Chapter 148 Early Morning

The next day, a little after six in the morning.

In a breakfast shop in the Zha Nan district, Wang Daolin was taking big bites of fried dough sticks and eating pickled vegetables, seemingly with a great appetite.

A moment later, an SUV stopped by the side of the road. A middle-aged man got out, a shoulder bag slung over his left shoulder. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and entered the breakfast shop.

"Over here!" Wang Daolin waved and called out.

The middle-aged man walked over, bent down, and sat down. Without waiting for the waiter to bring him anything, he picked up Wang Daolin's half-finished soy milk and gulped down two large mouthfuls.

"Damn, are you a starving ghost?!" Wang Daolin said, speechless.

"I've been at it since last night. I'm really tired and hungry." The middle-aged man picked up a fried dough stick, ate it in two bites, and then finished the soy milk, finally letting out a long breath.

Wang Daolin had eaten enough. He wiped his mouth and asked, "Did you lock down the basic information?"

"Not yet." The middle-aged man shook his head and called out, "Another steamer of buns, beef filling."

Wang Daolin lit a cigarette and glanced around before asking, "Do you think Bao Long Group did this themselves, putting on a show?"

The middle-aged man replied in a low voice, "Preliminary assessment shows that the explosives used by the bandits were for mining."

Wang Daolin's eyes widened in shock. "Damn, that sounds like it."

The middle-aged man didn't answer directly, only looking at Wang Daolin and asking, "Are you getting these materials because you're preparing to fully support Li MingSheng's side?"

"Brother, I don't want to support anyone, but I have no choice." Wang Daolin cursed through gritted teeth, "My iron will has been corrupted by that little bastard Su Tianyu! I was too close to him before, and now it's hard to get away. You know what I mean?"

"I understand."

"Damn it, I just hope Li MingSheng lives a long life!" Wang Daolin sighed.

The middle-aged man nodded, subtly took out a file from his bag, and passed it to Wang Daolin under the table. "Don't let this out. The higher-ups in the Police Department have already taken sides. Guo and Lin should have already met with Riel. The higher-ups have ordered that no information on the Bao Long Mining case can be leaked, otherwise they'll be stripped of their uniforms and held criminally liable. So, you absolutely can't screw me over. I don't want to go to jail."

"Alright, I know." Wang Daolin replied, handing the other man a bulging envelope. "Here, for tea money."

"I don't want the money. If Li MingSheng can live a long life, you can give me a hand. That's better than anything." The middle-aged man replied.

"Haha!"

The two looked at each other for a long time and smiled. Wang Daolin pointed at the other man and said, "You old fox! Okay, I'll remember that, but you still have to take the tea money. Isn't your son preparing to continue his postgraduate studies? He can use it later."

With that, Wang Daolin forced the envelope into the other man's hand and quickly left.

…

A little after nine in the morning.

Su Tianyu drove to the high-ranking cadre residential area where Li MingSheng lived. When he got out of the car and walked inside, he noticed that the people from the Police Department and the Supervision Committee had withdrawn. There were only a few cars still tailing them.

Hurrying along the way, Su Tianyu entered the Li residence and was led to the second floor by Li Yuan.

Inside the study, Li MingSheng and Ouyang Zhen were eating breakfast. When the former saw Gou Liu Zi enter, he immediately greeted him, "Come, sit down. Brother Ouyang, let me introduce you. This is my newly accepted disciple in Dragon City, Su Tianyu!"

"Young and promising!" Ouyang Zhen sized up Su Tianyu and shook his hand.

"I'm just running errands for the leader." Su Tianyu scratched his head and, at Li's invitation, sat down on the chair at the very edge.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Li MingSheng took the initiative to ask, "Have you figured out the situation?"

"I've figured it out." Su Tianyu took out the case file Wang Daolin had given him. "These are all the case details from the Police Department and the technical department's on-site investigation. It's first-hand information. I estimate the Supervision Committee has just gotten it."

"Very good. Tell me about it." Li MingSheng nodded with satisfaction.

"The Police Department has initially determined that the explosives used by the bandits were most likely for mining. The explosion site was in the bathroom. The suspect is a young man disguised as a water delivery worker. According to the security guard, the other party is probably no more than thirty-five years old and has an unhealed scar on his forehead, a bit like an ulcer caused by allergies or skin disease." Su Tianyu spoke in great detail, "Last night, the people from the Police Department verified with the water delivery company that one of their water delivery workers was hijacked at knifepoint by a stranger on his way to Bao Long Mining. The other party robbed him of his work clothes, work vehicle, delivery slips, and a dozen barrels of drinking water..."

Li MingSheng frowned. "This doesn't sound like a team did it. If someone ordered it, would they need to hijack a water delivery worker?"

"It's hard to say." Su Tianyu scratched his head and replied, "What if it was a lone desperado hired by a gang? They only pay the money and don't care about the specific details?"

After listening to Su Tianyu's description, Ouyang Zhen interjected, "The image this criminal suspect is projecting is a bit unfavorable to us."

As soon as the leader spoke, he immediately demonstrated the level he should have, because this was precisely what Su Tianyu was more worried about.

"The Minister is right." Su Tianyu immediately picked up the thread. "The image projected by the bandit is very much like people from our various associations. Especially his motive for the attack, which is very likely to trigger many bad public speculations. Why did he bomb the mining company? Why did he specifically kill the people in the project department? He neither demanded a ransom after planting the bomb nor had any other demands. It's just like pure revenge. In that case, as long as the Police Department slightly leads the rhythm, and the other party's media renders it... they will turn this incident into a terrorist attack by someone from our association against Bao Long Mining! It may even lead the public to suspect that this was secretly instigated by our three associations, with the aim of making things bigger."

Ouyang Zhen nodded slowly. "Xiao Su's considerations are reasonable!"

After listening to Su Tianyu's analysis, Li MingSheng immediately pointed at him and said, "Go to Jin MaoHui and have him allocate people to you. We must do everything possible to restrain him before the Supervision Committee finds this murderer. The Supervision Committee can lead the rhythm, and so can we. Do you understand what I mean?"

"Understood!" Su Tianyu immediately nodded, "Then what about the protest?"

"Have people withdraw from the Victory District Police Department. Continue to organize protests in the surrounding area, but don't be too激进. Also, control Xu Jinbo and don't release him yet. Wait for the second round of negotiations." Li MingSheng instructed.

"Okay!"

…

Supervision Committee.

After reading the case file submitted by the Police Department, Riel immediately stood up and said, "The image projected by this bandit is very beneficial to us! Notify the Police Department to spare no effort to catch him!"

Inside the wetland botanical garden with no end in sight, the man in the dark blue uniform dragged out two large packages wrapped in waterproof paper from behind a certain rock...