Chapter 48: Wooden Sliding Door

The stakeout continued as before.

Early the next morning, Tan Yong was finally seen coming downstairs and getting into his Pajero. Following behind him, it felt like tailing a captain on his way to work.

Mu Zhiyang followed as usual. After driving for a short while, he gave Wei Zhenguo, who was in the passenger seat, a hard shake to wake him up. The force was significant, carrying a hint of personal grievance.

"What?" Wei Zhenguo woke up with a start.

"Tan Yong changed his route; it's not the way to his unit," Mu Zhiyang said.

Over the past few days, they had followed Tan Yong's car every day, so they had long since memorized the route.

Wei Zhenguo opened his eyes and stared at the bustling road for a few seconds. The first thing he did was notify the other team to come and assemble immediately.

Jiang Yuan also sat up straight, watching the front with curiosity.

Staking out, tailing, and the like—he had only ever seen these in movies and TV shows before. But judging by these past two days... it was actually quite mundane.

Given the traffic conditions in the provincial capital, Changyang City, during rush hour, even a six-lane road in both directions would be congested. If the driver of the car in front checked their rearview mirror, it would be impressive if they even noticed the cars two rows back. Not to mention, the white Volkswagen A-class car Wei Zhenguo had chosen was perfect. Thanks to its distinctive "nesting doll" design, unless one was a car enthusiast, they wouldn't look at the rear end and would be unable to distinguish which specific model the four or five Volkswagens around them were.

Tan Yong clearly had no experience in counter-surveillance. While he would carefully look left and right when getting in and out of the car, and even check his tires, that was the extent of it. When driving on the road, he was basically defenseless; he wouldn't change lanes intentionally, let alone time the traffic lights.

Mu Zhiyang followed Tan Yong with ease, watching him circle around to the vegetable market, buy some things, put them in the trunk, and then drive back...

Wei Zhenguo wiped his face with a tissue dipped in mineral water and said solemnly, "Keep a close eye on this pervert's tail."

Tan Yong drove the car into a residential compound less than a kilometer from his home.

The compound was a bit old and lacked a design that separated pedestrians from vehicles. When Tan Yong's car reached the main gate, it paused briefly, and the barrier arm rose automatically.

"You go park on the side of the road. I'll follow on foot; we'll stay in touch by phone," Wei Zhenguo said quickly, pushing the door open and getting out.

Jiang Yuan also pushed the door open and followed.

Wei Zhenguo hesitated for a moment and said, "Forensic Doctor Jiang, you stay with Xiao Mu."

"I'll help you; it's too dangerous for one person," Jiang Yuan said. He knew Wei Zhenguo was worried about him getting hurt. Compared to a criminal police officer like Mu Zhiyang who graduated from the police academy, his field capability was indeed lacking, but letting Wei Zhenguo follow alone was truly dangerous.

Without weapons or equipment, the safety factor of two people tracking one person was still relatively high.

Wei Zhenguo licked his lips, nodded without a word, and entered the compound. Only then did he whisper, "Stay close to me and don't act on your own."

He was getting on in years, and talking about individual combat capability was pure nonsense. He had lost his foundation from his youth, and he didn't have much confidence facing a man like Tan Yong who frequently worked on construction sites.

Wei Zhenguo ran with his head down. The pedestrian gate of the compound was wide open, and the landscaping inside was unremarkable—a typical scene of decay in an aging residential area.

Jiang Yuan ran in after him, still able to see the tail of the Pajero in the distance.

"Run faster," Wei Zhenguo said, glancing sideways at Tan Yong's car. He was panting heavily as he ran past a building.

Jiang Yuan ran faster, but he didn't dare to get too close, lest they be discovered.

Fortunately, the compound wasn't large. The Pajero had only driven a couple of hundred meters before slowing down again and turning toward a building in the corner of the compound.

Tan Yong got out of the car, lowered the ground lock, and backed into a fixed parking space in front of the first-floor green belt. He then opened the lock on the fence in front of the small garden, as well as the security door inside. It was a unit located on the first floor with a garden in front.

"Building 7. Just one unit. The house on the far north side of the first floor of Building 7, Unit 1. Send a message to Mu Zhiyang," Wei Zhenguo said, panting like an old ox. He leaned on his knees, staring fixedly at Tan Yong from behind a cluster of rose bushes.

Jiang Yuan was also exhausted and knelt on the ground, sending the message as quickly as possible. Looking at Wei Zhenguo's dark face through the evergreen bushes, he felt that the "fresh flowers and cow dung" were a perfect match.

"Rice, flour, grain, oil, vegetables, meat. It's all food," Wei Zhenguo said, watching Tan Yong unload the car. His brow furrowed tightly. "This guy is divorced... no children, parents live in the countryside. Bringing this much food here... there's definitely something wrong."

Jiang Yuan asked, "What do we do next?"

"We can't make an arrest yet. If we catch him without evidence, we'll only be alerting the enemy," Wei Zhenguo said, taking out his phone to edit a text message. "Tell Mu Zhiyang to go back to the car and keep following Tan Yong's vehicle. I'll find a locksmith."

He prepared to see for himself what was inside the house.

Jiang Yuan followed his instructions. On the other end, Mu Zhiyang had just run into the compound, checked his phone, and had no choice but to turn around and run back to where the car was parked, even more exhausted.

About half an hour later, Tan Yong finished unloading the items, returned to the car, started the engine, and headed home.

Wei Zhenguo alerted Mu Zhiyang, watched Tan Yong leave, and then began to wander around Building 7.

Jiang Yuan didn't understand and whispered, "What are we doing now..."

"Checking for cameras. Things like that are very cheap nowadays," Wei Zhenguo said. After scanning the area and finding nothing, he called someone.

Wen Ming, a criminal police officer from Ningtai County who had come with them, and the locksmith arrived quickly at Building 7.

"Open the door," Wei Zhenguo ordered directly.

The locksmith carried a large box and seemed very familiar with Wei Zhenguo. He glanced at him and whispered, "Don't get me into trouble."

"What could happen?" Wei Zhenguo said boldly. They were already here; what else could he do but be brave?

The quality of the security door lock was quite good. The locksmith worked for a long time before finally opening the door, only to reveal another security door inside.

"The lock on this door isn't good. Just having a good door is useless," the locksmith muttered.

Wei Zhenguo was also waiting impatiently and asked casually, "Did you buy this door? How much is it worth?"

"Two doors? If you buy them, maybe ten thousand yuan. If you don't know how to buy, maybe twenty or thirty thousand," the locksmith said.

"That guy's monthly salary is only a few thousand yuan," Wei Zhenguo snorted, bolstering his own confidence.

The door opened.

Inside was a standard four-bedroom, one-living-room layout.

Housing prices in Changyang City weren't cheap, but this compound was built early. If it had been bought more than a decade ago when it first went on sale, it would have cost only a few hundred thousand yuan.

"Spread out and search," Wei Zhenguo said, looking at the interior layout of the ordinary home. His brow furrowed, feeling slightly lost.

However, for Jiang Yuan, this was the simplest crime scene imaginable.

After walking around the room, Jiang Yuan first took out his phone to take a few photos, then lifted the carpet spread between the balcony and the living room and said, "There's a basement."

A wooden sliding door appeared before the three of them. ===== CHAPTER 49 =====