A New Look (2)

After briefing them on the situation, Gao Weimin looked eagerly at Du Ce and asked, "Any difficulties?"

"With the leadership backing us, we will complete the mission without fail!"

On the way to West City Police Station, Sophia drove while Du Ce sat in the passenger seat, his eyes half-closed. In his mind surfaced his solemn pledge to Director Gao, along with the lead on drug traffickers from the mysterious southwestern border. The intense tension and pressure naturally showed on Du Ce's face as he unconsciously pondered how to begin work once they reached West City...

Fourth Brother was a key person of concern on record at Hongqiao Community's police station. As the community officer, he should have known everything about him.

Director Tang urgently summoned Officer Lan, Lu Tong, Old Jiang, and Tong Haojing for a meeting.

Squad leader Du Ce and several other team members sat in the middle of the conference room with grave expressions, while Wang Chongyang drew something on his laptop.

Du Ce explained the situation surrounding the arrest: the drug dealer was thirty years old, young and strong, and might be carrying a gun. Intelligence from an informant indicated that he was hiding in Fourth Brother's home, but the house's layout was highly complicated. It connected to neighboring homes, and its windows, doors, and exits were unclear. The suspect was very likely to flee in the middle of the night.

He emphasized three points: first, the criminal was vicious, and the arrest would be difficult. Second, this was an assignment from the provincial department, and there could be no mistakes. Third, everyone must pay attention to their own safety and could use weapons lawfully if necessary.

The conference room fell silent, and the atmosphere immediately grew tense.

Wang Chongyang, seated beside Du Ce, was eager to make a move. He had spotted Tong Haojing the moment he entered. Their relative positions made him feel the superiority of the bureau headquarters. Though he was not a leader, he had come from the city bureau. Even a minor nobody from the city bureau counted for something and could point fingers at the grassroots officers. That was an unwritten rule at the Tangdu City Bureau. Wang Chongyang carried on that rule and habit.

Everyone in the conference room looked at one another without speaking. Wang Chongyang sensed where the problem lay. Perhaps to ease his leader's burden, he could no longer hold back. "Director Tang, your station needs to provide the most basic information on Fourth Brother!" His tone was lofty and overbearing.

Director Tang raised his head and gave Wang Chongyang a disdainful glance, then lowered it again and unhurriedly flipped through his thick notebook. Where did this greenhorn come from? I don't know him. It's not his turn to speak no matter what. But since he was from the bureau, Tang suppressed the resentment in his heart and reluctantly replied, "Let's see whether we can help!"

Old Jiang was also angered enough by the arrogant bearing of this unknown nobody to grit his teeth, his face taut. Yet as the community officer, he still found everyone's eyes turning toward him.

"Old Jiang, introduce Fourth Brother's basic situation." Tang Changan was actually uncertain as well. He did not think highly of Old Jiang's groundwork, because he knew that ever since Tong Haojing had arrived, Old Jiang's mind was often no longer on the community. He had only noticed Old Jiang constantly running to West City Hotel to see his wife, Sister Xue. Yet lately, there had been rumors that he and his wife were getting divorced, which Tang found utterly baffling.

Sure enough, Old Jiang's helpless expression disappointed everyone greatly. "I know the man well, but I don't know much about the structure of his house."

The conference room became eerily silent again.

Somewhat unwillingly, Old Jiang called Wang Hongmin, the community director. Ten minutes later, the director arrived. When asked, he too shook his head regretfully. He had only taken office a few days ago and had not even figured out who everyone was, let alone the layout of Fourth Brother's house.

Without considering the circumstances, Wang Chongyang spoke again. "Find two neighbors. They definitely know the layout of Fourth Brother's house!"

"That depends on whether they're willing to tell us," a young man who had come with Wang Chongyang suddenly interjected from the side.

"Or we could go to the housing bureau and check the building plans!" Quick-witted Wang Chongyang added another suggestion. Du Ce seemed unwilling to hear any more of Wang Chongyang's bad ideas. He shot him a cold look. "What time do you think it is?"

Everyone looked strangely at Sophia, then sank into thought again.

Dawn was approaching. Du Ce had even considered a forced assault, but the risk was too great. He could not gamble with the officers' lives.

Just then, Director Tang turned his gaze toward Tong Haojing. He wanted to test how familiar Tong Haojing had become with the area over this period. Whether he was a mule or a horse, they would know his true ability once they put him through his paces.

"Little Tong, do you have any ideas?" Tong Haojing was still sulking when Director Tang called out to him. He abruptly raised his head, then suddenly stood up. "I'll go to the office for a moment. Sophia, there are two Fourth Brothers. Which one are you looking for?"

"Oh, the one living in Hongqiao Community in West City!"

Tong Haojing swept past Tang Changan like a gust of wind. Less than fifteen minutes later, he returned holding a sheet of paper. The entire structure of the house had been drawn on it in complete detail: the size of the rooms, entrances and exits, windowsills, and various large household items were all marked on the diagram. What stunned them most was that it even included the entrance to the neighboring apartment's adjoining balcony.

"Is this reliable?" Wang Chongyang looked at Tong Haojing with open doubt.

"You don't believe me? Go look at it on my computer yourself!" Tong Haojing's impulsive side emerged.

To ensure nothing went wrong, Du Ce signaled for Wang Chongyang to check the video files on the computer together with Tong Haojing.

"Oh, no need. I happen to have a copy on my USB drive!" Tong Haojing suddenly remembered. He pulled out the especially conspicuous large USB drive he had recently bought and glanced at the still-dazed Sophia. "Hey, let me use your computer!" Tong Haojing connected the USB drive to the computer and entered the words "Fourth Brother." The computer immediately displayed all information related to Fourth Brother. Among it were video files showing the house layout, windowsills, exits, and other information, making everything very clear.

Officer Lan and Lu Tong understood why Tong Haojing had bought that large USB drive from the young man who had reported his electronic products stolen. They could not help but secretly admire him. This kid really did things with a plan.

Tong Haojing had discovered a crucial hidden exit in Fourth Brother's home that led to the neighboring apartment's balcony. He reminded them, "Someone must block this spot."

Everyone curiously craned their necks to look, unable to stop praising him. "Not bad, not bad!"

Squad leader Du Ce was so delighted that he jumped to his feet. He immediately formulated the arrest plan based on the house layout footage Tong Haojing had provided.

Old Jiang had never expected that after decades as a community officer, he would still fall short of a young man's mere twenty-odd days of amateur effort. No matter how meticulously or how much work he did, it could not compare to someone else's clever shortcuts. He truly had to admit defeat. Still, his face retained some pride. After all, a strong general had no weak soldiers under him!

Director Tang was secretly delighted. He had never expected Tong Haojing to work so meticulously in less than a month.

At five in the morning, following the plan they had made and with assistance from the police station, Agen was about to flee through the balcony next door to Fourth Brother's home when Old Jiang and Tong Haojing, who had been waiting there, pinned him to the ground and caught him red-handed.

What made the two men's hearts pound with fear was the Type 6 pistol they found on Agen's body, already loaded and cocked.

Du Ce went to a secluded place and secretly reported the thrilling circumstances of the arrest to Director Gao. Director Gao exclaimed, "Good. Your work was thorough and effective. There are more important anti-drug missions waiting for you. Also, after work tomorrow afternoon, bring that new young man on your team, Wang Chongyang, to my office. I have something to discuss with him. Make sure no one else finds out!" Hearing Director Gao's words, Du Ce was filled with excitement and strength. It seemed the new director had not blamed him for his previous poor anti-drug results, but was instead hinting that he would have new opportunities and assignments.

Du Ce sensed that although Director Gao had appeared calm and unruffled since arriving, he had secretly been weaving a net and laying out his plans...

Du Ce, Wang Chongyang, and several other team members escorted Agen back to the city. Before leaving, Du Ce took Director Tang aside and said, "We have your station's solid groundwork to thank. Otherwise, if something had gone wrong, it would have been hard to explain to headquarters."

Standing nearby, Wang Chongyang cast Tong Haojing an admiring look. "Our Senior Brother Tong is the capable one after all!"

Director Tang's face shone with pride, and his smile was broad as his heart overflowed with joy. This kid truly deserved a new look.

Old Jiang's face burned. He was somewhat dissatisfied with Tong Haojing stealing the limelight, but as his teacher, Old Jiang had no choice but to admire him. He remembered what he had promised Tong Haojing.

"Director Tang, Little Tong performed well this time. Do you think we can reimburse the USB drive he bought?" Old Jiang was very good at picking his moment. He had chosen the right time and believed the director would not refuse. This was Old Jiang's secret to getting things done with leaders after all these years.

Just as expected, Director Tang readily agreed. Habitually picking up his pure gold Parker pen, he said, "Bring it over and I'll sign it!" The characters Tang Changan flowed across the receipt like drifting clouds and dancing dragons, the work of calligraphy Director Tang was most proud of.

Tong Haojing continued his household surveys methodically, recording images of every area, then returning to the station to organize them, enter them into the computer by category, and store them on the USB drive. His work familiarizing himself with the entire jurisdiction was nearly complete.

After staying up all night, the officers at West City Police Station hurried through breakfast early the next morning, wanting nothing more than a good sleep.

News that an armed drug offender had been captured within the West City jurisdiction spread like wildfire. In particular, Tong Haojing's heroic deed of personally capturing the armed drug offender became the talk of West City Police Station.

Ke Qian, hurrying to work and eating breakfast in the cafeteria, did not even have time to put down the fashionable Korean-style casual shoulder bag slung across one shoulder. She took a plate of cakes and pastries and a dish of kimchi, then sat alone in a corner of the cafeteria, delicately eating a freshly cooked egg.

Lu Tong, Officer Lan, and several other officers surrounded Tong Haojing, asking him to talk about what it felt like to capture the fugitive drug dealer.

"Tong Haojing, did you foresee that the fugitive would be carrying a gun?" Lu Tong asked.

"Didn't the briefing say so? Besides, Old Jiang is experienced. He had us put on bulletproof vests long ago and make preparations for it!" Tong Haojing was somewhat unwilling to make a fuss over his own achievements.

"The criminal's gun was already cocked. Now that you think back on it, are you scared?" Officer Lan asked while chewing on a steamed bun, his face full of admiration.

"Well... I'd be lying if I said I wasn't!"