Liang Xiao's Photo

The man was named Fan Changhe, 42 years old, from Xiahe Town, Shiqiao County. He had three prior convictions: intentional injury, forced trading, and illegal occupation of farmland. He behaved well during his imprisonment and was released this November after a sentence reduction. He currently lives in a rented room in the old town area in the east of the city and has no fixed occupation.

The police officer in charge of the control wrote a line in the remarks column:

"Since his release from prison, this person has kept a low profile and has not been observed to engage in any unusual social activities. However, he has recently been frequently seen visiting several newly opened card rooms and billiard halls in the eastern part of the city, and the people he comes into contact with are mostly ex-convicts and unemployed individuals. We recommend continued monitoring."

Jiang Ruolan pulled out the control sheet and set it aside, then picked up a pen and wrote a few lines on a sticky note—

"Fan Changhe, a peripheral figure in the Xing Laosan case in Xiahe Town, was not prosecuted as a principal offender due to his relatively minor involvement. Recently, he has been frequently in contact with several individuals with prior convictions and frequenting entertainment venues, raising concerns about the possibility of him reorganizing a criminal gang. It is recommended that the Chengdong Police Station strengthen its monitoring of his daily activities and report any abnormalities immediately."

She clipped the note into the control sheet, intending to hand it over to Zhao Rui for follow-up the next morning.

The landline on the table rang.

She answered the phone; it was Zhou Pei on the other end. The background noise in the provincial criminal investigation team's office was always chaotic, a mixture of the static from walkie-talkies, the buzzing of printers, and the simultaneous voices of several loud people.

But Zhou Pei's voice was lower than usual this time, and there was a tension in his tone that she rarely heard from him.

He said the provincial intelligence center had just received a red notice from the Ministry of Public Security that a cross-border online gambling gang leader named Liang Xiao had escaped while being held at the Yunnan border, and the latest intelligence indicated that he might have infiltrated Yi'an.

The ministry has instructed the Yian City Public Security Bureau to fully cooperate in the arrest, and intelligence data is being transmitted in encrypted form. She is required to personally oversee the operation.

He paused, then added in a deeper voice that this man was not just a casino owner—he had a complete money laundering network behind him, involving shell companies and underground banks in several provinces, and Yi An was likely an important node in his money laundering chain.

Jiang Ruolan put down the phone, remained silent for a few seconds, and then dialed Lu Zheng's number.

"Old Lu, I have an urgent task. Put down what you're doing and wait for me in the small conference room."

She stood up and walked to the window, wiping a small, clear area on the frosted glass with her finger, looking out at the white, misty streets.

The entire city was wrapped in heavy snow like a silent cocoon, the streetlights swayed in the wind and snow with a dim yellow glow, and there were almost no pedestrians on the streets.

In the past three years, Yi An has experienced too much—gangsters, protectors, mining accidents, domestic violence, smuggling, substandard capsules—each case is like a knife, cutting a wound on the skin of this city. Some wounds have scabbed over, while others are still bleeding.

But the city never stops functioning because of heavy snow, and the evils hidden in the shadows do not hibernate because of the cold.

There were only three people in the small conference room: her, Lu Zheng, and Zhao Rui.

The projection screen displayed encrypted intelligence from the Ministry of Public Security: Liang Xiao, 42 years old, from Fujian, 1.73 meters tall, slender, wears glasses, has a refined appearance, and speaks fluent Mandarin and Minnan dialect. His ostensible identity is the legal representative of a Fujian-based internet technology company, but he actually controls a cross-border online gambling platform with servers located overseas, generating over ten million yuan in daily turnover.

His gang had a well-organized division of labor: technicians were responsible for server maintenance and website operation, customer service teams were responsible for recruiting gamblers overseas, and debt collection teams were responsible for violent debt collection in China. This platform developed a large number of agents in China, who developed downlines in a pyramid scheme-like manner, using false propaganda such as "guaranteed profits" and "making a fortune every day" to lure ordinary people into gambling. Once gamblers were hooked and lost all their savings, they were lured into taking out high-interest loans to continue gambling. In the end, those who owed huge gambling debts would be targeted by the debt collection team—using methods such as phone threats, splashing paint on their homes, blocking keyholes, beatings, and illegal detention, just like Shen Wangshan back then.

Liang Xiao escaped from a temporary control operation on the Yunnan border over a month ago. Since then, he has maintained contact with the outside world through encrypted communication software, demonstrating extremely strong counter-surveillance capabilities and frequently changing his hiding place. Latest intelligence indicates he has at least three safe houses in Yi'an, located in the east, west, and Shiqiao counties respectively, though the exact addresses are unknown. His network of contacts in Yi'an may involve several local microfinance companies and investment consulting firms, which the Provincial Public Security Department's Economic Crime Investigation Division is currently verifying.

A photo of Liang Xiao appeared on the projection screen.

The man in the photo certainly doesn't look like a traditional gangster boss—he's wearing a light gray cashmere sweater and silver-rimmed glasses, sitting in an elegantly decorated tea room with a set of purple clay teaware in front of him, his posture relaxed, and his smile gentle and restrained.

Looking at the photo, Lu Zheng muttered in disbelief, saying that the man looked like a university professor.

Jiang Ruolan didn't reply, but instead drew a circle on a certain area of ​​the screen with a laser pointer—Liang Xiao was wearing a watch on his left wrist, and the logo on the dial was clearly visible when magnified. It was a limited edition souvenir given to VIP customers by a shopping center in Yi'an East last year when it opened.

He had clearly worn this watch for a long time, indicating that he had been hiding in Yi'an for a longer period than the intelligence suggested. He had developed his own lifestyle and spending habits in the city, and might even have people he trusted.

Zhao Rui wrote this information down in his notebook, his brows furrowing deeper and deeper.

Jiang Ruolan placed the laser pointer on the table and began assigning tasks.

Lu Zheng led a team to investigate the check-in records of all hotels, guesthouses, short-term rental apartments and online rental rooms below three stars in the city, with a focus on guests who registered with out-of-town ID cards, paid only cash and did not request invoices within the past month.

Zhao Rui led a team to investigate Liang Xiao's network of contacts in Yi An, bringing all local microfinance companies and investment consulting firms that had financial dealings with his shell companies under his name under surveillance, and simultaneously coordinating with the industrial and commercial and financial regulatory authorities to freeze suspicious accounts.

She personally coordinated with the traffic police detachment and patrol officers to increase police presence at all exit checkpoints in the city and strictly check the trunks of all vehicles leaving the city and the identities of passengers.

Less than ten minutes after the action order was issued, the corridor outside the conference room was filled with the sounds of hurried footsteps, walkie-talkies, and printers running at high speed.

Lu Zheng led several key members of the Criminal Investigation Detachment directly to the command center. Through the video surveillance system, they retrieved real-time monitoring footage from Yi'an High-Speed ​​Railway Station, the long-distance bus station, and all highway toll stations. They then input Liang Xiao's high-definition photo into the facial recognition system for real-time comparison.

..............