Chapter 80: Closing the Net

If Jiang Xiwen had dodged to the side, that iron rod would have landed squarely on Ning Yan. Without a second thought, he raised his arm to take the blow head-on, then followed up with a fierce kick, striking his opponent’s knee once more. This time, even if the bone healed, the man would be left with a permanent limp.

“Jiang Xiwen, are you alright?” Ning Yan summoned her strength and, gripping the chair, managed to stand up. Jiang Xiwen smiled at her, stepped forward to help, but a sharp, piercing pain shot through his arm. Grimacing, he forced a grin and said, “I’m fine!”

Ning Yan couldn’t help but laugh at the sight of him, and Old Ning, standing nearby, shook his head and smiled in silence. Their laughter was infectious, and soon Wang Wu, the burly man, joined in. Three battered but stalwart men and one resilient little girl stood together in the darkness, sharing a moment of pure, heartfelt laughter.

At that moment, the wail of police sirens grew louder in the distance. Jiang Xiwen cursed, “Hell, just like on TV—cops always show up at the end!” As he spoke, he couldn’t help but swing his injured arm, and this time the pain was unbearable. With a heavy thud, he collapsed to the ground, just managing to gasp out before he lost consciousness, “Damn it, it’s broken! Old Ning, Tian Weidong is…”

On the other end of Captain Wu’s phone, the dial tone had long since begun, but he still hadn’t hung up.

A call from an unknown number was nothing unusual, nor was it strange that the caller knew he was the deputy chief of the Criminal Investigation Unit. What was strange was that the caller knew every detail about Liu Dashan’s kidnapping. Most astonishing of all, the caller also knew about Liu Dashan’s plan to use Tian Weidong’s connections to open a private school, once other options had failed. The police had only recently uncovered this through an undercover agent planted beside Liu Dashan.

How had this mysterious caller known that Liu Dashan and Tian Weidong were meeting today? The intelligence from their own undercover agent only indicated that Tian Weidong would be in Yangjiang in the next couple of days.

“Daddy, Daddy! Come light the fireworks…” His daughter’s crisp voice, calling from her elementary school years, broke Wu Zhe’s train of thought. He set down the receiver, turned to his daughter with a smile, and said, “Daddy has urgent business tonight. You play with Grandpa, Grandma, and Mommy, alright?”

After he spoke, his expression grew grave again. Striding to the coat rack, he pulled on his jacket. His wife, seeing his demeanor, hurried over. “Back to the station again?”

“Mm.” Wu Zhe nodded.

His parents were still watching TV in the back room. Wu Zhe, not wanting to get caught in a long-winded conversation, instructed his wife to explain his absence after he’d left.

“Be careful,” his wife said, concern in her eyes, though her tone was calm. She was used to his work by now. Though she disliked it, she forced herself to appear untroubled, never wanting to be a burden to her husband while he was on duty.

“Don’t worry, it’s nothing serious tonight—” Before he could finish, the phone rang again. He rushed over and picked up.

“Little Wu, our detective tailing Liu Dashan ran into trouble. Take a team to the underground parking lot across from the River Fresh Restaurant—move fast!” The director’s anxious voice rang out from the other end.

“Understood!” Wu Zhe hung up, said nothing more, and dashed out of the house.

“Mommy, Daddy’s off to catch the bad guys again,” the daughter chirped.

Her mother stroked her hair, watching her husband’s figure disappear into the night. Only after several seconds did she close the door.

The director’s call left Wu Zhe with no doubt about the veracity of the mysterious earlier call. He sped back to the station, assembled the teams, and split their forces: one group to the parking lot, and the other, led by himself, to the Yangjiang Hotel.

The situation at the hotel was delicate; it involved the city’s two most powerful businessmen. If Liu Dashan hadn’t confined Tian Weidong, or if Tian Weidong agreed to Liu’s terms, a rash intrusion could alert the targets and destroy the entire operation. Wu Zhe decided to personally monitor this side, waiting for the negotiations to collapse before moving in.

He didn’t use the siren, but with his expert driving, reached the hotel in record time. The officers with him were all in plain clothes. Pretending to be strangers to each other, they entered the hotel one by one. At the front desk, Wu Zhe quietly identified himself as a police officer and, after showing his credentials, obtained the room number that Liu Dashan had booked for Tian Weidong.

As prearranged, he left two officers in the lobby—one to prevent Liu Dashan’s escape, the other to check if anyone inquired about their boss at the front desk. Even though Wu Zhe had instructed the staff to deny any such inquiries, his years on the force had taught him never to trust anyone easily.

With the hotel staff’s help, Wu Zhe donned a waiter’s uniform and wheeled a food cart to Tian Weidong’s door. After ringing the bell, a calm voice inside—one Wu Zhe recognized instantly as Liu Dashan’s—called out, “Who is it? What’s the matter?”

“Room service. Our hotel has prepared a complimentary hometown New Year’s meal for Director Tian. Welcome back!” Such a statement would raise no suspicion—Tian Weidong was famous in Yangjiang’s business circles. Liu Dashan, though wealthy locally, was only a big fish in a small pond; Tian Weidong was the only entrepreneur from Yangjiang to have made it big nationwide.

A few seconds later, the door opened. Liu Dashan eyed Wu Zhe and nodded. “Come in.”

Wu Zhe pushed the cart inside. Aside from Tian Weidong, there was a young man in a suit, looking sharp and competent, sitting on the sofa and reading the newspaper, ignoring Tian Weidong.

When Wu Zhe looked at Tian Weidong, he sensed something odd in the man’s eyes, as if he wanted to speak but hesitated. Wu Zhe didn’t act rashly; a misjudgment would be disastrous. As he bent over, he whispered quickly to Tian Weidong, “I’m a police officer. If you have something to say, now’s the time.”

Tian Weidong was startled, then smiled slightly and stood up. “You’re a police officer? Don’t joke with me, waiter.”

“What?” Liu Dashan whipped around. The young man on the sofa sprang up and lunged at Wu Zhe. Unfortunately, his skills were lacking—Wu Zhe countered with a swift kick, sending him sprawling, unable to get up.

Tian Weidong had been threatened by Liu Dashan, forced to sign a contract to affiliate with Tianxing Computer School and open a private school. That was the real reason Liu Dashan had sought him out, and what Tian Weidong had referred to more than a month ago when he told Zhang Yong he was coming to Yangjiang for business.

Over the past month, Tian Weidong had thoroughly investigated Liu Dashan and discovered he was in no way qualified to run a private school. Thus, from the outset, he had refused Liu’s request.

Jiang Xiwen had miscalculated this point, assuming Liu Dashan wanted Tian Weidong’s connections to persuade Zhang Yong, who oversaw education. In reality, Liu Dashan had no idea that Tian Weidong and Zhang Yong were old classmates.

After failing to sway Zhang Yong with both persuasion and pressure, Liu Dashan turned to the idea of “affiliation.” With Tian Weidong, his methods were simpler—if soft words didn’t work, he’d use force. That approach had brought him success in business more than once.

He couldn’t use the same tactics on Zhang Yong; even if he managed to coerce a signature, the approval could be revoked later. But in business, as long as there was no evidence of coercion, a signed contract was binding.

Tian Weidong had not immediately confided in Wu Zhe out of caution, worried that Wu might be one of Liu’s men sent to test whether he planned to escape. He’d already taken a slap from the young man earlier and had no wish to suffer further harm.

At this moment, Liu Dashan was frustrated. He hadn’t intended to act rashly—Tian Weidong had shown no sign of seeking help from Wu Zhe. But then his foolish subordinate had gone and acted impulsively. If only Qi Zi were here instead.

Liu Dashan made no attempt to flee. He sighed, realizing the game was up, and said dejectedly to Wu Zhe, “Officer, you got here fast. Old Ning must be your man, right…” As he spoke, he slowly extended his hands, ready to be cuffed.

“Any problems can be discussed back at the station.” Wu Zhe pulled out the handcuffs and secured them around Liu Dashan’s wrists. In his heart, he recalled his mother that afternoon, reverently hanging a new Kitchen God print in their kitchen. He couldn’t help but mutter a quick prayer to the Kitchen God, hoping for smooth days ahead.

When Jiang Xiwen awoke again, the first thing he saw was a snow-white ceiling. He moved his limbs gingerly, discovering his right arm encased in a massive cast, the pain now a dull ache he could bear. He turned his head and saw a girl sleeping at his bedside, bundled in a coat—quite pretty, in fact.

“Ning Yan, time to get up. Practice your punches,” Jiang Xiwen said with a smile, gently patting her with his good hand.

“Mm…” Ning Yan turned her head, eyes still closed, mumbling, “Who dares hurt my dad… No, Xiwen, don’t…”

Watching Ning Yan sleep, Jiang Xiwen was filled with emotion. He couldn’t help but stroke her short hair softly and whisper, “Thank you.”