Chapter 151 Don't alert the enemy.
Lin Xiaoman didn't speak, continuing to trace the faint, almost invisible marks with her pencil. Suddenly, she pointed to the edge of a piece of torn paper: "Wait! There's a small triangular notch here, it must be stuck in the torn part—if I'm not mistaken, there might be numbers on that torn piece of paper."
Su Yingxue leaned closer to examine it and indeed found a tiny V-shaped notch in the lower right corner of the fragment: "So the original address might be 'No. 2X, Shangchuan Road'?"
“Not only that.” Lin Xiaoman suddenly pulled out a magnifying glass and pointed it at the back of a piece of scrap paper. “Look here, the pencil marks are pressed through the paper and onto the back, forming a shadow…” She outlined the transparent evidence bag with a red pen. “This should be a '7', followed by a '-3', which means ‘No. 27-3, Shangchuan Road’?”
Su Yingxue gasped. She knew about Building 27 on Shangchuan Road; it was a row of old residential buildings on the edge of the old city, near the freight station, with a diverse and bustling population. More importantly, Lin Xiaoman had mentioned last week that a tip-off had indicated someone had seen a vehicle suspected of being used for a transaction near those buildings.
“We need to verify this.” She immediately picked up her phone. “Contact the technical department and see if you can narrow down the source by examining the paper material and pencil composition… Oh, and also check the registration information for 27-3 Shangchuan Road!”
Lin Xiaoman stared thoughtfully at the pencil mark on the edge of the last fragment: "Sister Su, who do you think left this? Xiao Wang and the others wouldn't usually just throw away important addresses like that, unless..."
“Unless it was Wang Zhiqiang himself,” Su Yingxue continued, “This piece of paper might be a location he jotted down casually, which Xiao Wang or Xiao Sui accidentally saw, tore up, and threw in the trash—but why is it an address? Are they going to Shangchuan Road soon?”
As night deepened outside the window, the scraps of paper in the evidence bag gleamed faintly under the lamplight. Su Yingxue rubbed her sore eyes, the sinister look in Wang Zhiqiang's eyes as he knocked on the doorframe flashing through her mind. That torn A4 sheet of paper might just be the key to unlocking some secret.
"We'll go scout out the location on Shangchuan Road first thing tomorrow morning." She closed the evidence bag. "If there really is a problem with No. 27-3, we need to set up surveillance before they take action."
"Sister Su, thank you so much! You found such crucial evidence!" Lin Xiaoman was a little excited. I immediately contacted the captain. "But we've already asked you for so much help, so please make sure you stay safe. Be careful."
"Okay." Su Yingxue nodded. "You all be careful too." Su Yingxue squeezed her hand. Her tense nerves slowly relaxed. To be honest, she was a little nervous too.
Early the next morning
Lin Xiaoman adjusted her black-rimmed glasses, her gaze sweeping over the half-broken window on the second floor of warehouse number 23—the cracks in the window frame resembled a gaping mouth, letting in cold wind mixed with drizzle, causing the dust on the windowsill to swirl. She tightened the strap on her community work ID and forced a warm smile at the elderly woman next door who was hanging clothes to dry: "Auntie, about this window? We'll write it down and fix it right away! Don't worry, the community will urge the homeowner to take care of it!"
The old woman leaned against the rusty railing, her withered fingers poking at the broken window: "Young lady, you've finally come! This warehouse has been empty for more than half a year, and I always hear 'thumping' sounds in the middle of the night, like someone moving big boxes!" She lowered her voice, "Last night I even saw a green light flashing through the crack in the window, it was terrifying!"
Lin Xiaoman's heart tightened, but her face was full of smiles: "You mean this window? We'll arrange for someone to fix it right away. By the way, Auntie, does no one usually come in or out of this warehouse?" She pretended to take notes, but out of the corner of her eye, she saw the old woman shaking her head and walking downstairs, her thin figure quickly disappearing around the corner of the stairwell.
She turned and approached the window, her fingertips gently parting the torn screen—fresh scratches marked the inside of the window frame, as if it had been repeatedly pried open with a sharp tool. Peeking through the crack, she saw rows of cardboard boxes piled up in the dimly lit warehouse. The fabric on the top layer gleamed with an eerie metallic sheen, like some kind of special material, not ordinary goods.
"Could this be..." she was thinking when she suddenly heard a deep voice coming from the warehouse: "...It has to be moved tonight. Brother Wang said it has to be delivered to Blue Bay Villa before dawn." The voice was very low, but Lin Xiaoman still caught the key words—"Blue Bay Villa." Wasn't this the new possible transaction location?
Her back tensed instantly, and her nails dug unconsciously into her palms. She couldn't stay here any longer! She turned and hurried downstairs, her heart pounding wildly in her chest.
As soon as Lin Xiaoman reached the convenience store downstairs, she felt a gaze sweep over her. She instinctively looked up and, through the store's glass window, saw Xiao Wang strolling out of the alleyway, carrying a plastic bag and walking with a swaying, nonchalant gait—wasn't this the henchman she'd seen at Wang Zhiqiang's place before? Her heart skipped a beat, and she knew she was in trouble. Even with makeup, what if Xiao Wang recognized her?
She forced herself to calm down, pretending to pick out bottled water, but her hand secretly reached for her phone in her pocket. Just then, her phone vibrated; it was Su Yingxue calling. She quickly answered, lowering her voice, "Sister Su, I'm at 23 Shangchuan Road. I've noticed something suspicious. Xiao Wang might be nearby!"
On the other end of the phone, Su Yingxue's voice was calm and steady: "Don't panic, I'll contact Xiao Wang right away." Almost at the same moment, Lin Xiaoman saw Xiao Wang walking towards the convenience store, his eyes seemingly searching for something.
"Xiao Wang!" Su Yingxue's phone rang at just the right moment. Xiao Wang took out his phone, hesitated for a moment, and then answered it. Lin Xiaoman took the opportunity to crouch down, pretending to tie her shoelaces. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Xiao Wang walking towards the alley entrance while answering the phone, seemingly listening to what Su Yingxue was saying.
"Xiao Wang, I bought squid today. How do you want to eat it?"
"Squid!" Xiao Wang thought for a moment, "Boss, how about you make spicy squid? Add some cumin."
He hung up the phone after saying that. He had just been in the warehouse. He thought he saw a long-haired woman.
This place is usually deserted. Where did this person come from? Has our network been compromised?
Lin Xiaoman didn't have time to think about anything else and quickly contacted the undercover police officers who had been lying in wait nearby: "This is Lin Xiaoman. There are suspicious people at warehouse number 23 on Shangchuan Road. Requesting backup!"
After hanging up the phone, Lin Xiaoman took a deep breath and pretended to continue browsing the convenience store, buying another bag of snacks. Through the convenience store window, she saw Xiao Wang hang up the phone and run into two undercover police officers in uniform standing nearby.
Xiao Wang didn't bother looking for anyone anymore and turned to leave immediately, as if he were afraid of running into the police.
"Phew..." Lin Xiaoman patted her chest, feeling a lingering sense of fear. How could Xiao Wang be here? Was it a coincidence, or had they already sensed something?
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