Chapter 628 — Reporting In

"Yes! Captain Song!" Several squadron leaders had been losing sleep over the kidney-harvesting case as well. This was the most vicious criminal case Songshan City had seen in years, and both provincial and municipal leaders had already issued directives: the Songshan City Criminal Investigation Brigade had to crack the case as soon as possible to minimize the damage caused by the criminal ring!

Otherwise, the city was already gripped by panic. Children didn't dare walk to school alone, and "Kidney-Cut Corp" had become a code word for terror - whenever a child cried, parents would frighten them with the name, and the crying would stop instantly.

The negative impact had grown to such a degree that the detectives were burning the midnight oil, analyzing the case and sifting through leads, yet progress remained meager. After all, this was not the work of a lone actor but an organized criminal ring with a tightly knit structure and established sales channels!

Such criminal rings were the hardest to pin down, for they only struck when hunting for kidney sources. Once they had a target, they performed the surgery entirely on their own turf, removed the kidneys, and distributed them through their own channels. They never made contact with any third party along the way, leaving virtually no trail to follow.

"Captain Song, have you found a lead?" Liu Wangli was closest to Qiu Lingshan in private, so seeing her grave expression stirred something in him. Could there really have been a breakthrough?

"Mm, I've come into some leads." As Qiu Lingshan said this, a flicker of pride crossed her mind. Looking at the respectful, admiring gazes of everyone around her, she felt all those hours of cosplaying the little miss had not been in vain.

"You have leads?" Though everyone had vaguely sensed something, none were certain - the case was, after all, staggeringly complex. They held Qiu Lingshan in high regard and admired her, but to say that merely sitting in her office for a while had yielded a lead struck them as almost unbelievable!

During the afternoon meeting, after all, Qiu Lingshan had been at her wit's end and had been chewed out by several bureau leaders. Had Yang Huaijun not stepped in to smooth things over, the entire Criminal Investigation Brigade would have been named and publicly reprimanded.

"I received a tip-off and learned in advance the criminal ring's next target location." Qiu Lingshan would not disclose the specific location before an operation. Though these subordinates were all trained by Yang Huaijun himself and could be trusted, better safe than sorry - if someone let it slip and the criminals caught wind, there was no telling when they might find another lead. "Now, let me walk you through the operation plan. Let's pool our ideas. If we go straight for an arrest, we might end up with the same result as last time - catching only the small fry, which won't help the case at all!"

Everyone nodded at this and began weighing in with their own views on the operation plan.

Wei Zhao had barely hung up the phone when he heard footsteps growing steadily closer at the entrance - someone was clearly heading for the restroom. Wei Zhao wondered to himself, who else was coming? He had assumed it was a waiter, but the arrival gave him a start.

It was Chen Yuxuan who walked in. Wei Zhao managed a wry smile. Of course - Chen Yuxuan had come specifically to find him; otherwise, why would he come to this public restroom?

"Instructor, Special Training Unit 0197 reports for duty, sir!" Chen Yuxuan snapped to attention, standing ramrod straight, and rendered Wei Zhao a solemn military salute, his voice crisp and precise.

"Heh..." Wei Zhao smiled faintly but did not return the salute, only shrugging. "I'm just a lackey now, not your instructor."

Wei Zhao not returning the salute meant he had completely cast aside his former identity - Chen Yuxuan's salute had been wasted! His expression froze for an instant, though not a trace of disrespect showed. "Instructor, after you left, I heard you were dispatched on a special mission. How come you..."

"I've been back for a while." Wei Zhao's tone remained easygoing. "I've told you before - I'm not your instructor anymore. I'm Gu Mengyao's lackey, and your sister's lackey by extension. She calls me Brother Arrow-Board. You can call me that too. Or, if you're older than me, Brother Arrow-Board the Younger will do, or just Wei Zhao."

"Wei Zhao... So the instructor's name is Wei Zhao!" This was the first time Chen Yuxuan had heard Wei Zhao's real name. Back in the Special Training Unit, Wei Zhao's code name had been "Eagle," and every team member had called him "Instructor" or "Instructor Eagle."

"Alright, I should be heading back." Wei Zhao had no desire to dwell on the past. He waved Chen Yuxuan off and turned to leave the restroom.

"How did the instructor become my sister's lackey?" Chen Yuxuan could not make sense of the logic no matter how he tried. But if Wei Zhao wouldn't say more, there was nothing he could do. He had dreamed of the day he would meet the instructor again and ask for a few more pointers. Yet now that they had finally come face to face, Wei Zhao dodged all mention of his former identity, leaving Chen Yuxuan with no way to make his request.

Wei Zhao returned to the private room. An Liwen's expression was unchanged as he kept drinking. When he saw Wei Zhao come in, he said nothing - he had never for a moment imagined Wei Zhao would tip off Qiu Lingshan.

"We've had three rounds already - how about we play something fun? Drinking alone gets boring, doesn't it?" Su Taizao slurred. "What do you all say?"

He really was somewhat drunk - he had not been pacing himself, so his mind was hazy. But it was precisely this that made the act more convincing, leaving no gap for anyone to spot. Otherwise, given Gu Mengyao's sharpness, she would surely see through it, and that would ruin everything if she thought he was just putting on an act.

"Play what? Let's hear it." An Liwen glanced at Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu, then asked, "Do you two have any suggestions?"

"Playing something fun - oh yes! I love playing!" Shen Yushu clapped both hands in agreement. Drinking in silence was dreadfully dull; any more and she would be dragging her sister Yaoyao home.

Gu Mengyao said nothing, nor did she object. Truth be told, she didn't want to play anything with An Liwen and Su Taizao. But with Xiaoshu and Wei Zhao both there, and Xiaoshu so eager to play, there was no harm in going along with it.

"How about we play Truth or Dare?" Su Taizao was saying, just as Chen Yuxuan returned to the private room and caught his words. Su Taizao turned to him. "Brother Yutian, join us? We used to play all the time, ha—remember, you picked dare and had to kiss Qiu Lingshan, and you got beaten up for it? Hahaha!"

Su Taizao really was a little drunk; otherwise he would never have dragged out that old embarrassment of Chen Yuxuan's. But once a man has had a few drinks, his tongue starts running away with him.