Chapter 45: The Tracking Plan (9)

After stepping outside, he suddenly realized something...

Right, he absolutely must avoid alerting the enemy.

Because if he were to have Bureau Chief Shang lead a team of police to surround and besiege this place right now, it would indeed instantly dismantle this drug trafficking ring, capture the majority of them immediately, and more importantly...

However, a major drawback would also emerge: they would only be able to capture and control this small handful of people, while all the other secrets of this drug syndicate—including the source of their drugs—would remain unknown to him.

Up to this point, out of the several plans he had set when infiltrating the interior of this drug ring, only one or two had been carried out. Several plans remained unfulfilled, and the most crucial question of all—the answer to where this drug syndicate's narcotics originated—was still a complete blank to him.

If he failed to figure out their drug source, even arresting every single member of this drug syndicate would ultimately result in a wasted effort...

Isn't that right? He must, absolutely must not let Bureau Chief Shang arrest the people just yet; doing so prematurely would be disadvantageous to him.

Besides, there was another consideration: when he entered this drug syndicate, he had planned to spend quite a few more days inside their ranks.

Having settled on this decision, he instinctively reached for his phone, but right as he was about to pull it out, he remembered what that subordinate had told him—his phone had been confiscated...

Sigh.

At that moment, Zhang Heng grew anxious, because he could clearly...

His anxious expression aroused the suspicion of the nearby subordinates. Two of them walked straight up to him, and one of them looked at him and asked:

"Brother, are you alright?"

Seeing these two, Zhang Heng felt even more flustered inside. However, seeing them look at him with smiles, he wanted to test the waters and see if he could borrow a phone from either of them to resolve his urgent crisis...

Zhang Heng looked at the subordinate who had just spoken to him and asked:

"Brother, do you have a phone on you? I have an urgent use for it."

"Brother, I don't have one either. Have you forgotten the rules set by the boss?"

Hearing this subordinate put it that way, Zhang Heng felt even more upset and vexed.

"Well, brother, if you're in a rush, I can find a way to get a phone for you, but you can't make calls or send messages..."

The other subordinate said to Zhang Heng as well.

Hearing what these two had to say, Zhang Heng was left between laughter and tears, and he said to them:

"Never mind, forget it. Thank you both."

Hearing Zhang Heng say that, the two subordinates simply walked away...

Looking at the sky outside, Zhang Heng saw that the sun had already set, and darkness would likely fall at any moment...

He figured he might as well head back to the third-floor lounge for now. Once back there, he could think of a plan, and any anxious movements he made wouldn't be noticed by anyone else...

Right, he would go back to the third floor first.

With that, he walked back inside the building, came to the elevator lobby, pressed the button, and rode up to the third floor...

Upon arriving on the third floor, he noticed that he was the only person on the entire floor at this moment...

He calmly walked over to an open area and began pacing back and forth, deep in thought...

...

As he paced along the hallway to the very last room at the end, he noticed that the door to that room was half-open...

A sense of doubt arose in him...

How strange. The doors to all the other rooms earlier had been tightly locked, yet this one was half-open...

Since it was half-open, why not go in and take a look? In any case, he would just wait a bit and come right back out without touching anything inside...

Having considered this scenario, he walked straight up to the doorway of that room, gave the half-open door a gentle push with his hand, and it swung all the way open...

Once the door was fully opened, he was pleasantly surprised.

Because upon stepping inside, his eyes immediately fell upon his phone and other personal belongings, resting right on the desk next to a computer right in front of him.

Seeing this, he hurried over to the phone, picked it up, and instantly confirmed that it was indeed his own device...

At that moment, panic also set in because the door was still open, so he quickly rushed over and pulled the door shut...

After closing it, he held his phone and immediately dialed Bureau Chief Shang's number...

The call rang and was connected. He glanced around, making sure there were no surveillance recording devices or audio bugs, and spoke in a low, urgent voice:

"Chief, Chief, please do not bring your men over here just yet..."

"What's wrong? Did you run into some kind of problem?"

The bureau chief asked from the other end of the line.

"No, Chief, it's just that I don't think we should make a move right now. Acting now will only alert the enemy. I suggest focusing on monitoring and paying close attention to the surrounding area instead, especially keeping track of vehicle information nearby, because certain vehicles are used to transport drugs for this syndicate."

"Alright, understood."

"Oh, and I forgot to tell you—I won't be able to use my phone for the next few days. If there's an emergency, we'll communicate by phone again."

"Got it."

After finishing this communication with the bureau chief, Zhang Heng hung up the phone.

Right after hanging up, he immediately deleted the call log.

With everything taken care of, he put the phone down, walked out, and adjusted the door so it looked exactly as it had before...

Then he hurried back to the bed he had been lying on earlier, preparing to pretend to be asleep and muddle through.

Reaching the bedside, he quickly took off his clothes and lay down on the bed.

The entire sequence of actions was completed in one smooth motion.

***

A few minutes after lying down on the bed, he heard the chime of the elevator signaling its arrival on the floor.

At this point, he knew he couldn't actually fall asleep, but lying awake in bed was fine.

So, he opened his eyes and continued lying on the bed...

Presently, two subordinates stepped out of the elevator lobby and walked straight toward his area...

"Brother Zhang Heng, get up. The boss wants us to call you down for a meeting..."

One subordinate said to him.

"Hurry up,"

The other subordinate urged.

Seeing that both subordinates were telling him to get up and go down for a meeting, he quickly hopped out of bed, put on his clothes, and neatly folded his bedding in one smooth movement...

Once finished, he followed the two subordinates downstairs...

Downstairs, the two subordinates headed straight for the conference hall, and Zhang Heng followed them in.

Entering the conference hall, he found that everyone was already seated in neat rows just like during the previous meeting.

He intended to return to his usual seat, but as he was walking toward it, the boss called out to him:

"Zhang Heng, stay behind for a moment."

Hearing this, Zhang Heng had no choice but to stop in his tracks.

The boss looked at the middle-aged security guard among the crowd and said:

"Guard, tomorrow your group will take this newcomer. You are to change your location for pushing drugs tomorrow. Go to the major hotels, especially the luxury ones. Once you get there, make sure to conceal your identities..."

"At the same time, this is your very last chance. If you fail to sell any drugs or bring in any clients this time, I don't need to spell out what the consequences will be..."

"Yes, yes, Boss,"

The middle-aged guard replied.

"Alright, the meeting is adjourned,"

The boss announced to everyone.

Hearing the boss's words, everyone stood up one after another and prepared to walk out...

The boss walked straight out of the room.

At that moment, the security guard stood up, walked over to Zhang Heng, and looked at him, saying:

"Your name is Zhang Heng, right?"

"Oh, yes,"

Zhang Heng replied with a dismissive glance at the guard.

"Then let's go. Come with me."

"Where are we going?"

"Back to our quarters, back to where we sleep."

"Aren't we supposed to live and sleep here?"

"Let's go. Our security team stays in the city, not here."

A wave of confusion washed over Zhang Heng.

By this time, almost everyone in the conference hall had cleared out...

Seeing this, Zhang Heng also stood up and walked out together with the security guard...

Stepping out of the conference hall and into the outdoors, he discovered that the sky outside had turned completely dark, and the moon had risen...

At that moment, two large tour buses pulled up from elsewhere and parked right at the entrance of the hospital. Once the buses came to a stop, the doors opened, and the people who had just walked out of the conference hall began heading toward the vehicles...

They formed a very orderly queue and boarded the buses.

"Stop staring and let's go,"

The security guard said to Zhang Heng, who was standing there in a daze.

"Oh, right,"

Zhang Heng replied.

Seeing the security guard start walking forward, Zhang Heng hurried to catch up...

When Zhang Heng followed the security guard to the second tour bus in line, the guard noticed Zhang Heng right behind him and said:

"Come on, we're getting on this bus."

"Okay."

The two of them boarded the tour bus, walked all the way to the very back row, and took their seats side by side...

People continued to board the bus in a steady stream...

Finally, after several minutes, the seats on the bus were nearly all filled. The driver closed the doors, started the engine, and drove forward...

As the bus moved ahead, Zhang Heng felt puzzled. He looked at the security guard sitting next to him and asked:

"Where are we going right now?"

"Back to the hotel where we stay,"

The guard answered him.

***

"What, there's a hotel too?"

Zhang Heng was bewildered.

"Is this your first day here?"

"Uh, yes."

"Alright, stick close to me later. After we get off, just follow me."

"Okay."

The tour bus kept moving forward...

In the pitch-black night, the surroundings appeared utterly peaceful and ordinary. The vehicle cut through the road like a beam of cold light in the deep night, presenting a surreal scene...

After driving for a little over twenty minutes, the bus entered a vast, desolate expanse of farmland...

Passing through this area, Zhang Heng suddenly remembered something—that's right, his Brother Liangsong had perished right around here. Looking at the pitch-black scenery outside, a wave of bitterness welled up in his heart, and he silently swore to himself: *(Once I infiltrate this drug syndicate and figure out the source of their narcotics, I will immediately join forces with Bureau Chief Shang to bring this drug syndicate—and the murderous gang that killed my Brother Liangsong—to justice...)*

At this moment, stirred by intense emotions, he was about to make a small move, but he managed to restrain himself just in time...

"Young man, are you alright? Our quarters are almost here,"

The security guard said, looking at Zhang Heng.

"Oh, I'm fine, totally fine,"

Zhang Heng replied hurriedly.

He quickly forced his expression back to normal...

The bus continued driving onward...

After driving a little further, the vehicle came to a stop in a rural village area.

Looking outside, although it was dark, Zhang Heng could clearly see with the aid of the streetlights that this was an agritainment resort area. Nearly all the houses were designed as villas. Furthermore, the village was adorned with decorative sculptures and streetlights, making it look like a utopian paradise.

"Stop looking and get off, we've arrived,"

The security guard patted him on the shoulder and said.

"Ah?"

Zhang Heng looked confused.

"That's right, this is it. Get off."

At that moment, Zhang Heng noticed that everyone else on the bus was also beginning to disembark...

Seeing the security guard prepare to get off, Zhang Heng had no choice but to stand up and follow him out...

Once off the bus, everyone scattered in different directions as if returning to their respective homes.

"Come on, follow me,"

The security guard said to Zhang Heng again.

So, Zhang Heng followed the security guard toward this villa district...

Zhang Heng trailed the security guard to a villa with a sign hanging by the entrance that read "Countryside Hotel." As they reached the front of the villa, the security guard told Zhang Heng:

"You'll be staying in this house with me. Come on, we're on the second floor."

"Okay, Uncle, whatever you say, I'll follow your lead,"

Zhang Heng replied.

Then the guard led Zhang Heng into the villa designated as a hotel, went up to the second floor, and took a room card out of his pocket to swipe open the door to the room at the very end of the corridor.

Entering the room, the guard inserted the room card into the slot by the door. The moment he plugged it in, power surged through the entire room instantly...

It was just like a regular hotel: a room card unlocked the door, and inserting it supplied electricity to the room.

Once the lights and power came on, Zhang Heng saw that the room looked completely fresh, as if no one had ever stayed there before. The bedsheets and covers were spread out neatly, and the floor was polished to a bright, clean sheen...

"Alright, tonight the two of us will sleep in this room,"

The security guard announced.

Zhang Heng remained silent.

"By the way, are you a big eater? The boss is going to send people over with boxed meals later. How many portions do you want?"

The security guard asked, looking at Zhang Heng.

"We get boxed meals?"

Zhang Heng asked in surprise.

"Yeah. Are you a big eater? How many portions can you handle? Do you want soup?"

"I'll just take one portion, and I'd like some soup too."

"Got it. Why don't you go take a shower first? When the food arrives, I'll get it for you."

"Alright, thank you."

With that, Zhang Heng walked into the bathroom...

And upon stepping inside the bathroom, he discovered a sight that left him utterly shocked...