Chapter 980: The Prey Takes the Bait

Chen Shi said, “The doctor told me that when Hao Yunlai arrived at the emergency room, he jumped off the gurney and said he was fine. He left, and the person in the emergency room now is someone else.”

Xu Xiaodong was shocked, “So he faked being poisoned.”

“I get it. He realized we were watching him and wanted to shake us off,” Tao Yueyue said. “But we’ve been at the entrance the whole time, so he couldn’t have left the hospital.”

“We need to find him quickly! We can’t let him out of our sight!”

Chen Shi teamed up with Xu Xiaodong, while Lin Dongxue took Tao Yueyue with her. On the way, Tao Yueyue explained what had happened. Lin Dongxue was shocked, “You used this guy as bait? What if something dangerous happened?”

“He’s not exactly a good person. He’s just a creepy old guy.”

“That’s not the point. It’s amazing he came up with such a plan!” Lin Dongxue shook her head in disbelief.

They asked the nurses and checked every floor, then doubled back. When they reached the second floor, Tao Yueyue spotted something outside. “Is that him? Sister Lin, it’s him! He’s getting into a car!”

Without hesitation, Lin Dongxue jumped out the window, landing in a flower bed below. She got up and sprinted after the car.

Tao Yueyue didn’t have the same skills or courage, so she called Chen Shi.

Hao Yunlai had just gotten into a van. There were others inside, and as Lin Dongxue approached, the van started moving. She shouted, “Hao Yunlai, get out! They’ll kill you!”

The driver saw her chasing and sped up, breaking through the hospital gate and disappearing down the road.

Lin Dongxue, panting heavily, was soon joined by Chen Shi and the others. Chen Shi asked, “Did you get the license plate number?”

“Yes.”

“He was tricked into leaving. We need to find him quickly!” Chen Shi pulled out his phone to notify the station.

Tao Yueyue felt ashamed, “I’m sorry. You gave us such a simple task, and we still messed it up.”

Chen Shi shook his head, “It’s not your fault. I bear the responsibility for this plan and its outcomes.”

They sat in the car, ready to pursue as soon as the station had any leads. Lin Dongxue said, “Your plan was bold, using a fake bait to lure Haiguo Yang? Back when you were a consultant, my brother would never have agreed to such a tactic.”

“The Human Observer is not a typical criminal. For him, crime is a means to an end, not the end itself. This was the best strategy I could come up with.”

“If this goes wrong, I might as well quit being a cop.”

“If I lose my job, I was thinking about early retirement anyway.”

Chen Shi noticed Lin Dongxue rubbing her ankle and asked, “What happened?”

“I must have twisted it when I jumped. It’s nothing.”

“Let me see.”

In the car, with only the two of them, Lin Dongxue took off her shoe to show him. Her ankle was swollen. Chen Shi said, “You’ve sprained it. Be more careful.” He sprayed some Yunnan Baiyao on it and massaged it gently.

Looking at the other car, Lin Dongxue asked, “Why did you assign Tao Yueyue such a boring task?”

“To toughen her up. She needs to learn to follow orders and handle tedious tasks… unlike you, who quits at the first sign of disagreement.”

Lin Dongxue laughed, “There’s plenty of time for hardships. We should be kind to her now.”

“See, this is the difference between fatherly and motherly love.”

“Our disagreements are similar—justice versus kindness. I don’t think there’s a right or wrong.”

“You’re right.”

As they spoke, Chen Shi’s phone rang. Lin Dongxue quickly put her shoe back on as Chen Shi answered and started the car. Xu Xiaodong followed closely behind.

The police had tracked the van and sent officers in pursuit.

Three hours later, they arrived at a suburban area. Lin Dongxue said, “We’ve been here before.”

“It’s Lu Dahai’s place. I know where they took him!”

They got out and rushed into the residential complex, spotting the van parked outside a building but with no one inside.

At Lu Dahai’s rented basement apartment, they heard water running inside. Chen Shi kicked the door open and burst into the bathroom, finding Hao Yunlai bound and submerged in a bathtub, his face pale.

Chen Shi pulled Hao Yunlai out and dragged him to the floor. His body was stiff, and his legs were twitching. Tao Yueyue, terrified, covered her mouth.

“Hold him up to drain the water!”

Xu Xiaodong lifted Hao Yunlai and pressed on his abdomen, making him vomit water. His eyes fluttered open.

They laid him down and performed CPR until he revived. He looked around and started crying, “Thank God you came. I almost died.”

“Who brought you here?” Chen Shi asked.

“First, untie me. I… I need to pee.”

After they untied him, Hao Yunlai relieved himself, then asked Chen Shi for a cigarette.

Chen Shi repeated his question. Hao Yunlai fumbled around and said, “Damn it, my phone’s gone… This morning, Zou Lei messaged me, saying the police were watching me. He told me to put a piece of soap in my mouth and pretend to be poisoned. He’d meet me at the hospital.”

Chen Shi asked, “Why did you trust him and go along with it? Why did you want to shake off the police?”

“I have a guilty conscience. With the police watching me, I felt nervous.”

Chen Shi thought this didn’t make sense. Hao Yunlai had only been harassing couples in the park. As long as he stopped, he wouldn’t have any issues. There must have been another reason they lured him out, but what mattered now was who did it.

“What happened next?”

“At the hospital, after I shook you off, a man came to pick me up, saying he was Zou Lei’s business partner. Once in the car, he knocked me out. When I woke up, I was in that bathtub, choking on water. If you hadn’t arrived in time, I’d be dead.”

Chen Shi gathered everyone outside and said, “Zou Lei is in custody and couldn’t have sent that message. It was the Human Observer pretending to be him. Our bait worked; that company is indeed spying on users’ privacy.”

The plan had succeeded, and Chen Shi was excited. “Next, we’ll go on the offensive and investigate their company. Just the crime of data theft is enough to take down Haiguo Yang.”