Chapter 608: 382, The Hostage of a Trader

The city at midnight remained extraordinarily lively.

Some heard that the northern war had paused, as it seemed that Jindai and Deer Island suffered a setback in this war due to some key figures being replaced by “Time Travelers.”

Some said these sudden replacements were the handiwork of the Li Family, others said it was a coincidence.

But no matter what, this northern war did not seem to affect the prosperity of the city.

The war out in the wilderness felt very distant to everyone.

It was a kind of misalignment, as if though war had broken out in the north, all the city saw was a slight rise in commodity prices, prompting people to rush to the malls to stock up on goods.

Nobody really cared about the outcome of the war.

The people had no sense of belonging to the Federation or the conglomerates.

Qing Hua walked on the busy streets, the crowd flowing past him as he unknowingly became encircled by seven people.

As he moved forward, so did the seven people.

Like magnetic forces drawing them together, as if connected by invisible threads, the surging crowd was like a river, and the eight of them were like hidden reefs within it.

Qing Hua remembered Qing Chen’s instructions and immediately said into his Bluetooth earpiece, “The target has appeared, come over.”

The next moment, people from Intelligence Department One, Team Seven stepped out from a store by the road. Each person carried a shoulder bag in their left hand and their right hand was plunged into the bag, gripping a handgun.

In the blink of an eye, over thirty detectives had subtly encircled the seven.

The seven were somewhat astonished to discover this scene, it appeared they hadn’t expected Qing Hua to have so many people from Team One following him.

This did not look like a trade, it looked more like they were about to come to blows.

The “Shadow” atop a high-rise smiled upon seeing this, “The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind; still as cautious as ever, deploying so many people all at once.”

At that moment, the shortest middle-aged man among the seven approached Qing Hua, walking side by side with him, “Inspector Qing Hua, I’ve come to trade for Jindai Jingyi with you.”

Qing Hua sneered, “A trade involves bringing so many people?”

The short middle-aged man paused, looking around, thinking, I’ve barely brought six, and you’ve brought over thirty, and you’re asking me why I’ve brought so many people?!

But he didn’t dwell on this issue, instead, he spoke softly, “Where is Jindai Jingyi? I know you’ve already secretly moved him out of the secret prison tonight. Can we proceed with the transaction directly tonight?”

Qing Hua glanced askance at the man, “That will depend on whether you’re sincere enough. Remember what we said: one Jindai Jingyi for two people from Deer Island of equivalent value. As to whether the values are equivalent, that is solely for us to judge, with the final explanation rights belonging to Team Seven.”

After a moment of thought, the short middle-aged man pulled out two sheets of paper from his sleeve and handed them to Qing Hua, “Here are the details of two Deer Island members. If you think it’s acceptable, we can proceed with the exchange right now.”

Qing Hua looked around and silently took the papers, unfolding them.

The first Deer Island member they wanted to exchange was a famous intelligence agent who had gone missing for two years, codename Jeju.

This agent was quite well-known, rumored to be one of the intelligence chiefs for Deer Island in the city, whose identity had been exposed due to a betrayal by a subordinate.

Then he mysteriously disappeared.

Many thought he had escaped back to Deer Island territory, never imagining that he had actually been captured by Jindai.

The second Deer Island member was also famous; he was the legitimate grandson of the current Deer Island Family Head and had once been the chairman of the PCE Security Management Committee in the Federation’s City 10. He disappeared on his way back home for a family ancestral ceremony.

Now it seemed that he too had been captured by Jindai.

Qing Hua involuntarily glanced at the short middle-aged man beside him, thinking just how ruthless Jindai could be, stealthily capturing two such significant figures from the Deer Island family, during an ongoing war with allied intentions—at that, this covert sabotage?

Utterly shameless.

If Deer Island found out what the Jindai family had done, could their intelligence systems in City 10 continue to coexist peacefully? Peace would be out of the question.

This made Qing Hua somewhat puzzled: yes, Jindai Jingyi was important, but was he really worth such a great expenditure from the Jindai family?

He felt a complex emotion; the boss’s strategy was too vicious, truly a potent tool for tearing apart the alliance between Jindai and Deer Island!

Qing Hua said softly, “I agree to the exchange, but there’s a precondition—the evidence of their crimes must be provided during the transaction, otherwise there would be no point in taking them; they’d have to be released due to lack of evidence. Similarly, I’ll hand over the evidence of crimes committed by Jindai Jingyi to you, ensuring he can continue to show his face in public.”

Intelligence Department One certainly had the power to capture members of the clans, as granted by the Federation’s constitution.

However, they needed concrete evidence for detaining someone, or else any slight pressure from somewhere could force them to release the captive.

If that happened, Team Seven would be making a loss-making deal.

The short middle-aged man replied, “No problem. Since we’re trading, we’re naturally prepared with the materials to ensure that you can convict these two. Where shall we make the exchange?”

“Right here, where the crowd is thickest,” Qing Hua said coldly. “Both vehicles shall arrive simultaneously, check the evidence for accuracy, exchange the hostages, and then have nothing more to do with each other.”

The middle-aged man thought for a moment, “Fine!”

Qing Hua had specifically chosen this spot partly because it was crowded, and partly because the surveillance cameras here had been destroyed by local gangs in City 10, making it ideal for the exchange.

Soon, at their summons, two minivans—one from the north and one from the south—drove up and converged in the center of the long street.

The car door was pulled open, and both parties quickly checked the identity of the other party in the transaction. As soon as the short middle-aged man confirmed that it was indeed Jindai Jingyi in the car, he handed over a stack of documents, accounts, and photos to Qing Hua.

Qing Hua slowly nodded after confirming that the criminal evidence was indisputable.

People on both sides swiftly exchanged hostages and then left the scene under the escort of their respective entourages.

Standing in the middle of the long street, Qing Hua had an unreal feeling, was the boss’s plan completed just like that?!

As he watched the departing cars, there was an indescribable sense of relief in his heart, knowing that the two Deer Island members the Jindai family had sent over were evidently of tremendous value just by a glance.

The most crucial thing was that if the Deer Island clan discovered that Jindai had made such a move against them, the alliance between the two families’ intelligence systems would inevitably crumble.

At the very least, a significant rift would appear.

In the past, Jindai and Deer Island in Intelligence Department One had always banded together, leaving the other families a bit helpless. Now, this alliance should be dissolving under the strategy of Team Seven, right?

The mere thought was satisfying.

Qing Hua’s own younger brother was currently fighting on the frontline against Jindai and Deer Island, so he had a natural hatred for them. By dissolving their alliance from the rear, maybe it could create a butterfly effect, potentially saving a few lives from Qing’s clan.

With this in mind, Qing Hua continued on his way, feeling much lighter.

However, just a few minutes later, a girl with red hair approached him and said in a low voice, “I represent the Jindai family, and I want to ask you, how do you plan to proceed with the transaction.”

Qing Hua turned his head towards the girl, puzzled: “???”

What’s this?

A transaction with the Jindai family?

Didn’t we just conclude a transaction?!

Qing Hua hesitated before asking, “Are you from the Jindai family?”

The girl had a lip ring and a nose ring, giving her an especially punk look.

She calmly stated, “I am Jindai Kongshu, Jindai Jingyi’s elder sister. You should have seen me before.”

Qing Hua suddenly remembered, yes, she was Jindai Jingyi’s elder sister, a well-known figure. He hadn’t expected her to come in person to conduct the transaction.

It seemed she was worried about her younger brother’s safety.

But if Jindai Kongshu was representing the Jindai family in the transaction, then who the heck were the people he had just dealt with?!

Someone was definitely causing trouble!

Team Seven certainly hadn’t lost out in this transaction because they had at least gained two valuable members of the Deer Island family.

But the situation was too odd, causing Qing Hua a bit of a headache.

He hesitated before looking at Jindai Kongshu, “If I tell you that Jindai Jingyi has just been sold off by someone, would you believe me…”

Jindai Kongshu: “???”

Who would buy her brother? For what reason?!

…

…

At this very moment, on the rooftop of a high-rise building, a small iron door suddenly opened.

The short middle-aged man who had just completed the transaction with Qing Hua walked up, carrying the unlucky Jindai Jingyi, and respectfully said, “Mr. Shadow, I’ve brought him over. I’ve administered an anesthetic, and he’s currently unconscious.”

The figure referred to as Mr. Shadow was watching Qing Hua standing clueless on the street below, alongside Jindai Kongshu, laughing so hard he was pounding the ground.

The young man behind him and the short middle-aged man didn’t make a sound to interrupt.

“Hahaha, Qing Hua must be so confused right now. Just look at his expression, priceless!” Qing’s shadow laughed heartily.

This building was extremely tall, at least a few hundred meters from the ground, and Qing’s shadow seemed to have excellent vision; he could still see the expression on Qing Hua’s face from such a distance.

The transaction that had just been completed was clearly orchestrated by him.

The two missing Deer Island members had also been captured by the top talent under Qing’s shadow.

The young man whispered, “Boss, I haven’t seen you laugh this happily in a long time.”

Qing’s shadow stood up, smilingly said, “That’s because you are all too boring and no one makes me this happy. The world is like a playground, don’t be so tense all the time. Lighten up, have some fun. Qing’s family has stood for so many years, it won’t collapse just because we have a laugh.”

The young man thought for a moment then asked, “But what are you aiming for by doing this?”

“Don’t you find it amusing?” Qing’s shadow smiled and asked.

The young man fell silent…

Qing’s shadow went on, “Those two Deer Island members fall into our hands, but they don’t know who captured them, right? Actually, these two are of no use to me anymore, as the information they had has been completely extracted. I was worrying about how to dispose of them when Qing Chen gave me new inspiration. The transaction just now made perfect use of their residual heat. Now, everyone believes that Jindai gave these two to Team Seven. Even if Jindai denies it, how could Deer Island not suspect? Sometimes, just making them doubt is enough, and once a crack appears, it cannot be mended.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated on N𝘰vgo.co

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