Chapter 311 - 169: Arresting the Grocery Store Owner

Yang Wenqing quickly recorded the safe house address and the rendezvous signal.

He certainly couldn't go in person; he was too high-profile a target. He planned to have Kong Yu, the one in charge of the secret investigation team, make contact with them. Besides, he didn't particularly like dealing with people from the Special Cases Office. They targeted evil cultivators both at home and abroad and conducted internal and external security investigations, so they tended to have a bit of a dark streak themselves.

After ending his call with the Special Cases Office, he immediately activated the communication signal on his badge, connecting directly to Kong Yu's. He briefly explained the situation, then instructed Kong Yu that he could reveal the existence of the secret team, but not expose them completely. It was enough for the people from the Municipal Bureau's Special Cases Office to simply know that a team existed to cooperate with their case.

Kong Yu was a smart man and immediately understood Yang Wenqing's intentions. He jotted down the rendezvous address and signal before ending the communication.

Yang Wenqing resumed his cultivation, Artifact Refining, and nurturing his Five Yang Qi…

The steady rhythm made time fly by. In the blink of an eye, it was breakfast time again. Yang Wenqing was unhurriedly eating his breakfast, halfway through a bowl of congee, when the badge on his chest suddenly began to flash. It was an encrypted communication from his master, Qin Huaiming.

Yang Wenqing answered immediately. "Master."

"Wenqing…"

Qin Huaiming's voice came through, tinged with a hint of relief. "The Soul Search on that Jade Whale Sect Qi Cultivation practitioner yielded some results. His memories marked a fairly well-hidden stronghold. The Municipal Bureau is already drawing up a plan to raid it."

He paused, then added with a chuckle, "You provided the lead for this operation. You'll definitely be getting credit for this one."

Yang Wenqing quickly replied, "Thank you for thinking of me, Master."

"The raid will happen in the next day or two. I'll let you know when I have more news." With that, Qin Huaiming ended the call.

Yang Wenqing cheerfully finished his breakfast. Just as he put down his chopsticks and was about to get up and head to the branch office, the Communication Array in his badge pulsed with Spiritual Qi again.

"This is Yang Wenqing."

"Bureau Chief!" Liu Xin's voice was tinged with urgency. "There was unusual activity at Sun's Grocery Store, which we were watching last night. Just now, Wu the Sixth suddenly started packing his valuables. It looks like he's been tipped off and is preparing to run!"

Yang Wenqing's expression hardened. He immediately asked, "What about the three suspects? Any unusual movements?"

"We haven't detected any unusual activity from them yet. Our people are still on surveillance," Liu Xin replied quickly. "Bureau Chief, what are your orders? Do we move in and arrest Wu the Sixth now, or do we keep watching to see who he meets?"

Yang Wenqing's mind raced. 'Who attended yesterday's meeting?' was his first thought. 'This is clearly a leak.' He then gave a stern order, "Move in now. Take Wu the Sixth into custody and seal the grocery store. And listen—I want him alive. Preserve all evidence!"

"Yes, sir!" Liu Xin's voice held a trace of excitement.

"Send the coordinates to Yang Zhong. I'm on my way," Yang Wenqing added. He wanted to oversee the operation personally—partly to supervise, partly to get firsthand information, and also to see for himself who was involved in this mission.

With that, he rose and strode outside to the waiting, already-activated Flying Shuttle. He instructed Yang Zhong, "Head to the old district in West City. Team Liu should have sent you the coordinates!"

"Right!"

…

When the Flying Shuttle arrived over the target area, a neat street below was already under lockdown. Several black City Defense Bureau vehicles blocked the intersections, and uniformed guards had set up a cordon, dispersing the few early-rising residents who had gathered to watch.

The Flying Shuttle landed in a nearby open space. The moment Yang Wenqing set foot on the ground, Liu Xin hurried over to greet him, a faint smell of gunpowder from the operation still clinging to her.

"Bureau Chief!" Liu Xin stood at attention and saluted. "The operation was a success. We caught Wu the Sixth red-handed as he tried to slip out the back door. The grocery store is completely secure, and we're currently inventorying the evidence. We've made a preliminary discovery of some ledgers, communicators, and a small number of runic artifacts with unknown purposes."

Yang Wenqing nodded, his gaze sweeping over the skinny old man squatting in the corner, held by two guards. This was Wu the Sixth, the owner of the grocery store. The old man's face was ashen and his eyes darted about evasively, but he didn't seem overly panicked. Instead, there was a numbness about him, as if he had resigned himself to his fate.

"What about the three suspects? Did this arrest cause any reaction from them?" Yang Wenqing asked the question that concerned him most.

"Not yet," Liu Xin said, shaking her head. "While making the arrest, our people intensified surveillance on those three. The feedback so far is that they are all in their respective residences or usual haunts, with no signs of unusual communication or activity."

Yang Wenqing felt a small measure of relief. 'That's good news,' he thought. He then asked, "Did you report to the Municipal Bureau's special task force before the operation?"

Hearing this, a flicker of hesitation crossed Liu Xin's face, but she quickly firmed her expression and said, "Time was tight. We didn't have a chance."

Yang Wenqing said, "Report it now. Tell them it was my order."

"Yes, sir!"

Liu Xin took a few quick steps to the side to make the call.

Yang Wenqing walked over and stopped in front of Wu the Sixth. He glanced at the old man, then did a quick scan of the surroundings, memorizing the nearby buildings. At the same time, he committed the faces of everyone present at the scene to memory.

A moment later, Liu Xin walked back over and reported to Yang Wenqing, "Bureau Chief, Director Zhao from the special task force said to make sure we properly seal all leads and evidence."

Yang Wenqing nodded. "Then let's take him back for now."

"Yes, sir."

As Liu Xin responded, Li Yue hurried out of the grocery store, holding several freshly opened ledgers. She approached Yang Wenqing and said quickly, "Bureau Chief, three transactions recorded in these ledgers—the recipient's account numbers are a perfect match for the private accounts used by the three suspects from the explosion site!"