48: Chapter 48 Wooden Sliding Door 48: Chapter 48 Wooden Sliding Door The stakeout continued unabated.
It wasn’t until the early morning of the next day that Tan Yong finally came downstairs and got into his Pajero.
Following him from behind felt like tailing the captain to work.
Mu Zhiyang, as usual, followed suit.
Not long after, he vigorously woke up Wei Zhenguo, who sat in the passenger seat.
The forcefulness of his pat seemed to carry a hint of personal grudge.
“What?” Wei Zhenguo woke up alarmed.
“Tan Yong changed his route; it’s not the way to his unit,” Mu Zhiyang said.
Over these past days, they had followed Tan Yong’s car every day and had memorized his route well.
Wei Zhenguo spent a few seconds looking at the ceaselessly flowing traffic, and the first thing he did was to notify the other team to come for a rendezvous immediately.
Jiang Yuan also sat up straight, curiously watching the scene ahead.
Stakeouts and surveillance like on film and television were all that he had seen before and, over the past couple of days…
they seemed quite ordinary indeed.
Considering traffic conditions in Changyang City during rush hours, even a dual six-lane road would be congested.
If a driver glanced at the rearview mirror and noticed the cars in the two rows behind, that would already be impressive.
Moreover, Wei Zhenguo had chosen a white Volkswagen, a model strongly resembling many on the road, such that to the untrained eye, without examining the rear, one couldn’t differentiate the specific models of the numerous Volkswagens surrounding them.
Tan Yong clearly had no experience in counter-surveillance.
When getting in and out of the car, he would thoroughly check his surroundings and even inspect his tires, but that was all.
While driving, there was virtually no sign of vigilance; he wouldn’t change lanes without reason, nor would he deliberately time his passage through traffic lights.
Mu Zhiyang easily kept up with Tan Yong, watching him make a detour to the market, purchase some items, stash them in the trunk, and then drive back…
Wei Zhenguo wiped his face with a tissue dipped in mineral water and said earnestly, “Keep a close eye on that creep’s behind.”
Tan Yong drove his car into a residential complex less than one kilometer from his home.
The complex was slightly dated, without a separate design for pedestrians and vehicles.
As Tan Yong approached the gate, he paused briefly, and the barrier lifted automatically.
“You park on the street; I’ll follow on foot and we’ll stay in touch by phone,” Wei Zhenguo said hastily as he opened the door and got out.
Jiang Yuan followed suit, exiting the car as well.
Wei Zhenguo hesitated and said, “Doctor Jiang, go with Mu.”
“I’ll help you, it’s too dangerous alone,” Jiang Yuan knew that Wei Zhenguo was concerned about him getting hurt.
Compared to Mu Zhiyang, a police academy graduate, his own operational skills were admittedly subpar, but letting Wei Zhenguo tail Tan Yong by himself was indeed risky.
Without firearms on hand, two persons tracking one increases the safety factor considerably.
Wei Zhenguo licked his lips and silently gestured to follow, entering the complex.
Then in a low voice, he said, “Stick close behind me and don’t act on your own.”
He had gotten older; any claims of solo combat capability were purely nonsense.
With the physical fitness of his youth gone, he had no confidence in facing someone like Tan Yong, a man who regularly worked on construction sites, by himself.
Wei Zhenguo ran headlong into the complex.
The complex’s pedestrian gate was simply left open, and the greenery inside was lackluster, revealing the decay of a matured estate.
Jiang Yuan ran inside and could still see the tail of the Pajero from afar.
“Run faster,” Wei Zhenguo gasped as he kept an eye on Tan Yong’s car, skirting around a building.
Jiang Yuan quickened his pace even more, yet he dared not run too visibly for fear of being discovered.
Luckily, the residential area wasn’t large, and after the Pajero had traveled just a few hundred meters, it slowed down once more and turned towards a building in the corner of the complex.
Tan Yong got out of the car, put down the parking barrier, and reversed into a designated parking space in front of the first floor’s greenery.
He then directly opened the lock on the fence in front of the small garden, as well as the interior security door, revealing a ground-floor apartment with a front garden.
The northernmost apartment on the first floor of Building 7, Unit 1—send a message to Mu Zhiyang,” Wei Zhenguo panted like an old ox, resting his hands on his knees, staring intently at Tan Yong from behind a bush of roses.
Jiang Yuan also ran until he was exhausted, half-kneeling on the ground, quickly sending out the message, then looking at Wei Zhenguo’s dark face through the evergreens, thinking how the fresh flowers complemented the cow dung perfectly.
“Grains, oils, vegetables, meat.
All food,” Wei Zhenguo frowned as he watched Tan Yong unloading his car, and said, “This guy is divorced…, no children, his parents live in the countryside, bringing so much food here…
there’s definitely a problem.”
Jiang Yuan asked, “What do we do next?”
“We can’t arrest anyone yet.
If we catch him but have no evidence, it would only be hitting the grass to scare the snake away,” Wei Zhenguo took out his mobile phone and began typing a text message, simultaneously instructing, “Ask Mu Zhiyang to get back in the car and keep following Tan Yong’s vehicle.
I’ll find someone to pick the lock.”
He was determined to see for himself what was inside the house.
Jiang Yuan did as he was told, while Mu Zhiyang, who had just run into the residential area, saw the message on his phone and could only turn around and run back to the parking spot, even more exhausted.
About half an hour later, Tan Yong finished unloading and returned to his car, starting the engine to head home.
Wei Zhenguo reminded Mu Zhiyang and watched as Tan Yong drove away, then began to wander around Building 7.
Jiang Yuan, not understanding, asked in a low voice, “So now we are…”
“Checking for cameras.
These things are really cheap now,” Wei Zhenguo scanned the area, found nothing, and then made another call.
Wen Ming, a criminal police officer from Ningtai County, arrived quickly at Building 7 with the locksmith.
“Open the door,” Wei Zhenguo ordered directly.
The locksmith, carrying a large box and looking very familiar with Wei Zhenguo, glanced at him and whispered, “Don’t get me involved in this.”
“What could possibly happen?” Wei Zhenguo replied arrogantly, at this point reticence would be futile.
The security door lock was of good quality; the locksmith busied himself for quite a while before he managed to get the door open, revealing another security door inside.
“This lock is no good, just having a solid door is useless,” the locksmith muttered.
Wei Zhenguo, growing impatient, asked casually, “How much for the doors?”
If you know where to buy, several thousand, if not, two to three thousand I guess,” the locksmith replied.
“That guy’s monthly salary is just a few thousand yuan,” Wei Zhenguo snorted, bolstering his confidence further.
Inside was the standard layout of a four-bedroom, one-living room apartment.
Changyang City’s real estate isn’t cheap, but this complex was built early on; if purchased at the initial sale some ten-plus years ago, it would have been in the ballpark of a few hundred thousand yuan.
“Spread out and search,” Wei Zhenguo, seeing the ordinary interior of a residential home, frowned slightly, feeling a bit at a loss.
However, for Jiang Yuan, this was an all-too-familiar scene to investigate.
Having toured the interior, Jiang Yuan first took out his phone to snap some photos, then lifted the carpet laid between the balcony and the living room, saying, “There’s a basement.”
A wooden sliding door was revealed to the three of them.