“Come on.” Chen Zheng turned away. “Let’s go speak with Li Dongchi.”
But Ming Han stopped him. “Bro, how are you going to report what happened with Han Qu?”
Chen Zheng halted. Ming Han caught up. “You and Wen Wu were the ones who saw him up close. And you know him better than Wen Wu does. They’ll definitely ask you to make the report.”
Chen Zheng rubbed his aching eyes. “How else can I report it? I’ll tell the truth. Han Qu helped Liang Yueze escape. On the way, he seemed to be trying to convey something to me, but I couldn’t understand it.”
“You’re protecting him instinctively,” Ming Han said. “You said he only looked in your direction. You wouldn’t even have to include that detail in a report.”
Chen Zheng raised his eyes. The distant sea rose and fell before him. “But I have to hold on to that detail. I can’t just go home now.”
Ming Han sighed. “The people from your Luocheng special police detachment are even harder to manage than the Mobile Unit.”
In Jielan’s central town, Country M’s police had set up a temporary command headquarters. Li Dongchi and Long Fusheng looked radiant, and the officers beneath them were in high spirits. Their main task now was to sweep through Jielan and uncover more criminals tied to the Heaven-Measuring Ruler.
At this stage, differences had emerged between Li Dongchi and Long Fusheng over how to deal with the organization. Long Fusheng wanted to proceed cautiously. Li Dongchi had originally been quite careful himself, harboring private plans. But after the cooperation with the Hua Country police had advanced so smoothly, allowing them to enter the chaotic north with apparent “ease,” his ambitions had changed. He wanted to press their advantage and uncover Jin Wu as well.
In front of the Hua Country officers, Long Fusheng tried to temper Li Dongchi’s enthusiasm. “No rush. What happens next will depend on what Director Tang and Director Lu want. Our role is to support them.”
Li Dongchi was about to say something more, but Long Fusheng continued. “Those people in Jiaoliu City are getting restless. The longer you stay up here, the more ideas they’ll have.”
Chen Zheng had no desire to involve himself in Country M’s internal political whirlpool. He went to the temporary cell where Duka was being held. The room had originally been used by the Heaven-Measuring Ruler to imprison people. It was dark and damp, with numerous instruments for extracting confessions by torture hanging on the walls. Li Dongchi considered himself a civilized man, and he was especially concerned with maintaining appearances before the Hua Country police. As a result, the captured mercenaries hadn’t yet been subjected to further abuse.
Duka’s injuries had received proper treatment. He looked up at Chen Zheng, then at Ming Han behind him. The muscles in his face suddenly tightened, and a low growl rose in his throat.
“Still that hostile toward me?” Ming Han stepped forward. “Yes, I was the one who dislocated your arms the other day. You ought to thank me, not hate me. When Liang Yueze ordered you to cover his retreat, wasn’t he sending you to die? I’m the reason you’re alive. Unlike those friends of yours, who might already be fish food.”
Duka had come from the southwestern border of Hua Country and had no legal identity. He’d moved to Country M years earlier to become a mercenary, so he naturally understood the Hua Country language. He glared at Ming Han, resentment filling his eyes.
“How long have you worked for Liang Yueze?” Ming Han asked. “You fought your way from eastern Jielan and were still with him at the very end. You must’ve been one of his most trusted men.”
Duka twisted his mouth into an ugly smile. “Mr. Liang is my benefactor. I won’t betray him.”
“Oh?” Ming Han said. “You’re not the first person who’s told me that. Does Liang Yueze travel around Country M playing the bodhisattva? Why does everyone consider him a benefactor and gladly give their life for him? Does he truly value all of you? After helping so many people, does he even remember what he did for each of you?”
Elio’s Notes: A bodhisattva is a figure in Buddhism associated with compassion and helping others. Ming Han is mocking the way Liang Yueze’s subordinates insist on treating him as their personal savior.
Duka’s expression became ugly. He said nothing.
“I’ve heard enough of your heartbreaking stories. Even if you want to tell yours, I’m not interested,” Ming Han said. “Where is Liang Yueze’s base? Or just tell me where he intended to go.”
After a moment Duka said, “I don’t know.”
Chen Zheng saw the bewilderment in his eyes. That simple “I don’t know” didn’t seem like an evasion. The man genuinely didn’t know.
Ming Han kept questioning him. Duka explained that he and his captain, Old Xun, had always operated in Jielan. The region belonged to Jin Xiuhe, though Liang Yueze naturally held some territory there too. Liang Yueze rarely came to Country M and didn’t have anything Duka would call a fixed headquarters. This time, after arriving in Jielan, he’d hidden in the east for several days. Then they received orders to go to the Emerald Palace.
At first, Duka hadn’t known Jin Xiuhe was their target. The fighting along the way was fierce. He and Old Xun had stayed close to Liang Yueze, protecting him. Liang Yueze said he and Jin Xiuhe had fallen out and that she was holding someone he absolutely had to kill. Duka usually took orders from Old Xun, and his loyalty to Liang Yueze was absolute. Even dying at the Emerald Palace would’ve been acceptable. So when Liang Yueze ordered him to stay behind and slow down the police, he stepped back without hesitation.
His expression gradually became numb. The more he remembered, the less he seemed to understand why he’d fought so desperately in the first place.
“And Han Qu?” Ming Han asked. “Was he with you the whole time?”
Duka looked puzzled. “Who is Han Qu?”
Ming Han frowned and took out Han Qu’s photograph. “This man. You don’t know him?”
“Ah!” Duka’s pupils contracted slightly. “He works for Jin Xiuhe. Jin Xiuhe said something about him being a police officer, her fallback plan. But suddenly he came over to our side.”
Ming Han and Chen Zheng exchanged a look. Neither could make sense of the connections.
Duka continued. The gunfight at the Emerald Palace had begun when Han Qu walked toward Liang Yueze. An old man, Bu Yangyun, had charged out from somewhere and fired wildly at Jin Xiuhe. Her men had fought back, relying on their superior numbers. Jin Xiuhe died, the statues were blown apart, and Liang Yueze wanted to kill Bu Yangyun. But by then the police were entering the palace. Han Qu stopped Liang Yueze, and they fled quickly.
“Why did Han Qu stop Liang Yueze?” Chen Zheng asked, standing in the corridor of the temporary command post. An overhead chandelier swung back and forth, casting shadows that danced across the walls like restless storm clouds.
On the surface, Han Qu stopping Liang Yueze from killing Bu Yangyun and Bu Yangyun killing Du Yuelin had no apparent causal connection. Yet Chen Zheng couldn’t stop considering the two things together.
By then Tang Xiaoli had reached Jielan, bringing news Chen Zheng had expected. The higher authorities were evaluating whether to continue operations in Country M. Given the objectives already achieved, caution would probably lead to the recall of the Mobile Unit and special operations personnel. Future cooperation with Country M’s police remained possible.
Chen Zheng shook his head. No one could predict what would happen later. Even if the two sides cooperated again, withdrawing now would mean abandoning the pursuit of Liang Yueze and Han Qu. Of course, the authorities had good reasons for their position. Neither country’s police possessed any reliable lead on Jin Wu, and the Heaven-Measuring Ruler was temporarily unable to commit crimes in Hua Country. If Jin Wu remained entrenched in Country M, its police might eventually uncover important intelligence. It would make more sense for Hua Country to cooperate again at that point.
Tang Xiaoli patted Chen Zheng’s back. “Nothing’s decided yet. Old Yu is still fighting for us, and Old Lu even more so. No one cares more about Han Qu than he does. Come on, tell me exactly what happened with Han Qu.”
Chen Zheng had already prepared his account and left out no detail. Tang Xiaoli fell silent for quite some time after listening.
“Director Tang?” Chen Zheng prompted.
Tang Xiaoli returned to himself. “When Old Lu first assigned Han Qu this mission, he told him that once he set foot on this road, he’d be alone. No one could show him the way. Every decision would have to be his own. I’m wondering whether he’s made yet another decision none of us could have imagined.”
Ming Han hurried over. “Bu Yangyun’s come to his senses! He says Han Qu left him a hard drive!”
Chen Zheng immediately went to Bu Yangyun’s hospital room. Bu Yangyun was gesturing frantically with both hands and shouting. “It’s in that palace on the left! Haven’t you found it? It’s extremely important! If it’s lost, we’re finished!”
Chen Zheng put his hands on Bu Yangyun’s shoulders. “Tell me precisely. What does the drive look like? Where did you put it?”
Bu Yangyun stared at him. After a long moment he asked, “You’re Chen Zheng?”
“Do you know me?”
“Han Qu showed me your photograph. He said I should give the drive to the police. And if there was an officer named Chen Zheng among them, I should hand it directly to Chen Zheng.”
Emotion rose like a lump in Chen Zheng’s throat. He forced it down. “Yes. I’m Chen Zheng. I’ll go and find the drive immediately. What else did Han Qu tell you?”
Ming Han, Wen Wu, and Zhou Jue had already set out for the Emerald Palace. Country M’s police had searched the palace twice before without finding any hard drive. This time Bu Yangyun drew a rough map and said the drive was hidden above the suspended ceiling of a particular room. He’d concealed it there himself.
Ruined streets flashed past the vehicle windows. The fury gathering in Ming Han’s eyes grew stronger. He remembered that room. It was close to the main hall and had therefore received special attention during the searches. In the circumstances, Bu Yangyun couldn’t have had much time to hide the drive. Finding a completely secure hiding place would’ve been nearly impossible. Perhaps Country M’s police had already found it, and someone had held it back without sharing the discovery with the Hua Country team.
What was on the drive? Why would Country M’s police want exclusive possession of the intelligence?
As soon as they reached the Emerald Palace, Ming Han headed straight for the room marked on the map. Country M officers were standing guard. They followed him when they saw him enter and tried to stop him. Zhou Jue raised an arm to block them, his glare razor-sharp.
One of those obstructing them was Li Gongsheng, the Country M officer who’d fought beside the Mobile Unit through the forest ambush only recently. He regarded Ming Han and Zhou Jue sternly. “Orders from above. You aren’t allowed to enter at will.”
Ming Han stepped back two paces and turned. “Above? Whose orders? Li Dongchi’s or Long Fusheng’s?”
Li Gongsheng’s rugged face creased. “Brother Ming, don’t make things difficult for me.”
“Brother Li, you’re the one making things difficult for me.” Ming Han answered, “We found a total of five people alive here. One of them has now given us vital intelligence about something in that room. What exactly are you doing by stopping me?”
Li Gongsheng frowned more deeply and remained silent.
With a cold laugh, Ming Han approached him. “Or have you already found that thing, seen what’s inside, and decided not to tell us?”
“I just carry out my guard duties,” Li Gongsheng replied grimly.
“And my mission is to bring down the Heaven-Measuring Ruler. I’m not letting any intelligence go,” Ming Han said. “Zhou Jue, go inside and search!”
Li Gongsheng immediately drew his gun. Ming Han was faster. His own muzzle was already pressed against Li Gongsheng’s forehead. “Brother Li, you’re a police officer I respect. The way you fought in the forest proves you genuinely want your country to become a better place.”
Li Gongsheng held his breath and looked deeply at Ming Han.
“So don’t let people with their own little schemes use you.” Ming Han lowered his weapon. “Some people don’t sincerely want the Heaven-Measuring Ruler to disappear.”
Li Gongsheng lowered his gun as well. He leaned against the wall and folded his arms. Seeing that, his subordinates retreated and holstered their weapons.
Ten minutes later, Zhou Jue and Wen Wu had searched every corner of the room without finding the drive Bu Yangyun had described.
“Two possibilities.” Ming Han raised one finger in front of Li Gongsheng. “This survivor, with his own life still in danger, nevertheless decided to invent something outrageous to fool the police.” He raised a second finger. “Or he told the truth, and your people took the drive away long ago.”
The air grew tense. In the dim corridor, the two groups stood ready to fight. One man’s submachine gun shifted slightly. Ming Han caught the movement instantly, but Li Gongsheng turned and pressed the rising gun down. He looked at Ming Han. “Li Dongchi has the drive.”
Ming Han didn’t waste words. He left immediately, patting Li Gongsheng’s shoulder as he passed. “Brother Li, thanks.”
Country M’s police continued clearing illegal armed groups from Jielan’s streets. As a senior police official, Li Dongchi set an example by patrolling alongside his men inside an armored vehicle. When they turned into an alley, their vehicle slowed. Li Dongchi looked up to see a tactical vehicle assigned to the Hua Country police slowly approaching without any intention of stopping. He narrowed his eyes and recognized Ming Han behind the glass.
“Mr. Li,” the driver said, waiting for instructions.
Li Dongchi hesitated. “Keep going.”
The two vehicles drew closer. The alley was too narrow for them to pass side by side. One would have to reverse. But Ming Han didn’t touch the brakes, as though he hadn’t noticed the oncoming vehicle at all. Li Dongchi’s gaze chilled. At the moment before they collided, he shouted, “Stop!”
Tires screeched against the broken road. Only after Li Dongchi’s vehicle stopped did Ming Han brake. Li Dongchi got out and slammed the door, then saw that the gap between the vehicles wasn’t even wide enough for more than a fist. His face darkened dramatically, but by the time he straightened, a false smile had appeared. “Officer Ming. What’s the meaning of this?”
Ming Han lowered his window and looked up at him from beneath his lashes. “I wanted to see whether Captain Li knows where the limits are.”
Half of Li Dongchi’s face was hidden by the shadow of a building. He said nothing.
Ming Han laughed. “Thank goodness you have better judgment than I expected, Captain Li. If the two vehicles had really collided, neither of us would’ve looked good.”
“If you have something to say, Officer Ming, say it.”
A hand appeared through the window. “The hard drive,” Ming Han said.
Li Dongchi’s eyes narrowed. “What hard drive?”
“Have I not made myself clear?” Ming Han opened the door and stood in front of him. He had a definite advantage in height. At such close quarters, the pressure he exerted was impossible to ignore. Li Dongchi immediately took a step backward.
“A man with judgment as good as yours couldn’t possibly have withheld the drive found in the Emerald Palace for his own purposes. That’s a lead left by a Hua Country police officer, and it should be turned over to his teammates for examination and analysis.” Ming Han wore a faint, cold smile. “Surely one of your subordinates found it, didn’t understand the rules, and neglected to report it?”
Li Dongchi watched him in silence. Half a minute later, his stiff lips stretched into a smile. “We’re cooperating. Why would I withhold intelligence? The drive is indeed in my hands, but I only received it recently. I was having our technical staff decrypt it. I planned to tell you once we’d extracted the data. I didn’t expect you to find me so quickly.”
Ming Han leaned lazily against the vehicle with his arms folded. “Still haven’t decrypted it?”
Li Dongchi sighed. “If only it were that easy.”
“Then hand it over to me,” Ming Han said. “We have some decent technical personnel on our team.”
After a prolonged silence, Li Dongchi smiled. “All right.”
Ming Han extended his hand, and Li Dongchi shook it. Ming Han returned to the tactical vehicle and reversed out of the alley, allowing Li Dongchi’s group to pass. Half an hour later, at Li Dongchi’s temporary base, Ming Han received the drive Bu Yangyun had described. It was thin and about the size of a business card.
Country M’s technicians complained that the drive had layer upon layer of encryption and was impossible to unlock. They’d tried many methods without success. Only brute-force methods remained, and they couldn’t guarantee that the data would survive.
Li Dongchi looked as though he were waiting to enjoy the show. “Officer Ming, this thing is a real hot potato.”
Ming Han certainly couldn’t allow Country M’s police to attempt a destructive attack on the encryption. Han Qu had entrusted the drive to Bu Yangyun, which meant it must be immensely important. They couldn’t afford to lose even a single piece of information on it. Earlier, he’d told Li Dongchi that they had someone who could decrypt it, but in truth he wasn’t confident. The Mobile Unit did have officers skilled in electronics, but nearly everyone who’d come to Country M was a combat specialist.
Whatever else happened, they needed to take the drive back with them first.
Elsewhere, Bu Yangyun was recounting how he’d become trapped in this whole affair.
Bu Yangyun had old ties to Du Fangfei and Du Yuelin. He’d helped the mother and daughter establish contact with the Heaven-Measuring Ruler while they were in Country A.
Du Fangfei had been grateful to him until she died of illness, but his motives for helping the pair hadn’t been pure. He feared the Heaven-Measuring Ruler and stayed far away from it, yet he needed to keep track of its movements. He couldn’t allow it to become a spider that had vanished somewhere inside the house. The two women became his best means of watching the organization from afar.
But as Du Fangfei and her daughter grew closer to Jin Xiaoquan, and Du Yuelin became Jin Xiuhe, the information he could obtain through them dwindled. He stayed hidden in Country G, grateful that the Heaven-Measuring Ruler’s reach had not yet extended into Europe.
Over the past two years, after Du Fangfei’s death and as Jin Xiaoquan’s ambitions grew, Bu Yangyun increasingly sensed that a storm was coming. Ming Han’s phone call became the final straw. What he dreaded was coming for him at last. Sooner or later he’d have to pay the price for being used by Jin Chiya’s faction back then.
He decided to disappear first and then look for a way out.
Du Yuelin had considerable power within the Heaven-Measuring Ruler and seemed the most likely person to shelter him. But when he arrived in Country A and was trying to contact her, she unexpectedly appeared before him and explained her plan.
“She made it sound wonderful, but really she intended to use me as bait.” A shallow anger crossed Bu Yangyun’s face. “She wanted Liang Yueze dead. She couldn’t do that in Hua Country, so she had to lure him onto her own territory. I profited from the Jinsi Island case. Liang Yueze even tried to kill my son, so naturally I’m no exception.”
Chen Zheng frowned slightly. “You knew it was a trap, yet you stepped into it?”
“Did I have a choice?” Bu Yangyun sighed. “If we didn’t strike Liang Yueze first, his power would keep growing until he killed every one of us. Back then he was just a spoiled young master. None of us imagined he could restore Yunquan Group. If he could rise again after everything that happened, why would killing every one of his enemies be beyond him?”
Chen Zheng nodded. “It sounds as though you understand him very well.”
Bu Yangyun continued. After he and Du Yuelin agreed on a preliminary plan, he went alone to Country M and recorded videos that he sent separately to Liang Yueze and the Han Province police. Du Yuelin had instructed him to send the first. Sending the second was his own secret maneuver. He hoped the police would intervene and arrest Liang Yueze. That might not remove the threat forever, but it would keep him safe temporarily.
“But you couldn’t stop him,” Bu Yangyun said disappointedly. “He came anyway.”
“There’s something you should know,” Chen Zheng replied. “Liang Yueze seems to have anticipated every move you made. He’d prepared a double before you sent the videos. He arrived in Country M earlier than either of you believed.”
Bu Yangyun stared blankly. “He… how could he have known?”
Chen Zheng shook his head. “Perhaps he has an intelligence network none of us anticipated. Think about it. If he hadn’t reached Country M earlier, how could he have assembled such a force so quickly? His equipment and the number of mercenaries he commanded exceeded what you and Du Yuelin expected, didn’t they?”
Recalling Liang Yueze’s attack, Bu Yangyun broke into a sweat. After a moment he nodded. “It was mostly Du Yuelin who was surprised. By then I-I had other plans of my own, so it wasn’t as bad for me. She genuinely never imagined Liang Yueze would fight all the way through and destroy every checkpoint and base she put in his path.”
“What other plans?” Chen Zheng asked.
Bu Yangyun was quiet for a while before speaking softly. “The hard drive. Among Du Yuelin’s men, I met someone named Han Qu.”
Chen Zheng leaned forward instinctively, his attention sharpening.
Bu Yangyun explained that when he met Du Yuelin in Jielan, their conversations made him more and more aware that her ambitions were enormous and that she was crueler than he’d imagined. Whatever faint hope he’d had dwindled. He knew she intended to use him as cannon fodder but couldn’t think of any solution.
Du Yuelin’s trusted guards all wore masks. They were elite mercenaries, and Bu Yangyun noticed one repeatedly watching him, though he had no idea who the man was. After reaching the Emerald Palace, Du Yuelin’s men kept him under close guard, leaving him almost no time alone. His unease grew, and he couldn’t stop himself from saying things like “Liang Yueze may have something else prepared.”
Du Yuelin laughed extravagantly when she heard it. She sent the other masked men out but kept the one Bu Yangyun had noticed. “Officer Han, show Uncle Bu what a real fallback plan looks like.”
Officer Han? Bu Yangyun stared at the masked man in astonishment. The man removed his face covering, revealing a handsome, resolute face. Bu Yangyun was even more surprised. The mercenaries in Country M came from many backgrounds, but their bearing was much the same. They certainly didn’t possess anything like this man’s upright, heroic air.
“Han Qu. Officer Han,” Du Yuelin said. “He’s the real fallback plan. Liang Yueze doesn’t have one.”
Bu Yangyun couldn’t understand. “A police officer? From Hua Country? What do you mean?”