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Inside the VIP suite at the Emperor Hotel, the crystal chandelier illuminated the marble tabletop.

Fan Jinyang—a middle-aged man with a buzz cut and a scar near his eye—pushed a stack of hundred-yuan bills in front of Su Ning.

"Boss Jian, want to inspect the goods?" He grinned, revealing his gold-plated front teeth.

Suning took the banknotes and gently rubbed the edge with his fingers.

This stack of bills was clearly a specially prepared "test"—a mix of real and counterfeit money, specifically designed to probe the buyer's background.

Hu Lijun held her breath, knowing that if Su Ning mistook one of their cards, their identities would be exposed.

“This one, this one… and this one.” Su Ning smoothly picked out seven banknotes and threw them on the table. “The workmanship is okay, but the paper is too slippery, and the watermark was printed on later.”

Fan Jinyang and Pang Dong exchanged a surprised look.

These high-quality counterfeit bills are often mistaken even by bank tellers, but this young man can identify them as easily as sorting playing cards.

"Mr. Jian has a good eye!" Fatty Dong suddenly spoke up, his Cantonese accent thick. "I wonder which industry you're in to make your fortune?"

Su Ning's heart skipped a beat...

The "deputy" who had been silent all along immediately asked about his background, clearly trying to get information out of him.

He leaned back lazily in his chair and suddenly switched to fluent Cantonese: "I work in building materials, and I've recently been thinking about getting into collecting things. Brother Dong is doing really well in the provincial capital, so why did he come here to develop his career?"

The private room fell silent instantly.

Hu Lijun was almost speechless with shock...

The police academy file doesn't mention that Jian Fan speaks Cantonese, especially not the street slang with a Chaoshan accent!

The wariness in Fatty Dong's eyes lessened slightly, and he smiled as he replied in Cantonese, "The cops in the provincial capital are keeping a close eye on things! Brother Jian, do you have any connections?"

"I wouldn't dare say how well I know them." Su Ning lit a cigarette and skillfully flicked off the ash. "But my dad has had tea with Jiang Jiuding a few times, and he introduced me to some friends in the underground money exchange..."

Upon hearing Jiang Jiuding's name, Pang Dong's expression visibly softened.

Then Suning, however, started negotiating the price with them in a very authoritative manner, as if he were a real buyer of counterfeit money.

Moreover, Su Ning's acting skills have been honed through countless worlds, making it easy for him to deal with a few petty thieves, and he can also speak slang fluently.

If Hu Lijun hadn't known Su Ning's identity, she might have really thought Su Ning was a member of the underworld.

In the ensuing bargaining, Suning displayed astonishing negotiation skills, sometimes tough and sometimes tactful, managing to forcefully reduce the counterfeit currency price from 1:5 to 1:8.

While Hu Lijun played the role of the "boss lady," a storm raged within her heart...

This young man's behavior is just like that of a seasoned veteran who has been in the underworld for many years!
"It's a pleasure to do business with you!" Finally, Fatty Dong stood up and shook hands. "Ten o'clock tonight, at the abandoned cement plant in the east of the city, cash only."

"Don't try anything funny! I have a bad temper."

"clear."

Finally, Su Ning and his group finalized all the details of the counterfeit currency transaction with the bandits.

Stepping out of the private room, Hu Lijun linked arms with Su Ning, a charming smile on her face, but her palms were already sweating.

She finally breathed a sigh of relief after the elevator doors closed: "What you just did..."

"Shh." Su Ning gently squeezed her hand, giving her a look that the elevator might be eavesdropping.

Back in room 1708, Hu Lijun immediately checked the room. After confirming it was safe, she finally couldn't hold back any longer: "Jian Fan! Who exactly are you? All that slang, Cantonese, and your knowledge of Jiang Jiuding..."

Su Ning poured her a glass of water and handed it to her: "Sister Lijun, curiosity killed the cat."

"Don't give me that!" Hu Lijun snatched the water glass away. "The way you were acting just now, I almost believed you were a gangster!"

“That’s the highest level of acting, you can even fool yourself.” Su Ning blinked. “But Sister Lijun’s acting was also pretty good, especially the part where she stepped on my foot to remind me not to go too far, it was so genuine.”

Hu Lijun blushed – she thought that little action was very subtle.

This young man has an incredibly sharp eye for observation!
However, Hu Lijun was still full of doubts and curiosity about Su Ning, "Jian Fan, I feel that you are not a simple person!"

"Oh? What do you say?"

"Just now, your aura was completely different, like you were a real ruthless bandit. It seems there are quite a few mysteries surrounding you."

"Sister Lijun, sometimes when a woman becomes curious about a man, it means that she is in the most dangerous situation. It seems that you may fall in love with me next."

"Hmph! What's so likable about a brat who hasn't even grown all his feathers yet?"

"What do you say?"

"..." In the end, Hu Lijun couldn't resist Su Ning's domineering gaze and retreated.

"Let's get down to business." Su Ning's expression suddenly turned serious. "Have you noticed that, on the surface, Fan Jinyang is in charge, but in reality, Fan Jinyang only expresses his opinion after Pang Dong gives him a signal with his eyes?"

Hu Lijun frowned, recalling: "You mean..."

“Fat Dong is the real person in charge.” Su Ning walked to the window, pulled back the curtains a little to observe the downstairs. “And when I mentioned Jiang Jiuding, his expression was very subtle. This case may be more complicated than we thought.”

The Economic Crime Investigation Division was delighted to receive the message from Su Ning, and they all greatly admired Su Ning's performance.

Afterwards, they formulated a specific plan to apprehend the criminals.

……

That night, Su Ning and Hu Lijun took the money to the outskirts of the city and met up with Fan Jinyang and the others.

The abandoned cement plant in the east of the city was submerged in the night, with only a few car headlights illuminating the trading site.

Su Ning drove a borrowed black Mercedes, with "cash" prepared by the Economic Crime Investigation Division in the trunk...

The top few are real banknotes, the bottom ones are all practice coupons.

What puzzled Su Ning, Hu Lijun, and the others was that the car Fan Jinyang and his group were riding in was rather small, and it seemed that there was no counterfeit money in the car.

It seems they don't genuinely intend to trade with me, but rather plan to double-cross me.

“Their car is too small to hold a large amount of counterfeit money,” Hu Lijun whispered. “It might be a scam.”

Su Ning nodded: "According to the plan, you go and negotiate first, and I will provide support in the car."

Hu Lijun got out of the car and walked towards Fan Jinyang and his group.

Under the moonlight, she noticed that there were four people in total, two more unfamiliar faces than during the day, and all of them had obvious bulges around their waists.

"Did you bring the money?" Fan Jinyang asked, a cigarette dangling from his lips.

"Where's the goods?" Hu Lijun asked in return.

"Let's look at the money first," Fan Jinyang said, exhaling a smoke ring. "That's the rule."

Hu Lijun sneered, "The rule in the underworld is to inspect the goods before paying." The atmosphere suddenly became tense.

The two extra thugs quietly reached for their waists.

Just as tensions were about to rise, Su Ning suddenly got out of the car and laughed heartily, "Brother Dong, so cautious? Fine! The money's in the car, take a look!"

He deliberately spoke loudly and opened the trunk.

Bundles of "cash" gleamed enticingly under the lights.

Fat Dong gave a signal, and one of his men stepped forward to inspect the money carefully, even randomly opening a few bundles to check the banknotes.

"Satisfied?" Suning closed the trunk. "Now, let's take a look at your goods, shall we?"

Fan Jinyang rubbed his hands together: "Boss Jian, I'm so sorry... the police are checking things too hard on the road, the goods are still halfway there. Tomorrow, tomorrow definitely..."

Before he could finish speaking, Su Ning suddenly drew his gun and pressed it against Fan Jinyang's temple!
The movement was so fast that no one had time to react.

"Fatty, are you kidding me?" Su Ning's voice was as cold as ice. "Do you know where the last person who played me like this is? Feeding the fish at the bottom of the Pearl River!"

Fatty Dong quickly tried to smooth things over: "Brother Jian, don't get agitated! It's just a special situation..."

"Shut up!" Su Ning's gun remained unmoved. "I'll count to three. Either deliver the goods now, or I'll shoot him and find someone else to do business with!"

Hu Lijun's palms were sweaty.

This is completely out of the ordinary!
But at this moment she could only play along, and she also pulled out a gun and pointed it at Fatty Dong: "My husband has a bad temper, please forgive me."

After a ten-second standoff, Pang Dong finally gave in: "Fine! The goods are in a warehouse five kilometers away. I'll take you there now!"

"No need." Su Ning slowly holstered his gun. "I'm not in the mood today. I'll give you 24 hours to consider. Either you're willing to make a sincere deal, or you disappear forever."

After saying that, he pulled Hu Lijun around, got into the car, and drove away.

In the rearview mirror, Fan Jinyang and his group stood still, their expressions shifting between anger and uncertainty.

"Are you crazy?" After moving to a safe distance, Hu Lijun finally snapped, "What if they really open fire?"

Su Ning's lips curled slightly: "They wouldn't dare. Pang Dong is clearly acting under orders, and he has someone behind him. Killing the buyer would cut off his own source of income."

"What do we do now? The operation has failed!"

“No! Quite the opposite.” Su Ning glanced at the rearview mirror. “They will contact us again, and they will trust us even more than before. Double-crossing is their usual tactic. Our reaction just now was more like that of a real buyer.”

Sure enough, at three in the morning, Fan Jinyang called, his voice much more respectful than before: "Boss Jian, the goods have arrived, see you at the usual place?"

"One hour later." Su Ning hung up the phone and looked at the economic crime investigation team members who were all ready to go. "The fish has taken the bait."

Captain Liu deployed the arrest plan: Hu Lijun and Su Ning would make contact first, confirm the counterfeit money, and then send a signal so that the ambushing police could simultaneously close in.

The atmosphere was noticeably different when I returned to the cement plant.

Pang Dong personally opened the back door of a van, inside which dozens of boxes of "goods" were neatly stacked.

"One hundred and twenty million, a new version of super counterfeit money," Pang Dong proudly introduced. "Even bank banknote detectors have difficulty identifying it."

Suning randomly opened a box and carefully checked several stacks of items.

The quality of this counterfeit money is truly astonishing; it's almost indistinguishable from the real thing.

He quietly pressed the signal transmitter in his cufflink.

“Not bad.” Su Ning closed the box and suddenly said in Mandarin, “Pang Dong, you have been arrested for allegedly manufacturing and selling counterfeit currency.”

Fatty Dong was taken aback for a moment, then burst into laughter: "What are you joking about, Boss Jian..."

Before he could finish speaking, blinding searchlights suddenly lit up from all directions!

The shouts of "Police! Don't move!" echoed through the night sky.

"Damn it!" Fan Jinyang took off running, but Su Ning tackled him to the ground.

Su Ning's current skills made dealing with a petty thief with some fighting ability a piece of cake. Soon, a few standard grappling moves left Fan Jinyang defenseless.

The other two bandits were about to draw their guns when they were shot in the arm by a sniper lying in ambush.

Only Pang Dong remained unusually calm, slowly raising his hands: "Officer, I need to see a lawyer."

Just as the police officer was handcuffing him, he suddenly lowered his voice and said to Su Ning, "Officer Jian, right? President Jiang wants to have a talk with you."

On the way back to the police station, Hu Lijun couldn't help but ask, "What did Pang Dong say to you at the end?"

Looking out the window at the fleeting night view, Su Ning said, "He said we were only catching small fish."

"What do you mean?"

“What I mean is…” Su Ning turned to look at Hu Lijun, a dangerous glint in his eyes, “This case isn’t over yet.”

In the conference room of the Economic Crime Investigation Division, Captain Liu was reading out the case summary: "...A total of four suspects were arrested, and 120 million yuan in counterfeit currency was seized, making it the largest counterfeit currency case cracked in the city in recent years..."

Amid the applause, Hu Lijun quietly observed Su Ning.

The young man was casually playing with a lighter, seemingly uninterested in the commendation.

She couldn't help but recall the skill he displayed when he subdued Fan Jinyang last night; it was definitely not the kind of fighting technique an ordinary policeman could possess.

"Comrade Jian Fan's performance has been particularly outstanding." Captain Liu's words brought Hu Lijun back to reality. "After deliberation by the brigade, it has been decided to nominate him for a third-class merit award..."

After the meeting, Hu Lijun stopped Su Ning, who was about to leave: "Aren't you going to the celebration banquet?"

"No fun." Su Ning shrugged. "If Sister Lijun really wants to celebrate, why don't you treat me to a meal? Just the two of us."

Hu Lijun raised an eyebrow: "What, are you addicted to flirting with me?"

"How could I dare?" Su Ning smiled innocently. "I just wanted to ask a few questions. For example..."

He lowered his voice, "Why didn't you report the tracking device you planted in Pang Dong's car when you were undercover to the team?"

Hu Lijun's pupils suddenly contracted.

She did manage to sneak a miniature tracker into Pang Dong's heel during the chaos, but the action was so discreet that even surveillance cameras couldn't have captured it!

"Don't be nervous." Su Ning blinked. "I just have a feeling that we'll have to work together again in the future."

Outside the window, the setting sun dyed the police station building blood red.

Hu Lijun suddenly realized that this seemingly easy counterfeit currency case might just be the calm before the storm.

And this enigmatic young man beside him was standing at the eye of the storm.

...(End of chapter)