In the car, I hummed my secret code with Dali in a low voice. Every time the car turned, I would hum a tune. A specific tune represented each of the eight directions. To prevent Dali from being confused, I left him a note.

It was fine having someone trail us in the city, but a car would definitely be spotted once we entered the outskirts.

At around ten o'clock, we were in the outskirts of the city. In front of us was a toll booth. A traffic policeman walked over to speak to us so I showed him my consultant's ID and said, "We’re from the bureau. We’re escorting a suspect out of the city."

The traffic police looked uneasy, "I have to make a phone call to confirm."

"This is a confidential operation that only Director Sun knows. You’ll have to call him directly." Then, I reported Sun Tiger’s number with ease.

The traffic police took out his cell phone, ready to dial, while “Wang Yuanchao” nervously placed his hands into his pocket.

"But if you speak to him, that makes you an insider,” I added. “To prevent any leak of information, you’ll be detained for three days."

Having come across so many lies, I was perfectly adept at it myself. Lying required composure and decisiveness, without a care for the loopholes in your lies. Because most of the time, a lie sounded reasonable, but the truth was absurd.

I kept my gaze fixed at the traffic police’s eyes until he finally gave in. "Alright, go!"

"Thank you for your cooperation," I nodded.

When we left the toll booth, we were officially out of Nanjiang City. "Stop!" I cried.

“Wang Yuanchao” argued, "No, the master said we have to send him to..."

"Stop the car,” I kicked the seat. “I have to take a piss."

"I need to go too!" echoed the middle-aged man.

When we stopped at the side of the road, the middle-aged man left to relieve himself. “Wang Yuanchao” alighted and lit a cigarette, glancing at me, "Why are you still here?"

"I just want to get some air first," I said, stretching myself.

"Don't try anything. The master said..."

"You’re very loyal to your master,” I mocked. “Why don’t you bark twice for me!"

“Wang Yuanchao” glared angrily at me. Seeing the cars passing the toll booth, I said with peace of mind, "I'm going to the bathroom."

Those cars headed straight for us, prompting “Wang Yuanchao” to toss his cigarette and curse, "Son of a bitch, you called others! Sir, get in the car!"

The client ran towards the vehicle as he endeavored to pull up his pants. I was thrown into the car by “Wang Yuanchao” who told the driver to drive off. Seeing those cars headed for us aggressively, I pushed myself against the seat and waited for impact. A moment later, we were hit from the side, the force staggering the entire car.

Fortunately, I had prepared myself and wasn’t too dizzy. Taking advantage of the chaos, I kicked the car door open. At the same time, “Wang Yuanchao” got out of the car in a panic and pulled out his gun from his pocket.

Painful screams filled the air as I used the Eyes of Yama on the man. While he was distracted by the agony, I snatched my cell phone and baton from him. Waving the baton, I swung it against his ear.

"You motherfucker! How dare you!"

The middle-aged man pulled out a knife and climbed out of the car just as a bunch of burly men jumped out of the other vehicles led by Baldy. They approached the middle-aged man and sent him crumbling to the ground with a kick, trampling on the hand holding the knife. The pain was enough to send the man screaming.

After that, the others were easily captured.

"Song Yang, I’m glad to see you’re doing well!" greeted Baldy.

"You’ve handled this nicely,” I smiled. “Come on, let’s clean up the scene. We don’t want to be seen by the traffic police over there. These two dogs will be taken back to prison and starved for a day."

Baldy kicked the middle-aged man on the ground, "What about this guy?"

I promised the Dog Trainer I would escort the client out of the city unharmed. Now that I had accomplished my task, I said, "Take him to the Wu Qu Public Security Bureau. I’ll speak to Captain Liao and get him to take over there."

Baldy turned to his gang, "Let’s get to work!"

The others gathered round, tied up the two dogs, stuffed their mouths with rags and threw them into the trunk while the client was taken to another car. "Do you know who the hell I am? I will kill you when I come out!" he roared.

"In your next life!" I sneered.

We quickly cleaned up the scene, making sure not to leave any traces behind. When I got into the vehicle, I was surprised to see Dali and Luo Youyou inside.

Shocked by the turn of events, Dali exclaimed, "Dude, you’re amazing! I wouldn't be able to do any of this."

"Why did you bring Luo Youyou?" I frowned.

"I’m afraid to leave her alone in the store,” explained Dali. “Besides, she insisted on coming along."

Luo Youyou stared at me starry-eyed, "Song Yang, how do you know these gangsters?"

"It's a long story!" I sighed.

With that, we headed back to the city. Baldy invited me for dinner but I refused, "I'm afraid today isn’t good. I've been busy lately."

"Song-ge, when aren’t you busy?" Baldy smiled.

"When we solve this case, I promise I’ll treat you and your buddies to something delicious, alright?"

"No, keep your money,” Baldy waved his hand. “When the time comes, look for me at the Sea Sky Hotel. We’ve switched businesses. The boss asked me to manage the hotel."

"Of course! There isn’t anything shady going on, is there?" I teased.

"No, absolutely not! We’re a legitimate business!" insisted Baldy.

We parted at an intersection. Before leaving, I handed Baldy a piece of paper and instructed him to detain the two ‘dogs’ according to my methods. Training them was actually very simple, but it took time. We would imprison them, whip and force them to sing the national anthem. Only when they say the words, “I’m normal” would they be given food.

Using the Dog Trainer’s methods against him wasn’t exactly an original idea of mine. In fact, there was an anti-cult organization known as "Cult Detoxification" in the United States. The organization abducted children brainwashed by cults, turned them back to normal people by various extreme means, and then returned them to their families.

Since these two ‘dogs’ were loyal to the Dog Trainer, they must have been brainwashed to a great extent. It would definitely take a considerable amount of time for them to return to normal, perhaps even after the case is solved. But it didn’t matter as long as they could testify in court.

"This is my first time engaging in such 'ideological training,’ which seems quite challenging. Leave it to me!" assured Baldy.

Having messed up the Dog Trainer’s plans once more, I was certain he would punish the people around me. After saying goodbye to Baldy, I turned to Dali, "Close the store for the time being and find a safe place to hide. I'll ask Bingxin to come later. Make sure someone is awake 24 hours a day. I'll find a way to inform Sun Tiger."

"What the hell have we gotten ourselves into?" lamented Dali.

"It’s not you, but unfortunately you’re my friend."

"And I don't regret it!" grinned Dali.

Right then, I received a call from Wang Yuanchao, "Song Yang, I checked out Wang Xuebing. He was never married and has no children. But it’s true he was a soldier. He used to be a sniper in the Vietnam War and killed more than fifty Vietnamese guerrilla members. And... "

Wang Yuanchao paused, "He disappeared mysteriously for half of last year."

Everything finally fell into place–Wang Xuebing was the one who shot Qin Aonan. From the moment he pretended to be the victim’s father, the Dog Trainer's plan had already been set in motion...