The game of power begins with the police officers at the local police station.

Chen Shi walked into the canteen. There weren't many people there today; most of the police officers had gone out to conduct investigations.

He casually ordered two dishes, and less than ten minutes later, after finishing his meal, he returned to find Wang Jianming still standing in the same spot.

Chen Shi opened the car door, got in, and called out, "Chief Wang, what are you still standing there for? Get in the car and go back to arrange the deployment."

Wang Jianming really wanted to go to the canteen for a meal. He had a bowl of porridge for breakfast, and it would take at least two hours to get back to Fushan Town.

But as the leader, he couldn't go back on his word. Enduring his hunger, he sat in the passenger seat with a gloomy expression.

Kid, of all people to offend, you've offended Director Lei. Even Zhang Xiangdong can't protect you now.

Chen Shi drove leisurely, and the two did not exchange a word the whole way. They did not arrive at the police station until after 2 p.m.

Wang Jianming wanted to ask Chen Shi to stop the car halfway through so he could buy some food, but he held back for fear that Chen Shi would laugh at him.

As soon as the car stopped, he quickly got out and walked towards the office.

There was a packet of instant noodles and two loaves of bread in the office, which Xu Linlin had left there. We'll just have a bite to eat for now.

Chen called out from behind, "Commander Wang, is your stomach upset?"

Wang Jianming ignored Chen Shi's mockery. With a gloomy face, he returned to his office, boiled water, and made a packet of instant noodles.

Just as he finished making the instant noodles, Chen Shi followed him in.

"Director Wang, I have notified the members of the special task force to gather in the conference room. They must strictly follow Director Lei's instructions, maintain a tight watch, and not allow the fugitive to hide in Fushan Town."

As the head of the police station, you will relay Director Lei's instructions to the members of the special task force.

Wang Jianming felt that Chen Shi was deliberately targeting him, but he had no evidence. He wondered why Chen Shi had never shown him such respect as the top leader before.

"Director Chen, you go ahead, I'll be there shortly."

"The members of the task force are already waiting in the conference room. I need to start setting up the operation immediately. We're just waiting for you to relay Director Lei's instructions."

Chen Shi stepped forward, pulled Wang Jianming along, and walked out.

Wang Jianming said irritably, "Director Chen, what kind of behavior is this, pulling and tugging like this? Let go."

Chen Shi chuckled and said, "You're too excited, Director Wang, please."

Wang Jianming had been hungry for a long time, and his stomach felt uncomfortable, with a dull ache.

Upon arriving at the conference room, the entire action team was already there.

As soon as Chen Shi got out of the car, he immediately told Zhang Hu to notify the members of the action team to go to the conference room for a meeting, where Director Wang would convey Director Lei's instructions.

Seeing that everyone had arrived, Wang Jianming endured the pain and loudly conveyed Director Lei's instructions.

Despite the pain causing cold sweat to pour down his forehead, he gritted his teeth and persevered.

After persisting for half an hour, he couldn't go on any longer and said weakly, "That's enough for today. I'm not feeling well. Deputy Director Chen will now arrange the specific deployment details."

Wang Jianming felt unsteady on his feet and was completely exhausted. He slowly walked back to his office, leaning against the wall, only to find that he couldn't eat his instant noodles anymore.

He took out his phone and called Xu Linlin. The call was connected.

"Jianming, you're back."

"Go quickly and pack me a bowl of rice noodles."

"You haven't eaten yet?"

"Stop talking nonsense and go now."

When he has a stomachache, he can't eat dry food, because it will make the pain worse.

Xu Linlin worked quickly, and the rice noodles were delivered to the office in less than fifteen minutes.

Wang Jianming took the rice noodles and began to eat them slowly and carefully.

"Your stomach can't stay hungry for too long, so why don't you eat something soon?"

Wang Jianming ignored Xu Linlin and ate with relish.

Chen Shi led a team to Longtougou Village to set up surveillance and investigation, but the effort was more bark than bite; they had to make a show of it to Lei Heng.

Chen Shi, Ma Guoliang, and Zhang Hu rode in one car, driven by an auxiliary police officer.

Zhang Hu, sitting in the passenger seat, said: "Chief Chen, if we go to Longtougou Village in such a high-profile manner, even if the fugitive Zhang Dong returns to Longtougou Village, he will be scared away, and we won't gain anything."

"You think you can catch a Class A fugitive from the Public Security Bureau with just a few of us? What are you thinking?"

"Should we still go?"

"Strictly implement Director Lei's instructions."

Zhang Hu knew it was just a formality, a show, to give the bureau an explanation.

There's no way Zhang Dong could escape back to Longtougou Village and walk right into their trap.

Ma Guoliang said, "If Zhang Dong escapes back to Longtougou Village and is captured by us, it will be a great achievement."

"We caught someone who had been on the run for over six months, someone the Public Security Bureau couldn't catch. That's a significant achievement."

Zhang Hu asked, "Team Leader Ma, do you think he will escape back to Longtougou Village?"

"It's not impossible. These vicious and dangerous individuals are highly intelligent and don't follow the usual path. Their behavior often cannot be judged by normal people's thinking."

Even if a home invasion robbery is discovered, stabbing one or two people and then quickly escaping is sufficient; there's no need to kill an entire family of five, not even sparing a seven- or eight-year-old child.

The Public Security Bureau will definitely have to catch the person who committed such a serious crime. If they don't, they won't be able to explain themselves to the provincial authorities.

The main targets of the killings were high-ranking officials. If you only robbed someone of money, you might not even dare to call the police. If someone did call the police, they would expose themselves and attract the attention of the disciplinary committee.

Money is dispensable to these high-ranking officials; plenty of people are eager to give them money.

Zhang Hu asked, "If Zhang Dong escapes back to Longtougou Village, where will he hide?"

"I'm not familiar with Longtougou Village. You'll have to ask you. You've been there for several months, so you're the most qualified to speak on this."

"I'm not familiar with Zhang Dong. I heard from the villagers that he hasn't come back to his home for several years. People who know him say he's a ruthless person. If you mess with him, he'll make you pay the price."

"If someone isn't ruthless, they can kill a family of five and act like nothing happened. Even if such a dangerous person escapes back to Longtougou Village, reporting it to the Public Security Bureau is enough."

"Relying on people like us to try and capture such dangerous individuals is like asking for trouble."

Chen Shi looked at Ma Guoliang: "Old Ma, you said earlier that capturing Zhang Dong would be a great achievement, and a promotion and raise would be no problem. You're giving up such a promising future."

"Forget it, I'm afraid I won't live long enough to enjoy it, and I don't want to become a martyr in other people's eyes."

"Staying alive is more important than getting a promotion or a raise."

After a bumpy ride, we arrived at Longtougou Village. Chen Shi got out of the car and arranged for two people to work in groups to enter the village for surveillance and investigation.

Chen Shi, along with Zhang Hu, Ma Guoliang, and an auxiliary police officer, arrived at Zhang Dong's house. There was no one there. The old tile-roofed house had been uninhabited for many years and was half collapsed. The weeds in the yard were taller than a person.

It looks so desolate.

"Zhang Hu, Lao Ma, go in and see if anyone has been there. If Zhang Dong escaped back, he'll sneak back to check on his own home. It's a childhood memory, and even if he's a vicious and dangerous criminal, he's no exception."

Ma Guoliang pointed to the dilapidated old tile-roofed house: "Is there any point in seeing this?"

"Just look when Director Chen tells you to, stop with all this nonsense." Zhang Hu quickly went inside to check.

Ma Guoliang's face darkened, and he had no choice but to follow him inside.

Chen Shi watched from the sidelines, and this showed the importance of having an absolute confidant. With him taking the lead, anyone who wanted to object would immediately shut up.

The two went inside and searched carefully, but found nothing; there was no sign of anyone having been there.

Zhang Hu came out: "No one has been here."

"The body camera recorded everything, right? Make a copy and hand it over to the bureau. This is the hometown of fugitive Zhang Dong."

Ma Guoliang's face was covered in cobwebs before he finally realized Chen Shi's intention.

When they went to Longtougou Village to investigate, they didn't even thoroughly investigate the hometown of the fugitive. If the investigation wasn't thorough enough, it would be used against them by leaders with ulterior motives.