Cangmang Asks the Way 1: Guardian of the Lamp

At the same time, at the South City National Security Bureau Command Center.

Chen Mo stood in front of a huge display screen, on which a dense stream of data and surveillance footage scrolled. The clock struck five in the morning.

"What's the situation with Liu Jianmin?" Chen Mo's voice was calm and devoid of any emotion.

Su Mingyue stared at the several split screens in front of her: "The surveillance footage shows that after he returned to his residence at 3 a.m., he stayed in the study with the curtains tightly closed. Thermal imaging shows that he was constantly destroying files, and there were frequent read and write operations on the computer's hard drive. At 4:10 a.m., he tried to dial an encrypted overseas number, and hung up after 30 seconds, so it probably didn't go through."

"Has Wang Zhiqiang's autopsy report been released?"

"We just received the preliminary results from Ji County," Zhao Haichuan continued. "The deceased has been confirmed as Wang Zhiqiang. The cause of death was a 7.62mm sniper rifle bullet that pierced his heart, resulting in immediate death. The bullet type matches the cartridge case recovered from the scene. The shooting location was on the second floor of the abandoned mill, approximately 120 meters away."

Chen Mo's gaze swept across Wang Zhiqiang's photo on the screen, along with the labels next to it: "Liu Jianmin's distant cousin," "Mid-level manager at Showa Trading," and "Three trips to Hong Kong in three months."

"Where's Hiro Nakamura?"

"Still in the hotel room, but..." Canglong's voice came through the communicator, "Captain Chen, something's wrong. Thermal imaging shows the target room has been completely still since 2 a.m., with a slight downward trend in body temperature. The curtains have been tightly closed, but the hotel staff reported that no one called room service after 10 p.m. last night, and they haven't heard any noise."

Chen Mo's eyes sharpened: "You mean..."

"I suspect there's no one in the room at all. Nakamura Hiroshi probably already left before we finished surrounding it, leaving behind just a disguise. Should we break down the door to confirm?" Canglong asked.

Chen Mo glanced at the clock: 5:15.

He remained silent for three seconds, his mind racing. Wang Zhiqiang's murder in Xiqiao Village meant that the copper coin had not been obtained, and the operation had been completely exposed. Given the modus operandi of such foreign intelligence organizations, they would undoubtedly initiate an emergency evacuation procedure at this point, cutting off all possible links to the operation.

Liu Jianmin is the visible link in the chain, while Nakamura Hiroshi is the hidden core. Liu Jianmin is already under surveillance, like a kite with a broken string, while Nakamura Hiroshi…

"Do not break down the door for now. Canglong, take a team and, without alerting the target, check all possible evacuation routes in the hotel—ventilation ducts, maintenance passages, and connections between adjacent buildings. Technical team, immediately retrieve all surveillance footage from the hotel and surrounding area, rewinding the timeline to 6 PM yesterday."

"clear!"

The order was given, and the atmosphere in the command center suddenly became tense.

Ten minutes later, Canglong's report came through: "Team Leader Chen, we've discovered something. There are recent climbing marks on the ventilation ducts of the equipment room on the hotel's roof. Special fibers were extracted from the inner wall of the ducts, matching the material of Nakamura Hiroshi's clothing. The ducts lead to the air conditioning room in the adjacent office building, where there is an unlocked safety ladder that leads directly to the underground parking lot."

"What about the parking lot surveillance cameras?"

"It's been compromised." Su Mingyue typed on the keyboard and brought up the screen. "The signals of the three surveillance cameras in Zone B of the underground parking lot were interfered with between 11 p.m. last night and 1 a.m. this morning, and the screen showed snow for thirty seconds. The location of the interference source coincides with the exit of the emergency escape."

Chen Mo stared at the snowy screen, a cold smile curving his lips.

"He's definitely a veteran. He planned the escape route at least four hours in advance." He turned to Zhao Haichuan, "Old Zhao, we can take over Liu Jianmin's side now. Take some men over there, subdue him, and watch out for any evidence he might destroy."

"yes!"

"Mingyue, notify customs, border control, railways, and civil aviation to raise the level of verification for Nakamura Hiroshi and his possible disguised identities. However, he has most likely already left the country under another identity. The key is to find out what he might have left behind and what connections he hasn't severed."

"clear!"

Chen Mo finally looked at the communicator: "Canglong, continue to set up surveillance around the hotel, and at the same time secretly search Nakamura Hiroshi's room to see if you can find any clues he left behind. Be careful not to leave any traces and keep the room as it is."

"receive!"

"Wait," Chen Mo suddenly called out, "and there's that sniper—Ichiro Imai. Judging from the ballistic trajectory and the timing of the evacuation, he and Hiroshi Nakamura must have planned the evacuation together. Check all the records of private boats and small airport takeoffs and landings that have left the country since last night, especially routes to international waters or neighboring countries. People like that wouldn't use regular ports of entry."

"We're already investigating." Su Mingyue quickly pulled up another set of data. "At 3:20 a.m., a vessel illegally left the abandoned fishing port on the eastern outskirts of Nancheng. The radar signal disappeared 20 kilometers out to sea. The Coast Guard is investigating. In addition, we extracted several clear footprints and a fingerprint from the mill sniper site, and we are comparing them with international databases. Judging from the style of operation and equipment, this person is very likely a professional 'cleaner' kept by the Fujiwara family."

Chen Mo nodded: "We need to see him alive or dead. An assassin of this caliber is always a threat. Especially since he's met Cang Tianci and knows the Cang family's location."

At 5:30 a.m., the two arrest operations were launched almost simultaneously.

In the municipal bureau's residential compound, Liu Jianmin had just stuffed the last batch of documents into the shredder when the study door was flung open. Three plainclothes officers rushed in, the leader flashing his badge: "Liu Jianmin, National Security. Please cooperate with the investigation."

Liu Jianmin's face was deathly pale. His coffee cup slammed to the floor, splattering brown liquid everywhere. He didn't resist, but slumped into his chair, staring blankly at the ceiling, muttering, "It's over...it's all over..."

At the hotel, Canglong secretly led his men into Nakamura Hiroshi's room. As he expected, the room contained only a chair, on which sat a small player playing a recording of breathing sounds, and a note with Japanese kanji characters printed on it:

"Until we meet again"

Canglong quickly searched the room and found a miniature memory card taped to the inside of the drainpipe under the bathroom sink. He carefully removed it and placed it in an evidence bag.

"Captain Chen, we found a memory card, which was probably left intentionally by Nakamura Hiroshi. The rest of the room has been cleaned up very well, and no valuable information was left behind," Canglong reported.

"Bring the memory card back and conduct a technical analysis immediately."

"clear!"

"Captain Chen," Su Mingyue looked up, "we just received an encrypted message from 'Mountain Eagle' from Xiqiao Village. Cang Liuqing has arrived and is currently handing over with Cang Houde. He asked if we need to activate the special escort procedure."

Chen Mo pondered for a moment: "Notify Mountain Eagle that after the handover is complete, he will personally lead a team of four elite soldiers, equipped with full-band jamming equipment and bulletproof vehicles, to escort Cang Liuqing and the evidence to Nancheng. The route will be dynamically encrypted and changed every fifteen minutes. Upon arrival, they will directly enter the designated area of ​​the People's Bank underground vault and meet with Professor Shen. Tell Cang Liuqing that from now on, she and the evidence are under Level 1 protection."

"Yes! I will relay it immediately."

At six o'clock in the morning, the first ray of sunlight pierced through the clouds and shone into the command center of the South City National Security Bureau.

Chen Mo stood by the window, watching the city gradually awaken. He hadn't slept all night, but his eyes showed no weariness, only a deep, unfathomable sharpness.

Wang Zhiqiang died, Liu Jianmin was arrested, and Nakamura Hiroshi fled. On the surface, the tentacles within the country were severed, and the crisis seemed to be temporarily averted.

But he knew this was just the beginning.

A copper coin spanning forty-eight years, involving historical grievances and cultural plunder; a notebook recording evidence of Japanese war crimes; and box number 23 hidden deep within a bank—behind these three items lies a battle that transcends time and space, far from over.