The War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression Begins in Songhu

Chapter 513 Capture (Two-in-One Chapter)

So, on the night before, the newcomer, Shizi, realized something was wrong. Hu Biao called the rest of the team together for a web conference in the middle of the night.

Hu Biao didn't waste any time after that and took action overnight.

What else? Why keep Pan Wanting around for the New Year, just to continue poisoning Zhou Kun? Since she's a cancer, the sooner the better.

After that, everything unfolded as it should have...

It was a little past two in the morning, still in his office at Deyuelou. With a furrowed brow, Hu Biao finally made up his mind. After stubbing out his cigarette in the ashtray, he picked up his phone and dialed Chaozi's number.

I don't know if he was staying up late online or chatting with Pan Wanting.

Anyway, by this time, Chaozi was still awake. He answered the phone immediately and started joking around with great energy on the other end:

"Old Hu! I haven't activated any website memberships. Why don't you ask around and see if anyone has a membership you can borrow?"

Good heavens! Has Hu Biao's stinginess become so well-known now?
After muttering a complaint to himself, Hu Biao called out, "Stop talking nonsense, let's go out for a drink. I'll send you the address now; by the way! Don't tell Pan Wanting about this."

Hu Biao then hung up the phone and sent the address of a nearby budget hotel.

As Chaozi listened to the busy tone on the phone, combined with the various unusual statements made by the person on the other end, he began to have a vague sense that something was very wrong.

After sending Pan Wanting a message saying, "I have to go to work an hour early tomorrow, I'm going to sleep now, goodnight," I quickly changed my clothes and hurriedly drove to that budget hotel.

Because of a strange sense of anxiety, I ran two red lights without realizing it.

An hour later, in a standard room at a budget hotel.

Hu Biao placed some braised dishes and cucumbers he had brought from the shop on a small table, and then poured two full glasses of wine for them.

To help Chaozi drown his sorrows in alcohol, he brought a plastic bucket containing a ten-pound Guangxi briefcase.

When Hu Biao raised his glass and said "Cheers," Chaozi instinctively wanted to ask something, but in the end he said nothing.

This continued until the two of them ate and drank, and after three cups of wine.

Hu Biao then spoke up, without any concealment or exaggeration, explaining that Pan Wanting was likely planted by Uncle Sam's family to poison Zhou Kun.

She even showed Chaozi a video of her secretly adding things to the oil-splashed noodles and roujiamo (Chinese hamburger) while packing takeout.

After explaining the situation, Hu Biao sincerely apologized to Chaozi:

"Brother, I'm sorry! I'm such a pig-brain, I actually introduced such a beautiful snake to you; I promise I won't fight back or talk back, as long as you don't do anything stupid."

After he finished speaking, he carefully looked at Chaozi, only to find that the young man was very silent, not bursting out as expected.

Seeing this, Hu Biao was still quite gratified.

I think this teammate nicknamed 'Iron Man' may be a bit of a straight man, but he's not stupid at all, and his mental fortitude is quite good.

Unfortunately, all of the above was just Hu Biao overthinking things.

Having only heard Hu Biao's explanation and seen Pan Wanting's subtle yet skillful movement in the video, Chaozi's last glimmer of hope was shattered.

I was completely stunned; all the negative emotions in my heart hadn't even had time to surface.

It makes sense, really. This poor guy has been single for so many years, and he's finally found a girlfriend he really likes. They're even close to getting married.

This guy might have already thought about what his future child's name would be and where he would go to kindergarten.

But at this most wonderful moment, he discovered that the other party was just using him to carry out some ulterior motives.

So, the sweeter and happier he was when he and Pan Wanting were showing off their affection, the more heartbroken and angry he must be now.

Just as Hu Biao was feeling somewhat relieved, Chaozi spoke up: "Old Hu! Don't say anymore. This isn't your fault. You meant well at the time and didn't know the situation."

After saying that, he downed at least two ounces of Guangxi-style liquor in one gulp and was about to get up and leave.

"Where are you going so late at night?" Hu Biao asked instinctively.

"Go home, grab that Japanese officer's katana I got from my previous time travel, and I'm going to chop that vicious, heartless woman to death." Chaozi replied.

His tone sounded quite calm, but the content of his words startled Hu Biao, who dared not let Chaozi leave so easily.

He quickly got up and grabbed Chaozi tightly, offering a long speech of persuasion.

If you kill someone in the modern world, you'll have to go back to work on a sewing machine, and that can take years. Your parents would be heartbroken.

Even more seriously, their identities as time travelers might be exposed.

Instead, as soon as the situation was reported to the police, and Pan Wanting was told in detail that she couldn't escape, Chao Zi calmed down a bit and gave up the impulse to kill Pan Wanting himself.

After that, Chaozi didn't need Hu Biao to urge him to drink, nor did he need any snacks. He picked up the wine glass and started chugging it down his throat.

In less than ten minutes, the young man was completely drunk, and his body went limp as he slid onto the table.

Even so, after Chaozi was thrown onto a bed by Hu Biao, he kept calling out Pan Wanting's name in his dazed state, sometimes crying and sometimes laughing.

After Hu Biao witnessed this, he uttered the word "sin" countless times...

At 11:40 a.m., Hu Biao was just about to finish his lunch break when he went to XX office to find Uncle Zhao.

That is, the old officer who initially discovered something was wrong with Black Star, and later, when Hu Biao's shop was falsely accused of having opium poppy shells in its food, he even stepped forward to help prove it in his report.

Unexpectedly, the other party strolled leisurely into the gate of Deyuelou.

I asked and found out that Uncle Zhao was on leave today and was craving Hu Biao's spicy chicken rice bowl, so he took the subway to Deyuelou to have a meal to satisfy his craving.

While Uncle Zhao was in the shop, Hu Biao didn't say anything.

But after Uncle Zhao finished eating and left, Annie, at Hu Biao's prompting, secretly went out and followed him; she explained to Uncle Zhao everything they had discussed the night before.

Although Uncle Zhao's rank and position were not high, he had served as an officer in the capital city for his entire life, so his competence and sensitivity were beyond doubt.

Just as Hu Biao and his team had predicted, they reported the situation to the security department.

After receiving the report, the security department only briefly checked the delivery address and discovered that it was the research institute where Dr. Zhou Kun worked. They immediately realized the seriousness of the problem.

A large number of highly skilled personnel were mobilized immediately...

At 2:36 p.m., less than two hours had passed since Annie reported the matter to Uncle Zhao.

At that time, Deyuelou had just finished its lunch break, and the kitchen staff and waiters had just finished cleaning and returned to their dormitories for a short rest.

Three men arrived at the door, and after showing their identities and identification, they turned out to be from the security department.

After inviting the person into the office, the three immediately asked about the relevant situation. Hu Biao and Annie naturally repeated what they had discussed the night before.

Finally, Hu Biao summarized his remarks:

"Comrades, this is the situation."

Because our Deyuelou restaurant is about to launch a hot pot series, we plan to upgrade our ordering mini-program and add some hot pot reservation functions.

During this process, a friend who was helping us discovered a backdoor in the mini-program; based on the specific address and phone number on the backdoor, as well as the order time, we checked the surveillance video.

As a result, they discovered Pan Wanting, who would secretly add something to it every time.

It just so happens that Uncle Zhao from XX Institute is on his lunch break today and came to the shop for a rice bowl to satisfy his craving, so we secretly reported this to him.

During the narration, even though he knew perfectly well that there was no one else in the store besides himself, Annie, and the three people in front of him, he was still talking.

Hu Biao still subconsciously lowered his voice, as if afraid that others would hear him.

After listening to Hu Biao's account, Shi Tong and his two colleagues exchanged a discreet glance and reached a consensus:
Hu Biao and Annie have been largely ruled out as suspects in the poisoning of Dr. Zhou Kun.

Hu Biao's statements and explanations just now were actually about some minor matters.

The most crucial reason is that in the short period of time before, Hu Biao and Annie, and even Shizi and Chaozi, two people who were somewhat connected, had been involved.

The security forces, who were mobilized, thoroughly investigated all the personal details of the four individuals.

Among the various situations they investigated, Hu Biao, who had initially given up, suddenly perked up.

Relying on his amazing culinary skills, he actually built up a considerable fortune in just a few months; aside from being slightly surprised by this, there was nothing else amiss.

Hu Biao's excellent culinary skills are likely due to his natural talent, not something those foreigners could have arranged. All of them have impeccable backgrounds, normal family circumstances and upbringing, have not made any extreme statements, and have no history of contact with sensitive individuals. All of this proves that they are trustworthy.

Then we can ask them to cooperate with the next steps taken by their security department.

So Shi Tong nodded and said very gently to Hu Biao and Annie:
"First of all, on behalf of the security department, I would like to express my gratitude for your initiative in reporting the situation; this is very important as it prevented a very serious incident from occurring."

After a while, the rewards will be secretly distributed to you.

The reason for not disclosing the rewards is simply to prevent you from being retaliated against.

However, before that, we need your cooperation; please pretend nothing happened and continue your normal business operations and interactions with Pan Wanting.

Because we're planning to play the long game, taking down all the people behind her at once.

Upon hearing this, Hu Biao blurted out his concern: "Wouldn't it be dangerous for the person she poisoned to continue eating like this?"

After saying that, he realized he had worried for nothing.

Just kidding! Now that the security department knows about this, it would be strange if those poisoned foods could still reach Zhou Kun.

Anne's mind worked better; she immediately pointed out a situation that truly needed attention:

"Oh no! After we discovered this situation yesterday, we were worried that Chaozi would continue to suffer at Pan Wanting's hands; and we also thought that Pan Xiaoting would be arrested soon, so we told him about it as well."

But if he's going to play the long game, won't this guy slip up in his daily interactions?

After all, he and Pan Xiaoting are in a romantic relationship and contact each other frequently; moreover, Chaozi doesn't have much acting skill, so he might easily be found out.

"We know that it is indeed a rather troublesome matter; however, there are also some appropriate arrangements. Even the worst outcome is simply that the plan to play the long game has failed."

After a slight pause, Shi Tong made this promise to the two of them.

Seeing that the other party had gone this far, Hu Biao and Annie nodded in agreement.

Even on Annie's face, there was a clear look of excitement and anticipation; it was just acting with Pan Wanting to make her think that she hadn't been exposed yet.

Easy! It's not difficult at all.

Not to mention that in addition to being a model, she is also a stage actress.

More importantly, during her multiple time travels, she encountered legendary figures such as Yoshiko Kawashima and Boss Dai; she also oversaw intelligence work for the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment in Taiyuan City and led a team to destroy a Japanese airport.

In comparison, Pan Wanting is nothing more than a small fry.

She couldn't guarantee anything about others, but she herself was completely fine and wouldn't encounter any problems...

More than four hours later, around 7 p.m., Hu Biao and Annie finally learned what Shi Tong meant by "a more appropriate arrangement".

At that time, the Deyuelou flagship store was in its peak business period.

As a result, Chaozi's mother suddenly walked into the store; in her hand, besides a thermos containing chicken soup, she also had a lot of trendy fruits.

Her eyes lit up when she saw Pan Wanting.

After he grasped Pan Wanting's hands, his mouth started babbling like a machine gun.

The implication is simply that Chaozi's second aunt's husband is hospitalized in Baoding, and Chaozi's second aunt is also in poor health. Their children are working outside and cannot return for the time being.

I had no choice but to send Chaozi over to help take care of her for a while; during that time, he wouldn't be able to visit Pan Wanting.

It didn't matter, though. The couple had long treated Pan Wanting like their own daughter, and since they happened to have some free time today, they brought her some things over.

Upon hearing the above, Annie, who was behind the cashier chatting intimately with Pan Wanting like best friends, immediately knew what was going on.

The fact that Chaozi's second aunt's husband was hospitalized was probably arranged by Shi Tong and others.

The hospitalization was a pretense; the real purpose was to find a reasonable excuse for Chaozi to leave for a while and avoid excessive contact with Pan Wanting, thus exposing his true intentions.

To make it seem more real, they even kept it a secret from Chaozi's parents...

An hour later, at the entrance of Deyuelou, Chaozi's mother, with a satisfied smile, gave Pan Wanting some instructions:

"Honey! We made a promise; come over for dinner this week, and Auntie will cook you something delicious."

The smile on Chaozi's mother's face was so genuine at that moment; because she had previously visited Pan Wanting's workplace in person.

How so? The workplace is a legitimate company, but business is booming to an alarming degree.

Although Xiao Pan is currently just a waitress, she is well-liked and capable. The boss, Annie, said that in two months she would be sent to a branch store to be the manager.

The work will be less tiring, the benefits will be better, and the salary will be higher than that of white-collar workers.

So, my son really hit the jackpot.

Annie's next words made Chaozi's mother even happier: "Wanting, you too! At this stage, why are you still calling me 'Auntie'? You should call me 'Mom'!"

However, seeing that Pan Wanting seemed a little embarrassed, Chaozi's mother laughed it off and said, "It's all going to happen sooner or later, it's okay to call her a few days later."

After saying that, she got into a ride-hailing car that Pan Wanting had called for her and waved goodbye.

While Chaozi's mother was happily thinking about what delicious food she would prepare for Xiao Pan this Sunday, she was unaware that right behind her was the car.

Annie and Pan Wanting both turned their heads away, and the moment they avoided each other's gaze, their expressions underwent a brief but dramatic change.

The difference was that Annie wore a disdainful expression, and at that moment she thought to herself:
"That bitch! She's such a good actress."

Pan Wanting's face was full of solemnity as she spoke, her mind muttering to herself, "This is bad! Although I don't know why we've been exposed, we must retreat immediately."

The key reason she made this decision was Chaozi.

Or rather, this bitch, who is willing to betray the interests of her compatriots for a little benefit, is sometimes incredibly arrogant, and sometimes terrifyingly cautious.

In the past, when Chaozi chatted with her at night, she would always say that she had to go to work the next day and needed to sleep before they would say goodnight to each other.

When Chaozi said goodnight to her last night, it made her a little wary.

Although Chaozi sent her a message at noon today telling her that her second aunt's husband was sick and needed to go to Baoding.

And just now, looking at Chaozi's mother, she couldn't see the slightest flaw in this claim; yet, a strong intuition arose in her mind:
I've been exposed; I have to run away immediately.

With this thought in mind, she and Annie entered the store, and suddenly she clutched her stomach and said, "Boss lady! My stomach is a little uncomfortable, I need to go to the restroom."

“Go ahead! I’ll cover for you at the cashier.” Annie readily agreed.

As she watched Pan Wanting's hurried departure, her eyes turned cold, for she knew that this bitch was about to run away.

It's a pity I can't just take action directly, otherwise I could beat her up, then beat her back, and beat this bitch to death.

After secretly entering the women's restroom, Pan Wanting immediately hid in a stall and sent a short message on her phone.

Then he took out the SIM card and flushed it down the toilet, while throwing the phone into the water tank.

Several minutes later, Pan Wanting emerged from the cubicle, her appearance and attire drastically changed; even her colleagues, such as Ling Lanfang, might not recognize her at first glance.

More importantly, the seemingly sturdy security bars on the bathroom windows with frosted glass had actually been tampered with by Pan Wanting.

However, with a gentle turn, a hole large enough for her to crawl through appeared.

Peeking out and finding no one around, Pan Wanting nimbly climbed out, not forgetting to close the window behind her.

Three minutes later, she arrived at the roadside, looked back with a makeup mirror, and breathed a sigh of relief when she found that no one was following her.

Just then, a taxi with its lights on and no one in it drove up, and she quickly raised her arm.

"Not bad! My luck isn't too bad today." Pan Wanting muttered to herself as she casually opened the back door of the taxi.

As soon as the door opened, an arm shot out like lightning.

He grabbed her collar and dragged her into the car.

Before she could react further, a pistol was pressed against her forehead, and a voice rang in her ear: "Security Bureau, you're under arrest..."

(End of this chapter)