Chapter 259: Catch Them All in One Net

Chapter 259: The Big Bust

Su Taotao guided them in a slow, deliberate loop around the edges.

Everything seemed calm and normal.

It was a stark contrast to the chaos on the mountain.

Minister Chen and his team scoured the area from bottom to top, tracking the clues.

Police dogs, the undisputed champions of mountain searches, were naturally part of the operation.

Along the path, they stumbled upon shadowy figures dressed in black, keeping watch.

Thanks to Su Taotao’s demonstration, they had already deciphered the lookouts’ communication tactics.

Before they could even reach for their whistles, they were swiftly subdued.

They took down three of these lookouts during their advance.

This was clearly a well-planned operation.

Ling Cong and his crew had already realized the danger and were moving out.

He figured even if Su Taotao caught on and alerted the cops, what could they do?

Without proof, he doubted the police would act fast, even with a tip.

Even if they sent a few rookies to check things out, it wouldn’t faze them.

The mountain was huge, and their hideout was nearly impossible to find.

A day or even half a day would give them enough time to escape.

He’d be long gone before the main force showed up.

To his shock, within an hour, search dogs and the Armed Forces Department were on the scene.

Ling Cong was baffled—how did a tip with no proof bring the Armed Forces Department into play?

Before he even got a signal from the skinny lookout, the military was already in their faces.

They were caught completely unprepared.

"Freeze! Hands in the air!"

Ling Cong’s face went pale with fear.

He and a dozen rear guards were quickly subdued.

Caught in the act during their escape, any excuses were pointless.

Officer Zhang’s team discovered the tunnel exit across the road and nabbed a few suspects.

They battled through the tunnel and were stunned by what they found in the air-raid shelter.

One of Minister Chen’s men reported:

"Boss, the shelter’s packed with antiques, art, gold, and a whole arsenal of weapons and ammo."

Smuggling won't get you far.

Minister Chen kicked Ling Cong: "You've got some nerve, cleaning your behind for the long haul in jail, take him away!"

"Yes, sir!"

...

"Who knows what's happening up on the mountain, but it's calm here... Hey, is that someone?"

As soon as Su Taotao finished speaking, several people began sliding down the mountain using ropes.

Su Taotao quickly stepped on the gas, drove over, and with a neat drift, stopped the car:

"Comrades of the Public Security, it's time to work."

The two Public Security officers got out of the car as fast as they could.

Dong Shengping, Secretary Zhao, and Little Lu also got out and ran over to help.

Su Taotao stayed in the car, overseeing the situation.

The first one to jump down was immediately restrained by the Public Security officers and handcuffed.

The captured person shouted: "Run! Go back! Run fast..."

Those still in mid-air paused their descent to look down, then quickly changed direction and started climbing back up.

The cop took aim and yelled, "Come down, or I'll shoot!"

The two ignored him, pushing themselves to climb higher.

The cop aimed at the rope and fired a warning shot over one of their heads.

"Get down now, or the next one’s going in your legs!"

They froze, too scared to move.

"Get down!" The cop fired another shot.

"Wait, don’t shoot! We’re coming down…"

They started climbing down slowly.

In a blind spot the cop couldn’t see, someone else was moving.

Someone hanging just a meter off the ground, still unseen, was slowly inching away, trying to stay hidden.

Su Taotao gunned the car straight toward them.

Xiao Lu and Dong Shengping saw this and immediately tailed Su Taotao’s car.

The guy had already landed and was about to bolt.

Su Taotao sped up, whipped the car around, and cut him off.

Dong Shengping was quick—he grabbed a wooden stick and hurled it at the guy.

The man stumbled and fell to the ground.

Xiao Lu rushed forward, kneeling on the man's back and pinning his hands behind him: "Don't move! Or I'll break your arms."

Su Taotao found a rope in the car and threw it down.

"Use this to tie him up."

Dong Shengping picked up the rope and approached, holding the man down while Xiao Lu tightly bound his hands and dragged him into the car.

When Su Taotao drove back, the police and the Secretary were already escorting three handcuffed individuals.

Su Taotao signaled Xiao Lu to throw the man out of the car:

"Secretary Zhao, you take the man back to join the main force. Leave one police officer with us to check for any stragglers."

One of the police officers got back into the car.

Secretary Zhao: "Be careful."

Xiao Lu was about to get in the car.

Su Taotao said: "Xiao Lu, help with the escort."

With that, she stepped on the gas and drove off.

Xiao Lu: "..."

Sutao Tao drove around carefully, patrolling the area, but this time she found no one who had slipped through the net.

When she returned to the starting point, the police and the Armed Forces Department had already apprehended over twenty people.

With so many arrests, there should have been quite a commotion.

Sutao Tao hadn't even heard a gunshot from below.

But they had fired two shots on their side.

She wondered how they managed it.

The scale of this criminal gang seemed considerable.

Even as they were caught, they didn't appear flustered; each one remained calm, looking at her with cold eyes.

Truly well-trained, she thought, though she couldn't help but wonder what kind of nefarious activities they were involved in.

Despite her curiosity, Sutao Tao knew what questions to ask and which to leave unasked.

Minister Chen and Secretary Zhao approached simultaneously.

Secretary Zhao extended his hand to Sutao Tao: "Thank you, Director Su."

"It was nothing," Sutao Tao replied, giving his hand a light shake before letting go.

Minister Chen also reached out: "Thank you."

Sutao Tao nodded and gave his hand a similar light shake, then released it.

"Thank you as well."

The two leaders expressed their gratitude to Xiao Lu and Dong Shengping respectively.

"Leave the rest to you. We'll head back first. By the way, when can I go up the mountain to survey the terrain?" Su Taotao asked.

Minister Chen said, "In three days. I need to conduct a thorough search."

Su Taotao nodded, "Alright."

Secretary Zhao: "Survey the terrain?"

Su Taotao pointed to the mountain and said, "I mentioned before that I want to build an automated conveyor belt from up there to let the coconuts roll down, reducing transportation costs.

I'll include detailed plans in the proposal. Once I finish designing the factory, I'll submit everything for your review."

Secretary Zhao nodded repeatedly, "Good, good, good. Go ahead with confidence; we will provide full support."

Su Taotao joked, "What if the budget comes out much higher than you expected?"

Secretary Zhao replied seriously, "Then I'll have to swallow my pride and go to the city or even the province to secure funds for you."

Su Taotao is now the hope of the entire county, and her reliability needs no further proof.

If someone like her can't drive the county's development forward,

Secretary Zhao really doesn't know who can.

Su Taotao smiled and said, "It's best if we handle our county's affairs ourselves. I'll do my best to stay within the budget."

Sutao Tao glanced at her watch: "I'll head back first, you all carry on."

"Your commendation will be sent directly to the factory," Secretary Zhao said.

"No!" Sutao Tao waved her hand, "Absolutely not. I don't want to be asked what I did to deserve it and have nothing to say in response. I still need your support for many things in the future, so let's leave it at this today."

...

The two leaders watched as Sutao Tao's car drove away.

"Director Su is indeed very decisive, capable, and knows her limits and when to step back," Minister Chen said.

Creating such a big stir, arresting so many people—it was clearly a major case, and she was the one who discovered it.

Despite her obvious curiosity, she didn't ask a single question, acting as if nothing had happened.

Even her two deputies were very discreet, not saying a word about what they shouldn't discuss or ask.

Secretary Zhao turned his gaze to the criminals:

"Of course, that's why I entrusted her with such an important task."

He nodded toward the group of criminals:

"Report to the city immediately. This case is closely linked to the major smuggling case in the city. Solving this case will ensure both you and Zhang Wei get promoted."

Minister Chen felt that he had stumbled upon this situation by sheer luck. He originally had a slight thought of “whether it was a bit of an overreaction.”

But with Secretary Zhao's backing and insistence on bringing everyone along, the operation went so smoothly.

If only Zhang Wei had come with the police, it would have been impossible to capture everyone in such a large area.

"Thanks to you and that Director Su. She doesn't want any commendation, I wonder how to thank her."

Secretary Zhao: "She is a practical person and doesn't care about these empty titles. She said something very true, from now on, we are all in the same boat, and there will be many more times when we need to rely on each other."

Minister Chen nodded: "Yes, the future is long."