outside, followed quickly by a knock on the door.

"Jianguo? It's me." It was Aunt Liu from next door, "It's so late—why aren't you asleep yet?"

Zhao Jianguo gestured for Sha Zhu to be quiet, then stepped softly to open the door.

"Aunt Liu, what's up?"

"Nothing major." Aunt Liu, wearing a blue‑cloth shirt, held an enamel bucket, "I just saw a blue flash in your courtyard and thought there was a fire, so I came to check."

Zhao Jianguo's heart jumped: "Blue light? Where?"

"From the crack in the window of your storage room—just a flicker, then gone." Aunt Liu narrowed her eyes, "Could be a leaking appliance? Be careful."

"Probably just a flashlight reflection." Zhao Jianguo replied with a smile, "Thanks for the heads‑up—I'll go have a look."

The door closed, and Sha Zhu immediately lowered his voice: "Was it the detector?"

"No." Zhao Jianguo shook his head, "I just put it away."

He hurried into the storage room, lifted the oilcloth covering the workbench, and saw at once the bottle of magnetic powder—its lid slightly loose, the powder diminished.

"Someone's been here." He whispered.

"Who would dare come in here?" Sha Zhu glared.

"I don't know." Zhao Jianguo crouched down, using the detector to scan along the ground. When the instrument approached the wall corner, it emitted a faint beep.

"There's residue here." He pointed at the floor seam, "Not just a little, it looks like it was rubbed on."

Sha Zhu bent over to look: "Could it be that the parts we brought back earlier got contaminated?"

"It's impossible." Zhao Jianguo stood up, "Those parts I individually sealed. Moreover, this signal frequency is off, stronger."

He suddenly thought of something, turned and pulled open the drawer, flipping out a design sketch he'd drawn yesterday. The paper spread open, a barely noticeable crease in the corner.

He looked with the magnifying glass, his pupils constricted sharply.

On the paper there was an extremely tiny metal fragment, adhering to the edge of the crease.

"They've looked at my drawing." Zhao Jianguo's voice sank, "And it was just after last night."

"What?" Sha Zhu froze, "Who? Could it be... there's a mole inside the house?"

"Not necessarily." Zhao Jianguo rolled up the paper and stuffed it into the iron box, "It could also be that they sneaked in while we were away. But this indicates one thing—they've started doubting the authenticity of the bait."

"Still wait three days? Better to act now!"

"No." Zhao Jianguo shook his head, "If we act now, the evidence isn't solid enough. Besides, since they can reach my doorstep, there's definitely someone backing them up. Acting rashly would only get us bitten back."

"So what do we do? Just wait?"

"Wait." Zhao Jianguo relit the oil lamp, "But we need to change the game."

He took another bottle of darker powder from the drawer, poured it into a small glass bottle, and gently shook it.

"This is my newly adjusted magnetic powder enhancer. If it sticks, signal strength doubles and it carries a coding feature." He curled the corner of his mouth into a smile, "Next time they come to peek, I'll make them hand over the exact location of their base themselves."

Sha Zhu stared at the bottle of dark gray powder, swallowed, "This trick of yours... is too nasty, huh?"

"Nasty?" Zhao Jianguo tightened the cap, placed it in his inner pocket, "This is what you call reciprocity."

He lifted his head to glance at the brightening sky outside, took a deep breath: "From today on, every meal, every person entering or leaving the courtyard, you must note it clearly. Especially any movement after ten at night."

"Are you setting up surveillance?"

"I want them to think I'm still the Zhao Jianguo who just clocks in and out." Zhao Jianguo smiled, "Actually I've quietly swapped the fishhook for a steel wire noose."

Sha Zhu was about to speak when suddenly a hurried knocking came from the courtyard gate.

Jianguo! Open the door! was the voice of Director Zhou of the residents' committee. Something happened! Xu Da Mao's older brother went to the police station this morning to inquire about the situation, but as a result, on the road he was hit by someone on his bicycle and fell badly.