Chapter 127: Let's Play Secret Agent for Once

Du Jianwu sat down again and solemnly said to Kang Ning, “Last time we went up to the warehouse roof together, the new factory was just an empty lot with a pond. I haven’t been there for over half a year, so I’m not as familiar with the terrain and conditions as you are. Also, based on your analysis just now, the warehouse ventilation windows are quite high. I don’t have the ability to climb up there, so I ask for your cooperation in this operation. Of course, you may refuse.”

Kang Ning replied seriously, “No problem, but I don’t like meeting strangers.”

“You’re not a stranger. You know my partner, and he knows you too—he just never knew your true identity, and neither will I. There’s one condition: after tonight, you forget this ever happened, as if nothing took place. Can you agree to that?”

Du Jianwu’s tone was as if discussing something unrelated to himself, his expression calm and unreadable. Kang Ning felt a deep admiration and gained a more intuitive understanding of Du Jianwu’s profession.

Kang Ning agreed. Soon, a somewhat worn but common Alto taxi pulled into the yard and stopped. Kang Ning was surprised to see who got out.

The newcomer clearly hadn’t expected to run into Kang Ning either. Nodding to Du Jianwu, he smiled warmly and shook Kang Ning’s hand. “Mr. Wu, I never thought I’d see you here. Ever since you and Sister Lu Jing moved to Chengdu, I thought we’d never meet again! My mother mentioned you yesterday—she said if you hadn’t rushed me to the hospital that day, I wouldn’t be bedridden now, if not worse.”

Kang Ning smiled faintly, “Zhuzi, I really didn’t recognize you!”

“Have a seat!”

Du Jianwu quietly invited Zhuzi to sit and casually asked, “Did you bring it?”

“Yes, it’s on the back seat.” Zhuzi said, then took a big gulp of tea, clearly exhausted from rushing over in just fifteen minutes.

Gao Qinghua was surprised too—this goofy community guard named Zhuzi was actually his colleague. Smiling, he turned to Du Jianwu, his eyes asking silently.

Du Jianwu nodded. “Brother, we’ll need your help tonight; we’re short-handed.”

“All right, I’ve been waiting to hear that. Don’t think that because I commanded you in the military, today I won’t follow your lead.” Gao Qinghua smiled softly.

Du Jianwu grinned and instructed Zhuzi, “Go get that thing. Let Brother Wu get familiar with it first. It’s 11:30 p.m. now; we move out in an hour.”

Zhuzi went back to the car and brought out a small leather case about twenty centimeters square. He placed it on the table, input a series of codes, and casually opened it. Inside was a black metal box slightly larger than a matchbox. He carefully explained to Kang Ning, “This is a wireless remote-controlled camera. You just place it on a fixed base, see…”

Zhuzi put the metal box on a low wall ten meters away, then sat beside Kang Ning and opened the soft-lined interior of the small case. Inside was an unmarked miniature computer. Zhuzi’s thick fingers pressed a red round button near the keyboard. A delicate joystick rose three centimeters. He quickly input a set of data, gripping the joystick with his right hand and pressing four directional keys with his left. Within moments, the screen displayed images of four people in front of computers. After some adjustments, Kang Ning’s handsome face appeared clearly on the screen, startling and fascinating him.

Kang Ning turned to the low wall ten meters away. A slender tube, about thirty centimeters tall and thinner than a straw, extended from the metal box. Under Zhuzi’s control, it twisted like a standing earthworm, bending in various directions.

Zhuzi retracted the joystick and covered the computer with the soft lining, then returned the metal box to Kang Ning. “Remember, this side up. See this symbol? Yes, this side. Just place the box flat in the designated spot.”

Kang Ning felt the small metal box was heavy—almost half a kilogram—and couldn’t tell what material it was made from. On its base, he saw a line of English: Manufactured by Israel XX Company.

He handed the box back to Zhuzi with a nod, signaling he understood. Then they discussed the details of the operation together.

Kang Ning sketched a simple layout of the new factory with tea on the table, marking the three warehouses and container stacks, and explained the approximate number and positions of the guards. After brief consultation, Du Jianwu and Zhuzi assigned clear roles.

Zhuzi would operate the remote camera from the car, Gao Qinghua and Du Jianwu would stand guard, and Kang Ning would place the metal box at the warehouse ventilation opening.

When the time came, Du Jianwu got into Zhuzi’s taxi and left. Gao Qinghua drove, with Kang Ning following behind. About one kilometer from the new factory gate, the two cars pulled over. Du Jianwu got out with a coil of thick hemp rope, and with Kang Ning’s help, connected the two vehicles. Then they headed toward the repair shop where Yusheng was located. To outsiders, it looked like a taxi towing a broken-down microcar to the shop.

Passing through the brightly lit gate of the new factory, a guard carefully scrutinized the two vehicles, then turned away without further attention. Kang Ning admired Du Jianwu’s meticulousness, feeling he had learned a valuable lesson tonight.

Yusheng had already received Kang Ning’s call and opened the gate. After the two vehicles entered, he walked over to help disconnect the tow rope. Zhuzi and Du Jianwu got out with their equipment and climbed into Gao Qinghua’s microcar.

Kang Ning approached Yusheng and said, “Yusheng, Brother, I need your help with something.”

“Just say it, Brother. I’ll do whatever I can without hesitation.” Yusheng replied cheerfully.

Kang Ning handed him two hundred yuan and pointed to Gao Qinghua’s car. “Brother Gao’s car broke down and he needs it urgently tomorrow. I must help him fix it overnight. After that, you take this taxi to the food street, to that small restaurant we went to last time. Buy two pounds of boiled rabbit meat, then stir-fry some kidney slices and pack them up. Also, go to the street corner and get fifty skewers of grilled lamb, and buy a dozen bottles of Mountain City beer. Got that?”

“Got it! Brother, just wait. I’ll be back in about an hour.” Yusheng agreed enthusiastically.

Kang Ning walked with him to the taxi and reminded him before he drove off, “Take down the meter light on the dashboard, so no one stops you thinking the cab is empty and tries to hitch a ride.”

Yusheng acknowledged and switched off the meter light, turned the taxi around inside the yard, and exited through the gate. Kang Ning immediately closed and bolted the gate.

Walking back to Du Jianwu’s side, Du Jianwu whispered with a smile, “Brother, it’s a pity you’re not a secret agent!”

Kang Ning thought of his own identity and shook his head with a wry smile. He whispered back, “Then let this fugitive be a secret agent tonight.”

The two exchanged smiles and headed toward the warehouse.

Zhuzi had parked Gao Qinghua’s microcar in the shadow before the small warehouse. Inside the car, he fiddled with the small case and handed the metal box to Kang Ning with a simple, guileless smile. Kang Ning felt a chill, recalling the words of a woman selling suitcases near the police station he had sought out for a fake ID: “You can’t trust people these days. Appearances can be deceiving!”

Dressed in dark clothes, the three moved immediately. Gao Qinghua used his momentum to climb onto the flat warehouse roof, rolling forward to lie prone and closely surveil his assigned area.

Kang Ning and Du Jianwu climbed onto the toilet rooftop, taking a full view of the new factory. Two minutes later, Du Jianwu fitted Kang Ning with an earplug, securing it before whispering, “This is a wireless headset. If there’s any danger, Brother Gao and I will alert you immediately. Go.”

Kang Ning nodded and observed further. He saw twenty-seven guards at the three warehouses, all lazily grouped in twos or threes, smoking and chatting. Under the light at the corner of the second warehouse, there was even a mahjong table, with four players gambling and seven spectators, none noticing the old factory behind the warehouse.

Kang Ning silently slid down a 2.5-meter-high wall, and as his feet touched the ground, he ghosted toward the warehouse base five meters away. His silent, swift movements left Du Jianwu on the toilet roof staring in astonishment.

Rather than climbing straight up to the four-meter-high ventilation window, Kang Ning moved sideways three meters along the brick column, using hands and feet like a gecko. In less than ten seconds, he reached the five-meter-high eaves, grabbed a steel beam, and shifted under the ventilation opening. From his pocket, he took out the metal box, hooked it upside down, hooked his feet onto the beam, and slowly lowered himself headfirst to place the device on the red bricks beneath the vent. With a twist of his waist, he slipped into the darkness under the eaves.

His agility, like a high-wire acrobat, filled Du Jianwu and Gao Qinghua with admiration, making them want to cheer aloud.

Meanwhile, inside the microcar, Zhuzi nervously adjusted the focus, and within ten seconds captured a clear image inside the warehouse. Under the bright explosion-proof lights were Mercedes cars with their roofs cut off. Zhuzi was so excited he spent over five minutes filming before signaling Du Jianwu.

Du Jianwu received Zhuzi’s signal and notified Kang Ning through a button-type wireless mic that he could move on to the second target.

Kang Ning dropped down from the eaves’ shadow, packed away the metal box, and immediately got a warning from Du Jianwu: someone was approaching between warehouses one and two; hide at once.

Kang Ning slipped back into the eaves’ darkness. Ten seconds later, four men with powerful flashlights arrived at the rear of the warehouses. After shining on the old factory’s wall and corner, they split into pairs to patrol. One pair circled behind warehouse three, glanced quickly, and left.

The pair that patrolled around warehouse one were particularly annoying. They stopped directly beneath Kang Ning’s hiding spot. The two leisurely leaned against the wall, lit cigarettes, and whispered, showing no intention of leaving soon. This made Du Jianwu and Gao Qinghua, watching from two directions, furious. They knew Kang Ning had been hanging from the steel beam in the eaves for over ten minutes. If these two didn’t leave soon, Kang Ning would be forced to stay too long and risk exposure.

After over ten minutes, Kang Ning, still hanging in the eaves’ shadow, saw the two men below still lingering. Their conversation was worthless—about cheating at gambling and who was sleeping with whom. Kang Ning cursed inwardly, sweat pouring down his forehead and body from the prolonged strain and growing anxiety. Large beads of sweat gathered on his brow and then fell onto the heads of the two men below.

A bald man at the foot of the wall was hit on the head by the drops. He rubbed his head, looked up sharply, and immediately began cursing loudly.