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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 167: Nature's Contradiction
As the clock approached eleven, an ordinary extended van flickered its lights and slowly approached the Anshui Expressway Entrance, near the Five Kilometer Sign. The area was open, with a straight road leading to the toll booth. The driver flashed the headlights three times and then drove directly toward the illuminated vehicle.
"They're here."
"Send the signal."
"Don't panic; wait until they show the goods before making a move."
"Understood."
The two individuals in the contact vehicle whispered to each other as the car made a turn, positioning itself back-to-back with the van. The drivers opened the rear compartment with a loud bang, and through the rearview mirror, they saw neatly packaged paper goods. Their hearts raced instantly.
A knock on the car window interrupted them. The two newcomers leaned in to look through the glass and said, "The goods have arrived. Pay up."
"We haven't verified anything yet," one driver replied as he got out of the vehicle.
The delivery person followed him, saying, "My reputation is on the line; you wouldn't come looking for me otherwise. One hundred items, ten packages."
"Open it up," the driver insisted firmly.
"Hey... hey... that's not how deliveries work! You want me to unpack everything? Do you know how much I earn? Can I afford to waste time on this?" The delivery person was getting angry.
"Exactly! We spent quite a bit too; we can't end up with defective products," the driver retorted.
"Of course it's fake! If it were real, you wouldn't be dealing with me!" The delivery person's anger escalated further.
The driver of the pickup truck grew impatient and shouted back at him, "Just do what I said and stop wasting my time."
"Forget it... damn it, I'm not selling anymore." The driver was also a tough character, rolling up his sleeves and walking away.
Business couldn't be allowed to fall through, so the driver quickly called for delivery, speaking sweetly as he tried to check the goods. When the delivery person turned around, they inadvertently caught sight of several shadowy figures. Suddenly nervous, he shouted, "Who the hell are you? Get lost; don't try to trick me!"
He shoved the pickup driver aside and ran toward his vehicle. The other person who had been following hadn't had time to escape and was grabbed by the co-driver.
In an instant, sirens blared and lights flashed. From the bushes, from dark corners by the road, and from down the street, police cars and officers surrounded them. The driver didn’t get far before he was tackled to the ground.
Armed officers quickly searched the vehicle. They found one box with the Moutai label; another box bore the Wuliangye label. The stunned driver yelled for his team leader, who looked on in disbelief as multiple packages were opened, revealing nothing but counterfeit labels for various famous liquors.
"Where's the counterfeit money?" one officer asked while detaining the two men.
"What counterfeit money? I'm just selling fake labels; don’t frame me as a bad guy!" protested the detained driver.
"You call this business being a good guy? Take them away... wrap it up, everyone back to base."
The team leader issued urgent orders, casting a worried glance at passing vehicles and the darkening sky before letting out a heavy sigh...
In Anyang City’s Criminal Investigation Unit, an operation to capture a group suspected of trafficking counterfeit money had failed, resulting only in seizing a stack of new counterfeit bills.
Ten minutes later, they managed to interrogate one suspect who had gone missing after contact but had linked up with two individuals selling fake labels for delivery. It was suspected that undercover officers posing as buyers had been recognized, and further details were still being investigated...
As Xu Tonglei stood on top of the car, he watched the last police vehicle drive away. He leaned against a tree trunk and jumped down, realizing that they were only five kilometers from the intersection, allowing him to clearly see what had just happened at the delivery point.
The first thing he did after getting off the car was to kick Wang Lishong twice while cursing, "Damn it, you said this was your territory! We almost got wrapped up like dumplings."
"Brother Lei, it's the Old Man's contact. I don't think there's any problem," Wang Lishong replied, feeling frustrated. Who would have thought the police would be so shameless as to act like gangsters?
"Are you blind? Who can you trust in this line of work besides yourself? If you don't keep your eyes open, you'll end up behind bars feeding mosquitoes," Xu Tonglei said, landing another couple of punches on Wang Lishong.
At that moment, Xiao Mu stepped in to mediate, pretending to hold them back. "Brother Lei, you can't blame our brother. The situation outside is constantly changing; who could have predicted something would go wrong?"
"Ah, but thanks to you, little brother. Get in the car," Xu Tonglei's attitude towards Xiao Mu had done a complete 180. He handed Xiao Mu a cigarette, lit it for him, and gave him a thumbs-up, praising him as a lifesaver who had saved him more than once.
Turning back to Wang Lishong, he shouted angrily, "Drive! Let's get out of here... We can't come back to this place again."
"Where should we go?" Wang Lishong asked.
"Head south... out of the province," Xu Tonglei instructed.
"That's where the trouble started. We can't let them catch us; we’ve got half a carload back there," Wang Lishong said nervously.
Xiao Mu turned around and was startled by the two of them. The back seat was filled with neatly packaged counterfeit money. To just drive away with it was incredibly reckless; it felt like a stark contrast to their usual bulk delivery methods.
Without time to think it over, Xu Tonglei shouted at Wang Lishong, "The more dangerous the place, the safer it is. Just drive through."
"I'll drive," Xiao Mu volunteered.
The car stopped, and Xu Tonglei pushed Wang Lishong into the back seat while Xiao Mu took the driver's position. He drove steadily as Xu Tonglei nervously reassured him, "Don't be nervous... never be nervous."
"Don't worry, Brother Lei. I think your judgment is spot on. The more dangerous it is, the safer we are. Who would have thought we could pass through the very place where the incident happened?" Xiao Mu said, quietly flattering Xu Tonglei.
"Of course! I've been in this game for over ten years; I've seen all kinds of situations," Xu Tonglei boasted, trying to cover up his own anxiety.
As they approached the toll booth, Xiao Mu leaned out and slowly parked at the payment window. He looked at the lady issuing tickets and smiled, "Hey there, are you alone?"
"Handsome guy, don't get too excited. Just take your card and drive safely," the lady teased, noticing Xiao Mu's good looks.
Xiao Mu took the card and playfully touched the lady's hand, startling her so much that she quickly pulled back. The card fell, and Xiao Mu opened the car door to pick it up, blowing a kiss to the lady before getting back in the car. Once they were on the road, Xu Tonglei scolded him, "I swear, when can you stop being such a dog?"
"You know what, Brother Lei? You've hit the nail on the head. I haven't felt this way in a while. Now, just seeing a woman makes me feel all hot and bothered," Xiao Mu replied.
Xu Tonglei and Wang Lishong laughed heartily, and as their tension eased, Xiao Mu cautiously asked, "So where are we headed, Brother Lei?"
"South out of the province, to Sui Prefecture. That person has some big connections," Xu Tonglei said.
"What? We're still selling?" Xiao Mu exclaimed in surprise; this operation was getting too bold.
"We have to sell these; otherwise, they'll just be burnt as ghost money," Xu Tonglei explained.
"What do you mean?" Xiao Mu asked.
"Don't ask too many questions," Wang Lishong interjected.
"Right, don't ask too much. Just know it benefits you... Honestly, I'm not worried about selling. Our skills are way better than Old Guang's. The checks over there are strict; what used to cost two or three bucks a piece has now gone up to eleven—wholesale price... If we don't take advantage of this opportunity now, we'll miss out completely... Hurry up; let me make a call," Xu Tonglei said as he pulled out his phone and dialed.
This guy really had some talent; in no time at all, his accent shifted to a standard Hubei dialect. After discussing with someone on the other end of the line, it seemed like a deal could be made. Unfortunately for Xiao Mu, he couldn't understand a word of that rapid-fire dialect.
Three people and a car with money, driving fast under the stars, and selling across provinces again... …………………………………………………… At midnight, I am sorting out the Bridge Town search news Lin Qizhao's office was knocked open, and Guan Yiqing rushed in with just one sentence: urgent report. "What's going on?" Lin Qizhao asked yawning. "One good news, one bad news." Guan Yiqing said. "Speaking of bad news." Lin Qizhao said, it can't be worse than now. "Anyang City Economic Crime Investigation Unit failed to trap a dealer in Counterfeit Money, but they got a bunch of samples. After analysis, they are similar to r7 in workmanship and should come from the same electronic version." Guan Yiqing Handing a notice, the r7 case has been connected to the national economic investigation network, and the Case Situation in various places can be seen at any time. Lin Qizhao Take a closer look. The result of the analysis is that compared with the sample provided by the Economic Investigation Department, the sample intercepted this time has added convex and concave imitation features, and its hot stamping process has also changed. Lin Qizhao He was stunned and said: "These people don't want Gravure Printing Press, the craftsmanship can also deceive ordinary people." "The samples have been sent to the flight and will arrive in two hours." Guan Yiqing said. "What's wrong? We can't all be good at it. We fail as soon as we trap. Have you found the reason?" Lin Qizhao said angrily. "This is the good news I want to say." Guan Yiqing smiled. "Is the failure of trapping good news?" Lin Qizhao was puzzled. "The reason may be here." Guan Yiqing slowly and solemnly put a printed document in front of Lin Qizhao's eyes.
Lin Qizhao was so startled that he jumped out of his seat. He carefully examined the footage extracted from the traffic surveillance, and although it was not very clear, he recognized Mulin Sen.
Lin Qizhao paused for a moment, then burst into laughter, collapsing back into his seat, unable to contain himself. Gasping for breath, he exclaimed, "It seems this genius has been discovered by the Counterfeit Money gang again."
"That should be the case. The person next to him is Wang Lishong. They are meeting up, and Anyang Police found this footage and are currently verifying their identities through coordination," Guan Yiqing explained.
"Then give them Mu Wanbo's false identity; let's keep the core information under wraps for now," Lin Qizhao said, steadying his mind and suppressing his excitement.
"Shall we proceed with the necessary arrangements?" Guan Yiqing inquired.
"Yes, initiate the Special Operations protection plan. We’ll check for any oversights tomorrow; we must ensure everything is airtight..." Lin Qizhao replied.
"I understand." Guan Yiqing acknowledged the directive and hurried off.
This was about clearing their escape route; they couldn't allow this lead to trace back to them. The sudden thrill left Lin Qizhao wide awake. He notified Aeming, who was still wandering in a neighboring province, to rush to Anyang City. Since they had already surfaced, it was possible that he had left behind some information.
On the other end of the phone, Aeming was equally excited, laughing heartily.
Another call went out to Shen Lingchen, and the result was similar; Shen Lingchen lost composure as well, with nothing but laughter echoing through the line.
...
...
Meanwhile, Xiao Mu racing down the highway couldn't find anything to laugh about. Although he had encountered many forms of crime before, he was still shocked by reality. Just hours ago, Anyang had suffered a setback and was now about to attempt another operation. Xiao Mu couldn't decide if this approach was brilliant or utterly foolish. However, when he arrived at the agreed delivery location, he leaned towards the former.
The delivery point turned out to be at a service area on the highway. Even at midnight, there were travelers passing through, though not many—mostly drowsy bus passengers and service staff too lazy to step outside. Among them was a familiar face; Xu Tonglei didn’t show up at all. Wang Lishong and Pickup were casually leaning against each other while sharing a cigarette. After checking the car door, it wasn’t long before Xiao Mu, who was essentially a lackey in this arrangement, transferred most of the goods into their vehicle.
After moving the goods, Xiao Mu realized the cleverness of this method. The timing was perfect; with police cars and officers around, it was impossible to hide. The location was also well-chosen; there was no way to ambush from one direction. Once the goods were settled and the payment made, they would part ways without a trace—completely random contact, who could have guessed?
What was even more surprising was that it wasn't over yet. They had only delivered a third of the load; there were still two-thirds left. As they hit the road again, Xiao Mu cautiously asked, "Brother Lei, you’re not planning to sell all the goods tonight, are you?"
"Hey? You guessed that?" Xu Tonglei replied cheerfully as he counted the money.
Behind him, Wang Lishong urged, "Brother Lei, who are we going to next? We really need to finish this up; Boss needs to know that we..."
"Shut up," Xu Tonglei interrupted sharply.
Wait a minute, there's still a Boss above them? These two were actually taking risks and doing side jobs?
Xiao Mu thought to himself that these two were incredibly bold; they were probably selling Boss's goods on the side. He hesitated to expose them.
At that moment, Xu Tonglei had just come down from the joy of completing a deal and was splitting the money with Wang Lishong. Finally, he reluctantly pinched off a thin stack—several thousand yuan—and stuffed it into Xiao Mu's pocket, saying, "This is for you. Don’t tell anyone."
"Wow, I only know you two. Who would I tell?" Xiao Mu felt embarrassed.
"Right, let’s just pretend nothing happened... If anyone asks in the future, you’re my nephew," Xu Tonglei said with a sly grin, instantly making Xiao Mu feel like he had been reduced to a mere pawn.
"Got it, Uncle," Xiao Mu climbed aboard the bandwagon.
"Look at how sensible this kid is... Hey Monk, when we get back, arrange for my nephew to have an easy life. Don’t make him work so hard," Xu Tonglei instructed.
"Sure thing," Wang Lishong replied, clutching a thick stack of cash and showing no reluctance in doing this favor.
Wait, they still needed to print more? They had just moved two trucks! Xiao Mu felt a chill run down his spine and cautiously asked, "We need some time to digest this; can we take a few days off?"
"This is something I can't tell you. Anyway, you have to work, so prepare yourself mentally. The next batch will take three to five days to finish, and then we can go have some fun... I warn you, this is a situation where you might end up looking for money without your pants on. If you can't catch it, it's fine, but if you do get caught, there won't be any work left for you..." Xu Tonglei said cheerfully, imparting some business wisdom and precautions to Xiao Mu.
Xiao Mu listened with a mix of emotions. Unknowingly, he had already become a trusted confidant of Xu Tonglei. Why was it that being a good person was so difficult, while being a bad one seemed so effortless? It had only been a few days!
He silently thought to himself: Baldy, oh Baldy, you better find me; otherwise, I'm going to become a suspect...
……………………
……………………
Aeming and his team arrived in Anyang City at five in the morning, heading straight for the Criminal Investigation Division. They had been notified and were waiting for a long time. Without saying much upon getting out of the car, they requested to see the officers on duty and headed to the scene.
"What happened, Officer Dang?" one of the officers asked curiously.
"Don't ask too many questions; just get in the car," Aeming replied. They cleared out one vehicle and two people led the way. As they drove, the two recounted the details as required: who they met, how they checked the goods, how they divided them up, then how things went wrong. They later discovered that another person had arrived but hadn't entered the private room.
"Is there any surveillance footage from the scene?" Aeming inquired.
"Yes, but it's very brief. They went in, used the restroom, and then went to the Second Floor private room. It was just a few words exchanged," one of the officers explained.
"You... on your body..." Aeming noticed the tattoos on this officer under the dim light. The officer awkwardly replied, "I just wanted to look more convincing, so I got a full set done. It's very realistic; it takes special solution to remove."
"That's like farting with your pants down! Each tattoo is different; there's significance to it all. This is probably where we got exposed," Aeming deduced cleverly. Xiao Mu was a Tattoo Artist; he would definitely recognize such low-quality work at first glance.
"I didn't think much of it; they only said a couple of sentences," another officer chimed in.
"Sometimes, just one glance at someone is enough," Aeming sighed. At that moment, he too felt a wave of emotions wash over him. Who would have thought that years later, that same person would find themselves entangled in an inextricable situation?
Rushing to the hotel, it was already sealed off as required. The team of detectives brought by Aimin didn’t care about anything else; they were scouring the bathroom for clues, even going through used toilet paper piece by piece. After half an hour, they hadn’t found a thing. In desperation, Aimin headed to the private room.
Unfortunately, it had already been cleaned by the staff. The tablecloth had been changed, and the surface was spotless. The two officers posing as "buyers" only managed to collect fingerprints, which led them to an identity: Mu Wanbo. They relayed this information to Aimin, who smiled and said he was already aware of that identity.
“Then why are we still looking?” the two officers asked, puzzled.
Aimin glanced at them. He hesitated to reveal the case details but knew he needed their assistance. “This is confidential. If I tell you both, I’ll have to take you with me.”
The two exchanged glances, understanding the implications. One of them, sporting a tattoo, saluted Aimin and said, “It’s better if we don’t know; I prefer to stay under the radar.”
Quietly, they exited, aware of how dangerous it was for someone in their position.
Once again, they began searching thoroughly—checking seating positions, contact points, and discarded tablecloths. Suddenly, one detective crouched under the table and exclaimed in surprise, “Instructor, is this it?”
He pointed to a banknote wedged in the gap beneath the tabletop.
“Haha… I told you! If that kid knew it was police officers, he would definitely try something…”
Excitedly laughing, he carefully retrieved the banknote. It was fake. Upon unfolding it, he saw several words scratched into the surface with a sharp object. Straining to read them, he deciphered three words: Hazardous Materials Vehicle.
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