Chapter 12: Rediscovery

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At the Surveillance Center of Puxian Public Security Bureau, Li Mo and Zheng Tao stood motionless before a large screen like statues.

“C4, C6, C8, C10—these four images must be printed flawlessly, without the slightest distortion!” Li Mo’s fingers acted like a conductor’s baton, precisely pointing to several sub-images on the big screen. These four images, like secret codes, were the crucial clues related to the van that had whisked away the assassin group.

“Yes, sir!” A police officer beside him shot off like an arrow, immediately going to print these four pictures.

Li Mo then issued orders to the officer operating the large screen in front of him, “Find the travel route of this vehicle.”

“Understood!” As the sound of keyboard clicks echoed rhythmically, Zheng Tao finally turned his gaze to Li Mo, as if asking, “Li Mo, have you uncovered some earth-shattering secret?”

After they arrived at the surveillance center, Li Mo had already acted like a detective, promptly retrieving the morning’s footage. Then, the footage played back at accelerated speed like a film rushing past their eyes, eventually locking onto the few images he had just instructed to print.

“There’s something. We’ll confirm further once the prints are ready,” Li Mo’s words served as a reassurance, allowing Zheng Tao to feel slightly more at ease as he continued to watch the surveillance intently.

Soon, a police officer returned carrying the freshly printed four photos and handed them to Li Mo.

Li Mo carefully placed the photos on the desk and examined them as if scrutinizing priceless artifacts. Zheng Tao stood beside him, looking on, but his mind was clouded with uncertainty, unable to discern what exactly Li Mo was focusing on.

“It’s almost certain now!” Li Mo suddenly sprang up like a coiled spring. As he marked the four photos with fluid strokes of his pen, he quickly grabbed a map and, with the finesse of a master artist, pinpointed a location.

Seeing the marked spot on the map, Zheng Tao calculated briefly before lifting his head as if struck by lightning, staring fixedly at Li Mo with eyes full of disbelief.

“If nothing goes wrong, the explosion must have occurred in this area!” Li Mo’s pen stabbed decisively at the map as he declared resolutely to Zheng Tao.

Zheng Tao looked at the spot on the map. Although he now trusted Li Mo’s judgment, he still harbored doubt. “Li Mo, while I believe your inference, I want to know—what made you come to such a conclusion?”

Zheng Tao voiced his doubts, and Li Mo placed the four photos before him.

“Master, look at the wheels of this vehicle.”

“Before entering that alley, the vehicle was likely empty or lightly loaded.”

“But when it left the alley, the condition of the wheels had clearly changed. Inside that alley, the vehicle had acquired a considerable load. Judging by its carrying capacity, it should have added the weight of eight to nine adults.”

Li Mo explained his reasoning. “Our target is six people, but their combined weight is probably a bit higher than average. Plus, they might be carrying weapons and ammunition, so a slight increase in weight is reasonable.”

Hearing this, Zheng Tao fell into thoughtful silence.

“Of course, these are just my deductions for now. To verify, we’ll have to go ourselves!” Li Mo looked at Zheng Tao and said.

“All right!”

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This time, Zheng Tao did not refuse. After all, it was just to verify Li Mo’s inference. As long as they were cautious, the danger shouldn’t be too great.

Li Mo then looked toward the officer typing at the keyboard. “Qin Ming, have you found the route yet?”

“Almost done!”

Without looking up, Officer Qin Ming pressed the Enter key as he replied.

“This is the route. After leaving the alley you mentioned, the vehicle passed through three areas not covered by surveillance.”

“I’ve already sent the images of vehicles from these three blind spots to Xiao Liu for printing.”

“The vehicle is currently parked in an alley in the west part of the city.”

Hearing this, Li Mo nodded with satisfaction. “Good. We’ll wait for Xiao Liu and the others to print those photos.”

“I’ve also filtered the surveillance footage around those three blind spots.”

“Once the photos arrive, you can assess the vehicle’s condition before we proceed with further checks,” Qin Ming said, glancing at Li Mo.

“Understood.” Li Mo nodded.

At that moment, the officer who had earlier brought the four photos reappeared, handing them over again to Li Mo.

Li Mo carefully placed the photos on the table and scrutinized them.

“Where is the second blind spot located?” Li Mo asked Qin Ming after a few minutes.

“It’s at the junction of the west and north parts of the city, in the old commercial district of the west side,” Qin Ming responded promptly, locking onto the location and pulling up the surveillance footage for that time frame.

Li Mo stood behind Qin Ming, staring at the footage before suddenly pulling out his phone.

Zheng Tao stood beside Li Mo, frowning as he looked at the map. “The old commercial district in the west? If I’m not mistaken...”

“There are many tattoo parlors there!” Li Mo interjected before Zheng Tao could finish.

“Exactly!” Zheng Tao nodded. “That means there’s a strong chance we’ve caught a clue about them.”

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Li Mo nodded, though he was already reviewing new surveillance footage with Qin Ming.

While Li Mo and the others were combing through clues at the Puxian Surveillance Center, a new document arrived at the Provincial Public Security Department of Fusheng Province. It was then forwarded to the temporary headquarters of the investigation team within the Puxian County Committee.

Tian Yun held the document and took a deep breath. “This time, it’s a joint military-civil operation?”

“The investigation team has officially merged with the task force, but so far no leads have been found. We don’t know if the dispatched teams will bring any good news.”

Tian Yun felt somewhat disheartened. His subordinates were experts at handling ordinary cases, but this adversary was incredibly cunning.

The image of Li Mo suddenly came to mind. Although the clue Li Mo had found was a trap left by the assassins, it was still better than having nothing.

At that moment, Li Mo sneezed unexpectedly in the surveillance center.

He shook his head, grabbed the map Qin Ming handed him, and as he headed out of the center, said, “Qin Ming, please keep monitoring the surveillance. Inform us immediately if anything unusual happens.”

“Got it!” Qin Ming replied excitedly.

Having spent much of his time at the surveillance center handling minor theft cases, this major case was his chance to shine. He was determined to seize the opportunity.

Li Mo and Zheng Tao walked out of the surveillance center. Zheng Tao’s gaze toward Li Mo held a hint of puzzlement.

As Li Mo’s master, he knew him well. Yet, since the last Wang Ze case, Li Mo’s demeanor had seemed somewhat unfamiliar.

Still, he was absolutely certain—Li Mo was still Li Mo.

“Master, get in the car!”

Li Mo settled into the driver’s seat, looking at Zheng Tao, who was standing outside the passenger door lost in thought.

“Oh... okay...” Zheng Tao snapped back to reality and hurriedly got in.

“Master, we’re just going to verify some things. It won’t be dangerous, so don’t worry,” Li Mo said as he started the engine.

Zheng Tao nodded. As the car began moving, his gaze drifted toward the distance.

Meanwhile, in the old commercial district of the west side, the six members of the assassin group were in a basement, receiving tattoo removal from a tattoo artist...