The Arrest Operation

Late at night, at the Lincheng International Hotel.

A Toyota Prado was parked in the underground parking lot. Zhang Tie got out of the car, his right hand gripping the pistol at his waist, and he looked around warily.

As for the five henchmen, they took out five packages from the trunk; they were thick, military-green canvas tote bags.

The hotel was so quiet you could hear a pin drop in the early morning. From the underground parking lot to the elevator, and then to the Phoenix Conference Hall on the 18th floor, I didn't encounter a single person.

Unbeknownst to them, Qi Tongwei was intently watching the monitors in the control room.

Once the target was confirmed to have been spotted and had successfully entered the Phoenix Conference Room, Qi Tongwei picked up his walkie-talkie: "Target spotted. Evacuate hotel guests as planned!"

"Repeat, target identified, proceed with evacuation of hotel guests as planned!"

After speaking, Qi Tongwei said to the provincial department's technical staff, "Switch the surveillance to Phoenix Hall. I need to monitor the drug dealers' movements in real time!"

Considering the importance of this matter, Qi Tongwei was still somewhat uneasy. He turned to Cheng Du beside him and said, "Cheng Du, you personally oversee the evacuation of the hotel staff. Remember, keep things quiet and act quickly; delay could lead to unforeseen problems!"

"Alright, Director Qi, I'll keep an eye on things. I guarantee there won't be any problems!"

Cheng Du smiled and readily agreed, then turned and went out to personally oversee the case. This was a major transnational case personally supervised by Director Qi, and the fact that he had brought Cheng Du along clearly indicated his intention to promote him.

To repay your kindness on the Golden Terrace, I would gladly die for you, wielding the Jade Dragon sword!

To repay Director Qi's kindness in mentoring him, Cheng Du is willing to become the sharpest sword in Director Qi's hand!

Everything is proceeding according to plan and in an orderly manner.

But if nothing unexpected happens, something unexpected is going to happen.

Outside the Lincheng International Hotel, plainclothes officers from the Jingzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau, working in some private cars with local Lincheng license plates, keenly sensed something was amiss.

"Master, wake up, something's not right!"

Veteran detective Liu Gang, who had been dozing in the passenger seat, suddenly woke up. He looked around warily and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Sir, it's already past midnight, but people are constantly leaving the hotel, and they're doing it very quietly and quickly, like they're clearing out the hotel guests!"

"Dismiss the hotel guests?"

Liu Gang was instantly terrified and broke out in a cold sweat. He knew that their mission was to secretly monitor Zhao Ruilong, who was staying in room 16006 of the hotel. If Zhao Ruilong really got away right under their noses, it would be a huge problem!

After a careful observation, Liu Gang immediately noticed the fully armed anti-drug police officers and wondered, "Strange, why are the provincial anti-drug police officers here?"

Without hesitation, Liu Gang immediately took out his phone and dialed Director Zhao Donglai's number. After a few busy signals, the call was answered. "Director, something's happened!"

"Ten minutes ago, a large number of anti-drug police officers from the provincial department appeared around the Lincheng International Hotel and were evacuating the hotel's residents. If Zhao Ruilong is involved, should we step in to stop them?"

"Provincial department? Narcotics police? Qi Tongwei wouldn't dare!"

In the family compound of the Jingzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau, Zhao Donglai was stunned. Upon learning that the provincial anti-drug police had appeared at the Lincheng International Hotel, his first thought was that Qi Tongwei had discovered something was wrong and wanted to forcibly abduct Zhao Ruilong!

Is Zhao Ruilong an ordinary person?

He is a key figure in this political struggle. If Zhao Ruilong escapes, then Secretary Sha's plan will be rendered useless...

To Zhao Donglai's astonishment, how dare Qi Tongwei openly use police force to snatch a criminal suspect, especially since he himself was involved in the case? This can't be described as crazy; it's downright insane!

"Wait a moment, I'll get back to you. In the meantime, absolutely do not let the provincial department personnel take Zhao Ruilong away!"

The situation had developed to such an extent that it was clearly out of control. Even Zhao Donglai dared not make a decision easily. He could only hang up the phone and hurriedly call Sha Ruijin, the top leader of the provincial party committee!

Meanwhile, on the sixteenth floor of the Lincheng International Hotel, Lu Yike and Lin Keke, the directors of the First Division of the Anti-Corruption Bureau of the Provincial Procuratorate, were blocking the door of room 16006, with plainclothes criminal police officers from the Jingzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau standing nearby!

Cheng Du stared at the few familiar faces in front of him, his mood turning sour. This was his first time working on such a major international case with Director Qi, and he had run into these jinxes!

Cheng Du's face darkened, and he coldly ordered, "Get out of the way!"

"I don't know who's staying inside, nor do I care who is. My orders are to evacuate all guests from the Lincheng International Hotel. If you continue to obstruct me, don't blame me for being impolite!"

Facing the pressure from more than a dozen anti-drug police officers, Lu Yike stepped forward fearlessly and retorted sharply, "Important individuals involved in the case are in the room behind me. Without the prosecutor's office's approval, no one is allowed to contact them!"

Cheng Du's face grew increasingly grim, and he gritted his teeth, saying, "Lu Yike, do you understand the importance of this mission? If innocent people are killed or injured because of your obstruction, can you bear that responsibility?"

Upon hearing the words "casualties," Lu Yike's heart skipped a beat. She was momentarily filled with doubt. Could it be that the provincial department really had a mission to accomplish at the Lincheng International Hotel?

But Lu Yi quickly dismissed the idea. Zhao Ruilong had just checked into the Lincheng International Hotel when Qi Tongwei immediately sent people to carry out the mission. His intentions were obvious to everyone!

Seeing that Lu Yike was unyielding and blocked the door, refusing to allow the residents of 16006 to be evicted, Cheng Du was at a loss. He couldn't very well just forcibly detain the people from the procuratorate and the Jingzhou Municipal Bureau!

After giving Lu Yike and her group a deep look, Cheng Du picked up the walkie-talkie and said, "Director Qi, people from the Provincial Procuratorate and the Jingzhou Municipal Bureau are blocking the door of room 16006, preventing the evacuation of the people staying in room 16006!"

Qi Tongwei had already seen everything that happened in front of room 16006 through the surveillance cameras. He said in a deep voice, "Don't make any rash moves. I'll immediately contact the Provincial Procuratorate and the Jingzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau!"

After hanging up, Qi Tongwei immediately dialed Ji Changming's number at the Provincial Procuratorate and got straight to the point: "Old Ji, enough with the small talk. I'm currently at the Lincheng International Hotel, carrying out a transnational arrest operation. Please have all the procuratorate personnel evacuate the hotel immediately!"

"Lincheng International Hotel?" Ji Changming was startled when he heard Qi Tongwei mention Lincheng International Hotel!

Zhao Ruilong is at the Lincheng International Hotel. Could it be that Qi Tongwei knew about the impending arrest of Zhao Ruilong and deliberately orchestrated this operation to rescue him?

Old Ji couldn't help but overthink, mainly because Zhao Ruilong's identity was too sensitive. This was no longer a simple case of illegal crime, but involved a life-or-death political struggle and factional infighting!

Having made up his mind, Ji Changming declined, saying, "Director Qi, the suspect at the Lincheng International Hotel is also very important. This is a serious matter. Let's report it to the leadership for a decision. What do you think?"

"It can be reported!" Qi Tongwei replied, then immediately added, "But Lao Ji, I must remind you, if we miss the optimal time for the arrest, the Provincial Procuratorate will bear full responsibility for any problems that arise during this operation!"

"I……"

Ji Changming wanted to say a few more words in his defense, but found that Qi Tongwei had hung up the phone!

Ji Changming immediately called Sha Ruijin. As for Gao Yuliang, Qi Tongwei was corrupt in the Zhao Ruilong case, and whether Gao Yuliang was innocent still needed to be verified. Naturally, he could not listen to Gao Yuliang.

Before Ji Changming could speak, Sha Ruijin interrupted, "Old Ji, I know what you want to say. Zhao Donglai has already called to report it."

"We cannot let Ding Yizhen's fate repeat itself. Zhao Ruilong absolutely cannot be handed over to Qi Tongwei, otherwise we will lose everything. We cannot wait any longer. The Provincial Procuratorate should issue an arrest warrant and arrest Zhao Ruilong immediately!"