Chapter 105

The night is abnormally quiet.  Cold wind is blowing through the opened door.  Chatterbox stares at the two men on the floor and is anxious to death.  He quickly dials 120 and then slaps Zhou Xiao Zhuan’s face hard, “Wake up!  Wake up!”

Xiao Zhuan actually wakes up and looks at him in a haze.  He then jumps up from the ground, “What happened? What happened?  Did we catch him?” He moves his neck and frowns, “It hurts so much!”

Seeing that he’s fine, Chatterbox lets out a breath of relief, “He ran off!  Leader and Xiao Bai are chasing after him! He actually stabbed Cold Face with a knife!”

They both look at Cold Face on the floor.  Luckily, the knife is not stabbed into a vital area and he’s not bleeding too much.  Xiao Zhuan runs back to his desk to grab the first aid kit immediately. Chatterbox pats Cold Face’s face lightly, “Cold Face!  Cold Face! Are you able to wake up? Xu Nan Bai has run away!”

Cold Face is actually not too deep in his sleep.  His long eyelashes tremble and his eyes open slowly.  Chatterbox says in joy, “Thank goodness! Thank goodness!”  Xiao Zhuan also comes over excitedly and helps him treat the wound.

“Cold Face, what happened exactly?  How did that old fellow Xu Nan Bai hurt you?” Chatterbox asks, “Did he pull an underhand move?”

Cold Face is stunned.

He takes the gauze from Xiao Zhuan’s hand, presses on the wound and stands up.  Chatterbox and Xiao Zhuan are shocked from his toughness. But his strong and handsome face is frowning slightly.  He says, “I don’t know.”

Chatterbox and Xiao Zhuan say in surprise, “You don’t know?”

Cold Face nods.  The image of what happened before he fainted floats into his mind——

He was pressing Xu Nan Bai against the wall; he didn’t need to use the gun on his waist.  Just when he was about to handcuff him, Xu Nan Bai turned his head towards him, “Cold Face, my hand.”

Cold Face looked down at his wrist subconsciously.

And then what did he see?

The s.h.i.+ny watch; its hour hand, minute hand, and the second hand moving bit by bit slowly.  And Xu Nan Bai’s Buddha bead bracelet has a soft glaze on it from the reflection of the lights.

Before he could react, Xu Nan Bai had already started to move the beads one at a time with his hand.  And the sound of the second hand on his watch ticking away enters Cold Face’s ears crisply.

“One, two, three, four……” Xu Nan Bai’s voice seems to come from afar yet near, “Can you hear the second hand ticking?  Does it sound very light and comfortable?”

Cold Face can’t remember what happened afterward clearly, but his body’s instinct was still there.

 With his mind muddled, Cold Face could feel a knife entering his body. He turned his body aggressively to dodge and then he heard the sound of ticking coming back to his ears again.  And then he fell into a quiet and deep darkness.

……

“You were hypnotized?” Xiao Zhuan stares at him with his eyes wide.  Chatterbox also has the same feeling.

Cold Face thinks for a minute and confirms by nodding.

The three of them have only heard of hypnotizing but have never seen it.  They never thought that Cold Face would experience it today!

Chatterbox curses loudly!

Right at this moment, the sound of quick footsteps can be heard coming from the door.  Xu Si Bai and Xiao Yao appear. He must have been sleepless all night, so after hearing the noise, he came.  He’s neatly dressed in his jacket and long pants. His refined and handsome face doesn’t show any expression.  He sweeps his eyes across the room and asks, “Where are they?”

Cold Face pushes Xiao Zhuan, who’s still helping him treat the wound, aside, “I’m fine.  Let’s go after him!”

None of them wastes any minute.  They hop onto two police vehicles and chases after the suspect in full speed.

_____

The Land Rover speeds through the road in the night.

Not far ahead, Xu Nan Bai’s car is making sharp turns left and right to escape and lose Han Chen.

How can he possibly lose Han Chen?

Seeing how the car is coming closer and closer, Xu Nan Bai turns his steering wheel to get off the expressway and heads toward the suburbs.  There aren’t a lot of cars on the local roads in the middle of the night, but there are quite a few trucks. Many areas are also under construction causing a bit of traffic.

Han Chen fixes his eyes on what’s in front of him.  He drives fast yet steady as he chases after Xu Nan Bai, who’s zigzagging between the trucks.  Su Mian finishes her phone call with Chatterbox, turns around and looks at him, “It was hypnosis.  Xu Nan Bai hypnotized Cold Face. If Cold Face didn’t dodge his attack out of instinct, that knife would not have landed on his shoulder.  He would have been killed already.”

She thinks for a second and then adds, “Cold Face mentioned the Buddha bead bracelet.  I’ve read a few books on hypnotization. It might be Xu Nan Bai’s tool to induce hypnosis.  No wonder he always wears it and fiddles with it. Skillful hypnotists can make you fall into a light hypnosis without you knowing.  This is why he was able to succeed so easily tonight.”

Han Chen’s face turns colder.

“Sit tight,” he says.

Su Mian holds onto the handle immediately.  He steps on the gas pedal and the car zooms forward!

forward!  Su Mian opens her eyes wide and then flinches with her head turned to the side—— “Bang!” they hit the b.u.mper of Xu Nan Bai’s car.

Xu Nan Bai’s car flies out to the side!

He turns his car quickly to avoid cras.h.i.+ng into the guardrail on the side of the road.  The car wobbles and continues driving forward. Su Mian sees Han Chen let out a cold snicker.  He dodges the other cars in a mess around them, steps on the gas pedal again and chases after Xu Nan Bai.  Just like a cat catching a mouse, he forces Xu Nan Bai into a corner.

Although Su Mian is upset about Cold Face’s wound, seeing Han Chen cras.h.i.+ng his million dollar car without feeling any pain, it makes her feel elated yet also a heartache……

There’s a roundabout ahead of them.  Xu Nan Bai’s car zooms past it; Han Chen avoids the cars beside him and follows Xu Nan Bai.  Su Mian grabs onto the handle tightly again as she prepares herself for another car drift. But she notices a flas.h.i.+ng red light in the bushes at the roundabout.

“What is that?” she points at it.

Han Chan takes a glance and can’t help staring at it.  Su Mian feels the car jerk fiercely. The tires screech from having its rubber rubbing against the road——their car makes a quick turn entering the bushes at the side of the road, hits two trees and is heading down the hill.

“Boom!”

The ground shakes from the loud sound.  Large smokes and fire light up the whole road from the explosion just now.  Han Chen releases the steering wheel. He hugs Su Mian and pulls her into his embrace.  “Crack, clink, clank——” the gla.s.s shatters with its pieces falling onto their backs.

Su Mian looks up at him still full of fright, “Are you okay?”

“I’m okay,” Han Chen brushes the pieces of shattered gla.s.s away from her hair and then pushes open the car door to get out.  Su Mian avoids the gla.s.s on the ground and looks up with him. All they see is the roundabout blazing in the fire. The explosion was big enough to cause the road to break in half.  Many trucks are stuck and a small van is lying down on its side; thankfully, no one is inside. A lot of drivers have hopped out of their cars and are running away. And in the front amid the smoke, Xu Nan Bai’s car is nowhere to be seen.

Su Mian’s heart thumps.  She lifts her head and looks around.

The fourth killer, the explosion specialist, has appeared.

But it’s chaos everywhere.  How are they supposed to find him?

“Get in the car!” Han Chen gets back into the driver’s seat.  He fetches his phone and says with an expression cold as ice, “Obtain

ice, “Obtain all the surveillance video around this area immediately and find him!”

The Land Rover speeds onto a side road toward the direction that Xu Nan Bai is heading.

_____

The horizon s.h.i.+mmers.

The road, forests, river……The sun rising between the mountains is quiet; only the sirens of a number of police vehicles speeding across can be heard.

Cold Face is an expert in chasing after criminals; Han Chen is the most skillful among all of the experts.  In the morning at 5 to 6 am, Han Chen’s car pops up on one of the dirt roads. Su Mian catches a glimpse of the b.u.mper of Xu Nan Bai’s car at the next turn ahead.  And even farther ahead, a few police cars are zooming through the woods——

They’re going to surround him!  He won’t be able to escape.

Han Chen makes a sharp turn and closes the gap between them and Xu Nan Bai.  The two cars are only a few meters apart. Han Chen pulls her hand suddenly and places it on the steering wheel, “You drive.”

“Hah?!” Su Mian’s mind goes blank.  Probably because her expression is too cute so Han Chen actually smiles faintly, “I’m trusting my life to you.”  And then he pulls out a gun from his waist, leans his body out the window, and tilts his head to aim. He looks incredibly handsome like this.

Su Mian can’t believe he still has time to joke around at a time like this.  She really wants to slap him. She grits her teeth and grabs the steering wheel focusing her full attention on what’s ahead.

“Bang, bang, bang——” a series of gunshots sound crisply and swiftly.  They then see the two tires on the back of Xu Nan Bai’s car and one in the front deflate.  The car spins vigorously and crashes into a big tree trunk on the side of the road and comes to a full stop.  A cliff is just behind the tree, and below it is the rus.h.i.+ng river, which looks extremely dangerous.

Su Mian steps on the brakes immediately.  Han Chen has already hopped out of the car holding his gun and is making his way toward him slowly.  On the opposite side of the road, a few police cars also screech to a halt. Chatterbox, Cold Face, and a few other criminal investigators get out of the cars with guns in their hands.  They surround Xu Nan Bai’s car.

The moment Su Mian steps out of the car, she sees Xu Si Bai standing beside one of the cars on the opposite side.  Their eyes meet for a second before they both s.h.i.+ft their gazes toward where Xu Nan Bai is.

“Come out of the car!” a criminal investigator shouts.

Many guns are pointing at the car about ten or so meters away.

Su Mian stares /> Su Mian stares at Han Chen, who’s standing not far away, and feels her heart being squeezed.  She then fixes her eyes on the car——if anything happens, she will dash over to protect him.

After a brief moment, the car that has become out of shape from cras.h.i.+ng into the tree opens its door with a squeak.

Xu Nan Bai, who has been playing tag with them, steps outside.

Compared to his usual elegance and gentleness, he is in a complete wreck right now.  His suit is out of place and covered in dust. The buddha beads have fallen somewhere and only half of its string and a few leftover beads are still on his wrist.  His face is gloomy, yet it carries a certain kind of mockery and resentment. He a.s.sesses the Black s.h.i.+eld Team members and then raises his hands slowly and puts them behind his head.

“Squat down!” Cold Face orders.

Han Chen remains in his position aiming his gun at him, watching his every move.

While being surrounded by officers, he smiles suddenly and takes two steps back slowly.

The cliff is just behind him and only a step away.  The group of officers panic suddenly. Han Chen calls out, “Stay right there.”

Xu Nan Bai’s eyes seem to be looking far away into the distance.  After a moment of blankness, his pupils come into focus again. He stares at Su Mian, who’s behind Han Chen.

“Junior (female) Cla.s.smate, do you still remember that saying?”

Su Mian stares at him coldly and doesn’t answer.

He continues without waiting for her response; his voice is loud, crisp, and clear.  At this instant, he speaks steadily yet it sounds like he is making an announcement, echoing throughout the mountainous area——

“My life has long been over.  It wasn’t until I met him that my life truly started to ignite.”

Su Mian feels her heart tremble.

And before he finishes, his face reveals a strange smile and a stream of blood flows out from the corner of his mouth.

“He ate poison!” Chatterbox shouts quickly.  But it’s already too late. Xu Nan Bai keeps his smile, spreads out his arms and leans backward, falling over the cliff!

At the exact same time, as if he had known in advance, Han Chen dashes forward in an attempt to grab onto his arm.

But like it’s fate, the ground underneath Xu Nan Bai’s feet loosens suddenly and he falls down!

Han Chen doesn’t make it in time.  All he can grasp is air. The rest of the officers rush over and stand a few feet away from the edge of the cliff.  Xu Si Bai walks up and stands beside Su Mian, staring quietly. But all he sees is the rus.h.i.+ng river a couple hundred of meters below the cliff, carrying everything away with it.