Chapter 150: Midnight Heist (Request for Votes)

Ning Zhiheng said with a faint, amused smile, "Let me finish! This time, the Military Statistics Bureau is expanding once again, and the Action Department is adding two new action squads. Barring any accidents, I will become one of the commanding officers, taking charge of an action squad."

"I have already communicated in advance with Deputy Director Huang and Deputy Section Chief Xiang. They both support my initiative to personally select the officers under my command. I can take all of you, my former subordinates, with me so that I can carry out my future work smoothly."

"That's fantastic! Haha! Team Leader, you're going to be a squad commander! Of course, we must go with you! Haha, why don't you make me a team leader first? I have to say, I'm quite confident in myself!" Wang Shucheng finally grasped what Ning Zhiheng meant. So Ning Zhiheng was getting a promotion and could even take them along with him. That was simply wonderful! Going over there meant he would be part of the inner circle. With his relationship with Ning Zhiheng advancing a step further, his future development went without saying!

"Cut it out. Have you ever seen a second lieutenant serve as an action squad leader? Are you daydreaming?" Sun Jiacheng remarked with a smile from the side.

Ning Zhiheng's words had also set his heart racing with excitement. As Ning Zhiheng's confidant, the smoother Ning Zhiheng's official career went, the brighter his own future would be. He felt immensely fortunate to be able to continue following Ning Zhiheng this time!

"Your remark is rather biased, though. While it might be somewhat inappropriate for a second lieutenant to serve as an action squad leader, it becomes very manageable if he is a first lieutenant. Half a year ago, didn't I serve as an action squad leader holding the rank of a first lieutenant?" Ning Zhiheng said dismissively.

"Team Leader, do you mean...?" Wang Shucheng asked, a glimmer of expectation in his eyes.

"In the final case report this time, I will speak up for you. Deputy Section Chief Xiang and Deputy Director Huang will both lend a hand. Besides, your merits over these past few operations are quite sufficient. Your promotion to first lieutenant is practically a sure thing. When you come over with me this time, you will take charge of an action squad under my command and keep the team firmly in hand!" Ning Zhiheng said with a serious expression.

"Re-- really let me be an action squad leader? I was just talking; I don't feel sure of myself at all!" Wang Shucheng was stunned by Ning Zhiheng's words.

Given his ability, he would actually be promoted to first lieutenant in less than a year since graduation, leaving a whole crowd of his peers far behind—though monsters like Ning Zhiheng didn't count.

And he could even become the military commander of an action squad. This happiness had arrived so suddenly that he needed a moment to calm down!

"Old Sun, your military rank has just been promoted, so advancing any further right now is impossible. Therefore, you'll have to take a slight loss this time. When there's an opportunity in the future, strive to be promoted to first lieutenant as soon as possible! Rest assured, it won't take long; I will arrange it for you," Ning Zhiheng said, turning his head to Sun Jiacheng.

"I will follow the Team Leader's arrangements entirely. Whatever you say, I'll do!" Hearing Ning Zhiheng's words, Sun Jiacheng felt a warm glow in his heart. Knowing that Ning Zhiheng would pave the way for him in the future, he felt utterly secure!

"As for the members of your teams, anyone you consider to have a good relationship with and whom you find useful can be brought along. Squad Leader Wei is my senior brother, so none of this will be a problem! Later on, draw up a list and give it to me so I have a clear idea," Ning Zhiheng instructed.

Then, he picked up the stack of property deeds and handed them to Wang Shucheng, saying, "Following the same approach as last time, immediately liquidate these real estate properties and convert them entirely into pounds or US dollars. As soon as possible—it doesn't matter even if you lower the price a bit!"

Wang Shucheng took the property deeds and asked with some hesitation, "Team Leader, the real estate market in Nanjing is still quite good. If we sell at a lowered price, they can be disposed of very quickly. Would you like to reconsider?"

"Since I'm telling you to do it, naturally I have my reasons. Let me tell you this: whoever holds property should liquidate it as quickly as possible. Convert all the fiat currency given to you into pounds and US dollars, and do the same with the gold bars—convert all of them. Otherwise, transporting them will be far too inconvenient. Pounds and US dollars will continue to appreciate in value. The sooner, the better!" Ning Zhiheng said, feigning impatience!

He did not want to give them too many explanations; the more he explained, the more complicated it would get. It was better to simply give a direct order and have them execute it!

"Understood! I'll go take care of it right away!" Wang Shucheng replied hastily. Although he didn't fully understand Ning Zhiheng's actions, he had always obeyed Ning Zhiheng's every word without the slightest discount!

Having finished giving instructions for everything, Ning Zhiheng told them to head back first. Seeing the two off at the door, Ning Zhiheng returned to his room and, looking at the piles of banknotes and gold bars before him, could not help taking a deep breath.

Tonight, he still needed to go to Dai Daguang's hidden cache location at Number 12, Heyefang, Youshang Street, to retrieve that hidden gold. The sooner this matter was dealt with, the better; otherwise, once news of Dai Daguang's arrest spread, there was no guarantee that his lame cousin wouldn't hatch other ideas.

Seeing that it was barely ten o'clock in the evening, he felt he still had plenty of time. He bent down and began to carefully sort through the contents. Most of the banknotes in the trunk were standard fiat currency, along with a small portion of British pounds and US dollars, some gold bars, and even a jewelry box filled with ornaments and various gemstones.

He didn't have time to carefully count the fiat currency. This year, the fiat currency had already begun to depreciate by nearly thirty percent compared to when it was first issued last year, but it was still relatively stable, and this much fiat currency was no small sum.

He simply separated out the pounds and US dollars, totaling approximately 10,000 pounds and around 40,000 US dollars, alongside sixty ten-liang gold bars, plus the box of jewelry—and that wasn't even counting the fiat currency, which made up the largest volume.

Ning Zhiheng opened the safe and placed all the pounds and US dollars inside, but some of the gold bars wouldn't even fit! Looking at the tightly crammed safe, he couldn't help starting to worry. He never thought there would come a day when he would fret over having nowhere to put his money. This safe was entirely filled with the most value-preserving and stable pounds and US dollars, as well as his collection of portrait paintings.

It seemed he had to quickly convert all these items into pounds or US dollars; otherwise, simply hiding these piles of banknotes was a problem in itself.

Checking his watch, it was already midnight. Ning Zhiheng locked the safe, put the other valuables into a leather suitcase, and shoved it underneath his bed. Once he retrieved the hidden gold, he would have to start handling everything first thing tomorrow morning; otherwise, keeping it at home was far too unsafe!

He changed into a black casual outfit, placed the large leather suitcases he had bought today into his car, locked the front door, and drove all the way to Number 12, Heyefang, Youshang Street in the northern part of the city.

Dai Daguang's residence and trading firm were both located in the southern part of the city, yet this residence was tucked away in an alley in the north. It seemed Dai Daguang had deliberately arranged his escape route this way.

One must remember that Nanjing was the Nationalist capital, sprawling and vast with a population of over a million. Some native residents lived in Nanjing for years without ever walking through the entire city. By placing his fallback option here, if anything ever went wrong, he could hide out in this place, making it extremely difficult for anyone to track him down, at least in the short term.

Arriving outside the gates of this residence, Ning Zhiheng observed his surroundings. It was already one o'clock in the morning; everything was pitch black all around, and tonight's moonlight was exceptionally dim. If not for Ning Zhiheng's extraordinary eyesight, seeing anything would have been nearly impossible.

Seeing that the surroundings were completely silent and deserted, he pulled out a pair of fine velvet gloves, put them on, and approached the courtyard wall. The wall was quite tall, but for Ning Zhiheng, that posed no problem at all.

He took a few steps back, accelerated forward, leaped upward, tapped his toes against the wall three times in rapid succession, and his body shot vertically into the air. His fingers caught the top of the wall, and with a slight push, his entire body vaulted over the wall like an agile ape, landing squarely on the ground. Controlling his strength to perfection, he didn't make the slightest sound.

Looking around, he saw that the courtyard was quite spacious, planted with numerous flowers and grasses. He didn't linger, stepping lightly toward a window of the house. He gently pushed the window; it wasn't latched shut. Even if it had been bolted, Ning Zhiheng could have easily forced it open, though it would have required a little more effort. Against ordinary residences like this one, his martial prowess meant it posed no challenge to him whatsoever.

He pushed the window open, vaulted inside, and moved forward stealthily, concentrating his sharp hearing. Guided by the faint sound of snoring, he quickly located a bedroom.

He slowly walked up to the bed and saw clearly that it was a middle-aged man. Without hesitation, he controlled his force, raised his hand, and struck the back of the man's head. The man's head immediately slumped to one side, and he was knocked unconscious right in the middle of his dream!

Ning Zhiheng reached out and gently lifted the man's eyelid to check his pupils, confirming that he had completely lost consciousness. Only then did he stand up, leave the room, turn on the hallway light, and arrive at the door of the room Dai Daguang had mentioned.

A heavy padlock hung outside the door—the kind of thick lock typically used for courtyard gates, which was virtually impossible to smash open without the key.

Ning Zhiheng took out the key, and with a crisp click, unlocked the heavy lock. He pushed the door open, turned on the room's lights, and found the interior completely empty, save for two specially made, oversized safes standing at the very back of the room.

This must be Dai Daguang's so-called fallback option! Ning Zhiheng walked up to the safes and, following the combination given by Dai Daguang, gently spun the circular dial before pulling the door open.

Inside, stacks upon stacks of banknotes were piled high, the majority of them being pounds and US dollars, with only a small fraction in fiat currency.

Ning Zhiheng repeated the process on the second safe and opened it as well. The situation inside was similar, containing some banknotes, but the difference was that this safe was mostly filled with gold bars and some antique-looking gold ingots.

Ning Zhiheng clicked his tongue inwardly. The value of the valuables inside these two safes easily surpassed the wealth Sun Jiacheng and the other had brought earlier—excluding the property deeds and real estate.

Dai Daguang must have stashed the vast majority of his fortune here. In the event of any unexpected disaster, these assets would be more than enough for his entire family to live in extreme luxury for the rest of their lives.

Ning Zhiheng turned around, quickly exited the room, unlocked the courtyard gate from the inside, and fetched the three large leather suitcases he had prepared in advance from his car.

Returning to the room, he efficiently and swiftly packed all the banknotes, gold bars, and gold ingots into the suitcases, then loaded all three cases into the trunk of his car.

Finally, he went back into the room, locked the doors of the two large safes, restored everything to its original state, carefully wiped away any traces of his activity according to the layout in his memory, and locked the room with the heavy padlock.

He then returned to the middle-aged man's bedside and reached out to check his breathing, confirming it was steady and normal.

Stepping out into the courtyard, he brushed away his footprints, bolted the courtyard gate securely, and leaped lightly over the outer wall.

Returning to his car, he sat in the driver's seat and mentally replayed every detail, confirming that all his traces had been thoroughly cleaned up. Only then did he start the engine and drive swiftly away into the night.

The next morning, Dai Daguang's cousin slowly regained consciousness, feeling his head heavy and throbbing. He thought to himself whether he had drunk a few too many cups of small wine last night, or perhaps caught a chill from the night wind. It seemed he would have to go to the apothecary to buy a few doses of cold-remedy herbal medicine!

Muttering a few words to himself, he slowly got up, left the bedroom, walked over to the second room down the hallway, checked the heavy lock on the door, patted it with his hand, nodded, and turned away with a limp!