Chapter 63 There may be an insider

"No need. The procedures for your cross-region transfer are complicated and may alert the enemy. Now I just need you to immediately provide the remaining list of Zhao Laosi's core gang members, their physical characteristics, and all possible hiding places! Especially those buddies who escaped the net that year! And all his behavioral habits, the more detailed the better! Now! Immediately!" Xie Shiyu spoke quickly, leaving no room for doubt.

Gu Qiuhan took a deep breath, his voice as cold as steel, yet his logic was remarkably clear. "I'll dictate the list to you right away... The abandoned rubber factory in XX town on the border is one of their bases... Zhao Laosi is extremely paranoid and vindictive, with strong anti-reconnaissance capabilities. He's adept at disguising himself as a low-level worker. He smokes with his left hand, and there's a small burn scar behind his right ear... The ones who slipped through the net—Wang Mazi, Gapstooth Li, and One-Eyed Zhang—are all his trusted confidants, and they're likely to join him or provide him with shelter... Tell me when you catch them. If anyone dares to touch Yueyue, I'll kill him myself."

"Our troops have already intervened, and the joint operation will begin soon. Brother, you stay on standby at your base and protect yourself. He may also rush towards you. Leave this to me." Xie Shiyu replied firmly and quickly recorded all the key information provided by Gu Qiuhan.

Intelligence was like blood, instantly injected into the veins of the joint operation. A thunderous military-civilian operation code-named "Scavenger" was quickly launched. Xie Shiyu served as the core bridge, synchronizing the precise information provided by Gu Qiuhan to Captain Wang and the quickly established joint command center.

The public security system operates at high speed like a sophisticated machine.

Secret sentries were quietly deployed in local and surrounding cities, at stations, guesthouses, and in urban and rural fringe areas; based on Gu Qiuhan's list, several capture nets targeting the "fish that slipped through the net" were silently spread in the night.

The military intelligence system provides deeper information on gang backgrounds, weapons channels and possible cross-border routes, and strengthens monitoring of relevant border areas.

The action is showing its edge!

Within just a few hours, good news from many places was reported back to the command center: Wang Mazi was pinned down in a casino in a neighboring city; Li with a gap in his teeth was arrested at the long-distance bus station; One-eyed Zhang tried to escape from a small border town but was caught by the armed police and public security officers who were waiting on the border.

In the interrogation room, under the pressure, Wang Mazi was the first to break down, tearfully testifying, "It's... it's Fourth Brother who's back. He said he wants to settle the score with the Gu family and avenge his brother. He wants to give Gu Qiuhan a 'big gift'... let him taste... taste the feeling of having his heart ripped out... He... he didn't elaborate on how he was going to do it, only saying... start with the youngest..."

However, the cunning Zhao Laosi himself seemed to have disappeared from the face of the earth, and the local dragnet search yielded nothing.

As the night deepened, Xie Shiyu returned to the family compound, exhausted and still angry. The lights in the house were warm, but the security at the entrance to the compound had been significantly strengthened, and no strangers were allowed in.

Gu Qiuyue was sitting on the sofa, holding her baby who had just been fed and was already fast asleep. When she saw her husband come back, her eyes immediately showed anxiety.

"What's wrong?" Her voice trembled slightly.

Xie Shiyu walked over, gently embraced her and the child, and tried to keep his tone steady: "It's confirmed that it's Big Brother's enemy, Zhao Laosi. A few of his remaining minions have been captured. He can't escape. The dragnet has been spread. Guards have been increased at the gate of the family compound. No strangers are allowed to enter. Don't be afraid."

Gu Qiuyue's tense body relaxed slightly, and she leaned her cheek lightly on her husband's shoulder, drawing in the reassuring strength.

Just then, Xiao Liu's voice sounded at the door: "Deputy Commander, Commander Cheng asked you to go to the communications room." Xie Shiyu's heart skipped a beat. He patted his wife's back soothingly before following Xiao Liu.

"Shi Yu!" Cheng Tuan saw him coming and pointed to the receiver on the table. "Captain Wang is calling."

Xie Shiyu frowned and picked up the receiver. Captain Wang's voice was more solemn than ever before, and he spoke in a low voice. "We've made a major discovery. During the surprise interrogation of Li the Broken Tooth, he couldn't stand it anymore and died. Zhao Laosi's action was a long-planned one. He had been scouting around the military compound for at least a week.

Moreover, we found this simple hand-drawn map in one of his abandoned hiding places in the west of the city. It looks like the layout of your military family compound. Tomorrow..."

"I'll be right over." Xie Shiyu interrupted him and saluted Cheng Tuan: "Captain, there's a new discovery at Captain Wang's place. I'd like to request an immediate visit."

"Go ahead, come back and tell us about the progress." Cheng Tuan waved his hand. "The camp has approved a car for you these days, so you don't have to use your hands to write reports."

"Yes!" Xie Shiyu stood at attention and saluted.

Soon, Xie Shiyu arrived at the police station. Captain Shen showed him a crumpled piece of paper. Xie Shiyu frowned. What else could this be if not a map of the family compound?! How could Zhao Laosi have such a thing?!

"Where are these red circles?" Captain Shen asked, pointing to a place on the map.

"This is the location of my home." Xie Shiyu felt a chill down his spine. If it weren't for Zhao Laosi's carelessness this time and his wife being clever, who knows what would happen next.

"Then what's this?" Captain Shen asked, ignoring Xie Shiyu's scowl. He pointed to another blank space where a strange pattern drawn in red pen appeared...like a twisted spider? Or...some special mark?

This question stumped Xie Shiyu. He thought for a moment and said, "How about we go the military route and send this pattern to Gu Qiuhan to ask? After all, Zhao Laosi was the one who escaped from them?"

"Okay, then we will temporarily intensify the search here. You send this pattern to Gu Qiuhan. When we get a reply, we will analyze the case together." Captain Shen quickly handed the map to Xie Shiyu and went to busy himself with setting up surveillance for his men.

After leaving the police station, Xie Shiyu immediately drove back to the division headquarters and reported the results of his discussion with Captain Shen to the division commander and others. The strange pattern on the map was also sent to the Northwest Military Region by the signalman through a special channel.

"You should go back and have a rest first." The division commander said, "You won't have to go to work these days because you'll be given a day off." They thought that Zhao Laosi could get a map of the family compound, and there might be someone he knew inside, so it would be better to let Xie Shiyu protect Gu Qiuyue closely.

When Xie Shiyu returned home, his wife was gazing down at the sleeping baby in her arms, with a look of maternal tenderness on her face, having survived a disaster. The child's face was peaceful and serene, completely unaware that he might have become the target of a poisonous snake.

Xie Shiyu clenched his fists suddenly at his sides, his knuckles making a slight "crackling" sound, and the veins on the back of his hands were knotted.

He looked at the heartwarming scene, then thought of the map of the military family compound, the strange red circle and the mysterious symbol, and a cold shudder instantly swept through his body.

Zhao Laosi's shadow, like that twisted spider pattern, silently and malevolently loomed over him. The storm hadn't retreated; its eye was brewing an even more deadly vortex, heading straight for the softest, most inviolable core of his life...