Chapter 73: Break In

Chen Chuan did not question Wei Changan’s arrangement. “Alright. I’ll do as you said.”

When he saw that Wei Changan seemed to have some things to say to Cai Si, he added, “Let me just go down and get myself familiar with the area. I’ll be back soon.”

“Okay. Be careful,” Wei Changan cautioned him.

After Chen Chuan left, Cai Si said, “Chen Chuan is pretty good.”

Usually, rookies at his age loved showing off, especially those who were skilled and strong. They did not like being kept at the back as a lookout.

But since they lacked experience, it was far too easy for them to throw a wrench into a carefully formulated plan. Cai Si had done the exact same thing himself, so he did not like having rookies on major operations. But Chen Chuan was the provider of the clue and a major participant, so it was impossible to leave him behind. Fortunately, the rookie was sensible, which made things much better.

They were not afraid of danger, just of their own teammates dragging them down.

“Don’t look down on him. He may be two years younger than we are, but during my last mission, Big Guo pulled a dirty trick, and I nearly messed up, even though I was supposed to be the guide. It’s all thanks to him that we managed to catch Qiu Huzi. Chen Chuan is strong and decisive. Once he gets another year or two’s worth of experience in missions, we might fall behind him.”

“Is that so? He’s that amazing, huh?” Cai Si gasped in surprise.

“We can discuss that later. You have to be careful. All of our information is from Brother Tian. Since we have a time limit and all sorts of other limitations, we weren’t able to verify everything. We can only believe his words, so there’s no predicting what is going to happen, and you know that there’s no such thing as a foolproof plan. We have to pull ourselves together.”

Cai Si nodded. “You’re really stressed, aren’t you?”

“It’s my first time leading such an operation, so I’d be lying if I said that I’m not stressed. The Constabulary wanted me to lead the arrest, and many people in the company are unhappy about it. I’m sure that all of them are waiting for me to make a fool of myself. But if we succeed and find Fang Dawei and his gang through this, we’ll get a huge achievement, and we’ll have a chance of getting promoted to high-ranking agents. Then, we’ll have an opportunity to work independently in the future. That’s why, no matter what, we have to try.”

Cai Si nodded. Then, after some thinking, he whispered, “I’d like to remind you that aside from our friends and university mates, most of the others in the group are from the company. I’m worried about one of them sabotaging us. You know just how hard it is to succeed, but how easy it is to ruin something.”

“I know. That’s why I’ve stationed our friends at crucial places. Also, when it comes to this, Chen Chuan is trustworthy. You can leave it to him during crucial moments.”

“Looks like you didn’t station him at the entrance of the market to take care of him. Got it. I know what I have to do,” Cai Si answered with a laugh.

***

Chen Chuan had already gotten downstairs. Since he knew that he was going to be out on a mission, he did not wear his student uniform. Instead, he wore a simple jacket.

He went to explore the open-air market. The front section sold household items and clothes, with most of them going wholesale. Plenty of trishaws moved about the place. A vegetable market and fruit market were located nearby.

As he walked along the path, he looked back and examined the top-floor windows of the apartment building above the market’s signboard.

The entrance Wei Changan wanted him to guard was further ahead. Stalls selling household items and food were stationed on both sides of it.

After exploring the market, Chen Chuan bought a bag of apples and three bottles of soda. Then, he walked back to the building where Wei Changan was. When he took a turn, he looked toward the apartment building and saw a woman walk out from it. He could not help but pay a little more attention to her.

She was middle-aged, and based on the rhythm of her steps, Chen Chuan could tell that she was a martial artist. This was not unusual, so he looked away after a brief observation. He went back to the building and put the apples on the table before handing two bottles of soda to Wei Changan and Cai Si.

“You brought something back with you? How polite. Alright. I’ll be sure to take care of you later.” Cai Si took the soda with a smile.

Wei Changan took the soda, but did not drink it. Instead, he washed an apple and ate it. Then, he changed his clothes. After he came out, he checked his watch. “Only two hours left. We have to get ready. I’ll get you guys settled first. Then, I’ll check on the others. Come with me.”

He brought the two of them to the road in front of the open-air market and went into a grocery store. He greeted the owner there, walked inside, and handed a piece of paper to Chen Chuan. “Based on the plan, we’ll be moving out at 10 a.m. At 10:15 a.m., our men will meet up on the roof in batches. The fireworks will be set off at around 10:20 a.m., though there might be a slight delay. Half a minute after the fireworks are set off, we’ll move in to arrest them. At 10 a.m., call this number and tell the person on the other side to cut the telephone wire.”

This was to prevent any potential scout they missed from calling Scar Face about their operation. Even though Scar Face’s scout might not use a phone to contact him, it was better to be safe than sorry

Chen Chuan checked the number and said, “Okay.”

Wei Changan then turned to Cai Si. “Take care of him.”

Cai Si nodded solemnly.

After Wei Changan left, they patiently waited in the store while occasionally exchanging a few words.

Cai Si told Chen Chuan that they were not the only ones around. They had some helpers, like the shop owner. They could ask them for help if there was ever a need.

More than an hour passed, and it was soon 10 a.m. Cai Si had been paying attention to the time, so he looked up and said, “Chen Chuan, Wei Changan and his team should be climbing up now. Make the call.”

Chen Chuan had been staying next to the phone. He did not hesitate upon hearing the order and picked up the phone receiver to call the number. Once it went through, he recited the words on the paper, “This is the capture squad. Please cut the telephone line.”

“Got it. Cutting the telephone line now,” the other person said.

Chen Chuan hung up and nodded at Cai Si. The agent went to the side of the shop and looked up. He watched it while occasionally checking his watch.

Around six minutes later, a commotion erupted in the market behind them. It was followed by a lot of noise and the sound of running. Someone shouted, “They’re fighting!”

Cai Si was stunned and turned to look at the building as he mumbled, “Looks like there’s going to be trouble.”

***

Wei Changan and five other people had made it to the roof. They got up one by one from their designated positions, so none of them noticed the commotion in the market. Not even half of the group was on the roof, but they were not worried. There was still around eight minutes until the designated time. It was enough time for everyone to make it up.

Just then, they heard the commotion in the market; it seemed like trouble had come. Someone looked over. “We have a problem, Wei Changan.”

𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

Wei Changan frowned. It was common for trouble to break out in the market, but it happening at this point in time made things difficult for them. It was highly likely that Scar Face’s attention would end up directed to that place.

Besides, the disturbance at such a moment was too much of a coincidence for him to ignore. His instincts screamed at him that he could not afford to wait anymore, so he said, “Something’s wrong. The situation might have changed. We need to move in now!”

“But not everyone is here yet,” someone reminded him.

“We’ll move in first and hold them back. They’ll know what to do once they’re up here!” Wei Changan ordered.

One of the others held him back and said sternly, “Wait. Agent Wei, we can’t be certain that Scar Face has noticed the commotion. We should break in through the south and let the ones arriving later break in from the north. That way, we can launch a pincer attack and increase our chance of success."

Everyone turned to Wei Changan and waited for his decision.

Wei Changan thought about it. This new plan would just be switching the order of the break-in from north–south to south–north. So, he swiftly came to a decision, “Alright. We’ll do just that. We’re not waiting anymore. We’re moving in!”

Wei Changan and the others shifted to the south, trying their best to not make any sound. Then, three of them held the end of some ropes while the other three grabbed them and descended down the building’s wall. When the rope snapped back, they activated their refined forces and crashed into the old windows.

The glass shattered with a loud crash. Wei Changan rolled on the floor before getting up, only to find that the easternmost room was already empty. The sounds of cursing and fighting came from the other rooms, so he immediately ran there.

The moment he shoved the door open, he felt a breeze from a punch charging toward his face. He tilted his head to the side and tried to attack with a palm strike, but the attacker delivered a kick laced with refined force. Both of their bodies trembled. Wei Changan did not budge, while the attacker fell back. After giving Wei Changan a look, the attacker got to his feet and jumped out of the north-facing window.

Wei Changan ignored him and ran into the room to find his teammate locked in a clinch with someone else. The teammate shouted, “Scar Face is next door!”

Wei Changan ran to the last room, but halfway through, he heard a loud bam, and the wall across from him shattered. The last of his teammates flew out along with the bricks. Wei Changan brought his hands up to shield himself and took a few steps back.

Once he patted off the dust, he saw a built man with a scar left from sutures on his face standing behind the ruined wall. His legs and feet were thick, and he was dressed in a blue-gray work jacket. There was a machete in one of his hands and a sledgehammer in the other.

Wei Changan’s expression turned stern as he growled, “Scar Face.”