At thirty, I started my comeback from the intelligence system.

In the morning, Chen Geng forced himself to take a nap to recharge.

He arrived at Wanda Plaza at 1:30 pm ahead of schedule.

The square was bustling with people; couples strolled, the elderly basked in the sun, and children chased and played—a scene of tranquility.

At 1:50, Yang Yongchao appeared at the square entrance right on time.

He was dressed in civilian clothes, but his back was straight, his steps were brisk, and he had the capable air of a policeman.

Upon seeing Chen Geng, he strode over, his brows furrowed slightly, and his sharp eyes scanned the surroundings.

"Chen Geng, what important information is it that can't be said over the phone, and you insist on arranging to meet here?"

Yang Yongchao got straight to the point, his tone carrying a barely perceptible hint of urgency and scrutiny.

The interrogation of Zhang Dabiao and Li Wu by the bureau has reached a stalemate, and Zhang Guowei is watching him like a predator eyeing its prey, putting him under a lot of pressure.

"Captain Yang, don't rush, sit down and talk."

Chen Geng pointed to the bench next to him and sat down first, trying to relax the atmosphere.

Yang Yongchao didn't sit down, but stood opposite him, looking down at him: "I'm very busy, I have to go to the community center at three o'clock. Tell me, what exactly do you know?"

"Well... the information is a bit complicated."

Chen Geng began to execute the first step of his plan—to stall for time and dawdle.

He lowered his voice, feigning mystery, "After I got back, I thought about what happened last night carefully, and I also did some research online. I feel like that might not be an ordinary smuggler; there might be someone behind him..."

He fabricated some vague clues, such as "I heard they have a fixed sea route" and "They may be colluding with certain foreign forces".

It's a mix of truth and falsehood, reality and illusion, seemingly plausible yet lacking substance.

Yang Yongchao listened attentively at first, but the more he listened, the more his brows furrowed.

"Chen Geng," Yang Yongchao interrupted him, his tone turning cold, filled with obvious impatience and suspicion.

"You asked me out just to say this? What are you trying to say, going around in circles? Or... do you know something else about last night, or... are you stalling for time?"

Chen Geng's heart tightened; the policeman's intuition was too sharp.

"Captain Yang, don't misunderstand. I just feel that things are not simple and I wanted to remind you to be careful..." Chen Geng tried his best to make his expression appear sincere.

"By the way, Captain Zhang... Captain Zhang Guowei, did he give you any trouble today? I heard he seems to be quite... serious."

He wanted to confirm Zhang Guowei's whereabouts today. If Zhang Guowei had stayed at the station, perhaps the murder wouldn't have happened? Or at least, if Yang Yongchao wasn't at the scene, would the suspicion be less?

Upon hearing this, Yang Yongchao's eyes widened with suspicion as he stared at Chen Geng: "Why are you concerned about Zhang Guowei? Do you know him?"

"Oh, no, I just heard some of your colleagues mention him yesterday, saying that he... "

"These people have no sense of propriety; how can they say everything in front of outsiders!" Yang Yongchao was furious.

"He's at the station today, of course, keeping an eye on those two suspects. If I can't get anything out of them, he won't have an easy time either. What exactly are you trying to say?"

Chen Geng felt a little uneasy under her gaze and was unsure how to respond when he suddenly caught a glimpse of a middle-aged woman dressed simply and looking flustered on the other side of the square. She was constantly checking her phone and glancing around, as if she was waiting for someone.

In a flash, a thought crossed my mind.

Chen Geng didn't have time to think it through. To divert Yang Yongchao's attention, he suddenly raised his hand, casually pointed in the direction of the woman, and whispered:

"Captain Yang, look at that person over there, doesn't he look familiar?"

Yang Yongchao looked in the direction he was pointing and his gaze fell on the middle-aged woman. He was stunned for a moment, and then his pupils shrank!

The woman was the wife of Wang Hai, a fugitive wanted online for theft!

During their previous investigation, this woman insisted she didn't know her husband's whereabouts. Now, she's acting suspiciously here—is she waiting for the escaped Wang Hai?

As soon as the thought crossed Yang Yongchao's mind, his professional instincts instantly overwhelmed his suspicions about Chen Geng.

He didn't have time to think about how Chen Geng had "coincidentally" identified the target. He shouted, "Stay here and don't move!" and darted out like a cheetah!

The woman was extremely alert, seemingly sensing something was wrong. She looked up and saw Yang Yongchao rushing towards her. Her expression changed drastically, and she turned and ran towards an old electric scooter parked by the roadside. She turned the key and tried to run away! Clearly, she had something to hide!

"Stop! Police!" Yang Yongchao shouted as he chased after them.

The woman wouldn't stop; the electric scooter sped off with a "whoosh" and turned into a small alley next to the square.

Yang Yongchao chased after the electric scooter to the alley entrance, but it had already sped away. He looked around anxiously and just then saw a food delivery guy stop his scooter, grab a food container, and run into a nearby shop without even taking the keys out of the scooter.

In a moment of urgency, Yang Yongchao didn't think twice. He rushed over, jumped onto the delivery scooter, and shouted into the store, "Police! Can I borrow your scooter? I'll pick it up from the station later!"

Before he finished speaking, he had already turned on the ignition, grabbed a bright yellow helmet from the bike basket, put it on his head, and sped into the alley!

All of this happened in just over ten seconds.

Chen Geng was stunned. When he came to his senses and chased after Yang Yongchao to the alley entrance, he only saw Yang Yongchao wearing a yellow helmet and riding a food delivery electric bike disappearing into the depths of the alley.

"Holy crap! What kind of mess is this?!"

Chen Geng cursed under his breath, and without thinking, he took off running towards where he had parked his car.

He had to follow and see what was going on, just in case Yang Yongchao was in danger, or... He had a vague sense of foreboding.

Chen Geng got into his Lincoln Z and, relying on his memory and the direction the other party might have fled, took a detour to chase after them.

The old town has narrow and complex roads, where electric bikes are quite agile as they weave in and out, while cars are rather clumsy.

Chen Geng took several detours and almost lost track of Yang Yongchao. Finally, relying on a vague intuition and a guess about Yang Yongchao's route, he drove the car into a crowded old street.

In the distance, he saw the conspicuous delivery electric scooter parked in front of an old-fashioned teahouse called "Qingxinju".

Police tape had been put up at the entrance of the teahouse, and several people in police uniforms and plainclothes were gathered there, creating a tense atmosphere.

Chen Geng's heart skipped a beat. He hurriedly found a gap on the side of the road to park, not caring whether it was illegal or not, and ran over after opening the car door.

As soon as I reached the cordon, I heard a heated argument coming from inside.

"Captain Yang? What are you doing dressed like that? What are you doing here?" A police officer looked at Yang Yongchao in surprise as he got off the food delivery scooter.

Yang Yongchao took off his yellow helmet, his face flushed from the chase. Without time to explain, he asked urgently, "What's going on here? What case?"

"It's Captain Zhang Guowei from the Criminal Investigation Division... He... he died upstairs! We just received a report from the teahouse, and as soon as we came up... we've already reported it to the bureau..." The police officer's voice trembled.