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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 174: A Glimmer of Inspiration
The printing press, which had been running for an unknown amount of time, finally came to a halt. From the operator to the assembly line, a group of exhausted workers let out a collective sigh of relief and sank down where they stood, slowly easing the tension that had built up.
Xiao Mu had observed the process closely. There were three technicians: one was adjusting the machine, another was always holding a large black magnifying glass to check the colors, and the last one seemed to be the leader. Every time paper was fed into the machine, the samples produced were indistinguishable from the final products, with hardly any waste at all.
As for Xu Tonglei and Wang Lishong, along with him, they played supporting roles—cutting, organizing, and bundling the printed sheets. It was easy to underestimate this simple labor; after a while, all that remained in their minds was a feeling of despair.
The work was exhausting, emotions were high-strung, and the space was cramped. After a long shift, their legs felt weak, and everything around them spun in circles. Every few hours, they had to open the vents to replace the air in the workshop that was thick with the smell of ink.
"Isn't it time for dinner, Brother Lei?" Wang Lishong said with a grimace.
"Probably not yet; we still have another round to go. Why are you sulking? You don't look like this when you're getting paid," Xu Tonglei scolded, pointing at Xiao Mu to spur him on. "Look at that kid; he's doing much better than you. What a shame for such a big guy like you."
Wang Lishong shot Xiao Mu a glare, and Xiao Mu quickly replied, "Uncle, don’t say that. The work is heavy; carrying paper and cutting it is tough. I’m just bundling it up; it’s not tiring at all."
It's all about money; they were literally sitting on piles of it but felt no joy at all. When the vent opened, the leader waved over to Xu Tonglei. Wang Lishong was feeling somewhat irritated and got up to leave. Xiao Mu hurriedly followed; there was an unwritten rule here that no one could be alone for any reason—even if it was just to use the restroom.
The break by the ventilation became their only respite. The toilet was located at the back of the workshop—a pit latrine surrounded by a wall over two meters high. The outside environment wasn’t much better than inside; the air was filled with a sulfurous odor, and there was a layer of grimy dust on the walls and floor. Having been there for just one day, they were already covered in dirt.
Didn’t they wash their faces or brush their teeth?
You guessed it right; for the sake of money, all these little daily routines were cut out.
Standing by the latrine, both unbuckled their belts simultaneously. Xiao Mu glanced over at Wang Lishong, who seemed in a foul mood. He feigned concern and asked, "Brother Wang, what’s wrong?"
"Shut up! You call Xu Tonglei 'Uncle' but call me 'Brother'? You’re treating me like I’m younger!" Wang Lishong snapped angrily.
"I can’t help it; I have to show respect," Xiao Mu replied.
"Soft-hearted... it's obvious you're not a good person," Wang Lishong said.
"Right now we're in the same boat, we need to get along. What are you trying to do by insulting me?" Xiao Mu replied.
Wang Lishong was furious. With a swift motion, he grabbed Xiao Mu and lifted him off the ground, threatening, "Do you believe I can throw you into the urinal?"
"Ah... help!" Xiao Mu shouted at the top of his lungs.
This was bad. Wang Lishong was startled and let him go. The shout drew a crowd from the workshop, rushing towards the restroom. Nervously leaning against the wall, Xiao Mu complained, "Uncle, he hit me."
"I haven't even laid a hand on you yet," Wang Lishong retorted angrily.
"You're about to, Uncle. Can we switch jobs? This guy holds a grudge from before and might be looking for a chance to settle scores with me," Xiao Mu provoked, intentionally irritating Wang Lishong again. Each time this guy acted, he was too quick; Xiao Mu's desire to scream and run out to check the front yard had never been fulfilled.
"Get lost! Can't you see what time it is? Stop talking nonsense," Xu Tonglei scolded Wang Lishong, who reluctantly dispersed with his companions. He called over to Xiao Mu, putting an arm around the young man's shoulders. "Don't provoke that guy. He's simple-minded and stubborn... as long as I'm here to protect you, he won't dare touch you. Let me tell you, working this job is highly stressful; don't go looking for trouble."
"I wouldn't dream of causing you any trouble... but Uncle, I'm just curious," Xiao Mu said.
"Curious about what?" Xu Tonglei asked.
"Who are we selling this American money to? We can't spend it here; those mountain folks have never seen U.S. bills. It's like if we printed Renminbi; it would just be cash outside," Xiao Mu inquired with a naive expression.
"We sell it to foreigners. We can't just take advantage of our own people; we need to find ways to take advantage of outsiders without them feeling burdened," Xu Tonglei explained.
"Wow." Xiao Mu had already anticipated this and was impressed, giving a thumbs up. "Uncle, you're really kind-hearted. I'm glad I teamed up with you."
"Of course! I'm known for being a good person; otherwise, why would I keep you alive? Even the monk was saved by me... Come on, help carry some water," Xu Tonglei called out to Xiao Mu. As they exited through the main door, he felt a sense of secret joy at accomplishing something he had previously struggled with.
However, as soon as he stepped outside, his heart sank halfway. The front gate was a solid iron door that blocked any view of the outside world. A layer of gray haze covered the sky, obscuring any trace of the vehicle that had brought them here. There were no guard dogs around, but on the second floor of the factory office building was an Observation Post. When he turned around after going up, he realized that from this angle he could see vehicles approaching on the road. There sat a disheveled man with a cigarette in his mouth, propped up at a table by the window with a tripod and a one-foot-long monocular telescope aimed down the road.
"Move two boxes... I said, Dog, are we safe?" Xu Tonglei gestured for Xiao Mu to carry the boxes of pure water and casually asked him. The lazy fellow replied, "Not a single ghost in sight with this heavy smog."
"Did Boss call?" Xu Tonglei inquired.
"Of course, would I not inform you?" Dog replied.
"Keep an eye out; why do I feel my heart racing?" Xu Tonglei said, his mind unsettled.
"If your heart isn't racing, then you're dead," Dog chuckled, glancing back at Xiao Mu. Xiao Mu noticed that Dog had something bulging at his waist, unsure if it was a walkie-talkie or a weapon. Dog shot him a sideways glance and said, "Fresh noodles, don’t go drawing attention."
"I'd like to find someone familiar, but they need to be brave enough... Let’s go," Xu Tonglei said, waving for Xiao Mu. The two descended the iron staircase one after the other. As they approached the iron gate, Xiao Mu cast a worried glance back.
Under the gray haze, hope seemed to grow increasingly dim...
...
"With four hundred forty registered enterprises in the county—paper, fuel, plastic products, building materials—the main pollutants are from construction materials and makeshift oil refining. In just the Houji Town area, there are over a hundred small makeshift oil refineries and construction material factories. Their air pollution index ranks first in the province."
"Currently, Thunder Zero is stranded in Houji Town; we cannot confirm the informant's exact location. Visibility in this smog is less than twenty meters. According to the weather forecast, conditions will only improve after tonight. However, they have yet to propose a practical plan for finding someone in this unfamiliar place."
"The vehicle has been located; it is now in Taizhou City. Since departing from Houji Town at four o'clock last night, this SUV has traveled over nine hundred kilometers to reach the eastern coastal city of Taizhou. Upon verification, the vehicle was rented under the name Wang Jun... This information can be disregarded as the ID does not match our system; it's fake. Surveillance captured an image."
It was an image from a gas station taken two days prior. Three people were seen getting out to shop, but only two returned when returning the vehicle.
Lin Qizhao, who was introducing the case situation, reminded everyone: "We suspect this is their mode of cross-border crime—organizing vehicles, machinery, raw materials; after selecting a site, they recruit personnel from various places for concentrated operations. They can print out goods at lightning speed and then disperse quickly. Houji Town is a forty-minute drive from Jiguan Expressway and less than twenty minutes from the provincial road. Within an hour, they could enter any province in Henan or Anhui. If we assume they plan to exit via sea transport, it would take at most twelve hours... which means they could complete their cargo exit within a day."
This wasn't baseless speculation; it simulated the transportation route of suspect Tank's vehicle starting from the previous crime scene at Bridge Village through Anhui, Shandong, and Zhejiang provinces to a shipping port—all within less than a day's time.
Lin Qizhao finished speaking and looked at the two Inspectors. At this point, the project had already doubled in scale, and a group of senior officials from the Economic Investigation Bureau were furrowing their brows, analyzing the case situation from the ground up.
"What is Sun Yong's current situation?" Inspector A asked.
"Currently abroad... Sun Yong, 41 years old, moved overseas a year ago. Before leaving, he operated a paper company in Taizhou. Based on the current case situation, we believe he is remotely directing illegal activities abroad, and there should be an executor within the country," reported an official from the Economic Investigation Bureau. The connection between both sides of the case situation was evident, yet there remained a significant mystery to unravel.
It was not hard to imagine that the technology originated from Li Yingzong, with Xu Tonglei responsible for production. Therefore, there should be a leader for the transportation operation. If the tank truck transportation was indeed true, one could envision this person's capabilities—at the very least, they would be well-versed in land transportation and maritime smuggling.
"This is a tricky situation," Inspector B said with a furrowed brow. There were several points that could not be broken through; casting a wide net only caught small fish and shrimp. Yet this type of case could not be allowed to develop unchecked. Even investigations had to be conducted cautiously, fearing that any misstep would alert these individuals.
"Then Houji Town is still a crucial point. As long as we get this right, everything else will fall into place. If we make a mistake here, we might end up with nothing," Inspector A hesitated.
The hesitation stemmed from their reluctance to deploy a large police force, while sending in a small action team would be insufficient. A day had already passed; if they waited any longer, it was likely that the other side would load up and leave.
"I suggest... we bring in a call," Lin Qizhao suddenly said. This was a high-level case situation analysis area, and several superiors looked at him curiously. He explained, "My mentor, Shen Lingchen, was involved in interrogating Wang Shou alongside the Provincial Task Force."
The leftover crowd exchanged doubtful glances. Inspector A tapped his temple thoughtfully and said, "I have an impression of this person; what do you mean?"
"The informant he discovered knows this individual best," Lin Qizhao replied.
That reason was sufficient to gain approval. Lin Qizhao dialed Shen Lingchen's number. When Shen picked up, he was startled and exclaimed, "Oh, this is quite high-profile!"
Laughter erupted in the room as Lin Qizhao briefly explained the situation and asked Shen Lingchen, "Master, we're at an impasse; our target is around Houji Town, and the tracking team is stuck."
"I understand the situation now; I was just discussing with Team Leader Zhou that not deploying police forces is like using a drop in the bucket while deploying them risks scaring off suspects. It's a dilemma on both ends," Shen Lingchen said.
"That's why we brought you in; now it's a joint case between the Economic Investigation Bureau comrades and us," Lin Qizhao stated without introducing his two superiors.
"You should stick to your principles; until the target is clear, you cannot deploy police forces. Otherwise, if the suspect runs away, seizing one machine won't mean much—machines don't grow legs; they'll eventually have to transport it away. We can conduct a large-scale investigation later if needed," Shen Lingchen advised.
"But... time is tight now. These people are organized from all corners of the world, and once the printing is completed, they will scatter," Lin Qizhao said.
"With external pressure and internal looseness, tighten the pockets to keep them floundering inside. In fact, once we surface, we already hold the vast majority of the advantage. Just let go; aren't they just rats in an oil bottle?" Shen Lingchen replied.
This blunt remark elicited another round of laughter from the superiors, inexplicably easing their mood. Looking at it from a different angle, it indeed seemed different. Lin Qizhao smiled and said, "Master, whatever you say isn't a problem... So in my specific plan, I'll follow this line of thought: endpoints, leading roles, and capturing everything in one net. But this point..."
"You've asked the wrong person. Specific situations require specific handling. Any talk of strategizing from thousands of miles away is disingenuous. Can you predict that the vanguard team will encounter foggy weather?" Shen Lingchen said.
"Then who should I ask?" Lin Qizhao was stumped.
"A moment of compassion can affect the entire army... I'll teach you a method: give the vanguard A Group a strict order to establish contact within the time limit. If they can't make contact, they can leave. As for Aeming and the informant, they're practically brothers; if pushed hard enough, he will find a way... and that way can only be found by them," Shen Lingchen said before automatically ending the call.
When he turned back, both Inspectors seemed to have been infected by Shen Lingchen's fierce emotions. Inspector A said:
"As long as we can find the target, we'll take on the role of villains. I'll take responsibility for issuing orders."
...
...
The order: Thunder Zero Group must establish contact with the target before dark tomorrow.
This line of command carried weight due to its signature, coming from a higher level within the Provincial Department—an echelon that Aeming had never dealt with before. If that wasn't enough, the Commander explained directly, shouting like he would on a flat training ground:
"What? Having difficulties? If you're afraid of challenges, go home and marry a wife and have kids... Oh right, with your cowardly demeanor, you probably can't even get a wife."
"What? Hard to find? It's just a person—two eyes and one nose; do they have horns on their heads or tails on their backs?"
"Fail to complete the mission? Just roll back and accept punishment; Branch is short-staffed at the gate anyway. With your cowardly looks, you might as well retire."
The Commander, who came from a military background, fully unleashed his usual level of cursing, directly scolding the demoralized Special Operations vanguard team until they hung their heads in despair, wishing they could choke on more smog. Along the curb of Houji Town, Aeming counted sideways—no more, no less than seven people in this Xu Jian team. Before coming here, he had sent Ren Guoliang's team out while Anyang was at another printing factory. As for that brother from Ruhua, he had been coaxed and tricked onto a return flight; such an important mission naturally couldn't allow for any dead weight.
They had initially thought they could make a swift advance, but unexpectedly, they found themselves at a standstill after just one day. They had believed they were nearly certain of success, yet another complication arose. After a day and night of tracking, the driver was exhausted, and everyone was on the brink of fatigue.
Looking at the time, it was already close to noon, with only thirty hours left until nightfall the next day. In a place filled with smog and dotted with various illegal factories, even Aeming felt that the chances of finding a lead were slim.
"Don't lose heart, Commander is just like that. When I first joined the team, he even hit me. It's not that I couldn't fight back; I just didn't dare," Aeming said while sniffling, eliciting a bitter smile from the Little Detectives. The instructor then spoke up, "What should we do? We can't just wait around. It's not that there are no follow-up police forces; it's that we can't rely on them. In this godforsaken place, even the local police can't be trusted. Just look at how many small oil theft factories we saw this morning... The main police force is utterly useless."
This was typical of Chinese characteristics—local protectionism combined with rampant corruption and thuggery. Forget about moral boundaries; even the legal system's limits were nowhere to be found. Anyone who dared to touch this black market would likely become a public enemy.
"Instructor, since it's a black hideout, there must be no visibility from the outside," Xu Jian remarked.
"Exactly. Such places are more secure than prisons; everything is locked down—eating, drinking, and sleeping are all confined within. They have guards posted; if anything seems off, they'll raise the alarm immediately," said a veteran of field duty, sharing his insights about these hideouts.
"Investigations won't work at all; locals are likely to be bribed. Forget about anyone in police uniforms; even unfamiliar faces probably can't get close," another added.
Aeming expressed his frustration, "What other difficulties are there? Speak up."
"We're short on manpower. Even if we investigate, time is limited... We need to check things out without alarming them; that's contradictory," a detective grumbled.
Under pressure from Baldy and feeling overwhelmed, Aeming's mind began to churn. Xu Jian suggested a different approach: "Can we think of a simpler way? Look at how these counterfeit money makers transport their goods by tankers; can't we come up with something that won't alert them but still allows us to contact our informants? As long as I can meet someone, I’ll have a plan."
"Unless we can transmit sound over long distances or strike from afar," a younger member replied sullenly.
Xu Jian slapped him on the back of the head and scolded, "I asked you to come up with ideas, not to spout nonsense... Instructor, what do you think about disguising ourselves for reconnaissance?"
Aeming seemed frozen for a moment in silence. When someone nudged him awake, he grinned mischievously and said, "Who just mentioned transmitting sound over long distances?"
Everyone pointed at the young man who had made the earlier comment, causing him to cover his face in embarrassment.
"Who suggested disguising ourselves?" Aeming asked again.
"I," Xu Jian said.
"Damn it, give you both credit... If the two of you work together, won't there be a way? Now, look..." Aeming gestured towards the front.
A broken tricycle, modified with a motorcycle engine, was slowly making its way down the street. It had pedals for manual propulsion and was loaded with scrap boards and large bundles of plastic bottles. Occasionally, a long call echoed through the air:
"Collecting old junk! Bottles, cardboard boxes, cans, old shoes, worn clothes, and furniture—bring them to sell!"
Could this sound actually spark inspiration?
The officers momentarily forgot their frustrations and stared in disbelief. However, the instructor, with a background as an undercover agent, was no ordinary person. Once he explained the details and operational methods, everyone became excited as if they had been injected with adrenaline. In an instant, some of them rushed after the Scrap King.
"Hey, hey... Scrap Collector! Stop right there! We're here to take your junk; how much do you want? We'll take the whole cart too..."
Before long, this group of desperate detectives reappeared, looking disheveled. Riding on the tricycle in pairs, they were equipped with an electric cart and a loudspeaker that blared cheerful songs as they hit the road...
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