After reading that message, Wang Hai and the other two froze for a moment, exchanging glances with one another.
“Jiang Chuan sure has quite the appetite. Starting off with ten thousand guns and two hundred thousand rounds of ammunition—that’s no small ask,” Zhou Ran scoffed.
Gu Yuan nodded in agreement. “But this also shows that Jiang Chuan probably really doesn’t know that Zhang Songyang is currently in our police station.”
If Jiang Chuan did know Zhang Songyang was in custody, he wouldn’t have bothered with this text message, much less send one laying out his terms.
Wang Hai gave a nod of approval. “Exactly, Director Zhou. So what should we do now? Do we agree to his terms? After all, ten thousand guns and two hundred thousand rounds of ammunition is still a pretty hefty expense.”
Zhou Ran stood there, quietly mulling it over.
After a moment, he finally spoke. “For now, agree to his conditions. Tell him this big client has massive demand, but they want to buy a sample batch first to check the quality. The main thing is to find a way to get him to trade with us—otherwise, none of this matters.”
“Yes, Director Zhou. I’ll go ahead and—” Wang Hai reached for his phone to send a reply.
Ding-dong. Another text alert sounded.
This time, it was from Jiang Chuan again.
[Signal’s pretty weak here. Tell your big client to reach me via satellite phone. The number is: 3…]
“Uh…” Wang Hai hesitated.
Zhou Ran immediately began analyzing the situation. “Weak signal means he’s somewhere with barely any reception—which also explains why his parents couldn’t reach him when you went to visit them.”
“Exactly. So if we want to contact him now, we’ll have to use a satellite phone,” Gu Yuan added.
Zhou Ran made the call on the spot. “Call that satellite number. We have to find a way to get him to agree to the deal.”
“On it. I’ll go grab the satellite phone.”
With that, Wang Hai turned and walked out of the interrogation room.
——–
Inside the conference room.
Zhou Ran sat at the head of the table, with Jiang Zhuyu beside him. The others involved in the case were seated around the conference table.
As Wang Hai dialed the satellite phone number from the text message, everyone in the room held their breath.
Brrrring… brrrring… click.
“Hello?” A deep, resonant voice came through the line—it was Jiang Chuan.
Wang Hai’s focus sharpened, but he recovered quickly, speaking in a low, steady tone. “Are you Jiang Chuan?”
“So you’re the big client Zhang Songyang mentioned?” Jiang Chuan cut straight to the point.
Wang Hai nodded. “That’s right. But you’ve got quite the appetite, don’t you? Ten thousand guns, two hundred thousand rounds of ammunition—can you actually get your hands on that many?”
“Heh.” Jiang Chuan chuckled. “If I can’t handle the order, then there’s no point in talking. I don’t have time for small-time deals.”
Arrogant.
His tone was just as cocky as it had been in the text messages earlier.
By now, everyone in the room—including Zhou Ran—was fully convinced that this was the same Jiang Chuan who had sent those messages. And from his tone alone, it wasn’t hard to tell that he probably had plenty of other orders lined up and didn’t really need theirs.
After receiving a nod from Zhou Ran, Wang Hai cleared his throat. “Whether I can handle it or not isn’t your concern. When can you deliver?”
“In a hurry, are you?” Jiang Chuan paused briefly.
Wang Hai forced a chuckle. “That depends on how fast you can deliver. And more importantly, I’m curious about how you plan to get the goods to me.”
He was still probing Jiang Chuan, careful not to fall into the other man’s rhythm.
“Don’t worry about that,” Jiang Chuan replied. “Rest assured, as long as you can pay, I have my ways of getting the merchandise to you.”
Wang Hai narrowed his eyes. “That’s good to hear, then. Fine, let’s do it your way—ten thousand guns, two hundred thousand rounds of ammunition.”
“Glad to see you’re decisive.” Jiang Chuan let out a cold laugh. “Market price is 500 Eagle Coins per gun, and 50 per round of ammunition. That brings the total to 15 million Eagle Coins. Since you’re being so straightforward, I’ll knock it down to 13 million. Put down a 20% deposit—that’s 2.6 million Eagle Coins. I’ll send you the account details later.”
Hisss.
A collective intake of breath rippled through the conference room.
None of them knew much about black-market prices, but even they could tell that these rates weren’t cheap.
“That’s way too expensive, don’t you think?” Wang Hai’s tone turned cold.
Jiang Chuan, however, remained unfazed. “My guns and ammo are top quality. You think just any junk can compare to mine? Like I said—take it or leave it. If you don’t want it, plenty of others do.”
Wang Hai glanced over at Zhou Ran. Seeing his superior give a slight nod, he said, “Fine! But I hope you’re telling the truth. Otherwise, I’ll make sure you cough up every cent you’ve taken.”
“Don’t worry—I’m a man of my word when it comes to business. Once the money’s wired, I’ll deliver within a month. I’ll reach out again before the shipment.”
And with that, Jiang Chuan hung up.
The room fell into stunned silence. No one had expected the deal to wrap up so easily.
“Uh, Director Zhou… this undercover operation is going to cost us a pretty penny,” Wang Hai remarked.
Zhou Ran took a deep breath. “I know. But it’s the only way to catch Jiang Chuan. We don’t have a choice.”
He then turned to Jiang Zhuyu. “Officer Jiang, once we receive the goods, is there any chance we can trace them back to where they were manufactured?”
Jiang Zhuyu shook her head with a wry smile. “Almost impossible, Director Zhou. At best, we might be able to determine the route the shipment took based on humidity levels and other environmental factors. But tracing it back to the source? That’s simply not doable.”
“That’s still enough. If we can map the route, we can follow the trail to his hideout! Besides, we can always use the excuse of inspecting the goods to make him show up in person to oversee the delivery,” Zhou Ran said, waving a hand dismissively.
Gu Yuan rubbed his chin and raised his hand. “Director Zhou, there’s another issue.”
“Go ahead,” Zhou Ran said, turning to him with a serious expression.
Gu Yuan nodded. “I’m thinking our previous assessment might have been wrong. Since Jiang Chuan can move this many goods, it probably means he’s not just some small-time gunrunner—he’s a full-fledged arms dealer.”
Could a small-time gunrunner really get their hands on ten thousand guns and two hundred thousand rounds of ammunition within a month? It just didn’t seem realistic.
Zhou Ran pondered for a moment, then nodded thoughtfully. “You’re right, Consultant Gu. That’s a solid point. So we need to be even more cautious with this operation—absolutely no room for complacency.”
“Exactly. And it’s not just that—we also need to watch out for Jiang Chuan himself. He’s got strong counter-surveillance skills and a meticulous mind. To make sure he doesn’t pull any tricks, I suggest we coordinate with the military and the SWAT team for a joint operation on the day of the transaction. And even that might not be enough—we need to carefully plan the exchange location so that the moment Jiang Chuan shows up, he’s got no way out,” Gu Yuan said gravely.
