Chapter 135: Operation Thunder

Until this moment, Zhang Sheng completely abandoned all hope. Earlier, he had been somewhat skeptical of Bai Zeshao's words.

Although he was afraid of death, he did not possess such a spineless backbone.

"Think carefully and see if there is anything else you want to confess," Bai Zeshao looked at Zhang Sheng in the corner of the room and asked.

"No, there is really nothing left this time," Zhang Sheng said, utterly dejected.

"Alright, since that's the case, I still have to trouble you with one more matter," Bai Zeshao looked at Zhang Sheng with a smile.

However, Zhang Sheng felt a chill run through his heart under Bai Zeshao's gaze, and he stammered, "You... you aren't going to go back on your word, are you? You..."

Bang!

Bai Zeshao walked up to Zhang Sheng, raised his right hand, and struck with a fierce burst of force. Zhang Sheng swayed and passed out cold.

"Go back on my word? You'd better just have a peaceful sleep," Bai Zeshao muttered to himself as he looked at the unconscious Zhang Sheng.

Afterward, he tied Zhang Sheng up once more and quietly slipped away.

Instead of returning, Bai Zeshao, shrouded in the cover of night, proceeded to raid the remaining two surveillance posts established by Tian Yaopeng.

Perhaps due to lowered vigilance in the dead of night, Bai Zeshao's operations went exceptionally smoothly.

Nevertheless, to verify Zhang Sheng's claims, Bai Zeshao personally interrogated the personnel at both surveillance posts.

Their testimonies matched Zhang Sheng's accounts almost entirely. Because of this, Bai Zeshao was finally able to confirm that Tian Yaopeng had indeed been audacious enough to place senior officials of the Special Service Directorate under surveillance.

This matter was of monumental gravity—so massive that Bai Zeshao was initially at a loss as to how to handle it.

Having detained the Party Affairs Directorate agents from all three surveillance posts, Bai Zeshao sat alone in the darkness, pondering a countermeasure.

However, there was no doubt that Tian Yaopeng was now destined to die; he had crossed a grave taboo within the Special Service Directorate.

The question was how to properly manage this situation, a problem that demanded Bai Zeshao's careful consideration.

Another night passed.

Instead of going straight to work, Bai Zeshao made a phone call to Monkey and the others, then waited at home.

Before long, Monkey and his men arrived, and Bai Zeshao directly instructed them to take the Party Affairs Directorate agents away.

Following that, he boarded a car and headed toward the Special Service Directorate.

Upon entering the building, Bai Zeshao went straight to Wu Zhengke's office. "Captain, we have news regarding Tian Yaopeng."

"Oh? Where is he?" Wu Zhengke looked at Bai Zeshao in surprise.

"He has defected to the Party Affairs Directorate and has already become an honored guest of Zheng Zhibin," Bai Zeshao said slowly.

"What?" Wu Zhengke's expression turned gloomy.

"Captain, you heard correctly. Tian Yaopeng has indeed become a man of the Party Affairs Directorate," Bai Zeshao reiterated.

"Hmph, that wretched bastard!" Wu Zhengke said with a face full of fury. "Does he think he can escape the Special Service Directorate's sanctions just by hiding in the Party Affairs Directorate?"

"Captain, there is one more matter," Bai Zeshao glanced at the furious Wu Zhengke and continued.

"Hmm? What else is there?" Wu Zhengke paused and asked.

"It still concerns Tian Yaopeng," Bai Zeshao said softly.

"Related to him? What is it?"

"Captain, the reason I was able to discover Tian Yaopeng's whereabouts is because he sent Party Affairs Directorate agents to tail me, and I exposed them," Bai Zeshao explained.

"Why would he tail you?" Wu Zhengke frowned, looking at Bai Zeshao.

"Captain, he didn't just tail me. He has put every single senior official of our Special Service Directorate under surveillance. Apart from the Director, whether it's Deputy Director Qian, Section Chief Liu, or even you, Captain, everyone has been watched."

Observing Wu Zhengke's increasingly dark complexion, Bai Zeshao carefully proceeded, "Based on my interrogation of the Party Affairs Directorate agents, Tian Yaopeng mobilized ten different teams just to monitor our directorate."

Crack!

Wu Zhengke violently smashed the teacup on his desk onto the floor. Bai Zeshao instantly stopped speaking and stood silently in place.

After a moment, Wu Zhengke spoke up, "Xiaobai, how many people know about this? Is the scope of awareness large?"

"Captain, as far as I know, only I do, and the ones who tailed me have already been neutralized and locked up inside the directorate. As for the other Party Affairs Directorate operatives monitoring others in the directorate, I haven't touched them yet."

At this point, Bai Zeshao glanced at Wu Zhengke, who was lost in silent thought, and continued, "However, since the team monitoring me has been exposed, I estimate the other teams will soon realize it, and those personnel and surveillance posts will likely be withdrawn shortly."

Wu Zhengke gave Bai Zeshao a look. "Bring the men who tailed you over here first. I want to question them myself."

After all, the matter was of such immense scale that it could potentially trigger a war between the Special Service Directorate and the Party Affairs Directorate. Wu Zhengke could not make a decision based solely on Bai Zeshao's words.

Soon, Zhang Sheng and the others were brought into Wu Zhengke's office, while the action squad members were ordered outside by Wu Zhengke.

After all, confidentiality had to be maintained.

With only Bai Zeshao and Wu Zhengke left in the office, Wu Zhengke interrogated them one by one, and the conclusions drawn were identical to what Bai Zeshao had reported.

Having had Zhang Sheng and the others taken away under strict isolation orders, Wu Zhengke turned to Bai Zeshao and asked, "Do you believe all this was done merely out of Tian Yaopeng's desire for revenge?"

Bai Zeshao instantly understood what Wu Zhengke meant. Regardless of the actual truth of the matter, from the perspective of Bai Zeshao and Wu Zhengke, it was the Party Affairs Directorate that had unilaterally initiated hostilities by illicitly surveilling members of the Special Service Directorate.

"Alright, Xiaobai, step outside for a moment and wait while I make a phone call. Don't go too far—just stand guard by the door," Wu Zhengke said, picking up the telephone.

"Yes." Bai Zeshao promptly left the office.

"Xiaobai, come in," Wu Zhengke called out to Bai Zeshao outside the door after about four or five minutes.

"Captain, are we cleared to move?" Bai Zeshao probed tentatively.

"That's right. You will have full command of this operation. Furthermore, the Special Service Directorate's security guard detachment will assist you; do not use the men from the action squad," Wu Zhengke said swiftly.

Bai Zeshao understood Wu Zhengke's concerns. After all, this operation relied entirely on seizing a time advantage. The action squad had too many people and loose lips; if any news leaked, everything would go down the drain.

The few individuals Bai Zeshao had captured alone were simply not enough to accomplish the mission.

"Xiaobai, is there anything else you need? You can tell me now, but you must remember one thing: this operation must succeed; failure is not an option. Many high-ranking figures are watching this operation closely. I won't spell out the deeper implications," Wu Zhengke said solemnly, looking straight at Bai Zeshao.

"Understood, mission guaranteed!" Bai Zeshao gave a military salute and responded in a loud voice.

"Good." Wu Zhengke was quite satisfied with Bai Zeshao's attitude, yet he still added a warning: "Xiaobai, sometimes you can take matters to the absolute limit, but you shouldn't make absolute promises with your words."

"Well, I'm speaking in front of my boss, aren't I?" Bai Zeshao said with a smile.