The Omniscient

Chapter 49: Futile Caution

The driver delayed by Old Wang finally made his way to a budget hotel’s parking lot in the suburbs.

Before he could get too close, Huang Ji stepped out from behind a tree, blocking his path.

“Don’t go near yet; Cao Jing hasn’t left,” Huang Ji said.

Old Wang nodded, letting Huang Ji get in the car before driving to a corner of the parking lot. From there, they waited at a distance, watching Cao Jing’s car parked in another section of the lot.

Cao Jing stayed inside, showing no sign of leaving.

At one point, Huang Ji glanced at the fuel gauge and asked, “Can this clunker even keep running?”

“It’ll run. That guy poured in a bottle of water—enough to stretch the gas a little. Should last for 30 minutes,” Old Wang replied.

But Huang Ji shook his head. “Not enough. Where’s the spare fuel I told you to bring?”

“Fill it up,” Huang Ji instructed.

Old Wang chuckled. “What’s the rush? From my experience, there’s plenty left in the tank for now.”

“Fill it up,” Huang Ji insisted.

Reluctantly, Old Wang got out and started refueling, grumbling, “You’re a nag, you know that?”

Huang Ji simply smiled. Sometimes, he thought, it’s precisely experience that leads to mistakes.

After a short while, Cao Jing finally stepped out of his car. Smoking a cigarette, he locked the doors and walked off in a hurry.

“Hey, he actually left!” Old Wang laughed.

“Wait a bit longer,” Huang Ji said.

“Wait? He might just be grabbing something quick. We could miss our chance,” Old Wang said impatiently.

“Patience,” Huang Ji replied calmly.

About half a minute later, Cao Jing hurried back. Unlocking his car, he rummaged around inside and then grabbed his phone before leaving again.

“So that’s why he came back—he forgot his phone,” Old Wang said in exasperation. “If we’d moved earlier, we’d have been caught red-handed.”

“How’d you know?” Old Wang asked.

Huang Ji smiled. “He’s meeting someone. From observing his habits, I noticed that during such situations, he always keeps his phone in hand. But just now, he didn’t have it; he was holding a cigarette instead. I guessed he forgot it. Even if I was wrong, waiting an extra half-minute wouldn’t hurt.”

“Why would he leave his car just to meet someone? If it were me, I’d never stray from the money,” Old Wang said, puzzled.

“I’ll explain later. First, let’s grab the cash,” Huang Ji replied.

Once Cao Jing left the parking lot, Old Wang drove up to his car.

The vehicle was one of the scrap cars from their yard, patched up for temporary use with a fake license plate. They even had a spare key prepared.

Using the key, Old Wang easily opened the trunk and retrieved the money inside.

Meanwhile, Huang Ji placed two identical boxes in the trunk, positioning them exactly as the originals had been.

“Alright, let’s go,” Old Wang said, shutting the trunk.

Before leaving, he noticed Huang Ji pulling out a plastic bag and sprinkling some dust on the car’s hood, carefully covering the clean spots where Old Wang’s gloves had wiped away the grime while opening the trunk.

“Not bad, but I don’t think Cao Jing’s that meticulous,” Old Wang said, nodding in approval as he got back in the car.

Huang Ji smiled faintly. “Even fools have moments of brilliance. You can never predict when someone might suddenly notice something.”

The two laughed as they drove away with the money.

Not far from the parking lot, they spotted Cao Jing under a streetlight, meeting someone.

From their car, they observed Cao Jing greeting Ah Lei warmly.

“Big bro, I’m so glad you’re out!” Ah Lei exclaimed with joy.

From their exchange, it was clear that Ah Lei had only just learned of Cao Jing’s release and was unaware of tonight’s operation.

Cao Jing lowered his voice, saying, “Tonight, we have a mission. You’re the only one I trust.”

“But this is a big deal. To be absolutely sure…” Cao Jing hesitated.

Ah Lei understood immediately and laughed. “Say no more, bro. I got it!”

Without waiting for an explanation, Ah Lei pulled out his phone, snapped it in half, and tossed it into a nearby trash bin.

“Good man!” Cao Jing said, gripping Ah Lei’s shoulder tightly. Moved by the gesture, he felt reassured that Ah Lei had no hard feelings about being tested.

“Let’s handle this beautifully together tonight. We’ll talk on the way back,” Cao Jing said, putting an arm around Ah Lei as they walked away.

Old Wang drove past them slowly, overhearing bits of their conversation. Combining that with what they already knew, Old Wang pieced together Cao Jing’s thought process.

“I see. There’s no way Cao Jing would go to the transaction alone. He has to bring someone. But after what happened last time, he doesn’t trust anyone. Even with Ah Lei, his closest brother, he’s still cautious.

“That’s why he didn’t tell Ah Lei where the money was or the transaction location beforehand. He even deliberately left the money behind to pick up Ah Lei elsewhere. Only after meeting him did he have him destroy his phone. That way, even if Ah Lei were a mole, he wouldn’t have time to alert anyone.”

Old Wang’s eyes lit up in realization.

“This is why Cao Jing left the parking lot. He’s guarding against betrayal. Tonight’s transaction is incredibly secret, known only to Old Ma, Tielong, and Cao Jing himself.

“Cao Jing doesn’t need to worry about Old Ma or Tielong. His only concern is his own men. By leaving the money behind to fetch Ah Lei, he ensured no one would tail them from the parking lot.

“After verifying that Ah Lei couldn’t leak any information, he’ll take him on a convoluted route to shake off potential followers. Then, and only then, will he reveal the transaction location.”

Old Wang looked at Huang Ji in amazement.

“No wonder you sent Xiao Zha to meet Cao Jing. You already predicted he’d pick up the money alone before fetching Ah Lei.”

Huang Ji smiled faintly, his plan proceeding perfectly.

Cao Jing had indeed become more cautious after his previous loss. Normally careless, tonight he was meticulous, guarding against betrayal at every step.

But all his effort was for naught because his focus was entirely misplaced.

Cao Jing couldn’t have imagined that the car he drove, the money he carried, and even the cash boxes themselves were all intentionally given to him by Huang Ji.

By the time he took Ah Lei on his circuitous route to ensure secrecy, his “money” had already turned into stacks of blank paper.

“Poor guy. He’s about to go make a deal with two boxes of white paper,” Old Wang sighed.

Huang Ji chuckled and said, “It’s not just that. He’ll carry the white paper back to report to Old Ma as well. Didn’t I already tell you? Tonight’s transaction was fake from the start. It’s all part of Old Ma’s plan to lure out the mole.

"The contact on Cao Jing’s side won’t bring any goods. Without the goods, why would Cao Jing be stupid enough to hand over the money first? So, the two sides will end up parting ways unhappy. Even after the deal is called off and everyone goes their separate ways, Cao Jing won’t realize he’s been carrying stacks of blank paper.”

Old Wang asked hesitantly, “Are we really going to hit Old Ma again? What if they’re not carrying any cash this time?”

Just then, Huang Ji’s phone rang. He picked it up and heard Zhang Junwei’s voice on the other end.

“Boss, I followed your instructions and waited at the MH District highway exit. Sure enough, Old Ma showed up—four cars in total. They’ve just entered SJ District, and I’m tailing them.”

“They’re letting you tail them on purpose. If it were a real transaction, do you think they couldn’t shake you off with your skill level?” Huang Ji said with a laugh.

“Fair point… So, what should I do when I follow them to the location?” Zhang Junwei asked.

“Pull back immediately and send the location to Lin Li. He knows what to do from there,” Huang Ji instructed.

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