Absolute power in officialdom

Chapter 154 Tracking and Counter-tracking

Wu Zhiyuan's spirits lifted. As a soldier, capturing spies was his duty, ingrained in his blood, and his supreme mission.

Chu Jianguo said calmly, "This time, the target is Dadi Mining Group."

"Dadi Mining?" Wu Zhiyuan was taken aback.

He had heard of this company before. It used to be a state-owned enterprise, but became a private enterprise during the wave of reforms. A few years ago, due to its strategic importance, it was taken over by the state and became a special enterprise engaged in rare earth mining and refining.

"Yes, Earth Corporation. Rare earth elements, and certain rare metals, are the 'vitamins' of modern high-tech industries and defense industries, and are known as 'industrial MSG,' their importance is self-evident."

The state imposes strict export and circulation controls on such strategic resources.

However, tempted by enormous profits, some people will inevitably take the risk, colluding with outsiders to attempt to smuggle these strategic materials or related technologies out of the country through illegal channels.

Chu Jianguo took out a photograph.

The photo shows a man in his forties, wearing glasses, who looks refined and cultured.

"This person is named Gao Bowen, originally from Jiangzhou. He was sent to study in the United States on a government scholarship in his early years, but after completing his studies, he stayed there and did not return, and instead acquired American citizenship."

His ostensible identity is that of a senior analyst at a non-ferrous metals trading company, who travels around the world year-round, engaging in so-called business consulting and market research.

However, according to the intelligence we have, this trading company has a very deep background and close ties with many American companies that have military and intelligence agency backgrounds. The person in question has also appeared in some sensitive areas of our country on multiple occasions and behaved suspiciously.

We internally suspected him of being a spy for the US military intelligence agency, but he was very cunning and had strong counter-surveillance capabilities. Despite our several surveillance operations, we were unable to find conclusive evidence that he was directly engaged in espionage activities.

We are a country ruled by law. Without solid evidence, we cannot arrest someone, even if we know they are a spy. We can only monitor and track them covertly.

"What is his purpose in entering the country this time?" Wu Zhiyuan asked.

According to reliable intelligence, Gao Bowen entered the country yesterday and will take the high-speed rail to Jiangzhou East Station this afternoon after a short stay in the south.

We believe his target is likely Dadi Company's new purification technology or related core data; of course, he may also be after other intelligence.

Jiangzhou is the headquarters of Dadi Company and an important base for the rare earth application industry chain.

Moreover, Jiangzhou houses an important military base. Gao Bowen's trip was certainly not without purpose.

Chu Jianguo paused for a moment, then continued, "Zhiyuan, your task is to lead a tracking team to monitor Gao Bowen from the moment he gets off the bus."

The primary objective is to ascertain his whereabouts in Jiangzhou, record the people he comes into contact with, and grasp his activity patterns and intentions as much as possible.

Remember, this person is a seasoned old fox, extremely difficult to track.

Without my orders, you are strictly prohibited from acting rashly or alerting the enemy. Your role is to be the eyes and ears.

"Understood! I will do my best to complete the mission!" Wu Zhiyuan felt a heavy responsibility on his shoulders, but it also aroused his fighting spirit.

This is indeed a "feast"—the challenge of the task far exceeds the internal investigation of Institute 835.

Wu Zhiyuan and the other members of the tracking team immediately convened a pre-battle meeting to carefully study Gao Bowen's photos, basic information, and possible behavioral habits, and to formulate multiple tracking plans to deal with various emergencies.

In response to the characteristics of high-speed rail stations, which are characterized by dense crowds and complex environments, they plan to adopt a multi-layered, alternating, and combined near and far tracking strategy.

At 3:40 p.m., the high-speed train that Gao Bowen was on arrived at Jiangzhou East Station on time.

Wearing a baseball cap and carrying a backpack, Wu Zhiyuan stood like an ordinary tourist under the GG sign not far from the exit gate, his gaze seemingly casually sweeping over the surging crowd.

Soon, the target appeared.

Gao Bowen, dressed in a well-fitting casual suit and pulling a black suitcase, walked out of the turnstile with the flow of people.

He looked no different from any other passenger; he even stopped to check his phone, seemingly to confirm his direction.

"Target spotted. Black suit, pulling a black suitcase, heading towards the south exit," Wu Zhiyuan reported in a low voice through a concealed earpiece.

"One group received, covering the queuing area in the waiting area." Li Xiaoyu's voice came through; she was dressed as a station volunteer maintaining order.

"Group Two received, prepare the vehicles to follow."

Gao Bowen lined up and got into a taxi.

Wu Zhiyuan and several team members quickly boarded different tracking vehicles, maintained their distance, and merged into the traffic.

The taxi initially drove smoothly, heading towards the city center.

However, when driving on the bustling Jiefang Road, Gao Bowen's car suddenly stopped at a non-designated stop. He quickly got out of the car and walked straight into the large shopping mall next to the road – Parkson Plaza.

"Target gets off midway and enters Parkson Plaza! Group one, follow me in; Group two, guard all entrances and exits!" Wu Zhiyuan immediately gave the order, and he and Li Xiaoyu followed closely behind into the mall.

The mall was teeming with people.

Gao Bowen walked briskly but not in a panic. He first took the escalator to the top floor cinema area, weaving through the dense crowd, and then quickly turned around and took the elevator down to the underground supermarket.

Wu Zhiyuan and Li Xiaoyu took turns providing cover, relentlessly pursuing the target's figure. They judged that this was a counter-reconnaissance probe using the complex environment.

Sure enough, Gao Bowen suddenly stopped at the supermarket entrance and, using the reflection of the shelves, glanced behind him.

Wu Zhiyuan quickly turned to the side to hide, but a chill ran through him: the other party seemed to have noticed.

Without further hesitation, Gao Bowen quickly walked through the supermarket, exited from another exit connecting to the supermarket, and entered the Jiangzhou Metro Line 1 entrance, which is seamlessly connected to the shopping mall, and quickly entered the station.

"Target: Enter Metro Line 1! Heading towards the train station!" Wu Zhiyuan announced as he and Li Xiaoyu quickly passed through the security gate.

On the platform, a subway train was just pulling into the station. Gao Bowen flashed by and squeezed into the middle carriage at the last moment before the doors closed.

Wu Zhiyuan rushed forward, but could only watch helplessly as the car door closed in front of him.

He immediately shouted into the walkie-talkie, "Team Two! The target is on Metro Line 1, heading towards the train station, just leaving Parkson Plaza Station! Set up a cover and provide cover at the next station, People's Park Station!"

When Wu Zhiyuan and Li Xiaoyu arrived at People's Park Station on the next subway train, their colleagues from Group Two were already in place.

However, after carefully checking the passengers getting off the train and reviewing the platform surveillance footage, they discovered that Gao Bowen did not get off at this station.

Subway surveillance footage shows that as the train was about to arrive at People's Park Station, he quickly moved from the middle carriage to the back of the train, and in the brief chaos of the doors opening and passengers getting on and off, he quickly went against the flow of people back to the direction of Parkson Plaza Station, which he had just left.

He took advantage of the opposite train on the other side of the subway platform.

This counterattack was extremely cunning and shrewd.

By the time Wu Zhiyuan and the others realized what was happening, Gao Bowen had already disappeared without a trace, having blended into the city's extensive subway network by taking the train in the opposite direction.

The tracking operation, after a tense competition, ultimately failed.

Chu Jianguo's office.

Wu Zhiyuan looked guilty: "Director Chu, I'm sorry, the mission was botched. It was my poor command and I underestimated the enemy's counter-reconnaissance capabilities."

Chu Jianguo didn't criticize him, but instead gestured for him to sit down: "Tell me, which specific step went wrong? Let's do a post-mortem."

Wu Zhiyuan began to analyze: "First of all, Gao Bowen's decision to suddenly get off the bus on the busy Jiefang Road was not a spur-of-the-moment decision."

He took advantage of the fact that taxis don't travel fast in congested areas, making it low-risk to get out of the car and allowing him to quickly blend into the crowd.

This shows that he had a thorough understanding of the traffic conditions in Jiangzhou city, and may even have planned this escape route in advance.

Chu Jianguo nodded slightly, signaling him to continue.

"Secondly, his choice of Parkson Plaza as a transit point was highly targeted."

The mall has a complex structure with many entrances and exits, and it is directly connected to the subway station, which provides him with a great deal of flexibility.

He went up to the top floor first, then down to the underground supermarket. This was not just a simple detour, but also a test to see if he was being followed and to observe if a familiar face appeared repeatedly.

His highly professional actions in using the reflection of the shelves to observe those behind him at the supermarket entrance confirmed that he was already suspicious and actively conducting counter-surveillance.

"The most crucial step was at the subway station. He timed it perfectly, boarding the train at the last moment before the doors closed. This is a classic way to shake off the competition and effectively create a time difference."

But we could have intercepted him at the next stop. What really caused us to lose track of him was his move in the opposite direction.

He anticipated our predictions and knew we would set up a checkpoint at the next station, so he took advantage of the subway platform's structure to cross in the opposite direction the moment the doors opened and closed, and boarded the train going in the opposite direction.

This completely disrupted our plans and also caused him to slip out of our sight.

The entire process was fast-paced and tightly linked, with almost no wasted movements.

Chu Jianguo smiled and said, "Your analysis is very insightful and your observations are very detailed."

The fact that you were able to see through his combination of moves so quickly shows that you didn't suffer in vain.

Gao Bowen is indeed a cunning old fox; he's mastered this "testing the waters" and "shedding his skin" maneuver with unparalleled skill.

He paused, then smiled mysteriously: "But Zhiyuan, who told you we really lost them?"