The Mitsubishi off-road vehicle is a favorite among certain special departments, and Song Heping knew this, making it very suitable for executing missions.
Although it bore local license plates, it had already caught Song Heping's attention.
After closing the curtains, Song Heping returned to his backpack, took out his laptop, set it on the desk, connected to the network, and linked up his encryption device.
Sitting at the desk watching the network icon dial up, he used this time to start thinking.
He had originally planned to confront Brother Dabiao, but now it seemed inappropriate.
He didn't want to do anything illegal in this land.
He was even less willing to resort to vigilantism, although it would be very easy for him and far from difficult.
But the price to pay would be permanent.
Being targeted now, it was better to stay out of trouble and keep a low profile.
Although he didn't know which department the people targeting him were from, it was always best to be cautious.
The network finally connected.
Song Heping immediately began writing an email, primarily instructing Ferrari and Henry to immediately activate company resources to investigate Brother Dabiao's background in great detail, insisting on extreme thoroughness and demanding the data within a day, no matter what means were used.
Additionally, he instructed Ferrari to send the engineering design drawings and related materials of the Venezuela base to his own email as soon as possible.
After sending the email, Song Heping took a cold shower.
This was a habit he had retained from his time in the military.
As a Special Soldier, he needed to maintain adaptability to low temperatures year-round since one never knew what harsh conditions might be faced someday.
With the cold water pouring over his head, Song Heping leaned against the wall—the plan for all his affairs and work meticulously organized in his head.
This too was a habit of Song Heping's.
He would summarize his work every day, constantly adjust his plans and contingency strategies to ensure he would not be caught off-guard by sudden changes.
After finishing his shower, Song Heping saw a new email in his inbox; looking at the sender, it was from Ferrari.
Upon opening it, there were only two English letters—OK!
He went to the door, engaged the security bolt, checked the locks, then dimmed the lights before climbing into bed, pulling the covers over himself and promptly falling asleep.
When the alarm woke him again, the room was still pitch dark.
He got up and walked slowly to the side of the bed, lifting a sliver of the curtain to peer through his compact monocular at the direction of the parking lot once more.
The Mitsubishi off-road vehicle was still there.
Song Heping used the landline to call the front desk, ordered breakfast to be delivered to his room, and then picked up the phone to call his younger siblings, informing them that he had returned to the country and instructing them to come home early for New Year's—if they couldn't book tickets, he would find someone to help them.
Upon hearing Song Heping was back, his younger brother Song Kaixuan and younger sister Song Lingling were thrilled on the phone, complaining non-stop about why their brother hadn't informed them of his return sooner.
Song Heping could only offer a wry smile, excusing himself by saying he didn't want to disrupt their studies.
After agreeing on a time to meet back home and instructing his siblings to notify the villagers about the banquet, Song Heping hung up.
Checking his email again, there were still no new messages.
After breakfast, Song Heping started doing punches, push-ups, and squats in his room. He was reluctant to go to the gym because he was waiting for the email.
By 9:40 a.m., the computer signaled a notification.
Song Heping, drenched in sweat, approached the desk and saw the screen.
Indeed, an email from Ferrari had arrived.
Beyond a zipped file containing the engineering-related drawings, another zipped file was there, containing the personal background investigation on Brother Dabiao.
Song Heping opened the zip file and extracted the documents.
Good lord!
Looking at the contents, there were over twenty pages.
He had to admire Henry; the professional touch was evident, and the efficiency was top-notch.
Grabbing a bottle of mineral water and sipping from it, Song Heping began to review Brother Dabiao's background investigation.
A quick look revealed nothing special about him until he turned twenty-seven, much like all small-time gang leaders who didn't do well in school, and started mingling with society's unsavory elements in their teens—thieving, swindling, abducting, and robbing. He was somewhat renowned in An City for his fighting ferocity, but he wasn't big brother material, at most he was a minor leader of a certain area.
At twenty-three, he was involved in a brawl that led to injuring someone and got detained in a holding cell. After a year, he was sentenced to four years, but given credit for a year served, he actually spent three years behind bars.
It was this prison term that transformed Brother Dabiao.
No one knew who had advised him in prison, but after his release, he didn't stay in An City. Instead, he quickly moved to Macau to be a gambling house employee. He made contacts with organized gangs in Macau and even HK, and even obtained a local ID card.
By the age of thirty-nine, he suddenly returned to An City, metamorphosed into a businessman from HK, opened an entertainment city named Triumphal Arch, and began engaging in real estate business. According to records, Triumphal Arch Entertainment Company was actually mirroring the practices of Macau, operating an underground casino and high-interest loans behind the scenes.
As Song Heping read on, he discovered a piece of information that excited him.
According to the records, Brother Dabiao was on the priority watchlist of HK's Black Group, suspected to be connected with the Golden Triangle's white powder syndicate.
Therefore, there was reasonable suspicion that his sudden departure to return inland a few years ago was to lay low from scrutiny.
The next table of information made Song Heping greatly admire Henry's business capabilities.
It was obviously the Black Group's internal data.