Chapter 290: Trapped Like a Rat – Su Ming Uncovers Anomalies in the Green Channel Truck

After hearing those words, everyone present quickly grasped the current situation.

That earlier anonymous tip-off call was undoubtedly made by the Ghost himself, hoping to increase his own chances of escaping.

As for the Priest… he had indeed slipped into Jiahe City right under their noses. The lockdown measures they had implemented had ultimately failed to stop him.

…

After briefly organizing his thoughts, Su Ming narrowed his eyes and began issuing the next set of orders.

“Although the Priest has successfully infiltrated Jiahe City,” he said, “the tip-off message from the Ghost actually puts the situation more in our favor.”

“First of all, unless something unexpected happened, Sanhe Square is likely the next rendezvous point K designated for the Ghost’s escape.”

“But the Ghost isn’t that foolish. Since he knows the Priest is coming, he definitely won’t go there anymore.”

“So we need to use the last known location of the Ghost’s phone signal to track him down and figure out his current escape route.”

“Compared to our earlier blind search, this approach is far more manageable.”

“Also, judging by K’s choice of a location suitable for a sniper, it’s highly likely the Priest brought a sniper rifle with him into Jiahe City.”

“This rules out both air travel and high-speed trains. To stay hidden and transport a firearm, the Priest most likely drove here alone.”

“Given the importance of what the Ghost knows…”

“And considering the high risk of the Priest being exposed while infiltrating Jiahe City, K would want to act fast. The moment he confirmed the Priest had arrived, he’d immediately order the Ghost to relocate to an execution site.”

“If our assumptions are correct, the Priest entered Jiahe City less than ten minutes ago.”

“Our top priority now is to locate him and lock onto his movements.”

“Because no one can say for sure whether K, ever cautious, might realize the Ghost is no longer under his control and instruct the Priest to abort the mission and wait for another opportunity.”

With that thought in mind, Su Ming stepped forward and firmly patted Xiao Li from the criminal investigation unit on the shoulder.

“Xiao Li,” he said, leaving no room for doubt, “have the officers at every checkpoint compile a list of all suspicious vehicles that have passed through recently. We need to identify the Priest’s vehicle as soon as possible.”

Standing nearby, Liu Yang clenched his fists tightly, feeling a light sheen of sweat on his palms from the tension in the air.

He took a deep breath and looked seriously at Su Ming.

“Team Leader Su,” he said, “should we start deploying forces around Sanhe Square now?”

“Based on your earlier analysis, the Priest is probably en route there. If we set up in advance, we might be able to capture him on the spot.”

Su Ming rubbed his chin thoughtfully for a couple of seconds, then his eyes sharpened with resolve.

“Not yet,” he said. “We won’t deploy just yet.”

“But activate the Sky Eye Surveillance system. Get the SWAT and local police to move in close to Sanhe Square immediately. Just don’t enter it—hide in the surrounding buildings.”

“Sanhe Square has heavy foot traffic. If we move too early, it could cause complications, tip off the Priest, and make him realize the Ghost isn’t there.”

“My plan is to trap him like a rat in a jar.”

“We need the Priest to believe the Ghost is still at Sanhe Square, so he’ll stake out the best sniper point, preparing to execute him from a distance.”

“When the Priest is in position at his chosen sniper nest, that’s our best chance to close the net.”

“Because at that point, even if he senses something’s wrong, there’s no way he’ll escape our lockdown.”

“If we act too soon, he might pick up on it.”

“But if we wait until he’s fully set up, hiding in one of the surrounding high-rises, and then launch a sudden lockdown, he’ll have no way out.”

Everyone present strongly agreed with this strategy.

Lin Tian, who had been dealing with this drug trafficking organization for days, nodded with a hint of admiration.

“Xiao Ming’s plan is spot on.”

“The members of this organization are extremely cautious, especially K’s ace operative—the Priest.”

“If we deploy too early, not only will we fail to capture him, we’ll likely expose our own movements and give him a chance to slip away.”

“But right now, the most important thing is to confirm what identity the Priest used to enter Jiahe City this time.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Xiao Li, who had just been contacting officers at various checkpoints, turned to the group and quickly reported.

“I’ve got it.”

“Here’s the list of suspicious vehicles that entered Jiahe City between 8:00 and now.”

“Some are commercial vehicles with only the driver onboard. Others are trucks making their first delivery to Jiahe City, along with some other unusual cases.”

“It’s only been a little over thirty minutes, so the number of questionable vehicles isn’t too high.”

Given the urgency of the situation, Su Ming calmly patted Xiao Li on the shoulder and said in a low voice, “Xiao Li, stand up and let me take a look.”

“In my current assessment…”

“No matter how cautious the Priest is, there’s no way he used his real identity to enter. That would inevitably leave behind some kind of clue.”

“As long as we can accurately determine which identity he used, he’s as good as caught.”

Not daring to waste a second, Xiao Li immediately stood up and gave up his seat.

Under everyone’s watchful eyes, Su Ming sat down and began scanning the data at lightning speed, carefully analyzing which vehicle was most likely to be hiding the Priest.

Expired driver’s license.

Vehicle hadn’t passed inspection in two years.

First time delivering express goods to Jiahe City.

An intercity commercial vehicle that hadn’t been used in a month.

…

One by one, the special cases reported by the traffic police appeared clearly on the screen.

Su Ming’s scanning speed was incredibly fast.

It only took him about three seconds to determine, based on experience, whether a vehicle could be the Priest’s.

Moreover, since they had a rough estimate of when the Priest entered the city, Su Ming chose to start from the most recent entries and work backward.

Thirty seconds later, as he flipped to the next page, a Green Channel Truck flagged with multiple issues immediately caught his eye.

The driver had no fingerprints on either thumb.

It was the truck’s first time transporting vegetables via the Green Channel.

It was also the first time this vehicle had entered Jiahe City.

…

Green Channel vegetables? No thumbprints? First time in Jiahe City?

These details made Su Ming narrow his eyes. He immediately pulled up the Sky Eye Surveillance footage of the truck passing through the toll station.

After reviewing the footage twice, Su Ming tapped his finger on the table, then turned to the others with absolute certainty.

“Found it.”

“This has to be the truck.”

“If we’re right, the Priest used the Green Channel vegetable shipment as cover to smuggle in the execution weapon—and he’s right under our noses!”