309: Chapter 309 The Demon Hunting Plan: It's Confirmed to Be Him

"Smiling Demon?"

As soon as Zhuo Feng finished speaking, a low wave of gasps and whispers erupted in the meeting room.

Minister Luo's brow twitched slightly, a strange gleam flashing in his eyes, as if he was somewhat interested in the intelligence behind this moniker.

Xu Hao also muttered under his breath, "I knew it all along, that kid had to be a super psychotic serial killer..."

He sounded rather pleased with himself for his foresight.

Fang Cheng didn't know what the others were thinking, but a massive wave of shock surged in his own heart.

The moniker "Smiling Demon" was far too familiar.

Wasn't that the mysterious guy who had sent him a postcard, inviting him to a meeting in the "chatroom"?

The target the Noah Organization had been painstakingly hunting down, the unlucky scapegoat who had taken the fall for him as the serial killer—to think it was actually him?

Fang Cheng suppressed the shock in his heart, using Xu Hao's vision to stare once more at the photo displayed on the projection screen.

He carefully compared Cheng Jiashu's appearance with the fleeting glimpse he had caught in his memory on that rainy night.

The two images did indeed differ.

Especially those eyes; in the photo, they appeared clear and melancholic, whereas on that rainy night, they had been terrifyingly bright, filled with playfulness and madness.

Most likely, when he committed the crime that night, he had worn a highly realistic human skin mask or used some other method of disguise to conceal his identity.

Seeing that he had successfully piqued the interest of everyone, including Minister Luo, Zhuo Feng curled his lips and continued:

"According to our profiling, this person is extremely arrogant and cruel, with a strong histrionic personality and antisocial tendencies. He is a thoroughbred homicidal maniac."

"Those so-called scions of prestigious families may appear noble and elegant on the surface, but deep in their bones, they often harbor a warped sense of superiority and a craving for violence, maintaining a habit of hunting."

"And with Cheng Jiashu's family falling into decline, these dark psychological issues, instead of being relieved, took root and sprouted in his heart, growing stronger and stronger."

"He chose gang forces like the Three Wolves Gang and the Red Tiger Gang as targets precisely to satisfy his twisted desire for hunting and judgment, gaining mental pleasure by slaughtering these 'scum of society' in his eyes."

"It was also because of his former family background that the Special Investigation Team deliberately chose to downplay the related cases and avoided conducting deep investigations, allowing the Smiling Demon to remain at large, leaving behind a string of unsolved cases in the police archives."

Zhuo Feng paused, then summarized:

"That is roughly the situation regarding the target. If anyone has questions about the details, you can bring them up now for further discussion and analysis."

"Alright, Captain Zhuo has introduced the basic situation of the target very clearly."

Station Chief Feng cleared his throat at the right moment and took over the conversation:

"Next, everyone can speak freely and share your thoughts on this operation, especially regarding how to capture or eliminate the target. Let's pool our wisdom to formulate a detailed plan as soon as possible."

As soon as he finished speaking, the meeting room buzzed with hushed discussions once more.

Everyone had different expressions, some excited, some grave, as they took turns offering various opinions based on their respective areas of expertise.

The discussions mainly revolved around how to design traps, how to stage ambushes, and how to ensure a smooth retreat after a successful operation.

A greasy grin appeared on Ma Biao's face as he spoke in a frivolous tone:

"Hehe, the entertainment industry is a deep, murky pool. Those pretty boys who look harmless on the surface might be incredibly wild behind closed doors."

"If you ask me, there's no need to make things so complicated. Just find a female celebrity who's sleeping with him, or pay off some of his fanatical female fans to invite him to a presidential suite in some high-end hotel."

"When the time comes, our people will lie in ambush. As soon as he steps through the door, we'll drug him. No matter how chaste he pretends to be, he'll have to show his true colors."

"If all else fails, we can use his manager, Sister Zhang, as bait. I'm not worried about him not falling into line!"

Ma Biao's crude remarks drew a few chuckles in the meeting room, with several people apparently finding the plan quite plausible.

Even Xu Hao couldn't help but give Ma Biao a mental thumbs-up.

"Brother Biao is indeed Brother Biao. He truly is a man of culture and knows how these things work!"

Zhuo Feng's face instantly darkened. He glared at Ma Biao and said coldly:

"Captain Ma, please watch your language. We are discussing a serious operational plan, not street thugs playing badger games."

Ma Biao shrugged and spread his hands.

He wore an expression that said, "Didn't you tell us to speak freely? Fine, I'll just shut up now."

Zhuo Feng suppressed his annoyance and added:

"According to our verified intelligence, Cheng Jiashu has almost zero negative news in the industry. He rarely even has normal female friends, let alone any romantic scandals."

"He has a cold and aloof personality, almost never participating in any industry socializing or gatherings, to the point where gossip media mockingly speculate that he is homosexual."

Speaking up to this point, Zhuo Feng cast a mocking glance at Ma Biao:

"If Captain Ma is confident in his own charm, he could always act as the bait himself. Perhaps Cheng Jiashu would look favorably upon a 'macho man' like Captain Ma?"

A few suppressed chuckles echoed from the corner once again.

"Ahem."

Seeing the tension in the air, Station Chief Feng quickly stepped in to smooth things over:

"A simple social circle has its advantages. At least it eliminates some distracting factors, making it easier to find an opportunity when he's alone, which will make it convenient for us to strike."

He looked at Zhuo Feng and asked amiably:

"Captain Zhuo, you are the head of intelligence gathering. Do you have any well-thought-out suggestions regarding the specific operational plan?"

Zhuo Feng nodded slightly, calming the irritation caused by Ma Biao as his face regained its confident, in-control expression.

"Minister Luo, Station Chief Feng."

"After long-term, meticulous investigation and tracking by our intelligence personnel, we discovered that this Cheng Jiashu has a very strange, even bizarre, daily habit."

Instead of revealing the plan immediately, he deliberately left them in suspense, drawing everyone's attention.

"Every Saturday, Cheng Jiashu takes a day off, canceling all acting work and social activities to stay entirely by himself in his luxury villa in Jiangnan District."

As he spoke, Zhuo Feng lightly tapped the projector, and the image on the screen changed.

An exterior photo of a villa in an upscale residential area appeared.

In the pictures, Cheng Jiashu was wearing casual loungewear, sometimes reading in the living room, sometimes playing the piano in the study, and sometimes pruning flowers in the garden.

He looked no different from an ordinary Young Master of a wealthy family enjoying his leisure time.

However, the photos were slightly blurry, likely taken surreptitiously from a distance.

"On the surface, his day is highly routine and peaceful."

Zhuo Feng's tone carried a hint of amusement:

"Initially, we also thought he simply needed a completely relaxing, undisturbed private space."

"Because of this, we even suspected at one point whether he was using this time to conduct some unspeakable secret activities in the villa, such as processing his hunting trophies."

A few gasps sounded in the meeting room, as Zhuo Feng's description clearly triggered everyone's imagination.

"Thus, we did everything possible to install hidden miniature surveillance cameras around the villa, trying to catch any trace of suspicious activity."

"We discovered that every Saturday at a fixed time, around two in the afternoon, Cheng Jiashu enters the master bedroom on the second floor of the villa.

"After that, the door to the master bedroom remains tightly shut, the curtains drawn completely, with no lights turned on, and it won't open again until the next morning."

"We even used technical means to temporarily cut off the power supply, entering the villa once disguised as utility company workers. From the servants, we learned about Cheng Jiashu's habits; during this period, he sleeps and rests in his room, never eats dinner, and requires no service whatsoever."

"When our intelligence personnel tried to get close to the master bedroom to listen, the room was dead silent, with no unusual sounds to be heard, as if there was absolutely no one inside."

"What's even more bizarre is..."

Zhuo Feng lowered his voice slightly:

[part:gemini-3.5-flash-lite]

"We retrieved the footage from the previously installed monitors, and during that period, there was no record of Cheng Jiashu leaving the villa."

"In other words, judging from all normal surveillance and observations, Cheng Jiashu should be obediently staying in his bedroom between two o'clock on Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning."

"But..."

Zhuo Feng changed the subject, a flash of sharp light crossing his eyes: "Is that really the case?"

He switched the screen again, and this time two different character photos appeared on the projection screen.

In one photo, a man wearing a hat and glasses appeared in a toy store, carefully picking out gifts.

The other photo showed an orphanage with somewhat aged facilities, where children happily surrounded several visitors who came to see them.

One of the figures was precisely the man who was picking out gifts in the toy store.

Everyone's gazes, including Fang Cheng's "line of sight," couldn't help but linger on this strange man, doubts arising in their hearts.

"This is a clue discovered by one of our experienced tracking experts during an accidental opportunity."

Zhuo Feng explained:

"He noticed that although Cheng Jiashu keeps a low profile, he has an almost paranoid care for his own vehicles. Several of those cars are often driven to a fixed Advanced auto care center for maintenance."

"Through the analysis of past footage from surveillance around the auto care center, we made an unexpected discovery."

He pointed to the photo of the toy store on the screen.

"Every Saturday afternoon, a man claiming to be Cheng Jiashu's assistant comes over with the car keys and drives the car away."

"Although his face was deliberately modified and concealed, through the analysis of his body shape characteristics and gait movement habits, it can be confirmed that this so-called 'assistant' is Cheng Jiashu himself."

"With some special ability that we have not yet fully explored, he quietly left the villa in Jiangnan District."

"Then he disguised himself, avoided the public eye, and came here to pick up the car."

"We followed this clue and found that he drove to a store to buy some gifts, and then proceeded to the beach in Qingshui Bay, Guanlan District."

"He stayed there alone for half a day, walking aimlessly, seemingly just to blow in the sea breeze and relax his mood."

"After walking around the beach, he would also bring the gifts he specially bought to a nearby orphanage named 'Chenxi Home' to visit those children, as if acting like a charitable person."

"As for where he went and what he did after leaving the orphanage in the evening, his whereabouts remain a mystery."

"We once tried further tracking to figure out his specific activities at night, but unfortunately..."

Zhuo Feng's tone became a bit heavier.

"After the personnel executing the mission attempted to tail him into an old urban area in Jiangbei, they lost contact with us and their whereabouts remain unknown to this day."

"To prevent alerting the enemy, after that, we did not take any aggressive actions without authorization."

"We simply maintained the monitoring measures around the villa in Jiangnan District and that orphanage, waiting for the headquarters to formally issue orders."

After Zhuo Feng finished speaking, the conference room fell into a brief silence.

Everyone was digesting the intelligence just disclosed.

A popular star, at fixed times every week, avoids all monitoring in a mysterious way and acts alone.

This in itself was full of suspense that made people let their imaginations run wild.

"Therefore, our chance to capture him is when he leaves that orphanage..."

Someone's eyes lit up, as if they thought of something.

"That's right!"

Zhuo Feng replied affirmatively, his tone revealing a confident self-assurance:

"That orphanage is located in the suburbs of Guanlan District, in a remote place, and the visibility at night is poor, which is more conducive for us to carry out our operation and easier to control the situation, avoiding causing unnecessary attention from the outside world."

"If the capture location is set in the villa in Jiangnan District, the people living around are either rich or noble. Once a flaw appears in the action and a big commotion is made, it is very easy to attract the intervention and investigation of official forces."

"Even if we can succeed, we will face huge trouble afterwards, and may even expose some strongholds and personnel as a result, which outweighs the gains."

Zhuo Feng faced the crowd and explained methodically:

"As for making a move when Cheng Jiashu goes out for performing arts activities, that is even the worst of the worst."

"For a public figure to have an accident in full view of the public, it will inevitably detonate public opinion, which is equivalent to placing the entire organization under the spotlight and is definitely undesirable."

"Therefore, we must choose a more covert and more appropriate timing."

"Now that he is disguised and operating under another unknown identity, it is an excellent opportunity for us."

"We can let go of our hands and feet without having to worry too much about external factors, and it also solves the most tricky identity exposure problem."

Upon hearing this, most of the people showed looks of relief and agreement.

This invisibly reduced a lot of trouble for them during the operation.

Even Ma Biao, who had always kept a straight face, nodded thoughtfully.

Station Chief Feng's face showed a satisfied smile.

He turned his gaze to Minister Luo Lie, who had been silent from beginning to end and only occasionally picked up a teacup to take a sip of tea, and respectfully asked for instructions:

"Minister Luo, do you think Team Leader Zhuo's plan is feasible?"

Minister Luo Lie, who had been resting his eyes and seemed to be wandering beyond the heavens, slowly opened his eyes.

He did not respond to Station Chief Feng, but cast his deep and sharp gaze at Zhuo Feng.

His tone was calm, yet carried an unquestionable majesty:

"Team Leader Zhuo, I will only ask you one question."

"Can you be one hundred percent sure that this Cheng Jiashu is the target we are looking for?"

Zhuo Feng's expression instantly became extremely solemn. He straightened his chest and replied decisively:

"Minister Luo, I dare to guarantee with the honor of the entire team!"

"The reason why we finally locked onto Cheng Jiashu is not based on groundless speculation, but because there is enough evidence pointing to him as the mysterious expert who repeatedly opposes the organization."

"First, in that massacre incident that occurred at the Linggang District pier warehouse last year, although the murderer wore a mask, according to the confession descriptions of those escaped Red Tiger Gang members, the murderer's height and silhouette match Cheng Jiashu himself very closely."

"More importantly, our subsequent investigation found that among the girls Wu Shihao treated as cargo and prepared to ship to the headquarters, some were secretly taken away from Chenxi Home and locked up."

"Not long after this incident, the orphanage's former director and several management personnel mysteriously and collectively disappeared. The police intervened in the investigation, but have yet to ascertain their whereabouts."

"We have reason to believe that this is precisely the retaliatory action carried out by Cheng Jiashu in secret."

"Secondly, after our in-depth investigation into the abandoned factory where Lord 'Ghost' and the others were ambushed and completely wiped out, we also discovered a key clue."

"That plot of land used to belong to the Shen Family many years ago, but after changing hands several times, it turned into a garbage disposal plant. This may not necessarily be a coincidence."

Speaking of this, Zhuo Feng took a deep breath, his eyes flashing with the excited light of unveiling a mystery.

He looked at Minister Luo Lie, lowering his voice unconsciously by a few degrees, carrying a hint of angling for credit:

"Minister Luo, the most crucial point..."

"I heard that the organization's stronghold on Yongan Island was attacked before the new year and suffered heavy losses. Through my investigation, during that period, Cheng Jiashu happened to be away from Dongdu and disappeared for a few days without cause."

Hearing this, Minister Luo's eyes suddenly narrowed, and a terrifying cold light burst from the depths of his pupils.

"Snap!"

The fingers he placed on the armrest unconsciously tightened slightly, abruptly snapping off a corner of the solid wood armrest.

An invisible coercion instantly spread from his body, enveloping the entire conference room.

Everyone felt a chill rise from their spines, just like being next to a ferocious beast, and all of them were frightened into silence.