Chapter 67 Back on Track
Thinking of the twisted "black spider mark" in the wet mud, like a dormant poisonous insect lurking in the shadows, his heart pounded heavily in his chest. He abruptly retracted his gaze, forcibly suppressing the boiling murderous intent and the urge to draw his gun immediately. Alerting the snake would be the greatest folly.
He took a deep breath of the earthy air, turned around, and walked towards the division headquarters with steady but swift steps. The information brought by Gu Qiuhan was the key to breaking the deadlock and must be immediately transformed into thundering action.
In the division office, the atmosphere was as solemn as iron. Several leaders had their brows twisted into knots. Gu Qiuhan looked dusty and his eyes were bloodshot, but his gaze was sharp enough to penetrate people's hearts.
"The situation is worse than we thought." Gu Qiuhan's voice was like ice wrapped in the north. "When Zhao Laosi was silenced, he was shot in the head, clean and neat. We found out the perpetrator was a fellow codenamed 'Cold Nail.'" He paused, each word tinged with chill. "On Zhao Laosi's body, near his heart, was a freshly branded 'Black Spider Mark,' the skin and flesh charred."
Xie Shiyu's heart sank to the bottom. This was a naked provocation and declaration of war.
Gu Qiuhan suddenly looked up, his eyes sweeping over the people in the room and Xie Shiyu like an eagle, and he said firmly: "My route of action has definitely been leaked. The number of people who know where I came from and the specific time is very small. The traitor is in this very small circle of people who know the inside story." Every word he said was like an ice-hardened nail, slamming heavily on the table.
The commander's face turned pale, and he pounded his fist on the table, making the teacup jump. "Asshole!"
Gu Qiuhan took a deep breath, suppressing his surging emotions. He changed the subject, bringing a glimmer of hope to the dawn. "However, this encounter wasn't entirely fruitless. Based on the clues left by 'Cold Nail' when he evacuated, and the intensive interrogation of Zhao Laosi's accomplices, I've been able to follow the clues and basically pinpoint the whereabouts of 'Cold Nail' and a core member codenamed 'Mouse' in a neighboring city. The superiors have ordered us to close the net immediately and capture them all, including the 'Poison Nail'."
"'Gopher'?" Xie Shiyu's eyes suddenly became as sharp as a knife. He immediately took over the conversation in a deep and cold voice, "Commander, leaders, Qiuhan, I was just about to report that this 'gopher' is very likely the person pretending to be Wu Cui's 'cousin Wang Li'." He quickly reported the new mark he had found in the corner of Wu Cui's house and the abnormality of Wu Cui who "turned a blind eye" and only felt sorry for the broken jar.
"Based on what I learned in Wang Li's hometown and after comparing it over several days, I discovered that this 'Wang Li' is likely an imposter. The real Wang Li suffered hearing loss in one ear due to illness as a child, but this fake Wang Li can hear in both ears. Although he usually pretends to be a real person, he was exposed during a test. Coupled with the timing of his appearance, I think it's very likely that he is the 'Groundhog.'"
"Regardless of whether he's a real person or not, he's impersonating Wang Li and sneaking into the military family compound with ill intentions. First, apprehend him and interrogate him." The division commander thought for a moment before giving Xie Shiyu the order. "As for Leng Ding, just as Old Wei said, deal with him right here and now to prevent him from causing further harm to others." He addressed this to Gu Qiuhan.
The joint operation was carried out swiftly under the cover of night. A remote abandoned warehouse in the neighboring city became a temporary nest for the "Cold Nails" and "Gophers" gangs. The brief and intense gunshots tore through the silence, like the roar of death.
The stubborn "Cold Nail" tried to seize the commanding heights. As soon as the muzzle of the gun emerged from the shadow, the sniper who had been lying in ambush for a long time pulled the trigger. The bullet, with the whistling of justice, accurately penetrated the eyebrows of "Cold Nail", ending this bloody life. The remaining resistance collapsed in an instant, and "Gopher" and two other accomplices were captured alive.
In the interrogation room, under the bright lights, the psychological defenses of "Gopher" completely collapsed in the face of the details and irrefutable evidence of Zhao Laosi's death brought by Gu Qiuhan. He confessed to impersonating Wang Li (the real Wang Li had been killed long ago) and revealing the topographic map of the family compound to Zhao Laosi. More importantly, he identified the insider clerk Xiao Li who was forced to disclose the route of XX Station's action after he caught him gambling.
Xiao Li was immediately taken secretly into the interrogation room, and without any means, Xiao Li confessed everything.
When the news came back, the division commander breathed a sigh of relief and slammed his fist on the table: "Scum! Go to the military court!" Xie Shiyu and Gu Qiuhan looked at each other, there was no joy in their eyes, only heavy murderous intent. Although the entrenched poisonous snake was beheaded, its venom had indeed penetrated them.
A few days later, Xie Shiyu and Gu Qiuyue gently but solemnly revealed the truth to a horrified Wu Cui. Upon hearing that her "cousin" was a spy in disguise, that her real cousin might have been killed, and that she herself had been used, Wu Cui was stunned for a moment before bursting into heartbreaking sobs of terror. With trembling hands, she personally scraped away the eerie mark in the corner that kept her awake at night.
"Deputy Captain Xie, Sister Qiuyue... I... I was confused. I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." Wu Cui burst into tears, and turbid tears washed the wrinkles on her face.
Gu Qiuyue patted her back gently: "It's all over, Sister Wu, the bad guy has been caught, everything is fine." Wu Cui raised her tearful eyes and looked at Gu Qiuyue's calm and gentle face, then looked at Xie Shiyu who was as steady as a mountain but with a hint of understanding in his eyes, and a complicated feeling surged in her heart.
A few days later, Gu Qiuhan was about to return to the team.
The early morning sun shone on the Xie family's courtyard, casting a warm glow on the newly built gray walls. He stood at the gate of the courtyard, wearing a neat military uniform.
"It's clean here," Gu Qiuhan patted Xie Shiyu's shoulder, with a hint of fatigue in his eyes, but more of a sense of peace, "Live a good life and take care of the family." He looked at his sister Gu Qiuyue again, and his voice softened: "Yueyue, brother is leaving. Take care of yourself, Huahua, and Shuangshuang." Gu Qiuyue's eyes were slightly red, and she nodded vigorously: "Brother, take care of yourself too."
After seeing Gu Qiuhan off, the days seemed to be gently pulled back to their original track by an invisible hand. The tension brought by the crisis receded like the tide, leaving behind the tranquility of surviving the disaster. The slogans of the soldiers' training in the camp were still loud and full of vitality.
As autumn deepens, the sunlight becomes milder.
Gu Qiuyue also returned to her normal get off work and commuting time. Her two children were almost six months old and had both switched to formula. The biggest benefit of the Zhao Laosi incident was that she didn't have to go out to work when her children needed feeding.
Now she returned to the office. Because the atmosphere in the office was very good, Gu Qiuyue quickly integrated into it. But what she never expected was that Meng Hui actually began to show his happy distress.
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