Retrogade Mission

Chapter Four: The Ghost Group

The man walked to the doorway, standing in front of Xu Xuan and Zuo Luo. Zuo Luo looked at him; he was very young, no more than twenty-four or twenty-five years old, about 1.75 meters tall, with a fake smile on his face. He wasn't particularly handsome; the fake smile masked any delicate features. Overall, he was an attractive man. His personality was very confident; his smile seemed to suggest he had everything under control.

"Hello, officers," the man greeted them.

Zuo Luo asked, "Su Cheng?"

"Yes."

What is your English name?

Zuo Luo produced his identification and said, "My name is Zuo Luo, and I am the head of Special Crimes Unit Seven. From now on, I am your supervisor, and you are the advisor to Unit Seven. You are not allowed to use the communication devices I provide to contact the outside world without permission. You are not allowed to leave City A without permission. You are not allowed to remove your watch without permission."

"A watch?" Su Cheng asked.

Zuo Luo opened the item bag inside the file folder and took out his watch.

Su Cheng asked, "Are you taking a shower?"

“Waterproof,” Zuo Luo said. “Here’s a notification form and a court-authorized document. If there are no problems, sign it. I want to remind you that this is a legally binding document, and once you sign it, you must abide by all the terms on the notification form.”

Su Cheng took the notification and sat down on a chair to read it slowly, while Zuo Luo stood motionless to the side. Su Cheng read it very slowly, taking seven minutes to finish. During this time, Zuo Luo showed great patience. Su Cheng picked up a pen and said, "Very reasonable, I agree." He then signed it and handed it to Zuo Luo.

Zuo Luo took out an ID card from the bag: "From now on, you are a special consultant hired by Special Serious Crimes Unit Seven. Let's go."

Su Cheng took the ID and was about to say something when Zuo Luo had already left. Left with no other choice, he followed. Xu Xuan watched the two of them depart.

That's interesting. What does it mean? It means a gang member, investigated by the police for two years and unable to get anywhere with them, was caught in his own country. Plus, he still had his ID card, suggesting his criminal network is starting to focus on City A. Perhaps this arrest was due to a deal within his criminal network, or maybe there are other reasons.

Therefore, Xu Xuan found this person named Su Cheng very interesting.

On the way back to the city, Zuo Luo drove in silence. Su Cheng, in the passenger seat, tried to say something to ease the tension, but Zuo Luo seemed uninterested, so Su Cheng had no choice but to shut up.

Finally, Zuo Luo spoke first: "Special Major Crimes Unit 7 currently only has me as the team leader, and we're preparing to recruit members. There generally won't be any cases to investigate during this period, so you can familiarize yourself with the environment. The bureau has already arranged an apartment for you. Use this time to learn about police procedures. Also, remember that you're just an advisor, not a police officer, and you don't have the authority to do things only police officers can do. Your responsibility is to provide opinions and suggestions to help us find clues about suspects. There are four Special Major Crimes Units: Units 1, 2, 3, and 7. They handle major and serious cases, major international cases, gang cases, and serial cases. I won't interfere with the methods or means you use, but when I need information on individuals involved with foreign nationals, I expect you to provide it."

“It’s my job, but transnational crime is rampant these days, and I may not be able to collect the information you need.”

"..." Zuo Luo didn't answer, focusing on driving.

This person is really hard to get along with. Su Cheng looked at Zuo Luo and thought, "There's no way around it. You have to look at people in a positive light, at least you'll have some peace and quiet."

Su Cheng stood outside the Seventh Group's office for a long time, then asked Zuo Luo, who was sitting in a chair using a computer, "Is this the place where major and serious cases in City A are investigated?"

Zuo Luo didn't even look up: "Yes."

"Are you sure you're not a human trafficker? I have a feeling I'm being abducted."

"no."

Su Cheng walked in. It was so dirty, covered in dust. He looked around, but couldn't bear to sit down. He asked, "What do I need to do?"

Before Zuo Luo could answer, the phone vibrated. He answered, "Okay," waited a moment for the single tone, and hung up: "There's a case, let's go."

Su Cheng said, "But I haven't had lunch yet."

"..." Zuo Luo walked ahead without saying a word.

Su Cheng was very dissatisfied and deliberately delayed for a while, finally appearing leisurely in the parking lot about ten minutes later. Zuo Luo was already in the driver's seat, waiting quietly, neither impatient nor annoyed. Only after Su Cheng got into the car and closed the door did Zuo Luo drive off.

Su Cheng was puzzled, unable to discern any anger or impatience from Zuo Luo, so he asked, "Aren't you going to ask me why it's been so long?"

Zuo Luo said, "I believe you have a reason for the delay."

Su Cheng asked in surprise, "Why do you trust me so much?"

Zoro replied, "Because I recruited you as an advisor, I should trust you before you do anything that makes me distrust you."

Su Cheng smiled, and after a long while said, "I have roughly learned about the background of Group Seven."

"kindness."

Su Cheng said, "I've discovered that you've gotten yourself into a lot of trouble."

“No matter how big the trouble is, it will always pass, because there’s always another trouble in line,” Zuo Luo replied.

Su Cheng remained silent, his smile fading, staring blankly ahead for a long while: "Officer Zuo Luo..."

"Just call me by my name, otherwise I'll have to explain your identity to others."

“OK, Zoro, you may think the trouble is over, but as far as I know, your trouble has only just begun.”

"Oh? What's the trouble?"

Su Cheng appreciated Zuo Luo's views on trust and said, "I know about Liu Mo's case; it's quite a topic of discussion within the circle."

Zuo Luo glanced at Su Cheng, pulled the car over to the side, and said, "Continue." He rolled down the window and lit a cigarette.

"The man you arrested is named Lincoln. He is an external liaison for a group called the Ghost Gang, and is also a target of police attention worldwide. The police believe he is an external liaison for a certain group."

"Ghost group?"

"That's the translation; the correct term should be 'Ghost Gang.' Why 'Ghost Gang'? Because it's a gang that can't be found. You should know that successful criminals are much richer than successful police officers. And once criminals become wealthy, they have two choices: either quit or continue. The second type has come to see crime as a pleasure, and they are also masters of it. The Ghost Gang is like some high-IQ clubs; they recruit these masters as members. Their motto is cooperation—to work together on earth-shattering crimes. A successful hitman only knows how to kill, and a successful receiver of stolen goods only knows how to receive stolen goods. The Ghost Gang integrates these resources, allowing the strongest criminals in one area to cooperate with the strongest criminals in another."

Zuo Luo asked, "Why haven't the police heard of the term 'Ghost Group'?"

"Because the Ghost Gang is too high-end; they're at the top of the criminal world, and the police wouldn't know that much about them. If the police knew, how could they still be called the Ghost Gang? Even the top people in the industry only know that such an organization exists. But they're like air; they don't know where they are. They don't know which cases in the world were committed by them."

Zuo Luo asked, "How did you know that?"

"Zoro, if you're going to ask that question, then I can't do my job as an advisor."