I slept with my sister's classmate, and she turned out to be my boss.

On the afternoon of the third day, Lin Chen sent a message:

"My friend has already met with Lao Jin."

He went there first pretending to be looking for a tenant, had a chat once, looked at a house, and the conversation went quite well.

On his second visit, he subtly inquired whether any Chinese people had recently come to rent apartments.

Old Jin said that there was indeed someone who had rented a detached villa in the suburbs by the sea for a year, paying in cash.

Chen Dapeng pressed further, "Did you get the address?"

"Got it."

Send me the address.

"it is good."

After hanging up the phone.

Chen Dapeng forwarded the address Lin Chen sent to Captain Wu, along with a note: "Zeng Guosheng previously rented a villa through Lao Jin; the address is here. Please go and investigate as soon as possible."

After receiving the address, Captain Wu found the local police officer who had accompanied him earlier and explained the situation.

After listening to the officer's explanation, he said he could go and check it out under the guise of a patrol, without needing to apply for permission from his superiors.

Without delay, the two drove straight out of the police station.

The car drove through the city and onto the coastal highway.

About forty minutes later, a fork in the road appeared ahead.

The officer slowed down and asked, "Did you take the side road?"

Captain Wu glanced at the description on the address and nodded.

"According to the address, it's just ahead at the fork in the road."

After the car turned onto the side road, it drove for a few more minutes.

A low wall came into view, with an iron gate in the middle, but no house number was visible next to the gate.

The officer parked the car at the entrance, and the two men got out.

The iron gate was closed, but the padlock was not locked; the latch was just resting on the ring and could be easily lifted off.

Captain Wu removed the padlock and pushed open the iron gate.

There was no one in the courtyard, the main gate was closed, and the curtains were half-drawn.

Captain Wu did not walk straight ahead, but stood in the yard for a while first.

I looked at the ground—there were no obvious footprints, and nothing suspicious around.

He stepped toward the main entrance.

The officer walked ahead, reached the door, knocked three times, waited a few seconds, but no one answered.

I knocked three more times, but there was still no response.

He reached out and grasped the doorknob, turned it, and the door opened; it wasn't locked.

The curtains in the living room were half-drawn, making the light somewhat dim.

The drawer of the cabinet against the wall was pulled open halfway, empty inside, with the wooden bottom exposed, as if it had been hastily rummaged through.

Captain Wu did not go in immediately, but stood at the door and looked around first.

An empty water glass sat in the center of the table, next to a ceramic ashtray filled with several cigarette butts.

There was a local newspaper under the coffee table.

The newspaper was curled at the edges, as if it had been flipped over and then casually tucked underneath.

He went inside, squatted down in front of the coffee table, and glanced at the date on the newspaper—three days ago.

He didn't touch the newspaper, stood up, turned around, and went into the bedroom.

The wardrobe door in the bedroom was open, and several clothes were hanging on the hanger, piled up on one side.

The other side was empty, and the clothes hanger was crooked.

An empty clothes hanger lay scattered on the floor, as if it had fallen out of the closet.

The sheets on the bed were not folded and were crumpled into a ball. The pillow was leaning against the headboard at an angle, with a noticeable indentation.

Captain Wu stood at the bedroom door without going in, his gaze sweeping over the bed, wardrobe, and lamp, lingering for a few seconds.

He turned and walked through the living room toward the door leading to the backyard.

The backyard is small, with a cement floor, and a simple shed has been built near the wall.

A black sedan was parked under the shed.

The passenger door was half-open, not closed properly.

He walked to the car, bent down, and glanced inside.

A dark-colored coat lay on the passenger seat, its sleeves dangling onto the floor mat.

He reached out and pulled on the driver's side door, and the door opened.

The seatbelt plug is still stuck in the buckle and has not been pulled out.

There was a gas station receipt on the dashboard, dated five days ago.

He glanced at the date, didn't touch the receipt, straightened up, and closed the car door.

The police officer walked over from the other end of the yard:

"There's no one else in the backyard, only this car."

Captain Wu nodded, took out his phone, and dialed Lao Jin's number.

The phone rang a few times before being answered.

"Mr. Jin, please come here."

Old Jin answered readily, "Okay."

Forty minutes later, Lao Jin arrived at the door.

He stood there for a while, not in a hurry to go inside.

He first looked around through the wall before pushing open the iron gate and walking in.

He walked to the main entrance and then stopped.

My gaze swept from the living room table to the row of cabinets in the corner, and finally settled on the newspaper under the coffee table.

"He's gone?"

His tone carried a hint of doubt and confusion.

Captain Wu stood in the living room, looked at him, and asked:

When was the last time you saw him?

Old Jin thought for a moment: "About two days ago, he said he was going out for a while and would be back in a few days."

I didn't think much of it at the time.

It's perfectly normal for tenants to go on trips for a few days.

Captain Wu wrote this down in his notebook and asked:

Did he tell you where he was going when he left?

"no."

Did he leave emergency contact information when he rented the apartment?

Old Jin shook his head: "No."

Captain Wu closed his notebook: "This address is temporarily sealed off. Do not touch anything inside. We'll contact you again if we need any further cooperation."

Old Jin nodded and didn't say anything more.

He stood at the door for a while longer, as if still trying to confirm that Zeng Guosheng had really left, before turning around and walking out of the courtyard.

Afterwards, Captain Wu and the police officer also left.

……

That evening, Captain Wu compiled the situation at the scene into a report and sent it back to China:

"Old Jin confirmed that Zeng Guosheng had rented a detached villa in the suburbs by the sea through him. When he arrived this afternoon, Zeng had already left, indicating that he had moved in advance. His current whereabouts are unknown."

After receiving the briefing, Chen Dapeng read it through and then sent a message to Lin Chen:

"Lin Chen, the villa has been found, but the person is already gone. I suspect he got wind of it and ran away beforehand."

Lin Chen quickly replied: "Can you find out where he went?"

"I don't know. We're still investigating. The report only lists the villa's address and evidence found at the scene; there are no clues about its whereabouts."

Lin Chen was silent for a while, then sent a message.

"It seems like our connection with Lao Jin has been severed. What are you planning to do?"

"I don't know, let's see what Director Chen instructs."

"Okay, contact me if there are any updates."

Chen Dapeng did not reply to the message.

He took the report and went to Chen Yuanda's office.

The door was ajar, not completely closed.

He gently pushed open the door, walked to Chen Yuanda's desk, and handed him the report.

"Director Chen, Captain Wu has sent a report. Zeng Guosheng had already been evacuated. Captain Wu and his team came up empty-handed."

Chen Yuanda did not look at the report immediately.

He paused for a moment, then looked at Chen Dapeng:

"They ran away?"

Chen Dapeng nodded: "Zeng Guosheng has certain counter-surveillance capabilities, and he also received advance warning. So..."

Chen Yuanda remained silent for a long time.

"Dapeng, go and rest. I'll contact Captain Wu."

"it is good."

Chen Dapeng responded and turned to leave Chen Yuanda's office.

He stood at the doorway, muttering to himself:

"This Zeng Guosheng is too cunning. It seems we'll have to put in some effort to catch him."