Hearing that the people inside Room 808 were about to come out, Liu Zhiyou and the old man both turned their attention to the TV on the table.
The screen displayed surveillance footage directly aimed at Room 808.
“Get ready,” the old man said, staring tightly at the monitor. “Tell him—Kong Dalong is about to come out. He might have sensed something and is trying to escape. If we don’t act now, it’ll be too late.”
As he spoke, the door of Room 808 suddenly opened a crack.
The old man no longer hesitated. He grabbed a pair of steel whips from the coffee table.
He was ready to rush out the moment the person inside stepped out.
But just then, the door closed again—and the sound of a lock clicking shut followed.
Seeing this, the old man exhaled.
He put the whips back down and muttered:
“This old fox… what is he planning?”
“Go tell him,” he said to Liu Zhiyou. “Kong Dalong has probably noticed our movements. Stop hesitating. If we delay any longer and news from the sea comes again, the hunter and prey might switch places.”
Before Liu Zhiyou could respond, several figures suddenly appeared on the screen.
A man dressed as a real estate agent, accompanied by a man and a woman, walked up to Room 808.
The agent knocked.
“Mr. Zhou, I’m Xiao Gu, from Zhengxin Real Estate—we made an appointment the day before yesterday. I brought clients to view the apartment today. Could you open the door? We’ll just take a quick look at the layout.”
The door opened again.
Just as they were about to see who was inside, the agent stepped forward—blocking the camera.
After a brief exchange, he led the man and woman inside Room 808.
The old man frowned.
“Check downstairs! What’s going on? Why are people going into 808? Didn’t I say it clearly? The people downstairs are just for show!”
Before he finished speaking, another man in an electrician’s uniform arrived at Room 808.
He knocked.
“Resident of 808, did you report a leaking circuit breaker? Property management. Please open the door.”
The door opened again.
The electrician also blocked the camera and walked inside.
A moment later, the real estate agent and the couple came back out.
While leaving, the agent said:
“Please move out as soon as possible. Let us know when you’re ready. Our company also provides moving services. I’ll come back tomorrow to take over the property.”
The moment he turned, the door closed again.
Still, no one had seen the person inside.
The situation had become strange.
The old man said sharply:
“Be careful—Kong Dalong might be using these three as a distraction. Go downstairs yourself. Make sure none of them are impersonating him.”
Before Liu Zhiyou could respond, the door of 808 opened again.
The electrician walked out and said:
“It was just an old breaker. Replaced it—problem solved. The property manager will call to confirm later.”
He then left.
At this point, Liu Zhiyou had already made a call to confirm the situation.
He reported back:
“They did report a breaker issue fifteen minutes ago. The electrician is one of the building’s regular staff. Shouldn’t be a problem. I also had people downstairs posing as police to intercept those three. If anything seems off… we’ll handle it.”
As he spoke, he made a cutting gesture across his neck.
The old man nodded.
“Not just those three. The electrician too. Check everyone carefully. Don’t let Kong Dalong slip out. And from now on, anyone entering 808 must be photographed clearly.”
“Understood. I’ll handle it personally.”
Liu Zhiyou bowed slightly, then left carrying an empty cardboard box, pretending to be handling returns.
Back downstairs, the old man watched the monitor again.
Liu Zhiyou approached Room 808.
The door opened once more.
A voice came from inside:
“You’re the courier, right? Do me a favor—I have a same-city delivery.”
Without hesitation, Liu Zhiyou stepped inside.
In Room 801, the old man muttered:
“What is he doing… has he seen through us, or not?”
Forty minutes passed.
Only then did Liu Zhiyou come out again, carrying a large cardboard box.
He even carefully closed the door behind him.
Once again, his body blocked the camera—the face inside 808 was never seen.
He took the elevator downstairs.
Immediately, three men surrounded him in a triangular formation and escorted him to the small shop across the street as if he were a prisoner.
Seeing him again, the shop owner let out a strange laugh.
“What should I call you now? Liu Zhiyou? Or… Kong Dalong?”
“Don’t joke, sir. I am Liu Zhiyou…” he said, pale-faced. “Don’t be fooled. When I went in, he said…”
“Which ‘he’? Kong Dalong? Are you sure?” the shop owner asked calmly.
“There was just an old man in his fifties or sixties inside. I can’t confirm it was Kong Dalong,” Liu Zhiyou said, wiping sweat from his forehead.
“After I went in, he just rummaged around looking for things. Took almost an hour. Everything is in this box…”
The shop owner immediately dumped the contents onto the floor.
Inside were cheap, random items: a single shoe, an air conditioner remote, old magazines of unknown origin.
The shipping label read:
Special Bureau of Social Affairs Investigation
The shop owner’s expression changed.
“He knows we’re here…”
Before he could finish—
Five or six vehicles stopped outside the shop.
More than twenty people got out and forced their way inside.
The leader nodded at the shop owner.
“Old He, how’s it going? You didn’t waste time, did you? Has Kong Dalong been sent off already?”
The shop owner stood up for once to greet them.
“You’re late. Two hours later than planned.”
The leader replied:
“Don’t mention it. We were intercepted by the Bureau right after leaving the airport. They already know we entered Beijing. Not just us—others were stopped too. I had to use some tricks to get through…”
Before he finished—
More cars arrived.
Another group of twenty people entered.
Their leader looked at the shop owner and laughed.
“We’re late, we’re late. Has it already ended? Has Kong Dalong gone off to reincarnation yet?”
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