Chapter 42: The Tracking Plan (6)

"All right, then I can rest easy."

The boss said cheerfully at this moment.

Just then, the sound of fast-running footsteps approached. The boss turned his head and saw one of his underlings hurrying over. Reaching the boss's side, the underling spoke directly in a nervous tone:

"Boss."

"What is it? Why are you in such a panic?"

The boss reprimanded the underling.

"Boss, our supplier in the North China region, Boss Yang Guokang, has arrived. He's down at our hospital building right now."

Hearing the underling say this, the boss glanced back at Zhang Heng lying on the bed, and then instructed the underling:

"All right, you stay here and keep an eye on him. Don't let him wander around."

"Understood."

With that, the boss walked over to the elevator alcove, took the elevator down, exited the hospital, and sure enough, spotted two black Volkswagen Passats...

The people inside those two black Passats saw the boss coming out and immediately stepped out of the cars...

Lying on the bed on the third floor, Zhang Heng looked at the underling before him and asked:

"Brother, can I go over to the window and take a look?"

The underling remained silent.

Then, Zhang Heng said to him again:

"Brother, don't worry. Since the boss told you to watch me, I certainly won't run around. Besides, I'm practically a member of our drug-trafficking syndicate now. Can't I just go take a look by the window? I also want to know how we'll be doing business in the future."

"Well, alright then," the underling replied.

Zhang Heng sat up from the bed, got off, put on the shoes beside the bed, and then walked eagerly and briskly toward the window. Seeing this, the underling followed closely behind, walking over to the window together...

Once Zhang Heng reached the window, he immediately looked down and saw that the boss was shaking hands with a group of men who were all dressed in high-end suits and luxury attire, clearly looking like senior executives, managers, or bosses...

If he guessed correctly, that group of well-dressed, high-profile individuals must be none other than Boss Yang, the North China supplier the underling had just reported to the boss.

At that moment, a thought suddenly struck Zhang Heng.

*Right, I need to memorize their license plate numbers quickly.*

Thus, he hurriedly checked the license plate information of the two cars. The front car was Ji-B 13H26, and the rear car was Ji-B 35910. Having memorized the license plates, he quickly committed them to memory and repeated them silently in his mind.

His behavior aroused the suspicion of the underling standing beside him, who asked what he was doing. Zhang Heng pretended it was nothing.

In order not to arouse the underling's suspicion, Zhang Heng immediately prepared to return to the bed.

Besides, continuing to watch was largely pointless.

That was what he thought.

Just as he was about to leave the window, he witnessed an unbelievable scene...

He hurriedly lunged back against the window to look down. Seeing his sudden movement, the underling also pressed himself against the windowsill to look below. At that moment, they saw several men from the suited group whip out handguns from inside their suit jackets and aim their barrels directly at the boss and his men...

Instead of showing any fear at the sight, the boss smiled calmly, stepped forward toward the man whose gun barrel was closest to him, grabbed the barrel with his hand, and leaned his head forward as if he felt neither fear nor panic...

Meanwhile, the boss's men and underlings also rushed out of the hospital holding guns. In particular, Old Shang and the leader drew their weapons and aimed their barrels squarely at the small group of suited men...

A tense standoff, primed for action, hung in the air.

After staring each other down for a full minute, the boss lowered the hand holding the gun barrel away from his face. Once he let go, he signaled to his subordinates to lower their weapons. Obediently, all of his men put their guns down. Seeing that his subordinates had all disarmed, the boss smiled slightly at the group and said in a light tone:

"Hahaha, forgive us for making a spectacle in front of Boss Yang and his friends."

Seeing this, the middle-aged man in his thirties standing at the very center of the group also signaled his men to lower their weapons...

Taking in this scene, Zhang Heng deduced that the middle-aged man who had given the order to draw the weapons and whom all the gunmen obeyed must be none other than Boss Yang, the supplier the underling had reported to the boss moments ago.

Seeing that the other side had also lowered their weapons, the boss took the initiative to extend his hand toward Boss Yang, signaling a handshake. Boss Yang, seeing this, stepped forward and shook hands with the boss.

After shaking hands, the two men even pulled each other into a warm embrace...

They held the embrace tightly for a full minute before finally pulling apart.

At that point, Boss Yang gestured for his subordinates to fetch the money first.

Seeing this, the boss also signaled his subordinates to go inside and retrieve the goods...

Just like that, two underlings from each side moved out simultaneously...

A minute or two later, the underlings from both sides hurried back, each carrying a case, and ran up to their respective bosses, handing over the cases in their hands.

The bosses of both sides received the cases and instinctively opened their respective boxes...

Boss Yang's box was filled with neat bundles of hundred-yuan bills, all of which appeared to be brand-new RMB banknotes.

Meanwhile, the box on his own boss's side was filled with small, neatly packaged bags of white powder, which unmistakably looked like illegal drugs...

"Then it's a deal," the boss said.

Boss Yang nodded in agreement.

With that, the bosses on both sides closed their respective boxes. Then came the exchange: Boss Yang handed the money-filled case to the boss, and the boss handed the goods-filled case to the other party.

After receiving each other's cases, Boss Yang and his entourage turned around to leave...

The boss's side also turned around and headed back inside...

A drug transaction of this scale concluded just like that.

Afterward, Boss Yang and his group got into their cars, which then started up and drove away...

Before long, they disappeared from Zhang Heng's line of sight.

Seeing that the cars had driven off, the underling beside Zhang Heng said to him:

"Stop looking. The deal's done, let's head back."

"Okay."

Zhang Heng walked back and sat on the edge of the bed.

He had witnessed that entire drug deal with his own eyes...

At that moment, the chime of the elevator hall rang out. The boss must be coming back...

Seeing this, the underling hurried over to the elevator...

When the elevator doors opened, Zhang Heng saw that it was indeed the boss. Emerging from the elevator, the boss walked straight toward him...

Along the way, the underling faithfully reported everything about Zhang Heng spying on the transaction between him and Boss Yang...

The boss walked up to Zhang Heng, looked at him with a slight smile, and said:

"Well, brother, did you see our trading method clearly?"

Just as Zhang Heng was about to reply, the arrival chime of the elevator hall rang out again. The boss had no choice but to turn his head toward the elevator. The doors opened, and another underling stepped out, hurrying directly toward him...

Reaching the boss, the underling said:

"Boss, Brother Liu is on the phone. He's downstairs and hasn't hung up yet."

Looking somewhat impatient yet helpless, the boss turned back to Zhang Heng and instructed:

"Brother Zhang, tidy up. Wait for me in the first-floor conference room later."

Then, glancing at the underling beside him, he added:

"Keep following him."

"Understood," the underling replied.

The boss turned and walked away toward the elevator alcove...

The underling who had just delivered the message trotted along right behind him.

Once the boss left, the underling watching Zhang Heng said:

"Go ahead and pack your things, then follow me."

"Alright."

Zhang Heng nodded at him, sat up from the bed, and patted his pockets only to find they were completely empty, his phone included. Panic set in. Seeing his reaction, the underling explained:

"Don't bother looking. All your belongings, including your phone, have been taken by our boss. Rest assured, we'll keep your personal items in a very safe place."

At this, anger flared inside Zhang Heng:

"You—how can you people do this?"

"Hey, don't ask me, take it up with the boss. Besides, let me tell you, this is the rule for everyone who wants to join us: first, you get injected with drugs, and then your personal belongings are confiscated. Of course, I'm sure you understand why we do this—we're afraid of rats infiltrating our ranks. Because the boss provides us all with such generous benefits and welfare, none of us want to ruin our current happiness. So this rule isn't something the boss alone imposed, it's something all of us agreed on. You understand, right?"

"Please hurry up and pack your things, and come with me to the first floor."

Hearing the underling's words felt like a bolt from the blue to Zhang Heng. Continuing with his undercover plan now seemed harder than ascending to the heavens, and calling it nearly impossible was no exaggeration.

Noticing Zhang Heng's hesitation, the underling spoke up again:

"Don't worry, brother. Run with our boss, and you're guaranteed to make big money. At the very least, you'll make this much in a year."

The underling spread out his palm, flashing a five-fingered gesture for him to see.

Zhang Heng looked at the five spread fingers and asked:

"Fifty thousand?"

"What? Fifty thousand is way too little. Fifty hundred thousand is the absolute baseline."

"So look, brother, don't hesitate. Quick, tidy up your clothes and come downstairs with me."

The underling urged from the side.

"Oh, right."

"By the way, is there a restroom on this third floor? I need to use the washroom," Zhang Heng said.

"There is. Here, put on your clothes first, and then come with me."

Seeing this, Zhang Heng checked and straightened his clothes, put on his shoes, left the bed, and followed the underling to the restroom...

Upon reaching the restroom, Zhang Heng went inside, and the underling entered right along with him to use the facilities...

When they finished, the two of them came out together.

"Let's go then," the underling said.

The underling took the lead, and Zhang Heng had no choice but to follow closely behind...

They took the elevator down one floor. The moment the elevator doors opened on the first floor, Zhang Heng encountered another unbelievable sight: people from all walks of life in various uniforms were streaming in one after another—construction workers in site gear, security guards in uniform, nurses in white lab coats, and chefs in chef whites...

What were they all here for?

Zhang Heng wondered in confusion.

"Let's go, stop staring and get out," the underling said, holding the elevator door open for Zhang Heng to step out. Zhang Heng had no choice but to leave the elevator, and the underling followed right behind...

"Don't mind them. They're drug pushers and salesmen. They're also heading to the conference room for a meeting. Follow me," the underling told Zhang Heng. Hearing this, Zhang Heng's jaw dropped, and a chilling sense of dread washed over him...

Because drugs were embedded in the lives of everyone around them.

"Move!"

Seeing Zhang Heng standing there in a daze, the underling barked impatiently.

Facing the bustling crowd, Zhang Heng snapped out of his trance and hurried along behind the underling toward the back of the first floor...

He noticed that almost everyone entering from outside was heading in the same direction they were...

After walking a few paces, Zhang Heng saw a pair of wide-open doors ahead that resembled a conference hall.

"Move it," the underling snapped, growing increasingly annoyed at Zhang Heng's frequent staring and dazing off.

Snapping out of it, Zhang Heng swallowed his shock and followed the underling straight into the conference hall. Guided by the underling, he walked down the middle to a seat in the front row and sat down...

By then, Zhang Heng noticed that people entering from outside were continuously taking seats in the rows around him, filling up the space to his left, right, front, and back...

Zhang Heng looked back and saw that the underling had already left the conference hall...

Outside the hall, people were still pouring in in a steady stream...

Left sitting in his seat, Zhang Heng looked around. Most of the seats were nearly full, and the variety of occupational uniforms worn by the attendees was dazzling...

Construction workers, cleaners, landscaping technicians, drivers, chefs, security guards, and standard corporate attire...

After waiting for more than ten minutes, the influx of people finally stopped...

At that moment, the boss walked in with a solemn expression...

Clearly, a major meeting was about to begin, right here and right now.