Chapter 306: A Bold Assumption—Ghost Actually Trusts K Deeply…

The police car sped down the highway toward Lingling Circus.

In the driver’s seat, Chen Sheng looked noticeably more relaxed than before. The tension and worry that had clouded his face earlier had eased somewhat, replaced by a faint, unspoken excitement.

After all, they had finally tracked down Ghost and confirmed that he was hiding inside Lingling Circus.

More importantly, the Priest who had come to execute Ghost had already committed suicide by poison. And given Ghost’s personality, he was not the type to take his own life easily.

All of this significantly tilted the odds in their favor for this operation.

If they could successfully capture Ghost and bring him in, the intelligence he held on the drug trafficking organization could very well bring this entire case to a near-perfect conclusion.

Even the Hotel Water Tank Female Corpse Case, which had weighed on Chen Sheng’s mind for over half a year, could finally be closed. The killer would be brought to justice.

…

At that moment, Chen Sheng glanced sideways at Lin Tian in the passenger seat, then checked the rearview mirror to look at Su Ming sitting in the back. He shook his head with a sigh.

“Criminal Investigation Technology Section just sent an update. They say Lingling Circus covers a huge area, and the Sky Eye surveillance network hasn’t been fully deployed there.”

“So for now, we still can’t pinpoint exactly where Ghost is hiding.”

“Once we get to Lingling Circus, we’ll probably have to search high and low. It’s going to take quite a bit of time.”

“But the one silver lining is… we likely don’t have to worry about other members of the drug trafficking organization getting to Ghost first and executing him before we do.”

“After all, they already sent their most important operative, the Priest. I doubt K has anyone else left that he trusts enough to send right now.”

“Still, I didn’t expect Ghost to flee to Lingling Circus.”

Lin Tian, sitting in the passenger seat, had also relaxed somewhat. He nodded and said calmly, “Not having to race against assassins is definitely good news.”

“There were several times before when we got close to capturing key figures in the drug trafficking organization. Each time, we could’ve used interrogations to uncover the bigger picture.”

“But it was always the same story… Demon Witch, Poison, Qiang Wei—just as we were about to break through, they either committed suicide or were executed by others, and the trail went cold.”

“Now, with Ghost, we don’t have to worry as much about that. That alone is a huge advantage.”

“As for why Ghost chose to hide in Lingling Circus, I think it’s because of the heavy foot traffic. Lots of visitors make it easier for him to blend in.”

“It’s just like when K had Ghost hide out in Sanhe Square—it was also because of the crowds and complexity of the area.”

“Plus, Ghost used to work at Lingling Circus for several years as a magician in the circus shows. He’s intimately familiar with the layout, including all the surveillance blind spots.”

“Given that, it’s no surprise the officers from the Criminal Investigation Technology Section can’t determine exactly where he is inside the circus.”

“So, Lingling Circus has large crowds, and Ghost knows the Sky Eye surveillance system inside and out. If he had to pick a place to hide during the day, this would be a top choice.”

“It’s certainly more reassuring for him than Sanhe Square.”

At this point, Lin Tian paused for a few seconds. Then he turned to look at Su Ming in the second row and asked,

“Xiao Ming.”

“Where do you think Ghost would be hiding inside Lingling Circus?”

“The place is massive. Besides the circus performances, there’s also a huge animal kingdom.”

“If we try to search every corner, it could take hours.”

“Even though we don’t have to worry about Ghost being executed ahead of time, based on what we’ve learned about these fugitives, I can’t shake the feeling that the longer we take, the more unpredictable things become.”

“If possible, I think we should narrow down the search area as much as we can. Let’s focus on the most likely spots first to improve efficiency.”

“If we don’t find him in those key areas, then we can move on to a more thorough sweep. That seems like a more reasonable approach.”

It was clear.

From the Zhou Shirui case until now, Lin Tian had come to understand just how dangerous the members of this kill organization were. Every single one of them was a desperate, unstable ticking time bomb.

Even though the situation currently seemed to be in their favor—

Ghost wasn’t likely to commit suicide, and K couldn’t send anyone in time to execute him. They had enough time to dig Ghost out of Lingling Circus.

But still… once bitten, twice shy.

If anything goes wrong during the operation to capture Ghost, then basically all leads will be cut off.

And once that happens, the chances of digging out K and completely dismantling this drug trafficking organization will drop drastically.

Hearing Lin Tian’s words and concerns, Su Ming, seated in the second row, lightly tapped the back of his left hand with his right index finger. Narrowing his eyes, he spoke slowly.

“A large-scale, meticulous search would indeed be a huge waste of time, and it would make the operation extremely inefficient.”

“Focusing on a few selected areas for screening is definitely a more appropriate approach.”

“Analyzing Ghost’s behavior and personality, the fact that he chose to hide in the Lingling Circus… I actually think there’s a good chance it has something to do with K.”

“Just like Chief Lin said, K told Ghost to go to the crowded Sanhe Square.”

“Ghost knew K wanted to kill him, so he didn’t go there. Instead, he even betrayed the Priest who was originally sent to execute him.”

“But I believe Ghost still has a lot of faith in K’s judgment. After all, it was thanks to K’s careful planning last night that he managed to escape our police pursuit.”

“Moreover, Ghost knows very well that while K might tolerate his escape, he would never allow him to be captured by us and risk exposing that crucial piece of evidence Lan Cai’er once knew.”

“So no matter how badly things have fallen apart between them, Ghost can be absolutely certain that any hiding place K provides will be safe—at the very least, somewhere difficult for us to find.”

“In fact, I think… if Ghost saw the news about the Sanhe Square shooting and the Priest committing suicide out of guilt,”

“He might even contact K again before the night is over, asking him to arrange a safer hiding spot.”

“That’s exactly why, after confirming that Sanhe Square is densely populated and chaotic, Ghost chose a similar place—Lingling Circus.”

At that moment, Su Ming narrowed his eyes further, his tone turning serious and bold as he continued his deduction.

“I believe Ghost has completely internalized the idea that K is the one who can help him escape. Compared to himself, K is far more experienced in evasion and criminal operations—someone worthy of trust and obedience.”

“For us, that actually narrows down the search range significantly.”

“So in my opinion, the most likely place Ghost is hiding right now would be within the Lingling Circus—specifically, the most crowded, most visited, and most popular venues and attractions…”