358: Chapter 357 Coordinating the Southwest Branch's Investigation into the Mysterious Man

Ye Qingcheng's dark brows furrowed as she pondered inwardly. According to the news sent back from the Southwest Branch, Zhao Lintai was staying at the Shangri-La International Hotel in the Southwest. Who exactly could the person calling Zhao Lintai be? Hongmen? Or perhaps someone working for Chu Weimin in Hong Kong Island?

On the other end of the line, Shen Jianan grew anxious seeing that Ye Qingcheng hadn't responded for a long time. She asked again, "Sister Qingcheng, are you still there?"

"Yes, I'm listening." Ye Qingcheng pulled back her thoughts and said in a heavy voice, "I've noted the situation. Don't act rashly for now. I'll have the people at the Southwest Branch conduct a secret investigation into who checked into the Shangri-La International Hotel today!"

Shen Jianan responded with an "Okay," then quickly added, "That call came in after 12 o'clock, so they only need to check the guests who booked rooms or checked in after 12."

"I understand. You must prioritize your safety." Ye Qingcheng paused for a moment, and Qin Yi's figure suddenly flashed through her mind. She couldn't help but follow up, "By the way, how is the situation on Qin Yi's end?"

"Uh, Qin Yi..." Shen Jianan glanced at Ye Ziming, who was waiting quietly for her not far away. An indescribable bitterness welled up in her heart. "His and Si Yao's acting is superb. If I didn't know they were acting, I wouldn't be able to tell they're a fake couple at all!"

Ye Qingcheng was incredibly sharp and naturally caught Shen Jianan's subtext. This little girl must have felt uncomfortable seeing Qin Yi being all "lovey-dovey" with another woman.

But wasn't she the same way?

However, thinking about how her foolish younger brother was still single-mindedly pursuing Shen Jianan, she couldn't help but feel a bit pained as his older sister.

"The matter between Qin Yi and Si Yao is their private business; we don't need to interfere! What I want to know is, Qin Yi hasn't taken any unauthorized actions, has he?"

"Uh, no, he hasn't." Hearing this, Shen Jianan felt her cheeks burning, as if scorched by fire. What was she doing? What was she thinking?! She came to the Southwest to carry out a mission, not to let her thoughts wander!

She paused for a moment to steady herself before continuing, "Qin Yi went back to the Si Family Old Residence with Elder Si Zhengxiong and Si Yao. Zhao Lintai did not follow them."

"Good, I understand. Let's leave it at that for now. Report back immediately if anything happens!" After saying that, Ye Qingcheng decisively hung up the phone.

Returning to the meeting room, Ye Qingcheng leaned over to Director Xu's ear. Lowering her voice, she reported with a solemn expression, "Director, there's feedback regarding Zhao Lintai's situation in the Southwest."

Xu Anguo remained calm and looked at Miao Fengren without showing any emotion. He said slowly, "Old Miao, I basically understand the situation at the Modu Branch. Regarding the personnel vacancies, I'll discuss it with the Organization Department later and prioritize reinforcing your Modu Branch. If you have nothing else, you should head back first. After all, there's a pile of work waiting for you at the Modu Branch."

Miao Fengren naturally understood the hint to leave in Director Xu's words. He stood up, bowed slightly, and said, "Then I'll have to trouble Director Xu to look into it. I'll take my leave now." As he spoke, Miao Fengren also bid farewell to Ye Qingcheng, "Well then, Chief Ye, contact me anytime if needed. I'm heading out."

Ye Qingcheng nodded slightly and saw Miao Fengren out of the meeting room, saying politely, "Take care, Director Miao. I won't see you out further."

"Please stay, Chief Ye." After saying that, Miao Fengren walked quickly toward the exit of the office area.

Ye Qingcheng casually closed the meeting room door before turning to give Xu Anguo a detailed report on Zhao Lintai's situation.

After hearing everything, Xu Anguo was filled with the same doubts as Ye Qingcheng. He asked with a frown, "Who could that person be? All the sleeper agents Hongmen planted domestically have been wiped out. Is it possible for Hongmen to send more people? As long as Zhang Yu refuses to talk, the clues regarding Hongmen are completely severed! Sending someone to contact Zhao Lintai now is not a wise move!"

Ye Qingcheng pondered for a moment and said slowly, "Could it be someone from the Hong Kong Island side?"

Xu Anguo recalled that when Ye Qingcheng reported on Hongtai Construction, she mentioned Chus Investment from Hong Kong Island. The person behind it was likely Chu Weiguo's 'long-deceased' brother—Chu Weimin.

"You mean Chu Weimin? That is a possibility. To be safe, let the people at the Southwest Branch go through the hotel's guest list first!"

"Alright, Director Xu. I'll contact Yan Yan right away!" As she spoke, Ye Qingcheng quickly took out her phone, found 'Captain Yan' in her contacts, and dialed.

The call was quickly connected. Ye Qingcheng turned on the speakerphone, and the deep voice of a middle-aged man came from the other end: "Hello, Captain Ye, this is Yan Yan."

"Captain Yan, I just received some information. Around twelve o'clock noon today, Zhao Lintai received a call. He said on the phone for the person to book a room at the Shangri-La International Hotel first, and that he would meet them there tonight."

"So Captain Ye already knows. I was planning to report to you a bit later." On the phone, Yan Yan paused and continued, "It's like this: we've been secretly monitoring Zhao Lintai during this period, and we've been tracking his mobile number. However, Zhao Lintai was with the Si Family all day today. To avoid exposure, we didn't follow him. After intercepting that call record, we started investigating. However, the person used a satellite phone, and the call was short, so we couldn't track the specific location."

"I see. The three people I mentioned to you before have also arrived in the Southwest. They were the ones who reported this news to me. I'll send you their information and contact details in a moment. You can contact them if you need their assistance later. Also, I hope you'll look after their personal safety."

"Understood, Captain Ye, don't worry. I will definitely protect their safety."

At this moment, Xu Anguo, who had been silently listening to their conversation, chimed in, "Yan Yan, this is Xu Anguo. The situation in the Southwest is special. You must be extra careful and make sure not to alert the enemy. Do you understand?"

Upon hearing it was General Bureau Director Xu Anguo, Yan Yan immediately said solemnly, "Thank you for your concern, Director Xu. We will definitely be extra careful!"

"Good. You're a veteran of our Security Bureau; I'm confident in the way you handle things. Also, Comrade Ye Qingcheng has officially taken over as the Chief of the Special Operations Department. She's no longer Captain Ye; you should call her Chief Ye now."

"Oh? Then congratulations, Chief Ye." One could hear Yan Yan's brief stun over the phone before he immediately offered his congratulations.

Ye Qingcheng thanked him and didn't dwell on the topic, saying instead, "I need to trouble you, Captain Yan, to secretly investigate the list of people who booked or checked into the Shangri-La Hotel after 12 noon today. Filter through them to find out who the person meeting Zhao Lintai is."

"Understood, Chief Ye. I'll go check right away. Goodbye, Director Xu." After saying that, Yan Yan hung up the phone.

...

At this moment, in the Southwest, several travelers waiting to check in had gathered at the front desk of the Shangri-La International Hotel.

Just then, a man in a hotel uniform hurried to the front desk. He whispered a few words to the staff member who was processing check-ins and took over the front desk work to continue checking in the travelers.

Subsequently, that staff member went back to the back-office lounge.

Yan Yan was waiting in the lounge. Seeing the person arrive, he immediately flashed his ID and said with a serious expression, "Ma'am, don't be nervous. I asked you to come here because I need your help to verify something."

The girl nodded somewhat nervously. "Yes, please go ahead."

"Right. You were on duty after 12 o'clock today, correct?" Yan Yan inquired.

The girl nodded in response. "Yes, we change shifts at twelve noon."

"Then, how many guests have checked in or booked a room after twelve?" Yan Yan continued to ask.

"Uh, I... I'll have to check the records. Please wait a moment." As the girl spoke, she went to a computer in the back-office lounge, opened the hotel's room management System, and began to operate it.

Yan Yan also stood by the girl's side to watch. Before long, a spreadsheet full of data appeared on the computer screen.

The girl pointed at the data on the screen and looked up at Yan Yan. "Officer, this is the list of bookings and check-ins after twelve o'clock today." As she spoke, she stood up and gave her seat to Yan Yan.

Yan Yan said "Thanks" and sat down at the computer to carefully verify the list.

From twelve noon until now, a total of 15 people had checked into the hotel or booked rooms. Among them, Southeast Asian businessmen were the most numerous because the hotel records included the names of their companies; it was likely a contracted hotel. Additionally, there were couples and families with children; these people didn't seem to pose much of a problem. However, to be safe, their identities still needed to be carefully checked.

Besides those, only four people remained: three had booked through an app, and one had booked over the phone.

Yan Yan looked at the girl and asked, "Can this record be printed out?"

"Yes. However, the printer is at the front desk. Please wait a moment." As she spoke, the girl took the mouse, clicked a few times, and then said, "Wait a moment, I'll go get it for you."

A short while later, the girl returned to the lounge with two sheets of A4 paper and handed them to Yan Yan.

After taking them, Yan Yan thanked the girl and left the lounge through the back door.

Just as he was about to walk out of the hotel lobby, he suddenly saw a woman in a white dress with a slender figure. Wearing sunglasses and pushing a large silver suitcase, she walked gracefully into the hotel.

Many men in the hotel lobby noticed this beautiful woman and couldn't help but cast admiring glances toward her.

Yan Yan naturally took a few extra looks as well. However, as he passed by the woman, he caught a faint, salty, and damp scent, like that of seawater.

The Southwest was located at the border, surrounded by mountains and hills. Why would this woman have the fishy smell of seawater on her?

Out of the professional sensitivity of a veteran police officer, Yan Yan's heart tightened. He stopped in his tracks and turned to watch the woman walk to the front desk, take a passport out of her bag, and hand it to the receptionist.

Yan Yan inconspicuously moved closer, pretending to be a traveler checking in, and silently listened to the conversation between the front desk and the woman.