Chapter Twenty-Three: Heavenly Weapons Descend

When Li Weiwei reported Lu Xiaoyu’s plan to Haifeng, he knew he could wait no longer. The other side had already set their plan in motion; he had to act immediately as well. If necessary, he might even have to make the arrest earlier than planned—otherwise, all their efforts might be wasted. He had to contact Qiu Zhiyong at once and have his team dispatched.

The morning before, after witnessing Wen Yuxin’s remarkable skills, Li Weiwei and Zhao Zhijie had set out early, following Haifeng’s instructions, to hack into Sun Zhengtao’s computer. Thanks to Wen Yuxin’s masterful makeup artistry, they easily avoided the surveillance. Sitting in the car, Li Weiwei, as usual, opened her laptop to review the data from the previous night on Sun Zhengtao and his associates. As she listened in on Lu Xiaoyu and his team’s plan, shock flashed across her face.

Zhao Zhijie was driving and caught Li Weiwei’s startled expression in the rearview mirror. He asked, “Weiwei, what is it? Did you find something?”

Li Weiwei looked up and said, “They might be planning to run.”

“What? Explain,” Zhao Zhijie urged.

Li Weiwei replied, “I just overheard Lu Xiaoyu, after returning home last night, plotting with Lü Yue and Zhou Qiang. They intend to reconcile with Sun Zhengtao, and if Sun Zhengtao agrees, they’ll have him contact the tech team to update the software, then track Sun Zhengtao. Once the team’s location is found, they’ll force Sun Zhengtao to surrender, wrest back control of the company, then use Sun Zhengtao to locate the experts’ group—Zhang Zili, Sun Shengcai, and Zhang Zhijun—and subdue them. After that, they’ll withdraw from Qingdong altogether.”

Zhao Zhijie immediately asked, “Do you know when they plan to make their move?”

Li Weiwei answered, “Tonight. They’re holding a banquet for Sun Zhengtao and his people at ‘Gathering Gate.’ As soon as Sun Zhengtao attends, the plan begins.”

Relieved to hear the action would take place that evening, Zhao Zhijie told Li Weiwei, “Let Chief Hai know right away. If it’s tonight, we still have enough time to prepare. You’ve been a huge help this time, Weiwei!”

Li Weiwei, feigning indignation, retorted, “What do you mean, ‘help’? Don’t forget, I’m part of the team too, just like you!”

Realizing his mistake, Zhao Zhijie quickly apologized, “You’re absolutely right, Li Weiwei. My fault. I should say you’ve made a great contribution to the team! Please don’t take it to heart—just call Chief Hai quickly.”

Li Weiwei’s expression softened, and she picked up the phone to call Haifeng.

Haifeng was at the Qingdong City Bureau, discussing personnel assignments for the upcoming arrests when he received Li Weiwei’s call. Her words made him realize that Lu Xiaoyu still hadn’t gotten over Zhou Donghai’s arrest and was preparing to evacuate at any moment.

Haifeng was secretly glad he’d had Zhang Mufeng come to Qingdong earlier and tell Lu Xiaoyu about the preferential treatment given to Sun Zhengtao, thus deepening the rift between them. Otherwise, Sun Zhengtao and his group might have disappeared by now.

But this was their own problem. This was the fundamental difference between groups held together by money and those united by faith. Money could make people band together for profit, but once interests changed, the organization could collapse or even turn on itself. A faith-based group was different—shared beliefs kept everyone united, no matter how great the adversity or the strength of their enemies.

Haifeng was a man of faith, and his belief was simple: justice. Upholding justice and defending the law had been his conviction since joining the police, his original aspiration, and the faith he’d maintained for years. He believed that as long as he held onto this faith and his original intent, he could overcome any adversary or difficulty.

Haifeng immediately called Qiu Zhiyong to report the situation and asked him to send reinforcements as a precaution. As always, Qiu Zhiyong was swift and decisive—less than ten minutes after their call, he rang back to say the personnel were all arranged and would arrive in Qingdong that evening, ready to operate under Haifeng’s command. Qiu Zhiyong added, “I’ve told them clearly: in Qingdong, your word is my word. Anyone who disobeys will be dealt with severely when they return. They all know what kind of person I am, so go ahead and act boldly.”

Once again, Haifeng felt deep respect for his old mentor—trusting his people, making decisions without hesitation, and possessing an open, generous heart. He had all the qualities of a true leader. Working alongside someone like him was genuinely uplifting.

Haifeng also knew, unfortunately, that not all leaders were like Qiu Zhiyong. Many in leadership cared only for their own interests, neglecting the greater good. Their presence not only harmed the team but also eroded the public’s trust.

In Haifeng’s view, such bad apples were even more deserving of prison than the criminals themselves. Only then could more leaders like Qiu Zhiyong emerge, making the team stronger.

After speaking with Qiu Zhiyong, Haifeng finalized the arrest plan with his colleagues at the Qingdong City Bureau and left for the hotel. He knew that the success or failure of this operation would be determined in the next few days. He had to prepare for every possible scenario, playing out each variation in his mind to avoid any surprises.

That evening, the assembly of Lu Xiaoyu and Sun Zhengtao’s factions signaled to the White Tiger Team that the adversary’s plan was underway, and it was time for the net to close. There was also an unexpected gain: Li Weiwei, monitoring Zhang Yu, discovered that he was the first target Lu Xiaoyu moved against. Astonishingly, Zhang Yu had installed a tracker on Sun Zhengtao. Haifeng couldn’t help but sigh—Sun Zhengtao’s luck had truly run out if even his own men harbored ill intent toward him. But in a criminal organization, such betrayals were hardly unusual.

The colleagues from Mingzhou had all arrived. Haifeng and Liu Zhiyang, both in disguise, left the hotel to meet their Mingzhou counterparts and brief them on the arrest plan. Meanwhile, everything was coordinated on the Qingdong side as well. All was ready; they only had to wait for Lu Xiaoyu to make his move against Sun Zhengtao to bring the whole group down in one swoop.

That night was a restless one for all involved. Sun Zhengtao was elated by his apparent triumph, having subdued Lu Xiaoyu’s faction. Lu Xiaoyu, knowing Sun Zhengtao would soon contact the tech team, was excited that his plan was finally coming to fruition. The White Tiger Team, for their part, was thrilled at the prospect of bringing the criminal syndicate to justice.

The following day, as Sun Zhengtao left his home for his destination, Lu Xiaoyu finally saw his chance to strike. He quickly gathered his men, ready to act at any moment. At the same time, Lu Xiaoyu sent Lü Yue and Zhou Qiang, each with their teams, to find Zhang Zili. If Sun Zhengtao refused to surrender, they would forcefully target Zhang Zili instead. For Lu Xiaoyu, this was a do-or-die moment—there was no turning back.

For Haifeng, this was also the moment of reckoning for the White Tiger Team’s first mission. All personnel for the arrests were in place, waiting for the signal to strike and capture them all. Yet Haifeng still felt uneasy about the absence of the experts’ group. He regretted having to act before finding them, but with Lu Xiaoyu moving, any further delay would allow the entire gang to vanish from Qingdong, making them nearly impossible to track down again.

Now, the only option was to interrogate Sun Zhengtao immediately after the arrests. Haifeng was confident he could extract information on the experts’ group from him.

As all sides deployed their forces with mounting tension, Zhang Zhijun, in contrast, seemed completely at ease—indulging in pleasure and revelry day after day. He didn’t care at all about Zhou Donghai’s arrest, nor did the conflict between Lu Xiaoyu and Sun Zhengtao affect him in any way. In fact, he profited from it, enjoying both money and women. For Zhang Zhijun, it didn’t matter who ended up on top—as long as he could maintain his life of luxury, he was indifferent to who held the reins.

When Lu Xiaoyu led his men to storm the office of Sun Zhengtao’s tech team, the White Tiger Team had already mobilized, hiding with the arrest squads around the office building. The rooms Sun Zhengtao’s lookouts were watching were all empty. As soon as Lu Xiaoyu forced Sun Zhengtao’s hand and contacted Zhang Zili to surrender, Haifeng gave the order, and the operation began.

Not only were Sun Zhengtao and Lu Xiaoyu’s men in the office arrested, but Lü Yue, Zhou Qiang, Zhang Zili, Sun Shengcai, the White Tiger Team’s monitor, Hei Zai, and even Zhang Zhijun, still in bed enjoying the company of women, were all apprehended with ease.

Haifeng immediately began interrogating Sun Zhengtao. Confronted by Haifeng’s unexpected arrival, Sun Zhengtao was baffled. Had Hei Zai lied to him? The police from Mingzhou had been under his surveillance—how had they appeared before him?

Haifeng saw through Sun Zhengtao’s thoughts and said, “Don’t be surprised. I’d discovered your surveillance long ago; I just didn’t expose you. This time, you’ve lost—completely and utterly.”

Sun Zhengtao sighed. “Yes, I really have lost this time. Not only to Lu Xiaoyu, but to you as well.”

Haifeng said, “I won’t beat around the bush. Where is your experts’ group?”

Sun Zhengtao looked at Haifeng, forcing a bitter smile. “So Zhou Donghai, that coward, ended up betraying me. My own brothers either sell me out, betray me, or want me dead. Wonderful!”

As he laughed, his face twisted with despair. He said to Haifeng, “I confess. I admit to everything. Ask me anything you want. But you’re mistaken about the experts’ group—I honestly don’t know where they are. They always contacted me; I never even knew if it was one person or several.”

Haifeng pressed him, “What do you mean? Be specific.”

Sun Zhengtao explained, “Strictly speaking, neither the experts’ group nor the tech team was actually assembled by me. Back then, a few of us made a little money from scams, but we never grew big. By chance, I met a talented individual online who called himself ‘Teacher Song.’ I’ve never seen what he looks like. He taught me how to set up the tech team, and the scripts for our scams all came from him. Our whole operation was built on Teacher Song’s scripts and the tech team. I told everyone I had these two trump cards—experts and tech—to maintain my authority as leader. In reality, I never had any experts’ group at all.”

Haifeng asked, “Do you know where Teacher Song is now?”

Sun Zhengtao shook his head. “No. I’ve never met him. He never told me his location.”

Haifeng continued, “How did you contact him? He wouldn’t help you for nothing. How did you pay him?”

Sun Zhengtao replied, “Every time, he’d message me in advance through ‘MegaChat’ or send me a voice message. I don’t even know his phone number. The payments were all made online.”

Haifeng called Zhao Zhijie over to verify Sun Zhengtao’s statements, which were confirmed. Then Haifeng asked, “Why did you trust someone you’d never met?”

Sun Zhengtao answered, “It’s not that I trusted him—he really helped me make money. Before I knew him, we struggled everywhere and barely made anything. After I followed his advice, money started rolling in. I didn’t trust him—I trusted the money!”

Haifeng, hearing this, stopped his questioning and exchanged a glance with Li Mengyang at his side.

Li Mengyang, who had been silent beside Haifeng, stood up and walked over to Sun Zhengtao. He whispered a few words to Sun Zhengtao, patted his shoulder, then returned to his seat and said to Haifeng, “He’s now under hypnosis. If you want to know whether he’s telling the truth, just ask again.”

Haifeng nodded to Li Mengyang and repeated his previous questions. Sun Zhengtao gave the exact same answers. Haifeng was convinced he was telling the truth and had Li Mengyang wake Sun Zhengtao, ending the interrogation.

Haifeng knew that “Teacher Song” was out of reach for now. All he could do was take Sun Zhengtao and the others back to Mingzhou. As for “Teacher Song,” since he’d never met Sun Zhengtao in person, he wouldn’t know about the arrests. They would have to wait until he contacted Sun Zhengtao again to deal with this elusive figure.