Wu Laizi finally arrived in Dalou Town on the eleventh day of the first lunar month, after traveling over two thousand kilometers. Following Cat Brother’s instructions, he stayed in the same rental house as before.
He stayed there for over a month, with Cat Brother telling him to wait and sending him ten thousand yuan for living expenses.
After Yang Jian and others entered Meng La, although they didn't receive any news from Wu Laizi, they didn't remain idle.
Within a month, Zhang Hui and Qin Feiyang, with Peng Yu’s cooperation, dismantled two drug trafficking rings and seized over a hundred thousand methamphetamine pills in conjunction with domestic police.
To prevent retaliation from the drug factory owner, Zhang Hui personally took Peng Yu back to China to surrender. Given his significant contributions in combating drug traffickers, the police would reduce his punishment and plead for leniency on his behalf in court, with a high probability of a suspended sentence.
Meanwhile, Yang Jian and Biaobiao assisted Yang Fan in setting up the paper mill. The special administrative region government allocated nearly a hundred mu of hilly land for their factory.
Yang Jian, knowledgeable about engineering, was responsible for site leveling and factory construction. The construction team and heavy machinery were brought in from China, and the project was contracted to them. Yang Jian only needed to supervise the progress and quality.
Originally, Yang Jian intended to force Su Zhengnan to reveal which scam companies those people from Wanquan were sold to. However, Yang Fan said there was no rush and they could interrogate him together after catching Cat Brother, as a large-scale search for people would easily alert Cat Brother.
Cat Brother had money and could easily find backing and a hiding place in northern Myanmar. His information channels were also very well-informed. To avoid alarming him, Yang Jian could only follow Yang Fan’s lead for now and focus his efforts on setting up the paper mill.
After staying in the rental house for a month and a half, Wu Laizi finally received a visit from Cat Brother’s subordinate, Ah Bin.
“Fifth Brother, pack your things and come with me. Cat Brother wants to see you.”
Ah Bin was in his early twenties, a local, and quite burly, but he still appeared somewhat short compared to the one-meter-ninety Wu Laizi.
“Where are we going? Are we going out of the country?”
Wu Laizi was already suspicious of Cat Brother’s motives for calling him. He had come in such a hurry, only to be left waiting for so long after arriving.
“Just come with me. Cat Brother is waiting for you. There’s good news.”
“Alright then, wait for me a moment while I pack.”
Wu Laizi put his clothes into a backpack and tucked a dagger into his waistband. The pistol Cat Brother had given him earlier had been confiscated by Ah Bin when he left Dalou Town to return to Hancheng last time. The dagger was his only means of self-defense.
He got on Ah Bin’s motorcycle and left Dalou Town directly, crossing the border into Meng La.
The two did not enter the city but went to a small village about ten kilometers outside the city.
In front of a wooden house at the edge of the village, backed by a mountain, Wu Laizi was immediately met with a pistol pointed at his head as soon as he got off the motorcycle.
Four young men with wooden sticks and machetes surrounded him, and Ah Bin searched him, confiscating the dagger and his mobile phone.
Wu Laizi was terrified. “Ah Bin, what’s going on? Where is Cat Brother?”
Cat Brother emerged from the wooden house. “Old Wu, I’m right here.”
“Cat Brother, don’t joke around, the gun might go off.”
“I’m not joking. Come in, I have something to ask you.”
After speaking, Cat Brother turned and entered the house. The young men pushed Wu Laizi inside.
Before he could steady himself, Wu Laizi saw Cat Brother wave his hand, and a young man swung a wooden club, hitting Wu Laizi’s calf.
“Ouch.”
Caught off guard, Wu Laizi immediately fell to the ground, writhing in pain.
Cat Brother stepped on his face. “Old Wu, I treated you like a brother, but you stabbed me in the back. And you still dared to come here.”
Wu Laizi quickly tried to defend himself. “Cat Brother, I don’t understand what you’re saying. When did I stab you in the back? I’ve never done anything to betray you.”
Cat Brother shifted his foot on his face a couple of times, causing Wu Laizi to slap the floor in pain.
“Never done anything to betray me? Dare you say that Baoguo’s arrest has nothing to do with you?”
“Baoguo’s arrest really has nothing to do with me. I only received your call after arriving in Hancheng, saying you couldn’t contact him, and that’s when I learned Baoguo was in trouble.”
“Hmph, less than half an hour after Baoguo received the goods, the police showed up. The timing was so precise, it’s unbelievable without someone tipping them off.”
“That couldn’t have been me. I don’t even know where Baoguo lives specifically, how could I have tipped them off?”
Wu Laizi knew Cat Brother wouldn’t believe him easily. The only thing he could do now was to stall for time, hoping Zhang Hui and the others could track him here.
But what he didn’t know was that Zhang Hui and Qin Feiyang had been busy arresting drug traffickers and then sending Peng Yu back to China, so they weren’t in Meng La at this time.
The tracker was also on them. Due to the lack of activity for such a long time, they probably weren’t constantly monitoring the display.
“Ah Bin, strip him naked and burn his clothes.”
Cat Brother didn’t argue with Wu Laizi. He released his face and turned to sit in a chair.
Ah Bin and the others immediately stepped forward, stripped Wu Laizi naked, and took his clothes and backpack to the courtyard to burn them.
“Cat Brother, there’s nothing. The dagger and phone have also been dismantled. We found nothing unusual.”
After burning the clothes, Ah Bin came in and shook his head at Cat Brother.
Wu Laizi covered his lower body with his hands. “Cat Brother, what are you looking for? I really haven’t done anything to betray you, otherwise, I wouldn’t have traveled thousands of kilometers to join you.”
Cat Brother’s face was grim, his eyes fixed on Wu Laizi like a viper’s. “Old Wu, just confess. Are you a police informant? Did you install a tracker in the canvas bag used to transport the meth?”
“No, I’m not a police informant, and I didn’t install any tracker.”
“I didn’t suspect you before because I treated you as a true brother. But after Baoguo was arrested, the entire sales network was wiped out by the police, including that couple who transported fruits long distances.
And the only one the police didn’t arrest or issue a warrant for was you. This is very abnormal because Baoguo, to save his own life, would definitely have given up both me and you.
The police have issued a warrant for me, and I can no longer stay in China, which is why I had to come here. But no one checked you whether you traveled by train or bus.
Also, I had my contacts in the town check, and you weren’t at your uncle’s house during the New Year. You clearly lied to me.
Therefore, the only explanation is that you were bought off by the police and Yang Jian. The beating you received from Yang Jian was clearly a ruse, intended to get close to me.
You tampered with that batch of goods, installing a tracker in the canvas bag. As soon as the goods reached Baoguo, the police raided the place, catching him red-handed, and Baoguo didn’t even have a chance to destroy the evidence.”
Cat Brother, with his meticulous planning and foresight, had analyzed the entire process with remarkable accuracy, leaving Wu Laizi speechless.
“Cat Brother, it really wasn’t me. That bag was given to me directly by that Peng. Why don’t you suspect him?”
“He’s a salesperson for the manufacturer, and I’m his major client. How could he cut off his own source of income? If he did that, his boss wouldn’t let him off either. So, you are the most suspicious person in the entire chain.”
“Cat Brother, what do I need to do for you to believe me?”
“If you can withstand Ah Bin’s methods, I’ll believe you. Take him out and give him a good treatment. Don’t cripple him, though. I’m still expecting to sell him for a good price and get back the tens of thousands of yuan I gave him. I don’t do business at a loss.”
The tens of thousands of yuan Cat Brother had given earlier were all to lure Wu Laizi over. In the end, he would have to return it all.