The Plan Begins

It was 7:00 PM on August 2nd.

At this moment, Li Xuan was standing at the connection between the 10th and 11th train cars.

The sky was darkening, and the interior of the train cars had been illuminated with lights.

However, Li Xuan's expression had turned increasingly grim.

He had spent a full four hours walking through different train cars. While he couldn't confirm the situation in the sleeper cars, he had a general idea.

"There are so many people?"

Li Xuan's mood had soured.

He couldn't have imagined that the size of this thief group would be so vast. The thieves were dispersed across various train cars, and just by a glance, Li Xuan could identify their affiliations. Altogether, there were more than fifty of them, and that didn't even count the ones in the hard seats.

What kind of organization was this!?

And that's not all...

It wasn't just the thieves; there were also many plainclothes police officers on this train. Even if they weren't wearing police uniforms, there was still a notable difference in aura between police officers and regular people. Additionally, there were railway police officers present.

Normally, railway police officers on the train wouldn't draw much attention...

However, on this K331 train, there was an unusually high density of train attendants.

Normally, the number of attendants on the train wouldn't exceed six. Yet, the number of police officers Li Xuan had seen during this journey had already surpassed twenty.

This high number of attendants suggested that not all of them were part of this train journey...

Regardless of the specifics, this already revealed the situation on the K331 train!

The situation on this train was incredibly complex!

"Hey, buddy, can I borrow a light?"

Just as Li Xuan furrowed his brows, lost in thought, he suddenly heard a stranger's voice.

He subconsciously turned around and saw a middle-aged man with stubble on his face, holding a cigarette in his mouth.

At that moment, Li Xuan's heart skipped a beat.

However, he continued his movements, pretending to search his pockets, and then said, "I forgot to bring one."

"Oh, no worries."

Xu Zhibin put the cigarette he was holding back into the box and casually struck up a conversation with Li Xuan. "Are you heading to Jinling too?"

Li Xuan smiled slightly and nodded, replying, "I didn't expect so many people on this train."

"Are there usually this many people?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Zhibin subtly observed Li Xuan's expression, then shrugged. "It's my first time going to Jinling. I have no idea about the specifics of this train."

"We're about to stop at Hengde. The conductor said we'll halt for fifteen minutes. How about we go down and take a look together?"

Li Xuan waved his hand, "I'm not going. I'm waiting for the hot water to boil. Plus..."

"It's about to get dark soon, and there's nothing much to see."

"In that case, I'll head back."

Xu Zhibin smiled and nodded.

As Li Xuan turned his back, the polite smiles on both their faces instantly vanished!

How could Li Xuan not see through Xu Zhibin's demeanor!?

Had he already been exposed!?

He quickened his pace, his mind busy planning the next course of action!

Escaping from this "locked room" scenario would require a flawless plan!

Watching Li Xuan's figure disappear from his sight, Xu Zhibin took out his cigarette again and lit it with a lighter.

"This kid..."

"Hiss..."

Xu Zhibin had been keeping tabs on the entire train. Aside from paying attention to the thieves, he naturally kept an eye on Li Xuan.

When he learned that Li Xuan had been wandering through different train cars all afternoon, Xu Zhibin didn't pay much attention at first.

This disdain lasted until he received a call from Ye Gaoyi.

Upon hearing that Ye Gaoyi intended to personally apprehend Li Xuan, Xu Zhibin finally took the situation seriously, leading to their recent conversation.

Although he, like his colleagues, looked down on those fools from Zhonghai, he knew Ye Gaoyi quite well. He understood Ye Gaoyi's capabilities and recognized that if Ye Gaoyi was giving importance to an opponent, he himself shouldn't underestimate them.

Through this brief interaction, Xu Zhibin realized how terribly wrong he had been before!

Li Xuan's behavior completely exceeded his expectations!

What had Li Xuan learned during his afternoon of wandering!?

Xu Zhibin's expression grew more solemn. He pulled out his phone and sent a message: "Monitor Li Xuan's situation and report any discoveries to me immediately!"

"Which train car is he in now?"

He received a response to his message almost immediately: "He just passed through the 10th train car and is heading towards the 11th."

Reading the response, Xu Zhibin pocketed his phone.

However, he knew very well that he wouldn't have a leisurely evening.

...

At the moment, Li Xuan was lying on his bunk.

He had unraveled the situation by now.

"This train is from Fengtian, and the thief group and the plainclothes police are likely from there too.

Those train attendants... should have been temporarily dispatched from various stations to assist in the operation.

With such elaborate arrangements, their target must be that thief group!

As for why they haven't acted yet, the answer is evident.

The reason they allowed so many thieves on board is probably due to that mysterious person who appeared behind me!

This person's aura is not only mysterious to me, but also to the police. They must be searching for this person, and that's why they haven't made a move until now!"

"Most likely, my identity has been exposed, and the reason I haven't been arrested is precisely because of this group of thieves!"

It seemed like he was in for a sleepless night.

The recent encounter with the police officer already made things clear.

If he wanted to escape, he needed to choose the most opportune moment!

Otherwise, even if he got off the train now, the outcome he faced would be the same!

It was now 7:20 PM.

K331 had just arrived at Hengde Station.

Li Xuan closed his eyes slightly. He had already formulated his plan. For now, he needed to conserve his energy to prepare for the plan he had for the entire night.

...

On August 2nd, at 8:40 PM.

Ye Gaoyi had just disembarked from the plane.

Glancing at the time, he had no time to exchange pleasantries with the officers from Zhanjiang Police Bureau who were there to receive him. He headed straight to Zhanjiang Railway Station.

Although the train was already departing quickly, he managed to arrive at Zhanjiang Station just in time.

He directly boarded the train using the staff entrance. As soon as he stood firm, the train's body shook as K331 set off once more.

At the train car connection, Ye Gaoyi and Xu Zhibin met.

They shook hands briefly, but Ye Gaoyi didn't engage in any small talk. He immediately asked, "Where's Li Xuan?"

Xu Zhibin smiled, "Do you doubt my ability to handle things?"

Ye Gaoyi didn't intend to joke with Xu Zhibin. He straightforwardly said, "Just get him back in custody, and I'll be at ease."

"Is he still in Car 14?"

During his journey, Ye Gaoyi had naturally gathered information about the situation.

Looking at Ye Gaoyi, Xu Zhibin understood that Li Xuan wasn't an ordinary person. He set aside any teasing he had in mind and said, "Yes, he's there. Let's go together."

"Let's keep our movements as discreet as possible."

...

Car 14.

It was already 10:01 PM, and the lights in the entire sleeper car had been turned off.

Ye Gaoyi and Xu Zhibin found Li Xuan's bunk in the darkness.

Ye Gaoyi took out handcuffs and patted the bulging bedding on the upper bunk.

However, after this pat, his expression changed.

Even before he descended from the bunk, he immediately looked at Xu Zhibin and furrowed his brows as he asked in a low voice, "Where is he!?"