Memory inheritor

Chapter 109 Closing the Net

In the command center of the task force, the real-time situation of Chen Xuemin and Zhou Huai was displayed on a large screen.

The footage taken by the drone, due to distance and angle, could only show very limited details, but it was sufficient to confirm Zhou Huai's movements.

The footage from the airport was quite clear, showing many passengers queuing at the boarding gate, while Chen Xuemin remained calmly sitting there playing on her phone.

Yu Zhen, Du Heng, and Guo Weiran looked at the big screen and couldn't help but feel a sense of frustration.

In the past, when they encountered this situation, even without substantial evidence, they could visit the person's home to request assistance in the investigation or detain them at the airport.

However, due to the special nature of this case, the police were hesitant to take effective action against the two suspects, and could not even let them know that they were under police surveillance.

Director Shi also had this feeling, but he didn't show it. He said, "Everyone, don't be impatient. Follow the established plan."

Guo Weiran couldn't help but mutter, "Isn't that just doing absolutely nothing?"

The division chief sternly retorted, "What kind of talk is this! Have you kept a close eye on all those involved in the case? When the order was issued, could you guarantee that every single person would be apprehended without exception or any mistakes?"

Guo Weiran paused for a moment, then immediately straightened his expression.

Yu Zhen asked, "Director-General, does Director Liang have a contingency plan?"

"Don't inquire about contingency plans yet. The key is to be prepared to act at any time." The chief paused, then added, "You must trust your superiors. At this crucial moment, the Yuecheng police cannot afford to fail!"

The three answered in unison, "Yes!"

Director Shi nodded slowly. He didn't necessarily want to criticize anyone, but he was worried that their unstable emotions might lead to mistakes in their actions, which was often the cause of oversights.

Director Liang has a separate temporary office in the headquarters, and he brought his entourage with him when he entered the task force, specifically to assist him in handling liaison and coordination with the Beijing authorities.

These matters were not handled by the special task force, so Director Shi was unaware of the details. However, he knew what Director Liang's role was in this case and that he certainly wouldn't easily let the suspect go.

Yu Zhen and the others performed their duties, and time passed by second by second.

They watched as Chen Xuemin slung her bag over her shoulder, walked to the business class boarding gate, entered the cabin via the jet bridge, and disappeared from the big screen.

Director Liang has not come over, nor has he sent them any message.

Flight status updates kept coming in: cabin doors closing, departure from the jet bridge, entry into the runway, takeoff taxiing, and ascent into the night sky…

As Yu Zhen and the others looked at the messages, they eventually became somewhat numb. So much so that when Director Liang returned to the command room, their gazes towards him became somewhat blank.

Director Shi said, "Director Liang, Chen Xuemin's flight has already taken off."

Director Liang nodded and said to Yu Zhen, "Chief Yu, notify Wei Hongbo to bring Zhou Huai to the brigade's medical monitoring center."

"Yes!" Yu Zhen responded reflexively, and immediately prepared to call Wei Hongbo. But then he heard Director Liang say, "Just bring the people directly."

He looked at Director Liang with some confusion. Director Liang pointed to the monitor screen showing Zhou Huai and said, "He should be asleep by now."

Yu Zhen looked at the large screen, and after a moment he vaguely guessed what was going on. He was inexplicably shocked.

Infrared images transmitted by the drone show the thermal outline of Zhou Huai's chest, which can be used to infer whether the target is asleep or unconscious.

Of course, Yu Zhen's expertise and experience in this area are not enough to support him in making an accurate judgment, and this requires continuous observation over a period of time.

But Director Liang's confident tone and the emphasis on the word "sleep" led Yu Zhen to this conclusion.

He called Wei Hongbo and relayed Director Liang's order verbatim without offering any further explanation.

Wei Hongbo and Zhang Shengyong had been staking out Zhou Huai's apartment for quite some time. This was commonplace for them, but the lack of orders to act was making them somewhat anxious.

When Wei Hongbo received Yu Zhen's call, he almost thought he had misheard, but Yu Zhen hung up the phone as soon as he finished speaking, without giving him a chance to ask questions.

"What's going on?" Zhang Shengyong asked.

"Chief Yu told us to go up directly and bring the person down," Wei Hongbo said with a frown.

"Directly?" Zhang Shengyong was puzzled.

Just as Wei Hongbo was about to speak, he saw a figure approaching from the front and raised his hand to signal Zhang Shengyong to be quiet.

The man walked to a spot about ten meters away from their car and waved as if to say hello.

By the light of the street lamp, you could see that he was a man of about thirty years old, about 1.75 meters tall, with an unremarkable appearance, like someone who couldn't sleep at night and was taking a walk outside.

The man walked up to the car and waved again. Wei Hongbo then rolled down the car window.

"Is this Captain Wei?" the man said with a smile. "We have completed our mission as instructed by Director Liang. You can go up and take your men now."

"Oh," Wei Hongbo responded, somewhat puzzled, but then saw the man nod and continue walking forward.

Wei Hongbo and Zhang Shengyong got out of the car and saw that the man was still strolling along the road. They looked at each other in bewilderment.

"Should we go straight up?" Zhang Shengyong asked.

"Let's go." Wei Hongbo nodded, after all, that was also Yu Zhen's arrangement.

The two walked down to the apartment building, used their identification to have the person on duty open the door, and swiped their elevator cards.

Upon reaching Zhou Huai's floor and walking to the door, they saw that the door was ajar, with something blocking the bottom.

Wei Hongbo listened intently for a moment, but only faint music could be heard. He gestured to Zhang Shengyong, then gently pushed open the door and went inside.

The room was dimly lit, and a person lay on the sofa in front of the television; it was Zhou Huai. His eyes were closed, and his chest rose and fell slightly.

Wei Hongbo leaned forward and placed his hand on Zhou Huai's carotid artery to check. He was able to determine that the man was in a deep sleep or a light coma.

Zhang Shengyong followed him into the room, closed the door, and then approached, asking, "What's going on here?"

Wei Hongbo said, "It's probably something you wanted to do, but someone else did it for you."

"Holy crap! How did they do that?" Zhang Shengyong exclaimed in a low voice.

Wei Hongbo said, "How would I know? Don't guess, just call someone."

They weren't the only ones tasked with "inviting" Zhou Huai. Zhang Shengyong immediately contacted backup personnel to come upstairs and carry him out.

Wei Hongbo then called Yu Zhen to report the situation on the ground.

Not long after, support personnel arrived, and several people carried Zhou Huai on a stretcher and took him to the monitoring center.