Chapter 1265: Arrest

Zhao Fusheng sometimes thought back to his past life, recalling the people who had appeared in his life, thinking of Fan Baobao, of those who had taken different paths and ended up in different places, including Chen Shijie. People tossed back and forth between darkness and light; the threads of fate were tied to each person's legs, entangled with the directions they moved in. Some went far away, others broke off in the future.

And when people had the chance to stop and look back, they suddenly found that the world had changed.

One misstep leads to eternal regret; looking back, a hundred years have passed.

Zhao Fusheng didn't know whether the former Chen Shijie, at the moment of his execution, had looked back on the past or felt regret, but Zhao Fusheng was certain that at this moment, he absolutely could not allow Chen Shijie to make a mistake he shouldn't.

After a long while, Chen Shijie raised his head, his eyes slightly red. He glanced at Zhao Fusheng and then gave a bitter smile.

"You really are..." he muttered to himself, stood up, walked over to Zhao Fusheng, and patted him on the shoulder: "Are you that worried I'll do something stupid?"

Zhao Fusheng shot him a glare: "I'm not worried about you; I'm worried about my employees. They've already left the military, and they work for me so their families can live better. Now you want to gamble with their lives. Do you think I'd agree? I told them before: although our goal at Future Security is to ensure client safety, the premise is that clients can't treat our lives as worthless."

This was Zhao Fusheng's true feeling. In his view, no matter how impressive an employer, they had no right to use his employees as scapegoats.

On this point, Zhao Fusheng was very certain.

Chen Shijie looked at Zhao Fusheng. He wasn't surprised by Zhao's words; if the guy didn't have such qualities, he probably couldn't have amassed so much wealth in just a few years.

This old classmate of his really was impressive.

"Alright, let's leave now," Chen Shijie said after thinking it over.

No matter what, he couldn't lose a friend like Zhao Fusheng. If Zhao thought he was using his subordinates to advance his own career, Chen Shijie felt that would be too great a loss.

So, gritting his teeth, he decided to accept Zhao Fusheng's advice.

Zhao Fusheng naturally agreed. The group quickly packed up to leave.

Of course, they couldn't tell Jiang Wen and Yu Feihong the real reason. Zhao Fusheng's excuse was that they had been living too austerely there lately, so he planned to take everyone to Dongyang City to rest, eat well, recuperate, and discuss investment matters with the city government.

As for the site, Zhao Fusheng thought it over and decided to have Chen Shijie leave four scouts and ten Future Security veterans to protect the supplies, while also having Jiang Wen and Yu Feihong each leave two assistants.

After all, they had to put on a complete act, giving the impression that they would return.

Yu Feihong didn't suspect anything about Zhao Fusheng's approach. Although Old Jiang was a bit suspicious, he was smart enough to see that the young man surnamed Chen had an unusual relationship with Zhao Fusheng and an unusual identity. So Old Jiang said nothing, happy to play dumb.

Sometimes, there was no helping it. If people didn't learn to play dumb, they often wouldn't be so happy.

Ignorance is bliss—that wasn't just a joke; it was an attitude toward life gained after truly experiencing the joys and sorrows of life and its hardships.

And so, the group left Dahong Village in a grand procession. Soon after they left, someone quietly entered the mountains...

...

...

After leaving Beitong County with the group, Chen Shijie immediately led Captain Li to the Provincial Public Security Department. He still needed to contact the department to mobilize the armed police—it wasn't as easy as just talking; procedures had to be followed.

As for Zhao Fusheng, he simply dragged Jiang Wen, Yu Feihong, and the others to downtown Dongyang City for a good meal, a bath, and a massage.

"What are you really up to?" Jiang Wen, puzzled, pulled Zhao Fusheng aside when Yu Feihong stepped out.

Zhao Fusheng smiled: "Nothing much. I'm planning to invest here. If you're interested, you can join in. What do you think?"

Jiang Wen blinked, looking innocent: "I don't have money. How about you lend me some?"

Zhao Fusheng rolled his eyes in exasperation. He felt that Old Jiang was getting craftier, even learning to play mind games with him.

But he didn't pursue it further. Clearly, Jiang Wen wasn't interested in the investment, and Zhao Fusheng wasn't bored enough to offer him shares. In business, even with good friends, it was the same: if you gave someone an opportunity and they didn't seize it, you couldn't be blamed.

So, many years later, Jiang Wen would regret it.

Of course, that was later. For now, Old Jiang still didn't understand what Zhao Fusheng was really up to. Judging by his attitude, he was clearly hiding some secret.

But Jiang Wen also knew that since Zhao Fusheng wasn't telling him and Yu Feihong, it must be for their own good, so he had to suppress his curiosity.

Zhao Fusheng, however, didn't dwell on it. He called Zheng Yao and shared his idea of investing in Dongyang City.

"Do you really think this is feasible?"

Zheng Yao was in Shenzhen at the time. After hearing Zhao Fusheng's words, she was a bit surprised but found it reasonable. After all, Zhao Fusheng was the type to pay special attention to details others overlooked and occasionally stir things up.

This time in Sichuan, he had thought of turning mountain products into goods sold online. Zheng Yao felt that was very Zhao Fusheng.

"You have to understand, e-commerce will definitely become mainstream in the future," Zhao Fusheng explained to Zheng Yao. "Not just mountain products—as long as we can imagine it, many products will appear online. In fact, I think some people will even go abroad to buy items for domestic buyers."

Zheng Yao was stunned, momentarily unable to process Zhao Fusheng's words.

Zhao Fusheng chuckled inwardly but naturally didn't explain about daigou—that was a terrifying industry that eventually forced the state to enact an e-commerce law.

Of course, it hadn't emerged yet, and probably no one was thinking of making a profit from it now.

"Since you plan to invest, should I arrange for someone to contact the Dongyang Municipal Party Committee and Government?" Zheng Yao asked after thinking.

Since he had brought it up, it should be led by him.

Zhao Fusheng thought for a moment: "How about this: you contact the provincial investment promotion department instead. Now is the time for attracting investment. I think we can appropriately request some policy benefits. Also, the transportation situation there is poor—that's always been a concern of mine."

"Alright, I'll contact them first and then send someone over," Zheng Yao agreed, finding Zhao Fusheng's reasoning sound.

Hanging up, Zhao Fusheng let out a long breath. By the time everything calmed down, the company's negotiation team should have arrived in Dongyang City. Then he could have a good talk with the city's leaders about the investment.

...

...

It had to be said, Zhao Fusheng was quite prescient. While Zheng Yao was contacting the Sichuan Provincial Investment Promotion Office in Beijing, Chen Shijie had already gotten in touch with Cao Jianming of the Ministry of Public Security.

After all, this case involved drug manufacturing and was a cross-provincial major case.

As the current head of the Narcotics Control Bureau, Cao Jianming naturally had the authority to intervene.

When Cao Jianming received the news, he was also taken aback. He never expected that, having sent Chen Shijie to Zhao Fusheng merely as a favor, they would uncover such a big case.

It was like a gift from heaven!

For a police officer, what was the most gratifying thing?

Of course, it was a case—especially a major one closely related to them.

So, after hearing Chen Shijie's report and confirming that the drug dealers had guns, Cao Jianming immediately reported to the ministry leaders. Upon hearing the news, the higher-ups dared not delay and quickly contacted the armed police and field army in Sichuan. The Sichuan Military Region dispatched a battalion of soldiers to assist, and the Sichuan Armed Police Anti-Drug Corps also sent a large force. Nearly a thousand people, riding military vehicles and with the cooperation of the Provincial Public Security Department, headed straight for Dongyang.

This time, for the sake of secrecy, they didn't even alert the Dongyang police.

Even Zhao Fusheng didn't know Chen Shijie's movements were so swift. He had thought it would take at least two or three days from reporting to finalizing the arrest plan.

But he never expected that they arrived in Dongyang at noon, and by evening, the troops had already mobilized.

According to the later recollection of Jiang Wen's assistant who was present, that night, the entire mountain was lit up with flames, and gunfire could be heard.

In fact, his memory was correct. After the Provincial Public Security Department leaders led the team to Dahong Village, with Chen Shijie as their guide, they quickly surrounded the drug manufacturing factory.

Public security officers handled the outer perimeter, capturing any escapees and sealing off information. The armed police were responsible for sealing the mountains, while the military sent personnel in for the arrest.

With such a division of duties, the actual operation took less than an hour. They wiped out the entire group of drug dealers and successfully rescued over a dozen trapped women.

Not only that, they also captured the mastermind behind the criminal gang who had come to pick up goods and conduct transactions. Following his social connections, they successfully dismantled a criminal ring hidden within Beitong County.

When the morning sun appeared, Chen Shijie knew that his life was about to take a new turn.