In the car, I hummed my secret code with Dali in a low voice. Every time the car turned, I would hum a tune. A specific tune represented each of the eight directions. To prevent Dali from being confused, I left him a note.
It was fine having someone trail us in the city, but a car would definitely be spotted once we entered the outskirts.
At around ten o'clock, we were in the outskirts of the city. In front of us was a toll booth. A traffic policeman walked over to speak to us so I showed him my consultant's ID and said, "Weâre from the bureau. Weâre escorting a suspect out of the city."
The traffic police looked uneasy, "I have to make a phone call to confirm."
"This is a confidential operation that only Director Sun knows. Youâll have to call him directly." Then, I reported Sun Tigerâs number with ease.
The traffic police took out his cell phone, ready to dial, while âWang Yuanchaoâ nervously placed his hands into his pocket.
"But if you speak to him, that makes you an insider,â I added. âTo prevent any leak of information, youâll be detained for three days."
Having come across so many lies, I was perfectly adept at it myself. Lying required composure and decisiveness, without a care for the loopholes in your lies. Because most of the time, a lie sounded reasonable, but the truth was absurd.
I kept my gaze fixed at the traffic policeâs eyes until he finally gave in. "Alright, go!"
"Thank you for your cooperation," I nodded.
When we left the toll booth, we were officially out of Nanjiang City. "Stop!" I cried.
âWang Yuanchaoâ argued, "No, the master said we have to send him to..."
"Stop the car,â I kicked the seat. âI have to take a piss."
"I need to go too!" echoed the middle-aged man.
When we stopped at the side of the road, the middle-aged man left to relieve himself. âWang Yuanchaoâ alighted and lit a cigarette, glancing at me, "Why are you still here?"
"I just want to get some air first," I said, stretching myself.
"Don't try anything. The master said..."
"Youâre very loyal to your master,â I mocked. âWhy donât you bark twice for me!"
âWang Yuanchaoâ glared angrily at me. Seeing the cars passing the toll booth, I said with peace of mind, "I'm going to the bathroom."
Those cars headed straight for us, prompting âWang Yuanchaoâ to toss his cigarette and curse, "Son of a bitch, you called others! Sir, get in the car!"
The client ran towards the vehicle as he endeavored to pull up his pants. I was thrown into the car by âWang Yuanchaoâ who told the driver to drive off. Seeing those cars headed for us aggressively, I pushed myself against the seat and waited for impact. A moment later, we were hit from the side, the force staggering the entire car.
Fortunately, I had prepared myself and wasnât too dizzy. Taking advantage of the chaos, I kicked the car door open. At the same time, âWang Yuanchaoâ got out of the car in a panic and pulled out his gun from his pocket.
Painful screams filled the air as I used the Eyes of Yama on the man. While he was distracted by the agony, I snatched my cell phone and baton from him. Waving the baton, I swung it against his ear.
"You motherfucker! How dare you!"
The middle-aged man pulled out a knife and climbed out of the car just as a bunch of burly men jumped out of the other vehicles led by Baldy. They approached the middle-aged man and sent him crumbling to the ground with a kick, trampling on the hand holding the knife. The pain was enough to send the man screaming.
After that, the others were easily captured.
"Song Yang, Iâm glad to see youâre doing well!" greeted Baldy.
"Youâve handled this nicely,â I smiled. âCome on, letâs clean up the scene. We donât want to be seen by the traffic police over there. These two dogs will be taken back to prison and starved for a day."
Baldy kicked the middle-aged man on the ground, "What about this guy?"
I promised the Dog Trainer I would escort the client out of the city unharmed. Now that I had accomplished my task, I said, "Take him to the Wu Qu Public Security Bureau. Iâll speak to Captain Liao and get him to take over there."
Baldy turned to his gang, "Letâs get to work!"
The others gathered round, tied up the two dogs, stuffed their mouths with rags and threw them into the trunk while the client was taken to another car. "Do you know who the hell I am? I will kill you when I come out!" he roared.
"In your next life!" I sneered.
We quickly cleaned up the scene, making sure not to leave any traces behind. When I got into the vehicle, I was surprised to see Dali and Luo Youyou inside.
Shocked by the turn of events, Dali exclaimed, "Dude, youâre amazing! I wouldn't be able to do any of this."
"Why did you bring Luo Youyou?" I frowned.
"Iâm afraid to leave her alone in the store,â explained Dali. âBesides, she insisted on coming along."
Luo Youyou stared at me starry-eyed, "Song Yang, how do you know these gangsters?"
"It's a long story!" I sighed.
With that, we headed back to the city. Baldy invited me for dinner but I refused, "I'm afraid today isnât good. I've been busy lately."
"Song-ge, when arenât you busy?" Baldy smiled.
"When we solve this case, I promise Iâll treat you and your buddies to something delicious, alright?"
"No, keep your money,â Baldy waved his hand. âWhen the time comes, look for me at the Sea Sky Hotel. Weâve switched businesses. The boss asked me to manage the hotel."
"Of course! There isnât anything shady going on, is there?" I teased.
"No, absolutely not! Weâre a legitimate business!" insisted Baldy.
We parted at an intersection. Before leaving, I handed Baldy a piece of paper and instructed him to detain the two âdogsâ according to my methods. Training them was actually very simple, but it took time. We would imprison them, whip and force them to sing the national anthem. Only when they say the words, âIâm normalâ would they be given food.
Using the Dog Trainerâs methods against him wasnât exactly an original idea of mine. In fact, there was an anti-cult organization known as "Cult Detoxification" in the United States. The organization abducted children brainwashed by cults, turned them back to normal people by various extreme means, and then returned them to their families.
Since these two âdogsâ were loyal to the Dog Trainer, they must have been brainwashed to a great extent. It would definitely take a considerable amount of time for them to return to normal, perhaps even after the case is solved. But it didnât matter as long as they could testify in court.
"This is my first time engaging in such 'ideological training,â which seems quite challenging. Leave it to me!" assured Baldy.
Having messed up the Dog Trainerâs plans once more, I was certain he would punish the people around me. After saying goodbye to Baldy, I turned to Dali, "Close the store for the time being and find a safe place to hide. I'll ask Bingxin to come later. Make sure someone is awake 24 hours a day. I'll find a way to inform Sun Tiger."
"What the hell have we gotten ourselves into?" lamented Dali.
"Itâs not you, but unfortunately youâre my friend."
"And I don't regret it!" grinned Dali.
Right then, I received a call from Wang Yuanchao, "Song Yang, I checked out Wang Xuebing. He was never married and has no children. But itâs true he was a soldier. He used to be a sniper in the Vietnam War and killed more than fifty Vietnamese guerrilla members. And... "
Wang Yuanchao paused, "He disappeared mysteriously for half of last year."
Everything finally fell into placeâWang Xuebing was the one who shot Qin Aonan. From the moment he pretended to be the victimâs father, the Dog Trainer's plan had already been set in motion...