Unparalleled medical and martial arts skills, saving the CEO's fiancée at the start.

He Jianping's ability to arrest people was half honed in the army and half developed over the past ten years in the security department of the Jiang Group.

Unlike Ye Chen, who could scale walls and leap across rooftops, no one in the entire Jiang Group knew Jiangcheng better than him when it came to finding someone, keeping an eye on a lead, or getting to the bottom of things.

Ye Chen entrusted him with the leech matter, and while he chuckled, he had already mentally reviewed all the train stations and card rooms in Jiangcheng.

That afternoon, He Jianping took three people, changed into civilian clothes, and headed straight for the old street called Shuita Lane behind Jiangcheng Railway Station.

That area was a mixed bag, with fast food and secondhand goods sold during the day, and card games and barbecues set up at night. There were also darkrooms available for short-term rental and small hotels without signs everywhere.

Many itinerant swindlers, debt collectors, and people who do favors for others like to hide in places like this. Leeches are regulars in this area.

He Jianping had chased him once before, but he escaped through a dog hole in the back alley.

This time, he had people block both ends of the alley and the dog hole beforehand, and then he led his men to knock on doors one by one.

When asked about the third mahjong parlor, the proprietress was eating sunflower seeds and watching a TV series.

He Jianping handed over the photos on his phone. The proprietress glanced at them sideways and said disdainfully, "Leech, huh? He came over for a couple of rounds last night, but he had terrible luck and lost over two hundred. He left with some blond guy in the middle of the night."

He Jianping pressed for details about who Huang Mao was, but the proprietress said she didn't know. She only knew that the kid drove a van without license plates, parked it at the alley entrance, and left with black smoke coming out of the back of the van, which made her cat's fur stand on end.

He Jianping led his team to investigate the clues. By evening, someone saw the unlicensed van near an abandoned driving school training ground in the north of the city.

He Jianping immediately called Ye Chen.

Without saying a word, Ye Chen led his ghost servant and Han Song over there.

Aygul stayed at home to keep Jiang Ruoxi company.

He Jianping was already waiting outside the driving range. When he saw Ye Chen arrive, he pointed inside and said, "The car is parked in the back, but no one got out. I saw someone get out of the car and go into the driving range. That blond guy should be with Leech. This place is half-enclosed by sheet metal, it's dark inside, and all the cameras are broken. Perfect for doing business here."

Ye Chen surveyed the terrain and instructed Han Song to wait at the broken wall on the east side of the driving range, while Gui Pu blocked the north exit. He and He Jianping then sneaked in through the main gate.

The driving practice area was overgrown with weeds, and several abandoned training vehicles were parked on the open ground, rusted like large lumps of iron.

The innermost row of prefabricated houses had a little light on, and the windows were covered with newspaper, letting in only a small patch of dim yellow light.

Ye Chen walked to the door and heard voices inside. A shrill voice complained, "Didn't you say you'd pay more if it worked out? That villa is full of tough targets. I only went to scout it out and six people were killed. And you want me to stay here and wait? Are you trying to kill me?"

The other one, with a deeper voice and a slight southern accent, said, "Can you keep your voice down? I'm contacting my superiors. We're leaving tonight. The boat is all arranged. Just pass on a message for me, and I'll give you an extra 20,000 afterwards."

Upon hearing this, Ye Chen kicked open the door of the prefab house and went inside.

There were two people inside the room. One had a pointed mouth and monkey-like cheeks, and a mouthful of yellow teeth; it was a leech.

The other one had dyed blond hair and a bulging black travel bag next to him.

When the two saw someone come in, they were so frightened that they almost jumped out of their skin.

The leech reached for the switchblade on the table, but Ye Chen grabbed its wrist and gently twisted it, causing the knife to fall.

Huang Mao tried to climb out of the back window, but Han Song kicked him back into the house from the outside, causing him to fall flat on his back.

Ye Chen dragged a tattered chair down, looked at the leech that He Jianping had pinned to the ground, and smiled quite amiably: "I heard you brought some people to my doorstep last night to count the lights? What, you have a problem with my lighting design?"

Leech retorted stubbornly, "I don't know what kind of place that is. I'm just a runner. I'll do my job if you pay me. Who do you think you are? Try touching me. Everyone around here knows that I, Leech, have powerful connections."

Ye Chen remained calm and composed, pulling out a silver needle from his pocket and waving it in front of the leech's eyes: "Someone? Someone from Blackwater, right? Tell me, who sent you to scout this place? Where do they live? How do you contact them? Explain yourself clearly, and I won't hold it against you tonight, I'll even let you go. If you can't explain..."

Ye Chen's hand trembled, and the silver needle was already inserted into an acupoint on the leech's arm.

The leech screamed in pain, half of its body went numb, and tears and snot streamed down its face.

"I'll talk, I'll talk! That guy is from the south. I don't know his exact name, but everyone calls him Uncle Shui. I've seen him twice in the rented room behind the vegetable market in the north of the city. He said he'd give me 30,000 yuan if I helped him find out what was going on in your yard, and he'd also arrange a boat for me to leave Jiangcheng. That blond guy was sent by Uncle Shui to keep an eye on me. Tonight at midnight, we're going to the old wharf to take a boat south!"

Ye Chen put away the needles, stood up, and said to Han Song, "Go to the back of the vegetable market in the north of the city right away. Take two people and surround this person's rented house, but don't alert him."

Han Song nodded and led his men away.

Ye Chen then looked at He Jianping: "Old He, you come with me to the old dock tonight. Uncle Shui has arranged for Leech to board the ship at midnight, so he might be near the dock. Let's follow the clues."

He Jianping rubbed his hands together: "This job was more exciting than any TV drama."

Ye Chen chuckled and cursed, then squatted down and patted the leech's wet face: "You better not be lying, or I'll throw you into the river to feed the turtles."

The leech nodded frantically, like a mouse whose tail had been stepped on.

At 11 p.m., Ye Chen, along with Leech and He Jianping, arrived at the old wharf in the north of the city.

The dock was even older than the one in the eastern suburbs, with rusty scrap iron boxes and rotten wood piled up everywhere.

The river breeze was damp and cold, and the lights on the opposite bank seemed to be seen through a layer of black gauze.

Ye Chen told the leeches to wait in the usual spot, while he and He Jianping lay in ambush behind a pile of discarded tires thirty meters away.

Guipu and Han Song each led their men to flank the enemy from both sides.

As midnight approached, a very faint motor sound came from the river, and a dark shadow slowly approached from downstream, skimming the surface of the water.

The boat wasn't big; a tiny lamp, no bigger than a mung bean, shone from its bow, like a will-o'-the-wisp.

As the ship docked, a man in a dark raincoat stepped out of the cockpit and waved to the shore.

Just as the leech was about to walk over, Ye Chen had already moved.

He swept across the dock like a black wind, and arrived at the ship in a few breaths.

The man in the raincoat reacted extremely quickly, drawing a short knife from his waist with his backhand. Before the blade could even flash, Ye Chen's sword was already pressed against his throat.

"Where is Uncle Shui?" Ye Chen asked, his voice colder than the river wind.

The man in the raincoat gave a bitter laugh, then suddenly leaned back and plunged into the river.

Ye Chen grabbed his collar, but the man's clothes were torn open from shoulder to waist, and he slid into the dark water.

The water surface churned twice, but the head never resurfaced.

"This guy's a damn suicide squad," He Jianping cursed as he caught up.

Ghost Servant and Han Song also arrived.

The group searched the pier but found no one else.

The boat was empty, with only a wooden bucket filled with water and half a box of compressed biscuits in the stern.

Ye Chen stood at the bow of the boat, looked at the river, and then looked up at the sky.

The night was very dark, and there were only a few stars.

Ye Chen knew that Uncle Shui was not here.

This was just another bait thrown out by Blackwater. But he wasn't in a hurry.

The fishing line is taut, and the fish will soon appear.