Chapter 659: Tianhai

Xu Wuyi opened his personal terminal and projected a document onto the light screen on the wall.

A logo appeared on the screen—a blue planet motif with the words "Tianhai Group" written beneath it.

"Tianhai Group," Xu Wuyi said. "Headquartered in Xingjing City East District. Its core business is Star Realm trade. It has an asset scale of one hundred and twenty billion and a workforce of over eight thousand."

He paused, then continued, "According to the intelligence gathered by the Inspection Department, this group is suspected of large-scale Star Realm smuggling. The smuggled goods include High-Energy Weapons, military-grade materials, and certain restricted special resources."

The expressions in Zhou Bin and the others’ eyes changed.

Star Realm smuggling.

This was a major case.

Especially when it involved military-grade materials and special resources, which struck at the core interests of the Federation. If proven true, it was a crime punishable by ten executions.

"Where is the evidence?" Zhou Bin asked.

Xu Wuyi clicked open another file.

Dense text and charts appeared on the light screen: transaction records, cash flows, transcripts of recorded calls, and several blurry photos.

"This is all the evidence the Inspection Department’s intelligence division has collected over the past three years," Xu Wuyi said.

"Transaction records show that Tianhai Group routed multiple massive funds to overseas shell companies. Behind those shell companies are several known smuggling rings.

"In the call transcripts, Tianhai Group’s senior executives repeatedly mention the phrases ’special channels’ and ’safe passages.’ The photos show goods from their secret warehouses, some of which are clearly identifiable as military-grade materials."

He looked at his team members. "The evidence is sufficient. We can take direct action."

A brief silence followed.

Sun Jing was the first to speak, a hint of amusement in his voice. "Captain Meng, this target... are you sure about this?"

Xu Wuyi looked at him.

Sun Jing continued, "I know of the Tianhai Group. Their backer is Li Mingyuan, the vice commander of the Celestial Swallow Battle Group. Li Mingyuan has deep ties with the Li Family, and the Li Family is connected to—"

"Li Zhaowen," Xu Wuyi interrupted him.

Li Zhaowen looked up.

"What is Li Mingyuan’s exact relationship with the Tianhai Group?"

Li Zhaowen pushed up his glasses and quickly pulled up the relevant files. "Li Mingyuan is the deputy minister of logistics for the Celestial Swallow Battle Group. He is a distant relative of Wang Haidong, the actual controller of the Tianhai Group. Their grandmothers were biological sisters.

"However, intelligence shows no substantive financial dealings between Li Mingyuan and Wang Haidong. The last time they met was at a Wang Family funeral three years ago.

"That being said... this is only the intelligence we’ve uncovered so far. Whether they have hidden ties remains to be investigated further."

Xu Wuyi nodded and looked at Sun Jing.

Sun Jing shrugged. "Alright. Since Captain Meng has looked into it, I have no objections."

Fang Xiaoxiao stared at the data on the screen, a gleam of excitement flashing in her eyes. "This is a heavyweight target. The Tianhai Group is quite famous in Xingjing. If we can verify their smuggling operations, our Fourth Squad will make a name for ourselves in a single battle."

Zhou Bin pondered for a moment before asking, "Captain Meng, what’s the action plan?"

Xu Wuyi stood up, walked over to the light screen, and pulled up a map of Xingjing City East District.

Three marked locations appeared on the map: one at the Tianhai Building in the city center, and the other two in industrial parks located in the East District and South District, respectively.

"We will split the operation into three routes." His voice was calm, carrying an unquestionable certainty. "I will take Fang Xiaoxiao to arrest Wang Haidong directly. He is at the Tianhai Building. Since it’s a public venue, a daytime operation will actually make it easier to control the situation."

He pointed to the marker in the East District on the map.

"Zhou Bin will take Sun Jing and raid the East District warehouse. According to our intelligence, the samples of their most recent batch of smuggled goods are stored there—enough to solidify the evidence. The warehouse’s security level isn’t high; you two can handle it."

Zhou Bin nodded without saying much.

Xu Wuyi pointed to the marker in the South District.

"Li Zhaowen will take Chen Yunxuan to arrest Wang Haidong’s trusted executive, Zhang Yuhuai. This man is in charge of the Tianhai Group’s logistics and holds the core information on their smuggling channels. He lives in a villa in the South District and should be home at this hour. Apprehend him and seize his personal terminal along with all storage devices."

Li Zhaowen adjusted his glasses. "I’ve reviewed Zhang Yuhuai’s file. He’s forty-two years old, a Level 31 Martial Artist with no combat specialization. Subduing him won’t be an issue, but we need to confirm he’s actually at home."

"Intelligence indicates he is home today," Xu Wuyi said. "We will confirm it one more time before the operation begins."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the five people present.

"Everyone, remember this: the sole objective of this operation is to secure evidence and apprehend key personnel. We do not need to expand the scope of our strike, nor do we need to cause unnecessary complications.

"We are not here to eradicate a criminal syndicate; we are only here to gather evidence and make arrests. As long as we get the evidence and secure the targets, the interrogation department will handle the rest."

Fang Xiaoxiao asked, "Captain Meng, what if we encounter resistance?"

"Follow standard procedures," Xu Wuyi replied. "Subdue them if possible. If not, neutralize them. We aren’t here to kill, but we aren’t afraid to do so either."

She nodded and asked no further questions.

Sun Jing leaned back in his chair, his fingers gently tapping the desk as if deep in thought. After a moment, he spoke up, "Captain Meng, there’s something I need to remind you about."

Xu Wuyi looked at him.

"Wang Haidong runs an illegal business, so he’s definitely willing to spend money in that area," Sun Jing said.

"The protective force around him won’t be as simple as one or two ordinary security guards. I’ve looked into some leads. He keeps at least one private armed unit. The exact number is unknown, but there are definitely some tough nuts to crack in there."

Zhou Bin chimed in. "Sun Jing is right. Given the scale of the Tianhai Group and how many years he’s been smuggling, he can’t have a shortage of enemies. The fact that he’s survived this long proves his protective detail is solid."

Fang Xiaoxiao added, "I worked on a case before where the target was also a big boss. We thought it was foolproof, but when we rushed in, we found he had three Level 38 Martial Artists under his wing. We almost botched the whole thing."

Xu Wuyi listened to them, not responding immediately.

He knew his team members were reminding him, but they were also testing him. They wanted to know if this new captain had any real skill and if he was truly worth trusting.

He waited for them to finish before speaking.

"I am aware of the protective force around Wang Haidong."

He pulled up another document and projected it onto the screen.

"For the past three months, the intelligence department has been monitoring the Tianhai Group. Wang Haidong has a dedicated security detail of twelve people in total, working in shifts.

"Out of those twelve, seven are ordinary Martial Artists below Level 35, four are Middle-Tier Martial Artists between Level 35 and Level 40, and there is one more..."