The Red Era: Living in Seclusion in a Siheyuan as a Boss

Chapter 684 Successful Contact with the Target!!!

Meanwhile, the exercise led by Liu Zhiye is encountering a sudden and fierce confrontation, with the situation changing rapidly.

Meanwhile, Liu Wu's anti-drug operation in the Southwest has entered its second phase—the most crucial part of this meticulously designed crackdown plan is slowly unfolding.

Command base.

Seeing that the first "show" had gone smoothly, Liu Wu gave an order to officially begin the second "show".

A few days later, Zhang Jin pretended to be "interrogated by the military".

To make the case more realistic, relevant departments received special instructions to thoroughly investigate all those involved.

Meanwhile, radio stations, newspapers, and other media outlets all reported on this "case."

In this way, the "identities" of Zhang Jincheng and the other two were resolved.

He became a "criminal," which created favorable conditions for him to infiltrate the prison and get close to his target.

With the cooperation of all parties, the "case" was handled in the shortest possible time. It was publicly announced that Zhang Jin was sentenced to "life imprisonment" and was subsequently pretended to be taken to prison.

This crucial "play" was meticulously planned by Liu Wu and his accomplices, just waiting for the enemy to take the bait.

As Zhang Jincheng's other accomplices in this operation, Zhuang Yan and Lei Jun were also falsely discharged from the military and sent back to their hometowns.

The good show continues.

In preparation for future operations, on the night before they were to be repatriated, Zhuang Yan and Lei Jun pretended to knock out the guards and secretly escaped, thus clearing up any doubts about their identities.

Now that you've arrived at this point, you, the readers, have a clear understanding.

This "cleaning up" of their identities was the most crucial step for Zhang Jin and his two companions to infiltrate the "powder peddler" network.

……

As the iron gate behind him slammed shut, Zhang Jin knew he had embarked on a dangerous journey.

The journey ahead is unpredictable. From this moment on, he must rely on his own wisdom and courage to face everything, and disregard his own life and death.

At this point, Zhang Jincheng's mind had completely calmed down.

His ears rang again with the words of Brigade Commander Liu Wu: What a person can accomplish depends on his beliefs, not anything else.

A sudden surge of unwavering confidence welled up within Zhang Jincheng, and he strode forward with determined steps, under the watchful eyes of the prison guards…

This is a special prison in Yunnan Province, where serious drug traffickers are held.

Inside the prison building, there are iron gates made of steel bars several centimeters thick welded together at intervals.

Zhang Jin silently counted in his mind; he had already passed through five gates, but hadn't yet reached the cell where he was to be imprisoned.

Two fully armed police officers and two prison guards escorted Zhang Jincheng down the corridor.

Zhang Jin was wearing shackles on his feet, which made a crisp sound as they scraped against the ground.

To make the performance convincing, Zhang Jin said that he had been shackled since the day he was escorted here, and now his feet were rubbing together and aching slightly.

The prison guards escorted Zhang Jincheng into an elevator lobby. He looked around and found that the elevators here were specially reinforced, with steel bars welded to the top.

The elevator went up five floors and then came to a metal fence, where a surveillance camera overhead was pointed at them.

The prison guard walking in front pressed a combination key on the number keys next to him, and then heard the door lock embedded in the wall click open.

Zhang Jin secretly praised the security measures, saying that even a bank's vault couldn't be more secure!
This gives you an idea of ​​what kind of prisoners are held here.

Upon entering through the iron gate, one finds cells on both sides where serious offenders are held. The iron gates of these cells are made of thick iron bars, allowing a clear view of the scene inside.

Moreover, there are surveillance cameras in the corridors, monitoring everything in the cells.

There are no secrets in the cell; everything is exposed to the guards' surveillance.

Zhang Jincheng glanced at it and saw that there were about twenty cells on this floor alone.

There were numbered tags at the entrance. He was taken to cell number three, where a prison guard removed his shackles and pushed him inside.

"I'm telling you all out of kindness, 9527 used to be a special forces soldier, so you'd better not mess with him," a prison guard shouted into the cell, as if he wanted everyone around to hear.

The cell fell silent instantly, and several pairs of eyes stared at Zhang Jincheng.

In the dim light, those gazes were either wary, curious, or hostile.

Zhang Jincheng glanced around expressionlessly and found that most of the people in the cell were burly men, some of whom had hideous tattoos on their arms.

In the corner, a thin prisoner shrank back and quietly took two steps back.

On the bed in the very center, a bald man with a face full of scars slowly stood up, a sneer on his lips: "Special forces? Ha, I've never played a special forces game before."

The prison guard gave Zhang Jincheng a meaningful look, then turned and locked the iron gate.

With a click, the atmosphere in the cell suddenly became tense.

The bald man cracked his knuckles and approached Zhang Jincheng: "New guy, do you know the rules? First, kowtow to your boss, then hand over all your valuables."

Zhang Jincheng remained silent, only slightly narrowing his eyes.

He could feel people quietly closing in from behind, blocking his escape route.

Outside the cell, the other prisoners were all clinging to the iron bars, excitedly waiting to see what would happen.

Suddenly, the bald man swung his fist at Zhang Jincheng! Zhang Jincheng dodged, grabbed the man's wrist, and slammed him to the ground with a clean over-the-shoulder throw.

The entire movement was so fast that it was impossible to see clearly, and a collective gasp of astonishment immediately filled the cell.

With just one move, he silenced the restless ones.

This person is really not someone to mess with, and if things get out of hand, no one will have a good outcome.

Only then did Zhang Jincheng have time to examine the cell. He scanned the area and found that the cell had ten beds, all of which were bunk beds.

The beds were secured to two layers of cement, making them very sturdy.

There were eight prisoners inside. The others surrounded Zhang Jincheng with hostile eyes, while only one big man sat upright on the bed. He was shirtless and covered with a ferocious dragon tattooed all over his body, its head on his chest as if it were about to devour something.

Zhang Jincheng glared at the prisoners surrounding him and swaggered over to an empty bed to sit down.

"Kid, don't you know any rules?" Zhang Jin heard a rude voice cursing at him from behind. He suppressed his anger and ignored it.

"Are you fucking deaf? The boss is asking you a question!" a shrill voice rang out, followed by a skinny guy pointing at Zhang Jincheng's nose and cursing.

Zhang Jincheng could tell from the guy's appearance that he used to be a "flour trader" (a derogatory term for someone who sells flour). He said in a deep voice, "Watch your mouth, who are you cursing?"

The heavy sound startled the skinny monkey.

Zhang Jin's sharp eyes and murderous aura frightened "Skinny Monkey" so much that he quickly backed away. "So he's a barbarian from the north. No wonder he doesn't know any manners."

It's clear he's hiding his fear.

Seeing that he couldn't get anywhere with the "skinny monkey," he hurriedly ran to the bald, tattooed hulking man and said obsequiously, "Brother, this is just a northern barbarian who doesn't know the rules."

"I don't care where he's from. Once he's here, he has to listen to me. I'm the boss."

As he spoke, the bald man stood up, swaying his bear-like body, and walked over to Zhang Jincheng, swinging his two stick-like arms.

"Let me teach you how to behave properly," he said, grabbing Zhang Jincheng's shoulder with his large hand.

Zhang Jin sat on the bed without moving, raised his left hand and grabbed the bald man's hand, using his thumb to bend the man's hand down from his wrist.

"Ah!" The bald man immediately grinned, but before he could cry out in pain, Zhang Jincheng suddenly kicked him in the "dragon-carved" body.

The bald man's large body, like a wall, collapsed with a loud thud.

Everyone else stared in disbelief, only "Skinny Monkey" screamed and rushed over to help the bald man, "Oh, big brother, are you alright?"

Looking at Zhang Jincheng again, he was still sitting on the bed in the same position, as if nothing had happened.

The bald man lay on the ground for a full minute before he came to his senses; he had taken a really hard hit. Then, cursing, he got up from the floor, raised his thick arm high, and like a roaring black bear, howled loudly as he fiercely pounced on Zhang Jincheng.

Before the bald man even reached him, Zhang Jincheng swayed and delivered a powerful punch to his cheek.

With a "smack," the bald man's head snapped back to the side, and at the same time, a spurt of blood gushed from his mouth, forming a beautiful parabola in the air before splattering onto the bed and the wall beside him.

On the training field, Zhang Jincheng can send a 200-pound sandbag flying with a single punch, let alone a person.

The bald man collapsed to the ground with a thud, making the floorboards tremble. He couldn't get up anymore, and he let out muffled groans.

The people next to him were so frightened that they all stepped back, looking at Zhang Jincheng in terror.

These people probably aren't die-hard fans of the bald man; they've been bullied quite a bit themselves, and they're all the kind of people who bully the weak and fear the strong.

Zhang Jin walked up to the bald man, placed one foot on his chest, and said contemptuously, "Get up. Didn't you say you were going to teach me manners? What manners are there here?"

The bald man spat out a few teeth, and saliva dripped from the corners of his mouth. He could only hum and shake his head laboriously, his previous arrogance completely gone.

Zhang Jin then turned his attention to the "skinny monkey," asking, "Then tell me, what are the rules?"

People like "Skinny Monkey" are opportunists. When they saw that the bald man was easily subdued by Zhang Jincheng, they were so frightened that they forgot all about the rules.

"Skinny Monkey" immediately forced a fawning smile that looked more like a grimace and hurriedly said, "No, no rules. You are the rule, you are the rule here. We will listen to you from now on."

Zhang Jin glanced at the people around him and slowly said, "It's fate that we're all in the same cell. From now on, we'll treat each other as equals. If anyone dares to shit on someone else's head again, I'll send him to the Western Paradise with one punch."

Perhaps someone had been bullied by the bald man for too long, and upon seeing him subdued, they immediately cheered with joy.

One of them walked up to Zhang Jincheng and asked mysteriously, "Brother, are you really a special forces soldier?"

Zhang Jincheng frowned and asked in return, "What do you think?"

"Then how did you get in?" another person asked curiously.

"Well, I was eating at a restaurant when I ran into a few reckless bastards. Before I knew it, I had killed one of them. That's how I got in here," Zhang Jin said, trying to sound casual.

"Serves him right! Who dares to mess with you? I think he's doomed." Several people chattered amongst themselves.

Zhang Jin said he knew they were talking to the bald man lying on the ground.

Skinny Monkey hurriedly and attentively helped Zhang Jincheng make the bed, and said in a low voice, "You are now our eldest brother. If there is anything you need, please just tell us. We brothers will definitely do our best to help you."

Zhang Jin said he couldn't stand these sycophantic people the most, but considering his current situation, he suppressed his displeasure without saying a word and sat on the bed to think about his next move.

……

The inmates have two hours of exercise time each day, which takes place on the top floor of the building and is surrounded by iron cages.

Sunbathing is the most luxurious enjoyment for prisoners in the cell. After being in the cell for a long time, being able to go up to the top floor for some exercise every day is what they look forward to the most.

Whether due to limited space or during a period of security, prisoners on each floor were kept separate.

One hour per floor. Once you've finished your activity on one floor, you can move on to another floor.

Zhang Jin said there were forty or fifty prisoners on his floor, and they were making a ruckus as they entered the large iron cage in the exercise yard.

These people treated Zhang Jincheng with utmost respect, and within two days almost everyone had heard of his prowess.

The bald man who was the leader of the prison cell was knocked down by Zhang Jincheng with one punch.

Zhang Jincheng achieved his initial goal: to make a name for himself here.

However, he also had his troubles.

Zhang Jin claimed that he discovered the mysterious person he needed to contact in his mission was on the same floor as them, but this person never participated in their activities.

The mysterious man was kept in solitary confinement in a cell.

In a small area of ​​about ten square meters on the top floor, separated from this area, that guy was all alone in it.

This guy was like a wolf in a zoo cage, pacing back and forth from time to time, his eyes flashing with ferocity, constantly scanning the prisoners in this area.

Zhang Jin intentionally walked closer to the iron cage of the mysterious man and said to the "skinny monkey" next to him, "What does this person do? Why is he being held in solitary confinement here?"

During every event, "Skinny Monkey" would eagerly follow behind Zhang Jincheng, showing others his relationship with the new boss.

Suddenly, upon hearing Zhang Jincheng's question, "Skinny Monkey" immediately stepped forward, bowing and scraping, and said, "Brother, the one inside is different from us. We have already been sentenced, but this one hasn't been tried yet."

"Why?" Zhang Jin asked, feigning curiosity.

"Because this guy is a big 'flour dealer' over there, the police definitely want to arrest his other accomplices and sentence them together!"
"Actually, this guy was going to die sooner or later..." Skinny Monkey tried his best to show Zhang Jincheng that he knew a lot, "Damn it, these 'flour dealers' all deserve to die, they should have been shot long ago."

"Oh, it seems you really hate these 'powder vendors'?" Zhang Jin said with a half-smile.

"Without these 'flour dealers,' how would I have become a drug addict? Without drug addicts, how would I have committed robbery, and how would I have ended up here?"

"It's all their fault! They've made me look like a ghost!" the skinny monkey said through gritted teeth.

The mysterious figure in the iron cage was drawn in by their conversation and was now staring at them coldly.

The moment Zhang Jincheng's eyes met his, he sensed that this guy's eyes truly gleamed with cunning and ferocity, just like a wolf's.

At this moment, a prison guard came over and pointed an iron bar at Zhang Jincheng and the skinny man, saying, "You two leave here and are not allowed to go near the iron cages over here."

Zhang Jin said he did this to get the "flour vendor's" attention, and once he had achieved his goal, he turned and left.

After Zhang Jincheng had been detained here for a week, the thing he didn't want to see happened.

As he was pondering his next move in his cell, he suddenly heard a prison guard calling him from outside: "9257, someone is visiting."

Zhang Jin walked out of his cell and was escorted to the visiting room by two prison guards.

As he walked, he wondered who might come to visit him.
Because of the mission requirements, only a very small number of people know that they are being held here.

In addition, prisons have fixed visiting hours, and it is not visiting time now.

Zhang Jin followed the prison guard into Tan's visiting room with a lot of doubts. Before he even entered the room, he saw a very familiar figure. Suddenly, his brain went blank and his head felt like it was going to explode. It turned out that his mother was anxiously waiting outside.

Zhang Jin walked heavily into the visiting room, with two prison guards standing by to watch over them.

The visitors were Zhang Jincheng's parents...

The original plan was to keep it a secret from Zhang Jincheng's parents, but unexpectedly, a mistake was made.

Zhang Jincheng's father had an old comrade-in-arms who happened to work in the provincial government of Yunnan Province. When he learned that Zhang Jincheng had been detained for "committing a crime," he was shocked and quickly notified his parents...

"Mom and Dad, you must believe me. Please don't worry about me. Please don't... I will get better... I will prove it to you..." Zhang Jincheng was afraid that saying too much would give him away and ruin his plan, so he gritted his teeth and resolutely turned away. He couldn't let his parents see his tears.

"Jin Cheng..." came the heart-wrenching cries of his mother from behind.

Zhang Jin said he felt like his heart was being torn apart, but he dared not linger for even a moment.

The operation took an unexpected turn, and Liu Wu soon learned that Zhang Jin's parents had gone to visit him.

To prevent any unforeseen circumstances, he decided to move the plan forward and secretly visited Zhang Jincheng's parents.

Zhang Jincheng's parents have returned to their hometown overnight, intending to use their connections to help their son get out of trouble. They have high suspicions about Zhang Jincheng's case because the military did not notify his family after such a serious incident.

In order to save time, Liu Wu took a plane directly to Zhang Jincheng's hometown.

After getting off the plane, Liu Wu and his group rushed to Zhang Jincheng's home without even taking a break.

Liu Xiaotao, Zhang Jincheng's direct supervisor, also came along.

When Zhang Jincheng's parents heard that they were from the military, they quickly invited them into the house.

After Liu Wu sat down, he said to his parents, "I know you two are worried about Comrade Zhang Jincheng. It's clear that you trust your child. As parents, you know Zhang Jincheng best and understand the nature of his work, so please trust your child."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Jincheng's father felt as if dawn had broken.

Mr. Zhang breathed a sigh of relief. He had also been a soldier, and he immediately understood the underlying meaning in his superior's words. "In that case, we can rest assured."

(End of this chapter)