Hannes' men, tasked with finding Guan Yumeng, went down to the parking lot. Murphy and Jim walked over to Hannes' car. Murphy opened the door and got inside. Just as Jim was about to follow, he noticed something strange—there seemed to be wires near the gas tank. Jim's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly shouted, "Stop! Don't move! Murphy, it looks like there's a bomb on the car!"
"F!" Murphy, who had been just about to start the car, broke out in a cold sweat. His hand, gripping the key, began to tremble. If Jim had warned him just a second later, the car would have ignited, and they would have been blown sky-high.
Jim, standing outside the car, was equally terrified. If the car exploded, he wouldn't have been able to escape either, unless he abandoned his partner and ran.
Jim slowly approached the gas tank, carefully reaching for the cap. He opened it very gently and saw two wires running into the exterior shell of the gas tank. He cautiously pulled out the wires and, seeing that the phosphorus block attached hadn't been inserted into the tank, breathed a deep sigh of relief. He pulled out a small piece of paper, which had the word "Name" written on it.
Thank God, it was just a warning. Feeling weak in the knees, Jim leaned against the car roof to steady himself. After a few seconds, he knocked on the roof and reassured the equally shaken Murphy, "It's alright, it's okay."
Murphy quickly jumped out of the car, walking over to see the wires and phosphorus block. He looked at the note Jim handed him. "The device wasn't placed inside the gas tank. Otherwise, we might be meeting God right now."
Murphy stared at the word "Name" written on the paper and cursed loudly. "That crazy old man! God, if I catch him, I swear I'll beat the crap out of him."
Other guards who had heard the commotion came over to investigate once they saw everything was under control.
Ten minutes later, in Hannes' office, the head of the security team, Nick, walked in with the wires and phosphorus block in hand and reported, "The device consisted of two one-meter-long wires. One end was connected to the trunk light filament, and the other was tied to the phosphorus block. If the car had been started, the phosphorus would have ignited and set off the gas tank. Fortunately, this was just another warning. The goal was to show you that he can get close to you."
Just then, Nick's phone rang. "Hello?"
"We got a tip. The old man stayed at a private motel in town last night. He hasn't returned yet. What should we do?"
"Wait for me. We'll ambush him," Nick replied, feeling relieved. In his mind, now that they had a lead, catching Guan Yumeng wouldn't be difficult. He turned to Hannes and said, "We've found where he's staying. I'll take some men and wait for him."
Hannes thought for a moment. Despite the surprises of the day, Guan Yumeng hadn't tried to kill him. Everything he'd done was aimed at getting the list of names. So Hannes instructed, "Alright, when you catch him, just give him a warning and then send him back to London."
"Understood. I'm heading out."
"Be careful."
Nick took three of his men and drove to a private motel called Puyol. After confirming with the motel owner that Guan Yumeng hadn't returned, the four men went inside and searched his room.
Meanwhile, not far from Hannes' office, Guan Yumeng was sitting in his parked car, smiling as he watched his phone. Once he saw Nick and the others enter his room, he said to Sunday, "I'm heading up to see Hannes now. Set a timer for two minutes to detonate the stun grenade and release the anesthetic gas."
"Alright, Mr. Guan. Two-minute countdown starts now."
"Thanks, Sunday. After this is all over, I'll treat you to a meal. I'll cook some authentic Chinese dishes myself," Guan Yumeng chuckled as he got out of the car, speaking to what he still believed to be a real person.
After the explosion, the office building had become eerily quiet, with not a soul in sight. Guan Yumeng walked up with a smile on his face. As he reached the door to Hannes' office, Sunday's voice chimed in. "Mr. Guan, all four men in your room are unconscious."
"Thanks," Guan Yumeng nodded, pulling out his phone. The screen showed Nick, Murphy, and the other two men lying on the floor. "There won't be any problems, right?"
"Don't worry, Mr. Guan. The stun grenade shattered the windows, allowing ventilation. They didn't inhale much of the anesthetic, so they're not in any danger," Sunday reassured him, playing the video for Guan Yumeng on his phone.
The footage showed Nick and his team entering the room. One stood by the window, while the other three began searching the room. Less than two minutes later, a deafening "bang" went off as the stun grenade detonated, leaving the four men disoriented and with their ears ringing.
Then, a soft hissing sound followed as the anesthetic gas spread throughout the room. Within seconds, all four men were knocked out.
"Good, no one was hurt. Better safe than sorry," Guan Yumeng muttered as he put his phone away. He knocked on the office door. "Knock, knock, knock."
"Come in," Hannes' secretary called out.
As soon as the door opened, the secretary let out a scream. Inside, Hannes heard the scream, grabbed a handgun from his drawer, and came rushing out.
Seeing Guan Yumeng standing in the middle of the room, Hannes immediately pointed the gun at him. "You bastard! How dare you come here?"
"You invited me, Deputy Minister Hannes. Now that I'm here, can you tell me who the killer is?" Guan Yumeng asked calmly.
"You... you..." Hannes was so enraged by Guan Yumeng's composed demeanor that he wanted to hit him. He put away the gun and cursed, "Damn it! I told you, I don't know. I'm still investigating the matter myself."
"Then just tell me what you've found so far. Thank you."
"F! I'll say it again—I don't know!" Hannes yelled, pointing at Guan Yumeng. He turned to his secretary and ordered, "Beth, call Nick and tell him to come back and escort this old man back to London."
"Yes, sir," the secretary quickly picked up the phone and dialed Nick's number. But after several rings, no one answered. Shaking her head, Beth looked at Hannes. "No one's picking up."
"What? Then call Murphy, call Jim," Hannes snapped.
Beth nodded and tried dialing again. But after a minute of trying all four phones, none of them answered.
"You... you..." Hannes glared at Guan Yumeng, raising the gun in his hand. "What did you do to my men?"
"Relax. They're just unconscious. But if you don't tell me what I want to know, who knows what might happen next," Guan Yumeng said, covering his ear as he softly instructed, "Sunday, send the footage to Mr. Hannes."
"Alright, Mr. Guan. Transmission complete."
"Ding." Hannes' phone chimed with a message. He pulled it out and saw the video of his four men lying on the ground, unconscious.
Before Hannes could respond, Guan Yumeng pressed him again. "Tell me the name."
"F, F, F! I told you, I don't know!" Hannes was so furious at Guan Yumeng's persistence that he nearly had a heart attack.
Seeing that Hannes genuinely didn't seem to know, Guan Yumeng sighed. "Fine, then I'll come back in a few days. Hopefully, by then, you'll have figured out who the killer is."
"You're not going anywhere," Hannes growled, raising his gun and pointing it directly at Guan Yumeng.
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