Chapter 27: Finally Exposed
Three days and three nights passed, and there was still no sign of Lan Renxuan. But Ji Feng knew that the more critical the moment, the greater the possibility that Lan Renxuan would show up, and the slightest negligence could ruin all the efforts.
Yet, what truly kept him going was this desperate counterattack, this desperate struggle for self-salvation, and the ultimate test of his relentless pursuit of his ideals! He knew that this not only carried a heavy responsibility, but also a desperate gamble on his life. Even if the abyss lay ahead, even if he was destined to be burned in flames, he would not hesitate, and would not look back!
"Teacher Ji!" Ji Feng suddenly heard someone calling him. It was, without a second thought, Mai Ti Wu Zi. He had just learned that Ji Feng was waiting at the airport, and this former student had insisted on accompanying Ji Feng.
"Why are you here? What's the matter?" Seeing Maitiwuzi's anxious expression, Jifeng guessed that Maitiwuzi had something important to say.
"I just got a call from the airport ticket office. A ticket listing for someone online named 'Rien Xiwuan' appeared on the online ticketing terminal. They'd bought a first-class ticket to Daina Prefecture in Cainan Province tomorrow. The ID number was from Langu City in Haidai Province," Maitiwuzi said breathlessly. "I quickly ran to the ticket office, took a look, and before I could write down the ID number, the computer froze and wouldn't open again."
“How many ID numbers do you remember?”
"The first four are from Lan Gu, and I'm very familiar with them. Judging from their birth dates, they're 36 years old, exactly the same as the suspect. There are no others."
“When will the computer be repaired?”
"It's been reported for repair. The maintenance personnel have to rush over from the city. With this kind of heavy snow, it will probably take them half a day to arrive."
"Let's go and take a look." Ji Feng said as he followed Maitiwuzi to the airport duty room.
Inside the duty room, the computer screen was black, quietly placed on the desk. Aside from the slight residual warmth, it was as if nothing had happened.
"Write down the nicknames you see." Jifeng said to Maitiwuzi.
"Okay, Master Ji. Just these few words: Ri'en Xiwu Temple."
Ji Feng took the note, frowned slightly, and repeatedly pondered the meaning behind the name - is there any connection between it and Lan Renxuan?
He looked up at Maitwuzi and asked, "Is this a place name?"
Mai Tiwuzi thought for a moment and shook his head: "I haven't heard of it."
"Is it a nunnery?"
"I was born and raised in Yishijiang. Except for a few years when I went abroad to study, I have never left here. I have never heard of a nunnery in Yishijiang."
Ji Feng fell into deep thought, constantly searching for possible clues in his mind, trying to connect this strange online name with Lan Renxuan.
"What does it mean?" He stood up and paced back and forth in the duty room, having no idea for a moment.
"Are there any computers elsewhere? Use a search engine to check." Ji Feng asked.
"Okay, I'll contact the airport police station right away." Maitiwuzi said and ran out.
Not long after, he returned with a look of disappointment on his face: "Teacher Ji, the search results turned up nothing. I also asked a classmate who works at the religious association, and he hadn't heard of this place either."
"If it's not a religious place..." Jifeng muttered to himself, "then what could it be?"
Maitiwuzi said, "There aren't many tourists from Haidai Province coming to Yishijiang this season, and even fewer from Langu. Even if there are some, they're mostly ordinary people visiting relatives or on urgent business, and few book first-class. Furthermore, this person's place of origin matches Lan Renxuan's, and he's traveling alone. I think it's him."
Ji Feng nodded, but his brow remained gloomy. “We need to be absolutely sure before we can ask for support from the detachment, or even special police or armed police to help arrest him. But…”
He stood before the dark screen, his brow furrowed ever deeper. In his mind, those seemingly unrelated place names—Lanrenxuan, Lan Valley, Haidai Province, Yishijiang—intertwined into an invisible web, trapping him tightly.
"Could it be a pseudonym? Or a random online name?" he whispered to himself.
Maitiwuzi didn't say anything, but just stood quietly by. He knew that Jifeng was trying hard to piece together the scattered fragments and find a breakthrough.
Ji Feng turned and walked to the window, looking at the planes taking off and landing on the runway in the distance, braving the wind and snow, and muttered, "If he really wants to leave Yishijiang, then these few days are his last chance. He shouldn't miss it."
"But we can't even confirm his true identity." There was a hint of powerlessness in Maitiwuzi's tone.
"Ri'en Xiwu Temple..." Jifeng repeated it over and over again, and even tried to break down each word, read it backwards, combine the pinyin, and separate the radicals... but he still couldn't find any meaningful clues.
The sky gradually darkened, the snow continued to fall outside the window, and the airport broadcast occasionally heard the notification of flight departure, which sounded like urging and mocking.
"Are we really overthinking it?" Ji Feng finally sat down dejectedly, supporting his forehead with both hands, his eyes full of fatigue and unwillingness.
He had just sat there for less than a minute when he stood up again and paced back and forth in the room like a hound trapped in a maze, muttering the online name over and over again.
Suddenly, he stopped abruptly.
Then, he suddenly turned around, slammed his palm on the table, his eyes blazing with a blazing light. He screamed, "It's him! It's him! It's him! There's no doubt about it!" His voice thumped against the walls of the ticket office, filled with suppressed excitement and certainty.
Maitiwuzi was startled and stood there in a daze, not knowing what was going on.
"Yes, it's him!" Ji Feng walked back and forth in the small duty room, waving his fists.
"How can you be sure?" Maitiwuzi looked at Jifeng in confusion.
Ji Feng pulled Maitiwuzi over and said, "Divide these five words into two parts, separating the second and third parts, and then read them in pinyin."
"Ri'en—Ren, Xiwu'an—Xuan...Renxuan!" Maitiwuzi finished spelling it out in pinyin, staring with his eyes wide open, his mouth wide open, and instantly understood the mystery.
"Yes, it's Renxuan, it's Lan Renxuan! We finally found him, he's so cunning!" Ji Feng's eyes flashed and his face flushed red.
Mai Tiwuzi almost jumped up with excitement: "Yes, it's him, absolutely!"
"Hurry! Go back to the station!" At this moment, Ji Feng no longer felt the cold weather.
After getting in the car, he called the police station chief, Li: "Chief Li, I have an important clue that I need to report to you in person. Maitiwuzi and I are rushing back from the airport. Do you have time?"
"Captain Ji, you're so polite. No problem. I'll wait for you."
The heavy snow didn't bother them at all. They drove the car carefully through the snow.
By the time the two arrived at the police station, it was already night time. Director Li was waiting for them in his office, eating instant noodles.
"Director Li, there is an important situation." After more than a month, Ji Feng and Director Li have become very familiar with each other.
"Captain Ji, you speak first." Director Li swallowed a mouthful of instant noodles.
"You have something to say too?" Ji Feng looked puzzled.
"It's just a small matter, you can just tell me first." Director Li put down his chopsticks and said.
"You speak first." Ji Feng deliberately suppressed the anxiety in his heart. He was using every little thing to temper his character.
Director Li nodded, wiped his mouth, and said slowly: "Okay. It's like this."
"Take a look at this." Director Li handed over a red-headed document.
Ji Feng took a look at it, his expression suddenly grim. It was a notice from the Haidai Provincial Public Security Bureau. The gist of it was: Ji Feng, the former deputy chief of the Langu Criminal Investigation Detachment, currently pursuing a criminal suspect in Yishijiang, has been suspended and has no authority to investigate the case. He is acting on his own initiative. The Autonomous Region Public Security Bureau and relevant departments are requested to be notified and advised to return. The Haidai Provincial Public Security Bureau will take serious action against him.
Ji Feng took a deep breath and said slowly, "Director Li, I'm sorry I didn't explain the situation to you before because I was afraid of causing trouble for you two. Now that everyone knows, I have nothing to hide. The contents of this notice are true, and I am indeed suspended."
Afterwards, he recounted the circumstances before and after his suspension one by one, and finally added: "We found the suspect while staked out at the airport today. If nothing unexpected happens, it is basically confirmed to be Lan Renxuan." Then, he explained in detail how he determined Lan Renxuan's identity through his online nickname.
After listening to it, Director Li was surprised and agreed very much with Ji Feng's judgment.
"Captain Ji, please put the notification on hold for now. I understand. I will report to the Municipal Bureau's Criminal Investigation Division immediately."
"Thank you." Ji Feng looked at Director Li gratefully.
"This matter should only be reported to the three of us, and not spread." Director Li instructed Maitiwuzi.
"Director Li, my teacher is a good person. I guarantee it with my personal integrity." Maitiwuzi solemnly promised.
"I believe that Captain Ji has been here for more than a month. I already know him very well and I understand the things mentioned in the notice very well." Director Li looked firm.
"Thank you both directors for your understanding and help. I will always remember it." Ji Feng said with emotion.
"You're welcome. We'll report immediately without further delay," said Director Li.
"I'll go contact the detachment." After saying this, Maitiwuzi hurried out.
"Captain Ji, let's go to the detachment now." Director Li said as he walked out.
"Okay." Ji Feng responded and quickly followed.
Soon, Maitiwuzi came forward to report: "We've made contact. Captain Aiermuhe asked us to hurry over and work out a plan to capture him."
"Let's go, let's set off now!" The three of them quickly rushed out of the police station and drove to the Criminal Police Detachment of the Municipal Bureau.
When they arrived at the Municipal Bureau's Criminal Investigation Division, the entire task force was already waiting for them in the conference room. Captain Aiermuhe stood up, exchanged a few brief pleasantries, and then got straight to the point.
At this time, there were less than 10 hours left until that flight.
After a quick exchange of opinions, the task force reached a consensus: due to the strict airport security, it was impossible for Lan Renxuan to carry guns or other controlled knives on board the plane, which was undoubtedly a condition conducive to his arrest.
Even so, to ensure a foolproof capture plan, the team continued to work late into the night. Not only did they develop a thorough on-site surveillance and capture plan, but they also prepared a pre-emptive interrogation plan, striving to break through the suspect's psychological defenses as soon as he was apprehended, forcing him to reveal the location of his gun and avoid wasting time.
By the time they finalized their plan to arrest the suspect after boarding the plane, daylight had already begun to rise. After urgently contacting airport police and the airline, they had only half an hour to rest and have breakfast.
To facilitate this crucial arrest, the entire Kakeshiku City Criminal Police Detachment was mobilized: perimeter surveillance was deployed, an ambush was set up at the boarding gate, multiple officers disguised as ordinary passengers were stationed around Lan Renxuan's seat, and even female officers in disguise infiltrated the flight attendants, closely monitoring them. Furthermore, a squadron from the Special Police Detachment was dispatched to assist in the arrest.
A carefully planned arrest operation is about to begin.
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