Death Notice 2 Destiny

Chapter 11

12:51 PM.

The provincial capital's Public Security Bureau building.

After lunch, Luo Fei locked himself in his office; he needed a quiet environment to think about the problems.

One wave subsides, another rises. This is Luo Fei's deepest feeling after being transferred to the position of criminal investigation captain of the provincial capital's public security bureau. For example, Wu Yinwu's suicide today was completely unexpected, forcing him to devote his energy to analyzing this sudden event.

The events leading up to the incident have become clear after an initial investigation: Around 9:40 PM last night, a man impersonating a police officer entered the intensive care unit and spoke with Wu Yinwu. The conversation lasted about half an hour, during which the man deliberately requested that no third party be present. Around 10:10 PM, the man left on his own. Because he was wearing sunglasses and deliberately obscured his face while speaking and acting, neither hospital staff nor family members could accurately describe his physical characteristics.

Since the man's departure, Wu Yinwu had been in a very abnormal mental state. He was extremely depressed, seemingly burdened by immense psychological pressure. He didn't sleep a wink all night, which further contributed to his mental breakdown. At 8:50 this morning, Wu Yinwu dismissed his family members who were accompanying him and jumped from the back window of his hospital room from the seventh floor, dying instantly. His death left behind a series of mysteries.

Who was the man impersonating a police officer? What did he say to Wu Yinwu? Why did he do that?

Luo Fei had just discussed these issues with his colleagues in the task force, but they were unable to come up with a definite answer.

Yin Jian guessed that the person was Eumenides, who was also the first suspect in the group, but this guess was quickly rejected by everyone.

"Eumenides has already redeemed Wu Yinwu, so he has no reason to come back to him. Is it like a business promotion where a follow-up visit is necessary? Moreover, the outcome of this 'follow-up visit' is completely contrary to Eumenides' original intention. Eumenides wanted Wu Yinwu to regain his courage and dignity, and Wu Yinwu's suicide undoubtedly put a failed end to his plan. Therefore, that guy is definitely not Eumenides himself."

This is Mu Jianyun's analysis based on the character's motivation, while Luo Fei has a simpler yet more conclusive reason to support the female lecturer's assertion.

"Although Wu Yinwu had never seen Eumenides' face, he had heard Eumenides' voice. When the fake policeman came to the ward, he first asked the family members to leave. During this process, Wu Yinwu did not react strangely to his voice. When the family members left, Wu Yinwu was very calm and cooperative, and he obviously believed that the other party was indeed a policeman. From this, it can be seen that this person was definitely not Eumenides."

The group's discussion yielded no results, and Luo Fei's solitary contemplation also reached a temporary impasse. He began to wonder if this matter was necessarily connected to the serial murders committed by Eumenides. Perhaps that person was just a detestable, omnipresent reporter, like Liu Yun in the Uncanny Valley mystery.

Just as Luo Fei was getting a little tired of thinking, there was a sudden knock on the office door. The knocking was not loud but rather urgent.

"Please come in!" Luo Fei perked up slightly.

Yin Jian pushed open the door and entered the room. Luo Fei remembered instructing his assistant that he wanted to rest for a while at noon and not to come looking for him before 1:30 unless there was something wrong. Now that Yin Jian had arrived early, Luo Fei couldn't help but raise his eyebrows and ask, "What's wrong? Is something the matter?"

Yin Jian nodded: "There's news about Han Hao." He seemed somewhat excited. Previously, due to personal reasons, he had repeatedly missed opportunities to bring Han Hao to justice, and the rather guilty young man had devoted almost all his energy to investigating the former criminal investigation team leader.

Upon hearing this news, Luo Fei felt as if a needle had pierced his central nervous system, and he immediately sat up straight. His previous fatigue vanished instantly, like the morning mist after sunrise.

Han Hao was an accomplice of Eumenides in the assassination attempt on Deng Hua. If Han Hao can be brought to justice, it will undoubtedly open up another shortcut in the pursuit of Eumenides.

So Luo Fei eagerly pressed on, "Tell me quickly!"

"For the past two days, our people have been monitoring Han Hao's relatives and friends, with his wife and children being a top priority. This morning, we detected that Han's wife received an unknown call on her phone, which lasted for nearly twenty minutes. The caller ID showed a China Unicom mobile number that had just been activated this morning. Immediately afterward, Han's wife left her workplace and went to the school to pick up her son. According to the school teachers, she also asked for half a day off for her son, and he didn't go to school in the afternoon. After that, the unknown caller had several more short conversations with Han's wife."

"It's Han Hao?!" Luo Fei immediately made the judgment. "He's meeting with his wife and children this afternoon?!"

"This is the same analysis we've done with the on-site monitoring personnel. Please advise on the next steps!"

Where are Han Hao's wife and children now?

"They ate lunch at a KFC near the school. They haven't left yet."

"Okay, okay, KFC..." Luo Fei hurriedly stood up. "We'll head over now... Um, wait a minute, first notify Liu Song and have him transfer ten soldiers from the SWAT team. They must be new faces who have never participated in joint police operations before!"

"Understood!" Yin Jian replied loudly. Then he and Luo Fei quickly walked out of the office one after the other, heading towards the impending battlefield.

The Fate of the Death Sentence (07)

1:45 PM.

Inside the KFC fast food restaurant on the ground floor of Tianying Shopping Center in the provincial capital.

A mother and son sat by the window. The mother was a woman in her thirties, with a dignified appearance, elegant clothes, and long hair piled up behind her head. She seemed to have a good standard of living and personal qualities. However, her brows were furrowed with worry.

The little boy sitting opposite the young woman was about seven or eight years old. He had big eyes, a high forehead, and a quiet and well-behaved demeanor; he seemed like a very lovable and intelligent child. He didn't understand his mother's thoughts and was engrossed in reading a comic book.

The two had been sitting in this spot for over an hour. They had finished their burgers and chicken wings, leaving only half a cup of cola and some fries for the little boy to snack on from time to time.

It was lunchtime, also peak time for KFC's lunch break, so seating was in high demand. Customers frequently waited near the mother and child with their food trays, only to leave disappointed when they realized the couple showed no signs of stopping. The young woman had seen this many times and was used to it, so she paid no attention when another young man approached.

The man walked quickly, as if he were in a hurry. Perhaps his tray was overflowing with food and drinks, and he was desperate to find a place to rest? After lingering briefly beside the mother and child, he hurriedly turned around, trying to find another empty seat. Unexpectedly, his turn was so sudden that half of his body collided with another passing customer, causing his tray to tilt and a glass of cola placed on the edge to fall to the ground.

The man cried out "Ouch!" and reached out to catch the Coke cup, but in doing so, he knocked off the lid. The mother and son, one engrossed in reading and the other gazing wistfully out the window, turned around after hearing the man's cry, only to find a considerable amount of Coke spilled on the table in front of them.

The boy quickly removed the books from the table and huddled in the corner of his seat; the young woman stood up, dodging the spilled cola while checking her clothes. The man who had made the mistake hurriedly apologized, put down his tray and cola, and waved, calling out, "Waiter, come and clean this up, the cola's spilled here."

The young woman found herself unharmed and breathed a slight sigh of relief. She reached for her handbag on the table—the bottom of the bag was soaked with the spilled cola.

"Oh dear, let me do it," the man said, quickly grabbing the handbag. He then pulled out some tissues to wipe the bottom of the bag, repeatedly apologizing, "I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry..."

Fortunately, the handbag was made of high-quality leather, and the cola stains were easily wiped away. The young woman also displayed excellent manners; when she took the handbag that the man had wiped, she simply said, "It's alright," without showing any anger or resentment.

The waiter arrived just then and wiped the table dry with a cloth. The mother and son sat down again, and the man left apologetically. All of this happened in a mere two or three minutes, like an ordinary interlude in a bustling city.

A moment later, the man finally found an empty seat. It was a seat to the side and behind the mother and son. After the man sat down, he could clearly see the woman's back, while the little boy's view was blocked by his mother's body, so he could not see the man.

The man grabbed a hamburger from the tray, took a few bites, and then wiped his mouth with a tissue. But this was just a cover; under the tissue, he quietly flipped up his collar and whispered into a device at the collar, "001, 001, 005 call."

His voice traveled through radio waves, and after passing through a space of more than a hundred meters, it was absorbed into a dark green van in a roadside parking lot.

Inside the van sat Luo Fei and other core members of the task force. Luo Fei picked up the walkie-talkie and replied, "This is 001, please speak."

"Goods delivered, all done."

"Very good, continue monitoring, over."

After the brief conversation ended, Luo Fei put down the walkie-talkie, turned on an electronic device in the car, and the sound of the mother and son talking came from the speaker.

Mother: "Sit up straight—is the book wet?"

Son: "Thank goodness... Why isn't Dad here yet?"

Mother: "Don't worry, Daddy is very busy right now... You have to be good so you can see Daddy, okay?"

Son: "Mmm."

Hearing this, everyone finally felt relieved. The mother and child in the KFC restaurant were indeed Han Hao's wife and son, Liu Wei and Han Dongdong. At this moment, the task force members could finally confirm: the person who made the unknown call earlier was indeed Han Hao, and he did indeed want to meet with his wife and son.

This was undoubtedly a golden opportunity to capture Han Hao. Liu Song, from the special police team, couldn't help but clench his fist, showing a strong desire to participate; while Yin Jian, Han Hao's former subordinate, bit his lip, his expression solemn and his feelings complicated.

Commander Luo Fei remained silent, displaying an unusually calm demeanor. He deeply understood the importance of maintaining composure before a major battle. And this battle would undoubtedly be exceptionally difficult.

The police ambush of the suspect should have been a battle where the enemy was in the open and we were in the dark, but this time the situation seems to be reversed.

Because the suspect the police are about to face is himself a police officer. Moreover, he was once a top-notch officer in the provincial capital's police force, a graduate of the nation's highest-ranking police academy, and had solved countless cases during his ten-year career as a criminal investigator. This means he is extremely familiar with police tactics; he knows every method the police might use—surveillance, tailing, encirclement—like the back of his hand. His willingness to contact his wife and children at this moment clearly indicates he is prepared for a direct confrontation with the police. He must have a meticulous plan, one that the police are currently completely unaware of.

Furthermore, Han Hao's familiarity with personnel within the public security system posed a significant obstacle to the police operation. Many experienced ambush and capture specialists were unable to participate in the operation because they knew Han Hao. Although Luo Fei urgently transferred ten unfamiliar soldiers from the SWAT team, their combat capabilities were still considerably inferior to those of the experienced veteran criminal investigators, due to their specialized skills.

Even more troubling was that Luo Fei and his team, as commanders, couldn't be on-site to oversee the operation. Although there were several good observation points in the office building opposite KFC, these points would undoubtedly become Han Haozhong's primary targets for defense. Therefore, they could only hide far away in a van, directing operations based on information relayed from the scene.

Fortunately, the agent codenamed 005 had successfully attached a button-sized listening device to the bottom of Liu Wei's handbag, allowing Luo Fei and his team to immediately track their target's movements. After this crucial move, Luo Fei finally felt a real sense of certainty in winning.

The next step is to spread out a fishing net and wait quietly. This net must be loose enough that even the most sensitive prey cannot detect where the mesh is.

This will be a contest with an unpredictable outcome, and the first stage of the contest will be a test of patience.

Luo Fei anticipated that Han Hao wouldn't appear anytime soon. He would be hiding in a comfortable and safe corner, conserving his energy, while the police officers would have to be on high alert, without the slightest lapse in concentration. In this process, the relative strength of the two sides would shift—precisely the effect Han Hao wanted to achieve.

As Luo Fei had predicted, for the next few hours, Liu Wei and her son remained completely still inside the KFC restaurant. The conversation coming through the bugging device was also quite ordinary; aside from a few impatient questions from Han Dongdong, there was no indication that they were about to contact Han Hao.

As dusk approached, the police officers monitoring the restaurant had changed several times. Han Dongdong started complaining of being hungry, so Liu Wei went to the counter to buy a hamburger and a Coke.

"What's going on? Are they planning to spend the night in KFC?" Zeng Rihua said with a yawn. He rarely participated in such field operations and was the most restless among the group. Mu Jianyun, who was next to him, also showed signs of fatigue.

Luo Fei was also somewhat puzzled. Why had there been no movement for so long? Was this just a feint by Han Hao? Or was he still waiting for something?

In the midst of this atmosphere, a cell phone suddenly rang from the eavesdropping device. The ringtone acted like a shot of adrenaline, instantly pushing everyone's nervous systems to their peak.

"Hello?" Liu Wei answered the phone, followed by several seconds of silence. Inside the van, Luo Fei and the others pricked up their ears like rabbits, but it was futile; they couldn't possibly hear what was happening on the other end.

"Okay, I understand." This was Liu Wei's closing remark during the call. Then she said to her son, "Dongdong, let's go."

"Is Daddy here?" Han Dongdong asked excitedly.

"You'll understand when you come with your mother."

Luo Fei and the others could only hear the above conversation, while the situation on the ground needed to be relayed by the monitoring personnel.

"Liu Wei just received a phone call, and now the mother and son have gotten up and are walking out of the store."

"Keep up! All personnel disperse and approach the target, but maintain distance! Maintain distance!"

"clear!"

...

A moment later, another report came from the scene: "The target got into a taxi, please give instructions!"

Luo Fei had already heard the car door close through the eavesdropping device. He didn't give the order immediately, but patiently continued listening. His patience soon paid off.

Liu Wei's voice came through: "Driver, to Guangyuanmiao subway station!"

Luo Fei's orders were issued immediately: "Liu Wei and her son's destination is Guangyuanmiao Subway Station! I repeat, Guangyuanmiao Subway Station! 002, 003, 004, 005, you follow that taxi. The rest of you, immediately proceed to the target location and set up surveillance!"

The participants received their orders and took action. Without waiting for Luo Fei's instructions, Yin Jian, sitting in the driver's seat of the van, stepped on the gas, and the vehicle, already poised to go, immediately drove away from the parking spot, heading towards the subway station.

Luo Fei took a deep breath and turned to look out the window. It was already rush hour, and the streets were gradually filling with pedestrians and vehicles. A thought struck Luo Fei; he suddenly understood what Han Hao was waiting for.

He was waiting for the evening rush hour to arrive, and the crowded subway station was exactly where he had planned to meet his wife and children!

5:56 p.m.

Inside Guangyuanmiao subway station.

For the transportation system of a large city, subway lines are like arteries in the human body, playing a vital role in supplying blood to the entire city. This function is especially prominent during rush hour.

The subway station was packed with people. Even with trains departing at a near-maximum frequency of 4 minutes per train, it still couldn't fully meet the ever-increasing passenger flow. People crowded around the train doors, jostling into the carriages as soon as a train pulled in, hoping to snag a good spot. Of course, getting a seat was impossible; leaning against a handrail or pole was a decent alternative.

Liu Wei appeared on the platform with Han Dongdong. Police surveillance personnel were already deployed in a fan shape around them, and several plainclothes special police officers guarded the two subway entrances. Even in such a complex and crowded environment, once Han Hao appeared, he would find it difficult to escape the police's manhunt.

The only variable at the scene is the ever-flowing subway trains. Han Hao could very well be on one of the trains, then remotely direct his wife and children to board and complete the meeting. However, this seems to carry a significant risk—if plainclothes police officers follow Liu Wei and her children onto the train, Han Hao inside would be trapped and unable to escape.

In fact, Luo Fei's considerations were more comprehensive. To prevent Liu Wei and her son from suddenly boarding the train the moment the doors closed, thus leaving the police surveillance personnel stranded, Luo Fei ordered two plainclothes officers to board each train before it arrived, regardless of whether Liu Wei and her son boarded or not. If Liu Wei and her son did not board, these two plainclothes officers would get off at the next station and take the return subway back to Guangyuanmiao Station. Because this operation was equipped with sufficient police force, this cycle would not weaken the control on the platform.

Out of caution, none of the officers, including Luo Fei, who knew Han Hao, appeared on the platform. Although the Guangyuanmiao subway station had a monitoring room, such a sensitive location could easily become a target for Han Hao's counter-surveillance efforts, so Luo Fei did not coordinate with the subway police. They parked their van near the subway entrance and continued to remotely direct operations from inside the vehicle. However, this did not mean that Luo Fei and his team would lose control of Liu Wei and her child, as advanced technology was sufficient to compensate for the aforementioned disadvantages.

The key to the problem lies in that button-shaped bugging device. It not only transmits audio data from the scene in real time but also has a location tracking function. The miniature signal generator embedded in the bugging device can be linked with a receiver inside the van, displaying the relative positions of the bugging device and the receiver on a monitor. In other words, although Luo Fei and his accomplices weren't physically present, they possessed "eagle eyes" and "keen ears" capable of real-time monitoring of the scene.

On the platform, Liu Wei, Han's wife, seemed unaware of her predicament. She clutched her phone tightly in her left hand and held Han Dongdong's hand with her right, her expression anxious yet hopeful. Each time a train pulled into the station, she would crane her neck, casting a searching glance, hoping that familiar figure would appear before her.

She did not see her husband appear as she had hoped, but after wandering around the platform for more than ten minutes, her phone rang again.

Liu Wei answered the phone eagerly, and Han Hao's voice came through the receiver quickly: "After the next train arrives, bring Dongdong on board."

"Is it the next one? No matter which direction it goes?"

"Yes. Call me back when you see the train arrive at the station." Han Hao said briefly and then hung up immediately.

Liu Wei's reply reached Luo Fei and the others via radio waves. The keyword "next train" immediately struck a nerve. Luo Fei quickly picked up the walkie-talkie and issued the operational order: "All personnel, pay close attention to the next train arriving at the station!"

At this moment, traveling from south to north, the faint rumble of train wheels could be heard from the tunnel. The plainclothes police officers on the scene appeared nonchalant, but they all moved with the flow of people towards the side where the subway train was approaching. Liu Wei and her son also reached the center of the platform and found a spot near a door to wait. When the train's headlights appeared in the tunnel, Liu Wei, as instructed by Han Hao, dialed his number and informed him, "A train is arriving."