Chapter 124: Beloved Comrades Part 2

Nighttime.

The Black s.h.i.+eld Team's office is fully lit and everyone is sitting around the table.

Qin Wen Long is also here.  Compared to his gloomy face a few days ago, he's smiling today.

"We've at least gotten one of them injured severely.  It's just too bad that we let him escape," he says, "but we've managed to weaken their power, so there's hope that we'll be able to solve the case!"

Chatterbox and the others nod.  Indeed, because their opponents were hiding in shadows previously, they as criminal investigators have been in a disadvantage facing against these serial killers.  Now that they've been able to turn the tables and inflict heavy damage on the criminal organization, they've made important progress.

Only Han Chen's face is still indifferent and hasn't said a word.  Su Mian squeezes his hand secretly under the table. He glances at her and leans back.  His expression is still cold yet cool. He twists his hand and grasps her hand, caressing the back of it with his thumb.

They've been together for quite some time now, so Su Mian understands his temper very well; he's still angry.  She also feels stuffed inside so she can't help but speak, "Boss Qin, let's charge those who were picking up the money for interfering with justice!"

Qin Wen Long shakes his head helplessly, "Wake up, my little sister, the law is not used for punis.h.i.+ng civilians."

Han Chen half closes his eyelids and lets out a low, "Hmph!"  It's unclear who he's venting his anger at. Su Mian pokes his hand under the table to gesture for him not to be stubborn.

Xiao Zhuan hangs up from a phone call and says to everyone, "We've just received news that the American bills were fake.  They're all high-quality counterfeit stage props." Chatterbox lets out a sarcastic laugh, "Well deserved!" Su Mian has the answer in her heart now——it looks like the person in the car was indeed L.  Otherwise, who else would be carrying such props all the time?

It's just that now that this trail is a dead end, they'll have to start over again.  Su Mian explains her worries, "Although L is injured, R is a doctor.  He should be able to treat his wounds without alerting the police.  Furthermore, based on their personalities, after being taken such a big advantage of, I'm afraid they will carry out a revenge-like crime."

"Is that so?" Han Chen picks up his cup and drinks from it slowly, "The more actions they take, the more they'll be exposed.  They won't be this lucky next time."

_____

The meeting ends.  Everybody drags their tired bodies back to their dorms to catch some rest.  Su Mian switches off the lights as she's the last to leave. Just as she is closing the door, she sees Han Chen standing by the railing with his hands pressed against it while waiting for her.

She walks over, grabs one of his arms and places it over her shoulders, "Hey, stop being angry."

Han Chen takes a look at her and then returns to looking to the front, "Mm.  I feel upset inside. How are you going to comfort me?"

Su Mian calls him scoundrel in a low voice.  The two of them look toward the hazy dark sky.

A lot of things need to be experienced to know what it feels like.  When she first found out her ident.i.ty and her past, besides feeling grief, all she thought of was to destroy the seven-member organization.  In this lifetime, she swore that she would catch them. Even if it meant sacrificing her life, she was not afraid. This goes without saying, and she was pretty sure that Han Chen thought the same way.

But they've finally come into contact with the seven-member organization now.  They are indeed more cruel and cunning than any other perpetrators they've come across; they're more proud of their own work than anybody else.

And they know her and Han Chen better than anybody else.

The process is cold and empty when facing against them.  Just like today, life is disregarded. It's as if your heart is glazed over with an endless amount of coldness.  But your heart needs to maintain its determination and sharpness in order to continue standing in this long yet dangerous battle and conquer over them.

They're the most ruthless criminals.  They can't be caught with just intelligence; perseverance and determination will be needed to defeat them.

It's because of this reality that makes her cherish every second that she can be with him even more than before.  She wants to take care of herself so that she can be with him for as long as possible. She doesn't want him to be like in previous years, searching for her and be drowned in the work of a criminal investigator.

The night is quiet, but they're both sleepless.  After a while, Han Chen lowers his head and kisses her.  In a long and restless night like this, nothing is more warm and pa.s.sionate than his hug and kiss.  The orange-yellow light reveals their shadows. Su Mian feels as if she has returned to many years ago; not sure when and not sure where.  He was kissing and hugging her just like this. After these many years, it still hasn't changed. They can still embrace each other quietly like this; even for one second makes them feel happiness.

……

But good times are easy to be interrupted.

Han Chen moves his lips away slowly.  He stares at her with his dark brown eyes.

She's still clinging onto him as she fetches her beeping phone annoyingly.

There's a text message.

She takes a look at her eyes open wide.

It's from an unknown number.  The tone of the writing is all too familiar, "Big Sister, you guys injured L and he's very mad.  And you guys have set up too many security measures around the elementary schools, so he hasn't been able to kill a dad for a very long time.  Therefore, tomorrow morning, I need to kill two people."

_____

The police are on full alert.

Almost all police teams are dispatched, patrolling the streets and around buildings.  The Black s.h.i.+eld Team and all bodies of the criminal investigation department are on the move.  Everybody is preparing for what will happen tomorrow at the 7th hour and 7th minute. The authorities have even made the command: "I don't care how challenging it will be, tomorrow morning, do not let another person die.  If another dies, the whole criminal investigation department will have a demerit on the record. Qin Wen Long and Han Chen will be sent to a local station to do hard labor!"

Although Qin Wen Long is a smiling tiger (man with big smile and evil intentions), he's also hot-tempered.  He repeats the orders to the criminal investigators exhorting them to do their job and taking his stance as the commanding officer in the control room overbearingly.

No matter how many officers they have, it's impossible to guard the whole city with close to ten thousand people.  Even Han Chen, the super detective, is of no use. Otherwise, there wouldn't be so many unsolved cases in the history of China.  Su Mian is a little worried that Han Chen may be punished, but he answers unconcernedly, "If we really can't save the person this time, I'll go and do hard labor."

Su Mian is speechless, "……"

_____

3 am in the morning.

Xu Si Bai is wearing a black wool coat while driving his Chevrolet with a siren on top on a s.p.a.cious and quiet road.

After finding out that Su Mian has received another text message from the criminals, he immediately requested Qin Wen Long to allow him to partic.i.p.ate in the overnight patrol team.  This task is not in scope for a forensic officer, but Su Mian has been out patrolling all night, so he doesn't want to stay at the dorm to sleep.

He would be too far from her.  Being able to patrol the streets at least makes him feel part of the team; she would be safer as well.

A traffic light is up ahead.  Although there aren't any other cars on the road, Xu Si Bai slows to a stop anyway and waits for the lights to turn green patiently.  He rests and work on a regular schedule and very rarely stays up at night like this. His refined and handsome face soon shows fatigue.  He lights up a cigarette and recalls the image of her rus.h.i.+ng down the stairs at the station and getting into Han Chen's car.

A subtle feeling of pain surges in his heart, but he is already used to weak, prolonged and helpless pain.  He smokes his cigarette quietly and tells himself that this is fine; it's good that she's happy. This is how it should be when you love someone.

On the right side of the road, a big truck is driving toward the intersection.

These big tractor trailers usually drive unscrupulously at night as they rush to get to their destinations.  Seeing how fast it's going, although the lights have turned green, Xu Si Bai doesn't accelerate as he waits politely for it to finis.h.i.+ng crossing.  He stares absentmindedly at the smoke rising between his fingers. He worries about Su Mian's safety nonetheless, so he just can't make himself stay calm.

He sees the truck pa.s.sing in front of him with its full headlights on; the brightness stings his eyes.  Xu Si Bai frowns and squints his eyes subconsciously. But in the speed of light, he suddenly sees the truck make a turn and its ma.s.sive body is coming toward him head on!

Xu Si Bai's heart pounds.  He takes a glimpse in fright and actually sees a man sitting in the driver's seat behind the bright headlights.  The man is wearing a baseball cap and a mask. He has a tall figure and those deep-set and narrow eyes are carrying a smile.  Isn't he the one who was caught on camera? Isn't he A?!

Although Xu Si Bai has always been in the office doing technical skill-based tasks, his mind and his body have great reflexes.  Otherwise, he wouldn't have been called the "Number One Fast Hands of Jiangcheng" as a Forensic Investigator. In a life and death situation like this, he doesn't dodge or retract.  Instead, he steps on his gas pedal and speeds toward the truck!

In a fraction of a meter, just as the truck is about to hit him, he avoids the horrifying crash as it brushes past him!  But he never thought that A's reflex would also be so quick.  The smile in A's eyes grows.  He steers the wheel with both hands and a loud "bang" is heard as the truck collides with the Chevrolet, sending it cras.h.i.+ng into the wall on the side of the road caving it in.

Everything that happens next is too fast and quiet.  A hops out of the truck and R comes out from the container.  The two of them cooperate to carry Xu Si Bai, whose head is covered in blood and unconscious, into the back of the truck.  They then drive the Chevrolet inside as well. And finally sweep away the shattered gla.s.s on the road.

A few minutes later, the patrolling officers in a nearby area come over after hearing a loud bang, but all they see is an empty road.  They review the surveillance videos immediately, but the camera lens must have been broken by kids playing with shooting b.a.l.l.s. It's their job to patrol the area nevertheless, so they make a note on record for the time being and immediately return to patrolling the streets.

_____

Time pa.s.ses by every minute and every second.  It's 5 am very soon.

The sky is still dark.  There are less than two hours before the crime takes place.

Chatterbox and Zhou Xiao Zhuan are driving a police vehicle as they make their way back to an alleyway not far away from the provincial station.  Chatterbox parks the car. They both yawn at the same time; they look at each other and giggle at their dark circles.

Without a doubt, the Black s.h.i.+eld Team has been the most exhausted.  They've barely gotten any sleep for the past few days and they've been circling the streets all night.  The moment they stop and close their eyes, they can fall asleep right away.

But no matter how tired they are, to Zhou Xiao Zhuan, food is more important than anything.

He pushes open the door, turns his head and looks at Chatterbox, "You really don't want to come and eat?  A big battle is ahead of us, so we must eat a bowl of hot dry noodles to help wake us up!"

Chatterbox adjusts the seat to lie down and is leaning against it like a puddle of mud, "Leave me!  I need to grasp the time to sleep. Order one for me as takeout when you're done. I can totally eat and sleep at the same time."

Zhou Xiao Zhuan can't help but laugh.  He hops out of the car and a cool breeze blows toward him making him s.h.i.+ver.  He stuffs his hands into his pockets and walks toward the place. In the alleyway ahead, only a restaurant is lit.  It's a sixty-year-old grandma who always open early and her noodles are delicious. Zhou Xiao Zhuan is a kind person, so every time he pa.s.ses by, he always comes to eat.

He walks deeper into the alleyway.  Just as he is about to arrive at the front of the restaurant, he is stunned.

It's because he seems to hear faint footsteps behind him.

It's not Chatterbox.  At this early in the morning, could it be a pa.s.serby?

A strange feeling of instinct rushes into his heart.  Zhou Xiao Zhuan can feel cold sweat running down his back and palms.  If it really is……them, will he be able to handle them?

He doesn't turn around or pause his footsteps.  He doesn't show any abnormal behaviors and continues walking.  But then the footsteps disappear.

Where did that person go?  What did he want to do?

All of a sudden, he feels something weighing down his shoulder.  Someone has actually reached out to pat his shoulder, "Hey."

Zhou Xiao Zhuan's body s.h.i.+vers out of reflex.  His hands curl into fists as he jerks his head around.  It's that face under a baseball cap and behind a mask that he has seen numerous times from the surveillance videos.

A!

A has actually appeared in front of him like this!

In the spur of the moment, he can only see A's eyes revealing a smile and then a fierce punch landing on the side of his waist.  His punch carries so much power and speed that it's comparable to Cold Face's. No matter how alert Zhou Xiao Zhuan is, he can't match the opponent; he hits the wall from receiving the punch and bends down slightly as he's unable to stand straight.

And then he hears A's soft laughter.

Xiao Zhuan's face is covered with blood.  He lowers his head and sees A's shadow coming closer in the light.

"Stop struggling and leave with me," A says in a gentle voice.

Xiao Zhuan grits his teeth, "Wh-What do you guys want to do?….."  Before he finishes, he twists his head and gives A a headb.u.t.t in the waist.

A never thought that the weakest member of the Black s.h.i.+eld Team would fight back with all his might after receiving a punch that was enough to wound his internal organs.  He fails to dodge it and falls to the ground from Xiao Zhuan's hard hit. His face turns pale immediately and scolds, "s.h.i.+t! Were you born in the year of the ox?!" (stubbornness)

Xiao Zhuan can't possibly let this one in a lifetime opportunity go.  He leans on the wall for support, fetches the gun from his waist and is about to fire a shot toward the sky as a warning!

"Bang."

A m.u.f.fled sound that's softer than a gunshot can be heard before Xiao Zhuan shoots.

A is sitting on the ground with his chin resting in his palms as he watches Zhou Xiao Zhuan's face change falling down slowly with his eyes closed and becoming unconscious.  He hops up from the ground and watches R come out from the shadows with an anesthetic gun in his hand.

"You actually lost to Zhou Xiao Zhuan," R comments indifferently and turns around to leave, "Carry him to the car."

A is quite mad.  He carries Zhou Xiao Zhuan and lets out a, "Hmph!" before following.

_____

6:30 am.

Han Chen, Su Mian, Cold Face, and the others have already returned to the moving command room vehicle on the police side as they watch over the city.

The communication device on the table rings suddenly.

Everyone exchange glances with each other.  At such a critical time like this, they can see the alertness in each other's eyes.  Han Chen's face turns colder as he picks it up, "Speak!"

The patrolling officer's voice is quick and nervous, "Reporting!  We've found two clowns at the Yangtze River Park's public men's room!"