Chapter 39: Standing Out from the Crowd

Ji Feng asked Xin Xiao to stay in the parking lot to continue his search. He trotted to the monitoring room, where the technicians sent in for support had already begun retrieving the video footage. He stood in front of the screen, staring intently at the footage as it played back frame by frame.

Finally, at the East District entrance, a tall woman in a black trench coat appeared in the camera. Her figure was slender like a crane, and she wore a black bucket hat and a black mask, nearly obscuring her features, leaving only a pair of cold eyes barely visible. She clutched a delicate small bag, her neck slightly raised, her shoulders relaxed. Her graceful gait resembled a snow-feathered fairy skimming through shallow water, or a solitary crane perched on the edge of a cold river, unhurried and unhurried. Clearly, she was familiar with the place she was about to enter.

The camera follows her as she enters the exhibition hall. She stops at various booths, occasionally asking questions, but she doesn't stay long. About half an hour later, she exits through Gate 3 on the east side, walks directly toward a dark gray Audi A6 parked outside, then slowly drives out of the parking lot, disappearing from the surveillance camera's view.

"Where is the license plate? Did you take a clear picture of it?" Ji Feng asked anxiously.

The technician nodded and skillfully switched the screen, and the license plate number was clearly visible: Dai B·8XH93.

"Dai B...Modao license plate." Ji Feng murmured, his eyes gradually becoming sharper.

"Would you like to check the registration information of this car now?" asked the technician.

"If you want to check, tell me the results as soon as you get them." Ji Feng said as he ran towards the parking lot.

He jogged back to the car, where Xin Xiao was already waiting for action. As he dialed Jiang Bo's number, he gestured forward, signaling Xin Xiao to set off. "Captain Jiang, that female boss has appeared. She left the exhibition hall half an hour ago. Her license plate is Dai B·8XH93. I'm about to chase her on the highway towards Mo Island."

"No problem. I'll take a few people to the Modao toll station to set up a checkpoint. You all stay calm and be careful on the road." Jiang Bo paused, his tone becoming hesitant. "But, there are three routes from the provincial capital to Modao: south, north, and center. Do you know which one she took?"

"It's unclear at the moment," Ji Feng answered truthfully, "but the southern route is the longest, and the least likely choice for her. I'll follow the northern route, the most common one, while you wait at the Modao South Toll Station on the central line. Is that okay?"

"You left half an hour later than her, so you might not be able to catch up. I'll arrange for Daji and the others to intercept her at the Modao Expressway Toll Station on the northern route."

"Great, that makes us more confident."

Just after hanging up the phone, the technician from the exhibition hall's monitoring room called to inform me that according to the vehicle management system, the car belonged to a rental company in Modao City. The car was rented out two months ago and a double deposit was collected, but the identity information of the lessee was not left.

Ji Feng was silent for a moment, thanked him, and hung up the phone. Xin Xiao stepped on the car and drove like an arrow, speeding along the highway towards Mo Island.

As the sun set, Xin Xiao focused on driving as fast as he could, the trees on either side rapidly receding. Jifeng quickly contacted the highway toll stations in Bochuan, Qingfang, Pinglai, Langu, Qingyang, Chaozhou, and Chaonan, issuing an urgent joint investigation notice: a dark gray Audi sedan with license plate Dai B·8XH93 had been spotted and immediately intercepted and reported.

Starting half an hour late would have created at least a 50-kilometer gap for the highway. To prevent the female boss from leaving the highway, they had to race against time to catch up with her, not relying on Ji Chuan's successful interception at the toll booth. Ji Feng's gaze, sharp as radar, scanned every car ahead. The air inside the car was tense as a string of strings. A silent yet intense chase unfolded quietly amidst the twilight and the traffic.

The journey was incredibly fast, and when Ji Feng first called Ji Chuan, Ji Chuan had already arrived at the toll booth. He called Ji Chuan several more times along the way, but the only response he got was that the Audi was nowhere to be seen.

As the streetlights gradually came on, Ji Feng's last hope of stopping the female boss on the north line was completely shattered. At this time, he had just met Ji Chuan at the toll booth.

Without even bothering to greet Ji Chuan, Ji Feng got out of the car and headed straight for the toll booth, requesting assistance in checking whether the car had left the highway from there. The result was exactly the same as reality: the Audi had not left the highway at this toll booth.

A rapid phone ring interrupted his call to Jiang Bo.

"Hello, Captain Ji. This is the toll booth for the highway cross-sea bridge."

"What's the situation?" Ji Feng straightened up immediately.

"The vehicle you're looking for has arrived at our toll booth. We're negotiating with the driver, but she seems unwilling to cooperate, claiming a family emergency and requesting to leave as soon as possible. We don't have the authority to enforce the law, you see..."

"I'll be there soon, please make sure to keep her calm." Ji Feng said anxiously, waving to Xin Xiao and Ji Chuan, indicating that something was wrong and they should leave quickly.

"We will do our best, but there is no guarantee that she will cooperate with us."

"Please hold her back at all costs. I'll be there in ten minutes. Thank you."

"She actually chose to take the southern route?" Xin Xiao asked as soon as Ji Feng hung up the phone, but he did not relax the accelerator at all.

"Yes, this woman is not simple. She seems to be deliberately hiding something." Ji Feng responded to Xin Xiao while calling Jiang Bo.

After a brief communication, he and Jiang Bo split into two groups and attacked the toll station of the cross-sea bridge at the same time.

After another swift drive, Ji Feng arrived at the toll booth, where Jiang Bo frantically negotiated with the staff. There was no Audi on the scene. The staff, looking helpless, recounted how they'd tried desperately to stall, but the female driver remained adamant, insisting she was allowed to pass, even threatening to break the checkpoint and file a complaint. The toll booth had no choice but to watch the female driver drive off.

Jiang Bo was also very helpless and could only retrieve the toll station surveillance to get as much information as possible. The surveillance video showed that she was still dressed as she was at the exhibition, and because of the angle and lighting, it could only be said that this video was better than nothing.

Ji Feng was the most regretful. He regretted that he should have anticipated this female boss's unusual choice of the southern route. He was on the verge of stopping this mysterious female boss, but failed. Everyone returned home with a deep sense of regret. Fortunately, they had the license plate number, and tomorrow they could retrieve the video surveillance at the intersections along the way, and finally pinpoint the car's destination.

The next morning, Ji Feng hurriedly said hello to Jiang Bo and was about to rush to the Modao Traffic Police Detachment alone, but was stopped by Jiang Bo. "I already contacted Captain Liu of the Modao Traffic Police Detachment last night. They will be able to edit the vehicle's trajectory into a video and send it to you this morning, so you don't have to go there in person."

"Oh, that's great. I admire you, Captain Jiang. You have a wide network of contacts." Ji Feng said, giving Jiang Bo a thumbs up.

"It's nothing. I just work in one place for a long time and naturally get to know more people. As for solving the case, I still have to rely on people like you who have brains." Jiang Bo laughed modestly.

Sure enough, just as Ji Feng was arranging for Xin Xiao to send screenshots of the exhibition video to Yong Xiangdong to identify the female boss, Jiang Bo told him that the video had been sent. They hurried to Jiang Bo's computer and stared at the screen intently.

This video, spliced ​​together from seven or eight surveillance cameras, shows an Audi speeding past. The woman behind the wheel appears to be incredibly familiar with the local roads, zigzagging and choosing secluded, unsurveilled lanes, as if anticipating surveillance. She sometimes weaves through rural roads and village lanes, sometimes disappearing from the surveillance feed, zigzagging several times before finally disappearing at the end of a village road where no surveillance cameras have yet been installed.

After watching the video carefully, although Ji Feng was unable to completely confirm the specific destination of the vehicle, a coherent trajectory was formed between multiple monitoring points, and the scope of the investigation was effectively narrowed to the area around Aojiaowei and Xiongzhangya, which was undoubtedly very helpful in finding the female boss.

At the case analysis meeting, the task force unanimously concluded that the woman's behavior was unusual, indicating a certain level of anti-detection awareness, and that she was most likely deliberately evading police pursuit. Furthermore, given her familiarity with the local roads, they speculated that even if she wasn't a local, she was a permanent resident of the area. Using age and gender as screening criteria, they could further narrow the search using household registration records.

After identifying key areas, the local police station quickly developed a detailed investigation plan: All field officers were dispatched to Aojiaowei and Xiongzhangya, visiting village committees one by one to identify surveillance footage of the female leader. Meanwhile, household registration officers simultaneously used their system to precisely screen for targeted individuals. However, three days later, all the suspected individuals targeted by both field and household registration officers had been eliminated, and even the Audi had vanished without a trace.

Just when Ji Feng was at a loss, a call from the police station asked him and Xin Xiao to drive quickly to Haijiao Village, Hailong Street, adjacent to Aojiaowei. The Aojiaowei police officer in charge of the investigation "crossed the line" and found a suspected target vehicle, and requested confirmation as soon as possible.

This coastal fishing village, founded many years ago by the merger of several smaller natural villages, relies on fishing and aquaculture. The village has approximately 400 households and a permanent population of over 1,000, including over 300 migrants. These migrants primarily come from the northeastern and southeastern coastal areas, primarily to work for local fishermen.

When they saw the identical dark gray Audi, Xin Xiao immediately blurted out, "Found it, this is the car." However, the license plate of the car had been removed and the car was empty, like an abandoned "zombie" car. Before the rental company confirmed it, Xin Xiao's judgment could only be "tentative."

Soon after, the technical team and the rental company arrived at the scene. Unfortunately, despite their busy work, the technical team found nothing. The car's interior had clearly been thoroughly cleaned, and no valuable fingerprints or other biological samples were collected. Their only discovery was a business card for a Sino-Korean joint venture plastic surgery clinic under the floor mat.

In contrast, the rental company effortlessly opened the car door and, after circling the vehicle several times using the vehicle chassis number and engine number, confirmed that it was the same car they had rented two months prior with a double deposit. Because this color is rare in the area, it's almost certain this is the car the woman driving at the show was driving.

Her cryptic movements, concealed license plates, and cleared traces of the car's interior all confirmed Jifeng's premonition: this mysterious woman was no ordinary citizen. Her actions were meticulous and cautious, and there must be a hidden secret hidden behind her. And every step she took seemed to be one step faster than Jifeng's.

As a result, the focus area shifted to Haijiao Village.

Based on the business card found in the car and her various strange behaviors, Ji Feng speculated that this female boss might use plastic surgery to make her former self "disappear" forever. As to whether she has already undergone plastic surgery, there is no way of knowing.

Suddenly remembering that the matter of asking Yong Xiangdong to identify the screenshot of the female boss video had not yet come to fruition, he turned around and asked Xin Xiao, "Did Xiangdong get any results from identifying the screenshot of the video?"

"Oh no, I forgot. Ask Xiangdong right away."

"Forgot?" Ji Feng looked at Xin Xiao with wide eyes.

"That's right. I was a little confused about your decision at the time. I wondered how the person who got the Thuja warehouse from Shen Zhaoran could be related to Shen Zhou's girlfriend. Coincidentally, the surveillance video from the traffic police detachment was transmitted at that time. After watching the video, I dropped the matter."

"Let me correct one of your misunderstandings first. The thuja resources in the hands of the female boss may not necessarily be the resources in Chen Zhaoran's warehouse, although it's very likely. Also, Xiangdong was asked to identify the person because the three characters, Chen Zhou's girlfriend, the female boss, and the abortion woman, have something in common: they are all women, their identities are mysterious, and they are of similar age. Don't you think that's a coincidence?"

"What you said is really strange. I will contact Xiangdong right away."