Chapter 10: Finding a Clue

"I was just there to deliver some daily necessities and food to those six people," Wu Huaqiang said with a mournful face. "Officers, I truly don't know anything else!"

Zheng Tao slapped him on the back of the head. "Still not telling the truth at a time like this? You don't know anything, yet you personally went to deliver supplies to them?"

"And you stayed there serving them all night?"

Li Mo, meanwhile, asked Wu Huaqiang, "Does every one of them have a tattoo?"

"Huh?"

Wu Huaqiang was stunned for a moment, then immediately nodded. "Yes, they all have the same tattoo, just in different places."

He might overlook other things, but when it came to tattoos, Wu Huaqiang was an expert. "That craftsmanship—you could tell at a glance it was custom-made by a master. Neither the technique nor the materials were anything a common street tattoo artist could produce."

"Draw what the tattoo looks like."

Upon hearing this, Li Mo took a pen and paper from the glove box and handed them to Wu Huaqiang.

Wu Huaqiang took the pen and paper but didn't start drawing immediately. Instead, he looked at Zheng Tao and said, "Officer Zheng, I didn't want to serve them all night either. It’s just that once I went inside, they wouldn't let me leave."

"They didn't even let me sleep all night; they only let me go this morning!"

Li Mo frowned upon hearing this.

"They only let you go this morning?" Li Mo's expression shifted. This group was not composed of benevolent or mild-mannered people—why would they let Wu Huaqiang leave?

Li Mo immediately pulled out his phone and called his colleague in charge of surveillance at the bureau. "Hey, Old Wang, help me check the surveillance near 78 Jiangbei Road. Yes, within the last three hours. See if anyone has left that area!"

After hanging up, Li Mo turned to Wu Huaqiang. "Anything else?"

"I delivered things to them because one of them was a friend of mine. He gave me some money and hired me to buy them supplies."

Hearing this, Li Mo immediately asked, "A friend of yours? What’s his name, and what other information do you have on him?"

"His real name is Hu Quanbiao, but we all call him 'Three-Tiger.' We used to run with the same boss, but then he went out of town, and we haven't been in touch for years," Wu Huaqiang said hurriedly.

"Hu Quanbiao, 'Three-Tiger,' got it."

Li Mo composed a text message, sending this information back to the bureau to have them run a background check on the man.

"Anything else?" Li Mo continued to press Wu Huaqiang.

"No, that's it, that's it," Wu Huaqiang said quickly.

"Then hurry up and draw the tattoo pattern!"

Li Mo climbed into the driver's seat, started the car, and headed forward; where they would go next depended entirely on the tattoo Wu Huaqiang drew.

Before long, Wu Huaqiang put down the pen and said with a fawning expression, "Officers, I've finished."

Looking at the drawing, which was somewhat crude but clearly depicted a pyramid with an eye above it, Li Mo took a deep breath. Finally, he had a lead!

Zheng Tao's expression turned grim. Although they had found a lead, given the group's methods, letting Wu Huaqiang walk away likely meant they were preparing to abandon their hideout.

"Master, call Director Tang and notify our people to focus on monitoring the tattoos of anyone leaving the area!"

"The county is under a total lockdown; it won't be easy for them to get out!"

As soon as Li Mo finished speaking, Zheng Tao pulled out his phone to call Tang Hu. While Zheng Tao was on the call, Li Mo drove straight toward the location of the investigation team.

Soon, the car pulled into the county government compound and stopped in front of one of the buildings.

This building served as the headquarters for the joint investigation team following the merger of the three cases, and the team's leadership, including Tian Yun, was inside.

After the car stopped, Li Mo stepped out, and Zheng Tao dragged Wu Huaqiang along, holding the sketch of the tattoo.

Tang Hu was already waiting for them with his men. Since the investigation team hadn't had a single lead until now, and Li Mo and Zheng Tao—who had only joined the team with his approval last night—had already found one, this was a great opportunity for him to shine in front of Tian Yun.

"Is this him?" Tang Hu asked, looking at Li Mo and Zheng Tao.

"That's right," Li Mo nodded.

Tang Hu waved his hand, and the members of the investigation team stepped forward to take Wu Huaqiang from Zheng Tao.

"You two come with me; Secretary Tian wants to see you," Tang Hu whispered, leaning in toward Li Mo and Zheng Tao.

With that, he walked toward the main building. Li Mo and Zheng Tao exchanged glances and followed close behind.

On the third floor, where the joint investigation team was housed, Tian Yun was sitting behind his desk reviewing documents.

A knock came at the door.

"Come in!" Tian Yun said, setting aside his papers.

The door opened, and Tang Hu led Li Mo and Zheng Tao inside. Tian Yun’s gaze fell upon the three of them, though it rested primarily on Li Mo.

"You are Li Mo?" Tian Yun asked calmly after surveying him for a few moments.

"Yes, Secretary Tian!"

Li Mo saluted Tian Yun before replying.

"Tang says you two found a lead?" Tian Yun looked at Li Mo with curiosity.

Since arriving in Pu County, the name that had left the deepest impression on Tian Yun was Li Mo. After all, if something were to happen to Chen Xi in Pu County, he, as the Director of the Public Security Bureau, would surely face the fallout, and perhaps even the lasting grudge of Chen Teng.

Now, while the entire investigation team was stumped, Li Mo and Zheng Tao had actually found a lead.

"Reporting to Secretary Tian, my mentor and I were just trying our luck, and it turned out we actually found something!"

As Li Mo spoke, Zheng Tao handed the hand-drawn sketch to Tian Yun.

"The guy we brought in today delivered supplies to the six people at 78 Jiangbei Road yesterday evening, and this tattoo is what he saw on them," Li Mo added.

Seeing the sketch, Tian Yun pulled a document from his desk and placed it next to the drawing for comparison.

"Indeed!"

A sharp glint flashed in Tian Yun's eyes. He looked at Li Mo with a smile. "Good. If we can truly capture them using this lead, you two will deserve the highest credit!"

He then turned to Tang Hu. "Tang, take your men to check the situation at 78 Jiangbei Road and see if they have evacuated."

"78 Jiangbei Road may be a trap left by them. Do not be careless!"

"Yes, sir!"

After receiving his orders, Tang Hu saluted Tian Yun with a joyful expression and quickly left the office.

Tian Yun pointed to the sofa not far from his desk. "Sit for a while, while we wait for Tang to report back on the situation at 78 Jiangbei Road."

"Yes, sir!"

Li Mo nodded and sat on the sofa with Zheng Tao.

Just as Tang Hu led a team to verify the situation at 78 Jiangbei Road, on a three-story building more than a hundred meters away, a figure holding binoculars was staring intently at 78 Jiangbei Road...