Useless Suspicion

Useless Suspicion

The one delaying the driver delivering the money was Lao Wang. He drove to the parking lot behind a budget hotel in the suburbs.

Before he arrived, though, Huang Ji stepped out from behind a roadside tree and stopped him.

"Don't get any closer. Cao Jing hasn't left yet."

Lao Wang nodded and let Huang Ji into the car.

Under Huang Ji's guidance, Lao Wang drove to one corner of the parking lot, while Cao Jing was in the opposite corner.

They watched the car from a distance and waited. Cao Jing remained inside the whole time and never got out.

During that time, Huang Ji glanced at the fuel gauge and said, "Can this junker still run?"

"It can. That guy poured a bottle of water into it for me. It's enough to keep the fuel up and run for thirty minutes," Lao Wang said.

To his surprise, Huang Ji shook his head. "Not enough. Where's the spare fuel I told you to bring?"

"Here!" Lao Wang pulled out a can of fuel from behind the seat.

"Fill it up," Huang Ji said.

Lao Wang smiled. "What's the rush? In my experience, there's enough gas in the tank to last quite a while."

Huang Ji insisted, "Fill it up."

Lao Wang glanced at Huang Ji, then got out to refuel while shaking his head. "Sigh, you're really a pain!"

Huang Ji merely smiled faintly.

Relying on experience? Sometimes, experience was exactly what caused things to go wrong.

After waiting a little longer, they saw Cao Jing finally get out of the car. Smoking a cigarette, he locked the door and quickly walked away.

"Heh! He really left!" Lao Wang said with a laugh.

Huang Ji said, "Wait a little longer."

"Still wait? He might just be going to buy something. If we miss this chance, it could be gone," Lao Wang said.

Huang Ji insisted, "Be patient."

They waited about half a minute before Cao Jing suddenly ran back.

He opened the car door and rummaged around for something, then left again with his phone in hand.

He had forgotten his phone and gone back to get it...

"Fuck! That bastard forgot his phone when he got out!" Lao Wang was speechless. If they had made their move just now, there would not have been enough time to swap the money, and they would have been caught red-handed.

"How did you know?" Lao Wang asked.

Huang Ji smiled. "He was going to pick someone up. Based on the habits I've observed from him, he should have been holding his phone when he got out in a situation like this. But he wasn't. Instead, he was smoking, so I guessed that he forgot to take his phone because he got out to smoke. Even if I guessed wrong, being cautious and waiting another half minute wouldn't hurt."

"Why leave the car to pick someone up?" Lao Wang asked, confused. If it were him, he would never leave this car's side.

"I'll tell you later. Get the money first," Huang Ji said.

Seeing Cao Jing leave the parking lot, Lao Wang immediately started the car and drove up in front of Cao Jing's.

This was the car Xiao Zha had given Cao Jing. It had been patched up from a scrapyard wreck, its license plate was homemade by Xiao Zha, and there was even a spare key.

Lao Wang took out the key, easily opened the trunk, and removed the money.

Meanwhile, Huang Ji carried over two other identical cases and put them inside, in exactly the same positions as before!

"Let's go, let's go." Lao Wang shut the trunk and was about to leave.

But before they left, he saw Huang Ji take a plastic bag from his pocket and sprinkle some dust over the hood, concealing the clean patch that Lao Wang's gloves had rubbed while opening the trunk.

"Very good, though I don't think Cao Jing is that meticulous." Lao Wang nodded, approving of Huang Ji's cleanup. He got into the car and said with a casual smile.

"Even a fool can have one good thought in a thousand. Even if he's an idiot, you'll never know when he might suddenly become meticulous on a whim," Huang Ji said with a smile.

Talking and laughing, the two drove away from the parking lot with the money.

They had not gone far down the road when they spotted Cao Jing by the roadside.

It appeared that after leaving the parking lot, Cao Jing had walked about two hundred meters before picking up A Lei beneath a streetlamp.

"Big Brother, it's great that you got out!" A Lei was overjoyed when he saw Cao Jing.

But from his words, it was clear that A Lei had only just learned Cao Jing had been released, and he did not yet know that Cao Jing had an operation planned for tonight.

Cao Jing lowered his voice. "There's an operation tonight. You're the only one I trust."

"But this matter is extremely important. To ensure nothing goes wrong, before I tell you the plan..."

A Lei froze, then smiled. "Big Brother, say no more. I understand!"

With that, he took out his phone, snapped it in half with brute force, and threw it into a roadside trash can.

"Good brother!" Cao Jing pursed his lips and gripped A Lei's shoulder hard. Knowing that A Lei did not mind this little precaution at all, he could not help feeling moved.

"Tonight, we'll handle this beautifully together! Come on, let's head back and talk."

The two walked back arm in arm. They had grown up together since childhood, and their bond was extraordinary.

If tonight's operation had not been so crucial, Cao Jing truly would not have wanted to be wary of A Lei.

But then again, the fact that he had even begun guarding against A Lei showed just how cautious Cao Jing had become. Tonight's plan was extremely important, and Ma Ye had placed great expectations on him. If anything went wrong, the consequences would be unthinkable.

Lao Wang drove slowly past them along the roadside. Having overheard bits and pieces, and combining them with what they already knew, he more or less guessed Cao Jing's intentions.

"I get it. Cao Jing definitely can't make the trade alone; he has to bring a subordinate. But because of what happened last time, he's worried there's a mole among his people, so he can't trust anyone."

"The person he trusts most is this A Lei, but even then, he still has to guard against him. That's why he never told A Lei who he would meet or where the trade would take place. He even deliberately left the place where he hid the money to pick up A Lei. The moment they met, he had A Lei destroy his phone. That way, when he later tells A Lei where the money is and where the deal will happen, even if A Lei is a traitor, he won't have the chance to tell anyone else."

Having figured it out, Lao Wang suddenly understood.

That was why Cao Jing would leave the place where he hid the money. Thinking about it, tonight's transaction was incredibly secretive. The only people who knew about it were Ma Ye, Tie Long, and Cao Jing.

No one could guard against thieves every second of every day. Everyone had blind spots in their thinking. Cao Jing would not guard against himself, much less Ma Ye or Tie Long, so he guarded against his own subordinates.

If A Lei were a traitor, then bringing him to where the money was hidden before destroying his phone would be too late. The hidden enemy might already be watching Cao Jing's car.

Like now, he picked the person up two hundred meters away from the parking lot, first ensuring A Lei had no way to leak information and carried no tracker. Then he would lead A Lei through twists and turns, make sure no one was following, and only then get in the car and head to a trading location even A Lei did not know.

That way, Cao Jing believed, nothing could go wrong.

"No wonder you sent Xiao Zha to meet Cao Jing. You already knew Cao Jing would take the money alone first, then call A Lei afterward," Lao Wang said. He had previously worried that A Lei remembered Xiao Zha's face. If Cao Jing brought A Lei when he collected the money, wouldn't Xiao Zha be exposed?

Cao Jing was very cautious. He collected the money alone, contacted the supplier alone, and was even so guarded around the brother he trusted most. It could be said that after being set up last time, he had grown a great deal.

Usually, Cao Jing was somewhat careless and easygoing.

But at this moment, Cao Jing was truly putting thought into it. It was entirely possible that he would notice something wrong with the dust on the trunk, that it looked a little too clean.

Thinking this, Lao Wang glanced at the calm Huang Ji beside him.

But... but! Cao Jing had not put his thought into the right place!

As a bystander, seeing Cao Jing so earnest about handling things properly, Lao Wang almost felt sorry for him.

Huang Ji was someone who simply did not exist in Cao Jing's perspective. Cao Jing's plan was practically perfect.

Even if Cao Jing were beaten to death, he would never imagine that Huang Ji had deliberately given him the car. Huang Ji had deliberately given him the money. Even the cases holding the money had been deliberately given to him by Huang Ji.

While Cao Jing took A Lei through twists and turns, planning to tell him the details once they reached the trading location, the money in his car had long since become blank paper...

From the very beginning, he had been focusing in the wrong direction. He was practically guarding against an imaginary mole.

Truly, let him show off all he wanted; the money was already in hand anyway.

"Too miserable. Taking two cases of blank paper to make a deal..." Lao Wang sighed.

Huang Ji smiled. "Not just that. He'll take the blank paper back to report to Ma Ye afterward... Didn't I tell you? Tonight's transaction was fake from the start. Ma Ye was luring the snake out of its hole. The contact on Cao Jing's side won't bring the goods. Without any goods, how could Cao Jing be stupid enough to hand over the money first? So the two sides will part on bad terms. In the end, until the transaction is called off and everyone goes home, Cao Jing won't realize he's carrying blank paper."

"Are we really going to rip off Ma Ye again? They won't be bringing money over there, will they?" Lao Wang asked.

"Ring, ring, ring..." Just then, Huang Ji's phone rang.

He answered it and heard Zhang Junwei say from the other end, "Boss, I waited at the highway entrance in ZX District like you told me to, and I really saw Ma Ye. There were four cars. They've entered SJ District now, and I've been following behind them."

"They let you follow them on purpose. Just as expected, that side is a fake transaction too. If it were a real deal, with your driving skills, how could they possibly fail to shake you off?" Huang Ji said with a smile.

"That's true... Then what do I do after following them to the location?" Zhang Junwei asked.

"Leave immediately. Tell Lin Li the location. He knows what to do," Huang Ji said.

P.S. Sorry.