After breaking up with my boyfriend, I made a fortune and rose rapidly in my career.

Jiacheng Precision's visitor registration book.

Chen Ping locked his phone, put it in his pocket, and turned the key. The engine roared back to life, the headlights piercing the darkness of the parking lot, and he reversed towards the hospital entrance.

Wu Shaoming appeared at Jiacheng Precision, and then he appeared under Fang Zhiyuan's fingernails. These two events were half a month apart, but they point to the same logical chain: he is not a former secretary who has "resigned," but a living pawn still moving on the chessboard.

The toll gate at Guangling toll station lifted, and the car entered the highway. Chen Ping didn't go back to his home in Nanzhou; he turned the steering wheel all the way towards the provincial capital.

At 1:17 a.m., at the exit of the South Ring Expressway in the provincial capital.

Chen Ping parked his car in front of the provincial party committee guesthouse, but instead of going upstairs, he made two phone calls while sitting in the car.

The first one is Zheng Xian.

"Anything else about Wu Shaoming's matter?"

"The resignation was processed three months ago, and the personnel file shows 'personal reasons' in the destination field. According to the access control records of the Guangling Municipal Government, the last time he swiped his card to leave was at 4 pm on September 12. After that, his social security contributions stopped, his mobile phone number was canceled, and his bank card balance was zero."

"Clean".

"Too clean." Zheng Xian clicked his tongue on the other end. "Director Chen, this isn't the kind of trace removal work that an ordinary resigning civil servant could do."

Chen Ping didn't answer that question, and instead dialed a second number.

Qin Yu, Deputy Director of the Provincial State Security Department. The two had met once before in the Corefire Phase II case; Qin Yu was responsible for liaising with overseas intelligence lines. The phone rang six times before being answered.

"Deputy Director Qin, this is Chen Pingfang. There's something I need to discuss in person, the sooner the better."

Qin Yu remained silent for two seconds.

"What level?"

"Fang Zhiyuan is dead, in the detention center. The killer's DNA points to Wu Shaoming, Yan Qinghua's former secretary, who disappeared from Guangling three months ago."

The silence on the other end of the phone lasted for five seconds.

"Tomorrow morning at seven o'clock, in the conference room on the sixth floor of the provincial hall. I'll have Zheng Xian come along."

At 6:55 a.m., Chen Ping pushed open the door to a meeting room on the sixth floor of the Provincial State Security Department, a room without a nameplate. Two people were already sitting inside. Zheng Xian was wearing the same wrinkled shirt from the night before, his teacup empty and unrefilled. Qin Yu sat at the other end of the long table, an encrypted laptop lying face down in front of him.

Chen Ping pulled out a chair, but instead of sitting down, he slapped a piece of paper on the table. It was a copy of Jiacheng Precision's visitor registration book, with Wu Shaoming's name circled in red.

"Wu Shaoming, 41 years old, was Yan Qinghua's first secretary during Yan Qinghua's tenure as mayor of Guangling. After Yan Qinghua was promoted to secretary, he was transferred to the Municipal Development and Reform Commission as deputy director, and three years ago he was transferred to the Municipal Government Office. He resigned three months ago and disappeared without a trace."

Chen Ping tapped the table with his index finger.

"This name appeared in Jiacheng Precision's visitor record half a month ago. Yesterday afternoon, his dandruff appeared under Fang Zhiyuan's fingernails."

Zheng Xian pushed the empty cup of tea aside and leaned forward.

"Your judgment?"

"A professional front man," Chen Ping uttered slowly. "Yan Qinghua has fallen, He Hongru is in jail, and Han Zhengke is locked up. But the very end of this network is still moving. Wu Shaoming didn't run away; he went underground to continue his missions—silencing Fang Zhiyuan is his latest job."

Qin Yu opened his laptop, and a table popped up on the screen.

"I had someone check before I left. After Wu Shaoming resigned, his ID card did not appear in any civil aviation or railway ticket purchase records. His social security, medical insurance, and housing provident fund were all disconnected. In the public security population information system, his registered address was still listed as a demolished house in the old city of Guangling. Neighbors said they hadn't seen him for at least six months."

"We can't find him using conventional methods." Chen Ping pulled out a chair and sat down. "This kind of person has been a secretary for over ten years, has seen all sorts of situations with Yan Qinghua, and has extremely strong counter-surveillance capabilities. Even if we use police force to set up a network, the information will leak out ten times faster than our surveillance."

Zheng Xian placed his hands on the table, crossed.

"Then how do we catch it?"

"Don't arrest them."

Zheng Xian and Qin Yu both raised their heads at the same time.

"Without firing a single shot or issuing a single letter of assistance," Chen Ping said, pulling a pen from his pocket and drawing a circle on the white paper in front of him. "Data Hunting."

The pen tip touched the center of the circle.

"Wu Shaoming has cancelled his mobile phone number, but it's impossible for a person to completely disconnect from the communication network. Deputy Director Qin, could the technical department of the National Security Bureau retrieve all new SIM card opening records from the Guangling operator over the past three months and cross-reference them with his ID card information without alerting any grassroots units?"

Qin Yu tapped the table twice with his right hand.

"Yes, but the quantity is large, so it will take time."

"Is forty-eight hours enough?"

"enough."

Chen Ping drew three lines outward from the circle with the tip of his pen.

"Chief Zheng, you need to use the internal police system to secretly retrieve all of Wu Shaoming's traffic records after his resignation—highway ETC, city surveillance cameras, shared bikes, ride-hailing services—arrest everyone you can. At the same time, identify his immediate family members and collateral relatives within three generations, and track their consumption, travel, and communication data 24/7."

"You should use your relatives as bait."

"It's not bait. It's an anchor point." Chen Ping drew a triangle at the end of the third line with the tip of his pen. "He can sever all traces of himself, but he can't sever all traces of people related to him by blood. As long as he makes contact with any relative, we can trace his location back to him."

Qin Yu closed his laptop and stood up.

"What about the task force's structure?"

"This is a three-way collaboration, and we won't be publicly announcing it. I'll coordinate resources under the guise of the approval from the Department of Industry and Information Technology, and the two of you will be responsible for execution. All progress will only be reported to the three of us—you, Chief Zheng, and me."

Qin Yu glanced at Zheng Xian. Zheng Xian took the unlit cigarette off his ear, twirled it in his hand, and nodded.

The meeting room door closed, and the three people dispersed.

Forty-one hours later, Zheng Xian's encrypted message arrived first.

Chen Ping was unpacking moving boxes in his new office at the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology when his phone vibrated.

"The operator's data has come out. Twelve days after Wu Shaoming resigned, an anonymous mobile phone number appeared in Guangling City. It was used for a very short period of time, with each call lasting no more than ninety seconds. This number has only contacted two people in the past three months."

Which two?

"The first one was a local funeral service company in Guangling. The call lasted forty-seven seconds."

"The second one?"

"A private airline registered in Lithuania, called Baltic Sky Charter. Two calls, totaling one minute and twenty-eight seconds."

Lithuania. Eastern Europe.

Chen Ping pushed the moving boxes to the corner. Private charter, Eastern Europe route. This is the standard setup for cross-border escape.

The phone vibrated again, and a message from Qin Yu popped up.

"There's been activity monitored by relatives. Wu Shaoming's distant cousin, Xu Deliang, purchased a high-speed rail ticket at a self-service machine at Guangling West Station at 9:11 this morning. Destination: Dangang. Departure time: 7:40 tomorrow morning."

Chen Ping's thumb hovered above the screen, motionless.

Dangang.

He walked to the window and pulled back a leaf of the blinds. Baltic Sky Charter's flight route map unfolded in his mind. The information Zheng Xian had sent two hours earlier clearly stated that within the company's charter service coverage area, there was only one available alternative take-off and landing point in China.

Dangang.